morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-22
From: standing bear farm

To: roaring fork shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: few clouds

end of the day. it's freakin' cold. we're all in our sleeping bags by 6:45. i think that's a new record for this group.today i traveled with wildcat, harrier, lwop, and pez to max patch and then to the shelter. max patch had great views of the smokies (which we are now out of). too bad we didn't stay long. the 25* temperature and 20 mph winds made for quick photo ops and then we got our butts below tree line.today was a high mileage day and i'm sorry my body is not doing well. yesterday my right leg started hurting right on the outside of the knee. sometimes on the side and sometimes behind the knee. Down-hills cause pain while up-hills don't bother me one bit. i couldn't figure out what was up with that as i hiked... i'm going to sit with it tonight and see if i can pinpoint the issue.i also got new blisters today on my right heel. my tape job from this morning didn't hold, so some rubbing occurred in my boot. a couple of the blisters are small and will disappear by morning. tomorrow we hope to march into hot springs. it's another long day and i hope i don't damage myself anymore on the way in. i will probably take two zeros if the pain in my leg is still there and might even see a physician if that will help.leg pain worries me to no end. i tell myself that worrying is in the future and i should knock it off, but i still circle back to that fear of getting holed up in hot springs for several days. my focus should stay in the here and now and be directed toward healing my leg and heel.if any of you medical-types or past thru hikers can offer me some advice on this (leg pain on outside of knee) please email me or put an entry in the guest book. thanks. i'm thinking r.i.c.e.i haven't mentioned who i've been traveling with and who is ahead or behind me. i know some people try to keep track of their loved ones by reading the journals.i see lwop, pez, wildcat, shadowman, and harrier everyday. swiss miss has been with us for the past 5 days but hasn't shown up tonight. she can take care of herself, but we all look after each other.mello (alex), haiku, and moonpie are 1-2 days ahead. i haven't heard about g.g. in a while. i assume she's 1-2 days behind me.that's all for today, time to heal the body. on to hot springs tomorrow!!!p.s. swiss miss arrived later in the evening.
Date: 2004-03-23
From: roaring fork shelter

To: hot springs
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

i did another longish day... especially with leg pain. i could have stopped 3.2 miles before town at the shelter but really wanted the effects of a shower, ice packs, and a warm bed.i found myself swearing like a sailor on all the downhill sections. yes, out loud. sometimes very loud. my attempts to slow my pace to ease my suffering seemed futile as i would just speed up in a few minutes. thankfully i ran into shadowman. he has a very gentle pace and i stayed behind him until that last 3.2 mile section i mentioned above. moving slowly was the ticket... is that what i've been trying to tell myself with this leg pain?i'm going to take a few days off here in town and get my leg looked at and also check out some different boots. i'm getting constant blisters from the ones i have. i may just need to adjust the boots i have rather than buy new. Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Appalachian Trail beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.--Harold Allenthis is a quote that is hung up in Elmer's in hot springs where i'll be spending the next few days. the inn is actually called something different but everyone refers to it as Elmer's. the inn is a beautiful victorian age house with lots of wood accents and antiques -- truly beautiful and unique.Elmer cooks a vegetarian breakfast and dinner that is out of this world. i did not know vegetarian food could be this good. yum!
Date: 2004-03-24
From: hot springs

To: hot springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

my first zero day in hot springs. trail buddies wildcat and harrier left this morning after breakfast. i'll miss them. it is amazing how close you can get to people after only knowing them a week or two.many of the people i was traveling with before i hit the smokies will be showing up in the next few days. lwop and pez stopped into elmer's today (they slept at the shelter last night) and, a total surprise, dragon slayer showed up soon after. seems she's done a few 20's to get here. she had great news, too. she's going to zero tomorrow and then invited me to start slack packing to irwin with her. (slack packing is hiking without your pack.) since my leg needs time to recuperate, this is probably the best medicine for me. - - -i just got back from the doctor. he said i prolly got a minor strain and need to keep off it as much as i can, keep the miles low, and apply heat to it now and then. well, we are in hot springs doncha know. sounds like i need to sit it the hot tub for a while. ;-)i'm settling down for dinner right now and have some re-supply chores to do tomorrow. downtime is hard to do when i'm so used to moving everyday. this will be another lesson for me to learn as i fight with the desire to be productive and the real need to chill out for a day or two.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: hot springs

