morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-10-31
From: Miss Janet's Hostel

To: Miss Janet's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

My leg is in an ace bandage and i'm going out with the girls to shop for halloween costumes. One more day of rest for this darned thigh of mine. i knew i'd be spending this holiday in some town despite the previous mileage predictions. 3oz, Stringer, Gimpy, & Freegan hiked into Erwin tonight, and we all spent a happy Halloween together, myself dressed as a Christmas tree (compliments to the dollar store for early holiday marketing!).
Date: 2003-11-01
From: Miss Janet's Hostel

To: Elmers B&B in Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

oh, so we missed the PO today, which is bunk, considering that i was planning on picking up my food, money, and tarp today. I've bought some food in town, used the Visa...ah, the safety net kicks in again...and must now continue to entrust my legs to get me to these shelters. it's amazing how my confidence in my hiking capabilities is just shot now. i have no idea if a mile will be easy, sore, or strenuous-nevemind 10 miles. I'm planning 3 days of 14 miles to get me to Davenport Gap, where i can resupply on food. I have no idea if that's an easy or unrealistic goal. No faith left in these legs of mine-but i'm looking forward to seeing what they can do for me tomorrow...then at least i'll have something to base my further mileage planning upon. This is actually the first time that i've been unsure of my hiking since starting this trip. so really, it's a good thing!okay, so i don't want to write too much more today. i stayed up until 3 AM the night before--got 3 hours of sleep early this morning--and i'm starting to feel the brunt of it now. so...really quick (and with no justice given to these last scribbles): Elmer's hostel is Amazing!!! he's a gormet vegetarian cook, who has excellent taste in books (judging from his library that's scattered about his house), and he's supplying my booklist with many new, leftist, and educational picks. The guys are sleeping down by the river and Maude and myself in the B & B. The hot springs & massage thereapists are all booked for the day/night. Maybe on my trip back here to finish these skipped portions of the trail, i can experience what hot springs has to offer. but tonight, it's the bed for me.
Date: 2003-11-02
From: Elmers B&B in Hot Springs

To: Deer Park Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

Walking around town today, my legs were cramping up in both calves and my thigh, still sore. I think my body has had enough. I really don't know what to do. After breakfast at the diner with Maude, i was able to make an appointment with a massage therapist for one hour. He focused on my legs and back, but afterwards, i could still feel my body's tension and sore tightness. My ankles have swelled a bit too! what's going on with my body!!!the 3 miles to this shelter took me 2 hours. things aren't looking good. i cried the first miles out of frustration with myself. My poles were bearing much of the weight, and my pace was so slow that i wanted to hike past myself-but couldn't. All signs right now are pointing to me getting off the trail. I can't keep up with Riddler, Maude, Junkie, Right-on, Quasi, or Little Moose in my condition. I don't know when this soreness & pain in my legs will go away...it's been 5 days already with nearly 4 full days of rest. I have a deadline of November 19th that's looking less and less feasible. It's not fun to hike like this, it hurts and it's demoralizing to feel this way (hiking so slow, being behind my friends, looking at my mileage remaining with dread). But i'm torn up about it too. My mom has plane tickets for the 20th in Atlanta. I don't want to leave my friends on the trail, and i do want to make it to Springer Mtn. --I've come so close! It's really angering that this is happening to me now. 18 days left!!!I've also got fears that are telling me to get off the trail. What if i'm actually harming my body by pressing on? who will i hike with when i go so slow? even those behind me will pass me...it's not a normal hiking pace that i've aquired recently.I wish this weren't happening. The trail isn't fun when you're hurt. I think the best thing for me to do is get off. Talk to my parents. Maybe i can spend some time with Nick & J'aimee or get to Georgia & visit Susannah. somehow i can get back home...maybe the plane tickets can be refunded. i can find a job for the next 5 months, pay back most of the debts i've accrued, heal this worn body, go raw foods, and then in May, finish off these 266 miles remaining from this shelter to Springer, and then the 150 miles that i've had to skip (in sections for one reason or another) in Maine and Tennessee. 1756 miles under my belt, 148 days of hiking, and i'm calling for a recouperation pause. I hope my parents will be supportive...i know this means more money spending. I don't like being a quitter, but i think it's time to stop right now. it's the first time that the trail has made me cry. I didn't expect things to go this way. 8:03 pm. Maude, Riddler, Right-on, & Brotha'man are now here at the shelter with me. They don't want me off the trail, and are making me laugh with their ideas of how to keep me going with them. Thanks everyone! ---Now they're all eating a roasted cricket...well, except Maude,..crickets aren't vegan you know! Man, these guys make me laugh. way better than the tears of earlier today.
Date: 2003-11-03
From: Deer Park Mtn. Shelter

