morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Erin says:Craig and I are busy prepping for our intended start date on April 5, 2003. We are also busy relaxing and enjoying the comforts of home. I sit writing this as I drink a cup of hot coffee that I brewed in a pot using electricity and not precious white gas. I have been feeling a little nervous lately -- I begin to realize that I have left my job and am actually going to hike. I am putting thought and planning into action. It is unbelievable how quickly time passes. Craig and I first mentioned possibly hiking in July, and here it is the end of March. Yikes. It is interesting how so many people get that far off look in their eyes when we tell them we are thru-hiking the AT. Almost everyone laments that they wish they had done that or something similar when they had the chance. I am feeling grateful for this opportunity despite the nervous tummy. We are waiting on a few more gear items to arrive in the mail, including my hipbelt. I had to send my hipbelt to Mountainsmith so that they could send me a smaller size. Mountainsmith has been so wonderful, they called me from the home office in Colorado to say that they had been snowed in and mail is slow, but not to worry. The hiker community is very warm and friendly. It is refreshing. We will most likely leave for Atlanta a week from today -- yeah, we're still working out the details. Off to run more errands and visit with family.
Date: 2003-03-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Erin says:It is evening and Craig and I are off in a little bit to revel in some good beer drinking with friends at the Nashua Garden, the local pub. We are trying to savor all these little things before we head off. Today we bought batteries (ooohhh!) and got the interior of my car cleaned so that my family members who are babysitting my car for 6 months won't have to drive in filth. We also got our MSR mugmates, Equinox packcovers, and landlubber stuff sacks in the mail today. And my Leki trekking poles arrived. Just waiting now for my hip belt to arrive. Nothing like last minute.Craig just asked me what else would make a good dry breakfast besides Poptarts? He is on the floor of the family room with all our food for the start of the trail spread out around him. He's making rations and figuring out weight, etc. I think that we have way too much food to start our hike, so much so that we will most likely have to plan a food drop or too, even though we were planning to buy our food along the way. oops. We got reservations for our rental car today too. We are still working on figuring out how to get to Amicolala from the rental car dropoff point (either Atlanta or Duluth, GA). This should be interesting. Apparently one can get a bus or train to Gainesville and then grab a taxi to the park. We will see what happens. I think we have decided for certain that we are leaving Nashua, NH (our home base) early morning on Wedsday, April 2. We will pick up the rental car in the early morning, fuel up on coffee, and hit the road.Craig just commented that it appears we have A LOT of candy bars, and that maybe we should eat a little bit healthier. hee hee. I'm thinking we will love and cherish each and every one of those candy bars because we will be hungry and craving chocolate goodness. Who knows.Off to the bar for our last Wednesday night "beat the clock" at the Garden. I know I will miss that for certain when we leave- beer starts at $.25 at 8pm and goes up a quarter each half hour. Considering how much money Craig and I have dropped on hiking gear and food already, a quarter for a beer makes me smile.
Date: 2003-03-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Craig says...I thought I'd add a few things to mix. I'm trying to plan on what food to bring on the opening hike. It's hard to estimate how much we're going to eat and how far we're gonna hike in the first week. I'm planning on about seven days worth, making our first stop at Helen? We'll see. I'd rather pack too much food and end up in town with less to buy then be starving and grumpy by the time we stumble fix-eyed into a grocery store eating fistfulls of raw flour......
Date: 2003-03-31
To: The big week begins...
Miles today: 0.0

