morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-01-03
To: My Kind of Town, Chicago Is
Miles today: 0.0

My Kind of Town: Chicago IsDecember 30th through January 3rdDistance: 15 milesElevation: Oh, not muchAfter that lousy Thanksgiving, I couldn¢t bring myself to spend New Year¢s Eve alone in the heartland, so I drove up to Chicago to stay with my friends Derek and Mike. I got lost driving in to Chicago, even though I lived there for a year, because I didn't have a car when I lived there. People are always amazed by this. I can't give driving directions in San Francisco or Washington, DC either. If you need walking directions, I'm your man. We had a lovely time working on a Monet jigsaw puzzle and watching movies on the giant flat screen TV with brand new Christmas surround sound. We ordered pizza that was cut into squares. Pizza cut into squares always tastes better than sliced pizza. Sure, you don't get the nice point bit, but you get four corners, which is a good trade off. And you can choose between crusty pieces and cheesy pieces, so no parts are wasted. Derek also played travel agent and created a nice itinerary for me to go to Australia and New Zealand using my United frequent flyer miles before they disappear in bankruptcy. That's right, sister! I'm going to a foreign land!After my November/December slothful period, I knew I had better start walking to avoid being miserable on the AT. On New Years Day, the boys went off to a party involving talk about opera and wine, and I went for a walk along Lake Michigan. Keep in mind, this was winter in Chicago. Luckily, they were having a warm spell. It was about 30 degrees, with a wind chill of around 20 degrees. I was testing out my cold weather gear. Not adequate! Glad I found out now. But the walk was lovely otherwise. I walked about 5 miles from Lincoln Park up to my friend Llana's hot dog stand, got caught inside a golf course somehow and had to hop a fence to get out, and stopped at the Closet on North Broadway, my old hangout. I spent a couple of hours talking to my old friend Lee, the bartender, who is still the best read person I've ever met. The next day, I walked downtown to meet Derek at his office for lunch. On Friday, I walked downtown again to the United Airlines office, this time stopping at The Wiener Circle on Clark St for a real Chicago style hotdog, with jalapeno peppers, full slices of tomato, and a big wedge of dill pickle. But alas, I must leave the town of good food. Now where did Derek park my truck?
Date: 2003-01-13
To: San Francisco: Bohemian Again
Miles today: 0.0

San Francisco: the City by the Bay, the City that never sleeps, the City whose dot com yuppies have been expelled from it's fair streets via recession, the City returned to its former glory as leftist heaven. It's good to be home again, where the dreadlocks are long and the girls look like boys, and the boys are pretty.San FranciscoJanuary 11th through January 13thDistance: 5 milesElevation: Up and down, up and down. It's San Francisco, baby!On Saturday, the boys and I walked down the hill for brunch in the Castro followed by a look-see for New Zealand and Sydney books on Market St. Later that evening, it was Hawaiian food and drinks with my running group. In 2001, my friends Ed and Roger and I ran the Honolulu Marathon as part of a fundraiser for AIDS, and our training group has remained very close. It is a collection of wonderful people held together by sarcasm, alcohol, humor, a natural inclination to dislike people, and a little bit of running. Sunday and Monday were full of food, walking, Australia/New Zealand trip preparation, and chores. Many thanks to my friend Denise who went to New Zealand in November and gave me the skinny. Monday night, I flew to Sydney.
Date: 2003-01-17
To: Sydney Continued
Miles today: 0.0