To: back to Hot Springs
Miles today: -3.0
Weather: clear sky

in the morning, everyone insisted on coming back with me to town. Their previous plans of pulling a "maude" to Davenport Gap (32 miles away) today is now replaced by backtracking 3 miles into town to help me find a sports medicine doctor & possibly go into Ashville, NC. I feel guilty for thier change in plans, but they're relentless in their quest to get me some help & get me back on the trail with them...my protests are futile. These are the sorts of deep friendships that develope on the trail. In town and after going to a clinic, my fears have been confirmed; i've got tendonitus in my left quadracep and hiking is aggricating it, not healing it. Holding back tears as best i could, i relayed this news to Maude & Riddler in the waiting room and tried to come up with my options from this point on. A few phone calls later (to my folks) and I've decided to bum around between friends in Hot Springs and Georgia, perhaps slack-packing sections of the trail if i feel up to it, but mostly bidding my time on this new off-trail adventure, recouperating until the 19th. at that point i'll get myself to Springer mtn. to celebrate everyone else's finish with them & see my mom as well. It won't be my finish of the trail...mine will be later this year, (or rather later in these 12 month following June 7th...my start date). It's disheartening to accept this plan, and it was really sad for me to hug Maude and Riddler goodbye as they left to retrace their miles, adn then add some to the next shelter. For the first time of this experience, i'm truely alone with no group to sleep with at night, and share my day with. Oddly enough, i'm actually not depressed about my situation. it's yet another new experience for me, this single-travel that i'll now embark upon. I mean, everything works out, that's what we've always said. I'll get my chance to finish my hike before the years is up, and i'll also get this chance to see J'aimee adn Nick, Suzannah, and perhaps many of the hikers that i started out with up norht, but haven't seen for a while since then. There are many aspects of backpacking that i'll surely miss in these next 16 days, but there are also "luxuries" that I'll get to enjoy again. I've had my good cry, adn self-pity moments about this turn of events and now i'm able to see the positive aspects of it too. Life is strange...you just gotta go with it and see where it takes you.
Date: 2003-11-04
From: back to Hot Springs

To: Nick & J'aimee's Yurt
Miles today: 0.0

I feel validated for my decision when i wake up to a painful leg. If it makes me wince or hobble i smile to myself, glad that my injury is truth, and not some lie i told myself so that i would get off the trail & to and easier life. With an injury that hurts only at certain moments, and after certain movements, i was worried that i may just be tricking myself. Because quite honestly, it's hard sometimes for hikers to leave towns, and i think it had been getting slowly harder for me the longer i was hiking. The want to stay in town could have led to some sneaky behavior on my part, i'm glad it didn't. Today i mostly sat. Either on a sidewalk bench, or in front of a computer. I was waiting to see 3 oz, Stringer, gimpy, & Freegan come out of the woods. I was waiting to see Right-On and Brotha'man step out of a car that they had gotten a ride from and i was waiting to see Nick & J'aimee drive into town. I swore that if i had waited one more day, i would have become an honorary local. It's a small town, and i was sure that i had either met, waved, or smiled at every resident already. People started showing up around 5 pm. Nick & J'aimee spotted me first adn nearly squeezed my heart to a stop in their strong embraces. We sat at the Paddlers Pub, on the patio for some drinks & dinner while my other friends showed up one by one. 3oz left Hot Springs with us after dinner, while the rest of the guys decided to spend the night at Elmers B & B. By the time we reached Nick & J'aimee's i was dirt tired ( i barely slept the night before...too many thoughts running through my head about new plans and such)--and headed for my bed nearly immediately. I slept in their "up & coming" excersize cabin, a project in the making with plastic roofing, and a stepladder leading up to the door opening. I decided that my real observaations of their place could occur in the morning.
Date: 2003-11-05
From: Nick & J'aimee's Yurt

