morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-25
To: Aiea Loop Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Sapphire and I went on a short 5 mile hike to try out / break in the new gear.. boots and poles.. both worked out well. The trail was muddy and slippery, our feet stayed dry and quite a few falls (except one) were prevented by the poles. I can see why you'd want a sturdy set of poles. I'm really hoping the AT works off some of that belly..
Date: 2016-07-03
To: Makiki Valley Loop
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

New trail for us.. Makiki Valley Loop which is a bit of a misnomer as it's actually three different trails combined.. would have been better for us and our hike had I read that before we started.. I thought it would be like the Aiea Loop where you hike in one direction until you get back to where you started.. my mistake. Sapphire was a champ and didn't complain after a couple unnecessary road walks and a detour thru yet a forth trail. We got back safe and sound, and in my book that's all that counts. I got to try out my new Gossamer Gear Mariposa that I received from Garrett & Jenna and it worked great. Sapphire purchased one on sale but returned hers because it was a tad too big. My toe hurt more than normal and sapphires' left knee ached. We'll have to start doing some pre-hike stretches or something.. we hiked about 6 miles.
Date: 2016-07-26
To: New Hikes
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I'm enjoying reading the 2016 journals and have a few favorites like Limey, Hooshrs and Bombadil, but read a lot of the others as well. Sapphire and I've been hiking every weekend (except when inundated by tropical storms), pretty much limiting ourselves to 5 to 6 mile hikes for now because of my toe. I had a hammer toe straightened (childhood injury) but the pin was left in and now after 3 to 4 miles the toe stings like a b.... My doctor referred me to a podiatrist and now I'm just waiting to get an appointment to have the pin removed.. my son says I should amputate it (the middle toe) if the pin removal doesn't stop the pain..he doesn't want anything to get in the way our hike Sapphire received her pack-Gossamer Mariposa, and this one fits perfectly.. we also have been making a bunch of other purchases like my Prana convertible pants, Smartwool long johns, BA CopperSpur UL3, we went with the 3 person so we'd have room for our packs when it was raining, plus we can split up the weight a bit..We're set for summer clothes, no problem there coming from here but we still need to buy down jackets and sleeping bags/quilts.. seems like everything costs $400 each now.. glad I'm still working.
Date: 2016-07-31
To: Gear deals
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We're elated about a couple new half price buys.. by going with colors that are not the most popular we saved a bunch of money on quality gear.. Patagonia R1 fleece and Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer jackets. We might not be the most stylish on the trail, but for those prices, we're OK with that. I'm looking forward to visiting the podiatrist Monday.. hopefully I can talk him into removing the pin in the toe that's been causing me such pain. We'll be hiking Hanauma Bay trail tomorrow.
Date: 2016-09-05
To: Still Getting Ready
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

