morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-13
To: Off to Georgia
Miles today: 0.0

So this is it, thanks everyone for following along so far. Now the real adventure begins. I am excited, nervous, curious, and really looking forward to starting. Tomorrow I will be flying out of Portland and meeting up with Josh and Leigh from the Hiker Hostel at the airport in Atlanta. On Wednesday, the journey begins. I will be hiking the 8 mile Approach Trail (what's another 8 miles?) on Wed. and I hope to be at Neel's Gap on Saturday. Thankfully Easter was on Sunday and I got to see most of my family and it was nice to say goodbye and have all of your support. It was fun to show off all my stuff, too!I weighed all the stuff in my pack today. My pack itself weighs 3lbs, 13 oz. All the stuff inside weighs 22lbs, 8oz. Those of you at work will remember this is wayyy heavier than my very, very naive goal of 15lbs when I first started thinking about this, but is still light considering all I'm taking. With about 8lbs (4 days) of food, and 4lbs (2L) of water, I'm looking at a starting weight of 34.5lbs, plus my pack, for a total of a little over 38lbs. Again, heavier than I hoped, but little did I know all the things I needed. I feel prepared and know that I will be safe with the stuff I have. The extra couple of lbs. are well worth the peace of mind. Plus, as I eat and drink it will get lighter, and most people report starting out at 40+ lbs.So, I've been saying goodbyes to folks for awhile now, and now I must say goodbye to Maine as well. I hope to be back in ME around Labor Day, and totally done in the Sept 15-20 range. That's a long way off though, so we'll see. One day at a time. Again, I will be carrying my Peek e-mail device, so if you'd like to send me a note at "mattsathike@gmail.com" that would be nice from time to time. Remember I have limited battery supply so the responses will tend to be short. Also, Terry and Sue, I hope to see you when I come through your way. A hot shower and a nights rest would be great. I might eat all your food too. Haha. I have your contact info, look for me coming through at the end of June or so. I will be passing by the towns of Fayetteville, Boiling Springs, Duncannon, and Port Clinton/Hamburg. Well, enough talk, let's start walking!Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-14
To: Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello to everyone from the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega, Georgia. I have landed safely (and so did my bag, thank god!) and met up with the fine folks who run this place, Josh and Leigh, and am ready to hit the trail tomorrow. So far everythings been great, the flights were perfectly uneventful, just the way I like them; Leigh has been great and very hospitable; and I am ordering chinese food tonight to be delivered to our doorstep. Wonderful. I am feeling very excited to be here and meet some fellow hikers. Two of us got picked up from the train station, and that's where I met Jay. Jay is from outside of Denver, Colorado and like me was recently laid off. As we drove back to the hostel we picked up another hiker, Liz, a middle aged woman from Scotland (with a verrryy thick accent) who left Scotland last year and hasn't been back since. She's been all over South, Central, and North America. Jay's a thru, and Liz is just hiking until July. There will be 15 of us here tonight, so I still have many more people to meet. I have been able to use the internet here and load some photos of what the Hostel looks like. And some of the ride down. They are all on my google page. I am going to be hiking the approach trail, which I've been told is quite a pain since you hike for 4-5 miles then go up a 600+ step stone staircase. Whatever, what else am I going to do? Haha. I look forward to it. I have enough food to get to Neel's Gap, and that will be my next resupply. Hope this finds you all well, thanks again to Mom, Dad, Heather, and Dani for going to the airport with me this morning. Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-14
To: Hiker Hostel -Update
Miles today: 0.0

