morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: N.O.C. 
Miles today: 23.0

Saturday, day 14 of my trip and I am up by 7:00. After Gabbie Art and I watch the sunrise we both decide to break camp without eating and go to a picnic area about 1.5 miles down the mtn at Wayah Gap. I eat my poptarts, again they are nothing but crumbs, they just aren't holding up in my pack too well. It is mostly uphill from here to Wayah Bald where I have lunch but I don't even seem to notice it today. The views from the observation tower on top of Wayah Bald include most of what I have been hiking for the past few days. You can see Albert Mtn, Deep Gap and Siler Bald, now I feel like I am getting somewher, to actually see where we have come from and how far it is across the landscape. Simply speechless. Again I take pictures but I know that they won't do the view justice. After a lunch of 4 beefsticks and gatorade I'm off down the trail again just as Pippin, casey, Katie, and Jolly Time arrive. I reach Cold Spring Shelter by 3:00, took off my shoes, ate a milkway, drank some gatorade and I feel so good I decide to hike on, even though I have already done 12.1 miles and it is another 5.8 miles to Wesser Bald Shelter. Arrivng to Wesser Bald Shelter by 5:30 and yes I decide to press on again knowing it is at least 4.9 miles to the next shelter. I figure I can tent camp somwhere if I can't make it. But make it I do to A.Rufus Morgan Shelter where it is only 3.7 more miles to the N.O.C. and it is all downhill. I'm feling pretty damn good what the hell I decide to go for it. At 8:00 I arrive at the N.O.C. where I find it is closed! Which presents a problem, because I can't hike on, I have a maildrop I need to get here, and I sure don't want to go back up that Mountain I just came down. Well low and behold my first trail magic, I run into and meet "Ranger" an older gentleman who is also thru-hiking and has an extra bunk in his room for me to sleep in! Great, I follow him to the room and start to settle in for the night, but wait a minute he says there is showers and laundry in the next building. So I get my laundry done while I take a shower, just couldn't have worked out any better. Rangr can't believe I hiked 23 miles to get here, and quite frankly neither can I. Everyone he introduces me to, he tells them how far I have come today. Everyone seems genuinely impressed. After making myself dinner in the community kitchen I go to back to my bunk for the night. What a day, 23 miles! a new personal best almost 10 miles more than the previous record!
Date: 2004-04-18
From: N.O.C. 

