morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Off Trail

To: Sinking Creek
Miles today: 12.8

We walked thru a good amount of fields with grass chest-high. Cool! Where else could you peacefully walk through fields with cows and deer in the distance? We also passed an old dilapitated house with black handprints all over. Spooky. Legend has it that when you take a picture of the house, apparitions appear. Ended the day walking through cow pastures and right next to a herd of cows. We slept next to a creek.
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Sinking Creek

To: Lizards Lovely Home
Miles today: 10.4

Today started out as my worst day on the trail and ended up a great day. Woke up to pouring rain that lasted all day. Walked thru a field with that great chect-high grass...not so great during a downpour. It soaked us completely. Then up, up, up...muddy and slippery. This is when I started having very negative thoughts of why the heck I'm out here. I could be at my parents warm, cozy house watching the storm from a screened-in porch. Am I nuts?!And then even further into negativity: others out here have dreamed of doing this for years, have trained for it, love hiking and really want to finish the trail. I was feeling the opposite. This was pretty much a last minute decision for me without any camping or hiking experience. I wasn't even sure I'd like doing this! And now I'm 2 months into it. I'm wondering if I still want to continue for 3-4 months more. I've walked almost 1/3 of the trail...a great accomplishment already. So, I voiced these thoughts (more like screamed them) to Aswah who was surprised and hurt by this for obvious reasons. He's seen me have bad moments but to hear me say I'm leaving took him by surprise. We talked and I promised to say all of my thoughts on a regular basis instead of blowing up. I decided to give it until Harper's Ferry to decide.So, I'm still wet and cold (close to hypothermia) and we couldn't find water and a flat spot to stop and warm up. So we keep walking and then the angel, Loon appeared walking SOBO. We had wanted to see him for days. He had been wondering where we were. We asked about eachother everyday, inquiring in shelter journals, etc. He appeared and told us that he and Lizard (his girlfriend who lives nearby) would pick us up a few miles up the road. What a god-send!! They ended up taking us to a sushi restaurant (my god, I love sushi) and back to Lizard's for hot showers and a warm bed. Yes, you are right, Aswah, the trail provides when you want it to. We ended up having a wonderful warm evening.
Date: 2004-06-05
From: Lizard's House

To: Lizard's House
Miles today: 0.0

What a great zero! Lizard has a great garden that Aswah put to good use, of course. Fresh chicken eggs for breakfast with swiss chard and local cheese. Yum. Then we feasted for dinner. Lizard let us use her truck to run errands. These people areamazing. They don't even really know us (not even our real names) and they let us sleep in their place, use their car, kitchen and garden. They made us feel right at home. Amazing how it works in this simple world. A little different from Chicago. It's refreshing.Aswah made my favorite artichoke tart, goat cheese salad, pork chops, and his mother's apple tart. Everyone loved it. We also met their friend, Rising Eagle, who was very cool. Great people
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Lizard's House

To: Dragon's Tooth
Miles today: 12.1

Nice walking today. Started around noon. The Audie Murphy Memorial was cool...wow, what an accomplished soldier he was! His memorial was placed here because this is where his plane crashed. Here is where I gained a new prospective on hiking. Think of the soldiers who walk with 100 plus pound packs who have to shoot people and watch their friends die. WOWSA. Makes me feel like a wining idiot. Things could be a bit worse, huh?Onward to Dragon's Tooth which is very cool. Lots of rock outcrops. It was a long, hard climb up. After we set up our tarp, I climbed up more rocks and read my new book accompanied by great views and a setting sun. This was another positive moment. I earned that view and it felt good.And, we saw wild blueberries today! It's all starting to bloom...WOOHOO!
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Dragon's Tooth