Sydney ContinuedJanuary 16th and 17thDistance: 7.5 miles and 16 milesOn Thursday, I got up very early and took a two hour train ride out to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. It was, as my friend Ggreg had described it to me, like the Grand Canyon covered with trees. The seats on the train are reversible so that you can sit frontwards or backwards. I had quite a good time flipping all the seats in my car back and forth until a conductor told me to stop. I did the Prince Henry Walk in the Blue Mountains to the Three Sisters Rocks. The path was quite nice and I hiked barefoot for awhile. I also stopped in at the Purse Museum on the way back to the train station. They had a purse made entirely of an armadillo, with the head and paws and all. Wow! The purse lady told me that people always have a strong reaction to the armadillo purse. She also said that people like to tell her which purses are their favorites, as I was doing. I told her that's because no one else will ever care again which purses they liked at the Purse Museum. She was really the only shot people had at sharing the Purse Museum experience with a willing audience. She didn't quite know how to take that comment. On Friday, I decided to go big. Starting at 6:00am, I walked from southern Sydney, up to the harbour, and in and out of every bay until I hit the Tasman Sea at South Head. It looked like the world ended there. I also visited the nudie beach. Well, I peeked over the cliff at the nudie beach. All men. What a surprise. I was using a very poor map, but friendly people at the beaches would tell me the most scenic way to walk to the next beach, and I made my way up the coast that way. I forgot to put sun screen on my feet that day, and I have an interesting severe sun burn in the shape of my Tevas. Still, it's good to know that I can hike 16 miles in my Tevas with no blisters. On to Auckland, New Zealand early Saturday morning.
Date: 2003-02-19
To: Kiwis Rule!
Miles today: 0.0

Kiwis RuleI like cows, New Zealanders like cows, I like to talk, New Zealanders like to talk: we got along just fine. There are no large mammals native to New Zealand, but they have done an excellent job of importing cattle.   The countryside looked like home to me, with the stocky red Simmentals with their dirty white faces, the beefy white Carolais, the spotted black and white Holstein dairy cows (model for the cow print interior design fiasco), and my favorite, the plain old Black Angus beef cows. And don¢t forget the sheep, lots and lots of sheep. The flora and fauna of New Zealand is unique because of the historical lack of large mammals. No bears, no wolves, no coyotes, no gophers, no nothing. This void led to the development of flightless birds like the kiwi and the weka, large insects, carnivorous land snails, and unusual plants. There are also no snakes. (All of this makes for good hiking, by the way, except for my newfound fear of carnivorous land snails). Enter the British Empire. Much like rabbits in Australia, possums (they spell it without the "o") were, intentionally or not, introduced into New Zealand and have proceeded to devour the local flora and fauna and have caused many species to become endangered (such as the kiwi) or extinct. People in New Zealand dislike the possum so much that possum pelts are used for just about anything with joyous celebration. I had to stop myself from purchasing a pair of possum slippers as a souvenir. Also, New Zealand is known around the world for its trout fishing, but the introduction of trout into the pristine lakes of New Zealand has caused the decline of many a native fish. I journeyed to the Auckland Zoo for a look at the Kiwi Bird. This is my new favorite animal. Picture a kiwi fruit with meaty fast tapering legs, no tail, a butt like a pig, and a regular bird head with a toothpick for a beak. I was in the Kiwi exhibit for half an hour, and each new group of people that funneled through burst out in a collective startled laugh upon seeing the kiwi for the first time.
Date: 2003-02-19
To: Hiking in New Zealand
Miles today: 0.0

Hiking in New Zealand"Hiking" or "backpacking" is commonly called "tramping" in New Zealand. In fact, I carried around a book entitled "Tramping in New Zealand" during my stay. New Zealanders really know how to tramp. The country has established 12 Great Walks, which are very formalized hiking tracks, including the Milford Track, supposedly the most beautiful walk anywhere in the world. The 12 Great Walks, in additional to many other hiking tracks in New Zealand, are well thought out. They have rudimentary benches every few miles, there is almost no litter strewn about, and rangers actually patrol the trails daily. The best part of the Walks is the hut system. Much like the shelters on the Appalachian Trail, there is a hut every 5 to 10 miles. Unlike the AT shelters, these huts are fully enclosed, and most have heat, gas stoves, running water, privies or flush toilets, and bunks with mattresses. It¢s fancy camping. Thank goodness they didn¢t include showers; it¢s the only thing that keeps Suburban Joe and High Maintenance Nancy from clogging up the trails. And these Walks aren¢t for sissies. They are rated from easy to difficult and take anywhere from 2 to 7 days to complete.
Date: 2003-02-19
To: The People That You Meet, Walking Down the Street
Miles today: 0.0

