morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-10-02
From: moxie bald lean-to

To: MONSON
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

two river fords today! that's one of the things i've been worried about since starting this trip...i've heard horror stories about white water and whatnot and i can't swim. but it ended up being fine, even fun. (except for the whole excruciating pain aspect of the freezing water). it felt good to get over this one last fear and now i can add this to my list of things i have survived (being alone in the woods at night, hitchhiking, bears, rattlesnakes, thunderstorms and the white mountains). yay!speaking of hitching, i waited forever for a ride on rte 15. finally (like thirty minutes, right as the sun was going down) a truck came by and me and trailboss got in. the guy just drove up to his house, said "welcome to monson" and then got out of the truck and went inside. weird. we walked down the street a little ways and saw prana and iroc and then went to shaw's hostel to find tomato gravy, snake eyes, two-step and tu-tone. it was nice to see everybody again. the best was running into lefty at the gas station/pizza place! i haven't seen her since maybe virginia. she and righty and lefty and buoy summitted katahdin the day before. i was so excited and proud for them!
Date: 2006-10-03
From: long pond stream

To: monson
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: scattered clouds

two-step, snake eyes and myself decided to do a 14 mile slack today. it seems weird to slack in the 100 mile wilderness, but how much of a wilderness can it be if there are roads? i've been wanting to take it easy in the woods but knew it wouldn't be possible to carry all that food to the next resupply point and i was too nervous about the pending october 15th deadline to take a zero day so a slack seemed like a good compromise. woah, big mistake - the slack ended up being about 17 miles with the side trail (apparently we didn't take the correct turn and ended up going further up than necessary) and we had to really push it to get back before dark, practically running on some parts. the terrain was pretty rough, lots of roots and rocks and mud and overgrown bushes all up in our faces. and the trail was just up and down, up and down, non-stop. we ended up having to night hike despite our efforts (we didn't even get started until noon or so) and my headlamp battery was low so it was really dim. still, we made it out of the woods around 8 and to our delighted surprise, buddy from the hostel was at the trailhead waiting to take us back to town. it was so nice to shower and sleep in a bed after such a hard day, and despite my above complaints, the day definitely had it's awesome moments, like the gorgeous waterfall and the river fords (this time the water was up to my shorts and the current was really swift!) and all the amusement at getting cellphone service in the "wilderness."
Date: 2006-10-05
From: cloud pond

To: west branch of pleasant river
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

i am so enthralled with the changing leaves. the light and the colors are so breathtaking i can barely stand it, sometimes just stopping dead in my tracks and marveling at the immense beauty surrounding me. i am really slowing down these days trying to soak it all in and enjoy the hiking. there is another river crossing coming up. rumor has it there is no camping on the other side of the river for a few miles but i don't want to ford in the morning when it will probably be freezing. i got to the river a little before sunset and saw that it was pretty wide, but not too deep. there were some nice sites on the south side so i set up my tent and made a good dinner by the water.
Date: 2006-10-06
From: west branch of pleasant river

To: sidney tappan campsite
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

woke up after a nice sleep and made my coffee. the river crossing was fine, especially since prana iroc and the others were already on the other side with a campfire going! so i stuck around and warmed up my river-frozen toes and ate some treats. then snake eyes, two-step and i hiked up to the gulf hagas trail where we took a little detour to see the waterfall and gulf. we only ended up hiking a couple miles of it since we were starting to get nervous about our food running out and need to get to the whitehouse landing to resupply soon. again, it was a gorgeous day. the sky is saturated with color and i spend the day walking in awe.we decided to take a shorter day today because there is a great campsite after a particularly hard mountain (where did those boulders come from?) the temps started to drop pretty early and i was freezing. boulder and charlie foxtrot showed up and set up camp too. i wanted to stay up and chat, but it was too cold so i just bundled up in my sleeping bag and tried to go to sleep even though it was only 5:30 or 6:00.
Date: 2006-10-07
From: sidney tappan campsite

To: cooper brook lean-to
Miles today: 17.1

i kept waking up in the middle of the night shivering it was so cold. at one point around 4:00 a.m. i heard something big in the bushes followed by some snorting and heavy breathing near my tent. i was certain it was a bear but i didn't even care (even though my food was in my tent, under my feet) it was too cold to go out and investigate so i decided it was a moose and nothing to worry about and went back to sleep. when i woke up i saw that the inside of my tent was covered in frost. every time i moved and touched the walls a layer of ice would fall onto me. brrrrr! finally managed to get out and get dressed and break camp. every movement was so painful from the cold. i was in such a hurry to just start hiking so i could warm up. but even after hiking for a while i was still frozen. when i got to the top of white cap mountain i went over to the viewpoint to see katahdin. there was a lot of build up to the view point since we've been walking towards katahdin all these months. i guess it was a little disappointing because i didn't know which one it was. since it was 70 miles to katahdin i thought for sure it was the mountain further away but i guess the trail is pretty windy because everybody else insisted it was the closer mountain. the rest of the day was pretty easy and enjoyable. more gorgeous trees and lakes and all the prettiness maine has to offer.
Date: 2006-10-08
From: cooper brook lean-to