To: nick & J'aimee's yurt
Miles today: 0.0

Yurts are cool!Nick showed 3oz and myself pictures of him building their place over coffee in the AM. Sun filtered in from their domed sunroof in the yurt ceiling, lighting up their compartmentalized, yet open roomed, circular home. I'm thinking that when i decide to settle, it'll either be in an old ranch/farm house, a yurt, or an adobe/recycled materials composit of a home. After taking 3oz back to Hot Springs so that he may resume hiking with his buddies (and more rounds of hugs and goodbyes) Nick, J'aimee, and I headed into Ashville, NC on some errands. Ashville is a cool little city: a mix between Seattle and Boulder, and yet not so touristy. It's hip, it's young, it's bohemian, adn yet not so touristy. Very cool. We visited the bookstore and the organic grocery before heading back home. this was it for me. I've started the raw foods diet today. Nick & j'aimee both understood my desire to clean my system-purge it of the nasty residues that trail food leaves behind. I've gotten a book about being a raw foodist to better understand what i'm getting into. Like does salad dressing count? i'll find out. We also picked up some ear candles , and i can't wait to enjoy that cleansing experience as well. Staying with these guys is like retreating to a wellness spa. I'm releasing all these toxins stored within myself and starting anew. it's great...and it gives me a new goal to focus on, now that Springer isn't it.
Date: 2003-11-06
From: 0

To: Nick & J'aimee's Yurt
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up from an awesome dream. I was on the trail, being pushed in a cart by this gal (presumably a trail friend of mine). We were going through low trees alongside the trail and it was autumn. Some of the leaves were hit just right by the sun and were this brilliant blue. i would reach out my hand to pick them, but my friend was pushing the cart (think shopping cart) while she was running, and there were prickers mixed in with the leaves, making it difficult for me to get what i wanted. The leaves that i did manage to pull back to myself were brown in my hand, although i had reached for the blue ones. My friend reassured me that that alwasy happens to her too when she tries to pick the blue leaves. Just then the turning trees dropped away from the trails edge and we were in a field with really tall green grass. The trail was mowed about a foot tall in height and the sides around us were 2 or 3 feet tall of incredibly soft, strait, grass. There were rocks in the trail beneath the grass, but the grass was packed tight and uniform and we couldn't see these rocks. they made the cart that i was in jump and bounce and the speed that the cart was being pushed was still fast, making the cart even more unbalanced. At one point the cart tipped and i fell out onto a well padded but knobby ground. She and I laughed and laughed and when we stood up, we found ourselves at the intersection of 2 identical mowed grass trails with a line of tall oak trees spread 10 ft. apart or so, lining the path perpendicualr to ours. there were yellow blazes in those trees. We were wondering whether to take that trail or not. that's when i woke up. Sometimes in the mornings at shelters, the guys and i would share dreams that we'd had the night before. when i woke up, that's what i wanted to do more than anything--but i couldn't. I miss sleeping with lots of people at night. Life off the trail is much quieter, much less sporadic, and much more civilized. I've bought 3 books for myself, and I'm looking forward to crossing things off of my booklist, but it's a poor substitute for hiking. Although, yesterday was raining, and i was happy to not be hiking...yet the trail is where i want to be today. Living off the trail requires a lot more effort to make things fun. I'm not sure that i'm saying this correctly. it's like the events of your day now have much less probability of just popping out at you. You gotta work and plan for your fun, you won't be walking into it anymore. I could see how people can get depressed after their thru-hike. Youve definately got to change the way you approach each day to gain the equivical amount of enjoyment out of it.
Date: 2002-09-16
To: origins
Miles today: 0.0

