morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-12-29
To: Ho Ho Ho joyeux Noel
Miles today: 0.0

Well i spent Christmas in Montr©al with lots of members of my family asking me 10000 questions about the AT. Dont get me wrong though I absolutely loved answering their questions. I showed them this website and they will follow my progress on my crusade on the AT. All my relatives are french canadians an I thought of writing in french instead of english for this journal. I opted to keep writing in english for the benefit of other people who will read my journal to prepare for their upcoming long hike . La langue de Moli re me semblait plus belle  utiliser ,mais celle de shakespeare semblait plus pratique pour les nombreux lecteurs de ce site.Well im in the middle of a nice canadian winter. With snow everywhere camping is now a different ball game . It's nice , I love it because it's a big change and change is GOOD haha. Well I left my job the 17th of December wich means im off work for the next 8months . It will be nice not working prior the my departure for Springer as I will have a chance to play hockey everyday. YAY!The date I leave from here is the 4th of February to end up on the trail around the 7th . I have everything ready for the trip(gear,$,mental preparation haha) .Well i have a month to get in better shape,sure im only 18 ,young and full of energy but i drink beer and go to bed around 3-4 in the morning and those are things i wont be doing often on the trail. hehe well cya next time wich will be right before i Leave south. well a month and a couple of days to gop.s. The 2 girls on the picture are my cousin Alexandra and my cousin Patricia
Date: 2004-01-08
To: Brrrr its cold out here!
Miles today: 0.0

Went for a nice walk today. Before going out i looked at the thermometer and it indicated -25degree Celsius(-10 Farenheit). I am in Miguasha at my grand parents house. They own a campground and as you would assume it is the off-season right now. The thing is this campground is not your typical field with pop machine and cable connection right around the corner. This camping is in a forest situated on the coast of the bay des chaleurs. The scenerys are magnificient and to help with the beauty of it all there is no electricity so it becomes a backcountry experience for car campers.My cottage is situated right by the beach on a little cliff and is powered by propane for the stove,lights and refrigerator. All this to say i missed this spot as i have neglected it by not coming enough these past few years(I live 4 hours away. So this morning no matter what the temperature was ,i was gonna walk the 1.5km that separate my grand pa's house from my cottage. Having the gusty wind in my back i had an easy time getting there . When i got there the cottage had snow in front of the door.I h ad no shovel so i couldnt get in. I sure was glad i had 2 pair of fleece underneath my waterproof-breathable windproof goretex(Im sure even a polar bear wouldve like having goretex against those chilly winds). As i started walking back to the great warmth of a house, I realized that the wind was a lot more eminent than I had anticipated while walking to my cottage. I walked backwards to prevent my skin on my face from hitting the wind.This wasnt the greatest idea as the snow was blowing and was uncovering snow where ice lay underneath. This made me soon relalize that walking backwards on ice is quite dangerous. I finally arrived at my grand-parents house with my cheeks quite red. As I undressed from the numerous liners I had on, I overheard the weatherman on Tv saying: Stay inside as much as you can folks, The temperature is -40degree C(-40 degree Farenheit) with the windchill.I guess I told this story to say how much I love hiking no matter what circumstance and that even if there are obstacles on the AT, i know i can counter them with my strongwill.27 before I leave,30 before I hit Springer!!Dom
Date: 2004-01-15
To: Ouch!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well i got my wisdom teeth removed this morning. 4 of them ! Im still bleeding and for 5 days i need to eat soup and yogurt. Im so hungry and that grub just wont fill me up hehe. I was looking at pictures of a camping trip where we were grilling nice steaks . The saliva/blood was coming out of my mouth as i f i hadn't eaten in 5 days. It sucks when you cant have something you really want. I bet if had seen that picture when my mouth was normal, I woulndve even thought about how good a steak tastes.Needless to say i can't do any sport for at least 5 days. Well im going to get in shape on the AT and not before like i had planned. I guess im not completely out of shape, but im no Terry Fox!3weeks before i Hit the trail man I can't wait. My passport should arrive in the mail next monday so I'll be ready to go to the beautiful United States of America. I hope they don't confiscate my stove when i board the plane. I decided not to bring the white gas canister at all just in case they find it and ask what it is for. then they could confiscate my stove also.I'll just get one on the way to the trail. Its like 15 $ or something.I no longer work so i can plan all this since i have nothing else to do during these short winter days.Till next time,Dom
Date: 2004-01-28
To: Is this day ever gonna come?
Miles today: 0.0

