morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-01-02
To: Amicalola Falls State Park
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We're amazed that we're going back to the trail! While we were Thru Hiking, it was really tough. We said repeatedly that we just wanted to get the Trail done and never do it again. "If I suggest doing the AT again, take a gun and shoot me!" was Craig's mantra. BUT, truth is....we have fantastic memories of our experience and think almost daily of events occuring less than one year ago. So, the lure of the Trail called us back.... but for only 9 miles. While hiking the AT there was always discussion among hikers as to whether or not they had hiked the approach trail and, if so, what this section was like for them. However, we had chosen not to hike the Approach Trail since it was not white blazed. In retrospect, all of the discussions caused a curiosity that just had to be squelched. Also, in case the approach trail ever would become part of the AT, we thought we should complete it before our thru-hike year's time had ended. We also had a desire to return to the Trail physically since our thoughts returned there daily. We arrived at Amicalola Falls State Park at around 5PM. It was great visiting the visitor center and viewing all the Start pictures of many of the Hikers who had begun their hike here. When we arrived at the Amicalola State Park Shelter, we were surprized to find chicken wire used for the bunks. We had never heard this being mentioned, probably because most hikers started their hike without staying the night. We were worried about putting holes in our sleeping pads let alone being uncomfortable. Aside from this it was a nice shelter having a screened-in porch and some solitude after the visitor center closed. We had a great evening around our campfire recalling many similar nights that we had while hiking the AT. We were alone for the eveing and had a restful night's sleep feeling like we were really back on the TRAIL.
Date: 2007-01-03
To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up at 8AM with no real need to hurry to get going. We only had 9 miles and were fairly sure we could make that by dark. However, we could hear day hikers arriving so we thought we might as well start going. We had our famous oatmeal and hot cocoa breakfast and packed our pockets with bars and beef jerky. We were on the Trail by 9:30 with much excitment for seeing the summit of Springer Mountain, our starting point 10 months ago. It was a beautiful day and the temperatures almost reached 60. There were several ups and downs and Cathy began to slow down after the 3rd up. We took our time and enjoyed our hike. We reached the summit at around 2:30 spending some time reading the log book there and taking in the view. The log book that we had signed had been removed, and we didn't recognize any of the names of the other hikers. The shelter was not far from the summit and when we arrived we were alone. The two level shelter was quite nice and we picked a protected spot on the first floor. It was supposed to get windy later with possible rain. After setting up, we looked for fire wood and then read a while, waiting for it to get late enough for dinner and a campfire. While we were eating we were joined by three college students hiking the AT during their Christmas break. Two were previous south bound Thru Hikers and the third was preparing to do a south bound thru hike this summer. Later as we sat around the campfire we reminesced about places the four of us had been on the Trail. We could have done this all night but were interupted by the arrival of 5 day hikers. They were inexperienced hikers and quite boisterous, taking over the campfire and discussion. We decided to head to bed and leave the campfire to the young men. It was a beautiful hike today and brought back vividly many memories of our past 2174 mile hike. And just as tonight ended with a crowded shelter, it too reminded us that you have to accept what the Trail gives you and make the best of it.
Date: 2007-01-04
To: Amicalola Falls State Park
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We stayed in our bags waiting until everyone had finished breakfast since there was little room to eat due to the sprinkling rain. The five day hikers left as we were just getting up, so we had time to talk some more with the other past Thru Hikers while eating breakfast. We all four noticed that the day hikers had left trash in the firepit and commmented that our love of the trail wouldn't let us leave it there. We left the shelter in a light drizzle, reminding us of so many days of walking in light rain. Ah, yes, we remember that uncomfortable feeling of wet feet, damp trousers, and an impending downpour. But today we had only a short hike to a hot meal and warm bed in the Lodge. We encounted hikers summitting Springer, and this time we had to admit we were section-hikers same as them, not inspiring thru-hikers on our way back from Maine. IT WAS HUMBLING TO ADMIT! As we neared the base, we realized we had slowed our pace, making our return to the AT last just a little longer. We were greeted warmly by the staff at the visitors center and given directions to The Lodge at Amicalola Falls. As we reflected on our hike of the Approach Trail, we admitted backpacking is in our blood and the AT will always be a place we will return to again and again. In fact, we're headed to Vermont in September to finish the Long Trail!PS: We continue to enjoy reading the new entries in our Guest Book. We're glad you enjoy reading our journal and thanks for you thoughtful words. We will be at Trail Days this year (2007) and hopefully will see some of you there!!!