The People That You Meet, Walking Down the Street, the People That You Meet Each DayThe Canadian Woman on the Tranzalpine Train. I was really looking forward to the Tranzalpine Train ride from Christchurch, across the Southern Alps, to Greymouth. It was touted in the guidebooks as one of the greatest train journeys on earth, right up there with the Orient Express. I boarded the train, found my seat, deboarded and paid more money for a window seat facing forward, reboarded, and looked around for someone to entertain me. I began a conversation with the Canadian woman sitting across from me on the other side of the train. I was surprised to find that our conversation did not taper off when the train started moving and the show began, so to speak. I tried alternatively reading and closing my eyes nap-like to get her to stop talking to me, but she was not to be phased. The need to escape from this situation without being overtly rude found me out on the open-sided observation car for the rest of the trip, facing the cold winds of the Southern Alps at 50 miles per hour. I took many pictures that day. Cafenoxious. I coined this term originally to describe people in caf©s who seem to think of the caf© customers as their audience in a small dinner theatre and pitch their voices accordingly, i.e., they use their outside voice. I observed two men doing this in New Zealand. They were both American. The first was in a caf© in Queenstown. This guy falls into the category of imposer. He was from New Jersey and living in Queenstown until he could find a way to get a work permit. He came into the caf© where I had lunch in order to hit on the cute young girls working there.   I got the impression that he did this every day. I was sitting about 30 feet away from Mr. New Jersey, and I could hear every word that he said. The servers were clearly underjoyed at his presence, but he did not seem to notice.   The second cafenoxious man was an "athlete" from San Francisco on my shuttle to the Heaphy Track. He wore a baseball cap touting the Iron Man competition in Hawaii. He spent two hours of the shuttle ride talking to the sweet Vermont couple behind him about his various athletic achievements and saying dismissively "oh, I¢ve done that" to every item on their itinerary. I met a bartender in Christchurch who was short on conversation, but he ducked behind the bar and came back with two tiny week-old Chihuahua puppies in his hand, his eyes lit up like Christmas. I liked him as much as the wise crackin¢ Heaphy Track shuttle driver, Ray Kaka from Tukaka. He had some corny jokes, but he was happy and smilin¢.
Date: 2003-02-19
To: Greg's Brother Ben - Queenstown, NZ
Miles today: 0.0

Greg's Brother Ben - Queenstown, NZ and the Ben Lomond HikeQueenstown is nestled on the edge of a teal-blue lake at the foot of the Remarkables, a mountain chain on the South Island. The hills around Queenstown are alive with the screams of terror. This is the place where bungy jumping really took off. If there is a dangerous crazy sport, you can do it in Queenstown. It is also one of the most beautiful places on earth. I took a hike up Ben Lomond (3700¢ elevation gain, 10 miles), a mountain looming above Queenstown. The grade was gradual at first, then more like boulder hopping for the last couple of miles. Per usual, small children (ages six and eight) passed me. About half way up the mountain, just as you crest the Ben Lomond Saddle, you can look behind you at the Remarkables, holding court over the Queenstown and the lake, and before you is your first unexpected, breathtaking vision of the snow-covered Southern Alps. I had a nice chat with a German hiker on top of Ben until we almost got hypothermia from the chilly wind coming off the Alps. That evening, I watched Lord of the Rings, caught up on my journal, and rode the bus to Christchurch with a clear conscience.
Date: 2003-02-19
To: All Hail Queen Charlotte - Hiking the QC Walkway
Miles today: 0.0

All Hail Queen Charlotte - Hiking the Queen Charlotte WalkwayTotal New Zealand Miles - 137After a day off from the Heaphy Track, I tackled the Queen Charlotte Walkway near Picton. This is a beautiful 50-mile, 3-day walk along the Marlborough Sound, dipping down from the ridgeline to the numerous bays. It is accessible only by water-taxi and runs close to various summer resorts and backpacker lodges tucked into the bays. During this trip, I jumped into the bay to retrieve my baseball cap, played a borrowed guitar at the water¢s edge at a backpacker lodge, and ate at a 4-star restaurant. This track was steeper than the Heaphy, often gaining 1000 feet in a mile, but it ended at a caf© serving fresh hot coffee and muffins. I went sea-kayaking in the Marlborough Sound the evening before I left for the Queen Charlotte, so I got a chance to see the layout of the track before I started.
Date: 2003-02-24
To: My Somerville Sticker Has Expired - Boston
Miles today: 0.0

