morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-02-09
To: Gear Tripping
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday I was motivated. I went to Travel Country (an outfitter in Orlando) looking for my last few pieces of gear. A 2002 thru-hiker named Greyhound was working there and I talked with him for nearly an hour. He went about the same pace that I need to walk, finishing in just over 4 months.He had some good advice for me about how to distribute the miles ¢ limit the zero days ¢ just walk a short day & it will be rest enough. It was also interesting to hear views on staying motivated. Most people he saw leave the trail just lost the drive to do it, and were thinking about too many other things.Greyhound walked as a white-blazing purist, something I intend to do as well. I believe I need to stick to the whites ¢cause I worry that blue or yellowing could cause my motivation to slip. Blue a few miles, walk some road miles, then hop forward in a car¢¦next thing you know you¢ve lost your purpose and you¢re off the trail.Okay, that said, be assured I won¢t be watching or judging how anyone else is doing the trail. I¢m just talking out loud about what I think may work for me. Hike your own hike.I felt guilty about walking out of Travel Country with free advice and no gear. I called back today and ordered a Thermarest LE long. Not just because of the guilt. They had the best price on it. That purchase may seem a little odd for someone who wants to go relatively light and fast. The nights I spent on a lightweight 34 pad I was like a pig on a spit, rolling every time a side was ¢done¢. I'm willing to "spend" an extra 12 ounces on the pad.- David
Date: 2003-02-12
To: Pre-Trail Magic
Miles today: 0.0

What a start to my hike that hasn't even started yet. I've already experienced trail magic! I saw an ad from a 2002 thru-hiker, Arrow, who was selling the maps and guidebooks he used. I agreed to purchase them and got much more than I bargained for. All kind of goodies to get me going. Take a look at that picture!Arrow plans to do some trail magic when 2003 hikers get up to his home state. What a guy. - David
Date: 2003-02-26
To: Things to consider
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m still tryin¢ to make some decisions. Anybody out there with comments, please leave them in my guestbook. Later in this entry, I¢ll mention a few things I learned that I hope are helpful to other hikers, but first here are my concerns¢¦My dehydrator is out there working on pasta sauce, going on five hours now, and it¢s still pretty gummy. Is this as done as it gets? Will it keep if I vacuum seal it with a lot of moisture still in it?I¢d like to keep my journal up-to-date as possible, while minimizing the burden on my transcriber/wife. Has anybody compiled a list of places along the trail with Internet access? How are you hikers planning on getting photos posted? I¢m taking a digital camera and was planning on mailing compact flash cards home. Even if I take a USB cable, are the free-access PCs along the way gonna have the software needed to upload my pics? I posted some gear info in my gear section, but I¢d like to point out a few things here where they are more likely to be seen. Backpacker mag had a great tip on batteries. I bought Energizer e2 lithium ion AA batteries for my headlamp. They are much more expensive, but they¢re supposed to last as much as 5 times as long. Even better they are a lot lighter. Four regular AA¢s weigh 3.5 ounces. Four of these e2s weigh 2.1 ounces.The other piece of equipment that I¢m happy to have is my First Need water filter AND purifier. It purifies w/o chemicals. I¢ve had it with me on the trail on three short trips and have not seen another filter that pumps water near as fast.Last thing, I¢ve been thinking about a trail name. I¢ve considered AWOL (see my 1st entry), MaineMan, PUDslayer¢¦ or should I wait to be given one?David (for now)
Date: 2003-03-02
To: Planning my days
Miles today: 0.0

