morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-23
From: Harper's Ferry ATC Headquarters

To: Weverton Road (MD)
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is moving day - last day for basecamp in Front Royal, VA. No lazy morning here while we organized, cleaned, showered, packed up gear and hooked up camper. Left at 9:30am, drove a little over an hour north to Falling Waters Campsite. Falling Waters is on the WV side of the Potomac River, right on the WV/MD line. By lunch time we were setup and moved in, so we decided on a day trip back to Harper's Ferry (about 30 mins away). Boss and I arrived at ATC Headquarters around 2pm, to a very busy scene as several hikers had just arrived. I picked up my "halfway postcards" and stamps, and talked with Machine in the hiker room while she journaled and waited her family's arrival. My plan was to finish the hike across WV, so Boss leashed up Murphy and we headed from ATC down the side trail and back onto the AT north. Soon we passed Jefferson Rock with some cool views of the Shenandoah River and surrounding bluffs. A little further we arrived at the cemetery and then at the fort-like remains of an Episcopal church. More pics and good views from St. Peter's Catholic church, down the naturally wavy and uneven greenstone steps to the foot of High street, through the railroad tunnel and past another good river viewing spot. Next was to cross the footbridge spanning the Potomac River, crossing into Maryland. Thankfully there was no train within sight or sound, as the footbridge may as well be a third track on the adjacent railroad trestle bridge, and while neither Boss or I would have enjoyed that, Murphy would probably have freaked out. At the northeast end of the bridge, Boss and Murphy u-turned to the car and I continued down the steps and onto the piece of the AT which joins the Chesapeake & Ohio Towpath Trail. I followed this flat, former mule towpath along the Potomac River, adjacent to the current active railroad line and the old C&O canal. Quite a few bicyclists and walkers were using the path, and I also passed four section hikers headed southbound to Harpers Ferry. My day hike ended when I arrived at the parking area at the foot of Weverton Road, just southeast of Route 340. We chose a different route back to camp, taking us through Boonsboro and eventually on outskirts of Hagerstown, MD. We decided on dinner at Golden Corral and each certainly got our all-you-can-eat $15 worth with several steaks, all kinds of sides and a plethora of desserts! Back to camp and my full belly was down before 9pm! A great NERO day.
Date: 2014-05-24
From: NONE

To: ZERO Day at Falling Waters Campground
Miles today: 0.0

Wow - I actually slept until 8:30am! Emma and Ryan arrived from Doylestown, OH after 9pm last night and setup a tent near the camper. Gail & Larry cooked bacon and eggs for all of us. The four of them were headed to Harpers Ferry for sightseeing, Boss went for groceries and I called today completely off. I made a few phone calls to catch up with friends back in STL. Then I decided to log entries into my badly outdated online Trail Journal! Well, I at least started to get it updated...between snacks, a nap and a shower Around 6pm, I grilled chicken, steak and asparagus for the six of us, to go with baked potatoes and tossed salad with fresh tomatoes. A popup shower made us move the two picnic tables under the camper awning, but it didn't dampen dinner or last long. After dinner, Emma and Ryan tested their new backpacking stove and reviewed the food and gear they would carry in their packs on tomorrow's hike. I resupplied a few items, filled water and readied my pack, while Boss got her bicycle and bike gear ready for her ride tomorrow.Somehow it is now already past 8pm...why do zero days go so quickly?
Date: 2014-06-14
From: NJ 94/Vernon NJ

To: ZERO Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was a planned zero day and forecast was for upper 70s and sun. I had hopes to sit at or in the campground pool, however, as I attempt to get my journal admin up-to-date I wear a hoodie and hope these are just passing clouds and not more rain! I did successfully spread out all my gear and it is finally dry. Another plus, after four rounds of stuffing newspapers into my boots, they no longer drip and are walk-worthy again
Date: 2014-01-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

In April of this year, I will be attempting a through hike of the Appalachian Trail, which is roughly 2,189 miles spanning 14 states from Georgia to Maine. I will fly to Atlanta on April 10, 2014 and with the help of a good friend who lives in Atlanta, will start hiking the approach trail (8.8 miles) to the trail head at Springer Mountain on Friday April 11, 2014. Ultimately, my goal is to make it all the way to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine, which marks the northernmost end of the trail. At this time, I am trying not to look that far ahead, so initially my goal is to make it to the North Carolina border 76 miles down the trail, and from there to get to the Tennessee border, and so on.   Hiking the Appalachian Trail was never a lifelong dream of mine. In fact, up until about 3 years ago, it was not even on my radar screen. Several events have occurred since that time that made me think, not only do I want to do this, I have to do this. In 2010, I hiked a couple of days with a friend¢s Son and his buddy on the Arizona Trail near Payson, Arizona. They were hiking 300 miles of the Arizona Trail to prep for a planned hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2011. The thought of hiking 300 miles at that time did not even come to mind. My friend was able to keep me updated on her Son¢s progress on the Appalachian Trail in 2011 and even sent links so that I could view photographs of his adventure. Seeing those photographs was the initial spark for my interest in hiking the Appalachian Trail. I decided to re-read Bill Bryson¢s ¢A Walk in the Woods¢ an excellent read about his adventures on the Appalachian Trail. From there, I ended up reading several other books written by individuals who had hiked the Appalachian Trail, including the Barefoot Sister¢s accounts of hiking mostly barefoot from Maine to Georgia and then back again (a Yo-Yo hike), ¢AWOL on the Appalachian Trail¢ by David Miller, and Francis Tapon¢s ¢Hike Your Own Hike¢. It was at that point that I started thinking about the possibility of planning a hike of the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2014-01-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

