morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Daleville hotel

To: Daleville hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It was supposed to rain but didn't til the afternoon. Cozy and I journaled some more and we still were not caught up. It's exhausting trying to keep up with a daily dog. After hiking all day, setting up my tent/bed, getting water, cooking and eating, I hardly have enough time to relax for even a few minutes before getting in bed. I want to write the details so I don't just jot down mileage and where I stayed. We (Cozy, Reddup, Tony and I) decided to go to Gander Mountain store. Cozy wanted to find new shoes and I just wanted to look around. I browsed through expensive clothing racks, not really shopping, just looking. I found a nice, quick dry, lightweight, pretty pair of hiking shorts...but they were $60! That's way too much for such a small item of clothing. I wandered over to the cameras and checked out the GoPro cameras. That'd be pretty cool to summit Mt. Katahdin with a GoPro on your pack. Or even just a normal hiking day. Maybe I'll take a few videos of my life out here. We joined up with Teaka and YNot2k and went to Pizza Hut for lunch. I ordered a personal size pepperoni and black olive pizza and it looked small but filled me up. I journaled some more and mailed it home. It started raining after I used the computer. I was going to get up early Saturday morning and head out, rain or shine. Cozy doesn't like hiking in the rain so she was thinking of going home from the airport nearby instead of Lynchburg. As she talked to her husband on the phone, I was thinking, "Nooo, she can't leave now." I had skipped some miles to catch up with her and Redup, hiked slow for them to catch up and zeroed 2 days so I could hike with them. Normally I hike my own hike even when I find cool people. But Cozy was flipflopping in 4-5days so I wanted to stay together. It'd been my choice to adjust my hike but I was a little bummed that she was changing plans. I'd changed my plans so we could hike a bit more together but now she was leaving. I tried to be excited for her as it would be her first time home since Springer. It's difficult to form friendships out here and then we walk apart. You think you'll see someone that evening at camp but they don't make it and you don't end up seeing them for days. Or you have a bad day and can't catch up. Hopefully Cozy and I will bump into each other somewhere farther north. I went to bed, more determined to leave early the next day but it was drizzly when I went down to breakfast. So I took my time eating and getting ready to leave. I packed up and started walking out in the rain but Cozy convinced me to wait for it to stop raining. I only had to wait 30minutes then I left at 9.
Date: 2013-06-08
From: Daleville hotel

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: few clouds

Day 79 I headed out in my rain jacket but it was already super hot. I was slightly interested in going to the Troutville Trail Days but it was over a mile off the trail. A couple from Czech Republic passed me with a french bulldog. It sure was a small dog to be hiking the trail. It was hot as I climbed up to Fullhardt Knob Shelter but I was packing up a Dr. Pepper for lunch. There werer section hikers at the shelter for lunch and one said he does trail maintenance for that section. Hmmm.....He needs to get to work! My Dr pepper was slightly colder that lukewarm and there wasn't a creek to chill it in. There was an old cistern to get water from.. I couldn't wait to get to the creek soak my feet and cool off. The creeks were all large and overflowing the banks covering the stepping stones. I watched Rerun cross trying not to fall in. I got in my crocs and stepped in the creek. AHHH it felt so good and it instantly cooled me off. I stayed around the creek eat5ing and playing in the river for almost 45 min. I took my pack and boots across while in my crocs so I could keep my boots and socks dry. As I was putting my boots and socks back on a large group of hikers showed up. I hurried up the mtn. so that I would be sure to get shelter space. It was steep and I was frustrated with the heat. As I hit the point of tears i looked up and I practically ran into the shelter sign. Oooh! I was pretty excited to see the shelter and to have made it before all the other hikers. I don't know how Redup made it there before me even though she'd left town an hour after me. Rerun Shabby were in the shelter. My mom had text-ed me that Shabby wanted to quit in Daleville so I was glad to see him at the shelter. Smoke, Ann and Delaney set up their tent nearby. nearby. The large group showed up to the shelter and started cooking. Some were going to cook dinner and then night hike to the next shelter. They were being super loud and a little obnoxious. Redup brought in deep fried peanuts that you eat shell on and all. They were ok but I am not a big fan of nuts in general. I cooked my dinner by Smoke and Ann's tent. I was hoping that the noisy people would follow hiker bedtime. As I got ready for bed, the night hikers went on and the noise died down to a normal talking level. I was up ear and out by 9.(Note from transcriberIn real time July 1, Cake, Indigo's Mom hiked the roller coaster 13.3 miles with Indigo and injured herself and went to ER in West Virginia. CT scan and 3 doc visits later and she is still in great pain with no diagnosis. Maybe soft tissue injury torn Hip flexor muscle, perhaps, we will see after an MRI IF approved by insurance. Cake says she will be BACK!)
Date: 2013-06-13
From: Glasglow Pavilion