To: Tinker Cliffs
Miles today: 17.0

Great day. The walk down Dragon's Tooth was fun. There are steel rungs built into parts so you can climb down safely. Cool. We stopped for lunch at a gas station .4 miles off the trail. I never thought I'd walk into a gas station and say, "Cool! Hot dogs and chili and a slurpee!" YeeHaw! I was in heaven.We then walked to the beautiful McAfee Knob. This is the #1 photo spot on the AT. I saw Aswah's photo of this when I first met him and I wanted to be there. So, it was important for me to get there. McAfee Knob is a 3250 ft high cliff outcrop with the best views of Virginia. You can sit on the cliff with your feet dangling. My mother would freak out. It was awesome. After a snack we moved on to Tinker Cliffs. I, for some crazy reason, decided to run up the last mountain after 16 miles. I wanted to challenge myself. Man, was that exhausting. We arrived at Tinker Cliffs at sunset and it was gorgeous. We camped there for the night.
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Tinker Cliffs

To: Troutville
Miles today: 11.0

Woke up at 6am. and read my book out on a cliff. Very peaceful and wonderful...something I had been wanting to do for awhile.We walked thru more humongous boulder fields. Saw deer running around and ate from a cherry tree! Power-walked to Troutville for pizza and a hotel. Fried chicken for dinner and an early night's sleep.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Daleville

To: Glasgow
Miles today: 59.7
Weather: overcast clouds

This last week has been pleasant. I've seen lots of reptiles along the trail like snakes, salamanders, turtles and frogs. Always puts a smile on my face whenever I encounter an animal. Can't wait for the Shenandoah's where I will finally see a bear!! I'm scared, but very excited. I wonder how I will react. Will I fall over, scream?! Only time will tell.We helped to host a hiker feed with Lizard and Loon. It was fun. I made a salsa/cream cheese dip. Aswah grilled sausages and Lizard made a lasagna in a dutch oven. Loon came with fresh melons...um, um good. We stayed with them again...they are both such wonderful people. I hope we stay close after the hike.
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Glasgow

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 77.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This last week was harder ups, very hot and humid, rainy with longer days of hiking. We decided to finally step up our miles. We hiked close to 20 each day. It was hard, but it felt good to push myself.We had one day with a steep, long down (The Priest Mtn.) where Aswah fell, scraped his knee and broke both of his lekis. At least he broke his fall with those poles! He McGyvered by putting one pole back together and then he used a stick from the woods to balance himself. Then we had our hardest climb (and day) to date on the trail. We were exhausted, hot and sweaty and had to go up 6 miles straight at Three Ridges. This climb just went on forever and at the end of an 18 mile day, it was tough. We pushed on and camped on top. After that, we barrelled on into Waynesboro. Stayed for a day, and ran into Lorax, who told us about aqua blazing the Shenandoah River instead of hiking for 5 days. We were psyched to try something different.So, off we are on a 5 day, 100 mile canoe trip with Lorax and Joker.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Waynesboro

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

What a fun trip! The four of us partied, paddled a little and just enjoyed the river. The water level was below normal. We got stuck on alot of rocks...the entire river is a rock bottom. There were some small rapids which were fun...a nice diversion from hiking, indeed
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Blackburn Center
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Ran into Blue this morning! We were excited...we hadn't seen her for awhile. The aquablaze allowed us to catch up with people we missed. She walked with us over easy terrain...a bit rocky, but easy ups and downs overall.We walked to the Blackburn Center where Aswah and I waited for my cousin, Beth to arrive. The Blackburn Center is awesome. For free, you can stay in a hostel or campsite, take a warm solar shower, eat a yummy spaghetti dinner and get an ice-cold soda upon arrival...they are great there.Beth arrived just in time for dinner. She drove 11 hours to see me and stayed for less than 48 hours with another 11 hour drive. She brought me candy and told me how proud she is of me. Wow, what a great friend!! She is awesome and I am so blessed to have her in my life.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Blackburn Center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm halfway!! Well, the psychological halfway, at least. WOOHOO!! We walked over nice, flat ground today and had lunch at Keys Gap...pizza,hot wings, salad and soda. I was so stuffed that it was painful to walk afterwards. We checked into the Hilltop, did laundry, showered and went out for a fun time. We went to Tailgaters for dinner,drinking and crablegs! YES! We were excited. I have been craving Crab for awhile and it was awesome. Crab dip for an appetizer and Old Bay seasoned King Crab Legs...and 4 glasses of wine. Let's just say that fun was had by all. There was cheesy 80's music (which I love) and bad karaoke. Great time, great fun and great people.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Pen-Mar Park