To: white house landing
Miles today: 13.8

the lean-to was so amazingly gorgeous! right on the water. i slept to the sound of the stream crashing down the falls and the light of the fullish moon peeking through the trees. there is this sense of almost being done, but it doesn't really feel real yet. part of me doesn't want it to ever end i want to carry this feeling with me forever.today was so awesome. so many lakes! the antlers campsite was so beautiful! i kept taking more and more breaks just to sit at the water and watch the sun move through the leaves. we met some nice section hikers at one of the lean tos. they gave us fresh veggies and told us about the float plane that is picking them up. i can't wait to come back to maine with aimee and take her on a float plane. that same lean-to had a gorgeous spring, too. right after the lean to we came upon a viewpoint where you are led out of the woods onto a beach and there, looming above, was mount katahdin. it looked so massive and intimidating and beautiful. it's hard to believe that i am almost there. that the day i have been dreaming about forever is really gonna happen. at the same time it seems pretty unreal, like it's too much to really contemplate and i just stare in awe at the mountain's grandiosity.the side trail to white house landing felt much longer than the promised one mile, but there was excitement in the air with the thought of food and sleep. when tomato gravy and i got there, charlie was already there and had been waiting for a while. you have to blow an airhorn and wait for the boat to come pick you up to take you to the camp. we had to walk through majorly deep mud to get to the dock but then the boat came and it was so much fun. the hostel/camp was nice. there was a shower but no laundry. instead there was an old fashioned washbasin and washboard set up by the lake. i washed my clothes and hung them up to dry and then attempted, unsuccessfully, to eat a one pound burger and watched the gorgeous sunset over the lake keeping an eye out for moose.
Date: 2006-10-09
From: white house landing

To: rainbow stream
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

so the weather report at whitehouse landing is 70% chance of rain on thursday, friday and the weekend. this means we have to hike forty miles in two days if we want to summit on wednesday. it feels overwhelming. for so long i've had it in my head that i would summit on the 12th because i really wanted to enjoy the last few days and not push it too hard. but i don't want to risk the trail up katahdin being closed. nor do i want to summit in the rain. so i will hike as far as i can and see what happens.
Date: 2006-10-10
From: rainbow stream

To: the birches
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: overcast clouds

so the plan is to hike to abol bridge and check the weather and then decide if i want to go the last ten miles. hiking along rainbow pond was great. the loons were calling all morning. i'm so busy thinking about the weather and whether or not i'll make it that i'm not really focused on how this might be my last day in the woods. reading the shelter registers is weird. everybody is writing really intense philosophical and emotional things about finishing the trail and all that but it still hasn't sunk in. i wonder if it ever will. i feel like the last few weeks i have been so successful at existing just in the present moment that i have no way of incorporating these experiences into the larger picture. i always pictured myself just crying a lot for the last few days but it hasn't happened. it all just feels so abstract.then i get to the sign that tells me i am leaving the hundred mile wilderness and i am overcome with emotion. as i leave the woods and cross the road and look up at katahdin i finally start to cry. prana is at abol bridge and we embrace. we can't believe we're really here. it's really too much and i switch back into planning mode - go into the campstore for resupply and to check the weather. it's still fixing to rain on thursday. prana, iroc, tomato, little spoon and trailboss are all planning to hike on to the birches for a wednesday summit. i am reluctant to go on knowing that twostep and snake eyes are behind and aren't going to make it tonight. but the forest ranger tells me i have to go with the weather and i know she's right.the next ten miles are kind of a blur. there was a trecherous river crossing on a skinny log. the sun set seemingly early and i night-hiked the last two or three miles. i was amazed at how calm and at-home i felt in the dark in the woods, remembering the first time i night-hiked. i was with roni and michelle and beth. we were so frightened (not roni, of course) each step was so tentative and all of our senses were alive and waiting.i finally made it to the ranger station around 8:00. it felt like two in the morning we were all so tired and excited. can you believe we're finally here?
Date: 2004-07-22
To: This looks like a good place to start.
Miles today: 0.0