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

Yes I was lucky yesturday, running into "Ranger" because I got a place to stay with a bunk for free. Yes my feet are hurting, after doing 23 miles yesturday. I will be taking some 'Vitamin I'(Ibuprofen) this morning before heading out. In the community kitchen I make Oatmeal for breakfast while I wait for the outfitter to open, which is where my first maildrop is waiting.Down at the Outfitters an employee tells me my maildrop box is up the stairway to my right, where I find a large pile of 45 or so boxes, all thru-hiker maildrops! I have to go through them one by one til I find mine. I don't recognise any of the names, all are addressed to real names and not trail names and virtually no one out here knows anybodys real name. Picking out the best of what I have left and the best of what is in the mail drop I resupply my backpack to get me to the Fontana Inn, which is only 2 hiking days away (approx.30 mies). I also start sending home anything I can to lighten my load. I call home and talk to Janice (my wife),let her know that the first maildrop went just fine , no problems. By 9:15am I am out and hiking or should I say climbing. Everyone that has hiked the trail knows that going north out of the N.O.C. is a 6 mile climb up and up and up. I take it slow and easy, after the first hour or two my feet start to warm up and actually stop yelling so loud. After 5 hours I make it to Sassafrass Gap Shelter where I intend to stay for the night. 6 miles in 5 hours, slow, but at least I didn't take a zero today. It is a pretty nice shelter, 2 levels, skylight, overhang, water close by, and a privy. Reading the register I find out that "Stickman" "Puckfin", and "Rooney Tunes" were just here and I am starting to catch/meet a whole new bunch of people. Most are going on to the top of Cheoah Bald for the night, just 1.2 miles further (all up). I'm tempted to go up there to join the masses but there is already more people going up there than there is space at the top of Cheoah Bald to camp. Seth, Ladybug, RadioFlyer, Loon, Jeremiah, Don;t Mind, Don't Matter, Mike, Phoenix, and Morning Star all passed through. (Jeremiah and Loon are hiking in the dark to Cheoah) "Ranger" shows up and I share my dinnner of Stove Top Stuffing with him. I fall quickly to sleep after laying down, one of the few times I get a good nights sleep in a shelter.
Date: 2004-01-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My partner wrote me yesterday and told me she would be unable to make the hike. We've been planning together for about 5 months. You can imagine this was a blow.Couple things... In truth, I am not displeased about doing this hike alone. On the flip side, Joanne had become a part of my vision of how the hike would be, and she is important to me and I'm concerned for her. Some elaboration...When I made the decision to take on a partner, it was for very specific reasons. First, my family was very concerned about me going alone, even though I explained to them that at least for the first half of the hike, if I broke a leg or something I wouldn't be out there for more than an hour or three before another hiker came along. Second, as I said in my last entry, I wanted to share gear weight - seemed like it'd be nice to split the tent and stove and pots and such. I also thought it'd be nice to share camp responsibilities - having help with the tent, letting someone make dinner while the other hauls water from the nearest source, that sort of thing. I also thought that, dispite my extremely solitary nature, that there would be moments I'd want to share with someone important to me. At the same time I was hesitant about taking a partner, also for very specific reasons. I didn't want to be responsible to or for anyone. I didn't want to have to compromise about anything at all on the trip of a lifetime - you can't always HYOH when you're hiking with someone else. I didn't want to be around someone all day either, but my partner and I both agreed that we'd hike at our own pace and just sort of meet up a couple times a day, so that wasn't really an issue. I also knew that at any time I wanted company I could seek it out, as overcrowded as the trail is, and that I would run into the same faces at the end of every day who would become a family I could reach out to. In the end I made the decision to go with someone else, but it was more for my family than for me. So in a way it's a relief to suddenly find myself going alone, which is the choice I'd have made if I was contending only with myself. The problem here, of course, is how close I've gotten to Jo over the last half year, and how much she's come to be a part of my vision and expectations of the trail. None of the negatives about having a partner felt like negatives with her. None. I am also very concerned about her reasons. We were both very, very committed to taking this trip. She has some ties in the real world that didn't sever as cleanly as she'd anticipated, and this has led to her feeling like she can't go. I can respect that, and I won't ever pressure her, but I wish I could be confident she was making the choice for all the right reasons. I wish I could be confident that she wouldn't regret not going for the rest of her life. I wish she'd at least said, "I'll do it some other time." So now I guess I'll keep a careful journal and take lots of pictures, so she can at least have that. I'll be hiking with her the whole time, even if she's not there. Maybe she can come summit Katahdin with me.
Date: 2004-02-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I finished my mail drop planning today. This was quite the process - thank god for Wingfoot! I think I may be making more mail drops than anybody else going for the 2004 thru hike This probably has a lot to do with me being a vegetarian, which I'd mentioned before (I think), and not wanting to have to hope to find food I can eat and not be sick of at the local grocers.At some point, I'll throw up some recipies. I've got about 2 dozen different dinners and about a dozen different breakfasts, so I shouldn't ever get sick of anything. Lunch will always be a mystery. Probably a lot of PB&J, and home made GORP with all my favorite stuff in it (interestingly enough, no peanuts). This all results in a grand total of.... FORTY drops! Oddly enough, those 40 drops only translate to 27 nights spent in towns for any reason. For money's sake, I'm only staying in a hotel when I have to, which is exactly four times (and some of them are as little as $15 to $20 for thru-hikers). Of course, as always, all this may change, but it LOOKS good, anyway. Taking my sweet time through NH and ME and anticipating about a dozen no-hike days, it'll be almost exactly 6 months. This will probably change too. I've never hiked more than a week at a time, so what do I know about comfortable pacing on a journey like this? Meh, I'll take it as it comes. Will begin posting my mail drop schedule in the journal, but that might take a while to finish.Read some other journals online today. Looked at a lot of pictures. Broke into tears every time I saw someone standing at the top of Katahdin. Do guys do that too, or is it just a girl thing? Or just a ME thing? I've never been so happy.
Date: 2004-02-08
To: Mail Drop Mysteries!
Miles today: 0.0