When I first started planning a through hike of the Appalachian Trail over two years ago, it seemed like such a long into the future. But now as my departure date looms near (April 11, 2014), my level of apprehension regarding the inevitability of this trip is growing daily. I am both nervous and excited at the same time. I am apprehensive about leaving all of my responsibilities regarding my family and job behind. But I am also very excited about the thought of what a great adventure this will be.When I had convinced myself that this was something I was going to do, I had to decide when I would be able to commit to something of this magnitude. My initial thoughts were that I could do this after I retired when I would be well into my 60¢s. There are numerous individuals who have completed this hike while in their 60¢s, one of the most notable was Emma ¢Grandma¢ Gatewood, who was the first woman to complete the Appalachian Trail solo. She did this at the ripe old age of 67 years in 1955. When asked why she did it she said "I thought it would be a nice lark," but later said "It wasn't." She also said about the trail "For some fool reason, they always lead you right up over the biggest rock to the top of the biggest mountain they can find." Apparently, it wasn¢t all bad for her because she hiked the trail two more times, with the last hike being at the age of 75.Because the lure of the trail is too great and there is no guarantee of what tomorrow will bring, or even what my physical condition will be at that time, I realized that I had to figure out another way to make it happen, sooner. So I decided to approach my boss with the notion of taking a leave of absence. Fortunately, he agreed and I think it was helpful that at the time, we were talking about something 2 years in the future. As the date draws near, there is a level of shared excitement from my boss and co-workers. I purchased wall maps of the trail for the office and home so that my co-workers and family can keep track of my progress. When I asked my boss where we should hang the map, he said he wanted it near the entrance to the conference room so that it can be a topic of discussion with our clients. That is pretty cool.
Date: 2014-02-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Have some time to kill at a jobsite and wanted to test mobile journalling. It is a little over one month until my departure on April 11. My training is going well and is not much different than my typical exercise regimen.   Currently, I lift weights 2 to 3 times a week, bicycle about 20 miles a week, and play singles tennis 2 to 3 times a week.I will probably replace the tennis in a week or two with a pre work climb of Camelback Mountain, which is near my office. Physically, I feel like I'm ready and I certainly don't plan on hiking 500 miles to get ready for 2200 miles.
Date: 2014-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

¢I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.¢Henry David ThoreauI have always loved Thoreau¢s summation for why he chose to go to the woods, and it partly explains the reason I am attempting this hike. To put it into my own words, I choose to go into the woods for all of the following.I choose to go to the woods to learn something about myself, to challenge my physical and inner strength; to grow in spirit and restore my faith in the goodness of people. I want to take a walk through time and experience a bit of history, while travelling at a snail¢s pace.    I wish to see the best and worst that nature has to offer, to feel the warmth of gentle sunrises and the icy blast of alpine winds, the beauty of bluebird skies and the bleakness of torrential rains. I don¢t want to worry about being late for dinner or anything else for that matter. I want to tell stories around the campfire. I want to know that when I get to the end of the day¢s trail, there will be no need to turn around, for there will certainly be more trail to walk and more hills to climb tomorrow and the day after. I want to experience the forest¢s awakening from winter¢s harshness, see Trillium and Rhododendron bloom and then watch them wilt as spring turns to summer. I want to be there when the last of the crepuscular light marks the day¢s end and be awakened by the morning sun to do it all again. I want to fall asleep to the sounds of the dark woods, the calls of Barred Owls and Whip-poor-wills. I want to ford streams, swim in rivers and lakes, read maps, climb the highest peaks and watch hawks float past on invisible currents. I want to see what¢s around the next bend and over the next hill.   I want to photograph when the light is just right, and make do when it is not. I wish to explore the hardwoods of the valley and walk among krummholz above the trees, with wild ponies on grassy balds and through wet lowlands and marshy bogs. I want to walk amongst the bears, deer, and moose. More than anything, I choose to go to the woods for the adventure.
Date: 2014-04-11
From: Amicalola Falls, GA