We're still getting ready for the long trek.. all our gear has been purchased, packs weigh about 14 lbs plus food and water so that should put us in the 25 lb total pack weight.. not too bad.. we're just wondering what we'll get rid of in Neel Gap.. Four more months of work, and it's going by quickly; getting all our medical stuff done.. like blood work and dental appointments.. the news that I was pre-diabetic was almost a shock..almost because I haven't been very active, a regular couch potato, so we joined a gym and have been working out during the week instead of only hiking on the weekends and we started a healthier food diet.. cutting out fast food and eating healthier.. so far so good.I found out that my toe issue is actually a "Morton's Neuroma"(MN). The hammer toe causing blood poisoning I got as a kid built up scar tissue that presses against the nerve. Interesting in that I recently read a book about a hiker who kept feeling that his sock was bunched up in his shoe, he'd remove the shoe and his sock would be perfectly flat.. turns out that is one of the symptoms of a MN. On long hikes it can be caused by shoes with too tight of a toe box. The cortisone shot worked for about two weeks but I've decided to have an operation to remove the nerve and I should be fine. The bright side is I get to keep the toe
Date: 2016-10-01
To: Kealia Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I'm sitting here with my foot and hopes elevated. I had surgery yesterday to remove the nerve causing me all the pain when I hike. I'm really looking forward to a quick recover so we can get back working out and hiking-pain free. And as the class of 2016 winds down, and a big hurray to Limey on his successful climb up Katahdin today, I'm getting more excited for us, the class of 2017 and really hope we can meet ya'll (Hawaii is the southernmost state BTW) on our hike. I've attached a beautiful photo of our hike last weekend overlooking Makua Valley and the Waianae coast.
Date: 2016-11-12
To: Mau'umae Trail Hike
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Eight long hours of a tough endurance ridge hike (4 hrs out, 4 hrs back) and not an ounce of pain in my foot.. hallelujah!That's not to say we weren't exhausted by the end of this hike. Actually, I was beat by the time we reached the 3.5 mile mark (my average heart rate was like 150).. This trail is muddy and way overgrown with ferns and other chest high bushes; so much so that you can't see your feet in many places.. and the footpath is literally that wide--one foot.... with steep sides and hidden rocks and roots.. I lost track of all my slips and falls. sapphire, with energy reserves, saved the day and talked me down the mountain after I was ready to stop and overnight it.. I think we'll take it a bit easier on the next couple of hikes.. We're praying that the footpath on the AT is wider and not so overgrown.
Date: 2017-01-08
To: Mount Olympus Oahu
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I (aquamann) officially retired at the end of December and had mixed emotions.. I will really miss my co-workers, a great group of folks -- and I'm not just sayin' that cause they might be reading this but I am excited about starting the hike.. and we are ready to start the hike. Confirmation coming from our successful scale of Mount Olympus (Oahu's version) yesterday.. only 2500' elevation but some pretty steep and hairy climbs. That is sapphire at the top of the photo with the red jacket. You'll have to turn your head because I couldn't swap the orientation. A total of 3100' elevation gain. We've continued to hike every weekend and workout during the week, although that fell off a bit with the holidays. We're in the process of moving to North Carolina, selling what we don't want to ship and packing up and shipping our personal items. I'll be happy when that's all done.We're feeling stronger each hike and have come along way since we started our training. Our only concern now is the cold.. no preparing for that here.. we'll just have to suck it up and make the best of it when we start the hike.
Date: 2017-01-27
To: Almost there.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

For so long our hike has been a distant vision on the horizon and now after months and months of planning the vision is solidifying into reality.We lead pretty comfortable lives and that will change drastically very soon. Physically we're much better prepared than I thought we might be but I'm still concerned about the mental aspects of the hike; especially the cold we're certain to face at the start of our hike. sapphire has been dogged in her approach to our finishing the trail. She's absolutely certain we'll complete it and I envy her confidence. It makes me wonder why I'm entertaining any doubts.. doubts that will sap my strength, both physically and mentally. We'll love the sunny days, meeting new people, seeing new sites and experiencing new things but sometimes my thoughts dwell on the days I'm sure we'll be dirty, wet, cold and hungry and I know we'll be asking ourselves why? I've written down quotes I've collected during the last year to help get me through those situations like: "In the Marines we have a saying, "Embrace the suck". When you are knee deep in mud and it is pissing down your neck, you have two choices. Bitch, moan and give up which only compounds your misery or just say screw it and accept that things are as they are and keep moving. Even though you are muddy and wet, if you keep pushing then you will come out of it." (unknown author) or "The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."~ Christopher McCandless ~ but I secretly wonder (not much of a secret now) if they'll be enough to keep us out there during the tough times. I guess it's my fear of failure that is speaking to me and I really need to shut out that voice as sapphire has. another quote I like by Les Brown: "People achieved small things in life not because they aim big and failed but because they aim small and achieved it." and ¢There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.¢ Sir Francis DrakeBoy, rereading those quotes got me in a more positive mood already We'll be off in a month and a half and we've still got a lot of packing which I should get back to.But one last note before I go... I am amazed at how many people have told us how much they envy us and our adventure.. I guess folks need to take time away from their normal work lives and escape into the woods more.
Date: 2017-03-06
To: Prince William Forest
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We're getting real close to starting this epic journey! It took two months to get everything packed or sold but we're finally here.. and now we're temporarily bivouacked at my daughter's family home in Quantico, VA. We'll be flying down to Atlanta next week but while we're here we've been hiking in beautiful Prince William National Park, just minutes away. We've logged 27 miles in three hikes and camped out in Michelle's back yard in 30 degree weather. thankfully our gear is working well and we're optimistic about our chances to get off to a good start soon.
Date: 2017-03-18
From: AT Approach Trail