Erin says:It is Monday morning and it is snowing again in NH! Last week it was in the 50s and 60s each day, but today it is cold and snowy. I am STILL waiting for my hipbelt to arrive from Mountainsmith. It should have been here by Friday. I'm a little nervous. Craig and I are pretty much ready to go! We are leaving Wednesday morning. We will pick up the rental car at 8am and leave after that. Our drive to Atlanta will be about 1100 miles. I am so excited for a final roadtrip before we start hiking. We will be driving over the George Washington Bridge outside NYC, it will be my first time viewing the altered skyline of the city post 9/11. Our driving route is I-95 to I-85 into Atlanta and we have until Friday at 1pm to get there. At 1pm our shuttle will pick us up to take us to Amicalola Falls State Park. We will spend Friday night in the lodge (the last luxury!) and start hiking the 8.8 mile approach trail early Saturday morning (4/5/2003). Yeah!It is rather odd saying goodbye to family members and friends as our days wind down. Somehow it feels like we are going away for a really long time, even though I know it is not forever. These last days at home feel very surreal.I'm off to attempt to create a "pot cozy" for our cooking pot. I got directions online on how to make one and purchased my supplies at WalMart. This should be interesting. We've read that pot cozies help save fuel since we can turn off the burner once our water comes to a boil and transfer the pot to the cozy to keep it insulated while cooking. I have enough closed-cell foam to make more than one if I screw it up.
Date: 2003-04-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I usually hate the prep journals on this web site because it's all talk and no action..but I'm going to add one anyway. I know all aspiring AT hikers skip over the Prep #1 and Prep #2 entries and go straight to the meat and gravy inside the wholesome dates of action.....But still. I'm going to write one anyway. Now I know why people write these in the first place. Displaced excitement. You had the idea to go. You brought the idea up to others. You made the initial preparations. You make secondary preps and do ALOT of research. You think you're gonna go. You buy and you buy. You pretty sure you're gonna go. You make even more purchases. You're gonna go.   Erin and I are leaving tommorrow. A dream, (they all start with a dream, don't they?) now growing into fruition, a date thought never to come now here fastballing with sudden weight and we are sprinting around preparing last minute uh...preparations for our journey south from Nashua to Atlanta...From Atlanta to Amicallola(msp?) From there to Springer... and from Springer to Kathadin. It's here and I can't beleive it. It's unreal. I hope everything goes well. I love you all. Craig. No trail name as of yet
Date: 2003-04-02
To: HERE WE GO...
Miles today: 0.0

The big day has arrived. We just picked up the rental car. We've got jerky and mountain dew for the ride and we are about to leave. This is weird! I am really excited, but still nervous. I think my mind will be more at ease once we get going. My pack is full -- ready to be loaded into the car. My Mom and I were staring at my pack this morning over coffee musing at how my whole world's contents for the next however many months are contained in that one pack. That's it! It is pretty funny because Craig and I are wearing our "disposables" - clothes for the ride down that we will discard before hiking. We both look pretty funny in old T-shirts, ripped jeans, tapered pants from who knows when.Okay, gotta get moving. More from us once we're on the trail. I cannot believe that all the planning and hoping and spending, etc. have really happened and we are attempting this feat!Sending love. See you!-Erin (soon to be called....)
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Amicalola Falls Lodge

