morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-02-13
From: Rt 19E, Mountain Harbour B&B and Hostel, TN

To: Mountain Harbour B&B and Hostel, Roan Mountain, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Today was spent eating, resting, watching it rain outside, eating, resting, watching it snow outside, eating....... :-)A perfect zero day! It was nice to watch the weather from the inside looking out for a change.It rained this morning, then had snow and flurries most the afternoon.I have a little detour coming up in my walk.My original plans for this year was to ride my bicycle cross country again, on the Southern Tier this time, and then walk the CDT later in the year.I decided to walk the AT when my "sidekick" said she didn't think she could get away for another long bicycle ride this year....my "sidekick" of course is Mrs Gorp.Well, I think she came down with a little cabin fever up there in VT and decided that maybe she could get away to a warmer climate for a little bicycle ride after all. :-)The Southern Tier Bicycle Route goes from San Diego, CA to somewhere in Florida.Cruising through the southwestern desert, that ride almost has to be done this time of year, so guess what? Yep, I'm taking a short detour from this walk I'm on.Anyone who knows me won't be surprised at all. They know I live my life for any opportunity to play....and this is one of those opportunities! :-)For anyone who doesn't know me yet, you just learned a lot about my lifestyle. :-)My new plan is to be picked up this Saturday by Mrs Gorp, ride down to GA and get my bicycle, then head for San Diego.I'll pedal to Florida....not sure whether the Trail ends in St Augustine, Ft Lauderdale or Key West, but any one of the three places would be fine with me. (Key West would be my choice)When we're done with that cross country bike ride, Mrs Gorp will drop me back on the Trail at Bob People's in Hampton, TN and I will continue my walk to Maine.I should be right in the middle of this year's nobo thru hikers by then. That will be a big change, but should be fun.This is shaping up to be another great year!I'll do an update from the Southern Tier Bicycle Trail once in a while....and will continue with my regular AT '08 journal as soon as I'm walking on the Appalachian Trail again.I've been having a blast on this winter walk and I expect to have a great little bicycle ride, then a nice walk into spring and summer.I did two cross country bicycle rides last year and a little walking. It looks like I'll do one cross country bicycle ride and a long walk this year. I can't think of a better way to spend a year of life. :-)I will be walking for two more days to get to Kincora....Bob and Pat Peoples¢ hostel, so my journal will be the same for those days.Hope most of you will continue to follow along on this year's adventure....it's been a blast so far!   THANKS! :-)Another great day on the Appalachian Trail! :-)
Date: 2008-02-21
From: Alamogordo, NM

To: San Diego
Miles today: 0.0

Just wanted to do another entry prior to the start of my little bike ride. I'm feeling so guilty to be sitting in a car with air conditioning and good company, fried chicken every five miles and a constant supply of coffee, while real hikers are out there on the AT putting in high miles every day. I've been especially thinking about the most incredible hiker I've ever known. He's out there right now in the cold and snow hiking through the rugged southern Appalachian mountains. He doesn't have hot fried chicken and hot coffee, and a soft seat with cool air conditioning blowing in his face. And so today as I drive my thoughts and concerns are on my ole buddy Chief, the best and strongest hiker I've ever known. You go, Chief!! I feel so pathetic and soft. I don't deserve to even carry Chief's dirty socks. I'm feeling so down the only thing that could make me feel better would be for everybody to please sign my guestbook in the next day or two and I promise to answer each and every one of you promptly. As you go through your daily lives please remember my Ole buddy Chief out there roughing it like a real hiker.
Date: 2008-02-24
From: San Diego