To: Neel Gap, Blood Mountain Cabins
Miles today: 34.7
Weather: broken clouds

Cell service has been awful so I'm hoping this goes through. This is day 4, started on March 15th. First night got down to 19 degrees, feet and hands were freezing cold in the morning. Took an hour of hiking to warm up. Since then hiking and camp life has been great. We've met a bunch of great people and have experienced two trail magics,.. hotdogs and beer at the first one and hot dog, chili, chips, and coke at the next. First one was sponsored by previous thru hikers and the second by a Baptist church from the area. Great treats after long and strenuous hikes. We're very much enjoying this fantastic experience, especially meeting all the other thru hikers. Hope family and friends are doing well and that Ben, Dee and the gang are selling a lot of roofing! Daughter Shell has rented as a cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins for tomorrow night, we're very much looking forward to our first bath since starting ?? Will post as often as possible.j
Date: 2017-03-19
From: Neel Gap, Blood Mountain Cabins

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: few clouds

The day started off cold at 30 degrees, our hands were stinging by the time we got packed up but warmed up as we climbed Blood Mountain. Beautiful views from one of Georgia's tallest mountains. Walked three miles down to Neal Gap and enjoyed showers, clean clothes, delicious pizza and coke, life is good.
Date: 2017-03-20
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

This was a tougher day than expected. A ton of steep ascents and descends..trail gossip says there will be rain and thunderstorms tomorrow, so the shorter 7. 8 mile hike tomorrow to Blue Mountain shelter will be welcomed. Nice trail magic from 2016 thru hiker "McLovin" , so we enjoyed left over pizza with ice cold beer and coke for lunch. Beef Stroganoff for dinner tonight.
Date: 2017-03-21
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Holiday Inn Express for zero day or two
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: broken clouds

We decided to rest our blisters for a couple days. Cheryl's heels are real bad and my little toe has a bad one, along with a few more spread out. Our legs and heads are in the game but our feet and these heavy boots letting us down. Shell sent us our lighter trail runners today and we'll get them Thursday in time to get hiking again Friday. Thanks to hiker Lyle, he tended sapphire's heals with Leuko tape so she had much less pain than previous few days. Tough hike again today but a nice couple from Iowa on their way back from Florida passed out apples, oranges -- I swear the best tasting orange ever, oreo's and peanut butter crackers. It was a nice treat at the end of a long hike. In spite of all these treats sapphire and I have lost almost 10 lbs each. We'll need to switch to our skinny pants pretty soon.
Date: 2017-03-22
From: Holiday Inn Express

To: zero day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Bad thunderstorm came through last night. May have been divine intervention getting us down that mountain with our blister problems. We hadn't planned on staying in town until two days from now, but in any case we're happy we were in town when lightning was active all around the area. Lot's of other hikers in town too.. We've stocked up on medical supplies from the local Rite Aid and re-provisioned at the Southern Crossroads Outdoors shop, Charyl (sounded like she pronounced it Charlie) was very helpful. Now we're googling blister treatment from the Hiawassee Library (cell service in town isn't any better than the trail) where we picked up a "Hiker" Library card. All the folks we've met around town have been so kind, talk about your southern hospitality - they live it here. We also purchased some nice wine from Bacchus Fine Wines so we'll be enjoying that tonight We're looking forward to healing our blisters and getting back on the trail Friday, then staying out for the next five days, coming back into town in Franklin, NC. We appreciate all the well wishes.
Date: 2017-03-25
From: Tray Mountain shelter