Update: Hey everyone, I got some more time at the community computer. It's crazy down here, the trees are all in 3/4 to full bloom. It is weird to go from sticks on stumps to lush leaf and moss covered trees without seeing the transition. I have met some more of the people that are staying here tonight and they're all real nice. I plan on being shuttled to the approach trail with a couple of them. Jay, the guy I met at the train station, will probably be there, he's maybe 30 and a real ski fanatic. Then there's Ron, or Shortcut, he's 73 and is planning a thru hike. More power to you man, he's out here with 50 years on me. There's another man here, I'm blanking on his name, but he's 67 and attempted his first through hike 30 years ago (almost exactly); also, he is from New Hampshire. He got to Fontana Dam, about 2-3 weeks in, and had to quit because of a nasty stress fracture in his foot. He's not doing the approach because he's done it before. There's also Bob, who's trail name is Philidelphia, who is real nice and is 51. He's from Florida, I have yet to make the Philly connection. He went to the "legendary" outfitter at Neel's Gap first, before even beginning his hike and they completely stripped him down and 'made' him buy new stuff. He spent $3000 on gear pre-hike, and the guy there told him to send everything home and return it; he got a new pack, a new tent, sleeping bag, clothes, he even made him buy new underwear. They guy completely turned his world upside down. The weather looks good for the next week or so, we're anticipating some rain on Thursday, and possible thundershowers on Sunday, but neither look too threatening. I am happy it will be dry at least to start. Atlanta and north have been in drought conditions, but there has been a lot of rain so far this spring Leigh said, so conditions are much better right now. I'm looking forward to the stairmaster tomorrow. If I don't get a blog out right away it's because I don't have reception, it's been in and out so far. So if I don't get something posted right away, don't worry. Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Hiker Hostel

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: few clouds

What a great first day! It started off with a nice pancake breakfast and a ride to the Approach Trail with Shortcut. Thanks again Josh. We got to Amicalola, weighed our packs, and signed the register. My pack was 40lbs...ahh! How the hell did that happen? Oh well, we started at 9:30, and immediately climbed the 600 stairs (60 stories) to the top of the falls, it was very pretty. Then it was a long 7.5 miles to Springer Mountain and I spent most of it hiking alone. I Got to springer at 2:30 and met Bob the Ridgerunner, nice guy! I met a few new hikers today, a couple nice ones and one crazy one.I came up on this guy who looked real out of place. He was wearing a shearing lined denim jacket, jeans, leather cowboy boots, and a school bag sized army pack. As I got closer I noticed the rifle, the machete, and the k bar. The conversation went like this:Him: Is this the Appalachian Trail?Me: This is the approach trail, we're on our way to Springer, the start of the AT.Him: Oh, I thought I was on Springer already.Me: No, we're about 5 miles awayHim: Oh, do you think there's anything between here and there? I'm out of food.Me: Um, no. There's no real town access for about 20 miles.Him: Oh, I heard there were bears out here, so I brought my 410 (pointing to rifle that he was carrying, not on his pack, but in his hand like he might need it any second), I got it for the bears to kill em and the squirrels for eating.I've never walked uphill so fast!I lost him eventually, and others told me he was trying to get a hitch at the Springer parking lot to some town a ways away. Hopefully that's the end of seeing him. He was the talk of the trail today, everyone saw him at some point.I'm at the shelter tonight with some nice, normal people. Kelly, an older woman from Austin with her dog, a duo of guys who live in Atlanta, and a guy my age from outside of Little Rock, AK. All but one of the Atlanta guys are thru-hikers.My body feels good, nothing a little ibuprofen can't fix. 12mi today and another 12 tomorrow. No reception here at the shelter so ill send when i can.Oh well, it's 8 o'clock, everyone's going to bed, its sleep time. Happy trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Woody Gap

To: Wasali-yi Hostel
Miles today: 10.6

Well, I am here at the famous Wasali-Yi at Mountain Crossing. It is very nice and I will get a shower, laundry and a good night's stay. the 10.6 miles here were pretty easy and I ended the day climbing over the highest mountain in Georgia, Blood Mountain. I could have hiked further, but the next 6 miles of trail are closed to camping because of all the recent bear activity. A few food bags have been stolen right out of the trees. If I'm going to see a bear, it'll probably be tomorrow. Leaving here it should be 3 rainy days to Hiawassee, 35ish miles away. Today I met lots of nice day hikers and there are about a dozen of us at the hostel. Life is good and my batteries are recharged. The store doesn't open until 8:30 and I hope to be on the trail by 9:00. I am sending a few things home and need one more thing. I hope to do the 11.5 miles to Low Gap Shelter before the rain comes in.Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Wasali-yi Hostel