To: Glasgow Church
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 84Indigo has fallen behind in this journal so far in fact that the next 23 entries are to log the dates and location and post a picture. During this time the rain was never ending and the heat was relentless by the end of the day there just was not enough energy to write. She will update these blank pages when she gets a chance. She is now in Connecticut and still moving north.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Harpers Ferry Hotel

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 100Cake My Mom, pinched a nerve in her back, doing the roller coaster! I had to drive her home and I stayed for 4 days and My Dad brought me back on July the 4th. Nice to be home and eat tons of food. Indigo is sort of confused about which day or date and the pages I have start back on 7-9-13 so that will be the next entry.
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Clarks Ferry shelter

To: South of PA325
Miles today: 16.0

waited for break in the rain to get going but it started pouring 5 mins later. I walked fast unintentionally leaving slow n steady far behind. The trail went over a bridge through a busy intersection and onto another much longer bridge. I was trudging in the open rain as cars blew by. Luckily there was a concrete barrier between me and the cars unlike earlier as I was heading toward the bridge. On the road walk here the cars drove right by through puddles not even slowing down or trying to move over splashing me. Cars tried to be polite and slow going but most splashed me. It didn't matter much because I was soaked from the rain but street water was dirtier. I crossed the railroad tracks and went straight up. I was glad the rain stopped because otherwise I'd be walking up a muddy slippery river. The trail got super rocky and it was tough going. I passed a couple I'd seen at the Doyle and they were smoking and drinking while trying to climb over rocks. I got to the shelter and set up my bed. Catlady Vaz, Walkhard and the couple all arrived and I knew slow n steady wasn't far behind them. Catlady sang as we all cooked dinner an got water. The couple consumed a liter of whiskey and sleep on the shelter steps. They bragged about how much stuff they got for free by stealing from Walmart. It made me worried about my stuff so I slept with my valuables. I wanted to do high miles to get as far as I could from them.
Date: 2013-07-10
From: Just before PA 325

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

day 110I got up and went to put my shoes back on. I t was only a couple more tenths of a mile to the shelter so I decided to hike in my crocs. The shelter was situated down in a hole propped up on rock ledges. The water source was a piped spring into a rough. There was no picnic table but a metal table around a dead tree. It was all rather neat looking . there was a section hiker already there who had his radio on. He said he liked having the music on because he disliked hiker small talk about mileage, destinations aches, etc. I sat around for awhile journaling. After my swim I felt refreshed enough to continue a few more miles but I didn't want to camp alone. I eventually just took a nap falling asleep to the sound of the radio. It was playing nice songs most of which I knew. After a 30 min or so nap I got up and got water... such a choe with it being only 10 feet away. Just as I was about to begin making dinner, Groundhog came walking in. I was glad to see someone I knew. He set up in the shelter and we shared "hiker small talk" while we cooked dinner. We wee both planning on going to the 501 shelter the next day. No one else showed up and we were all in bed by dark. I woke up early so I could try to beat the heat.
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Hanover Trail Angel House

To: Bill Ackerly House
Miles today: 3.7

Day 159Got a late start, took a long time to do ~3miles because my knee really hurts going uphill. Stopped at "The Ice Cream Man"'s house and ended up staying. It was a good time watching hikers play croquet. I met Pryzm who made Bill his ice cream sign. He cooked spaghetti for us all and shared wine. I'm glad I stayed so I didn't miss the hiker party. We got to sleep on the covered porch because it rained.
Date: 2013-08-29
From: Bill Ackerly House

