morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-09
To: Contradiction
Miles today: 0.0

Ok, so the two pieces of advice that I keep receiving from the past thru-hikers are:1) Get in shape2) Gain weightNow here is my contradiction. How do I do both at the same time! I am sure that most of the people that read this will be like no problem, gaining weight is easy. But it is not for me: I am male, young, eat healthy, and am already in really good shape. Gaining weight is the hardest of these two things for me to do, and thus probably the most important.So like most things in life when given two choices, I have gone towards the easier one. I have signed up and am planning to run in the National Marathon in Washington, DC, on March the 21st. I am really excited, and actually have become kind of addicted to running and training. It is the one thing that I look forward to everyday. (Well when your day consist of study accounting problems over and over again, anything else other than aforementioned would be enjoyable)Needless to say, training for my marathon has not helped me lose weight. I have boosted up my caloric intake, to eating as much as I can stuff in a day, and have zero to show from it. I know this senseless complaining will probably really annoy and anger more than 90% of the people out there, and I am sorry. But it is a legitimate concern that I have. I have talked to people who lost over 50 pounds on the trail. As I stand now, I do not have that to lose. To quote a past thru-hiker, "my fat recipe was 6 fried eggs cooked in a half pound of bacon fat, layer eggs cheese toast and hot sauce, drink a pot of coffee, eat 3 lunches 11-12-1 have pasta or fried chicken and drink beer all day alternating sometime with a bit of water, stretch and exercise and in one month you¢ll be AT ready! I left GA at 210 lbs I left katadyn at 145...you¢ll lose it holla with more questions!" This to me is scary, any advice out there? Other fattening recipes that sound a little bit more palatable? Any fattening recipes that I can also do, while training for a marathon? Or any other advice that does not seem so contradicting?"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like, and let the food fight it out inside." -Mark Twain
Date: 2009-03-11
To: Photography
Miles today: 0.0

I have never taken any formal photography lessons but I would really like to one day. I would love to be able to capture what I see when I travel. I often travel alone, and would love to be able to share with my friends and family what I am experiencing. I however, realize that this is impossible. You can never as a viewer of photography, put yourself in the same context, hear the same noises, have the same feelings as the photographer at the time of the photo. However, I do realize that good photographers are able to portray some of the emotions that they are feeling just by how they angle the camera. This is what I want to learn and be able to do one day. Here is a link to some of my photos, if you would like to take a gander. Just a warning, they will not be as good to you as they are to me. Just because you were not there, and I am not standing next to you as you view them, to explain to you every little detail, such as what I ate for lunch the day of the photo. Some day I wish to be able to tell such story's by a simple photo, maybe some day.Davids PhotosNow here are some photos by a good friend on mine, I think that he will get there before I do, I only hope that he will wait for me to catch up, and give me some pointers along the way!http://www.forestwoodward.com/ "Man's mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension." - Oliver Wendall Holmes
Date: 2009-03-11
To: Friends 
Miles today: 0.0

A lot of my friends wonder how I am able to do so much stuff in so little time. Their big question to me is how do you afford it? These are the friends that I do not understand why they do not take advantage of how little time we have. My big question to them is how do you afford not to? As to my friends that do not ask these questions, thank you, and may you always continue to dream. To live the good life! The life that I feel that God meant us to live.The life where you always ask, "why not?" instead of "why?". The life where you always say, "yes", instead of "no". The life where you do not get old by doing, instead you get old by not doing."We cannot control the wind, but we can adjust the sails." - Unknown
Date: 2009-03-18
To: Trail Names
Miles today: 0.0

"As part of their pilgrimage, most thru-hikers assume a new identity¢a trail name. Trail names on the A.T. go back at least to the early seventies, but they caught on in the late seventies, when the number of hikers increased dramatically. Now trail names are almost mandatory." As quoted by Larry Luxenburg author of Walking the Appalachian Trail.Part of the tradition is you come up with your name along the hike, either by divine inspiration or somebody names you. More than likely somebody names you, and it usualy ends up being something bad, like "stinky feet", or something infinitely worse. So for this reason, I want to be prepared, with a few names just incase. I do not want to get stuck with, "Sir Fartsalot", for the rest of my life. Here are some ideas: Those of you who might know me, and those that dont, please feel free to let me know which one sounds the best.1) Traveler - I like to travel, and it was also the name of Robert E Lee's horse. 2) Dreamer - I have always dreamed and hope to never stop.3) Green Lite - Green is my favorite color as well as my last name, and I am planning on going really lite.4) Homeboy - I am hiking to raise money for the Methodist Children's Home in Macon, GA.5) Macon Tracks - Is the name of the running club that I am a member of in Macon, GA.6) Green Guy - Again, last name green, and my grandfathers name was Guy Green.7) Green Tree - My fathers CB radio handle back when he was in high school. And I am also the fifth generation tree farmer in Jones County. 8) Macon Green - Just sounds good. Well here are some ideas, please feel free to let me know what you think, I will definitely let you know what I end up being called. "We find after years of struggle, that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." - John Steinbeck
Date: 2009-03-18
To: Lunch with a living Legend
Miles today: 0.0