A lot of people who heard about my plans of hiking 3488km ask me if I'm crazy.I've always been living on the edge but I don't think Hiking full time is as crazy as it seems. I can only imagine waking up everyday to the sound of birds and the stream nearby my tent. Taking a long deserved breath every morning to tell myself "This is life!"Sure Im going to miss things around here and I was thinking about things I will miss most. Here is the list and this isnt in order of importance. -Fundy national park-Hockey-Listening to music (especially Iron Maiden)-Not having to cook my own meal-Mountain Biking-My family-My friends-My dog Caf©-Shagging-partying-playing NHL 2003 on Xbox-going for a driveThat's about it and I think i could name oodles of things that i will miss from the trail when I reach Katahdin. Talking about Katahdin some of my friends + my family will meet us there at the end so we don't have to take a long bus home . Yipee!I got my insurance for the trip today. I would never go the USA without insurance because medical services will cost you an arm and a leg I heard.A bad thing happened last night, I was playing pond hockey in -20 C temperature and I got frostbite on my toes because of walking in the snow. This morning my feet were tingly and when i went outside again to go skiing , my feet were cold instantly. Hopefully my feet will get back to normal before I leave (7 days)If not maybe my trailname will be frostbite . HAHA I can't beleive that next week is the big day of leaving and starting a new life in Springer. Josh and I deceided to hike the Appalachian trail FEB 2004 in August and we told each other we had a lot of preparing and planning to do. While procastinating about the trip for 5months, I realized i hadnt done anything and now with a week away I find myself out of shape, without a guide, handbook or maps of the trail and no maildrop ready.Lots of people say that poor preparation leads to dropping out of the trail.Well watch me be the exception of the rule,Dom6 days before I leave, 9 before I hit the trail!
Date: 2004-01-31
To: Stone cold crazy
Miles today: 0.0

So i'm sitting here thinking "hey,wonder what my life would look like if i hadn't chosen to hike from Feb 2004 to wathever 2004!?"I took my year off because of this trip. If it wasnt for this magnificient project , I would be in university, studying and partying my ass off right now.I like plan A better. Hehe besides, I'll have plenty more chances in my life to do Plan B. I went to 2parties so far this weekend and I have one tonight and one tomorrow for the superbowl. Yes one thursday,friday,saturday and sunday .I know that all i'm going to be thinking at those party will be " I wanna be on the trail", while other people will be saying "chug that beer". Hehe.Anyways enough about that , I went for a nice snowshoe hike today with two of my mountain biking buddies. It was -7degree C (20F for people from south of the border) and it felt like it was 30degree C. Man was I ever steaming going uphill.Then we reached the summit of Shepody mountain here in southern NB and i put on my extra layers to take a nice break and cook a good meal. After 30min I was shivering. The mac and cheese was well appreciated and then we started going down the mountain. That was fun because we ran . Let me tell you that its really fun but also dangerous to run with snowshoes because underneath powdered snow there are hidden branches and tree trunk. I fell a couple of times tripping on the branches and whatnot but I still had a blast and that was probably the last time until July that I will be in the woods in Canada.Next winter I'm going to go snowshoeing more! For hikers who have never snowshoed or that have forgotten the feeling like I had, I recommend that you go out tomorrow and start snowshoeing. Family,friends ,work , they are all obstacles getting in the way of snowshoeing tomorrow so for one day let loose and go snowshoeing without the tiniest bit of worry about the "obstacles".Ok I've said enough bullshit already . 3 days before I leave.Dom
Date: 2004-02-04
To: Airport Fun
Miles today: 0.0