To: Hanover Trail Angel House
Miles today: 0.0

Day 160I came back to the trail angel's house to relax and heal my knee for a couple days. I'm 25miles from Kinsman Notch about to begin the White Mountains and I really need to be in tippy toppy shape. Please pray for my knee to heal so that I can finish before Katahdin closes.I'll continue to catch up on my journal but I want to include all the details so the entries take some time to write. I'm writing while sitting here with an ice pack on my knee and hopefully I'll be able to hike out tomorrow. Big thanks to my dad for keeping up with my journal this entire time...I haven't logged onto this site in months. -Actually Indigo
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Hanover Trail Angel House

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 10.4

Day 162Slackpacked to the hostel and ran into Orion, Davy Crockett, Saint Croix and Nutella. My knee hurt after just 1.8miles. It was drizzly and fairly easy terrain but my knee pain got made the miles tougher.
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Day 163I found out there was a Labor day hiker feed at the hostel at 2 so I didn't hike out. Cozy showed up and it was a joyful reunion. We caught up and hopefully I'll be able to coordinate finishing hiking Maryland to Harpers Ferry with her. A ton of people showed up for the feed, many I hadn't seen in weeks, months.
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Day 164The forecast was for 90% chance of rain & severe thunderstorms all day so I planned to not hike out. I wanted to zero with Cozy anyway so it worked out well. None of the other hikers wanted to hike with the dark skies so I wasn't getting behind too much. Plenty more hikers showed up but I was planning on going to Chet's in Lincoln but I heard that was full so I ended up staying at the hostel another night. I stepped on & crunched cans for work for stay. Even if my knee hurts, I'm hiking out because I'm tired of not hiking. I've done too many zeroes recently! Into the Whites I go...398 miles to go!
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Greenleaf Hut

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 7.5

Day 166It was super windy starting out above treeline. I hiked at 1 mph all day and made it to the hut for Work For Stay. I passed a guy 15minutes before getting to the hut and thank God I did, because he wanted WFS as well but I got the last spot.
Date: 2013-09-05
From: Galehead Hut

To: Ethan Pond Shelter
Miles today: 12.0

Day 167 I fell in the way everyone's scared of...face first down a cascade of rock stairs. It wasn't so bad after I realized I was alive. Somehow I'd managed to not hit my head but I hit my right knee and hip. My hip hurt super bad. I tried to stand but my hip gave out so I sat for a few before getting up and going on. My knee was feeling better and now it was my hip. Argh!On the positive side, I saw a moose bout a mile before the shelter. Now all I want is moose tracks ice cream.
Date: 2013-09-06
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 168My knee brace started falling apart; one of the braces starting coming out. I pulled it out so it wouldn't fall out and get lost. Webster Cliffs was a tough climb up lots of huge boulder faces. It's so much more difficult being short because my legs can't reach the footholds well.
Date: 2013-09-07
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 169 I took my time getting to the hut but still got there too early for WFS. I'd have to pay to sleep in the dungeon. I decided to summit Mt. Washington in the nice weather so I slacked myself up and over. It was super windy but clear. The view was awesome but I got cold quickly so I hurried down. There were tons of people going up and down and at the top. I didn't want to get caught in the approaching storm but I did feel a few raindrops. Lakes of the Clouds wasn't a very nice stay at all and I'm definitely gonna write to the AMC about it.
Date: 2013-09-08
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: White Birches Hostel
Miles today: 1.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 170It was super windy out and had rained all night. I headed out, planning on taking a side trail around Mt. Washington but decided against it because then I would be alone. I summited Mt. Washington again so I'd be with my friends, Midway, Lotus, Teatime and 2 other guys. We all huddled in the summit restaurant, drinking hot chocolate and gaining courage to go out again. It was 60+mph wind with sideways rain, windchill was down into the low teens. My gloves were wet and my hands frozen numb so I knew I wasn't heading back out. The cog railroad was $45 and the shuttle was $30. Three of the others left to go hiking but came back after 5minutes because it was too harsh out there. We finally all decided to hitch down and be safe. It was nice and sunny down in the valley.
Date: 2013-09-09
From: White Birches Hostel