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow, after I told myself to take it slow in the beginning, I find myself pushing through the miles. I woke up at Neel's Gap and waited for the store to open, I sent a few things home including my old pot because I got a new one. Wasali-Yi outfitter has helped hikers send home over 60 tons of gear over the last 25 years, they can add 1 more lb to that total now.The day started straight uphill out of the gap at about 8:50, but soon leveled off. The goal was to reach Low Gap for the night, 11.5 miles up the trail. I met up with Zack from NC for breakfast, I met him last night at the hostel. We ended up hiking all day together, he's real nice and we keep the same pace. He beats me up the hills but I beat him down, it evened out real nice. He is also headed to Katahdin.We got to Low Gap at 2:30 and met up with a couple of thru hikers and about 20 boy scouts. I forgot it was the weekend. With 5 good hours of daylight and 7 easy miles to the next shelter, we decided to push on. Donny did too, but he left before us.So here we are at Blue Mtn Shelter, at about 4000'. Its a nice cool down from the 75* sun today. No bears yet, but I'm not exactly seeking them out (sorry, Dan). I have seen about 300 squirrles, which are less exciting, and I saw a really pretty owl up close that followed me up the trail a couple hundred yards. Then there was the snake, on my way up Springer I saw this old blow down that was rotted through and thought to myself, "Gee, that would be a good place for a snake to hang out." Two seconds later as I'm going byI hear this "tis tis tis hissss". I still don't know if it was a rattlesnake, but clearly I didn't stick around to find out.Anyways, it was really nice to hike with someone today. Weplan to head out tomorrow together, too. My plan is to get to Deep Gap, he was thinking of going all 19 miles to Hiawassee, but I'm not going with him if he does. Today kicked my butt. Tomorrow is Tray and Rocky Mtns, as hard as it gets in Georgia. Time to slow down. Supposed to be rain and thunderstorms tomorrow anyway.Well, it's 8:45 and wayy past my bedtime.Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. Today was definitely my most challenging, mentally and physically. Today was Rocky and Tray Mountains, plus a killer climb up and over Kelly's Knob at the end of the day. These were especially big mountains.It all started at 6:30 this morning, when I woke up to the pitter patter of rain on my tent. I got up real quick and started packing everything up before it got soaked. Donny, Zack and I all got started at about 7:45 trying to beat the worst of the weather that was supposed to come in today.We hiked in some real light rain but then it stopped. We all shed our rain gear, my jacket was wetter on the inside than it was out. I ended up hiking in a t-shirt and rain pants all day, 50s and damp, it felt like home. Zack and I got to Tray Mtn Shelter at around 12:30 and I had a double helping of noodles. He left just before me and I never caught back up with him.Tray was 3 miles of up, and what Tray didn't take out of me, Kelly's Knob did. After 14 miles already completed, it was a 1000' climb in just under a mile, with the shelter on the other side of the hill. I took my time though. I had the Ipod going and this Rob Zombie song came on and the first thing he says is "I feel so good, I feel so numb, yeah!" It summed my feelings up perfect.It feels so good to be out here.Here's a few things I've learned since I started hiking:-The trail is unpredictable, every time I think I can see where I'm going, I take a hard right and the scenery changes.- The trails in Georgia use switchbacks and these J shaped loops around mountains like I've never seen before, making the climbs "easier" but much longer.- There are tons of small ups and downs, each one is a cycle. You burn your up muscles and lose your breath, then go down and feel it in your knees. I can go through about 5 cycles pretty easy, but the rest of the day (like yesterday had like 8-9 cycles) your legs are maxed out.I am planning a "nero" day tomorrow. Right now I am 3.5 miles from the road crossing that goes to Hiawassee. Hopefully with an early hitch I can be in town by 10:00. I then plan to eat, grocery shop, eat, go to the library, eat, and then go to the all you can eat place; I'm either staying at one of the hotels or the Blueberry Patch hostel.Hunger is setting in, today I had breakfast, brunch, big lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. Tomorrow will be the first time I've hitched, ever, but Donny, Zack and I are sort of planning on doing it together. We've heard good things about Hiawasse and the folks helping hikers. Anyways, I gotta stop making these blogs so long, it's 8:00 and I'm going to bed...Happy Trails,MattAlso, by request I will now be adding my kicks and kisses each day, a sort of "high" and 'low' to my day. Today's are:Kick: I felt my first pain today. my left hip was sore, but that went away, and my right pinky toe hurts from hitting my boot on the downhills.Kiss: The rain held off all day, it even waited until after I pitched my tent.P.S. According to the shelter registers I've read, I am 10 days behind Bill Breed.
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light rain

