morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-03-02
To: Leaving my Anchors
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday I left our dog with my son, Jon and said good-bye. Last weekend we said good-bye to our daughter Kristen and her boyfriend Jay. She has the cat and the mail drops, transcribing my journal, and the responsibility to see that our bills get paid. Jon is in charge of the dog and seeing that gear we are leaving behind gets sent if we change our mind about it. My neighbor and walking partner for the past few years, Jackie is going to watch over the house and water my plants. I feel like I am leaving behind all of my responsibilities.   I also feel like I am leaving behind my anchors, and with that is the possibility of going adrift. I'm counting on the people back home to be my resuce squad if start to lose my bearings. Send out a beacon of light in the form of a thought or prayer, send mail to my mail drops, or send me e-mail at beeskneesc@yahoo.com.    Special love and affection for those of you who have shared in this dream with us.
Date: 2003-03-04
To: Anxiety
Miles today: 0.0

Today was my last day of subbing. I hadn't planned to work this week, but they called me for an elementary multiply handicapped class, and I said yes. I know they sometimes have difficulty getting good subs for the classes, and I love working with the kids. It was a fun day! What a nice way to end my subbing experiences for the year. The only problem with working today is that I am not ready to take off on Friday. I'm not sure that it would have helped to stay home, actually it would have only increased my anxiety. I keep repacking the pack and thinking of more things to put into it. (This is the opposite of what I am supposed to be doing) This morning I woke up about 3 AM and began trying to decide if I should put the top back on the pack because it would make it easier to pack or leave it off because it would be lighter. Then I began to worry about the fuel for my esbit stove. Do I have enough to cook my meals until I get to Neels Gap. After school I bought some extra fuel that isn't as good as esbits, but still can be used with the stove if we get in a jam. I also bought some pocket warmers, but that is a few more ounces. My pack is now at 34lbs with water and food and Gary's is at 35 or 36.Should I cut some of the food? Should I take out the extra pot and use a plastic bowl or leave in the pot because it would be nice to have and provides an extra bowl and an extra pot even though it is a few ounces heavier than a plastic bowl? They say, " If you take care of the ounces, the pounds take care of themselves." Well, I'm in trouble, because I'm adding and adding a few ounces here and there. Then someone on the e-mail list said the forest service road is pretty bad. Maybe we should do the approach hike, but I don't really want to do the extra miles. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Well, I'm off to work on the pack weight again. Oh, I almost forgot about the Pop Tarts, string cheese and pita bread I'd like to take along. Now, let's see- If I give up the hand warmers that would come in handy if my boots get frozen and give up the sun glasses- I could maybe add them.
Date: 2003-03-09
From: Ellijay, GA

To: Hickory Flatts
Miles today: 6.0

I awoke surrounded by mountains, lovely stretches of ridges and rounded peaks. Whitepath Lodge is a lovely place! We came in about 9 last night and couldn't see the view, but this morning-wow! The trip down was great, and we got to visit with my brother, Rick, his wife, Joyce, and my neice, Katie in Fort Mill, SC. Joyce made us a great dinner and we really enjoyed our visit with everyone. I got a good nights rest at their house, the first one in a while. On the way to Ellijay we stopped to see my neice, Erica at Furman. She will graduate this year and is looking for an adventurous career. Rick is driving us to Springer this morning after a restful night in what is probably the nicest suite I have ever stayed in. We have a whole condo to ourselves, 3 baths, 2 bedrooms, huge living room with a fireplace, and a great porch with a super view of the mountains-all at a reasonable price. I walked out on the porch this morning and the temp. is perfect for hiking, no rain, just a light haze on the peaks of the mountains. Gary is wishing he could spend another day in the lap of luxury, but this morning we are off! We also got some great news to start or journey. Our daughter, Kristen and her boyfriend Jay are engaged! He's a great guy and we think they make a good team.:) My neighbor, Jackie, had given us a 2 whole bags of cookies for the trip down and the were very much enjoyed. We finished up the last of them last night with the bottle of wine I brought along. Rick, Gary, and I toasted our trip and I tuckerized the packs once again, I got rid of about 2-3 lbs I am sending back with Rick. Thanks to all of my family and friends for getting us off to a good start.
Date: 2003-03-10
From: Hickory Flatts

