morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2002-11-30
To: Turkey Creek Hot Springs, New Mexico
Miles today: 0.0

This trip was an adventure to say the least, and I learned a lot! The first night we arrived at the Gila Wilderness, we car camped off a forest road. We made the mistake of setting our tent up in a wash. I know what you're thinking, and no, we did not get carried away in a rain storm. But it did rain. The washes were so dry though it soaked up the water and it didn't rain much anyway. What we didn't know was that water isn't the only thing that travels down the washes. So does the cold wind! For the first time I got cold in my sleeping bag. Won't do that again!The next day we were meeting four other people at another section of the Gila Wilderness and we were going to hike to Turkey Hot Springs. We arrived at the trialhead, the four of us, and started hiking. I had no difficulty crossing the Gila River three times, but I fell in Turkey Creek! I was trying to rock hop and one of the rocks turned over. I was soaked, but my pack stayed dry. I felt like a turtle on its back when I fell! Banged my leg up pretty good, but made it to camp, met the other four people, set up our tents, then hiked another mile+ to the hot springs. This part was difficult, as I believe we lost the trail several times. What occured to me after we got there was we would have to hike back in the dark! Only two people brought lights! The hike back was actually easier. We had a different leader, Hanna, who was great and we actually stuck to the trail a little better and avoided so many creek crossings. I did, however, bang my knee on a rock when I was coming back from using the bathroom in the dark! We all survived the trip back and I slept very well! I learned I will never hike in the dark again unless the trail is easy, has no water crossings, and I have my own headlamp! Oh, did I mention five of the people I was with got naked in the hot springs? I had only met four of them hours earlier. The weirdest part is, I didn't care and it didn't seem strange! I could write so much more about this trip, but...Question - why must I do so many things wrong first in order to learn so much? Mary
Date: 2002-12-17
To: none
Miles today: 0.0

I've been thinking about something a running coach said to a group of us who were training for a marathon. It was so simplistic and made so much sense. I think it applies to hiking the trail as well. The coach's name is Randy Acetta and he influenced me in more ways than he will ever know. I am still a runner 3 years later because of him and I hope he reads at least this entry.He said to those of us in the group that in order to complete a marathon, you have to propel yourself in some sort of forward motion for 26.2 miles. That's it. That's all you have to do. Sounds easy, doesn't it? So to complete the AT, I have to propel myself in a forward motion wearing a 30-35 pound pack for 2,171 miles. Wait a minute. Just doesn't sound the same. I still think the overall idea applies. Thanks Randy.Can't wait until I get a trail name so I can stop signing my entries "Mary". Mary
Date: 2005-10-27
To: Over two years
Miles today: 0.0

It has been over two years since I thru-hiked and while there have been days that go by when I don't think of the trail, there haven't been any recently. I think of it daily and I seem to remember only the good stuff. Even when I remember something that made me miserable at the time, I look at if fondly now and realize it was all part of the experience. I am still teaching in Tucson, AZ working with students with disabilities and helping them with their job placements. But I am restless. I thought that hiking this trail would make me settle down. Instead, it opened a big can of worms! There is so much out there to see and do. There is so much I want to see and do. There are trails to hike and countries to see. I have no desire anymore to own a home and am considering selling most of my possessions. They seem like a burden.A few people have inquired about my dog, Oscar. He is now at least 16 years old and is blind and deaf. He has been in kidney failure for over a year and still gets excited about treats, rawhide, and going for a walk. He can't get on the couch anymore, so I sit in the floor a lot. He doesn't jump up and down when I get home anymore, but he wags his tail so hard his whole rear end wiggles, so I guess he still likes me. He is a trooper, but he is declining and I am profoundly sad about that. Someday I may hike this trail again. Hopefully in a dry year! But there are other territories to explore first. This summer I hope to travel to Spain to hike the Camino de Santiago. I'll keep a journal online so start looking at the end of May on this website for that journal. I hope by writing this I can sleep tonight. My mind is so full of thoughts at night I believe I have insomnia. I am restless and feeling the need to move on!
Date: 2006-05-17
To: Goodbye Oscar
Miles today: 0.0