To: Anapolis Rocks
Miles today: 15.8

Started a 3 day SOBO (southbound) walk back to Harpers Ferry, where we are meeting my parents. We got a ride to Pen-Mar Park, which is the Pennsylvania/Maryland border. Today was beautiful and sunny. We walked thru some pretty rocky terrain. Nice huge boulders...we had lunch on top on an outcrop. Walked to Anapolis Rocks. This was a great place to camp and watch the sunset.
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Anapolis Rocks

To: Campsite
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Walking southbound means seeing people you haven't seen in awhile and meeting new people you've heard of. Therefore, you walk a bit slower. Today was history day. We saw the Washington Monument museum which was cool...other civil war things like battlefields, remnants of buildings and stone walls. Amazing that soldiers walked where we walked, fighting and carring 100lb. packs. WHEW!
Date: 2004-07-01
From: Campsite

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: haze

Easy 7 mile walk into Harpers Ferry. The last 3 miles are along the C & O canal which is the flattest part of the entire AT. Pretty, too. The other side is the Shenandoah River, which is beautiful, with big rocks and mountains all around.We met my parents and had an absolutely wonderful 5 days with them, 4 of which were in D.C. We ate great, drank merrily and saw historic sites. It was wonderful seeing my parents.Oh! Aswah and I are engaged! We will be getting married next summer, hopefully in France. That will be amazing. Complete opposite of this lifestyle.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: Pauling, NY

To: Campsite
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light rain

Well, we have now become super section hikers. We have decided that we have to finish hiking by Sept 1st, due to 2 factors: Job opportunities and a different trip with Aswah's family. They are doing an RV trip to a bunch of parks out west for 3 weeks in September and we want to go! Yellowstone, Big Sur, Grand Canyon, Seqoia, Arches...just to name a few. We have been invited along and will do some side hiking trips.We have decided that the most important part of the trail that we don't want to miss is NY-ME. We hopped an Amtrak to Pauling, NY and were walking north from there. We are sad to not see our newfound trail friends anymore, especially Loon, Lizard and Blue.We need to do what's best for us. Hike our own hikes.We hiked 3.5 miles and camped before dark.
Date: 2004-08-04
From: Glencliff

To: Mt Mousilake
Miles today: 0.0

Sorry folks for not keeping up with my journal. Since we have been bumping up from PN, I have not been a good little girl. Connecticut was really beautiful...such a nice change from the more southern parts. More trees, bigger trees, much greener and more lush. And you really feel more inside the woods in a big forest. When you look around, you don't see or hear highways as much. Very refreshing. Vermont was my favorite state so far. Muddy, yes, but so beautiful. It's like Seattle, it's green and lush and beautiful for a reason: rain. So in order to appreciate the beauty, you have to deal with rain and mud. I'll take it! Bromley Mountain was one of my favorites for sure. 360 degree panoramic views from the top. We saw an amazing sunset from there and a great sunrise as well...all from our tarp. Wow. We took some time off to drive thru Vermont (had to stop at the Ben & Jerry's factory!!) and then we went to 2 Grateful Dead shows as well...what a fun time! But I really do miss the woods and am excited to start the Whites.I've been hearing about the Whites for so long now and I'm so excited to finally see them. I know it'll be hard but I'll suck it up and just enjoy it. At least that's what I say now from this computer terminal. :O) We only have 3 more weeks to go on this AT trip then we're off on another adventure out west before returning to the "other" world. I will write more when I can after the Whites.Lisa :O)
Date: 2004-03-16
To: T minus 10 days and counting
Miles today: 0.0