As far as the Appalachian Trail goes Gene Espy is about as famous of a person as they come. And he lives right here in Macon, GA! And I had lunch with him today!I recently read his book, The Trail of My Life: The Gene Espy Story. After I finished the book, I just looked up his phone number in the phone directory and gave him a call. Invited him to lunch and sat on the edge of my seat at Satterfields for a solid two hours listening to him talk. This man is really interesting, and I highly recommend picking up a copy of his book. In 1951, when hiking was not popular, when the Appalachian Trail was still in it formidable stage, and when it was said that you simple could not thru hike the AT. It was just not possible. Gene, the first Eagle Scout in Cordele, GA, the first person to ever water-ski on Lake Blackshear and Lake Allatoona, the first person in plenty other things in life (I don¢t want to tell you the rest, because then I would give away his book) became the second person to thru hike the entire AT. He not only hiked it, he ran it, in 120 days. Faster than I am even planning on hiking the AT, which now has shelters, now has hostels to sleep in along the way, now is well maintained, now has plenty of places to refuel, I could go on and on contrasting his hiking experience to mine. But the largest contrast that I can find is just by looking at photography of his hiking gear in 1951 and comparing it to my gear now. Just for starters he took a hatchet, (who carries a hatchet other than in the movies) it must have weighted at least 5 pounds! And everybody keeps telling me that I need to a lot more time to hike the trail. My new answer to these people is now going to be, well Gene Espy did it in 120 days, why can¢t I do it in 130 days! So thanks Gene for helping me answer my second least favorite question, behind that of, why?"I made my bed in a nook of the pine thicket - snug as a squirrel's nest, full of spicy odors with plenty of wind-played needles to sing me asleep." -John Muir
Date: 2009-03-24
To: Waffle House All Star Breakfast!
Miles today: 0.0

Did you know that at Waffle House for $5.99 you can get hash browns, three slices of bacon, four pieces of toast, two eggs, and a large waffle! I ran a marathon this weekend, at a little over 8 min mile pace finishing in 3 hours and 33 mins. I placed 300 out of well over 2,000 runners. But I could not force myself to eat all of this food for breakfast. Well I am not going to give up. I am going back tomorrow for a rematch. I am giving up running for now, and now am going to focus on eating! I currently weight 175 pounds with out an ounce of fat on me, and I am going to try to gain 26.2 pounds to leave GA at a little over 200 pounds. I have three weeks, 21 days, meaning I will need to gain a little over 1.2 pound per day! I will keep everybody posted, this is going to be my hardest marathon yet! I almost threw up this morning, and still do not feel all that great."Keep walking and keep smiling." -Tiny Tim
Date: 2009-03-27
To: Old School vs. New School
Miles today: 0.0

Heavy vs. Light Weight"Ultralight backpacking is an advanced style of backpacking that emphasizes packing (carrying) the lightest weight safely possible for a given hike and the techniques necessary when using ultralight gear. To reach this goal, base pack weight (the weight of a backpack plus the gear inside¢ excluding consumables such as food, water, and fuel, which vary depending on the duration and style of trip) is reduced as much as safely possible.Although no technical standards exist, the terms light and ultralight commonly refer to base pack weighs below 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and 10 pounds (4.5 kg) respectively. Traditional backpacking often results in base pack weighs above 30 pounds (14 kg), and sometimes up to 60 pounds (27 kg) or more. Extreme enthusiasts of ultralight backpacking sometimes attempt super-ultralight backpacking in which the base pack weight is below 5 pounds (2.3 kg)." - WikiI use to be a traditional backpacker with loads of 40 to 60 pounds, and sometime I still am. However, the more and more I backpack the less and less I take. The more and more knowledge I gain the more I can get by with less. It all started with my bicycle trips. I would always start with 50 pounds and end up with 20 pounds at the end, having shipped home or thrown away the other 30. So why not just start with the 20 to begin with? That is the new philosophy of light weight backpackers. A study was conducted, and it proved the obvious, the lighter the load you carry the more you can walk. Man I wish science was that easy! However, one interesting fact that I pulled from reading the article was the example that they gave. "For example, the hiker carrying a 58-pound pack expends about the same amount of energy in 10 miles, as the hiker carrying 10 pounds does in 30 miles." It made me think about when I was in Philmont, New Mexico with a 55 pound pack hiking 10 to 15 miles a day. These scientists are saying that I could have hiked 30 to 45 miles now that is amazing!!!"If I need it and don't have it, then I don't need it." - Ray Jardine
Date: 2009-04-14
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Justice Creek Foot Bridge
Miles today: 13.8