It has been two and a half years since I finished the trail in Sept. of 2003. I still think of it every day. Many people have commented on my signature "Goodnight Oscar" at the end of most of my journal entries. I had to have Oscar put to sleep on March 28th. His kidneys finally quit, he was totally blind and almost totally deaf. He was a great sport until the last day and he finally gave up. He was probably 17 years old and he and I had 15 great years together. I miss him terribly. I am currently in the process of preparing to hike the Camino de Santiago in Spain this summer, then I move to Kuwait to teach for two years. I will have a website which I'll add to this entry later. I'm selling most of my stuff and finding it very liberating. I leave May 30th for Spain and have my Camino de Santiago journal on this website also. I hope you'll check it out.Goodbye Oscar.
Date: 2003-03-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well here it is! MARCH! I can hardly beleive it! Getting all the detailed preparations taken care of is a bit intimidating, still trying to figure out what to do with my condo argh....Today is also my last official day as an eBay employee. I am currently sitting at my soon to be ex-desk waiting for them to distribute the ever sought after final check and free lunch. I have been reading up on other peoples journals who are already on the trail, trying to get a feel for what I can expect from the trail. I spent my first night in my tent on saturday night. It was a bit cold, so a few kinks to work out on that end. I have just about all of my gear packed in my backpack and ready to go on my training hikes. Dusty (the dog trainer) says that the dogs are doing good and should be great for the trail (I HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT DUSTY!!!). My practice hikes start tomorrow first thing when I get up in the morning. I guess thats it for now. :) Shannon
Date: 2003-03-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today was great! I went on my first real training hike with a full pack, walking poles etc. Cade came and had her pack 1/2 full it seems the trick to making it balance on her back is to make sure each side weighs exactly the same (this isn't as easy as it seems). I choose a hike that was mostly up. I didn't think I was going to do well, but this was the first time I have ever hiked by myself and hiked at my own pace. It was amazing how easy it was once I actully set the pace for myself. To often I am with friends and I feel the need to hike faster just to keep up. It was also my first time using poles and they worked out wonderfully. I think they really contributed to an increase in my hiking speed. I met Dusty around 1:00 and went on a training hike with Cade and Dylan... It was the first time I had seen Dylan in 2 weeks. Dusty has really whipped him into shape. He is much easier to handle and is paying much better attention. Dusty was really impressed with their custom sleeping bags and their RuffWear backpacks (I think they're pretty cool myself). Dylan came home with us, we'll do another hike tomorrow with both dogs and see how we do without Dusty. Now just need to figure out the condo and a plane ticket and I should be all set!
Date: 2003-03-08
To: continuing the prep
Miles today: 0.0