To: Plumorchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We decided to go on to Dick's Creek Gap and caught a shuttle to this fine hostel. Our blisters were much better today after taking time off and googling blister treatments. Thanks for the advice Slow. Now other maladies are cropping up.. my left shoulder starts aching a few miles in. Tightening the hip belt helps but does not alleviate the pain, and sapphire's left knee bothers her on downhills. I gotta tell you, this first 10 days of hiking the mountains of Georgia are no joke. All of the many hikers we've met have the same problems. We've met a bunch of nice folks on the trail and in the shelters. They come from all over: Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, many parts of the US like Ohio, Iowa, Maine, Louisiana to name a few. Camp life is relaxed. Someone invariably starts a fire to which hikers are drawn to like moths. We sit around telling stories about where we come from, what we do, what we're doing after the hike and the like, even politics and religion. It's incredible how giving everyone is with what little they have. And you get to know complete strangers better than some of your neighbors. The shared experiences and ultimate goal of climbing mount Katahdin makes us a large ohana.
Date: 2017-03-28
From: Plumorchard Shelter

To: Carter Gap shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We're in North Carolina now and we've hiked over the 100 miles! Now only 2090 more, auwe! Last night two powerful thunderstorms passed over our campsite. sapphire was quite brave throughout, but I couldn't wait for them to move on. The light and noise was Incredible, sounded like sheets being torn right above your head, only 100 times louder. We started around 9 am this morning and hiked in rain for a few hours, which then turned into mist. We climbed 5200' Standing Indian Mountain and the down to this shelter. We plan to hike another 12 mile day tomorrow as our feet are much better. And sapphire has been managing the IT band pain in her left knee. We plan to zero (not hike- 0 miles) in Franklin, NC on Friday. It's nice having cell service for the first time in days. Now off to make freeze dried dinner. Oh, forgot to mention we yogied for the first time, that's where you ask for food from strangers, apparently a hiker tradition. We stood around looking hungry and wet and a nice family offered us their bananas and Welchs grape juice, it was awesome! Fruit taste so much better on the trail.
Date: 2017-03-30
From: Sapphire Inn, Franklin, NC

To: Wayah Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

This picture should give you a good idea of the terrain we've been hiking in. That's sapphire at the top of the picture. Beautiful views from the top of a fire tower. It isn't flat and you earn these miles, all 119 of them so far. We're zeroing in Franklin tomorrow and will restock our food supply. We ran out of all our food last night and wouldn't have had food for lunch yesterday but for Trail angel's Rodney and Dave who provided hot dogs, chips, fresh fruit, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, beer, juice, and soda. We ate/drank almost one of everything. We'll go to the local Ingle's tomorrow and buy way more food than we need I'm sure. We plan on eating at every good restaurant in town so in the immortal words of Grouper, it's going to be a foodfest, pace yourself.
Date: 2017-04-01
From: Sapphire Inn