I decided that I was going to hike the trail last month when I was sitting in my office zoning out, staring at nothing, thinking about how great it would be to get back into the activities that I took for granted growing up. Not to mislead anyone, I grew up in various suburban communities all over the world (military family) and only went rustic for a couple of weeks at a time on numerous family vacation and adventures (we were the Griswalds). My outdoor resume consits of camping on the beach of GUAM (age 6-7), hiking a big mountain in Palm Springs and Yosemite California (age 9-10). Camping in just about every KOA campground from California to North Carolina by way of Florida (Wally/Disney World) on a summer long road trip (age 11). Like I said, "we were really the Griswalds."    Now (age 24), I have graduated college, got a job, and thats it! I am a real estate broker and very good at my job in regards to taking care of my clients, but I don't like it because I am not reckless enough to be on strait commission. Needless to say I don't make enough money to care about it. There are too many hands in the pot. I am hoping I can save money for the hike to get away. I know that the next immediate 5 yrs of my life will be important to how the following 30 will go for my career, family, and overall health. Spiritually I need to be filled now while my roots are thin enough to take this sabbatical so I can face whatever comes next.    I have always thought that hiking the AT would be a crazy adventure so I put it on the THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE LIST. Im not worried about physically being able to make it because I have always been able to go from sh** to fit but I have to have a goal in mind. I trained for six months for Naval OCS and dropped 50lbs when I graduated college. The Navy plan didn't pan out the way I hoped so I joined my father in real estate. Now that I know enough about the business I know that I don't want to be an agent for much longer, though I am thankful for my experiences, good and bad.   I have been researching the trail for a while now and will be testing out the gear I get on some hikes in the mountains of NC (if I can make time). I hope to chat with other future hikers (and past thru-hikers) to see what advice everyone has on preparring. Today I put a bid in on Ebay for the wrong backpack. I hope I get outbid. I wasn't paying attention and clicked the wrong icon to submit my bid. I wondered why it was so cheap. If not I guess I will have the prettiest pack out there (it is a girls bag).   So if anyone reading this just wants to converse about........stuff or have advice, just drop me a line. He** if we get along well, you might have a partner on the trip. I am currently planning on going in the beginning to mid of March around my 25th B-day. I have plenty of time to get ready. It's funny, planning for the trip motivates me to work harder, but I find myself being distracted by the anticipation. Why does everything have to be a catch-22.
Date: 2004-08-06
To: Started Spending Money
Miles today: 0.0

Ebay is a pretty fun place to get gear from. Hopefully, I have bought what I need for the bulk of my hiking gear minus clothes food and miscellaneous items. I'll start posting my gear as soon as I can get the time. Any feedback on my gear will be well appreciated. Some time this month I will be testing it all out on one of the Linville Falls trails in NC and I guess in my back yard (The neighbors already think I am odd). One warning when purchasing on Ebay, read the descriptions carefully. I bought the wrong fountain pen and definately paid too much for it. No I am not taking a fountain pen as gear, it was a B-Day present for my mom. But so far I have purchased exactly everything I want at a lesser price total than retail shops. Im' getting excited!!!
Date: 2004-08-11
To: I hope I dont die before I hit the trail.
Miles today: 0.0

I am so glad I have a place to type my thoughts because today has been one of those days that could make a man go 'postal'. My job is sucking away my spirit and I am afraid of losing the trail. I know I can't make everyone happy all the time, but it seems that if you do not dance everytime someone yells, you will be burned. In the mean time, everyone is waiting to see you fall.I do not want to believe that this is as good as my life gets. I feel so powerless over myself to do anything constructive, that I have forgot what it feels like to acheive anything meaningful. I am scared. I know it is hokey but I remember a speach that Brad Pitt gave in Fight Club:"I've seen in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who ever lived.I see all this potential, and I see it squandering.G'Dammit and entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars.Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes.Working jobs we hate, so we can buy Sh** we don't need.We are the middle children of history man!No pupose or place.We have no great war, no great depression.Our great war is a spiritual war.And our great depression is our lives.We were all raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionairs, and movie gods, and rock stars.........But we won't, and we're slowly learning that fact.And we are very...... Very pissed off!Well tomorrow is a new day and being able to work this job and prepare for hiking will be an acheivement for me. I don't want anyone to help me with this, it has to be my success or failure. Now I am going home to watch a movie about NC trail hiking. Goodnight!
Date: 2004-08-12
To: Another Day
Miles today: 0.0

Well today was interesting to say the least. It started out I was viewing some investment properties for some clients. I set my appointment with the listing company the day before for the next morning. They called the next morning to tell me to go ahead and get keys to view the properties. Well, they did not get in touch with the tenants who occupy the property. When I got to the properties I knock....waited......heard no answer so I used the key to get in. I suprised and young woman and her baby taking a nap. I introduced myself, apologized and left. I got a call an hour later from a deputy sheriff that received a breaking and entering call. I gave my statement and everything was sorted out. It could have been much worse and I am thankful for that. One big embarrasing situation. Its little BS like that which frustrates me. I do not make enough money for that kind of stress. Oh well, it will be okay. Thats 2 days in a row that I rolled with the punches.
Date: 2004-08-17
To: The big Houdini
Miles today: 0.0