Hi All, Well I am now officially done with my first real training week. I hiked every day including today (2 days with a pack 3 days without) I have also made it to they gym 3 days this week and of course have been walking the dogs on top of that. Today I hiked with Shawn in the am. There was a beutiful view (should have been able to see the ocean but it was too foggy) at the top with a herd of deer and a wild turkey making noise in the background. I spent the rest of the day getting trying to wrap up last minute paper work around the house (ie. buying my plane ticket to GA and calling the accountant to see where my taxes are) and getting ready for tomorrows AT send off party...........I'm being interrupted, Cade insists on going out right this second so thats it for now....:) Shannon
Date: 2003-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So much to do so little time!!! I had the greatest party with my friends on Saturday. We rented a bounce house, BBQ'd and got rowdy. It was great, my friends are the best!! It was nice having an opportunity to talk to everyone individually about my trip and all the support they offered was really motivating. Colleen brought me a book "A Journey North" by Adrianne Hall. I spent most of yesterday reading it and highly recommend it. Melanie went out and bought a piece of material and a bunch of permenant markers and fabric paint, everyone signed it.... it was SOOO NICE! I'm going to carry it on my trip. I also decided to carry a hammock instead of a tent. This way the dogs can sleep under me with shelter, but I wont have to worry about them messing up my sleeping bag. It also reduced my pack weight by 4 lbs!I still need to get everything packed up and together so I can find out what my exact pack weight is, but have been hiking with it mostly full and it feels great. I feel like the few pounds that will be added with additional water, food and fuel will be manageable. I am really itching to get out there which is making it hard to focus on the loose ends at home, like packing up my condo so that Amy will have a nice organized (mostly empty) place to move into. But things are coming together and I think everything should be good to go. Ryan met with Warner Entertainment on Tuesday and a deal looks promising. I know if he doesnt sign with Warner, someone will sign him and he will do great. He has been working so hard tho, that I hope this deal works out for him. The journey is approaching and I must go prepare!:) Shannon
Date: 2003-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well here we are, the Friday before I leave. This week has gone by so quickly. I have managed to spend time with almost everyone that I wanted to, it has made for an extremely busy week! On wednesday I met Laura. She is another thru hiker who lives nearby. We met at Mt. Diablo for a nice easy hike. Nothing too strenuos. We were supposed to just meander along a creek until we got to some falls, somehow we managed to take a wrong turn and ended up hiking this incredibly steep hill. We felt like Katadin should be a walk in the park in comparison, seriously... if it had been any steeper, we would have needed rock climbing shoes and a rope!! Everyone has continued to be SOO supportive! Amy came over one day to help me start to box things up, and then yesterday Shawn was so amazing, he helped me get rid of my nasty futon. (I have been dreading the actual removal of this thing for months!)... but he just loaded it up in his truck and took it to a donation center for me (WHAT A HUGE STRESS RELIEF!!!). He spent most of the afternoon at my place helping move crap around and pack up boxes. It is such a relief to feel like progress has actually been made. All the other little odds and ends are coming together (finally), taxes are done, dogs have been to the vet, all gear has been purchased and packed and re-packed. I FINALLY have arrangements for the night I arrive in Atlanta. I will be picked up at the airport, shuttled to my accomodations for the evening and then shuttled to Amicalola Falls in the moring by Tom Raymond. What a great guy! He even offered to ship the dogs kennels to my brother for me so that we dont have to go running all around town. Well, time is a tickin better get a move on... Amy is getting married today and I must get ready! (Long story...):) Shannon
Date: 2003-03-24
To: The final countdown
Miles today: 0.0

Well... here we are, my last day at home before I leave for the trail. Had my final day with the ski team on saturday. Those kids are soooo cute! We all worn Hawian Shirts and the little kids had thier race. The parents also had a race with their kids where we combined their times to determine the winner, then we BBQ'd on the mountain. It was a lot of fun. Saturday night the parents took all of the coaches out to a FABULOUS dinner at a little cafe near the resort. All the drinking, eating and uh "dancing" you could endure. Stayed there til we got kicked out by the owner then back to my friends house to test out my hammock. It was great! I was warm and comfortable all night. It started raining just before sun up and I stayed dry. after a little while I ended up with a little puddle over my face, so I need to work on how I should angle the tarp. Also, I figured out that you really need to properly position yourself in the thing BEFORE you get in, otherwise you end up rocking back and forth quite a bit... I was feeling a little nausious until I finally found the right position (of course the multiple glasses of wine I had before getting into the hammock didnt help matters - I'm pretty sure in the absense of wine, my stomach could have handled the rocking, heh) but other than that I'm feeling like this was a really cool idea.Spent all day yesterday getting the condo packed up. Amy came over to help, I'm speachless. For those of you who are familiar with my "organizing" skills, you will understand that I TRUELY couldnt have done it without her! Went out a great dinner at my favorite Indian place with my mom and Amy. I gave Dylan a ...uh... well, I attempted to trim his fur...heh. yeeeaaa. He looks like those retarded kids at school who only ever get hair cuts from their moms and you can totally tell because their bangs are all crooked and all the ends are just cut straight off... no blending or anything going on here. I feel bad about this, I really do. After he looked at himself in the mirror, he wouldnt get near me for the rest of the night!Well, off to put the laundry in the dryer... :) Shannon
Date: 2003-03-26
From: Amicalola Falls