Today was real nice in Hiawassee. Donny, Zack and I woke up to a cool, dry morning and started hiking before 8:00. We got to the road crossing by 9:30. We missed a shuttle that just left the parking lot by 5 minutes. We waited 15 minutes and only 3 cars went by. The next guy that came by had a crew cab pick up and let us hop in. He was nice and dropped us off right by the hotel.We all got big sandwiches at Subway and made our way to Ingles, the supermarket and the library. More pictures are up. I got all new foods, now that I've figured out what works and seeing what others are eating. I was eating 1,500-2,000 calories and now I'll have at least 3,000 each day. I'm probably burning about 4,000 though.Hiawassee is a good town. This Inn is really nice for the price and we got a free shuttle to Daniel's Steakhouse which has the all you can eat buffet. I had a salad, bowl of beef stew, mashed potatoes, a big chicken breast, 2 rolls, cottage cheese, macaroni salad, a dessert, and a bowl of ice cream. Yum. The town is of a southern Baptist religion and real friendly.Tomorrow we have a shuttle to the trail from the hotel and plan to do 12 miles. We're all going to take it easier the next couple days and are planning to be in North Carolina around lunch time. The next town is Franklin on Friday. 14 hikers are here tonight and we're all going to pretty much the same place, it'll be crowded.Oh yeah, I ran out of fuel yesterday and they don't sell canisters anywhere until Franklin. So tonight I am back up to Ingles and I just made a new alcohol stove out of a can of Vienna sausages and a hole puncher. Both the other guys have been using ones just like it and they work good. Denatured alcohol is more easily available. If it works well, I might send my other one home in Franklin.A few nice days of weather ahead and life is good. Talk to you later.Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Hiawassee Inn

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Greetings from North Carolina! I passed my first state line today. And boy, NC hits you like a bad headache. Just when I thought my legs were getting stronger the mountains get bigger.We started out at the Hiawasse Inn, had breakfast, and caught the early shuttle back to the trail. We got started around 9 from Dicks Creek Gap. We made it about a mile and a half and stopped to eat again. We got to Plum Orchard Shelter, about 3.5 miles in, at about 10:30 and ate some more. Plum Orchard was great it was a very cool 3 story/tier shelter.We made it to Bly Gap, the state line, around 1 and the hills just got steeper and steeper. The whole day was one big climb, plus with the pack being freshly loaded up on food made it hard. My legs felt real good all morning though from the near zero yesterday. The plan is to do two more 12's and have another nero in Franklin on Friday. I wanted to slow down coming out of Hiawassee to not get burnt out, Donny and Zack wanted to because they each have a swollen ankle that's hurting. My muscles are sore, and I still don't move as fast as they do, but no real pain yet. I figured out my hip pain the other day was just from my toe pain, one causing the other because I was walking funny.It's 7:00, the sun's still up, and it's 48*. It's going to be cold tonight because there's a real steady wind, too. We're at 4600' tonight, we're looking at 4000' gaps and 5000' mountains the next few days. Tonight is the first time I haven't thought that I brought too many clothes. With me tonight are Donny, Zack, Carolina, Mitch (who's from Peak's Island, ME), Kevin, and three others I haven't really met yet. We're all working on getting trail names, but none yet. You've got to kind of earn it or have something happen to you. One guy who passed us today told us his story. He went to go pee in the woods, looked down and there was a belt of rifle ammo sitting on the ground. He wanted to pack it out so he comes walking out with this sling of ammo around him, his name is Rambo now.Even though it's lots of fun out here, I am getting my first bout of home sickness tonight, it's been a long time since I've been away from Maine. So, thank you everyone for the emails and guest book entries. Every time I turn on my Peek I have a new message from someone and it makes me happy, keep 'em coming!Tomorrow is Standing Indian Mtn, the biggest yet at 5500', and 12.5 miles to the next shelter.Kick: crossing the NC line into the hardest hiking yetKiss: starting with fresh legs, not being hurt like the others.Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Today was good, we made good miles and took our time all day. Going up and over Standing Indian Mtn wasn't all that bad either. I am at the shelter again tonight with Zack, Donny, Carolina, Kevin (who is now Rooster), and Mitch, and also Panama who was with us last night.At 7:00 this morning is was 29* and windy, it was a very cold night for all of us. I slept ok, but I used my bag to cinch up over my head and slept in a cocoon. It was real cold on the backside of mountains until 10ish. Going up Standing Indian I met a group of trail maintainers. Thanks again for all they do. Up and over the view less summit, I found myself 9 miles in by 12:15. I collected water and cooked an over sized lunch and took over an hour break.I made it to the shelter at 3 and we've been hanging out since. These smaller days are easier but trying on our patience. We want to do big days soon. My legs are starting to strengthen and I know soon I will be able to. The days are nice and it should stay dry and warm up over the next couple of days. Yesterday's and today's shelters don't have bear cables and hanging your food around here is tough. Tomorrow's will have one though. There are still bear warnings around. Another 12 tomorrow and an easy town day Friday. Talk to y'all later (the southern drawl is rubbing off).Kick: Waking up to freezing tempsKiss: A surprisingly flattish day with legs that feel good.Happy Trails,Matt
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Haven's Budget Inn
Miles today: 16.9