Today I fired myself from my job. I flipped off the handle and lost my cool today. Knocked a couple of holes in the wall and left. No one is paying me anyway. I pay myself. I could not ask for better people to work with, which is one thing I am upset with myself about. I just had to go. Tonight I will go back, fix everything I broke and get my stuff. I am embarrassed about the way I acted but every time I think of going to work and making futile efforts so maybe I can make some money, I get upset. My dissappointment is mainly at myself for not wanting to be successful selling real estate. I guess I am not a "go getter". I like being laid back. However, I don't like the feeling of being last in the race and everyone is lapping you twice. So I washed my hands of the whole thing.Tomorrow I am going to go to the mountains. I do not know how long I will be gone, but I will prepare. I will hike some easy trails and just get away. I need it.Wow, I feel like I am coming up for air!
Date: 2004-08-18
To: The Great Escape
Miles today: 0.0

Today is the day after I quit selling real estate. I slept in this morning and felt great with no pressure, I collected some of the miscellaneous items for a short hiking trip. One problem, I didn't know where to go hike. I went to my folks house and hopped on the internet. I decided that I was going to go to Hot Springs, NC. After I gathered info, I went to a thrift shop and got 2 golf club irons so I could use the grips for the bottoms of my makeshift hiking poles. Then I packed everything up and started off to the NC/Tenn border. I thought of breaking the road trip up by staying with my aunt and uncle in Kernersville, NC. But, I decided against it and kept driving and planned on finding a campsite.After 6 hrs I was finally in the mountains driving up a steep one just before Asheville, NC on I-40. Suddenly my car jumped in RPM's. I thought it was pulling extra juice to get over the mountain. When I got to the top I noticed I needed gas so I pulled off on the next exit. Thats when I smelled a burning metal/fish smell and my car did not want to go anymore. I know my transmission slips often but this was different. I saw steam billowing out of the hood, so I called USAA. As I am writing this in my .15 cent journal I got at the thrift shop, I am waiting on a tow. This time is going to allow me to reflect on what is going to happen in the next few months. Right now however, I am unemployed. I hope that this breakdown will not cost me too much. I don't even know where to spend the night. On a positive note, it doesn't matter because I have packed enough to camp anywhere for a while.Ironically, I broke down near a bed and breakfast. It is about 10pm and I have been on the side of the road since 9:15pm. USAA sould be here in about 40min and so far I have heard 2 rifle shots that were close enough to feel the sound. Must be raccoon hunters. This will be an interesting night.
Date: 2004-08-19
To: Blue Blazes
Miles today: 0.0

Man! I am not even on a trail in a park worth hiking. Last night the wrecker, Randy came and towed me to his shop. Fortunately, there was an RV camp ground about a mile away. After he dropped my car off he took me to the campground in his personal truck, a true clunker. I felt fourtunate for the things that I had.This morning I hiked up to his shop. The mechanics could not find where it was leaking. They filled the radiator with water and there were no problems. I checked the transmission and it was empty. They put 6 quarts of t'mission fluid in and again there were no problems. So I paid the fees and tipped Randy a 5 spot and went to the Ford dealer. The Ford dealer in that town was too busy so they sent me up the road to another dealer where I originally broke down. Blackwater Ford couldn't get to me until 10am on tuesday(24th). I decided to go hiking.I found a hiking store called "Take a Hike"(which is also how they answered the phone). They let me know where some good trails and camps were that lead to Mt. Mitchel.   The map I had was very good but since I did not know the area I had to follow the trails that were marked with blue blazes.The blue blazes marked the trail for Greybeard mountain. As the day became later and later, the path got steeper and steeper. I learned that the faster a trail zig-zags up, the closer to the top you are getting (unless you have to walk along a ridge). I finally reached the top when it started raining. I set up camp in the rain in complete exhaustion from the days hike. I ate an MRE while overlooking what I thought was Clingman's peak, it had a radio tower.While writing in my thrift shop journal I felt more nauseous. "Side note: My thrift shop journal has a number for a Kevin that some girl wrote with a little heart dotting an 'i'. Knowing that she no longer has the journal, I should call Kevin and let him know that she probably does not like him any more." I decided to get out of my hammock tent to spew but I couldn't move, I was too wrapped up. As soon as I sat up.........it went. I opened my tent just in time to not make too much of a mess.This has been a crazy day. I am laying wrapped up again hanging about 9 inches over what is left of an MRE with my nose plugged with MRE. I hope a bear does not come to eat what I ate. Good night.