Well I'm sitting at the Toronto airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta.My flight is at 1h35 and it is 8h30Am. Needless to say I have next to nothing to do for the next 5hours. To go get my luggage I have to enter the US department of the airport. After I get my luggage I have to fill out a US customs form to go in the US gates department of the airport where i can wait patientelly for my flight. The problem is on this little form it asks the adress I'm going to stay in the US. Ohh Well maybe they know about the appalachian Trail. WRONG!SO I get to the customs counter and the lady officer starts asking me questions.THe first one she asked was : Where are you going?I told her I was going to hike the appalachian trail wich runs from Georgia to Maine. She said we'll get back to that one. 2nd question was : How long are you going to stay in the US?I responded casually "6months".She gave me a look like I was from planet Uranus.3rd question "Do you have a return ticket?" I said yeah I do but I won't be using it because im walking to Maine wich is right beside where I live in Canada and my parents are going to come pick me up.AT that point and time,I'm sure she thought I was a lying confused criminal.So she did the obvious and brought me to the little closed offices where a detective of the US Justice Department would ask me questions of his own. This man was great as he let me explain my situation. So after I told him I was on my way to Atlanta to get to Springer Mountain, he asked me how I was going to get from Atlanta to the trailhead. I told him that a friend met over the internet was coming to pick up Josh and I at the airport and we we're going to stay at his place until saturday. He said : "find out his adress". I got out of the "criminal's" office and find a payphone and call this guy i had never spoken to in my life, to find out his adress. This was my only way! I finally contacted and Garrett gave me his adress without hesitation. Now, I thought with the adress I was home free.Wrong again! but it was infact the biggest piece of the puzzle. After I gave the detective the adress he made me enter his little offfice again (where I was getting filmed and recorded) and he pulled out a storm of question-Who bought your ticket?-How much $ do you have?-What does your mom do for a living?-What does your fad do for a living?Then he asked the final question : - Did you ever commit any crime in the US or in Canada?At that time, I was so happy that I had never did a fellony- I shouted out proudly "NO" and he let me through.
Date: 2004-02-05
To: Good American Time
Miles today: 0.0

Boy I had a nice American day here in Toccoa Georgia. To tell the truth it's almost the same as Canada. Josh and I are living with Garrett and his parents until saturday and we are really getting spoiled. Hehe. Tonight we ate a big meal and peanut butter pie for dessert. Have y'all eva had that?(Im picking up the southern accent) It's really gooood!Dudes, the weather is warm down here. I brought all my winter gear and upon arrival in Georgia, I realized it was too much. Plus I brought 9-10 days of food and I cut that to 5 out here. My pack went from 45 to 37 pounds. I think thats perfect for winter. It's pretty funny because Josh has 45 pounds and he can't find anything to cut down on. His journal is the size of a high school brainiac binder. Things like that he could shedd off a few pounds. Ohh well i aint the one carrying it! Hehehe! Garret on the other hand, has close to 34 pounds. He's hardcore though. He has those little can stoves wich weight less than an Oz. Crazy!!Well last day tomorrow before I start my long journey ,so rest is well needed now...Goodnight,Dom
Date: 2004-02-06
To: different culture, same fun
Miles today: 0.0

Rainy day today. Sure glad I was inside to hear the drops falling hard. Garrett asked us what we wanted to do this morning and I remembered Garrett saying something about a french bakery here in Toccoa ,so I suggested we go there to surprise the old lady who owns the place with my french speaking skills. It turned out the old lady was from Martinique and she had a hard time speaking french or english. She didn't have a hard time making good pastries though. Hmmm!In the afternoon we played around with our gear and when I when outside to pour fuel in my fuel bottle, I realized the rain had stop and it was really nice out. On tv it said 54deg...54?deg!!!!!!!! That's warm!I am learning a lot about the american or at least the rural georgian lifestyle and it is very interesting.Tonight we ate at the local BBQ restaurant. This is the kind of restaurant where nascar signs are the main decoration and most of the people from the tables from the tables know each other. It was absolutely delightful and sweetened ice tea was spine tingling.Its sad to be already leaving the wonderful family of the Earharts who have been so kind and caring, but at least Garrett will be starting the trail with us until we split. At least I will be seeing Larry and Sandra (Garrett's parents, the Earharts) one last time in Helen 6 days from now where they will bring us resupplying food and gear. I guess all the extra food i brought payed off after all.Tomorrow is Amicolola state park. The great Mount Springer! Tomorrow is suppose to be a little cold but thats ok . We're all ready for the big start!Next entry I will be talking about the trail.Domps thanks to everyone who signed my guestbook. I love reading what you all put.
Date: 2004-02-07
From: Amicolola state park side trail

