morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-20
To: Officially Hiking The Trail Next Year!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

It's official. My boyfriend, Miles and I will be starting our thru hike on March 14, 2013 from Springer Mountain and hiking north to our home state of Maine! Even though we had decided to hike the trail in early April, it didn't feel real until we bought our plane tickets a couple of weeks ago. We got a really great deal on a flight from Boston to Atlanta, so once we saw it, we decided to book it. I'm constantly thinking about the trail and I love planning and organizing, so at least there's plenty of time for that! We're still 8 months away. Sometimes I feel like March isn't that far away, but it is quite a while, 2/3 of the year and although I would start hiking tomorrow if I could, we will definitely need that time to save money, buy gear, and go out on some hikes. We're hiking the Bigelows for a few days in August to get a good test of some of our gear and get a taste of trail life. We're only a couple of hours from the trail in Maine, so it will be easy for us to take a quick trip there.We both enjoy hiking and sports of all kinds. We both grew up playing sports and were tri-athletes in high school. We both played soccer and basketball, while I did track in the spring and Miles played baseball. In college and our post-graduation days we stay active running, biking, playing tennis, basketball, soccer, and of course hiking! I'm running my second marathon this fall and Miles will be running his first half-marathon at the same race in Portland. I'm looking at my marathon training as not only getting in shape for my race, but also for the trail. Our hike is still about 6 months out from when the race ends, but it doesn't hurt to start now. I do strength workouts along with running, so I think both running and strength training will help if I can keep it up. If you know New England weather, then you know that winters are not kind, so we probably won't get out to do much hiking beyond early November.So for now, I'll continue studying the AT map hanging on the wall above my bed, dreaming about where we'll be in a year from now...hopefully nearing the end of the trail.
Date: 2003-06-18
From: Chapman Rd 

To: Stream
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

"Rain, rain... go away... come again some other day..."   Aloha! I went to bed with the rain, slept with the rain through the night and awoke with the rain. This has to be one of the wettest hiking years to date. No complaints from me though; it could be hot, humid, buggy and a drought like it was last year.   Counting my blessings. But still...   Back at Camp Barbie... much to our surprise Barbie called us in for coffee and eggs shortly before she had to dash off to open her equipment rental store. Such a wonderful woman, taking the time to feed hungry hikers and make coffee when needing to get out the door.   Again, I owe Barbie much for her generosity. More than much. Mahalo Barbie if you're reading this.   Once again our day consisted of rambling along enjoying the rain, the day, each other and the stories. Along the way we met other northbound thru-hikers. Four young men having a great time - Gun Ho Rider (the third member of Lion Cub and Pathfinder's original threesome), Stretch, Rice and Peas, and the previously met Pigpen. Being in no great hurry the guys took time to stand and chat with us comparing notes of their thru-hike with Monya's.   As it always is, it was fun meeting them.   We did get to see them again a little later on as we caught them about to skinny dip in Canopus Lake. I'll admit that it did look refreshing but I nixed the idea when one of them dove in and I heard the scream afterwards. It reminded me of Maineiac and Sugar Daddy in 2001 doing the same in a river in early April.   Once again I'm pretty sure it's going to be years before any of these guys can have kids!   After the numerous New York UPs and downs the day offered we decided early on to look for a private campsite vice a set one. We found the perfect grassy spot next to a babbling brook. We're contently camped there now. We've had tea and cheese as an appetizer, a Lipton for me and an MRE for Monya for dinner, and an Oreo cookie bar for dessert.   We're about as snug in our world as anyone could be. It's always a happy place in Aloha's world!   Ahhh... there it is... the rain. Since this morning's early shower it's done little more than drizzle on us. I had complete faith that it would return to lull me to sleep and give me a really wet tent to pack up in the morning. Life is good.   Bedtime!BSandTs: noneAandPs: the back is a bit rough but it's a chronic ache I've had for years. MandGs: not while meanderingCritter count: 1x tiny toad, 27x Red Efts, 3x chipmunks, 2x squirrels, 1x deer