To: Justice Creek
Miles today: 7.6

Yesterday we got about 5 miles from Springer. Met Pittsburgh's girlfriend and Moose at the falls just before Hickory Flatts. Then we hiked on in to set up our tent with Pittsburg's slow hiker group. We had met Moon Monster on the trail earlier in the day and when we got there he was already set up. Two girls from Canada, a man about our age from Mississippi, and Bob and Dan. Moose had shuttled some of the hikers in, so he was there and Steve and his wife. They didn't stay the night, but had brought some trail magic for us- water and food. Pittsburgh made us a nice fire. We all went to bed about 8:30. Gary and I slept pretty well for the first three hours, but the rest of the night was hard. I gave Gary my light because his didn't work and he kept asking me the time all night. I really appreciated the watch Joyce gave me for Christmas because it has a dial that lights up. I am glad I had my light tonight and I can write in my journal. We got up about 7:30 and packed up right away. We said goodbye to Pittsburgh and Donna, took a group picture of us at the place where we stayed and hiked off. No breakfast. Oh, I forgot- last night's supper was a real bust too. I tried to make mac 'n cheese and it tasted so bad we couldn't eat it. I took it off in the woods and buried it so it wouldn't attract bears, but I don't think even the bears would eat it.After leaving camp we hiked a trail that went around a valley. I saw a deer bound gracefully down the mountainside. It was beautiful. The day was just fantastic- sunny and not too hot. Moon Monster, Mississippi, and the two Canadian girls passed us and are probably camped a couple miles up at Gooch Gap. We are camped at Justice Creek. I can hear it gurgle as I write this. We are both tired and ache all over. Even though we only went about 6 miles it was all we could do. Gary said if he had to list all the places on him that ached it would need to be a long peice of paper. We got here to Justice Creek about 5:30. I was proud of myself. We got camp set up, I made some Bear Creek Corn Chowder and a couple cups of instant coffee. Today's total food: the chowder, 2 power bars, 2 pop tarts, some mini snickers bars and other candy and that's it.Well, I'm going to try to sleep. We have 17 miles to Neel's Gap- a long way up and down the mountains. I've never done anything so physically challenging.
Date: 2003-03-11
From: Justice Creek

To: Beyond Woody's Gap
Miles today: 7.4

It was a beautiful day for hiking. I got up about 6:30- filtered water from Justice Creek and made breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. We stopped at Gooch Mountain shelter and signed the register. There are a lot of thru hikers. It was a a rough day. Up down, up down. It takes over an our to make a mile. Some of it is really rocky too. In some places on the trail you have to walk accross the face of the rock. I'm glad it isn't raining. We went from Justice Creek which is 13.6 miles from Springer to past Woody Gap which was 20 miles from Springer. We should have camped there because it was about 3:30 when we got there. We could have gotten a ride to a little store about 1/2 a mile away and gotten food. There were a lot of day hikers there and someone else had a car coming, but we decided to hike on. It was getting dark and I was worried we wouldn't find a campsite. Gary was really done in and lagging behind. We did pass some of the best views of the trip though. We finally saw a fire ahead with two young men camped so this is where we spent the night. There was a little creek where I got water because we were almost out. We have about 9-10 miles to Neel's Gap and food, laundry, and beds, but I doubt we will make it today. Gary's hiking speed is incredibly slow. He just wasn't at all prepared for this.
Date: 2003-03-13
From: Neel's Gap

To: Goose Creek ( Neel's Gap)
Miles today: 0.0

I picked up the box at Neel's Gap, bought a new stove and then went to Blairsville to eat, do laundry, go to the post office. I saw Roy at Walasi-Yi Center and also Laura, one of the Canadian girls. We are staying another night at Goose Creek. We will leave about 5:30AM tomorrow. We ate at Cookie Jar, an all you can eat place. WOW! Did we chow down!
Date: 2003-03-16
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 5.8