I started working on a day-by-day plan. I know it will change, but I need to know roughly where I¢ll be when, and I need to know that I¢m on pace to finish within the time I have (4 months).I¢ve been trying to factor in all kinds of variables, like making sure to hit recommended towns, hostels, and shelters; avoid places with negative reports; do the miles I need to do, and still hit mail drops and other re-supply points. I tried starting from Springer and picking spots that average about 18 miles apart. I didn¢t like the way that was working out. After a week of banging my head on these numbers, I think I found an approach to planning that I can handle given my limited mental capacity. First off, I¢m going to plan only the first half. I figure I¢ll come up with the second half as I go. Next, I went through the Thru-Hikers Handbook and picked out which resupply points I¢d like to use up to Harpers Ferry. The resupply points are Hostels, towns, or stores where I can get mail drops OR buy stuff. I plan to stay overnight at nearly every resupply point. Only a couple of spots I picked are more than a mile from the trail. I don¢t want to burn time hitching or walking into town. I noticed in the Handbook that many Hotels and Hostels will hold mail for hikers and I plan to use them more than Post Offices. I don¢t have to worry about P.O. hours or weekends ¢ and hostels/hotels are closer to the trail.   Hikers reading this, please tell me if there is a downside to having these places hold mail.The resupply points break the hike up into a bunch of little segments. I guess how many days each segment will take based on averaging about 18 miles a day.   The longest stretch was six days. Then I just go through each segment and pick shelters or campsites I¢m likely to stay at during that segment. I¢m also favoring shelters that are near the trail, that have water, and are away from roads.I won't plan any zero days. I'll just take them when I feel I need them. I¢ll post my half-trail plan after I work it a little more -- I don¢t have any stalkers that I know of.   Wanna guess how many days (hours?) I hike before I drop the plan and start winging it?
Date: 2003-03-26
To: Why?
Miles today: 0.0

The best measure of success in life is the amount of time that you spend doing what you enjoy doing. We all get influenced by money, by obligations (real and imagined), by convention, and by habit. It¢s good to step back and get philosophical about your life. We all have an allotment of days we¢ll spend on this earth. That time is our primary, most valuable asset. You could even say time is our only asset, ¢cause when it runs out, nothing else matters. People are too willing to dispose of their time for things less valuable.   They spend countless hours scheming to make or save an extra buck, they stay with spouses they don¢t like because of convention, they do things they¢ve always done out of habit, they limit activities to avoid expense, they spend time to cater to other people¢s expectations.   It¢s a bum deal to trade hours, days, years of your life on these things. Become miserly with your time.I don¢t endorse laziness. It would be simpleminded to say time is well spent watching TV and eating donuts because it is what we want to do.   We would pay later by wasting hours within bodies confined by layers of fat, with minds muddled by disuse. We are responsible for taking care of ourselves. I want to thru-hike because I expect it to be a great return on the hours I spend doing it. It is sure to provide me with memories that¢ll last a lifetime. I¢ll learn more about myself. I¢ll get in great shape. I¢ll live for months in open air, with beautiful scenery and critters. I¢ll run across an interesting assortment of people. Last year I had the motivation to try a thru-hike and asked for a leave of absence. Being turned down was depressing and enlightening. I realized I¢ve worked continuously for 17 years. I could be normal and continue reporting to a cube for 20 or more years, with a few days off sprinkled in. Four months is nothing in the larger scheme of things. I won¢t go broke. I value my time ¢ that is what I can¢t afford to lose.David
Date: 2003-04-25
From: Amicalola Falls Lodge

To: Big Stamp Gap
Miles today: 0.9

Day 1Today was my first day on the Appalachian Trail, and I've made it 0.9 miles from the first white blaze on top of Springer Mountain. Then I went back to the lodge and got a shower. Some bad-ass hiker I am!Before you give up on me, let me explain. I did walk the 8-mile long approach trail, and I started a day early. We drove until midnight on Thursday, so I could knock off the approach trail first, rather than having a 23 mile first day. This also allowed me to have a longer send-off with my family. Juli, Jessie, Rene and Lynn all came up with me and stayed at the Amicalola Lodge last night and tonight.The approach trail was shrouded with fog, and I saw no one until I got on top of Springer. Still haven't met another thru-hiker.You may know that it's customary to take a rock from Springer and carry it to Katahdin. I wasn't just going to grab any little pebble. I looked around for something suitable. I grabbed me a nice big rock with a hiker plaque attached.I say goodbye tomorrow and then the hike really begins.Thanks to everyone who signed my guestbook. I got four messages just before heading out - they really helped.
Date: 2003-04-26
From: Big Stamp Gap