Date: 2012-12-16
To: 3 months 'til the trail!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It's just under three months until we hit the trail. I think once 2013 rolls around in a couple weeks, things will start to feel more real and I know I'll start stressing more. Don't get me wrong, I'm wicked excited, I just want to be as prepared as we can be come March.Last week, Miles and I went down to Boston for a Dave Matthews Band concert at the TDGarden and decided to hit up REI while we were down there. And we got lucky and ended up going there while they still had their garage sale going on. There wasn't a ton of stuff, but we managed to grab a couple of good deals. We got a sleeping bag liner for half off and Miles and I both got jackets for under $100! I ended up exchanging my Solomon trail runners for some Keens. Around Thanksgiving, I went on a couple of hikes and the first one I did in my Solomons. My right foot was killing me by the end of the hike. The next day my dad and I hiked Cadillac Mountain and I ended up wearing my Brooks running shoes, which we were way more comfortable. The Solomons had bothered me some when we hiked the Bigelows, so when the probelm sprang up again a few months later, I knew these were not the right shoes for me. I spent a lot of time in the store trying on different shoes, from trail runners to low top and high top boots. I have a really high arch to the point that it doesn't even touch the ground when I walk barefoot. I put a lot of weight on my heels, so I have to be really selective when I'm buying shoes that I need to walk around in a lot. Like my Brooks running shoes, the Keens provided me with the arch support that I needed and were very comfortable. I'm not a huge fan of the laces, especially since I fell in love with the Salomon laces that you just pulled tight and tucked into a sleeve in the tongue. But I'd rather have comfort than laces that I don't need to tie.Winter is here in Maine with the first real snowfall of the year! I LOVE snow and am hoping to go skiing a few times this winter before heading out on the trail. Two of my favorite mountains are actually Sugarloaf and Saddleback, both mountains that fall along the AT. As the snow flies here in Maine, I want to wish everyone happy holidays!
Date: 2013-01-10
To: More Real by the Day
Miles today: 0.0

Our hike is starting to feel more real by the day. As my gear list dwindles to a few small items, I'll finally be able to start figuring out how I want to organize my pack. The majority of my gear is at my parent's house, where I'll be storing my belongings and living for about a week before we leave. I kept it there mostly because it was easier, but now I realize that I need to have it all with me so I can figure out what fits, what doesn't, if I need to change anything out, etc. I've spent the last week or so analyzing my gear list and figuring out if there is anything I can do without and how to shave off some ounces here and there.Last year, there were periods of time where I couldn't stop thinking about the trail and then I would go a few weeks with it still in the back of my mind, but my focus on other things, like work or marathon training. Now that it's 2013 and only a couple of months from our departure, it's ALL I can think about everyday. At this point, the hardest part about being on the trail will be missing my nephew, who will be almost 5 months old when I leave for our thru-hike. Since I live with my sister, brother-in-law and now my nephew and take care of him a few days during the week I already know I'm going to have a hard time leaving him and missing all of his milestones while I'm away. Bottom line is that while he's only 10 weeks old, I love him to death and I guess I just don't want him to forget me. While I won't have my phone on except to update on my journey and make the occasional phone call, I'm going to make sure that my sister updates me on Louie often because I won't be able to go too long without seeing him...well in photos in my case. And if we make it to Katahdin at the end of the summer, I'll have the story of a lifetime to tell my nephew and hey, maybe he'll be a thru-hiker one day.