Here goes entry #1.I was trying to think of the last time I have genuinely felt this excited and I'm coming up empty. And it's not just a mental excitement either it's a whole body sensation that parallels some sort of new love / last day of school / way too much coffee feeling. There is a whole committee in my head that is continuously churning through my list of 'things to do' and reevaluating my gear and supplies and they chatter me to sleep every night and wake me in the mornings. I feel like I am always on the go and although I try and hold onto these last days at home it seems the harder I try the faster the hours get away from me. Regardless, life is good.Today the agenda was food so I bounced from Costco to A&P collecting my first large pile of grub. Shopping in the snowstorm was rough, but the real challenge was getting all of this stuff to balance on the couch so I could photograph it. There's a pic of me on my about page so I figured a food shot should logically follow - gear is next. I can't help but feel amused at the volume of food I have purchased and it seems impossible that I will eat it all even over the course of six months. I assume I'll lose some to other hikers and some animals (hopefully small animals), but regardless it still seems like a bunkerful.It's ridiculous of course. I have 60 packets of swiss miss, 45 packets of instant oatmeal, 70 granola bars, 39 powerbars, 24 balance bars, 64 cereal bars, 12 2-packs of Fig Newtons, 12 cans of tuna, 6 gallon bags of trail mix (walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts, raisins, M7Ms, and dried fruit), 3 gallon bags of pretzels, 48 cups of potato flakes, 10 ramen noodles, 15 lipton noodles/rice, 18 cups couscous, 56oz minute rice, 112oz tofu, 296oz beans, a small jar each of pb & j, and 576 babywipes. I have approximately 5 straight days of dehydrating in front of me (the food, not me) and already spent a few hours bagging up boxed food and making gallons of trail mix. I still have more portioning to do and will then have to divide all of this booty into mail drops. The truth is that I have only the faintest idea of how much I'll be eating each day, how much I'll be willing to carry, and how often I will need to replenish, so this whole process is about 50% logic, 25% head-scratching, and 25% whatever fits in the ziploc. And the kicker is that when I have finished I will probably take all of this stuff back out of the bags in an attempt to pack it "better".Thursday I will pick up the last of my gear, with the exception of my Ultralite Backpacker Hennessey Hammock which is in the mail as I type. Photo and itinerary to follow.
Date: 2004-03-17
To: 9 days to lift off
Miles today: 0.0

So this whole dehydrating thing is far more complicated then I initially imagined it would be. That photo is of kidney beans that were once plump and pretty and now look massacred. I suppose they aren't all supposed to split open and fall apart upon dehydration? I can't seem to figure this out and the "instruction" manual isn't much help. It offers these nebulous directions/suggestions like drying times of "between 6 and 12 hours" and "check often until dry". You probably don't need a PhD to get it right but there seems to be as many shades of dry as there are of gray and I don't know what kind of dry I am shooting for. Fortunately I have 9 more days to ruin as much food as I need to before I get it right. Here's part of the problem. There are about 6 different temperature settings you can choose depending on the type of food you are dehydrating. Herbs and spices, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, meats and poutlry, etc. However, there was no setting for legumes, a minor detail, so I was forced to do an impromptu association (flapjacks are to pancakes as beans are to ?) and settled on the fruits and vegetable setting for the beans. See photo for results. I have yet to attempt the tofu, a food not even mentioned in the manual so I'm totally winging this one. Technically I suppose it is a bean as well?The crazy thing is that I will still consider eating these injured beans. I'm going to rehydrate a handful or two and give it the taste test. If they are remotely beanish then they make the final cut, regardless of their train wreck appearance. I hope I won't be the only one with banged up food - it could make for a crappy trailname.Gear tomorrow if you want to stop by.
Date: 2004-03-23
To: 3 days and counting
Miles today: 0.0