To: Wayah Gap shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We're heading back to the trail today and anticipate doing 11 tough miles. We enjoyed our day off eating good food, getting a haircut, resupplying, and visiting a nice rock and gem museum. Cool thing was they had an old poi pounder in a pre-Colombian artifacts display and didn't know what it was, so we helped correct their identification. The proprietor said they received it in a large collection back in the early 50's and never knew what it was. Folks in Franklin were as nice as can be. On to Katahdin!
Date: 2017-04-02
From: Silas Bald Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Tough day yesterday for aquamann, rich town food proved too much for my stomach. So we took it easy and only did 4 miles. Rest and pepto tabs helped and today I was much better so we were able to make up ground. Our campsite overlooked the eastern sky and a beautiful sunrise brought renewed energy. The hike today was picturesque with a climb up to a fire watch tower built in the 30's but unfortunately was destroyed by fire last year. There were 360 degree views of the surrounding area, something we normally don't have. Sapphire is doing pretty well, taking turmeric tabs and using bengay and vitamin I (ibuprofen) for her IT band issue. Our spirits couldn't be higher and we appreciate all the advice and well-wishes. We're looking forward to showering and sleeping in comfortable beds tomorrow night at the NOC thanks to Grouper and Cher. The photo shows a spring under a tree. We get the majority of our water from springs.
Date: 2017-04-03
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Rough day with thunderstorms overhead and steep descent into NOC. Actually pretty scary but we're here safe, sound and dry. Thanks to Grouper and Cher!! This is a pretty area with white water rafting and other outdoor activities. We enjoyed burgers, warm chili, and cold beer at the attached Rivers End restaurant and are now washing clothes. Back on the trail tomorrow. We met a nice family of 7 last night at the campground. They're from NH, he's a recently retired army helo pilot. It's hard enough to take care of ourselves but imagine what it must be like to corral 5 kids and a dog. It was a bucket list item and they decided to homeschool the kids and go thru hike the AT. I give them all credit.
Date: 2017-04-05
From: Sassafrass Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: clear sky

We left the comfort of the NOC to almost vertically scale a 5000' mountain. That has been a pretty consistent trait of the AT- stark contrasts. Beautiful, fairly easy days, and then a thunderstorm the next. Difficult hike days with lots of steep ups and downs followed by a day in a hotel in town, with clean clothes and bodies. If I complain about how difficult the terrain is, sapphire invariably says" if it were easy, it wouldn't be a challenge". True enough. I don't know what I thought the AT would be like, maybe wide, well graded paths, with the sun shining and cool breezes.. but I know I never thought it would be very similar to climbing Mt Olympus on Oahu during a thunderstorm but it is, very steep ascents and descents, rock scrambles, hand over hand climbing, etc.. and speaking of thunderstorms, we're in the middle of yet another one. This time we were saved by an angel named Lonnie, who runs a hostel out of the house he grew up in Stecoah, NC. He stopped at the highway crossing we just climbed down to. Rain and thunder motivating us to move quickly, anyways we were wet, cold and low in spirit when he pulled over and told us about his hostel, the more he talked the better it sounds compared to a night cold and soaking wet. You might ask, " don't y'all have rain gear?" We yes we do and we were wearing them but because of all those climbs and descents the sweat makes you as wet as if you weren't wearing them, even with temps in the low 50's. Long story short, we're safe, warm and clean again, for now
Date: 2017-04-05
From: Sassafrass Shelter

To: Fontana Village
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the comfort of the NOC to almost vertically scale a 5000' mountain. That has been a pretty consistent trait of the AT- stark contrasts. Beautiful, fairly easy days, and then a thunderstorm the next. Difficult hike days with lots of steep ups and downs followed by a day in a hotel in town, with clean clothes and bodies. If I complain about how difficult the terrain is, sapphire invariably says" if it were easy, it wouldn't be a challenge". True enough. I don't know what I thought the AT would be like, maybe wide, well graded paths, with the sun shining and cool breezes.. but I know I never thought it would be very similar to climbing Mt Olympus on Oahu during a thunderstorm but it is, very steep ascents and descents, rock scrambles, hand over hand climbing, etc.. and speaking of thunderstorms, we're in the middle of yet another one. This time we were saved by an angel named Lonnie, who runs a hostel out of the house he grew up in Stecoah, NC. He stopped at the highway crossing we just climbed down to. Rain and thunder motivating us to move quickly, anyways we were wet, cold and low in spirit when he pulled over and told us about his hostel, the more he talked the better it sounded compared to a night cold and soaking wet. You might ask, " don't y'all have rain gear?" Well yes we do and we were wearing them but because of all those climbs and descents the sweat makes you as wet as if you weren't wearing them, even with temps in the low 40's. But now we're safe, warm, dry and clean again, for now photo is of a local eatery near the hostel.