To: hot springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

another zero day to rest my body and to re-supply food. today i took the time to sit on the swing on elmer's porch. after a few minutes of rocking i thought, i never do this for myself. i'm always busy doing something and putting off pleasures like this. remember my entry on 'sweetness'? it seems to be the essence of my thru hike. there is a whole world of low stress and simple pleasure that i've been missing.i talked to my friends ron and andrea today to get some clarity around my right knee problem. (injuries aren't just something that happen. they are there to get your attention to something you're not seeing.) my injury slowed me down, big time. the days before i was moving faster than i wanted to, to keep up with my current group. i wrote notes in the shelter registers that i was going to take my time, but i kept doing higher miles. slowing down here in hot springs did bring me a lot of sweetness. i knew what my pace should have been on the trail, and now i will follow that inner feeling instead of trying to stay with a certain group of hikers. the sweetness, as i call it, will always be with me. i just need to receive it.
Date: 2004-03-28
From: hurricane gap

To: flint mtn shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

it's my 1 month anniversary and i hit 300 miles today. woohoo!the day started with me eating granola, powdered milk, and dried fruit in my tent. that was the heaviest breakfast in my food bag.my right leg was stiff from yesterday's upset, but i started my stretches and took 5 vitamin-I's.the trail took me over some exposed ridgeline. i couldn't see much because it was overcast, but i did notice all the huge rocks that were put in place to make the trail. turns out the trail i walked is blazed white but is not the official AT -- it is a future relocation. the real trail was probably the blue blazed one that went below tree line. probably much easier than the one me and recuperating limbs took.i stopped at jerry cabin shelter for lunch. looks like a lot of people i know were there in the past 2-3 days. wildcat and de ja vu left nice notes hoping i and others would catch up soon.today seemed to take forever, though it was only ~11 miles. i thought about the reasons why i was slowing myself down with a knee problem. what effect did the rest and shorter distances have on my outer life? i concluded it was a rather unconscious attempt to get away from people. on the AT? that's pretty hard to do. dealing with people makes me uncomfortable. not all people, just some. there was definitely some joking around i just didn't like. call it disrespectful. my hiking pace always kept me with the same group of people. i guess i didn't want to slow down and let some pass me when i should have. keeping up with the group was put higher than my emotional health... and i was not expressing how i felt about things. (problem #2)what i saw about my experience of the past few days with the injury is less and less people in my life. three days ago the group i came to hot springs with left. two days ago the other group i hiked with in my 2nd week on the trail left (d.s., the lost boys, slim, biscuit, etc.) i started out on the trail yesterday i had no company since i had to camp between shelters. that felt lonely and is not what i wanted.i'm finally seeing these things about myself and how i sometimes feel victmized by being around others. as i am more conscious of it, i'm sure i will congregate with more people, my knee will improve, and so will my speed.tonight at the shelter are mousetrap and mr. mule
Date: 2004-03-29
From: flint mtn shelter

To: sam's gap
Miles today: 11.2

while hiking today i spied a cooler on the edge of a pickup truck parked on rt. 212.the magic was free soda for hikers. i grabbed one and struck up a conversation with a forest service worker who was nearby. i learned all about the controlled burns they do and the conditions necessary to have those burns.hiking further up the trail i met mr. mule who was taking a break on the top of the next hill. we shared a quick conversation and started north.i met two hikers coming southbound. their names are nancy and charles (aka the slackers). they offered me a ride to erwin when i got to sam's gap since they had a car at each gap.this was excellent. they made the same offer to mousetrap who was about 45 minutes ahead of me. the "slackers" drove us right to miss janet's door. (miss janet runs a hiker hostel.) upon arrival i saw dragon slayer and mello. this was cool. it was like an unplanned reunion of the people who left hot springs before me. i found a bunk and grabbed a shower before going to the burrito place for dinner. tomorrow i'll be slack-packing to satisfy my desire to keep adding miles, but be easy on my knee.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: spivey's gap