Less then 3 days until I catch my Greyhound. Unreal.It's 1:30am and I'm pretty tired but that's totally irrelevent because I'm running out of time and there is so much to so do I've adopted a round the clock schedule, kinda sorta. I figure I'll sleep on the bus to Georgia. I'm minus photo this entry because my brain is scattered somewhere between NJ and Springer Mountain and I figured I'd rather remember to pack my powdered milk then include a photo in my overdue entry. Actually, I'm now minus entry because I just spent 20 minutes on a paragraph I could hardly construct because I'm so spent. That's totally part of the fun though - sleepless, restless, and over-amped but not really coherent most of the time.Bottom line. I still have a ton to do but I think that but some small miracle it will all get done before I head South.
Date: 2004-03-26
To: 3 hours and chaos
Miles today: 0.0

This is a picture of me (didi) on the right and my sister / bestfriend Kelly on the left. She made the photo cut today because I am leaving today and she topped the list of people I will miss the most. So this is my 'holla' to my sis. She's like my little fan club and she helped me pack all of my food last night and wrote cute stuff on all of the baggies like "hi" and "miss you". She's also my mail drop buddy accepting emergency requests for babywipes and powdered milk, delivery ASAP. BTW, lift-off is not going according to plan. My bus leaves in 2+ hours and I can't find my ticket. That's like ending up on the trail and not being able to find your backpack.My last week at home was so excellent. I said many a sweet goodbye and I left with my heart full. That's the right way to go.
Date: 2004-03-28
To: And we're off...
Miles today: 0.0

It's 8:30 am on Sun morning and we are about to hit the road for the trail. In a nutshell, I spent Friday and Saturday on a Greyhound bus and was picked up from the Gainesville, GA on Saturday bus station by a staff member of the Hiker Hostel. At the hostel I met the 4 other people I'm going to be hiking with prepared all of my gear. I woke this morning feeling a bit under the weather - perhaps due to my whirlwind last week at home.The Hiker Hostel (WWW.HIKERHOSTEL.COM) is owned and operated by Josh and Leigh Saint, thru-hikers from the class of 2000. They are both excellent people and really generous with their experience and wisdom gained from their hike. Josh and I dumped out all of my gear last night and spent about 45 minutes sorting through all of it and deciding what should stay and what should go. Although I was clinging, I deferred to Josh on many items and allowed about 10 pounds to be removed including socks and underwear, thermal tops and bottoms, my stove lid, water filter, deodorant, pack towel, and shampoo. Apparently I am shooting for a new personal hygene low and that sounds good to me.My pack still weights 45 pounds.
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: few clouds

And so it begins.First of all, it is such a gorgeous day that it is almost unfair. To whet our appitites with this sunny summer weather only to be eventually dopeslapped with the chill of late March / April. It's almost poetic to start the hike on such a perfect day packed with chirping little birds and ample good cheer. Although I enjoyed it and sucked every drop of good feeling I could from it, I know the tide always turns and I'm realisitc about the fact that day 1 is always a good morale day. Six of us set out this morning from the Hiker Hostel as members of the Appalachian Trail class of 2004 AT. Statistically speaking, 25% of us will drop out by the time we reach Neels Gap in 3 days and another 50% will drop out by the time we reach Damascus, Virginia. The attrition rate is incredible. I can't really speculate as to why this is the case though I will say that a great many of the AT hikers are complete novices and surprisingly a great many of the hikers I came across today are in incredibly poor physical shape. I think inexperience and poor fitness are two huge strikes against you, especially when the odds aren't in your favor in the first place. Not only are you working daily against the elements, but also homesickness, lonliness, fatigue, boredom, etc, can turn any gray rainy day into full blown pity pot complete with reason to quit. Funny, we've just started and already there has been a lot of talk about quitting and about who is going to "make it". Since I am not on Survivor, I'm trying to keep the focus just on the day. When I project I forget to enjoy where I am at.We camped at Hawk Mtn Shelter and I spent my first night in my hammock with mixed results. I thought since I have been so exhausted, catching only 4 hours of sleep last night and hiking all day, I would sleep like a baby, but the truth is that my sleep was spotty with vivid dreams. The upside is that the hammock was quite comfortable so at least my sleepless hours were enjoyable, spent gently rocking in my little cocoon.Hope ya'll slept well.