To: Long Creek side trail
Miles today: 4.9

... And were offMy first day on the trail!I was teasing everyone that i wanted snow today to make a nice springer picture. Well good old mother nature realized my wish. Yeah!We started hiking around 11h30 and Garrett's sister as well as his friends hiked 4 miles of the approach the trail with us. That was fun! Yeah we hiked 12.2M today but only 4.9M out of the AT. THe rest was from Amicolola falls approach trail wich is an awesome trail!Tonight is quite cold: in the single digits.We are camping at long creek and I will fall asleep under the melodic sounds of the waterfall.
Date: 2004-02-08
From: Long Creek side trail

To: Gooche Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 9.8

Today was the kind of day that makes you want to live on the AT. I woke up around 8h30 and the sun was coming out. It was cold (My filter+ my water bottles were all frozen!). I cooked breakfast (Hmmm Oatmeal!) Garrett and Josh were chilling in their tents.In the afternoon the weather was just magnificient. We had huge climbs (for me anyway) and we peaked Sasfras mountain and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.I could probably see all the way to New-Brunswick if it wasnt for all these big moutains. Haha!10miles was perfect today because I know I can do a lot more mileage but its good to start slow. My Grand Pa gave me that advice and he is a wise man.We got to Gooche Mtn shelter at about 3pm and Dozer and Mike le qu©b©cois were already there. Dozer is a section hiker and he made us a fire wich we all enjoyed. Mike is a thru-hiker from Qu©bec Canada. Its cool cuz i could communicate with him in french. It was just awesome! Later on Luke,Pickle and Peanut got here. Luke is another trhu-hiker from upstate New-York. He bathed today.BATHED!!! water is damn near freezing temperature!. I told him that he's crazy.HEHE Pickle and Peanut are a couple from NC who are on a thru-hike together(they have a site here too). It is awesome to see so many thru-hikers this early in the year. Garrett and A-One are still with me. (Yep Josh has a trailname its A-One). It's getting late ,around 9h30, so I better get to bed. Hehehe!Domp.s. Dozer learned me a two new wood expression tonight. COWBOY TV wich means a fire and CAVEMAN AXE wich is the action of making logs with a tree by banging it on a another tree. Hahaha!
Date: 2004-02-09
From: Gooche Mtn Shelter

To: Wood's Hole Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Walk,Eat and Sleep. Sounds simple? It is and I absolutely love it. I slept like a little baby last night (the kind that doesnt cry) Walking today was nice and fast until my food from yesterday wanted to come out. Yadi Yadi Yada 15Min later I was hiking fast. I caught up to Garrett around 45min later and we hiked together, I mean suffered together going uphill. The woods are very spooky out here by Bunnet Mountain.Garrett and I got to Wood's hole shelter around 2h30-3pm. Dozer,A-One,Pickle,Peanut Luke and Mike le qu©b©cois got here just after us. Garrett, Dozer, Mike and I gathered lots of wood for the cowboy TV tonight.It's cool that the crew of hikers at this shelter tonight is exactly the same as yesterday. The downside is the shelter here is half the size of Gooche Mtn Shelter. The tighter squeeze will be warmer so its not bad. HeheTomorrow is Blood Mountain-the highest peak in Georgia on the AT at 4,461 Ft. Fun climbing hehe. Tonight we are at 3680 feet. I love the Mountains. Well I'm about to cook my 2nd meal tonight so see yaDom
Date: 2004-02-10
From: Wood's Hole Shelter