Date: 2013-03-09
To: Moved out and Ready to Go
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I'm officially moved out and back at my parent's house for a few days until we leave next week. My tiny room is filled with all of my stuff. In the guest room is my hiking gear in a small pile on the floor. It's as if the two rooms represent the two lifestyles I am bridging at the moment.I finally got my haircut today, which was much needed. My hair ran about halfway down my back, which would not be something I would want to deal with on the trail. I got it cut the shortest I've ever had in my life today and it's very strange, but it's not about looks out there.Miles and I were finally able to get some stuff done together. We have been living about 2 hours from each other, so a lot of our AT planning has been happening over the phone or during his visits to Portland. We got all of our first aid supplies and food organized and packed. We'll be sending ourselves a maildrop at Neel Gap, so tomorrow we will prepare that box and our bounce box.It's going to be a non-stop few days at home and not much time for rest. Tomorrow I have my last photo shoot before I leave, a maternity session and am going to hang out with one of my closest friends that lives in the area. I'm excited for dinner tomorrow night as my dad plans on making a Sicilian meal for us. On Monday, Miles and I will be going into the high school to talk to students about our thru-hike and somewhere in there I need to snag a whoopie pie before I leave. I'm very tired, but very eager to begin our hike.
Date: 2013-03-13
To: Hanging at the Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We made it to Georgia after a long day of travel. We left Portland this morning at 3:15 AM and made it to the hostel around 3:00 PM. What a day. We've already met a few thru-hikers here at the hostel from all over. We're really doing this thing and we are definitely ready to head out tomorrow morning. It was tough leaving everyone in Maine behind, but I'm sure our hike will be over before we know it and we'll be back in Maine again. The Hiker Hostel is a great place to stay. It's beautiful here and everyone is great. I'm already missing my dogs, so it's nice that there are two dogs here, Maggie and Thor.Our packs are ready to go and we're ready to hit the hay early tonight and get a good night's sleep before we start our thru-hike tomorrow morning.Let's do this thing!
Date: 2013-03-15
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Our first full day on the trail was a absolutely beautiful. It was a pretty easy day hiking wise. We don't want to push ourselves too hard in the beginning, so we enjoyed a nice hike to the Hawk Mountain Shelter where we arrived around 2. We met more hikers today from all over. The creeks and the woods we hiked through today were beautiful. It's only our second day of hiking, but we're still loving it out here. We've been lucky to have such good starting weather.
Date: 2013-03-17
From: Gooch Gap

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

What a day. We had more amazing trail magic from another church group from Atlanta and a couple from the area. It was such a nice surprise when we reached Woody Gap. We had a lot of food and we even got foot massages! I feel like I live better out here than I do at home ;-)We were planning to camp at Lance Creek, but the group ahead of us said that there was a sign saying that the bear canister area had been extended to here. Later we heard that it was really a sign just to scare off people from partying there. I'm not really sure what the real story was, but we decided to push to Neels Gap. We weren't planning on such a long day this early, but we were able to hike the last 7.5 miles in 3 hours. We hiked over Blood Mountain today too. It was just beautiful up there. Our highest mountain yet. We got two bunks at Mountain Crossings and enjoyed hanging out with a new group of hikers and having dinner from the same church group that we saw at Woody Gap. Looks like rain tomorrow, so we're savoring the trail magic while we can.
Date: 2013-03-18
From: Neel Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was the toughest day yet. After doing our laundry at the hostel, we left around 11 to begin our hiking for the day. It was raining as we ascended the first mountain of the day. Overall, we hiked up and over six peaks today. Our legs were tired from yesterday, but we decided to hike to Low Gap Shelter. We hiked 11.5 miles in the rain, with the rain becoming steadier as we descended Wildcat Mountain. We came upon a box of trail magic as we came out of Hogpen Gap, but it looks like our trail magic luck had run out. There was no food left by the time we got there late in the afternoon. And I could see why as we came into camp around 5. The shelter is full and there are a bunch of tents set up here. I¢m pretty beat, so I hope I can sleep well tonight. Though I¢m not sure as there may be some thunderstorms tonight. Great, my favorite¢¦(note sarcasm)We were tired, cold, hungry, and wet when we came into camp, but we¢re doing better now as we saw some familiar faces and changed into our clean, dry clothes. I¢ve never been so thankful to have clean, warm clothes in my life. Here¢s to hoping for a sunny, warm day tomorrow so we can dry out all of our stuff.