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hello Everyone! Finally arrived at Amicalola Lodge via a 'shuttle' from the REI in Atlanta which was actually an old Dodge station wagon with packs of cigarettes and full cans of Mt. Dew jammed under the seats. But the driver was really nice.(Everyone in Georgia fits snuggly under that category so far.) He gave us some good pointers such as; take a rest day every five days or so. If it's wet and you're dry, stay put and stay dry, and other various pointers that I can't remember at the moment. We also passed the Nascar museum. I guess Georgia is Nascar headquarters. (LV you should move here.) I don't find that suprising really. Anyway, the lodge is beautiful! Erin and I expected a drafty log cabin with ripped screens and a spider problem but were treated to a rather contemporary 'resortish' lodge with sprawling windows and wine on the dinner menu. (Which we took advantage of along with a few Budwiesers......and a few shots of scotch.) We woke to what looked like a minor hurricane; sheets of rain, strong gusts of wind, lightning, everything you wouldn't want to hike in. But by 10:30 the skies opened up and we went on our way.There's a sign that greets you at the start of the approach trail warning how strenuous it's going to be. Maybe it's an intimidator to weed out the weak before they even get to the start of the AT, but Erin and I didn't find it that difficult. Maybe it was because we expected it to be so hard or maybe it's due to our lean sinewy physique, unbreakable stamina, and steadfast determination. (You choose which one you think it is)(*The approach trail is 7.7 miles long and doesn't count as actual AT mileage. The AT doesn't start until the top of Springer Mt.)We reached the top of Springer about 3:30, signed the guestbook, got our pictures taken by Glen (this guy is a story in itself), set up our tent, ate a dinner of Ramen noodles, and were treated to a fantastic sunset from the crowded top. A perfect way to start a trip.....Tommorrow we go to Hawk Moutain. Thanks for signing the guestbook everyone!Craig and ErinErin and Craig
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to a light drizzle and fog this morning. Neither one of us slept very well. A lot of tossing and turning, shuffling of the feet, checking the time every two hours, so on and so forth. It¢s hard to adjust to the new sleeping conditions. The new sounds, the hard mat, the very close proximity of our feet in the tiny foot-box of our sleeping bag. It makes for a fitful sleep. But we were excited to hike nonetheless.I have to say, everything is more of a challenge in the rain. For instance, the chore of breaking down the tent while trying to keep atleast the tent part of the tent/fly system dry. The idea was to keep the fly propped up with the poles while rolling the tent underneath. It worked¢¦..kind of. The poles kept slipping in the mud leaving me in the awkward position of holding up the fly with my back and rolling the tent simultaneously. But in the end I did manage to keep ¢most¢ of the tent dry and ¢relatively¢ clean.The hike was very foggy and surreal in the morning. You couldn¢t see much further than 75ft in all directions. The trail just headed off into nothingness and the surroundings had a timeless and enchanted feel. The trees were leafless and gnarled like an orchard but huge and looming like old growth. The forests are different here than in the east. There are less pines and more deciduous trees and the riverbeds are lined with thick tall patches of rhododhendrons (sp?) We passed through all sorts of Gaps (every dip in the mountains is called a Gap in the south and is given its own name; Gooch Gap, Tray Gap, Chatahoochee Gap, Unicoi Gap, Fat Gal Gap, etc.) (We like to joke about other gaps they should have thought of: Yo Mama's Gap, Gaping Gap, etc.) To our delight, around 2:00 the sun came out and things started to dry. We arrived at Gooch Gap shelter packed with familiar faces at 4:10 and immediately hung our stuff out to dry. Made a dinner of Cha Cha Chile with garlic mashed potatoes. Yum¢¦It was the coveted dinner of the evening. People kept walking shuffling closer to us waving their noses at our pot and rubbing their bellies. We had to fend them off with Erin¢s poles. They¢re like hyenas. (jk) After dinner everyone hung around by the fire chatting it up about all sorts of things like hiking and gear and well¢¦the conversation never strayed far from there after the initial, ¢so where you from?¢ question was answered. It¢s to be expected. Everyone¢s just getting to know each other. Went to bed not long after dark. Rain started coming down around 9:00 PM.   That¢s all for tonight. Goodnight.Craig and ErinErin and Craig
Date: 2003-04-09
From: Slaughter Gap

To: Neels Gap/Walasi-Yi center
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: light rain