To: Stover Creek Shelter, GA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

My friends Neal and Allie and I left Atlanta early in the morning and made our way to the start of the approach trail. It was a chilly morning, but the skies were clear. The trail office was closed, so we decided to get started hiking below Amicalola falls and climbed the 600 steps to the top of the falls and then started hiking the 8.8 mile approach trail. Neal and Allie hiked the first 4 miles or so with me. When they turned around to head back to their car after lunch, the feeling of complete isolation and loneliness was almost overpowering. The only thing to do at that time was to just keep walking. I Made it to the start at Springer Mountain and had my picture taken at the placard marking the start of the Appalachian Trail.  I kept going north and ended up hiking 2.8 miles of official Appalachian Trail (only 2,182.5 miles to go). The Approach Trail includes about 2,000 feet of vertical gain and is fairly strenuous. In hindsight, I wish I had just gone to the parking lot below Springer Mountain and started there as that was 8.8 miles that I can't count.I spent my first night tenting at the Stover creek shelter and shared the site with a lot of nice people including a lady with 11 and 12 year old boys and a 9 year old no girl who are planning to hike to Maine. As I was filtering water from the spring behind the campsite, I heard a cracking noise and then my ancient Pur filter exploded into pieces. I had to borrow one from another hiker. A lot of the water sources are running cold straight from the rock and don't really require filtering. The spring water sure tastes better than the Atlanta tap water that I started with.
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

The morning was beautiful as I hiked through a canopy of Rhododendron Trees alongside a fast running stream. It was cool in the shadows and I hoped I would come upon a stream such as this later in the heat of the day. Had to climb two relatively steep hills in the afternoon as the day was getting hotter. As I descended, I heard the sound of a creek below and fortunately, the trail led straight to it. I found a spot around a bend where the creek was deeper and ended up taking my first dip of this hike. The water was definitely rejuvenating.Ended up hiking 13 tough miles, with lots of up and downs. Stayed at Gooch Mountain Shelter where I met a lot of interesting people, including a guy from the UK, two guys section hiking from Dallas.
Date: 2014-04-13
To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 15.9