Date: 2013-03-19
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Today was a much better day than yesterday. We didn¢t have to push ourselves because of time restrictions or rain. However, we still managed to hike 9.6 miles after leaving camp at 11 in the morning. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the terrain wasn¢t too difficult. We left camp later to allow some of our things to dry out from the rain the day before. If all of your stuff is soaking wet when you pack it in your backpack, it¢s going to weigh a whole lot more than dry gear. After such an intense day on Monday, I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and relieved that we were going to have a sunny day ahead of us. When you¢re living outside, the weather has a direct effect on everything that you do. Cooking, going to the bathroom, sleeping, and everything in between. We only had one day of rain, but we can only imagine what it¢s going to be like with multiple days of rain in a row. And we may know as soon as this weekend. Miles and I hike at different speeds, so we don¢t always hike together, which we¢re both okay with. He¢s usually ahead of me, but yesterday I got an early start out of camp, so I ended up getting way ahead of him for once. If you know Miles, then you know he likes to take his sweet time doing just about everything. And if you know me, then you know that I like to get things done in a timely and efficient manner. So yesterday as we were getting ready to hike, I was ready to go while Miles still had his stuff strewn everywhere. Growing impatient and colder by the minute, I told him I was going to go ahead and hike. I¢m glad I did, because he didn¢t leave for another half hour! I guess that¢s the beauty of hiking though. We can hike our own hike and we don¢t always have to wait for one another. Miles keeps asking me if I¢ll be offended if he passes me while we¢re hiking. And I keep telling him that it¢s really not a big deal. In fact, I don¢t mind hiking alone at all. It¢s strange how our hiking styles are actually the opposite of our personalities. We always end up at the same place at the end of the day, so I suppose it really doesn¢t matter. We hiked to Blue Mountain Shelter where there a few hikers that we hadn¢t met before. Tumbleweed, Wild Willy, and Tomfoolery. We still had some energy left in us, so we hiked on to Unicoi Gap and decided to hitch into Hiawassee the next morning, giving us a full zero day there the next day. A zero day is when you don¢t do any hiking at all and usually involves a rest in town. We weren¢t going to take a zero for another 30 or so miles, but the weather forecast looked grim for Wednesday night in the mountains, like below 0 windchill grim. So like almost everyone else, we decided to take a zero the next day and get back on the trail on Thursday. The views of the North Georgia mountains were spectacular today. We won¢t be in the state much longer, so I¢m soaking in all of the beauty while I can. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow and taking care of the couple of blisters that I¢ve developed.
Date: 2013-03-20
To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After camping at Unicoi Gap last night, we were lucky to get in contact with Joe and Debbie, who have been following my blog. Debbie just happened to be dropping off Joe at Unicoi Gap for a section hike, so we were able to meet up with them and get a ride into Hiawassee. We had a good ride into town with them and their dog Harley and they dropped us off at the Huddle House for some breakfast. Thank you Joe and Debbie!!!After a big breakfast, we hung out with Alex and Jack from Colorado, two hikers we have leap frogged with for the past few days. Around noon, we were able to check into our room. And although it was a zero day, we still had plenty to do. The laundromat was closed today, so we ended up washing all of our clothes by hand and letting them dry on the heater. Not sure I¢ve ever done that before in my life. Guess you could say that thru-hiking brings a lot of firsts. We resupplied at the grocery store and got some new food into the rotation. I never thought I¢d be excited to buy Devil Cremes and a roll of toilet paper, but it¢s really the essentials that are necessary for thru-hiking. We ran into Avocado, Valkyrie, and Pete today. They were hikers that we had been hiking with for the first few days. We dove into a BBQ chicken pizza from Big Al¢s, which I might add was amazing. I got to FaceTime with my sister and my nephew. Louie is almost 5 months old now and I feel like he has changed so much just in the past week. He¢s started eating and sleeping in his crib. I¢m sad I¢m not there, but I know it will only be a few months until I¢m reunited with the best damn nephew an aunt could ask for. I also got to talk with my best friend Sarah and text with my dad and hear about my parents¢ time in Spain so far. We had a nice day here in Hiawassee riding out the cold weather in a nice, warm hotel room. I¢m quite tired and looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight. Can you believe it? A bed!!!