Well here I am at the trail famous Haven's Budget Inn.I met Ron Haven tonight while uploading pictures, he's a hiker's best friend. Friendly and willing to shuttle you anywhere you need for free, just make a donation for gas money. Zack and I are splitting a room and have enjoyed the simple luxuries of a shower, laundry, and Domino's delivery. We decided to switch up the nero day and stay here tonight, do errands tomorrow morning, and get back on the trail around noon.We started this morning at Carter Gap around 8 after a real good night's sleep. The morning miles were fairly easy and my morning legs felt great. I am really starting to get a strong set of legs under me. There was a long slow climb up Albert Mtn, followed by a short and steep one. The last 0.3 mile climbed almost 500 vertical feet, the steepest yet. But there was a sweet fire tower at the top with the first 360* views since Blood Mtn. We ate lunch at a fly infested Big Spring Shelter and I pounded down about 40g of protein. The miles that followed were easy, I did 2.8 miles in 45 minutes at one point. That's about the same time I crossed the 100 mile mark, ya! Officially in the triple digits.I got to the shelter we were supposed to sleep at around 2 o'clock. With only 3.7 mi to town, that's when we decided to switch up the plan a little. I wanted to go see Wasilik Poplar, the second largest Poplar tree in America. Zack didn't because he didn't want to do the mile detour on his ankle. I ended up going to see it, .5 a mile straight downhill but worth it! Check out the pictures! It is 27 feet in circumference! Zack went slow so I caught up with him before the road.And then....TRAIL MAGIC! I come off the trail and there are cold sodas, little debbie snacks, and chips awaiting! Thank you so much to those kind folks! After about 45+ minutes of failed hitch hiking, we called the hotel and got a ride from their shuttle.Oh yeah, and I got my trail name today! After all that talk about having to earn a name the other day, I was tired of being the only one who wanted to name people (I was the one that named Kevin Rooster). So, like many people do, I just named myself! I wanted to have it be about something unique about me, and I was looking at the answer, my glasses! I have a new pair with transition lenses...My trail name is Transition!It fits my appearance because of the glasses and it fits my life because of what I have been going through! This journey is my transition to a new place in life, my transition to a fresh start! Life is one big transition!Kick: climbing the steep face of Albert MtnKiss: making it to town a day earlyWell, that's enough for tonight, we'll talk to you later!Happy Trails,Transition