To: sam's gap
Miles today: 13.3

today i slack-packed from spivey gap to sam's gap... and saw no one. there seems to be a gap in hiker traffic -- a big wave should be showing up soon.my wisdom for the day: connect to and let go of the places you visit and the people you meet as easily as the breath you take in and out.in the hostel tonight: hippie, lucky dog, lars, maisie, sylvan poet, mountain goat, and talks-with-trees.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: spivey gap

To: erwin,TN
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

this morning miss janet made green eggs and ham. not kidding. eating green eggs is really weird since the eyes are telling you one thing and the taste buds are saying another. breakfast time is always fun here.today i slack-packed with mousetrap from spivey gap to erwin, TN. other groups leaving miss janet's did the section i did yesterday (south to sam's gap) and also went northbound out of erwin.well, my slack-pack went fine. we had rain, cold, and snow but nothing that would cause us concern. the other groups had snow and high winds that caused them to reconsider their hikes and bail out to the nearest roads and hitch back.i think there is supposed to be more snow coming tonight so our slack tomorrow may be more interesting.my knee was a little more painful today than yesterday. i'm not worried but it is just something to note.lars and maisie just got back (7:30 pm). they went southbound to sam's gap today. there was a foot and a half of snow on big bald. they had janet's dog with them today. let's just say the dog enjoyed it more than they did.
Date: 2004-04-01
From: indian grave gap 

To: erwin, TN
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: light rain

did a southbound slackpack into erwin. my shins hurt more than my knee today. i guess that's a good sign. ;-)hiking today was lars and maicie (who we're now calling mars and lazy), mousetrap, and myself. it was a short, easy hike through snow and wet and we got a hitch back to town quickly.yesterday and today hikers have been turning back from rone mountain because the snow is hard to move through and/or they were losing the trail in the 12-18 inches of snow.today i thought about the changes i'm being faced with. my ability to stick to a schedule is falling to pieces. i'm seeing that shifting my hiking pace to fit a schedule in the future really screws with the enjoyment of hiking (which is what's going on in the moment). i wondered if i fear losing my internal scheduler and becoming a "lost boy" when/if i rotate back to my previous life? it seems quite incompatible to the "modern" lifestyle. i will be spending more time with this as i hike in the next few days.in other news...i finally got to CVS today (it's been 4 days! too much slacking and this decadent lifestyle, i guess) and bought a knee brace and some moleskin.
Date: 2004-04-02
From: erwin, TN

To: erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

a zero day for me. i was going to slack-pack further north but seeker called miss janet's from his cell phone and said not to let anyone come out there. he reported 3' drifts and snow and fog. these are winter mountaineering conditions, not anything thru-hikers are equipped for. more hikers bailed out this morning and we just got a call from 5 more who are looking for a ride from one of the gaps. everyone that was here a few days ago will be back here by the end of today. miss janet doesn't have room for all of them but she can get good rates at local hotels for the night. even though there's no room, all the hikers come here anyway because they know janet will take care of them and get them a place to stay.right now i'm actually bored... i've taken a shower, inventoried my food, plotted out the next week in wingfoot's book, bought food, and straightened up my gear... now what? folks are watching a really dumb movie in the other room and others are fiddling with their gear like i am. maybe i'll sleep bit or find a book. the Dharma Bums perhaps?tonight baltimore jack is making us lasagna and garlic bread. Mmmmm, my favorite. go jack! also stopping by this evening are jan liteshoe and stumpknocker. it was nice to meet them. they brought pie too!today i've seen: eats, the mule, paddler, mars & lazy, b.jack, trail light, lucky dog, hippie, mousetrap, shortcut, chestnut, crash, burn, bearbag hanger, slim, biscuit, 30-30, giggles, sea eagle, and lwop.
Date: 2004-04-03
From: iron mtn gap