I am not going to lie, bad start. First of all, we couldn't find Springer Mountain! Finally found it, start hiking at 11. Got lost, ended up hiking the same two mile section of the trail 3 times. All in all I can't make it to the shelter I was planning on, and have to set up my tent for the first time in the dark. Then I proceeded to freeze my butt off all night long! Man I love this stuff. All in all I hiked about 19 miles today. "I believe that the woods were not tenantless, but chokefull of honest spirits as good as myself any day - not an empty chamber, in which chemistry was left to work alone, but an inhabited house - and for a few moments I enjoyed fellowship with them." - Henry David Thoreau, Maine Woods
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Justice Creek Foot Bridge

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up, or should I should say got up freezing! Too cold to stay still long enough to make my breakfast. Put on all the clothes that I have and started hiking. Ate about an hour later when I warmed up some. It turned to be a gorgious day! I didnt see hardly anybody, I can count the number of people I saw on one hand. Right now, it was kind of nice, but I am sure that later I will want to see more people.Ran into another thru hiker, a truck driver named crawl. Started hiking with him, and then realized how he got his trail name. There is no way this guy is going to make it, even if he does end up on all fours. There is just not enough time in a year! I said good luck and goodbye to him, knowing that I would never see him again. "The soul is a lamp whose light is steady, for it burns in a shelter where no winds come." - Bhagavad Gita
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Neels Gap

To: Stream
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

Left Neels Gap with Banjo, Carolina, Savage, Red Lion, and Fiddle. Ended up with Red Lion and a nice little campsite that we created right next to a little creek. "Each morning, The glory of the breaking light, of the sun on fire , and from its flaming light, creation's garden is born." -Bob King, Strings of light
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Stream

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: clear sky

Hiked all day with Red Lion, but pushed ahead late in the evening to get closer to Hiawassee, I was craving the all you could eat buffet for breakfast at Shoneys. Especially the bacon! For some reason I am craving bacon! I ended up seeing two fighter jets dive bomb the mountain that I was on. I definitely hit the deck or should I say hit the trail. "No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature." -Ralph W. Emerson, Self Reliance
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Hiawassee
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up real early, before sunrise and hit the trail running, already tasting the Shoney's breakfast. Ended up hitch hiking into Hiawassee around 9 o'clock. Saw a Huddle House and changed my mind. I know it was not waffle house, but I still have to see if I could finish that All Star Breakfast. I did, and then followed it up with a foot long sub from Subway, and then the big boy special at a local Mexican restaurant. The only item on the menu not in Spanish. It took me two and a half hours but I finally finished it! It came on three plates just to give you an idea."We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny" - Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Hiawassee

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

I finally broke down and slept in a shelter, I had to, no other choice. It was that or be washed away by a torrential down pour. I didn't not know it could rain so hard. It was nice falling asleep knowing that I had a partially leaky tin roof over my head, and not in my tent which feels like it was made out of garbage bags. It turned out great. I ended up meeting Hustler, Blue Sky, and Brian, all of who I would end up hiking the next 80 miles with. I guess there is no better way to bond then sleeping 9 people in a shelter built for 6. When one rolled, we all rolled."[The outdoor meditator dwells in] compassionate love ... by the perception of light." - Gautama Buddha, Pali Canon
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: light rain

My first 20, and boy was it worth it. Ended the day with an appetizer of a cookie dough, and Reese's peanut butter blizzard, followed by the main course of a panormis pizza from Pizza Hut. Then ended up crashing at my buddys house. In a bed I may add!"For the raindrop, joy is entering the river." - Ghalib
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Franklin, NC

To: Cold Springs Shelter Camp Grounds
Miles today: 15.8

It was tough getting out of bed, but made it anyways. Spent the coldest night yet, was wearing every article of clothing that I owned. But did get to see the sunset and sunrise, I guess one of the benefits and drawbacks of sleeping up on a high exposed ridge. My tent held out in the wind, which is good news.Oh by the way it snowed on us today!"Now I know what it is to sit enthroned amid the clouds of sunset." - Rudyard Kipling, Tour Through Yellowstone
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Cold Springs Shelter Camp Grounds

To: Locust Cove Camp
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: few clouds

The hardest day yet by far, but was broken up in the middle by a large bacon cheese burger, with lettuce, and tomatoes. Ketchup and grease dripped down the edges as I ate it. By far the best hamburger I have ever eaten. Did I mention earlier that it was a 3,000 foot elevation drop down into the Nantahala Valley, followed by a 3,000 foot elevation gain on the other side.I met my buddy from Clemson at the Nantahala Outdoor center. He was taking his second zero day in a row there, judging by the fact that he started a week before I didn¢t and wasn¢t about to leave, I felt that it was just best for me to move on. "I will go to the bank by the woods and become undisguised and naked, I am mad for it to be in contact with me." - Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Locust Cove Camp