Woke up to fog and rain again. This time the rain was HEAVY! I did the roll beneath the tarp technique with increased success. No slipping of the poles this time. Skipping the coffee this morning. We only have 3.3 miles to get to Neels Gap and we figure there will be some there waiting for us along with perhaps a soda? Slogged up Bear Mountain 4,400+ ft. passing some very fit older folk on the way and was greated by a break in the clouds and sun at the top! We were actually above the clouds. Pretty neat. Took some pictures and then headed down to Neels.Once at Neels Gap we bought a coffee, a sandwich, marvled at being dry and surrounded by four walls and a roof, and caught a shuttle to Goose Creek cabins for a night of hot showers, clean sheets, and much needed rest. Erin couldn't wait to wash her hair.The office for Goose Creek is a trip. (I'll expand more later.) And their owner Keith is a saint. (I'll expand on that one later too. For any thru-hikers that read this...Stay here!)The 45$ cabins were full so we had to be shuttled to a 40$ lodge. Suprised again, this was more than a cabin, it was house! It had cathedral ceilings, ceiling fans, two full bathrooms, two bedrooms, a loft, laundry, a full kitchen, Direct TV, a VCR. You get the picture. And we had it all to ourselves! For now. Later that evening an older man with the trail name Seven Iron came to stay and the next day another hiker (bucky) came to stay as well. But it was fun to have company. We did all our laundry, caught a shuttle back to Neels to buy some things, ate an all you can eat southern style Barbeque, a few beers at the 'office' (it's a dry county here so Keith buys beers in the next country over and sells them to thru-hikers only) then off to bed. Till next time.Craig and ErinErin and Craig
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was mostly flat terrain. I (Erin) rocked! Give me miles of flat and I will walk and walk and walk... It was nice leaving Neel's Gap at around 9:15am. Claude (Keith's Dad - elderly and so nice with his huge thick glasses) from Goose Creek Cabins shuttled us back to the Gap and we got hot coffee (yum!) from the Walasi-Yi hiker center before starting off. We arrived at the shelter, set up our tent, and took a nice nap in the late afternoon. We contemplated a cold dinner of poptarts because we were so tired and not feeling like firing up the stove. But we decided it would be worth it to eat a hot meal. We roused our stiff bodies, chatted with the thru-hiker locals, and had a wonderful dinner of Lipton noodle packages. And we had hot sauce in our plastic squeeze bottle courtesy of the hiker center. Hot sauce is where it's at! We add it to everything. We have decided not to stop at Helen, instead we will press on to Hiawasee because the weather is supposed to clear and get sunny. Today there was no rain, just overcast and very foggy/misty. The forest seemed sort of enchanted and surreal. Picture Princess Bride or Robin Hood. I have officially ditched the pee bottle method. I'm getting to be an expert squatter. And forget the running off into the woods to hide. I just pee when and where I need to. And if a hiker comes upon me, well, enjoy the show. Funny how the bare essentials and needs start to come out. I am on the hunt for cheap flipflops. I now have sunscreen to use though! Craig and I are doing well.
Date: 2003-04-12
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

My feet are taped up, Craig's too... just to avoid hotspots. We have spiroflex and other blister tape and duct tape too... the duct tape leaves this grimy goo on your toes and feet that doesn't readily come off.Dinner was a great meal of Mountain House chicken and rice courtesy of the Bibeau Family (thanks!) and ramen. I've been tired and my feet are sore. But the sun is great! Sunny all day. No packcovers needed. Still working on the sleep thing.Our sweat is so STICKY.... sticky armpits, sticky face, sticky legs... sticky! Pretty yucky, I know. But I've never really pondered sweat and dirt so much. My fingernails are so dirty, I don't even want to know what might be living in there. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer.
Date: 2003-04-16
From: Hiawassee

To: Hiawassee (still)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Just finished the greasiest eggs, hashbrowns, ham, and biscuits and gravy I've ever let slip down my throat. The waitress was asian and had an asian accent uh, accented by a southern accent. It took us off guard. It took a minute or two to understand the high-pitched twang that she had going. But one thing was for sure. She had the southern hospitality. Everone is so accomodating it makes everyone up there in Yank territory seem like a bunch of cold, thick skinned, distant, curmudgeons. But we all know that's not true! Yes, we are still here in good ol' Hiawassee, GA. Yes, we decided to hang out another day just to give us one more day of REAL rest. Yesterday was so busy it hardly felt like resting. Tomorrow we are off. Really! No! I swear! Probably be in Franklin, NC by Monday. It's still nice and sunny here. We bought some sweet 99ct. flip-flops at the local gun shop to wear around camp. Erin's are a fresh pepto bismol pink and mine are a rustic country western two tone brown. Score!Thanks Mom, Dad, Kareen, Kayce, LV, and Polly for signing the guest book! Anyhow, Erin and I are throwing around some trail names. Craig: Northbound PachydermErin: Scotch on the RocksTell us what you think. If you have any suggestions just write them in the guest book. We'd love to see them.
Date: 2003-04-17
From: Hiawassee

