morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-08
From: Hot Springs 

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well if anyone tells you that the weather should be pretty nice when your out here on the AT, you pretty much take it as a grain of salt. After we left the Standing Bear hostel the trip has been pretty mice. We met up with a mountaineering club from the University of South Carolina, they were pretty fun people to be around. The next day, which was the 6th, we started around 10 or so then hiked until about 9:30 or so that night and pulled out a 20 mile day. That was pretty sweet. I kinda thought about going on into Hot Springs, but that would have been a little much. We all felt pretty good after the long day though. The area that we stayed at was literally like 10 feet off the trail, and we just cowboy camped there because it wasn't suppose to rain that night. On the 7th we rolled into Hot Springs and got a late breakfast, which was just amazing. A huge stack of 3 pancakes, with eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Yeah it all got eaten. It was wonderful. Then we found a good free campsite right outside of town and stayed there last night. Today we're planning a 5 to 10mile day. Something not too strenuous coming from right out of town, but then after that we should get back to doing the 15 mile days, and hopefully get to the 20 mile days soon. I'm really getting ready to start kickin' it up a little and putting the miles behind us. But that means leaving some of the older people that we've had a good time hanging around. Anyways we'll see how it all plays out. Hot Springs is a cool little town though. It was really nice looking down on it as we were coming from the mountain. I just can't wait for it spring to really hit hard though. I'm really getting tired of seeing the barren forest floor, but hopefully the flowers will really start to bloom in the next week or so. Anyways got to get back to the resupply. I miss everyone very much, but the trail is calling again so hopefully I'll be able to be back on in a about a week or so.Phil 4:13 Chef
Date: 2008-04-15
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

hey there. So the other day we rolled into Erwin, Tn. It got really cold Saturday night, so we decided to push it and make Erwin the next day. The weather report said we had a good cold front moving in, so we decided to go and slack pack a 19 mile stretch out of Erwin and stay another night here at the hostel. It was so incredibly beautiful up there on the mountain. When we started the slack pack, which is pretty much just a day hike without our heavy packs, there was snow all around us and it snowed on us pretty much the whole day until we got into the lower elevation. I took some really awesome pictures but the computer is not working the way I would like it to, so I cant upload them at the moment. Everything has been working out pretty well. Its such a blessing when you have someone pull over to pick you up, especially when they had already past by and decided to turn around and come back. God has really blessed us on this trip. Well we're having a lot of fun but i need to get back to the chores i have to do to get ready to go back out. Hopefully when mom comes to demascus i will have the rest of the pictures up to date.Chef
Date: 2008-04-23
From: Damascus, Va.

To: Trout Dale, Va.
Miles today: 20.0

hey everyone. We just got into Damascus, Va. yesterday afternoon after doing a 26 mile day. Yeah, sleep was awesome last night!! I was really struggling the past few days. I've really felt the urge to come home and get back into the old routine. I've really had to rely on the lord to help get me through the tough time, but i've decided to stay. This is a once in a lifetime journey, for most people, and I cant just walk away from this. We're having a really good time for the most part though. Most of the people that i am hiking with are not believers and have a somewhat negative impact on me, so everyone back home and out in the world be praying for me. The scenery has been absolutely amazing! The day we went over Roan Mnt we did a little cowboy camping on one of the ridges. It was so awesome seeing the sun fall and rise. Knock Knock was right about the cowboy camping. I definitely recommend it to anyone who gets the chance on a beautiful night. Well we are about to start the longest state of the trail so hopefully everything will go smoothly and I will enjoy every bit of it. I hope everyone is enjoying the read, sorry i'm not a better writer but maybe that will get better as I get further on the trail. God Bless!!Phil 4:13Chef
Date: 2008-05-06
From: Trout Dale, Va.

To: Catawba
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hi Everyone, Chef hasn't had computer access so I thought I would update you on what has been going on with him. He has been doing very well on this hike until early last Saturday morning. He woke up with the worse kind of illness I think possible for a hiker. After starting to hike out and becoming to ill he went back to the camp for a little while and later finally hiked out to the road. Once there while sitting by the road a lady (one of God's angels in my opinion)stopped and asked him if he needed a ride. He told her he was ill and she gave him a ride into Bland, Va. He got a hotel room and stayed there Saturday and Sunday. The other hikes that were with him made it in later on Saturday and stayed the night also. Sunday Chef was still to ill to hike out so they went on ahead. By Monday he was feeling better and decided to skip the miles between Bland and Pearisburg so he could continue to hike with this group. The next question was how to get to Pearisburg? There wasn't a shuttle, bus station or taxi that could take him there so he just started walking down the road. A lady stopped and said she always picked up hikers and asked him where he wanted to go. He told her Pearisburg. This dear lady (another angel) took him 45 minutes to Pearisburg. He waited at the hostel there until the others arrived on Tuesday and they left out today headed to Catawba. Now, this is my story of God's protection for Chef. This afternoon I was searching the web and on an AT website I saw a heading for "Trail Alerts" The headline was "A.T. closed at Pearisburg, Va". Of course since Chef and the others left from there today I had to see what was going on. Well, it seems that 25 miles south of Pearisburg 2 fisherman were found shot. Those 2 guys and the suspect were in the hospital. The suspect was on probation for harming a hiker a few years ago. This happened on the section that Chef skipped! At the time Chef was ill I was thinking, "Why did this have to happen?" Today, I was thankful that it did and when it did. Had Chef and the others not stopped they very easily could have been in that area when this happened. I have prayed that God's angels would encamp around Chef and protect him and thank God he has heard and answered my prayers. Those of you that have been praying for him--Thank you and please keep praying for his safety and encouragement. God is Good!! Chef's Mom
Date: 2008-05-24
From: Waynesbro