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Hi All - Shannon called me tonight and I'm updating her jounrnal for her....."What a day! All that preparation has actually paid off. I was picked up at the airport yesterday and spent the night at the home of Tom and Stephanie. What great people. The insight and wisdom they had to offer was so refreshing. The hike today was amazing. I was really nervous when I arrived and found the signs to the approach trail to Springer was labelled "strenuous"...PFT....Today was a walk in the park. I'm definitely tired but that was mostly due to my excessively heavy pack weight which weighed in at 40 lbs. EWPS, I packed too much food! I've met some great people, Jerod,Ben, Heather and Mark, all thru hikers and Mike, a local who's here for only 3 days. We were thoroughly amused with Jerod when he pulled out his dinner tonight and proceeded to make falafels! I was really pleased with my hiking today. I will make it to Katadin."Love from Shannon's Mom:)
Date: 2003-03-27
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

Everything is going well except that I was cold last night and woke up sick. Luckily for me the trail today was even easier than yesterday. Due to last nights "falafel incident" Jerod has received his trail name of "Iron Chef Connecticut." Cade and Dylan are doing great and really seem to love this life. Everyone has complimented them on their exemplary behavior. THANK YOU DUSTY!!! Also, for those of you who made fun of my toilet paper, you were right!Day 2 and I'm almost out! (although I wasn't counting on having to blow my nose so much!).
Date: 2003-03-28
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Dylan received his trail name today from Evan. We now refer to him as "Eustice Banks." Everyone from last night made it here tonight except "Wander Yonder" who is hiking at a stream about one mile away. The hiking today was a lot tougher than yesterday, but luckily the last 1.5 miles were a walk in the park.Mark showed me a new use for a tortilla....he used his tortilla asa a dish rag. What a great idea! The shelter here is really nice. It has 2 levels and I'm sleeping on top with Jerod (Iron Chef Connecticut) and Evan. At around 3:00 AM Jerod and Dylan insisted that they heard a bear in the woods. Evan and I thought it more likely that it was Steve snoring downstairs. Although convinced it was a bear, Jerod let us go back to sleep. In the morning we found that the noise was in fact Steve. We now refer to him as "the bear." The Iron Chef who cried "bear" who would have thought...
Date: 2003-03-29
From: Gooch Gap Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: broken clouds

A kick ass hike today! Three major humps. All I keep thinking is how lucky I am that I get to spend the next six months just hiking and doing what I want because I want to. We experienced our first "trail magic" today. Some boy scouts were waiting with a hot breakfast, sodas, candy, fruit, etc. As per usual, everyone was completely impressed and interested in the dogs and their backpacks. Cade earned her trail name - "Troublemaker" after I told the story of how she lost my hiking shoe behind the couch right before we left. More trail magic when I finally arrived at the shelter tonight. Oreo cookies had been left by some day hikers and Steve (The Bear) had a hot dinner waiting for me when I stumbled into the campground at 5:30PM. Everyone out here is so great - I love this community.
Date: 2003-03-30
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Walasiyi 
Miles today: 4.0

Fourth night in a row I felt like I didn't sleep at all - last night being the coldest of all. We woke up this morning to snow on the ground - no wonder! I also earned my trail name when everyone awoke to find that I was so cold that Cade, Dylan and me were all in my sleeping bag. (I was still cold, by the way!). They now refer to me as "Two Dog Night!" A fairly steep hike, 2 miles up to the peak of Blood Mountain. The Blood Mountain shelter sits on the top and is really cool. It's a cobblestone building built in the 30's by the Civilian Conservation Core. Another 2 miles and we finally made it - our first shower, laundry and warm bed in four nights! We had a great dinner in town and picked up some supplies. WE LEARNED A LOT about reducing our pack weights from the staff at the Walasiyi and from our new friend Wayne, a fellow through hiker. Back out on the trail tomorrow....updates to follow in the next trail town.
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Walasiyi 