We hiked about 5.8 miles. It was misty and drizzly all day but warm, so not too bad for hiking. We ate a good lunch of summer sausages, cheese crackers, and cookies. On one of the steepest ups, Rocky Mountain, we met a real trail angel, a 2002 thru-hiker, Mule. He gave us a big bottle of Strawberry Gatorade. It couldn't have come at a better time! He was day hiking with friends and their cute little poodle. They took the empty bottle and packed it out for us too. We camped at what used to be the site of an old cheese factory, but there is nothing left of it now. There was a good spring for getting water and our camp was in a grove of trees. We built a nice fire and had Spanish Rice, and sausages. Two women were camped closer to the trail. The camp was very cozy and nice. The sun even came out for a second before going down.
Date: 2003-03-20
From: Hiawassee

To: Still in town
Miles today: 0.0

We had a nice down day. The Holiday Inn has great breakfast, fruit, rolls, English muffins juice and coffee. I came to the library to work on the journal and spend my two hours on the computer answering e-mail and typing up the latest about our hike. We watched the start of the war on TV. I feel so sad for our soldiers and for the innocent people of Iraq. I hope that it is over soon with few casualties on either side, but I suppose that is too much to hope for. What kind of man would rather see his people suffer than give up his power? I hope that they get Saddam early on and free the people, so that they can get the humanitarian aid in there and relieve their suffering. It's strange about the news on the trail. It comes to you by word of mouth when you don't have a radio, TV or newspaper. We were coming down a mountain and another hiker said to us, " Did you hear that they found Elizabeth Smart?"I was glad to hear that news! Watching the start of the war was very strange.The networks treated it like we were waiting for the ball to drop on Times Square on New Year's Eve. So much of today's TV reminds me of the description in Farenheit 451. We are observers in other people's suffering, but removed emotionally. That is one reason I wanted to hike. I wanted to get away from electronic media, but it's addictive. I watched TV last night along with everyone else.  The town here is great! They have several nice restaurants. The first night we ate at Daniel's Steakhouse -they have an AYCE buffet- yumm. Last night we had food from the Front Porch Restaurant- good apple pie!  I forgot to say that I got a ride from the pharmacy back to the hotel from Santa Claus. He was there getting his prescription filled too. He even gave me his card with his picture, W.J. "Buddy" Walker. Honest, he really does look just like Santa. My medical problem is still keeping us from hiking out. I hope that two more down days will fix me up. The weather is going to be great. I want to get going again.
Date: 2003-03-21
From: Hiawassee

To: Almost went home
Miles today: 0.0

Hi everyone, this is Kristen, her daughter. My mom wrote the following message and then called to say that she is hanging in there. Her condition is pretty nasty, but after meeting with the doctor again she thinks she will be able to head out again tomorrow or the next day.Well, I think we are going to have to go home for a bit. I have another appointment with the doctor because my medical condition seems worse instead of better. Gary has been real sweet about all of this. He said that he will go home and train hard while I recuperate from my condition. I think my brother is going to come and get us today or tomorrow. I hate to leave. The weather is beautiful and I really want to hike! But there is no way I can hike until I clear this up. Hope the weather in OH isn't too bad. I've become quite adapted to hiking about in a shirt or just a light jacket. Gary has a new trail name, Relentless. He likes it a lot better than Bacon Belly. He has earned it because he has been Relentless even though the going has been tough for us. I think a lot of soon to be 60 year olds would have packed it in after the first 30 miles, but he is just talking about how to improve his milage when we get back. He said he knows I put a lot into this hike, and he doesn't want it to be ruined. He's been really sweet! He said I'm like a race car driver whose car blew a piston on the first lap and that I just need to fix the piston and get back on the track.
Date: 2003-03-22
From: Hiawassee

To: Still Waiting to hike again
Miles today: 0.0

Well, we are still here. I got a cortizone shot, cortizone cream, and a new anti-biotic from the doctor yesterday. I was already to come home, but then thought how I really, really wanted to do this hike and that no sooner would I get home then I would heal up and want to be back. Gary and I talked it over, looked at the beautiful GA sunshine and decided to wait it out and hope the new medicine works quickly. We will have to take it pretty easy for a bit, but hope to head out tomorrow to do 4 miles. Yesterday we walked to the park by Lake Chatuga here in Hiawassee. It is where they have a fair going on later in the summer. The lake was beautiful, and the walk felt good. Today is a nice day too. I called my friend, Jackie in OH and she said the day is dreary and rainy. Made me glad we stayed. The restaurants here are great! We've been having fun trying them all.
Date: 2003-03-28
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: USFS-69
Miles today: 8.0