To: San Diego, CA
Miles today: 0.0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS GORP!! (hope I live to be so old) We made it to San Diego a couple days ago and have been very busy ever since we got here. We are staying in Del Mar at Kayleen and John's, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's home. I had a few things to do to my bicycle.....and I still haven't gotten around to that yet. I did get a special wrench yesterday to change out the pedals to a more comfortable set. I finally got on the computer last night to see what all the buzz was about. I saw an entry I didn't know anything about. I see Chief has posted a picture and wrote an entry all by himself. It's the one preceding this entry, but it looks like a lot of people have already seen it. Chief, I have to say, that was "original" and you made me proud that you thought that up all by yourself. I had forgotten that he had my password to sign onto my journal and post entries....did you catch the part where I said "he had my password?" I've changed my password, so now maybe Chief can get back out and actually do some walking instead of spending all his time on Miss Janet's computer. Ha! It's raining here in San Diego this morning, so we decided to start our bike ride back to Florida tomorrow morning....Monday, the 25th. Time to go upstairs and brew some White Rock coffee. I tip my hat to my ol' buddy Chief for his originality on that journal entry....I can see him and Miss Janet smiling while they were posting it. TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Should the guilty hacker read this, may "he" feel the sting of my ruler slapping against "his" knuckles!! Whack! Whack! Sue/HH
Date: 2008-04-28
From: Pascagoula, Mississippi

To: St Augustine, FL
Miles today: 0.0

Mrs Gorp and I completed our 3rd cross country bicycle ride on 4-25-08. I have been very busy working my way back towards where I got off the AT, but I did finally get a bunch of pictures up and will write my journal entry later. The pictures should all be dated 4-28-08. Some were from my Pentax camera taken earlier in the ride, but most are from my cell camera taken between Pascagola, MS and St Augustine, FL.I should be back walking north on the AT from Kincora Hostel in a few days....lots to do!!!
Date: 2008-05-08
From: Old Mill Inn, Damascus, VA

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Transcriber note: Stumpknocker called from Atkins, Va. All is well and he is making his way north one buffet at a time.Southwest Virginia appears to be devoid of Verizon Data Service. He's been writing his journal daily but has been unable to send the text and photos.MrsGorp
Date: 2008-05-08
From: Relax Inn, Atkins, VA

To: Relaxing at the Relax Inn, Atkins, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up at 6am and opened my door till Mother Nature and Smokestack were ready to go up the road to The Barn Restaurant for breakfast.I have really revved up my appetite lately and I ordered a BIG breakfast....2 eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast and coffee. :-)Smokestack and Mother Nature packed up and left for Harpers Ferry, WV where they will start walking north on the Appalachian Trail.I closed my door and took an hour nap. I really like a rest day like this. :-)I haven't had any data service for my phone since I left Damascus, so I haven't been able to update my journal. I have had cell service and really thought I'd have data service here since I'm right next to I-81.I walked next door to the truck stop when I got up and bought a turkey sandwich, Doritos and a Coke, then came back to the room and ate, then rested and caught up on writing my journal.I have toyed with the idea of just updating my journal once in a while....and reading more books out here on the Trail. I'll make up my mind on that later.Guess what?......it was dinner time when I looked, so I walked up to The Barn and had a fish sandwich while I waited on my liver and onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans.I stopped by the convenience store on the way back to the room and bought a pint of ice cream for dessert. :-)I sat outside and talked to Jackaroo, G'town Colonel, Briar and 3 or 4 other hikers before retiring to my room for the night to watch Survivor on TV.A great rest day for the ol' body along the Appalachian Trail. :-)
Date: 2008-05-19
From: Trail Days....Damascus, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a day to get ready for walking again, switching from packing a stove to going stoveless and resupplying for 4 days and 3 nights on the Trail to the next resupply point at Catawba, VA. I posted 2 pictures today.....one was of my backpack and what I'll carry from Pearisburg, VA to Glencliff, NH. I'll get a few cold weather items back for when I walk north out of Glencliff into the White Mountains and on to Katahdin in Maine. The only 2 things not shown is my cell phone/camera (which I took the picture with) and my hiking poles which also hold my tent up each night. Other than my food, the items I have pictured are all I'll carry or need for the next 1,200 or so miles. (My hair brush....don't laugh, tooth paste and tooth brush and a few other small items are carried in my food bag) The food I have shown in the other picture that I posted in my photo section is similar to what I'll eat on the Trail for the rest of this walk to Katahdin in Maine. It satisfies me way more than things I could cook on the Trail. I always go for very good meals with lots of variety when I get to town. That seems to work well for me and keeps my ribs from showing too much. :-) My full backpack with 2 nights and 3 days food....and 1 liter of water weighs in at 16 pounds and has everything I need for a long walk in the summer months. Today was a gorgeous day. I'm now ready to be dropped off at the trailhead in Pearisburg, VA tomorrow morning to start walking north again. (it's supposed to rain tomorrow) :-) Hey Hokey Pokey.....Friday night at The Homeplace??? It's on me!!!! -) Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. :-)
Date: 2008-05-27
From: .4 miles north of Taylor's Mtn Overlook, VA