To: Shenandoah's
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everyone, sorry its been so long since i've been able to really sit down and update the journal. Well since my mom updated it last for me i've been through MacFee's Knob and Dragon's tooth. Those were probably two of the nicest places that we have been through so far. About a week after we went through Catawba we got off the trail to go to Trail Days, which was a blast! I didn't get a lot of free deals but a lot of people did and won some really cool stuff. It was also really awesome to meet back up with people that i havn't seen since the smokies or before, and i also got to meet up with the guy that got me interested in doing the trail in the first place, Knock-Knock. It was really cool of the him because the guys that he was tailgating with feed most of the prople in our group. I'm not talking about just a few hamburgers, but oysters, clams, shrimp, and pork tenderloin that was bar-bi-qued. That was a fantastic night. When we got back on the trail after Trail Days we have pretty much done consistent 17 to 18 mile days, with a 19 and a 25 miler(I was extremly exausted after that day). I've also been dealing with a few blisters that i got a few days before we all went back down to Damascus, so that certainly hasn't been fun. But i've been taking care of them and they should get better over the weekend, then we will be starting the Shenandoah's. Here in Waynesbro we have come 850 miles. My aunt asked me the other day if it felt like we have gone as fare as we have, and to tell you the truth it doesn't really. I told her just like i tell everyone and even though the trail is very long, its is really just broken up into many 3 to 5 day hiking trips. Although don't get me wrong 850 miles is a very long way and we have definitely been through some ups and downs but for the most part everyone is able to help each other get over those few speed bumps the trail throws at you. I thank god everyday for the people that he has put around me, lost or not but they have all been a real positive encourage me, for the most part. Well anyways i hope everyone enjoys the new entry and the next one will probably come when i get into Washington D.C. The pictures are comeing, i just have so many its really hard to do them all at once. Happy Trails to everyoneChef
Date: 2008-06-04
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Washington DC
Miles today: 0.0

hey everyone so as of yesterday we reached over 1000 miles, and finished up with Va. and made our way through the first part of West Va. into Harper's Ferry. Right now i'm taking a few days off to stay in DC with Kendra and her uncle and his family. Its really kind of nice to be back in a city and see all of the amazing sites. I was talking to my mom yesterday and she was wanting to talk more about the highs and lows on the trail and what the shelters and the people i've been hiking with are like. The day before we reached Macfee's Knob we got in a horrible thunder storm, with hail, up on this ridge line. I don't think i've ever felt more alive just being out in nature. At the time i was completely soaked through, but i had a dry pair of clothes in my pack. The biggest thing that i kept telling myself was that, "hey this may be a really crappy time right now but its going to better cause it sure as hell cant get any worse." Sure enough when i finally reached the shelter i dried everything out and doctered myself up, and everything was fine. Most of the shelter's have not bothered me at all. A lot of the time at the end of the day i'll just set up in the shelter because its just a little easier than setting the tent up, but if i know someone who is staying in the shelter is going to snorring all night the tent is much better. Its really awesome you can have the best times and worst times all at once.    Music is also one of the most enjoyable things on the trail. For about the first month or so i didn't have any sort of music what so ever, but when my mom came to visit me in Damascus I grabed my IPod and when it was been fully charged it has been just amazing.    Town visits are another thing that can either be really great or just extremely crappy. I always get really excited about going into town, but its just always a given that your going to drop a bit of money there. One of the best times though is getting back on the trail after being well rested, but that also comes with a heavy pack because of the rediculous amount of food that i carry. I've pretty much told myself since the smokies that i was not going to go hungry out here on the trail. One of the best meals that i have had, that my mom hasn't sent me, was bisqits(sorry for the mispelled words, I'm still in trail mode haha) and gravy. You maybe asking yourself right now how did you fix that one the trail? Well its quite simple, but messy. I start out by putting the bisquick in a big zip lock bag, then add the water to make the doey. We then get the gravy going and dip the bisquick mix into the gravy and make them like dumplings. Its really quite good.    Well i hope i gave everyone a little more insite on how everythings is out here. If there is other things that you would like to know send me a message on my guestbook and i'll tell you what you would like to know. happy trails Sheaph(as sailboat put it in one of his notes to us in the registers, trying to spice it up a little i guess haha)
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Falls Village, Ct