This was a wonderful day. Every day seems to get better and better. It started with an all you can eat breakfast buffet at Shoney¢s where we ran into Rick and Cindy Vogt from NJ. Rick hiked the trail before in the ¢70¢s, so his trail name is De ja vu Man. They spent the last four days in Franklin while Cindy is trying to recover from her knee problem and had rented a car to get around. They offered us a ride back to the trail which we gratefully accepted. They also picked up another hiker heading into Franklin when they dropped us off.         The day was cool and overcast, but it didn¢t rain. We made great time hiking up Silers Bald and met two other hikers on our way up which made the climb even more enjoyable. First we met Damp Dan from Boston and then Turtle who was taking is easy because she had injured the tendon in her heel. We said goodbye to Turtle at the Siler Bald Shelter sign where she headed down the blue blaze for the shelter. We decided to hike on and look for a place to camp. The balds are beautiful grassy meadows on the top of the mountain. Siler¢s Bald was the first I¢d ever seen.         We came to Wayah Camp site, but it was pretty exposed to the wind and we decided to try a little further down the trail. We were really happy we did because there was a big blue tent and a trail angel name Apple just next to the bend. He was just picking up after 8 days of providing sodas, hot dogs, candy bars, water, and for some, a place to sleep in his tent. 130 hikers had passed that point. He gave us his camp site, water, Reese Peanut Butter Cups-yummm and the firewood he had gathered. He also let us use his pot holder to get our pot of the stove when I lost my pot lifter which I later found. His trail magic left us with a magical evening. We had a great fire and a good supper. This is a beautiful place to camp. Looking out from the bald you can see the lights from Franklin in the valley below. The fire, the stars and the twinkling lights in the distance, what could be better than this? We stayed up until 9 o¢ clock just enjoying the evening, the fire, and cups of hot chocolate.        I¢m hoping De ja vu and Cindy will soon be back on the trail and that Apple gets his chance to thru- hike. Thanks for a magical day, trail angels!
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Hog Back Gap
Miles today: 11.1

It was really hard to get going this morning because of the cold. We had a good breakfast of dried fruit, grits, pop tarts and coffee. We climbed up Cheoah Bald from the shelter and Dread was enjoying the view with two South Bounders who had started from Maine in late September of 2002. Their names are Snowman and Wind Chill, one from Wales and the other from Yorkshire, England. They have a web site- www.NorthAmericanChallenge.com and are raising money for cancer research. I took a picture of Dred, Gary, and the two south bounders from the top of the bald. I hope it turns out. Today was a rough one. Many steep ups and downs. (I should just quit writing this because the AT is almost all steep ups and downs). We passed up the shelter at Brown Fork Gap because there was no place to tent. From then on, there were very few tent sites and none of them good. We finally came to Hog Back Gap and quickly put up the tent. We broke a rod in the process but duct tapped it together. It's a bit windy here and there is no water source. We are running low on water, so it was a pot tart for super. We had some beef jerky, cheese, crackers, and a half of an Ensure power bar for lunch. Tomorrow we hope to make Fontana Dam and go to the Hike Inn.
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Hog Back Gap

To: N.C. 28
Miles today: 9.6

Last night, the tent was actually nice and warm despite the wind. We got packed up and going about 8:05 AM and passed up Dread, Two Step and friends who were still packing up at Cody Gap about a mile down the trail. They later passed us up, but we all ended up taking a break at Cable Gap Shelter, and we saw them later along the trail and at Fontana Village where we were picking up our mail drop and waiting for Jeff from the Hike Inn to pick us up. AT Wannabe was also staying at the Hike Inn. It was really great to finally meet her since we had corresponded via e-mail before taking off for the trail and we are both from OH. She is going to be leaving soon to welcome a new grandchild. There are two other hikers here, a thru hiker named Brace and a section hiker who is going to get a shuttle to Dick's Creek and hike back to Fontana Dam. Nancy drove us in to get dinner in Robinsville and to go to Ingles Super Market. While we were there, we saw a thru hiker and his dog, Sugar. We have been bumping into them off and on since Blue Mountain Shelter. He was trying to figure out how to hitch around the Smokies with his dog. Nancy gave him information and a lift to Stecoah Gap where he could tent and have a good chance for a hitch in the morning. He said Papa Tom was camped there too. They were the two hikers who spent the snowy night with us at Tellico Gap. We also saw them both at NOC. It seems like we are doing better at keeping up with other hikers or else the others are just slowing down. We are going to take a zero day tomorrow which will probably put us behind again. A whole day off with hospitality provided by Jeff and Nancy is worth it. This is really a great place to stay! We may never get to Maine this year, but we are having fun trying.
Date: 2003-04-03
From: N.C. 28