Date: 2013-08-14
To: We Made it home!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm a little late to the game here, but we did finish our thru-hike on Katahdin on August 14! It was very cloudy when we started, but cleared some as we neared the top. Had a bit of rain and had amazing views on the way down. My dad hiked with us. I have a more detailed account of our last day on my blog:http://dirigobound.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/day-153-the-birches-to-katahdin/And here are some more photos from our summit as well:http://dirigobound.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/a-glimpse-of-katahdin/Check out a 7-minute video I made about our thru-hike as well.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG4OYT2121M
Date: 2013-03-16
To: The Promise
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Why am I hiking the Appalachian Trail? It all started back in the mid-90s where I was confined in a dead end situation with very narrow options for growth or freedom to expand. So my mind sought escape through books and magazines and I stumbled across the mention of the A.T. and my curiousity was aroused. The more I read the more I wanted to plan my escape by buying maps and planning guides. It was a great exercise and I spent many nights dreaming of the people that I would meet and the wonderful sights that I would see. Then my circumstances changed and I ended up in a better situation and place here in Uvalde, Texas where after all of my wanderings I feel that I have found a home in this state. I also went to college and received my AA in psychology and found my soul mate in my wife..Erin who I have just had my 5th annaversary with. Last year a friend from church had his son return from hikingt the A.T. and that reminded me of my promise and I also saw the "Bucket List" with Morgan Friedman and Jack Nicholas and I decided as a part of my bucket list that I was going to fulfill my promis to myself and started planning and buying books and watching videos and documentaries. I knew that this was not something that my wife was excited about and told her that she could opp out and stay home in comfort but she said that even though she said that I am crazy ( and crazydave is my nickname ) she wants to go just to be with me. <3 Man! Am I a lucky guy! my crazydave0866 videos,including our proposal ( the crazydave crazy proposal ) can be seen on youtube. So this is the reason that I hike and also the fact that I feel that I have a little of the Gypsy wandering spirit in me.David Lane
Date: 2013-03-17
To: Why I am going with David on the AT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I am going on The AT with David because I want to get closer to God and him. I also know that my health will be better so I won't have to worry about developing Type 2 Diabetes due to bing over weight. When I was 8 I vowed to God and to my family that God would be first in my life and I haven't always held up to that promise. Since I became a Christian I haven't done anything to bring others to the Lord and I want to remedy that. I'm looking forward to the Ministry and the one on one time with my husband. I hope to love deeper live better, and to be healthier, spiritually, as well as physically. <3 Erin Lane
Date: 2013-03-17
To: Why I am going with David on the AT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I am going on The AT with David because I want to get closer to God and him. I also know that my health will be better so I won't have to worry about developing Type 2 Diabetes due to being over weight. When I was 8 I vowed to God and to my family that God would be first in my life and I haven't always held up to that promise. Since I became a Christian I haven't done anything to bring others to the Lord and I want to remedy that. I'm looking forward to the Ministry and the one on one time with my husband. I hope to love deeper live better, and to be healthier, spiritually, as well as physically. I am afraid of my knee giving out on me and us not being able to do what we set out to do. I am concerned about what the response of the other campers will be to the Ministry, will they laugh and turn away or will they eat it up like a dog would a steak. Will they be excited about coming in to God's Kingdom, or will they get angry with us saying, "what right do you have to tell us we need God in our lives?" I know I will undoubtably grow with tis experience to be a better Daughter of the King. <3 Erin Lane