To: Whitley Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

Today, I woke up to the sound of Pickle and Peanut leaving for Neel's Gap.Everyone else were still in their sleeping bags. Mike had another cold night. For me I slept really good. I was glad to see it wasnt raining because Dozer's little radio said it would!Cloudy though, very cloudy. When I got to Blood Mountain(I noticed it too, its a weird name for a mountain). I was hiking in the clouds and I could barely see 10feet in front of me. Garrett and I got to Neel's Gap(the first store/hostel of the trail) at around 10h30. Pickle and Peanut were already here and Dozer, Luke, A-One and Mike got here right after. Garrett,Dozer and I are the only ones that opted not to stay at the hostel here. We went for whitley Gap shelter wich is like 7M further down the trail. The good thing about this shelter is :1.It's free(like every other shelter on the trail) 2. cut logsThe downside is the 1.2M side trail we had to hike to get there.(yeah that 1.2M doesnt count on the trail+ I have to hike it back tomorrow).Tonight is really windy,I ate a lot including some blueberrie cupcakes that MillionMileMan gave me at Neel's Gap. I love trail Magic. Dozer built us another cowboy tv tonight.At this shelter there is Garrett,Dozer , me and Beatle who got here about half and hour after we did with his nice husky dog Sasha. Beatle thru-hiked the trail in 2000 and gave advices to Garrett and I. It was superb!Well Im going to ready my french book nowGoodnight,Dom
Date: 2004-02-11
From: Whitley Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is Garrett's birthday. He is 23. I gave him a coffee crisp king size ( for the non-canadian readers, coffee crisp is a chocolate bar with a succulent coffee taste) and he absolutely loved it. Its good to know.The 11.9 that is indicated in the right corner is not exact. I hiked 13.1 M today but the 1.2 M side trail out of the Whitley gap shelter doesnt count.I guess to make up for that, most of the trail coming here to Blue Mtn shelter slabs the mountains instead of doing a roller coaster ride with them.   Tonight Im with Dozer,Garrett and Beatle again. Sasha(Beatle's Dog) is still walking with us.Dozer built us another cowboy tv tonight(4th in a row) and Garrett made us pancakes. It was SWEEEET!!!Well im going to read my book. Maybe I can stay up late tonight (around 10pm haha) because tomorrow is close to a zero day.Dom (I need a trailname)
Date: 2004-02-13
From: Helen DorphInn

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up early to the sound of the tv playing. Sleeping in a real bed is relaxing!I ate at the huddle house this morning with Dozer and we both had the BIG PLATTER. In this platter there was your typical breakfast + Gritz. I didnt know what Gritz was but i soon realized its liquid corn gone bad. Burk! heheI did all my resupplying at Betty's grocery store and I was pissed that they didn't have anymore Nutella. I had to settle for Peter Pan peanut butter.(Yes, the name got me). I bought bagels to go with it. BAGELS! I remember telling my friend Derek that I didnt like bagels but here in the woods its good for ya because it's full of calories.Dozer, Garrett Cactus and I hit the trail around noon. I took some naproxen sodium to help heal the pain in my left knee and i am persuaded it helped. The 5.5 M was quite short today so i didnt stop during the hike ( except to pee obviously) hehe. It was mostly uphill. I got to Tray Mtn Shelter , pitched my tent and read for a good 30min before the others arrive.A-One came in after and we had a good old cowboy tv courtesy of the pyro man himself : Dozer! We are pretty high and the view is splendid up here.   The weather station says there is suppose to be a storm tomorrow night so I'll try to push it 15M to get to a shelter. Time for dreamingSee ya,Dom
Date: 2004-02-14
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Plumorchard Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

Happy Valentines Day!To celebrate the festivities, today was my longest day so far. 14.9M of lenghty climbs and hard downhills. By that I mean starting at ~3000ft going up to 4300 then coming back down to 2600 and going back up to 3500ft at Plumorchard Gap shelter. I rate this shelter a 4.5 star. It's a triple decker with overhang for the picnic table. It's nice because I have the 3rd floor to myself. I have windows made of plexiglass and a rail to keep me from falling.Garrett and A-One are on the 2nd floor and Coolehand Luke, Dozer, and Cactus are on the level floor. Gus( Cactus' dog) is still with us.Tonight is my last night in Georgia and Im happy I did that in 7 days.I'll tell you what. Out here is quality living . Sure i only take a shower every 5 days and my clothes smell like sweat/smoke but so does everyones.Every night we socialise, read, play cards and have nothing to worry about for the next days other than the big climbs. heheThese last few days have been awesome for me because I feel like im getting in better shape and the mental shape is A1!Anyways I'm going to my room/floor to sleepGoodnightDom
Date: 2004-02-15
From: Plumorchard Gap Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

It's hard to go from having your own room in a shelter to going hiking in a STORM.Today was hard hiking. We left early and it rained hard till about noon. After that it hailed and snowed. Snow is much better than rain because It doesnt soak you.Tonight we are at STanding Indian shelter. I rate this shelter a 2 star. We are 6 and we are really packed. Good thing we're not 26! heheOur evening was different tonight. Instead of watching the good old cowboy tv. We listened to King of the hill and The Simpsons of Dozer's little radio. It's weird just having the audio and not the video. We still laughed a whole lot.Sleeping timeG-nightDom