Curiously enough, when I entered my mail drop info into the Trail Journals drop section, I lost 12.3 miles somewhere. MY thru-hike is, apparently, only 2160.3 miles Ironically, I can't count either. I have 39 mail drops, not 40. Man, does that seem like a lot. Aside from the availability of vegetarian options, I also took into consideration never wanting to carry more than 10 pounds of food, and that if I was passing within half a mile of someplace, even if I'd picked up mail 2 or 3 days ago, that I might as well stop. I mean, why not, it's right there, and that's 2 days where my pack weighs 4 pounds less (or 3 days where it weighs 6 pounds less, or whatever). 21 of my drops are within half a mile of the trail or less. Woot :-P 21 of my drops are also at private businesses, so I don't have to get there during postal operating hours (or days). Probably not the same 21. I feel sort of bad sending packages to hotels and not staying there... at least at the outfitters I'll be buying denatured alcohol.I was planning on a bounce box. It seems nuts to send it to myself 39 times. I guess I'll have to work on paring that down. Since it'll have my town clothes and a bathing suit, maybe I'll just send it to the towns where there's hot tubs. I can't believe how many towns have public hot tubs along the trail. Can you send apple pie through the mail?
Date: 2004-02-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It's like Christmas this week! I keep getting all these new toys in the mail. With the dearth of reasonable outfitters in the area, I've had to order all my equipment online. Spent those countless hours doing the research and now I'm at the fun part - trying it all out! Unfortunately it's freezing out, and my rain gear isn't here yet. Thinking about Frogg Toggs, but still haven't made up my mind. I think I will have more pre-hike entries than any sane person should. I found this site that sells random vegetarian assortments of Backpacker Pantry foods for super cheap (www.sierratradingpost.com). You can't pick your stuff, but you get 5 breakfasts, 5 dinners, 5 sides and 5 desserts for something like $37. I got 3 assortments and they came today. It's the same assortment each time, so don't go nuts (you'll get REALLY sick of the same 5 meals!), but at that price it's cheap enough to be a nice diversion or treat every few days. My alcohol stove came today, so I'm going to try cooking one of them that I'm not sure I'll like on the new stove today, in my new pot, with my new pot cozy I'll probably light my face on fire.Well, that's it. 4 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours and counting!
Date: 2004-03-16
From: Stover Creek Shelter, GA

To: Sassafrass Mountain
Miles today: 9.0

Went from Stover Creek Shelter to the top of Sassafrass Mt., 9 miles ending with a brutal 1 mile climb. I felt nauseous the second I stopped moving and went to bed without supper and without seeing the sunset I'd climbed the extra distance to see (this entry was written the 17th). Woke up 30 minutes later to artillery fire! There's a big military presence here - they train army rangers in these mountains. Luckily I woke to the back half of the sunset. Unluckily, even though I hung my food bag on a provided bear cable at Stover Creek, the acrobatic mice chewed a hole in it and ate a day's worth of GORP. I ended the night waking up about 5 seperate times, each time treated to a 360 degree panoramic view of the most brilliant stars I've ever seen. Breathtaking!Exposed at the top of the mountain, sans tent (whenever I can, so I can see the stars) in 35 degree weather and 20 mph winds, I didn't find the inspiration to get out of my sleeping bag until 10am! I was camped so close to the trail, other hikers have teased me all day about having to step over me.
Date: 2004-03-17
From: Sassafrass Mountain