Date: 2007-09-07
To: On the Trail again
Miles today: 0.0

We're heading back to the WOODS again. While walking the AT neither one of us would have ever thought that we'd be looking forward to hiking a trail again at least for longer than a day. We plan to finish The Long Trail in Vermont and will start in Rutland VT on Sept 13th. We plan to do another Journal, so if you look in on us, please leave us a note.
Date: 2010-01-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

People are always asking us "what's your next adventure?". Well, we guess it's time to do something that will make people question our sanity again! We thought that people who followed our AT joural may enjoy following our Bike Journal as well. On January 20th we're going to start bicycling from St. Augustine, Florida and hopefully, end up in San Diego, California. Many people have asked us to do a journal again, which we have decided to do. If you would like to follow our journal, we'd love to have you come along for our ride. Here's the information on our Journal site, and we hope to hear from you on our guestbook. It's somewhat easier to go first to www.crazyguyonabike.com/craigandcathy, which is the author page. Go to the bottom of this page to link to the Journal. Once you're on the journal page, you we see the link to the guestbook on the Contents line. Hope to hear from you, Craig & Cathy Craig & Cathy Simons Internet Journal Enter www.crazyguyonabike.com/craigandcathy Go to the bottom of this page and click on Craig & Cathy Cycling the Southern Tier
Date: 2004-12-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

First entry for Vitaman, aka...Ric Garwood from Danville, Indiana. As a member of the ' class of 2005 ' I plan to start in March. Hope there is minimal snow to contend with and that the weather gods will keep the rain to a minimum. With the addition of some light weight gear, replacing my old heavy stuff, my pack weight is down to about 35 pounds. My training hikes have been with 40 to 45 pounds, so the 35 pound pack should work out pretty well.I plan to take it slow at first with 8 to 10 mile days for a while until my body tells me it is ready to do more. I plan on 5 mail drops along the way to resupply myself with my vitamin/mineral supplements and stuff that will be hard to find locally. I will have a cell phone and pocketmailer to communicate with the world occasionally. Can't really say where I will be along the trail and when I might be there until I get started and see what my body will allow. Would welcome anyone who might want to come hike a section/few days with me, to let me know and we will meet up somewhere. I plan to stop every few weeks at a motel to sleep in a real bed and eat some restaurant food. Till next time. Vitaman
Date: 2005-01-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Want to give some credit to the ' Indiana AT club ' for helping me get set up for my thru hike. Equipment, encouragement and training hikes. Having a support team really helps to motivate. Have read some trail journals from years past, that really have helped me know what I can expect right from the start and how to handle the expected and unexpected difficulties that happen along the way. I'm sure I will handle some with great pride and others with my tail between my legs. Such is life. What all the previous thru hikers have shown is that to make the distance, you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other every day, day after day. Listen to your body and hike accordingly. Vitaman
Date: 2005-01-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My start time is getting closer and closer. I am mentally ready to hit the trail right now, but still have details to take care of before I actually leave. My friends at the Indiana AT club have graciously offered me a ride down to the starting point, which for me will be Amicalola Falls State Park about 9 miles south of the official starting point of Springer Mountain. A couple of friends that I work with at the Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center have also offered transportation. I guess my exact start date will be determine by who can actually be available at the time I finally am ready. Most hikers start at Amicalola Falls since there is a small lodge, camping area, water source, phone , vending machines and showers. The visitors center there is where you sign the ' Hikers Register '. At some of the shelters along the trail, there are registers to sign and/or leave messages for other hikers who are coming along after you.I have decided not to take my cell phone since the coverage is quite limited along the trail and my digital cell phone is not compatable with my pocketmailer. Less stuff ( weight ) to worry about/carry is a good thing. However, for the ' mother hens ' out there ( I really do appreciate the concern ) there will be about 30 to 35 other hikers that start each day from about March 1st thru April 15th, according to my trail guidbook, so I will have plenty of company on the trail whether I want it or not. At least for the first 100 miles or so. Don't anyone worry that I will get lonely.It will be quite the opposite for the first few weeks.I have just ordered the 2005 editions of the AT Thru-Hikers Companion, AT Data Book and the entire set of trail maps for the trail. What the heck, its only money. Anyway, I should not have to worry about getting TOO lost along the way.Someone suggested I post a picture of myself at the start, to compare later, with a