Howdy. Yea! I'm so glad to finally be starting a journal. I've been accumulating gear over the years, and mentally picturing myself on the trail, talking about the trail with folks, figuring out where to start and when, getting some medical certifications and such, but this, a TRAIL JOURNAL, is really where it all comes together into being. whoppppeeeeeeee! (and about freakin' time!)So here's where I'm coming from. Originally I had planned to hike with this wonderful gal, Laura, starting in the spring of 2003. Those arrangements were made two summers ago, and confirmed until just about two weeks ago. Since then, I've transferred colleges, switched my major, and moved essentially across the country to Montana (from Delaware). So kind of in line with those massive changes, my trail planning changed as well. Oooops!I'll now be graduating this spring, and then begining my hike in June. This means that I'll be hiking south bound, and so far, ALONE. My parents (being the loving and slightly over protective yet amazing people that they are...) have set some ground rules for my hike. My mission, as of now, is to find someone (hopefully that I know) to start the trail with me, and also to have that person or another have some sort of CPR or wilderness First Aid under their belt as well. YIKES! But,despite the outrageous pre-hike challenges (okay, there's only two), my enthusiasm and excitement for the nearing trek is still peaked!Wish me luck! in peace and cheer~tidi
Date: 2002-09-17
To: trail hopes
Miles today: 0.0

Thought it may be a good idea to write how I feel and my hopes for the trail prior to doing it so that I may reflect after the trail and see how far off I was...or right on...whichever :)I'm really looking forward to hiking for lots of reasons. First off, I want to kick my butt and see how far it flies. Then there's the more serious reason of wanting some extended time to live outside of the normal realms of society. To live free of settling into the 'real world' like so many folks are expected to do once they graduate from school. I'm really curious to learn from people of all different age groups and backrounds...and hopefully I will meet these people even though going SOBO now. And while I will be making lots of footprints, it'll be a nice change to limit my 'ecological footprint' and live by what's on my back, not in my house or car. The last time I took a long hike in the woods, it was two weeks. The last time I lived outside of convention, it was one month. When I finally did return, I had some amazing revelations and new ideas to grow with. I'm sure this experience will offer me the same if I keep my ears open. That's what I'm looking for I suppose. In peace and cheer~tidi
Date: 2002-09-18
To: picture
Miles today: 0.0

So after looking at other journals, I've decided that it would be best to put in here (somewhere) a picture of myself. Albeit, the one I've chosen is outdated, but as of now, one of the few that I do actually have on my computer. Hopefully for those who do look at my journal...there's got to be someone right?...this will give you a mental image of the gal writing all of this. (Although if you see me on the trail I may look a tad different, as one of my desires is to shave my head at the start and see how long it grows before I finish. Some think it's a great idea, others look at me strangely, therefore I know I chosen wisely. Always remember, if everyone is rooting for you, there's probably a hidden agenda
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Mass

To: NYC to see 3 oz
Miles today: 0.0

just a quick update...the leg has healed (finally), i've been substitute teaching art for the past 2 months (tons of fun), and as of today, i'm taking off to finish off the rest of the trail. i'll be seeing friends from college & trail life on my drive down to miss janets in Tennessee. then i'm meeting a friend at the hostel who's going to drive me the rest of the way to springer, & hike the first 2 1/2 days with me. after that it'll be 15-18 mile days w/o zeroes until i'm done...(finishing at miss janets & driving home to Mass the following day). i have to be done by the 22nd of April at the latest, becuase at 8AM on the 24th, i've got to be on a ferry in the boston harbor that will take me to my weekend Wilderness First Responder re-certification class. So this next month will be intense, from start to finish, but I'm looking forward to all the challenges & friends I'll be meeting along the way.
Date: 2004-03-29
From: Springer