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

(Craig says,) What started off as a perfect hiking day; cool, windy, overcast, turned into a monsoon of wind and torrential rain so heavy that it hurt when it hit your head and ripped small branches from trees. It started just before the NC/GA line and still hasn¢t ended. We huddled under a big rock at the state line and made a lunch of pepperoni, cheese, and wraps. We sat for probably 30 minutes chewing and talking and staring out into the rain at the small piece of wood nailed to the tree with NC/GA inscribed across. When the rain let up a bit we started down the steep muddy slope that the rock rested upon. Somewhere about halfway Erin¢s feet went out from under her and she took a big digger onto her back. It was almost cartoon like. Feet out above her head, hands flailing, her big pack bringing her to the ground.   Beyond her butt getting a little sore, everything turned out fine. The rain picked immediately back up once we started back on the trail. We had tuned into the always reliable weather channel in Hiawassee and it predicted ¢occasional thunder showers¢ for the day. Well, the occasional thunder shower must have an alternate definition down here because there hasn¢t been a rumble of thunder, just a persistent heavy rain. So far this is the fifth day of rain in ten days of hiking. I guess 50% ain¢t bad¢¦..Still, today was a tough one. We were hoping to stay at a shelter for the first night. The shelter was full when we arrived sopping and tired. A troop of boyscouts crowded around the eating table in the shelter and the sleeping platform was packed with thru-hikers. I recognized Mitch, one of the last remaining originals we¢d started with, his hulking frame sulking quietly in the corner. Some pretentious hiker guy immediately began to inform us that the shelter was full and we¢d have to find elsewhere to rest our heads. He said a few other things but we weren¢t listening.   We made dinner, set up the tent in the rain between two rhododendron bushes, peeled off our wet clothing, and are going to sleep to the calming sound of rain against the fly. I hope it will dry soon. Onward Ho¢¦.
Date: 2003-04-18
From: Muskrat Creek

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Erin Says:We are in North Carolina!!! Yeah, very exciting to push on to a new state. Everything we own feels wet. Today we had to put on wet shoes and wet socks to hike. It is night now and Craig and I are at a "Nantahala-design shelter" where there is a top and bottom bunk for the actual shelter part and then a sloping roof that encloses a picnic table/counter to cook on and is surrounded by benches. We have hung our food from the little tuna can hangers inside the shelter. This supposedly keeps the mice away. We have seen a few mice skirting around the shelter. Icky. We are tenting tonight, even though the tent feels pretty wet from all the rain. At least our sleeping bag is dry! Earlier we enjoyed a great campfire with some of the locals at the shelter. We have met a '98 thru-hiker named Fish. He has been very helpful with info about shelters, upcoming hard parts, stuff not to worry about, etc. He is great because he is very experienced but not pretentious like other hikers we have run into. He is just out hiking for a few weeks with his friend Stonehendge who is thru-hiking. They made a great fire. Patty and the Fat Man are here too and they are fun to hang out with. The Fat Man told great stories tonight around the fire about life in Gainesville, FL. Patty was trying to get to sleep in the shelter, but we could hear her laughing as Fish entertained her with stories. Craig and I can here everyone SNORING VERY LOUD in the shelter right now... I am very happy to be in our tent! Earplugs help too. We are tired, a tad soggy, but content. I am sure none of our clothing will be dry by morning. Hiking in wet clothes is not too bad after you get started and get warmed up. However, that first moment when you put your wet bra and shirt on in the chilly morning is tough! As is putting your wet, clammy socks into a soggy shoe. Yum.