picture at the end of the trip. I think that was a polite way of telling me that I'm a little heavy now and won't look the same when I'm done. Since I agree with that description of my soon to be 54 year old bones, that weigh about 220 pounds now, I will try to do that. Since I expect to weigh in at about 190 pounds ( my fighting weight ) at the end of the trip. So, sometime in the next couple weeks I'll get a picture posted for the top of my journal page.Also, I was asked if I will be able to recieve e-mails on my pocketmailer. Well, I think so, but the details are still being worked out. I will certainly let everyone know, when I find out myself how it all works. As most of you know, I struggle quite a bit when it comes to technilogical gadgetry ! This is when I wish I had a teenage son/daughter to show me how it all works. OK, now that I've said that, I know what you are thinking.Thanks for the offer to borrow your teenage kids for awhile, but from the horror stories I hear about teenagers, plus my own memories of my youth, I definately know better. Nice try though.Vitaman
Date: 2005-01-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Only 6 or 7 weeks left before I venture out into the wilds of Georgia for the ' long walk '. Actually I have hiked a bunch of the Georgia section of the trail back when I worked at the Atlanta air traffic control center from 1981 thru 1987. I did about 20 miles either side of Neal's Gap, on weekend walks. Anyway, I have recieved my ' pocketmailer' and am still reading the instruction booklet trying to figure out how to work it correctly. I'll let everyone know what e-mail address to use in order to send me e-mails along the way. Also have recieved the updated 2005 trail maps/guide books and the 2005 ' data' book, and need to go over all of that stuff. Still have not decided exactly where my mail drops will be either. When I do get it all figured out and posted, care packages of tollhouse chocolate chip cookies and brownies are welcome and inspirational love letters and pictures from my girl friends would be a nice reminder of what awaits me at the end of the trail in Maine.Still a couple of items to get to complete my preperations, but mostly I am ready to go. Thanks to my new trainee at work, " Jennifer ', for the idea of using a golf ball with a hole drilled in it, to put my rope thru, to use as my bear hoist for my food items. Even I should be able to throw a golf ball over a branch in a tree with reasonable accuracy !!I'll try to get a picture posted soon on my trailjournals page, just so you don't forget what I look like while I'm gone. Vitaman
Date: 2005-02-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well fellow At hikers, past, present and future. Only 35 short days to go till I start my bones on the trail. Those of you who have already been thru this know just how short a time 35 days can be. Those of you who will follow me ( just for a little while, since I walk pretty slow ) will/are just about in the same situation as I am now, so use my panicky journal entry to get your butts going getting things done. Soooooo much yet to do and so little time to complete it all. By the end of next week I will have gotten my taxes out of the way, gotten a ' power of attorney ' signed over to a competant person, who I don't think will run off with everything I own !! Updated my ' living will ', and organized the stuff I am leaving behind for 6 months, and also have all of my mail drops boxed up. Of course putting in 6 to 8 training miles a day, with full pack, along with everything else. About now I'm wishing I was hooked up with a good woman who knows how to organize ! But I'm sure I will struggle thru and be ready when the time comes.Thought I would let everyone know what my main gear consists of just in case anyone needs to make some last minute changes based on what I am taking. Tent, Big-Agnes, Seedhouse 2, Sleeping Bag, Big-Agnes, 20 degree down, Sleeping pad, Big-Agnes, womans edition, since I'm only 5 foot 9 inches tall and didn't need the extra legnth/weight of a mans pad. Plus it fits in a sleeve on the back of the sleeping bag so you never slide off. Pack, MountainSmith, specter LT, big enough to get everything in with a little extra room for my supplements. Stove, Triangia, westwind, figured it would be easier to fuel for and it is childs play to set up. Cook pot, Snow Peak 1 1/2 qt titanium, fits the Triangia stove better than the smaller 1 qt pot plus the stove, windscreen and my spork all fit in the pot. Shoes, Adidas winter trainers, right out of the box, best fitting shoes I have found so I'm sticking with them, plus they have a built in gaitor. Have ordered two more pair to have in reserve. Most of the other stuff is good quality and light weight, that you can find most anywhere. My golf ball, bear hanging rope works very well on branches with smooth bark, but the rope gets hung up on branches with rough bark, so I will add somemore weight with a couple heavy nuts. That is about all there is to the equipment part of the hike. Don't want anyone to think I am an expert on gear or anything rediculous like that. I had lots of help and did a fair amount of research. Some of it actually on the trail during training hikes. Just thought you all might like to find out what one of the other hikers has ended up with. It is not too late to change out gear yet, but time is running short. Hope to see the rest of the 05 March Company on the trail in a few weeks. Vitaman, 2nd Platoon, tent squad.