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 171My cameras sd card was full but luckily I got a new one at Wal-Mart. I saw Killer, Hagrid, Fancyfeet, and Mouse at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The climb up Wildcat Mountain was strenuous with lots of vertical rock faces. It took me all day and it was frustrating that I was going just less than a mile per hour.Shady and Greenblaze passed me and I hadn't seen them since the Smokies. Poppins and Fat Man Walking passed me as well. Everyone said they were trying to go as far as they could but I saw them all that evening at the hut, as well as Mooch and Rambo. There were 4 guests and 9 thruhikers at Carter Hut. We got to sleep in bunks and the food was excellent. It definitely made up for my last hut experience.
Date: 2013-09-10
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Rattle River Shelter
Miles today: 14.1

Day 172It was foggy and drizzly most of the day making the rocks even more slow going. I was hoping I could go fast today but as I approached the first shelter, I realized I was hiking at a mile an hour. I started singing praise songs so I wouldn't panic because I knew I'd be hiking in the dark. It was going to get dark on me, I was hiking by myself with all the people I spent last night with ahead of me, it was rocky and it had rained. All of that made for a scary next few hours. I made it to the shelter at dark just before I had to turn on my headlamp. I saw headlamps at the shelter and sure enough, most everyone was there, just getting to cooking. God had come through, all the way. I didn't have to hike in the dark and I wasn't alone at the shelter. I was definitely relieved and content to cook in the dark. It wasn't til I got up to go pee that I remembered I was in pain. I had fallen down a rock face into a heap at the bottom and twisted my knee and hip somehow. My right leg and hip/lower back felt really strange but tomorrow would be better because I was going through town.
Date: 2013-09-11
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: White birches hostel
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: broken clouds

Day 179 I took just a few steps down the trail and pain shot from my hip/lower back down my leg to my knee. Whoa, I think this was the same kind of pain my dad had last year which was sciatic nerve pain. Maybe I'd nearo into town. I ran into Limpin Eagle who'd set up camp right before the road and had had burgers, hot dogs and beer for hikers the night before. I got a soda and headed to town with him and Mooch. I checked the White birches for my box but it wasn't there yet. After riding around town with Limpin Eagle helping others on errands,it still wasnt there. My mom located my box and sadly it wouldn't be there til tomorrow evening. I went to the White Mountains lodge but couldn't take a shower there without paying for a stay so I went back to the white birches. I'd heard someone say Uncle Buck was going to Andover the next day. I was hurting and didn't want to get behind so I thought about skipping ahead, looking at maps of Maine to make sure I could do it on my way home.
Date: 2013-09-15
From: The Cabin

To: The Cabin
Miles today: 0.0

Day 177I woke up feeling sick as well as injured. I made the hardest call of my life, stuttering between sobs to my parents that I wasn't sure I could continue like this. I could hardly pick up my right leg it hurt my back so bad. I was coughing my lungs out and was really stuffy. I decided that I wasn't gonna get well on my own where i am. I asked my parents to drive up, take me to Mt Katahdin and slack as much as I can coming back south. They agreed and started making plans to come to Maine to flip flop me. As soon as I hung up, I felt like a huge burden was lifted. I didn't have to rush to get good weather on Mt K and I'd get to see all the people I thought were long gone if I went south. Honey and Bear who owned the Cabin realized I was sick and let me stay several days for cheaper so I could get well. It's thanks to them that I don't have pneumonia on a mountain in rugged Maine somewhere.
Date: 2013-09-18
From: The Cabin

To: The Grey Beast
Miles today: 13.2

Day 180I slacked from route 17 to route 4 into Rangeley. It was a gorgeous day and I passed several ponds. I was in a lot of pain but was in good spirits til late afternoon when I was just really exhausted. I realized I wouldn't make my 5pm meet Limpin Eagle at the road time. Bootsy, Noname and a few others were just before me and I soon ran into a bunch of hikers and Limpin Eagle close to the road all going into town. I'd made it 13 miles sick and injured and I was still alive and not too much worse.
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Town and Lakes Hotel