My Somerville Sticker Has ExpiredBoston, MAFebruary 6th - February 10thAbove is the title of a soon to be classic folk song co-written with my friends Kim and Jamie from Boston. I flew to Boston for a long weekend right on the heels of my New Zealand trip. I just had no idea what time it was. Did you know that Boston is cold in the winter? It was about 20 degrees. I spent two lovely days with my good friend Emily. We hadn't seen each other since law school. I'd like to point out that her dog, Dingo, really liked me, and Dingo is a discerning dog. That made up for the many dogs and cats that have not liked me in the past few months. Emily did some advance planning for me and hooked me up with the Minute Man National Historic Trail, following the Minute Man route and British retreat from Lexington to Concord (think Paul Revere - the British are coming! the British are coming!). It snowed about a foot the night before my hike and kept snowing all day. I thought that hiking in the snow sounded very Thoreau and East Coast-ish (I was just a mile or two from Walden Pond). Turns out that hiking in a foot of snow is very hard work, and wearing jeans in snow is a bad idea. Well, at least I've done it, and it convinced me to buy crampons just in case I run into snow on the AT. I must say that I am still a bit miffed at the employee just inside the Visitor's Center who refused to let me in to get warm. She motioned that the Visitor's Center was closed because of the inclement weather. I yelled that I was in the inclement weather and would like to stop being in it for a minute, but that didn't make sense to that particular employee. During this hike, I took a wrong turn and hiked on the Concord Turnpike, and I mean on it, since the berm was piled feet high with snow from the plows. I cannot recommend this, and I'd like to thank the people of the greater Boston area for not running over me. I spent the next two days with Kim and Jamie in Somerville, listening to music and playing guitar and writing songs. Their cats liked me, too. Back to San Francisco.
Date: 2003-02-24
To: Yoga Maria and the Heather Combs Dancers
Miles today: 0.0

Yoga Maria and the Heather Combs DancersSan FranciscoFebruary 10th through February 25thIt's all about the music. I saw Kristen Hall in Napa Valley, Kasey Chambers at the Filmore, and bluegrass and Heather Combs at the Hotel Utah. My friend Yoga Maria was my de facto guardian during the last couple of weeks and helped me with my AT planning, bear bagging, practicing with crampons, stove issues, driving in San Francisco, and photo editing. Now that is a good friend! I attended the San Francisco Peace Rally, which was very colorful and generally peaceful, but I missed seeing Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez perform. I think I ran out of peace before they performed and sauntered over to my friend Denise's wine and cheese party in the Mission. My running group got together for brunch and drinks (these were different occasions, although you can't always tell), and I think a couple of them actually ran beforehand. Someone smashed the back window of David and Keena's parked car, providing much excitement for the evening. If you don't live in a city, you may not know that, before you even call the police, you should search the surrounding couple of blocks in all directions for your belongings, because the thieves start running while they look through the loot, then throw out what they don't want. Best quote of the two weeks comes from my friend Ed: "Airfare will be cheap during the war, so we can fly out and meet you on the Trail. We don't actually have to hike, do we?". Well, I'm not even close to ready, but I'm driving to Arizona tomorrow, then flying to Atlanta on Thursday to start hiking. I haven't made arrangements to get from Atlanta to Springer, but I'm sure I'll find a way.
Date: 2003-02-28
From: Springer Mountain

