morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-10
To: Hyponatremia
Miles today: 0.0

During our last hike the water locations were about 5 miles apart and the weather was mild and not overly hot. I was trying to avoid carrying alot of water so at each 5 mile mark I drank about a liter of water and carried only a little more just in case the water supply was not available at the next location. After about a week of our 10 day hike I noticed my hands were swollen and my feet were swollen. Feet swollen, is an easy one to shrug off when you are walking 18 miles per day. Hands swollen is also easily explained when not using hiking poles because hands are held down and are dependant. We fequently get swollen hands while out speed walking. I notice, however, that my hands stayed swollen after I rested at night. My problem was hyponatremia. Hyponatremia has several medical causes, but this time it was caused by drinking too much fluid. Body fluids must remain at a nomal body saline level (.9%). If the level is decreased, the osmolarity of the cells and blood vessels is altered and the fluid leaks from your cells and blood vessels into the intersticial spaces (between the cells) causing swelling in any dependant part of the body. In some cases this can be dangerous if a person is unhealthy, or it continues for a lengthy period of time. In my case it just reduced the efficiency of my body during the hike. It is easily corrected by consuming extra salt (electrolytes)that increases the saline level back to normal and stops the cell and vascular leakage.I will be more careful on the AT.
Date: 2009-06-26
To: Retirement
Miles today: 0.0

Well today is my last day at work. Carol and I retire. It feels good. We can now walk and train more. We will be going to Canada for a couple of weeks and then off to Australia for 3 months. We are going to join a gym in Australia to work on our upper body strength. We will continue to do our daily 2 hour speed walks in preparation for our hike. Once in Austalia I will write about the type of upper body exercises we are doing.
Date: 2009-08-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are home from visiting family in Canada. We had a great time. We are back to heavy training. We are speed walking 52 miles per week. We will continue this until we go to Australia to visit our oldest daughter. In Australia we will continue with the speed walking and add in some upper body strengthening. When we hiked the C and O canal our packs seemed heavy when we started but after 10 days they seemed much lighter. This was not because they were lighter, it was because we were stronger. We want to avoid that feeling of heaviness this time. Our packs will weigh 25 pounds or under when we start out in March. Leaving for Australia Sept. 2/09
Date: 2009-10-02
To: Training in Sydney Australia
Miles today: 0.0

We are in Sydney for about 2 more months. Training is going good. We are walking everywhere plus doing our speed walk of 7 or 8 miles per day. We are trying hard not to get run over as the drivers drive on the other side of the road and it is amazing how we are programed to look left first when we cross the street. We have to remember to look right. In addition the city has round abouts at just about every intersection which makes it even more challenging. We still plan on starting our hike on March 17, 2010. We will be returning to Charlotte on Thanksgiving.
Date: 2010-01-04
To: Survived Christmas and New Years
Miles today: 0.0

My family from Sydney Australia came home to Charlotte NC; and my family from Philadelphia and Hanover NH were here for Christmas along with husbands, boy friends 2 dogs and 2 cats. It was the best Christmas ever. Because the kids are now grown Carol and I were able to get away for our long workout walks without being missed. They all left today and it seems ever so quiet in the house.Today we went to the gym to begin the gym part of our preparation for our AT thru hike. We met with the instructor (Katie)who introduced us to the machines that will help make us physically stronger without making us bulkier. Here are the exercises: leg press, leg extension, leg curl and for our upper bodies: Ab crunch, chest press, shoulder press, lat pull down and seated row. We will also start by warming up on the elliptical machines prior to using the weight machines. In the last 5 weeks before our hike we will be using the stair climbing machine wearing our backpacks and hiking boots. Only 72 days to the hike. We have our bus tickets and booked our room at the hiker hostel (www.hikerhostel.com.). The Hiker Hostel is near the trail head. The crew at the hostel drive you to the trail head in the AM. We feel just about as ready for this hike as two people 63 and 65 years of age can be.
Date: 2010-01-15
To: 61 days until we start or AT thru hike
Miles today: 0.0