To: Ramrock Mtn
Miles today: 17.6

Day 2Last night was troubling. After getting back to the lodge and walking around the falls I felt a twinge of pain on the outside of my right knee. I know it is a symptom of ITBFS ¢cause I had it last summer. It developed into severe pain, something I wouldn't be able to hike with. It's scary/depressing to potentially have a show-stopping condition right off the bat. I wondered if I should have Juli wait around to see if I'd have to stop. Took Ibuprophen and decided to see what I could do.Ate the breakfast buffet at Amicalola Lodge and weighed my pack. With water and enough food to get me to Neels Gap, I'll be carrying 33 pounds. I was hoping for lighter.Juli and the kids drive me back to the parking area at Big Stamp Gap. When I walk away from them now it may be four months until I see them again.Started walking at 10:30, slow and easy. No sign of pain and I¢m much more optimistic today. Tried to stick to my plan, but both Gooch Mtn and Gooch Gap shelters were full. Walked until 6:30 then stopped here, alone, sleeping under my tarp.Met only one other Thru-Hiker, Peter.As you can see from the miles, my knee pain got no worse. It was a long day, but I never hiked hard -- just went slow for a long time. Still not outta the woods, figuratively and literally.
Date: 2003-05-12
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Kale Gap
Miles today: 21.1

Day 18At Standing Bear last night I slept in a cabin built on a bridge over top of a stream. The sound was relaxing to sleep to, but it was cold.Just about a perfect day for hiking. Clear, cold enough to wear fleece when you're not moving, and a tee shirt while hiking. I hardly broke a sweat.This is a great section of trail with a lot of variety and nicely graded. For miles there were fields of white and pink trillium, mayapples, and a purple wildflower. There were two grassy balds, pine forests, mountain laurel blooming, rhododendron tunnels and many stream crossings.The wind was blowing strong all day and especially noticeable when going over the larger bald, Max Patch. I stumbled across it fighting the wind like a drunk trying to hold a straight line. Now it's trying to blow my tarp down. 3 miles back, I passed empty Roaring Fork Shelter to get 2 miles closer to Hot Springs and stay at Walnut Mountain Shelter. There were already 5 guys in the small shelter. They said they'd make room, but three of them were not interested in doing so and made no effort to tighten up.So here I am tarping a mile past Walnut Mtn Shelter. The only drawback to this section: old, small shelters.
Date: 2003-05-14
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Elmer's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Day 20My first zero-day was an interesting day. Talked to Elmer about this house (on the National Register of Historic Places) and soon I was fixing stuff. I got a free lunch and then had a chair to fix. By now it was obvious I wasn't gonna make it back to the trail.Went out to Elmer's organic farm so he could "show me the farm house" he is building. It was a trick. He put me to work there, too. I helped staff members Paul and Casey plant corn and butternut squash.Finally got the farm tour while Paul had me tasting every edible plant he could find: sourwood leaves (taste like citrus), cucumber plant (not a cucumber, but roots taste just like it), ramps (really strong onion), and chives.We loaded a malfunctioning tractor into the bed of the pickup, where Paul and I had sat on the ride to the farm. So I ended up riding back into town sitting in a tractor in the bed of a pickup. Wish I had a picture!Meanwhile some hikers caught up: Crossroads, Orlando Jack, Snail, Patience, Chris...nice to be turning around this afternoon to people calling "Awol!¢ like they're surprised to see me again.For my efforts I got three free meals, two nights stay, great experiences, and a rested knee.
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Erwin, TN

To: Greasy Creek Hostel
Miles today: 23.2

Day 25I headed out dispirited this morning. My zero-day wasn't what I wanted it to be, and I'm still nagged by assorted aches and pains.A toenail has broken loose, and causes me pain whenever it gets moved (every step). I wrapped a strip of duct tape around the toe to hold it down. That duct tape is staying there for weeks 'cause I'm afraid if I pull it off, the toenail will come with it.On the upside, spending the morning feeling sorry for myself occupied my mind while the miles went by. The weather was great today and I ate lunch on Beauty Spot, a bald mountain overlooking Erwin.Hundreds of crickets are in patches along the trail feeding on fallen leaves. When I wade through them the ground starts popping like black popcorn. A number of hikers are resuming their hikes after returning from Damascus, at the same point as I started today. Cherry Gap Shelter was the most reasonable distance to travel, but as one hiker I passed said "there's going to be 600 hikers there".I got to Cherry Gap at 4:45, a little late to do 7 more miles, but the weather was great and I went on.This hostel is off the beaten path, but I'm glad I came. The hot food and shower were exceptional after a long day. Owners of this place are very friendly.
Date: 2003-05-22
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 5.8