To: Hike Inn
Miles today: 0.0

We managed to fix the tent pole by cutting off a small piece that was broken with a hack saw. Jeff helped me fix it. We will probably take 8 or 9 days to get through the Smokies with a day in Gatlinburg. We aren't really looking forward to this because we have to stay in the shelters where there are mice, lots of other people, some of them might even snore louder than Gary which will no doubt keep him awake all night listening to the mice scamper around unless he is lucky and falls asleep early on. As for me, I will try not to scream and wake everyone up if a mouse goes skittering across my sleeping bag. Rain is predicted for the whole week! I haven't told this to Gary yet. Perhaps I will just let him discover it as we hike along. It could even end up being snow at the higher elevation. Today we will feast in town, gather a few supplies, mail things home (I sent us way too much food in our drop box), and pack up. We hope to leave early tomorrow morning.
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Highway 28

To: Birch Spring Gap
Miles today: 8.3

Nancy from the Hike Inn dropped us off where we came off the trail about 9AM and we went to visit the ¢Fontana Hilton,¢ a super shelter donated by Papa Smurf. We saw Ostrich there and one of the guys who has been hiking with the brothers and Bree, who is now known as Lady Bug. I thought they had passed us up, but I guess not.         After checking into the shelter we set off across the dam. It was part of the TVA project started by FDR during the depression. We enjoyed looking down from the dam and then climbing up all day as the dam and lake slowly faded from view. It was a hazy day with a bit of drizzle at the end of it.        We met the Ridge Runner, Trail Maintainer, Trail Nomad, Many Sleeps. He hiked the AT for the first time when he was 68. Now he still hikes it to help maintain it for the enjoyment of others. He was on his way back to his truck with a big pack full of trash from Birch Spring Gap and Molly¢s Ridge. Someone had even left all of their tent poles and stakes there. It was really neat to meet Many Sleeps because I had heard about him from other hikers. He has a long white beard and a spark and twinkle in his eyes that I will never forget. I hope I have his zest for life when I am his age.        When we got to Birch Spring, we were the only ones there. This didn¢t last long. We built a fire and ate our dinner, soon Retro and Orbit came along and three others. Retro and Orbit had been at the Hiawasee Holiday Inn Express when we were there. It was nice to see them again. ¢Trail name pending¢ joined us at the fire too along with Gonzo. We have all run into many of the same hikers, so there was a lot of talk about who saw who where and how far ahead of us or behind the others were.
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Cosby Knob

To: 2 miles past Davenport Gap
Miles today: 10.1

         Another beautiful day of hiking, mostly downhill, so it was a pretty easy 9 miles. We got lucky at Davenport Gap. Mountain Mama had just dropped the two Petes off at the trail head and took us and Sourmash into her store. This saved us a hike down there. We ate big cheeseburgers, fries, and yummy ice cream cones. We picked up our mail drop-Thanks Kristen ? and got our re-supply of food. Then Mountain Mama drove us, Sassafrass, and Flying Cricket back to the trail. Tonight we have a nice spot to camp near a stream. It was nice to take off our boots and dangle our feet in the water. Flying Cricket and Sassafrass are here too, along with 1/3 and the guy she is hiking with. Now it is on to Hot Springs. It should take about 3 days. Tonight it is warm in the tent. It was about 80 degrees today.         The highlight of my day, besides the cheeseburgers, was a little doe grazing beside the trail. She didn¢t even seem to fear me at all. I took a picture of her and stood watching her until she finally walked quietly away into the forest. Sassafrass and Flying Cricket were hiking behind me and got to see her too.