We have now been going to the gym for two weeks and working out on weight machines. Two days in the gym and 4 days speed walking 8 to 10 miles. We are now moving to 3 days in the gym and 3 days walking, with one day rest. One day a week, probably Saturday our walk will be increased to 12 miles. Then rest on Sunday.Our gym workout has remained the same but we have increased the weight. Today we spoke with the woman helping with our training and she advised us to continue increasing the weight slowly and to come 3 times per week. In another 2 weeks we will speak with her again. We will be moving two free weights and a stair climber in the near future. We will keep you posted on our progress.Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.------------------------------
Date: 2010-02-03
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We blew off our workout today to go through our hiking equipment. What a task. It took 8 hours to get stuff ready. We are hoping to be around 25 pounds, not including food and water. We are very light on some things like our 3 pound tent, but other items, like our sleeping pad, we need a big agness pad, that is a pound and a half (arthritis). We can not sleep due to pain on a lesser pad. You do what you can.We are continuing our workouts, and have doubled our weights during the last month. We now go 3 times per week for a weight workout. Another three days per week we are continuing our walking, or working out on the elliptical at the gym. We are getting anxious for the hike to begin.   Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-02-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Here is a message for other thru hikers. I contacted the chief meteorologist here in Charlotte NC to ask him about the weather in March when we start the trail. Our current weather, (one storm after another starting in California then sweeping across the USA and leaving large amounts of snow and rain on the east coast) is caused by El Nino. The weather phenomenon is caused by overly warm water in the Pacific. My question to the chief meteorologist was will this weather pattern continue into March of this year. His reply was yes. This will not affect our start date, but at least we will be able to prepare for this bad weather psychologically. We have added more exercises to our gym routine. In addition the over head press, chest press, lat pull down, leg press, leg extension, leg curl and seated row, we added bicep curl and tricep extension and leg raises. In addition we added a floor mat exercise called the plank, and right and left side plank These are good for the core of the body. We start our exercise routine with 30 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the stair climber. We do an interval workout on both machines. When we do the stair climber we have a stepping rate of 60 for 2 minutes followed by 40 for 2 minutes. This is repeated for the 30 minutes. In that time we climb the equivalent of 95 stories. We have pretty much doubled or tripled the weights we are using just since the beginning of January 2010. This workout is done Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we do a two hour walk or use the elliptical or stair climber only. All in all it is exhausting. We are starting to think it will be easier just hiking. We have never prepared for a hike this intensely before. Sure keeps the weight down. See you on the trailRichard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. (Bison 2009 A.T thru hiker)
Date: 2010-02-13
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We went for a 4 mile walk with fifteen pound packs today. Eventually our packs will weigh 25 pounds (we hope not more). We also wore our new boots outside for the first time. All went well and we don't think 25 pounds will be a problem. As the next month clicks by we will be taking to some trails at the White Water Center here in Charlotte NC. It is the National Olympic training site for white water events. There are lots of woods and trails around this center.We are continuing our workouts at the gym they take two and a half hours. One hour is spent on the stair climber and / or elliptical and an hour and a half lifting weights. It is very tiring but it will help when we start out. There is nothing worse than hiking all day, being exhausted, and having to do camp chores when the days hike is over. We are hoping to avoid the exhausted part. I will let you know if this strategy pays off. Lots of people just get fit on the trail but at 60 plus we feel we need to prepare.
Date: 2010-02-24
To: 21 Days
Miles today: 0.0