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Took it easy today. Went 5.7 miles to Gooch Gap. There's a shelter 1.7 miles back where maybe 30 people stayed. Too crowded! At the Gap is unnoficial camping with lots of open field and a good view of the skies. 14 of us found the place. I have met some really fantastic people. Even cursed one guy with a teasing trail name - Blue Eyes - though he hates it and says its too girly. For the people at the Gap, though, it's sort of stuck. He has, as you might guess, the most fantastic blue eyes. If you want him to like you, though, call him Scott We lit a big fire in the fire ring and all sat around talking for about two hours - it's after 8pm and way past my bedtime! If there's one thing I've all ready learned, its that hikers seem to sleep about 10 to 12 hours a night. Maybe its because we're all waking up a thousand times.I still can't believe I'm doing this. I'm making a lot of personal victories - one step further, one mile more - than I ever felt possible and I feel on top of the friggin world. My feeet hurt, my legs hurt, my back hurts, I wore the same socks for 2.5 days (If you know me, you know what a big deal that is!) and I couldn't be happier. I have stopped asking myself what I'm doing out here.I leave you today with this perspective on the trail. I don't always feel this way, but sometimes it's a very exciting mindset to be in: Every Big Up is a thing to be conquered. Every Big Down is a thing to be endured. Every flat, no matter how short, is a thing to be cherished. Each is a thing to be enjoyed and loved.
Date: 2004-03-21
From: Bagg's Creek Gap

To: Chatahooche Gap
Miles today: 11.5

Christ, it's cold! Went to bed last night without a cloud in the sky at 6:30. Woke up at 8:30 to some seriously menacing thunder. Got up, waterproofed my camp, and waited. Man that was one bad storm! And me on top of a mountain, in an open walled tent, listening to 40mph winds and lightning so close there was no delay on the thunder. Exciting, but scary.Was so windy this morning I had trouble breaking camp. Couldn't feel my fingers. Woke at 6:30 and didn't start hiking till 8:30. Didn't make Blue Mt Shelter, but did go almost 11.5 miles to Chatahooche Gap. Met up with Kat and met Largo, and we're tenting together on a sheltered ledge. Largo and I spent some time comparing gear - he's threatened more than once to steal my sleeping bag while I'm sleeping All day today we had gale force winds. Hard enough to blow down trees and make you sway. Where we tented tonight depended far more on if it was sheltered from the wind than on if there was available water! Cold, too. Hiking in weather like that really wears you down.I stopped for a late lunch at Low Gap SHelter (ran into Welsh Nomad there) at around 1:30, and took my boots off and lied down. It took more willpower than I knew I had not to stay there - instead I gutted out the freezing hurricane for another 5.5 miles. I'm glad I did. NOw it's about 15 degrees out, and I am wearing everything I own. I even cooked and ate dinner in my tent and sleeping bag! Mmmm... so lazy.Unfortunately, the best spot I could find was on a slant, so my tent is pitched at an angle. Because the floor's so slippery, I keep sliding to the edge. Hope between the sliding and the cold that I can sleep tonight.I'm feeling much better now with hot food and good company and all my miles behind me, but this morning was very rough both physically (stupid wind and PUDs!) and mentally. Got a little better after lunch, but I've so far never been so happy to see 8 sheltered feet of reasonably level ground to put my tent on. Hopefully tomorrow I'll catch up to Jane. Off to sleep now.
Date: 2004-03-22
From: Chatahooche Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

Didn't sleep hardly at all last night - went down to 10 degrees and I FROZE! Woke early and was on the trail by 8:15. Ran into Welsh Nomad, but still no Jane. Welsh's husband Andrew - Trail Angel Extraordinaire - was shuttling hikers out of Unicoi Gap for free while waiting for Welsh. I had to stop at Blue Mountain Shelter to cook breakfast (was too cold to cook when I woke up, but Largo, God bless him, boiled me water for cocoa.) Also had to use hot water to defrost my bite valve tubing, which froze solid. After the shelter I hiked down to meet Andrew and went into HIawassee with him and Welsh. Only went 4.4 miles, but was too cold and tired to do anything else. Even in town I didn't warm up for hours - think I may have been hypothermic.Went to the library to use the internet, then to the Hiawassee Inn to get a room for the night - I NEEDED a warm bed! If you share with 3 others, the hiker rate is $20 each. Figured I'd hang in the lobby and ask people as they came in if they wanted to share, but I saw CHef Paul's name in the register and knocked on his door. Ranger was there, too! I spent the night with them - we stayed up till midnight talking about everything and giggling like schoolgirls. It was Chef Paul's last night on the trail - he had to go home to his famil and gear company Etowah. Look it up - the guy makes quality stuff! Glad I Saw him before he left, but didn't get to say goodbye, so I'll say it here. Hope all is well with you, Chef Paul!
Date: 2004-03-23
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Rocky Mountain Summit
Miles today: 1.3
Weather: clear sky