To: Great Barrington, Ma
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Chef hasn't had much computer time so I thought I would update everyone. He has hiked 1,477 miles but as he told me, "Mom, we're not looking at that mileage anymore look at the miles to go." So, he has 696 miles to go! He is doing well but he is ready to be done.A couple of weeks ago I guess was the worse. He was tired physically and tired mentally. He got to Port Clinton, Pa a day earlier than expected because he hiked 24 miles in about 6 hours because he was on a mission HOME! He called and said, "I'm tired of walking and I want to come home." After we talked he decided to think it over that night and let me know the next morning. The next day he was a totally different person. Rested and really to continue. Still tired of walking but he knew he would always regret it if he didn't finish.Now he is still on that mission home but by way of Katahdin! He will shout, "I DID IT!" plus a few other phrases (LOL) from high on top of Katahdin. I asked him to think of 3 life lessons he will bring back from this journey. I can't wait to see what he comes up with. One he did give me is not to rush into decisions--think it through. :-) That in itself is a great lesson to learn at this early age.He should be in Mass. tomorrow. He is currently hiking with Mouth and Dr. Zeaus.Oh, Chef lost his camera a couple of days ago. He has been leaving a note in the trail registry. Hopefully, someone will find it and give him a call.Chef plans to finish by August 14th. I can't wait to go and get him!Thanks to everyone who has been praying for him and sending notes. It really means a lot to him. Chef's mom
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Glencliff, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wow I have come a long way since my last real update. So as of right now i am on the foot steps of the white mountains. I have to tell everyone about the change of pace and group that has happened with me over the past month. One month ago today i was in Port Clinton, Pa. and was going to quit and go home. I hate to say that was going to be a quitter, but at the time was extremely home sick and just pissed off. I told mom that i would give it the night and i would decide whether or not i would catch the bus. That night was probably one of the best on the trail. One of the old time hikers named "Bag of Tricks" kept telling great hiker stories and some other great people showed up. I told myself after that night, that there was no more screwing around and i was going to hit the trail and hit it hard. So Mouth and myself set off and left our groups to push hard to get out of the funk that most of us were in. Since that day we have put maybe 600 miles behind us. We have been averaging 20 to mid 20s a day since then, with exception of the forth of July in Great Barrington, Mass. Dr. Zayus has also been hiking with us since then too. Mouth and I rolled into Delaware Water Gap, at the end of Pa. and he says to me at the end of a 24 mile day over the worst rocks of the trail, "New England, the epitome of liberalism, and the birth place of bullshit." It was probably one of the funnest quotes i have heard, and accurate at times but i still have just loved this part of the country. So needless to say this has been probably the best part of the trip so far, and can only get better. The hike up here in the Northeast has been just awesome, easy at times and a kick in the teeth at others. When we get back on the trail sunday we will hit the first mountain of the Whites. When we were riding the bikes to the store earlier today it was sunny but up on top of the Moose it was just dark cloud cover, like that of Mount Doom in Mordor, as Dr. Z said to us at lunch. I feel that i am rambling on but the last thing i want to say is that i remember Knock-Knock asking me and the guys he hiked with in 06'"When was the time that you knew that you were going to finish and summit Mount Katahdin?" For me now it would just have to be the day after i hit the wall in Port Clinton, I told myself if i can make through this, i can certainly make it to the end of the trail. I do miss seeing Sage, Sailboat, Frog, Alf, Bronco, and General Delivery, i would venture to say that i might not be on the trail still if i had stayed around them. They were awesome guys but i needed a change of people. Well now its getting past the hiker mid-night for Chef here and i need my beauty sleep. Hope all is well to whoever reads this and i cant wait to see everyone when i get back home. Phil 4:13Chef
Date: 2008-08-01
From: Andover, ME

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Maine!!! We arrived in maine a few days ago and just arrived in Andover today with Mouth, Pegleg, and Forest Gimp. Maine so far has been very wet and muddy. Appartently normal... for this time of year. Anyways we're loving the hospitality of the hostel and the people around us. The man who works here makes moose poop earrings and necklesses. Its actually pretty awesome. We have 256 miles to Katahdin and are very ready to be there. I can not wait to be home and be with family and friend, but for now i am going to enjoy the rest of the trail and the great friends that i have made. I really miss sage and Sailboat. I hope they finish this year, and i hope the find me on here or somewhere because i would love to keep in contact with the people that i have hiked with for over 1000 miles. But now its time for bed. hope everyone finds the night well.chef
Date: 2008-08-16
From: Katahdin Stream