To: indian grave gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

i slackpacked south with eats, mousetrap, and hippie today. at iron mtn. the snow was wet and deep. in some places my poles submerged about 2 feet. the afternoon hike was difficult with the slush and snow. every step uphill was coupled with a half-step slide in the wrong direction while the downhill sections were speedy, slippery glissades. neither very fun for sensitive body parts like knees, shins, or hips.a few miles in we reached cherry gap shelter. mousetrap began building a snowman and eats climbed the shelter roof and created a large "snow bomb". it was quite cold out and i have no idea why they were doing this besides it being fun to do... and quite fun to watch. it could have been a result of the intense sugar high we got after downing a few of hippie long stocking's pixy sticks.w00t! sugar!after all the hijinks we went up up up to the top of unaka mountain. man, when you reach the top you feel so good. the temperature had gone up slightly and the snow was melting off the trees, showering down like rain. we plodded down the other side trying to maintain enough body heat to keep warm and also keep our toes warm in our wet shoes. within a half hour the conditions improved dramatically and the sun started shining. on our way down we ran into quincy girl and mark, the only people we'd seen during the day. "slackers!" she jeered. we responded with "hey, what's that big thing on your back?"my right knee, which had been feeling good for the last few slackpacks, began to hurt much like it did before arriving at miss janet's. the snow was really doing a job on my body. my knee and my heels were really hurting but there's not much that i could do to sooth them. well, besides down some aleve and then zero tomorrow.ze.ro noun - short for "zero day"; a day where a hiker does not accumulate any mileageze.ro verb - taking a "zero day."the day finished at indian grave gap where it took us about 30 minutes to get a hitch into town -- little caesars to be exact. three large pizzas later, we got a hitch back to miss janet's. no, we don't walk on pavement, just trails. we'll go for a hitch even for the shortest distances in town. call us lazy.back at the hostel we took showers and attended to our aching bodies. wow, the snow really did a job on us. i'm going to take it easy tomorrow and stretch some before our assault on roan mtn. (6000'/snow/cold/no slacking) in a day or so.
Date: 2004-04-04
To: erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

i took a zero day to rest my body from my hiking-in-the-snow experience from yesterday. my knee and shins enjoyed the break. one thing about zeroing is that the day of the week determines a lot of what you can do all day. this is not connecticut, toto. a lot of businesss and restaurants are closed in the south on sunday or have limited hours. many of the guys were upset because you can't buy beer in this county on sunday. so zeros should be taken on weekdays whenever possible.today, me and my bunkmates, eats, mousetrap, and hippie, got our gear together and bought any last minute food items we might need for tomorrow's hike or stuff we may want to eat now. believe me, lots of ice cream was consumed in the last six days. that is definitely one of the nice things about being in town and one of the cravings that we build up as we hike.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: iron mtn gap

To: clyde smith shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: clear sky

today mousetrap and i left miss janet's late and arrived at the gap near 3:30. we were supposed to be traveling with eats and hippie but they got held up in their plans and said they would hike in later.hiking was through a lot of snow and slush today. my shoes and socks got wet in the 6 mile walk.i arrived at clyde smith near 6:15, and due to the daylight savings time change, had plenty of light to cook dinner and clean up by.the shelter was over capacity tonight. since it was going to dip below freezing tonight, i put my shoes (in a plastic bag), contacts, liner gloves, hat, and water bottle in my sleeping bag. yes, it all fits. i also wore my wet socks to bed to dry them before morning. when eats and hippie showed up near 11:00 they slept under the stars out back. the moon was full and very bright, reflecting off the snow. it looked like twilight all evening.
Date: 2004-04-06
From: clyde smith shelter