Date: 2005-02-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well friends and interested journal readers, there are 22 short days till I head down to Georgia to start what I think will be one of the major adventures of my life. I AM READY !!! A few little things to get done yet, but nothing major that will hold me back. Want to contact some of my friends yet, to say aloha and to give them a last lecture about taking their vitamin/mineral supplements while I'm gone.Also to thank them in advance for checking in with my mom while I'm away, to make sure she is doing OK all by herself. This is the first time she will be all by herself for any length of time in all of her 77 years of life. She is very healthy and can still drive, locally at least, so she should do just fine. Like most of us thru hiker wannabees, I'm following Jaws ( Mark Ogle ) and Cocoon ( Andy Hough ) as they have already started the trail and are giving the class of 2005 good information about what the condition of the trail is and what we can expect when we get to that particular stretch. An official ' THANKS GUYS ' from the ' March Company ' and the rest of the class of 2005. Also have been looking at some of the other journals of the hikers that are going to start about the same time as me to get their last minute thoughts. We all seem to be very excited and a little nervous about what we are undertaking with this 2000+ mile, 6 month journey. So I say to everyone in the MARCH COMPANY or anyone else I meet along the way. Lets just have a truely great adventure when we are together !! Whether that is just a five minute meeting to say hello on the trail or for several days/weeks/months hiking together. We are all different because of physical abilities, ages and life experience levels, but we all have our own important knowledge base that somewhere along the trail we will need to give up in order to help someone else. So never think you are not needed by the rest of the hikers for support. We are all one big family out there supporting each other as best we can, just like we do at home with that family. So brothers and sisters, even though we will argue and cuss about one another, we will also share food items, blister treatments, complaints about sore muscles/joints, trail stories etc., and be burned into each others photo albums/memories ( for better or worse ), for the rest of our lives.So when I start complaining and crying about something that has gone wrong, just give me a good kick in the rear and tell me to get over it......cause that is what I'm gonna say when it happens to you !!! Even though it is understood that we are all doing our own personal hike, as best we can under the circumstances, lets help get each other on down the trail.Vitaman
Date: 2005-02-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Need to start this entry by thanking evryone for helping me get ready for my AT journey, which will start in 14 days. Think it is important to acknowledge those who have influenced me one way or another. Don't see much reason to mention names as you all know who you are. From my co-workers the last few years, to the folks in the Indiana AT club, to my family members, to the AT hikers of years past who have helped all of us thru-hiker wanna-be's more than they can know with their stories and journals. To all of the March Company and the others of the class of 2005 who have e-mailed with encouragment. Thanks to you all for helping me be able to fulfill one of my dreams. Those of us who are hiking this year are so very fortunate, for there are tons of folks who for one reason or another will never get to do what we are about to, even though they want to just as badly as we do. Financial situations/work, time restrictions, family obligations or physical limitations can all keep a person from the trail. I feel really blessed that I have the opportunity and the support needed for this adventure of a lifetime.Speaking of support, I finally have gotten my mail drop schedule typed in so those who want to send 'care packages ', letters or whatever, can do so. Chocolate chip cookies and brownies are always good choices for a hungry hiker. I will update the schedule a little as time goes on and I see how well my body is holding out. I expect to keep pretty close to my estimates but might be a day or two early/late. Those who have gone before me on the trail say to give about 2 weeks for a package to get to its destination. Also suggested is to double bag any food items in zip lock bags to ensure that any little crawly critters don't start feasting before I get a chance to. Keep reading my journal to see where I am and where/when I expect to be in the future. Everybody be sure to take your supplements while I'm gone. Just cause I'm not here to remind/yell at, you doesn't mean any of you can slack off. I'll be able to see it in your eyes whan I get back !!Vitaman, March Company, 2nd
Date: 2005-03-05
To: Musings before Departure
Miles today: 0.0

This will probably be my last journal entry until after I actually start the trail. Have my ride to Springer Mountain all worked out with several hiking buds from the Indiana A.T. Club who are going to hike the first 4 days with me, before they head back to Indy. Will be strange to see them leave, with me still standing on the side of the road as they drive off.But that feeling will be replaced almost immediately, with excitement as I head north up the trail looking for adventure. I know I've said this before, but no matter what happens, don't anyone feel sorry for me even a little bit, cause I'm doing what I love to do and I accept any and all consequenses for my actions. I will try to keep my journal up to date as much as possible, and describe what I see and feel along the way. The plan is to print out my journal when I'm done for future family generations to look back at and say, " What kind of a nut was old Ric anyway. Who in their right mind would want to walk 2174.9 miles, living in a tent for six months and carrying everything in a back pack. Lets not tell anyone how crazy he really was ".See all of you other crazy folks on the trail, especially the members of the March Company.   Vitaman*This entry was successfully transcribed for the first time by Vita's transcriber, Missing Kink...happy trails Captain Vitaman...we'll miss you!