Only 21 days before our hike starts. I have learned just a week ago that the method we chose to send our journal entry to family and friends will not work, as Pocket Mail is out of business, taking with them my one hundred and fifty dollars. I am glad this happened now rather than mid hike. Now we will have to rely on plan B. We will be taking old fashion notes and using computers in homes and libraries along the way. We will also send a text message, when signal is present, to my daughter Andrea who has agreed to forward our location to family and friends on our pocket mail list. I will try very hard to update the journal weekly. The photo's will still be added into the journal by my nephew Donald who lives in Toronto. I will be sending him a photo card every 2 weeks so there will be a bit of a lag. We are continuing our workouts at the gym 3 days a week and hiking with our packs on 3 days a week. Our workouts are taking 2.5 hours and our walks are 2 hours. We are still trying to get our boots adjusted so that they do not apply pressure to the areas of our feet we know have been problems. We are using leukotape to pre-tape some problem areas. This is great tape it does not come off easily and is recommended on www.backpackinglight.com.Richard and Carol
Date: 2010-03-04
To: 13 Days
Miles today: 0.0

Time is moving slowly toward the beginning of our hike. We are excited, yet anxious. We are still working out at the gym 3 days a week and walking with our full packs 3 days a week. Yesterday we walked up the equivalent of 126 floors on the stair climber in the gym. It took us 35 minutes. We also went on the elliptical and went through our weight routine. All in all it is a 2.5 hour workout that we find taxing. We usually come home and eat and rest.Our final pack weights are 25 pounds with 3 days of food and 2 liters of water each. We also have a bump box with a few extra things in it that we will mail ahead to post offices in trail towns. It has a few extra things in it that we can have when we visit town.On Monday March 2 we went to a REI store (outfitter) and a A.T. thru hiker gave a talk on his thru hike that he did in 2006. He is preparing to thru hike the Pacific Crest Trail starting in April. He confirmed our pack weights were good and we picked up a few tips from him on what to expect. This year has been so cold and there has been so much snow in the mountains that hikers who started earlier have been having to hole up and wait for a break in the weather. We are hoping for a break in the weather but preparing for more of the same.I should also mention here that pocket mail is up and running again. I don't know why the site was down for 10 days or so but they apparently are still in business. Richard and Carol
Date: 2010-03-12
To: 5 Days
Miles today: 0.0

This was our last workout at the gym. Thanks to Laurie and Kate for encouraging us, and outlining a series of exercises to strengthen our overall bodies.We are excited to get going on the hike, but still have some chores around the house. Anyone who has never set up their house to be vacant for 6 months, have all their bills paid etc. would be absolutely amazed at the time it takes. Anyone wishing to do this, email me in the next few days and I will send a list of things to do to ensure your home is secure as possible.On March 16 we will be taking a greyhound bus to Georgia, and to the hiker hostel. They will then take us the next day to within a mile to Springer Mountain, and then the Adventure begins. The next entry will be via Pocketmail and my nephew, Donald. Thanks again Don.Thanks to everyone for all the email support we have received. It has been amazing. We are hoping our journal will focus on the people we meet, the scenery, and the equipment (how it works etc.) more than food. Most journals seem to degenerate into a long description of food. This is because it takes 6000 plus calories a day to do the hike. No one can carry this much food in their packs, so in town its all about the eating. We will see if we can resist this in our journal. Happy trails,Richard and Carol
Date: 2010-03-17
To: Hawk Mountain shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

We went 7.8 miles today. We are staying in a full shelter - 14 people. The trail is full of hikers.Most hikers are only doing a few days of hiking. The temperature started about 35 F and only got to about 42 F. So far we are feeling good and enjoying the other hikers. Tomorrow we hope to go 12 miles and stay at a hostel. We have started to learn some tricks of the thru hiker. I will write more tomorrow.Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-03-18
From: Hawk Mountain shelter