To: MOUNT KATAHDIN!!!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

So its a little late for me to put this on but I MADE IT!!!!!We all finished on the 16th at about 6am. Mouth, Pegleg, and myself woke up at 2:30am and started the hike to the top of Katahdin at 3am. It was such an incredible way to end the trip. To be the first people in the United States on the August 16th to see the sunrise. When i first saw the sign i just started running to it as much as i could, then just threw my polls when i got to the sign. It was such an amazing feeling to finally see the sign and be on the most infamous mountain of the trail. I was just in awe of the whole morning. We took all of our pictures then got behind the rock close by and made some coffee and enjoyed the sunrise. When we eventually got too cold to stay up top, we started the knifes edge. That had to be one of the most fun trails i've ever been on. It was certainly the icing on the cake.I am so glad to be done with the trail but i also miss the freedom of it more than anything. Just this evening we went to look at a car to buy me and I'm about to get stuck in a little bit of debt to where i wont be able to do another trip of this magnitude in a long time. I'm so grateful of the trail and all the people that i have met along the way. This is my last post if anyone has any questions about my journey please ask, i'm full of answers. Thanks for keeping up with everything and all the support.Phil 4:13Chef
Date: 2008-02-05
To: I'm finally doing it!
Miles today: 0.0

So I'm finally doing it. I've wanted to hike the A.T. for years now, and for a long time I thought I never would...mostly because my ex-wife gave me an enthusiastic "No way!" whenever I brought it up. But even now that I'm with someone else (my amazing girlfriend Tara) who's been supportive and had even planned to come with me when we first talked about it, there have been times when I've wondered if I'd really do it. I can picture myself just talking about it forever until my knees are too old and frail and I have a good excuse to sit on the couch watching The Family Guy and eating Hot Pockets. But I'm actually doing it. It's time to see it through, especially now that I have a chance to realize a true dream. I'm not sure I can say that I've ever really done that, and I owe a lot of it to Tara (my dream, her encouragement, and both of our sacrifices). This is big.I'm at 40 days and counting until I fly down to GA. I can't believe how much of my thought this trip has occupied over the past year or so since I decided to do it. I daydream about it. I obsess about it. I find myself walking on the grass along a sidewalk instead of on the sidewalk itself (I wonder if Leave No Trace principles apply in the city?). Last night as I walked from work to the subway station to head home, I saw the tiniest of hills (probably 5' high) near the paved path to the station and I thought, "I'm gonna go walk over that hill on the way to the train." Yeah, I'd say I'm ready to get going.I always tend to romanticize things in my head, so I hope the trail lives up to my expectations. And I hope I can live up to my expectations as well. Why am I doing this? Two reasons...first, it sounds like fun; second, I need to know that I can do something truly difficult, give it my all, and actually have the strength to finish it. That seems like a feeling that stays with your for a lifetime, and right now I don't really know how that feels. Well, we'll see if I can find out. Tune in for the show, starting March 17th.
Date: 2008-02-21
To: It's starting to hit me.
Miles today: 0.0

Holy crap. 2 weeks of work left and 24 days until I leave. Yeah, holy crap.I took my dog for a walk to meet Tara last night. In the brief instant between feeling something hit my back and turning around to see what it was on the ground behind me, I had thought Tara was throwing snowballs at me. The squished pulp that stuck to my fleece jacket even looked like snow out of the corner of my eye. When I turned around to look for Tara, though, she was nowhere in sight. The half of a banana on the sidewalk in front of me was evidence that the snow on my back was actually part of a banana that was thrown at me from a car passing by. Ah, that's why I love Quincy. Can't believe I have to be away from it for six months. I hope no one throws bananas at me when I'm walkin' on the AT. I actually wouldn't be surprised...when we were backpacking on the Wicklow Way in Ireland last summer, we were walking on the road to our B&B at the end of the day and a car full of teenagers pulled over, threw and egg at me, and drove off laughing. It didn't break when it hit me, but what's with people throwing food at me? Maybe when I'm on the AT and hungry, I'll actually be hoping for someone to throw food at me...at least make it a Pop Tart or something wrapped, though.Good bye punkass Quincy kids, hello Appalachian hill folk. Hope they don't throw grits.
Date: 2008-03-07
To: Last day at work!
Miles today: 0.0

I'm about to go home on my last day of work, nine days before I fly down to Atlanta. I'll spend next week messing with my gear and tying up some loose ends. Tara set up a little shindig with our friends at a place in Cambridge, so that'll be fun.I'm starting to get really nervous and anxious. When you plan and plan and plan for something like this, it seems like the time will never come. And now it almost doesn't seem possible that it's almost here...but it is, and I can't wait. And for some reason, I'm scared as hell.