To: Hawk Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

So weird that I saw Springer Mt. and yet I'm not finished with the trail at all. No, instead I've decided to finish this darned thing by going northbound now. (Appologies to my sobo friends, I'm still with you at heart!)Susannah, my friend from Montana, has gladly decided to join me for the first 3 days...rock on 'tawanda' (her possible trail name)!Doc & Betty met us at Neels Gap with lunch in tow. It was great to see them again, and absolutely wonderful when they drove us to Springer Mtn. and hiked those .9 miles to the top with us. Gretta, you'll be happy to know that both Sus & I did "superstar" poses on top of Springer. (not the smelly armpit ones, but the rockstar pose)Now we're at the shelter, struggling with the alcohol stove that was kindly loaned to me by Junkie (minus instructions I might add...and for some of us, instructions would help greatly!) No worries though, because Casey has been ever so helpful & has and incredible and I mean incredible wealth of knowledge about gear, the trail, etc. ...so much that he makes me think my 1800 miles haven't given me the education about this trail that his research & books (but no prior experience) have given him. We also met Graham today on Springer Mtn. and Adam from Scotland at the campsite. The people at the shelter I met & subsequently forgot their names immediately...I know, awful aren't I? Okay, hands are cold, and it's time to hang the food bags. Lastly, I'm so happy to be back in the woods & hiking--but I'm a bit dissapointed to find that so far, the 2 registers that I've reas start in Dec. 2003 or early 2004, so I'm not able to read the last entries from my sobo friends.
Date: 2004-03-30
From: Hawk Mtn. Shelter

To: Gooch Gap 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Today we lunched on top of a mountain and were able to use the alcohol stove without the assistance of Casey, or as I've started to refer to him, 'pinky the brain'. Yea us! Sus and I have been eating really well lately, pea soup & salmon for lunch and terriaki flavored alfredo for dinner. We didn't do the full 16 miles that we were planning on, but we did go 1 mile past the 1/2 way point for the day & then were able to set up camp in the light, play a few games of spoons with D-Bone...yes, D-Bone & I met on the trail in Maine on our 2nd day out & damned if he didn't come hiking down the trail and bump into me on the second day headed north from Springer. So anyway, it's incredibly cool that he's here, and we hope to spend a few days hiking together. So there were Sus, D-Bone, myself, Gordo(Rorey), Kelly & her dog Kaila, Grant, & Chigger. It rained a bit at night, but Sus & I were safe under the tarp. I've realized that there are still a few things that I've forgotten on my hike...a hat (i'll be borrowing Sus's when she gets off tomorrow) and a wind screen for the stove. Ooops!All's well, I'm slacking tomorrow to reach Neels Gap on time 'cause Sus is getting off tomorrow AM thanks to Roy who's gonna drive us there, & then myself back here by the afternoon. No sense pushing our bodies if it aint gonna be fun!
Date: 2004-03-31
To: Neels Gap Hostel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Today, Sus, Grant, & I took a hitch from a super friendly guy named Roy--who had nearly blown out his knee and was now not hiking, but providing shuttle service for his 2 friends who were hiking slightly behind us. He brought Sus, Grant, & I to Neels Gap, where I promptly dumped more than 1/2 my gear on a bunk so that I could hike back to Neels that day with very little weight. Susannah & Grant grabbed her car at Neels and drove to Amicalola to get Grant's car. Then Sus was headed home to start school. I really enjoyed starting the trail with her, and it was an added bonus that I got to slackpack these miles due to seeing her off at Neels. Ray drove me back to where we started & I hiked north, over Blood Mtn. (come on folks, that wasn't bad at all!) and to Neels. My thighs were red & tingly when I stopped, and they stayed that way through my shower as well. Spring in Georgia is definately colder than I anticipated--so I'm glad I've got my 0-degree sleeping bag. High Point: I saw SquirrelMaster hiking south today and then later had dinner out with D-Bone, Squirrel, Gordi, Lil' Munchkin, and Ray...he again helped us out with the rides. Thanks Ray! (and for those of you confused, Squirrel hitched back to Neels to be with us...yeah, we sobo's know how to work it...hike, have fun, flip those miles, slack 'em, whatever it takes to be in good company.)