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today we made it to woody gap mile 20.1. The hike today took over 8 hours to go the 12 miles. It was very tough. Much harder than we imagined. We hiked at leas 5000 feet of up and a comparable 5000 feet of down. So far my knee and hip feel ok, although both of us have very tired hamstring and thigh muscles. The weather has been great with highs in the 60 degree range and lows just above freezing. We have had a problem with our sleeping pad. Both are pads deflated after 2 hours. We had to blow them up a couple of times during the night. Tomorrow we will try to fix them , or replace them at mile 30. There is an outfitter on the trail at neels gap. We are again staying at the Hiker hostel. They picked us up at woody gap and will drive us back to that location tomorrow so we can hike into neels gap.I want to tell you about the trail. It was conceived in the 1920's by Benton Mckaye, a graduate of Dartmouth college. Today the trail pass right through the campus. Interestingly you can't camp on the campus. The first thru hiker was Earle Shaffer who made his historic hike in 1948. Since that time there have been an estimated 10,000 thru hikers. More later Richard and Carol Never quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-03-19
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

We are at mile 30.7. Today was a much better day. We tried to hydrate better and eat more. The trail was a little easier until we desended Blood mountain. It is a huge granite block 1000 feet high. Comming down you travel 1300 feet into Neels gap. The entire route down is a boulder field. Plenty of places to fall, but we made it safely.We experiencd our first trail magic today. A man named Dr. Pepper gave us each a bag of small snickers bars. Trail magic is a tradition on the A.T. People that live in the area come out to support the hikers,by giving them food, soda pop, or even letting them sleep in their homes.We are staying in a cabin adjacent to Walasi Y center. They sell eveyrthing. We bought new mattress to sleep on. This center is the only building on the A.T. that the trail goes right through. We went back tonight for a speghetti dinner. They only ask for a donation. I met and, got pictures of two trail legends. Miss Janet who normally runs a hostel in Erwin Ten. {it is closed for expansion} and Baltimore Jack. I Have read about him for years. He has thru hiked the tail 8 times and is the most interesting and knowlegebable hiker on the trail. I felt like a kid at Christmas.It was warm today, and I hiked most of the day with no shirt on. I got a bit of a sunburn. It was weird because ther is still remnanta of snow on the mountains. We have been told parts of the Great Smoky mountains still have 30 inches of snow and are impassable right now. We wont be in a hurry to get there. We want some snow to melt. Tomorrow we are going to low gap shelter. Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-03-20
From: Neels gap

To: Low gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

We at mile 41.5. It was tough today but we are in good spirits and looking forward to tomorrow. It looks a little easier tomorrow. We are tenting tonight and expecting rain, or snow.It was warm today again and we had some great trail magic. The local Baptist church had an awning set up at hog pen gap, and fed the hikers hotdogs, chips, fresh water and other snacks. It came at a wonderful time for us as we had just got water from a seep in the ground and we were not looking forward to drinking it.Tomorrow we will be going to Hiwassie Georgia to stay at a hotel. We will be taking a zero day.(no hiking). Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-03-21
From: Low gap

To: Unicoi Gap - Hiawassee GA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

We are at mile 50.9. The terrain should have been easier today. But after we packed up camp, it started to rain. The rain turned to sleet on the ridges, and most of the hike was on the ridges. It also was very windy up top. Lower down it was foggy. At some portions of the trail visibility was only about 50 feet. Every time the trail went down we had to be very careful not to fall because the rocks were really slipper. We were glad we use hiking poles. Despite this, we are enjoing ourselves.We have been hiking with a group of kids in their early 20's. We all started the same day. They hike past us during the day but we always catch up to them at the end of the day. We have only found one hiker older than us. He is 70 and I am somewat worried about him getting off the mountain tonight. He hikes slowly.Tomorrow they are calling for rain turning to snow. We are taking a zero day. Tomorrow I will tell you some more about the trail and some thru hiker tips on stuff to bring on the hike. Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. {Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker}.
Date: 2010-03-22
From:  Hiawassee GA