To: overmountain shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

today i got to wear my sunglasses and suntan lotion. no, we didn't have beach-like weather. we had clear skies, lots of sun, and lots of snow on the ground. it was definitely t-shirts and shorts... err... kilt weather. today is the day we went up roan mountain -- that beast that dished out more snow than anyone could take days before. today we had decent weather to take on the 6285' mountain. like yesterday, i spent most of the day alone. i like this because i'm not pressured to move at a certain speed. just do what i want and what my body agrees with. the main climb was a 2.5 mile section that gained about 2000' elevation.at the top of roan i met 30-30, giggles, mickley 1 sock, woody, and g.g. i sat on my pack and had some lunch while soaking in the sun. so far so good. my knee felt ok and i believed i would be ok to do the next 7 miles to overmountain shelter, which is a converted barn.the next 7 miles were wet and sloppy. my shoes and socks were totally soaked and i was hoping someone at the shelter would start a fire tonight. my hiking day ended 9 hours after it began, strolling into the shelter at 6pm. during the day i had taken a few breaks to change clothes and check my feet. traveling through snow, mud, and ice tends to slow down my pace, but the breaks i took today ate up a lot of time.there was a fire going at the shelter and i added my boots and socks to the ones already there. while those were drying, i started dinner which was 2 ramens, tuna, and curry. very filling and very good.most of the after dark hours were spent tending to my shoes and clothes so they would not melt near the fire. hippie and mousetrap are here today, but eats did not make it. hippie said he was feeling sick at the clyde smith shelter.and a special note: PEZ! PEZ! get back on trail... we miss ya!
Date: 2004-04-07
From: overmountain shelter

To: near stream and footbridge, mile 389.2
Miles today: 12.3

the travelLog-type entries continue... today was interesting. there were about 14 of us in overmounain shelter. all except mousetrap, hippie, and i got up at 6am and got on the trail by 7:30-8am. we laid in bed until at least 7 and finally got out the door by 9:10. why rush? weeks ago i was in a different groove. i got up early with everyone and tried for some terrific miles. that was pre-knee injury. i'm not saying that style of hiking is bad or anything, but i think i'm up for a more random start time and a daytime hiking plan that has more options to stop or make changes depending on how i'm feeling. this is totally new for me and today i felt very supported by hippie and mousetrap.first off, they let me lead today. i've been over-cautious with my leg and knee and have been taking things slowly since erwin. actually, i just ask myself to go at my comfortable pace and stay with it. sometimes i feel i should be going faster. this is my mind going for some productivity goal, which is a future event, rather than dealing with what pace i need in the here and now. the future will take care of itself.so much for the travelLog... i didn't think i had any insights today.these two also took lots of breaks with me today -- mostly the five minute type, but we also had one sitting in the sun. man, we've had enough snow and slush for the day. as soon as we got below 4500' and found a large sunny rock to eat lunch on, we were there for 30 minutes. ah, the life. on that rock we decided to go into town after apple house shelter. we didn't have a solid plan, just hitch in 10 miles, eat at mcdonald's, and hitch out. we were having our nighttime meal in the late afternoon and then hiking in until we found a camping spot near water. we resumed hiking near 5pm and covered 3 miles until we found an adequate spot. the locals here are not friendly to hikers (there are signs warning us) and so we had to be careful about site selection.we set up our tents and sat in a circle, indian-style, cooking small meals to get us through the night. it was very peaceful as the glow of our headlamps illuminate the space just in front of us. i got to know these people a week ago and already they feel like family. they are family.in the back of my mind i know that at some point i will have to go my own way and say goodbye to them. i will not cling to them or change my schedule to stay with them. i will be true to myself and where i am at in the moment. saying goodbye does not mean i'm losing something. on the other hand, it allows me to open up space for a new experience to come in. but one never knows, i may summit katahdin with them.