This morning I slept in till 9 and went to a buffet breakfast with friends. The motel shuttled us in but we had to walk back - a pleasant 2-and-change mile walk through a beautiful town. Stopped at Rite Aid on the way back for some Ibuprofin - the tendons in my right knee are a little swollen and painful.Washed my clothes in the bathtub and hung my tent to dry - I packed it yesterday full of ice on the inside!Was hoping to make Tray Mountain Shelter today (5.2 miles up one of the meanest hills in GA) but couldn't get out of town till 4:30! Used the time to call friends and family and eat bad chinese food. Only had 1.5 hours of real daylight left by the time I got back to the trail head, so I basically had an imposed zero day. Relaxing, though. Only went 1.3 miles to the top of Rocky Mountain.Newt ponders - is there anything crueller to a hiker than a false summit? The answer, by the way, is yes - MULTIPLE CONSECUTIVE false summits.Well, it's 7:30 and I'm freezing again. Time to go to bed. For the record, the Thermarest Pro-Lite 3 is NOT warm enough for 3 season hiking, despite it's claim. The cold is coming up right through the ground. I guess you have to take into consideration that, even in the south, 3 season hiking will involve plenty of below-freezing nights. Spend the extra $10 and the extra 4 ounces and get the Pro Lite 4 - I would have if they'd had it in stock at Neel's Gap, and I'll be exchanging the 3 for the 4 when I get to their second store at Rainbow Springs.
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Made pretty good time from Deep Gap Shelter to Dicks Creek Gap - hit the trail at 8am and was trying to get a hitch 3.5 miles away at 10am. Took us a while to get out of there, but around 10:30 a truck stopped and put me, INtents, Dad-O, Kate and Brian in the back.Got to town, ate the best pizza I've ever had outside the tri-state area, and went back to the Hiawassee Inn. Again, a ton of my friends were there.Spent a liesurly daybathing, doing laundry, bathing, reading the book Shelly sent me, and bathing. Even watched an hour of the Simpsons! Went to bed at 11:30 (wanted to get my David Duchovny fix at midnight but couldn't keep my eyes open!) and slept in late, till 10am.I'm discovering that every night I spend in town is like a zero day, because I only hike a half day in and a half day out. But this time my knee really needed a reast and it was nice to have so much free time. When you're hiking you'd think you'd have all the free time in the world, but the truth is that it's virtually impossible to think about anything at all for very long. It's not even like watching where you put your feet demands so much concentration (though you'd better pay attention or you'll hurt yourself for sure!), but it's like... I don't know, I can't explain it. Sometimes I'll fixate on one thought, like a song or a scene in my book, and play it over and over again for hours. And sometimes I'll try to work out some new thought or concept and have my thoughts derail every five minutes. Sustained concentration on any one thing really is impossible, which is quite a surprise, since what you're doing is so fundamentally mindless. And yet, there's a lot going on beneath the surface... I kind of like the way Corey put it, which was to call it Exercise Meditation.
Date: 2004-03-26
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today I packed up, bathed again for the sheer hell of it, and went to the library to check my email and enter in my first week of journal entries. Ran into Welsh Nomad and Andrew again, and rode back to the Gap with them. Didn't get back till 2pm, and did NOT feel like hiking. Only went 4.5 miles today to Plum Orchard Gap Shelter. It took forever! 3.5 hours of what felt like ENDLESS ups. It was also very very hot today. Luckily I grabbed my sunhat out of my bounce box yesterday.Also bought a patellar strap yesterday, which seemed to help a lot. I know today was a short day but I had virtually no pain and only took Ibuprofin once.NOw it's about 6:30 (bought a new watch!) and it's still warm enough to hang around with my socks off. So insanely buggy though that I'm writing from my tent. Tonight was the first night I actually finished my dinner, but I think it had something to do with skipping lunch.Gonna read now for a while and go to bed early - North Carolina tomorrow and the climbs are punishing. Yay, new state!