To: Dick Creek Gap - Hiawassee GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We got up and went to do our laundry, and have breakfast. We also did a little grocery shopping. I find it strange to be seeking out foods to take on our hike that have extra calories. We normally are looking for low calorie, low fat food.We plan on hiking out tomorrow and hiking to Dicks Creek over the next 2 days. We will then return to Hiawassee and buy food for the 40 miles to Franklin NC. There is no town access for this 40 mile stretch.Most hikers we meet seem to be in a life transition, recent divorce, students, laid off folk and retirees. Of all the hikers we have met so far we have the lightest packs (thank goodness its all we can carry). Some hikers are carrying 45 to 60 pounds. Ours are a mere 25 pounds each.Here is more about the A.T. the trail is 2179 miles in length. It is maintained by 30 voluntary groups. The oldest of which is the trail maintaining group from Darthmouth. The trail was created by and act of Congress, and all but 9 miles is in Federally owned land. It has been said that it takes at least 5 million steps to hike the entire trail. Each year several thousand hikers declare a thru hike. Of that group only 15 to 20% actually are successful.Here are some tips for future hikers. The two main problems long distance hikers have are blisters and chafing in the groin and buttock folds. Chafing is caused by the hours of sweating and inability to bathe fully. We have found that the best tape for blisters is Leuko tape. Pierce the blister, drain it, keep it clean and apply the tape. The tape will stay on for several days despite damp weather. Check for infection when the tape is changed. Chafing can be dealt with by washing the area and applying vagisil cream (hike with a woman and make her buy the cream). We have tried both products and they work well.Richard and Carol(Never quit on a bad day. (Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker)
Date: 2010-03-23
From: Hiawassee GA

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: few clouds

We hiked to mile 64 today. This is our longest hike to date. Tomorrow we will be taking a short 3.5 mile hike and catching a ride back to Hiwassee GA to shop. Today was again a lot of straight ups and down the mountains. It was snowing this morning as we climbed out of the gap. It was very beautiful, and reminded me of being a kid in Canada. Tonight is cold and most likely will go to 32 degrees F (0 Celsius).Richard and Carol(Never quit on a bad day. (Bison 2009 A.T thru hiker)
Date: 2010-03-24
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap - Hiawassee
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

We got up at 7 AM and were ready to hike at 8:20 AM. We completed our hike by 10:30 AM and caught a lift the 11 miles back to Hiawassee. We are staying at the Hiawassee Inn and the new owner is Ron Haven. He owns 3 motels in Franklin and is very hiker friendly as are all the people in town. They seem to know who is a hiker. Could it be an odor problem?We have some chores to do then rest up for the begining of the 40 miles to Franklin. At mile 76 we will be entering N.C.Richard and CarolNever quit on a bad day. (Bison 2009 A.T. thru hiker)
Date: 2010-03-25
From: Dicks Creek Gap - Hiawassee

To: Muskrat creek shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

We are at mile 79.3. It threatened rain most of the day. Just as we got to the shelter it began to rain. We are here with Wayne a 62 year od fro Maine, Littlefoot a female ex-marine instructor, Rawhide, a former special forces soldier, and Joe another former soldier. There are several others here also. It is very cold tonight and we are expecting rain tonight and tomorrow. We are planning a 12 mile day. We will be hiking up over Standing Indian Mountain. It is a 5500 foot mountain. The mountains are getting higher now we are in NC.Our packs feel good on us. We finally feel we are wearing our packs, rather than carrying them.The young women we have met on this journey are very impressive. They are not only physically strong they are mentally tough. They set off on their own and do not ask for help. Most seem to be carrying around 35 to 40 pounds.I did not mention it earlier but the very first hiker we met was from Sydney Australia. We also met a very famous hiker from Australia, her name is Gypsy Girl. She has hiked all over Australia including the outback. She also has hiked through Brazil and Africa and a number of othe countries. Unfortuately we heard that she had fallen on the trail and broken her ankle and is in Frankly recovering for 6 weeks. Richard and Carol Never quit on a bad day. (Bison 2009 thru hiker)