Started out at Gooch Mountain Shelter with a lot of great people. Experienced my first "Trail Magic" at Woody Gap. Was hanging out with "No Pain", a 57 year old 7 time AT thru hiker from DC and Crews, who is 25 years old from Little Rock. Crews and I have been keeping similar paces for the past couple of days, although he usually beats me several minutes. As we were resting, a gentleman and his wife drive up to us and ask if we want a Coke. "Absolutely", I said. These nice folks always stock ice cold cokes when they pass through this gap to offer to hikers as they pass by. It's friendly gestures like this that rejuvenate you after a tough climb. "No Pain, Crews and I had decided that we were going to push for our first long day by hiking over the steep Blood Mountain. Because of bear restrictions, you either had to stop after only 7 miles or push close to 16. We ended up reaching the hostel at Neel Gap at 6:15 and secured a bunk in the hostel, which is much like a large dorm room. The caretaker at the hostel, is "Baltimore Jack", who is well known figure on the trail.
Date: 2014-04-14
From: Neel Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Did a resupply at Neel Gap, which was a little overwhelming, especially with the threat of rain in the forecast. Made sure everything that I needed to stay dry was wrapped in plastic bags. My pack weighed in at 32.2 pounds with a full load of water and more food than I probably need for the time being. As I get a better gauge on the frequency of resupply and water sources, I can hopefully reduce that weight.Neel Gap is the first resupply after the start of the trail and it is the place where many people end up shipping home extra weight that they really don't need. I was ready to leave as the UPS truck arrived and I watched as 30 to 40 boxes were being loaded. Hiked the first half of the day walking between the raindrops and eerie mist covered woods. That didn't last long as the skies opened up after noon and it rained hard for the rest of the day.   At times, water was running down the trail and it was impossible to keep your feet dry. Made it to Low Gap Shelter and had a little break in the rain, long enough to cook dinner. Set up my tent at a site with "Chef" and "Axman". Breathed easier when "Axman assured me that he got his trail name for his fondness for chopping wood.The shelter was filled with a lot of mostly young through hikers. I ended up giving one of the hikers his official trail name. I started a conversation with a kid from New York who was wearing a Mets baseball cap. I love talking baseball and when he indicated he didn't have a trail name yet, I suggested "Shea" after the Mets now defunct stadium, and he like the idea and accepted the name. As soon as I climbed into my tent, the rain started back and it rained all night.
Date: 2014-04-15
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap, Hiawassee, GA
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Awoke to the musical flute-like song of Wood Thrushes in the canopy of trees just beyond the edge of the camp and two territorial Barred Owls arguing with strange "monkey-like" sounds in the woods behind us. For a brief moment, I was thinking the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, it started raining hard and it required breaking down all of my gear in the rain and eating only a dry breakfast. So far, I have been pleased with my gear as it has kept me dry. Hiked alone in ever increasing rain and cold winds. Reached Blue Mountain Shelter after about 7 miles and stopped in to rest. There were about 6 people, including Twirls, Tim, and James hunkered down in their sleeping bags trying to start a fire with wet wood and keep warm. It was too depressing for me to hang out there, so I put on every piece of warm weather gear I had and started pushing through the wind and rain. After a few miles of a gradual descent, the sun started peaking through the clouds and my spirit improved immediately. I reached Unicoi Gap a little while later, and several hikers (Crews, Delaware, Shea, and Mouse) were waiting for a shuttle into Hiawassee, Ga. to get a hotel. I was on the fence, but decided to catch the shuttle into town and spend the night in a hotel. From inside the Holiday Inn, I listened to the wind howling outside and with a forecast of hard freezing weather for the night, I'm glad I made that choice.
Date: 2014-04-16
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Today was the start of a great day. Spent the last night at the Holiday Inn to escape the frigid weather. Roomed with "Ta Da", a retired School Administrator that I had just previously met 30 minutes prior. Soaked in the hot tub and made calls. In the morning, I walked to the nearby grocery to grab some supplies and was hit with the emotion of how truly fortunate I was to do what I was doing.The shuttle brought us out to Unicoi Gap where we had left off yesterday and we were met with more Trail Magic. A Trail Angel had set up a table and was serving fresh coffee, fruit, and snacks to hikers in the area. I started up the trail about 10:30 under clear skies with temperatures in the low 30's. There were fibrous ice crystals on the side of the trail where the night's high winds had blown water out of the trail and it froze before it hit the ground. The hike was beautiful and peaceful and it reminded me why I was doing this. With the last two days of frigid rain, the clear sky and warming sun were welcoming. I guess it takes bitter cold for us to appreciate the warm, excessive heat to appreciate the cool, and bad to appreciate the good. Near the end of the day, I ran into Crews and Shea and they had decided to set up camp at Addis Gap. They were waiting for Mouse and Delaware who would also be camping with them. The camp site was exposed to the high winds and as much as I wanted to be a part of a group at this point, I decided to push on and over Kelly Knob to reach the next shelter. At the shelter I met Tim, James, Twirls, and Guppy. Although the shelter was 0.3 miles off of the trail, it was in a nice area out of the cold wind.So far animal life on the trail has been almost non existent. I have seen numerous squirrels and a few salamanders and that is about it. I have seen plenty of birds along the way, including Pileated Woodpeckers, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Wood Thrushes, Rufous Sided Towhees, and a pair of Black and White Warblers. I sat on a ledge and enjoyed the view while a pair of Ravens soared overhead, making loud croaking sounds.   I have also seen plenty of crows, but crows are to Ravens as coyotes are to wolves. It always seems like I'm in the presence of a spirit whenever Ravens are around. Whether good or evil, I can never tell.
Date: 2014-04-17
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Muscrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

I Left Georgia and entered North Carolina in the early afternoon, which represents the first major milestone in the hike. I waited at the official trail marker, which is only a small sign nailed to a tree, for someone to show up to take my picture. After a few minutes, Crews comes walking up and I figured he would be the first to come this way. One of my initial goals was to cross that first state border. In fact, I believe this is the first time I have ever walked across a state line. I continued to hike solo as Crews had decided to keep pace with Shea, Mouse, and Delaware who were hiking shorter miles than I was at that point. At the end of the day, I made it to the MusKrat Creek Shelter, which was in a nice area covered with Rhododendrons and a nice flowing stream nearby. At the shelter, I met Jackal, Unsure, Pocket Fire, and Guppy. Dancer came in later as I was eating a rice dinner I had picked up in a Hiker Box. It was way more food than I wanted so I shared half with Dancer. Several of the group hiked off trail to a location where a small plane had crashed several years before.
Date: 2014-04-18
From: Muscrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Today I was hiking down to a Gap from a ridge and I noticed a truck pulling out of the parking lot and then l noticed it backing up. That could only mean one thing. He spotted me to coming down and he had some "Trail Magic". Sure enough, he handed me a bag of bananas. I ate one and left the rest on a post for other hikers. The afternoon brought more rain and it rained all night.At the shelter, the group, including Jackal, Chef, Ax Man, Pocket Fire, Jackal, Unsure, No Rush, Randy from Wisconsin, hunkered down in the shelter to stay dry and keep warm. Jackal kept a nice fire going and several of the group huddled around the fire in the rain. It was just too cold for me so I returned to my tent and crawled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.