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Hey, I Made it to SpringerElevation Gain: 2400'Hiking Time: 8:45-5:30On Tuesday, I drove from San Francisco to red rock country in Arizona, spent Wednesday annoying the crap out of my mother and doing one million last minute things, then flew to Atlanta on Thursday. All hail Jodie and Roberta from Ellijay for picking me up in Atlanta, putting me up for the night, and driving me to Amicalola Park on Friday morning, but especially for making me try a Gold Balance bar. Those things are awesome, and I've ordered some for my maildrops, right Dad?I caught a ride from the friendly Wes Wesson from the Amicalola welcome center up to Big Stamp Gap and hiked the .9 mile back to the summit of Springer and signed the register. BearKat took my picture for me. In addition to BearKat and I, there were 6 other brand spanking new thru-hikers, including several nice people with cute accents from Vermont and New Hampshire - Slowride, Trooper, and Soldier. Soldier had excellent braids. And don't forget Girl Next Door - she was carrying a video camera. There is footage of me out there somewhere. I had cold pizza and coffee for breakfast, but I immediately began obsessing about food. By the end of the evening, I was driving everyone in the shelter nuts with food talk. Must learn not to do that. I met a man named Denver Dan who sported mixed meat bars. He had dehydrated about 5 different kinds of meat, all mixed together, and added it to his food. He said it was good. I told him the beauty of the whole thing was the phrase "mixed meat bar", but he just didn't get it. We heard some scary sounds at Gooch Mt. Shelter. I thought they were wild turkeys, since I had just seen the national wild turkey call champions on David Letterman. But Aaron from Chattanooga (and how often do you meet a long-haired vegetarian boy from Chattanooga?) told me they were screech owls and horned owls. Also in the shelter that night were Brian and Matt, two clean cut boys fresh from Penn State with brand new engineering degrees and no trail names. Counting Denver Dan, that made three engineers and a lawyer in the shelter. I don't know what Chattanooga Aaron does for a living, but I counted him as a bohemian just to lower the nerd factor in the shelter that night.
Date: 2003-03-01
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Neels Gap - Walasi-Yi Center
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 2, and I'm Still GoingElevation Gain: 2700' Hiking Time: 7:30-5:45The hardest part of today was something called Blood Mountain that came at the tail end of the day. I also developed several blisters on Day 1 because I forgot to put on my sock liners. Oops. But, I bandaided and duct taped my feet, and the blisters haven't gotten worse, so I guess it's ok. So, I walked and walked. Met a nice couple with their dogs at Woody Gap and followed them the rest of the way to Neels Gap. There are many section hikers out, and they are just a fun group of people. Rumour on the Trail has it that at least 67 people started from Springer Mt. today. I'm glad I left on Friday. Today I spent about 45% of my time thinking about food. I got to the Walasi-Yi Center at Neels Gap just in time to get some sandwiches and soda at the store and get a bunk in the bunkhouse. I met the infamous Just-an-Echo, who has hiked the trail about 10 times, and Chief, who is on his 3rd or 4th go around.
Date: 2003-03-02
From: Neels Gap - Walasi-Yi Center

To: Poplar Stomp Gap
Miles today: 12.0

Day 3: I Know, I Can't Believe I'm Still Out Here, EitherElevation Gain: 3000'Hiking Time: 9:30-6:30In the morning, I got more soda and sandwiches, coffee, mailed a bunch of stuff home, and headed out at the leisurely time of 9:30. FYI: Bed time on the Trail is generally about 7:30, right after dark. In the hostels, bed time is around 8:30-9:00, when the exhaustion sets in. Two-Speed Mailman, a section hiker, and I passed each other all day. He was a nice guy. We were trying to get to a place called Cowrock Mountain, and I swear we passed about 4 places that could have been called Cowrock Mountain before we finally caught up with Chief, Tim, and the Other Guy on what Chief said was the real Cowrock. We all had lunch together up there. I planned to stay at Low Gap Shelter with the guys, but there was a creepy guy in the shelter named Nick who had his hand down his pants the whole time I was talking to him, and he was cooking in the shelter (a no-no) and had his dog in there. The boys decided to tent rather than deal with this creature, and I figured if I was going to tent, I might as well get a couple more miles in, so I made spaghetti then headed down the road until dusk with fear and trembling. I set up my tent and hung my food all by myself for the first time. I was so proud, I took a picture. It was actually kind of scary, and I almost wet my pants a couple of times during the night because I was too afraid to get out of my tent and go to the bathroom. I'm more worried about hillbillies than bears, since the bears appear to still be hibernating. Before I forget, Jodie and Roberta from Ellijay made up a great game that you can play at home. Look at the TV guide to see what movie is playing on Lifetime, Television for Women, then, just from the title, you all take a guess at what the movie is about, provide a good amount of detail, and the closest person wins. I don't know what you win, maybe a chance to change the channel.