To: Town and Lakes Hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 182We all slept in and my mom made eggs for breakfast. We drove to see if we could find a close waterfall but ended up hiking a fairly flat trail for 3miles. It was alright but we could've better planned out our day. We went to Andover to return my slack pack and I saw Stealth, Splash and several others I knew at the general store.
Date: 2013-09-22
From: Town and Lakes Hotel

To: Katahdin Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 182We drove to Millinocket and hopefully it will be good weather tomorrow for my dad and I to summit Katahdin. We put my dog in doggie daycare so we can drive into Baxter State Park. I'm completely consumed by excitement to summit the mountain I've been dreaming about for years.
Date: 2013-09-23
From: Katahdin Inn

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Well I tried to summit Mt Katahdin with my dad. Its by far the hardest mountain I've climbed, better described as just plain brutal. It was very cold, very windy, sleeting and an inch of ice forming on the rocks. My dad and I were exhausted from the hand over hand rock climbing and I was limping bad from my injured hip. We passed other thru hikers that had turned back because the ice was way worse up there. The forecast was 58* partly cloudy and 30% chance of rain, minus 5* for every thousand feet up and some for windchill and its definitely below 30*. Was a picture at the summit sign worth risking our lives? I tried not to tear up as I slowly began my descent but the goal was never the Katahdin sign anyway. I'd done it, I'd hiked well over 2000miles. I just finished thru hiking the Appalachian Trail.I'm writing this from home, all showered and in non-hiking clothes. My injured hip turned out to be a problem with my back so I'm in physical therapy.I'll continue to post updates on the days I missed, gear reviews, and any other thoughts and reflections. I'm heading out to ALDHA's Gathering and will catch up on some new mileage. I finished hiking the AT and already want to go back. Would I ever do it again? Oh yes!!
Date: 2014-04-05
From: home

To: Appalachian Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's been awhile since I've posted but I am still handwriting my entries that I skipped, hoping to at least have a book for myself. I wanted to let the hiking community know that my mom, Cake, is hiking the Appalachian Trail this year. She flew down to Atlanta on March 26 and started at Springer the following day. She helped me a ton last year when I hiked, especially when I had troubles. She has a journal of sorts that yall can follow her on at www.facebook.com/lynnetteansell I'm so excited for her to have the opportunity to follow those little white blazes north one step at a time
Date: 2013-06-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day (-3). As I get ready to undertake this journey I would like to share a bit about what I am doing and why. I teach high school mathematics in Columbus, Indiana. Every year I have fantastic students. When those students become seniors, they are required to do a senior project. The senior project must be a challenge for them, it must be something they are interested in or passionate about, and it must have a community connection. Over the years I have had the privilege of hearing many outstanding senior project presentations. This fall, I will turn 60, so I thought it would be a good time to do my own "senior project." Hiking is definitely one of my passions Hiking 265 miles from New Found Gap in the Smokies to Damascus, Virginia, while not a great distance in terms of the Appalachian Trail, is definitely going to be a challenge for me. And for a community connection, I took pledges to go towards Bartholomew County programming for Campus Life, Youth For Christ. My goal was to raise $1000. As of today, three days before my launch, $1440 has been donated or pledged! That totally blows me away! It is exciting, it is humbling, and it makes me slightly anxious - now I really need to make it all the way to Damascus!
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Damascus

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day -1   I was up too late packing food packages to mail and my backpack last night. I was disappointed when the pack weighed 30 pounds. I was hoping for 25. I thought about leaving the stove and eating uncooked oatmeal to save a pound, but decided to give it a try and see how it goes.Had a great trip to Tennessee today thanks to Tom Heller. We took the scenic route through Cumberland Gap National Historic Site. We are spending the night tonight at my Mom's, and just to make sure I have a good send-off, she let me win at cards.So tomorrow morning we head to New Found Gap in the park and Tom will drop me off on the Appalachian Trail to begin my trek northward.