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi All, I took and unexpected "zero" day today and decided to come into town with Evan (BoilerPlate - He says the name came to him in a dream) and Wayne. We scored a hitch with this really nice lady who had originally planned to thru hike this year but had to change plans. We had some great pizza at a local restaurant called Curly's. We're here for a short stop at the library for the internet access, then to Walmart for a couple things then off to find a hitch back to the Walyasiyi. My pack situation is looking very sweet. Last night Josh from the Walasiyi gave me some tips for knocking some weight off my pack and then Wayne helped me modify my pack. Wayne and I ended up deleting about 2 lbs worth of extra straps, webbing, tags and heavy zipper pulls that I don't need. When I packed it up this am I was really concerned that I had left more than a few things out because the thing is sooooooo freaking feather light. Even Josh was tossing it like a football. I can't tell you how much I am enjoying being here! I AM SOOO HAPPY. I am in the best shape of my life, I can't find the words to express the feeling I have right now, but I'm sure it will come to me in the woods. I'll be in Franklin, NC next week and updating my journal from there (I think). Until then....:) Shannon (aka Two Dog Night)p.s. Evan is so wacko, he keeps thinking Dylans real name is Eustice (which is how Dylan got his trail name in the first place, Evan forgot his real name and decided his name should be Eustice, so he wrote Eustice in his journal and then asked if that could be his trail name... so there you go). ;)
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Walasiyi 

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

O M G !! What a day! Both the data book and the map showed that there was water available every 2 miles.... but guess what... no FREAKING water for 10 MILES!! Also, to top it off, because we thought water was so frequent, we only left the Walasi-Yi with a small amount of water AND it was sooo hot. We arrived at the shelter extremely dehydrated and exausted from lack of H20. If we had been properly hydrated the terrain wouldn't have seemed so impossible! Lesson learned, DO NOT leave camp without adequate water no matter what the damn book says. Funny story today, was half way to the shelter when I ran into "Spice Bag" going up the trail the wrong way and without his pack. Apparently he had left his journal on the top of the mountain close to 3 miles back and was determined to locate it. I traveled on to the bottom of the section and found "Boiler Plate" (Evan), "Windtalker" (Mary) and Erika all waiting for him and resting. By chance "Windtalker" went into her packpack for something and found "Spice Bag's" journal. She swears she doesn't know how it got there...(????) hmmm... strange, anyway so she goes RUNNING up the hill screaming "SPIIIIIIICCCEE BAAAG" at the top of her lungs and we're all sitting at the bottom of the hill yelling his trail name at the top of our lungs. If you had been traveling by it probly would have looked pretty damn funny. (Come to think of it, reading this entry it doesnt sound as funny as it actually was) Also, keep in mind we had like no water and this poor girl is running back up this huge hill and no water to gulp when she got back. Obviously since I am here writing this, we did finally make it safely to the shelter which had a nice welcoming comitte of nats who proceeded to swarm us until we went to bed and it got to cold for the little buggers.
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Cheese Factory Site

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up early around 6:45 and was hiking by 8:30 as per the usual schedule since I started this trip. Erika, now dubbed "Stargazer" introduced me to a new idea...Jello as a hot drink (now that I write it out, it occurs to me that Amy may have suggested this before) anyway... its GOOD STUFF! We originally planned to hike to Dicks Creek Gap but after a few too many long breaks and exposure to another HOT day, we didn't make it that far. Met some funny guys at the shelter and hung out talking over the campfire. "Paka Bear" and "Silverback" (named because his friends say he walks like a monkey-heh-he kinda does)felt compelled to spend most of the evening creating a list of wild animals that would like to eat us out here... Bears, Wild Boars, Coyotes etc..(they didnt scare me tho...)(NO, REALLY... they didnt, I'm seriously fine)especially when they pointed out that I looked like a huge Bear bag or a hanging hot tamale when I'm in my hammock (funny funny - NOT). moving on....7 days in the woods doesn't seem to be very long unless everyone else is going into town and you're not. So far I have really tried to stick to hiking my own hike and doing what I want to do rather than following the crowd. "Stargazer", "Boiler Plate", "Windtalker" and "Spice Bag" all were headed into town the next morning and I had planned to hike on.