Day 28Raining again today, so I'm making a short day of it. I wanted to stop here anyway - this place is renown. Owner Bob Peoples just took us all to town so we could buy lunch and groceries.This is the cleanest, most well organized hostel so far. Shower, laundry, shuttle to town, use of the kitchen, and a place to sleep for the amazing price of $4.Some of the hikers I've met in the past few days: Tipperary, an Irish Priest who has lost 40 pounds; Spoon, a Brit who walks very fast but does short days; younger guys Backtrak and Superfly. Hung out with Tipperary and Spoon trying to get me ol' ahk-cent right.I've gone over 400 miles.
Date: 2003-05-31
From: Bland, VA

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 37I'll be off the trail for a few days. Today I got myself to the hospital in Wytheville to get my heel examined. The doctor cut off the scar tissue and¢¦I don't think you want to hear the rest.I was a fool to hike beyond Atkins, when I knew it was getting bad. I'm supposed to give it 4 days to heal, so I'm staying here in Wytheville. I'm doing back-in-the-real-world stuff; I bought food at a super Wal-Mart, saw Finding Nemo, ate at Ruby Tuesdays, drove a car for the first time in over a month.BTW: I weighed 156 at the hospital (the first reliable scale I've been on). That's a loss of 16 pounds since starting. I'll put some of that weight back on before hiking again.
Date: 2003-06-01
From: Wytheville, VA

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 38I¢m taking my medicine and staying off my foot. I tried driving to different locations where the trail meets the road to dole out snacks and sodas. I met Ken and Marcia who needed a ride and saw Ponch in Atkins. I didn't feel successful at doing trail magic. Something else I thought I'd mention while I have nothing to journal...I observed an interesting phenomena before taking this break. I've passed some slower hikers for the second time. I've passed them weeks ago, they are still going slow, and now I see them again. Other hikers have told me similar stories.There are more Rosie Ruiz hikers out here than I would have expected. Once again I say I believe in hiking your own hike. Yellow blazing down the AT is a great vacation. I'm fine with hikers who are open about hiking selected sections of the trail.But when yellow blazers try to maintain the pretense of a thru-hike, you are unable to have honest dialog with them. I don't want to have to be careful about conversing about the trail with them so as not to blow their facade or make them defensive.
Date: 2003-06-02
From: Wytheville, VA

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 39I'm ready to get back on the trail but dread stuffing my feet back into trail shoes. I've been lounging around in Waldies (rubber clogs).My trail shoes were Nike XCR Gore-Tex, with Superfeet inserts. I wonder if the inserts contributed to my heel blisters, cause they have narrow, high-rimmed heel cups. The Nikes did not fall apart and kept out casual water, but they let water in during steady rain and I got blisters and foot bruises.I drove to Blacksburg, checked out a bunch of shoes, and settled on Asolo 55 Fusion GTX. We'll see if they help.PS: Thanks to Arrow (AT 2002) for the trail magic!
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Wytheville, VA

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 40This is my last day of being a slacker. I really wanted to head out, but the area on my heel where the skin was removed hasn't closed completely. Waking up to rain and a forecast for thunderstorms made it an easy decision to stay put.This was an important break in my hike. I will return feeling absolutely certain that I want to finish this trail. And I realize that I have to take better care of myself to make it happen. I won't push to make miles, even if it causes me to extend my self-imposed 4-month schedule.
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Daleville, VA

To: Mills Gap Overlook
Miles today: 19.9

Day 49This was the best day of my trip. Juli and my girls flew in for a visit. I hiked with my pack but I took only what I needed for the day so I did the miles in only 7.5 hours. The trail was very easy, too.When the family got in, we all drove back to the Homeplace Restaurant, since I missed it on my way through Catawba. Great food, but I ate too much.
Date: 2003-06-13
From: Mills Gap Overlook

To: Bearwallow Gap
Miles today: 1.8

Day 50Jessie, Rene, and Lynn walked with me for this bit of the trail. We brought food and drinks in the car and were able to do a little trail magic for Bad Ass Turtle and Footslogger, Ballou (seated), Rumbler, Skidmark and 4-legged Frodo, Beth, and Jersey.Went back to the Witchers (Odd Couple AT 2002) for hours of entertainment for the kids on their trampoline and a spaghetti dinner. The Witcher kids (Cascade and Rockslide) thru-hiked last year at the ages of 11 and 8. Thanks to the Witchers for all they did for me during our stay in Daleville!
Date: 2003-06-17
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 19.4