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

The hardest mental day yet! Made worse by the fact that I knew my dad was coming to meet me, and I could just hop in the back of the car and come home with him. It was great to see him. He set us all up in a nice hotel, fed us dinner, and sent us on our way! Thanks dad, you are the best father a son could ever ask for. And thanks for refusing to take me home with you. I am about to hit the Smokies and will be out of contact for at least the next 4 days. This will probably be the best chance or place for me to see a bear. Wish me luck."The darkest scriptures of the mountains are illuminated with bright passages of love." - John Muir, Mountains of California
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Fontana Dam

To: Spring
Miles today: 2.7
Weather: clear sky

Stayed in the Hotel until they kicked us out around 11:30. Hitch hiked back to the marina where we got off the trail. Ended up heading back to the docks where we sat all afternoon soaking up the sun and cooling down our feet the icy fontana lake. All in all a good day! Ended up getting on a house boat for lunch."To get close to the earth and see the stars - this is travel." - Mary Roberts Rinehart, Rockies
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Spring

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

Good long day. While I was hiking alone, I saw three bears, a mom and her two cubs. Pretty cool."From art, from nature, from schools, Let random influences glance, Like in many a shiver'd lance, That breaks about the dappled pools." - Alfred Lord Tennyson
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Clingman's Dome
Miles today: 16.4

The highest point on the whole trail. It is all downhill from here, well at least in theory. Picked up an awesome hitch into Gatlingburg by way of Cherokee and Mingo Falls. Stayed at The Gran Prix, with Blue Sky and Hatchet. Good times. "You have caused a new light to shine in our hearts." - Book of Common Prayer
Date: 2009-04-27
From: Clingman's Dome

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

Nice view. Kept a close watch on the fire off in the distance. It looked like it was heading our way. Crossed over 200 miles today - 1/10 of the way done!" I wonder at all the things I think I've touched but haven't." - Barry Lopez, Crossing Open Ground
Date: 2009-04-29
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Next to a creek
Miles today: 25.0

It was a good long day. I didn¢t see anyone all day long. I left early on a long fast hard push because I just felt good. Camped out with a few other characters and was surrounded all night by a 400 pound black bear. All the other guys stayed up all night screaming and throwing stuff at it. I was actually the one that had set my tent up closest to it, but I didn¢t even get out of my tent. I just figured there wasn¢t much I could do that they weren¢t already doing. I was just tired and content in my little cave of a tent. In the morning, it turns out that the bear had hit everybody¢s bear bag except for mine. Lucky I guess. Left before everybody else got up and hit Hot Springs for the best lunch I have had so far (a 12 ounce double bacon cheese burger with Tater-Tots smothered in cheese). Oh so good!"There was little conversation, for an impressive scene overawed speech." - Mark Twain
Date: 2009-04-30
From: Next to a creek

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I hiked a quick 15 miler into Hot Springs for the best lunch yet. I wrote about it in the last journal (sorry for jumping ahead). I guess I just got over excited and wanted to tell you guys about it a day early! The lunch was followed by the best vegetarian enchilada imaginable, some soup, and a hot berry crumble cake topped with ice cream! All the ingredients were home grown and crooked fresh. Afterwards, I slept in a bed. I tried to sleep in, but I still woke up at 7 o¢clock. I don¢t know if I will ever be able to sleep past 7 o¢clock. If you ever make it to Hot Springs, stop by and say hello to Elmer for me!"Seek only there Where the gray light meets the green air The hermit's chapel, the pilgrim's prayer." - T.S. Eliot, Usk
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Hot Springs

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Man, it was tough leaving Hot Springs! I think the worst thing about leaving towns, other than the obvious (food and other creature comforts), is the fact that most towns are located in the valleys along a nice flowing river or stream; therefore when you leave, you have to go straight up!"I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." -Anne Frank, Diary of Anne Frank
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Deep Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

There was nothing particularly special about today. It was just a good old long day even though we made it to the shelter around 4 (kind of early for us). We would normally have pushed on, but it looked like it was going to rain and there isn¢t a need to do more than 20 miles a day, yet. We are definitely getting faster, but the terrain sure isn¢t getting any easier. Maybe this upcoming five days of rain will slow us down some?Stayed in the shelter with Smile Train and Buckeye and have been hiking with ever since. Smile train is very funny, and he is a constant source of entertainment. Buckeye is the strongest hiker that I have seen yet since meeting up with Blue Sky. It turns out that they both started the same day as Blue Sky (a day before I did). So we are all about the same pace, and we just might end up hiking plenty of more days together."Open your inmost chamber and light its lamp." - Mirabai