Day 54Rain again today! I was low on energy this morning, maybe because of the weather. The 2000-foot climb right off the bat was not easy for me. The last two days I got soaked early, so I get chilled at higher elevation if I stop walking. Today my hands were so numb with cold that I could hardly open food wrappers.That's just one more thing not to like about rain...I take less breaks from walking because I get cold if I stop, I don't want to sit on wet ground, and I can't take pictures or see anything to take a picture of. Late in the day I walked some new trail that was a red clay muddy mess. I slid on every step and my shoes popped when I lifted my foot. It adds to the effort.I crossed another dam, this one for the Lynchburg reservoir. There were large scenic creeks running down into the reservoir that the trail followed for miles.I ended up in town because I failed to plan out my food. I would have to do three really long days into Rockfish gap, or run short on food. Since the weather is not conducive to long days, I hitched into here to resupply and dry out.I saw father-and-son section hikers waiting for a ride at the Blue Ridge Parkway half way through my day. They were cutting their hike short by two days. I made my first (unsuccessful) attempt to Yogi some food, by talking about my plans and my need to get to town for more food.
Date: 2003-06-19
From: Priest Shelter

To: Humpback Rocks
Miles today: 21.5

Day 56Most of my day was spent going down from Priest Mountain to the Tye River (below 1000') and back up to 4000'. It was rocky. And it rained. It was a light, inconsequential rain. I didn¢t leave the shelter until 9 am to avoid the heavier rain.This day was as hard as anything in Georgia. Hikers, don't expect to fly through Virginia.Knats, flies, and black flies are bugging me. You should see the flock buzzing me now as I write this on top of Three Ridges. Knats have flown into my eyes, nose, and mouth...which gives me an idea:If I ate 3 knats today without trying, I could probably suck in a couple dozen if I put forth a little effort. If all hikers consumed a few dozen knats a day, would the knats be eliminated? At least they may leave us alone, if they feared us as predators.I didn't feel strong and every section I walked took longer than expected. It was late, about 8:30 pm when I finally set up my tarp. I planned to tarp because there was a 16-mile stretch between shelters in the range where I wanted to stop.
Date: 2003-06-24
From: Big Meadows

To: Thorton Gap
Miles today: 17.6

Day 61I saw two more bears today, about an hour apart. The first just loped away about 20 yards and stared at me from behind the bushes. I got a couple of pictures but he made me feel uneasy. The next one was walking along on rocks about 100 feet downhill from the trail, and ran off when he saw me.Today was another cloudless day, rocky with many overlooks. Rocky trails always make your feet feel like they're on fire by the end of the day.I scored a hat trick on meals. I had breakfast at Big Meadows restaurant, lunch at Skyland, and spaghetti dinner at my friend's house. Scott Strand, my college roommate picked me up at Thorton Gap (Panorama) and I am staying with him and his family here in Culpeper, VA. Scott and Carolyn, thanks for everything!
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Bench South of Ashby Gap
Miles today: 17.4

Day 64There is this park bench sitting at the intersection of the AT and a side trail to Sky Meadows State Park, and this is the only flat piece of land I could find since leaving Dicks Dome Shelter. I'm tarping 'cause once again there was no shelter around the distance I wanted to do today. Tarping can be unnerving because you can walk for miles while the sun is falling and not see any flat, cleared areas. The ground here is packed dirt inlaid with pebbles - hard to get a stake into - but I figure it's no harder than a shelter floor.Even having all afternoon in town yesterday I wasn't prepared to get back to the trail this morning. I have a better appreciation for zero days now than I did before starting the hike. When I get into town there is always so much I need (and want) to do while I can. Last night I was up late seeing a movie and calling home, so I woke tired. By the time I ate, packed and got a ride back to the trail it was 10 am.I had no energy for the first climb, and just wanted to go back to the comfortable hotel bed and sleep. It's a good thing the terrain wasn't too tough, cause I never did get any spunk in me today.At Manassas Gap I stop to adjust socks on my hurting feet and it starts sprinkling. I have to unload most of my gear to get my pack cover and rain jacket. I just didn't want to have to do it. Why did I leave town?I leap-frogged with Ken and Marcia all day. Also saw No-Hear-Um and Elwood.