To: Half mile north of Bryant Ridge Shelter, VA
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 6am after a really good night's sleep.I had two apple-cinnamon pastries and nuts along with water.I was packed and walking at 7am. It's a warm morning with lots of humidity in the air.I heard a few rain drops on the tent over night, but it never did rain much.I got to Montvale Overlook and took a couple pictures of the distant mountains.It's nice when the AT comes out of the woods here on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I get some views that way. The leaves are so thick on the trees right now, that all I see from the Trail is green.I came up to the first box turtle I've seen on the Trail this year. I also saw the first two toads of the year....mosquitoes can't be far behind. :-(I walked slow and enjoyed the morning. There was one point on the Trail when I was listening to an owl and a wood thrush at the same time.Stubs, Whisper and Mr Bones came walking up the sidetrail from Bobblets Gap Shelter just as I was walking by.I decided not to go down after water, even though I was down to 1/3rd of a liter.I came out to the parkway twice before getting to Bearwallow Gap.There was a small stream flowing, so I got half a liter of water and put two drops of bleach in it just in case I needed that water.I put the Clorox in it because it was close to a road.I made the 500 foot climb out of there and got to Cove Mtn Shelter in a few miles.I stopped and ate part of my lunch and talked to Whisper, Stubs and Mr Bones while I was there.Another hiker by the name of SoJo came up, but was in a hurry and walked on.I was thinking of some nice cool water when I spotted a small stream down the hill a piece and about a mile before I got to Jennings Creek.That worked out great because I really didn't want water from a creek as big as Jennings.I saw SoJo, Whisper, Stubbs and Mr Bones down by the creek taking a break.I just walked on because I had plenty of water.I made the 1,000 foot climb to the top of Fork Mtn, then walked almost 1,000 feet back down to Bryant Ridge Shelter.G-TOWN colonel was there and said that because of the humidity, he was staying there and making the 2,500 foot climb out of there tomorrow.Catfish came walking south into the shelter. His mom was slackpacking him today.I ate my dinner and sat there dripping from the humidity.I decided to walk on, but only made it half a mile before I found a nice, soft flat spot to set up my tent.I sat down on a log after the tent was up and saw lots of small ticks crawling up my legs.I got all of them off....I hope!I sprayed my shoes with Deet before I crawled into the tent for the night.I'm not sure if Deet will work on the buggers, but thought I'd try it.I set up at 5pm tonight. I didn't feel like sweating anymore today....and I have over 2,000 feet of climbing left.Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. :-)
Date: 2008-06-24
From: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA

To: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Just a quick note that I made it to Atkins, VA today late in the afternoon. Mrs Gorp and I arrived at Rambunny and Aqua's hostel about 4pm after a loooong drive down from Duncannon, PA. They have been busy working on it for a week now and I can see lots of improvements already. They were tired when we got there, so it ended up being a break for them to walk us through the home and the barn showing us the place and talking about their ideas. Tomorrow will be a work day! :-) Met up with Mother Nature and Smokestack on the way south today and got to talk to them for a short while. I guess the thing that struck me most about the day on the road driving south was just how far I've walked since I was in this area. When I'm out there walking everyday, I guess I never really think of distances...just the day I'm living and maybe one or two days ahead. I will post some pictures when I get data service. Oh yeah, I finally had a chance to use my message board/guestbook to talk about a few of the more frequent posters of my guestbook. 8-).
Date: 2008-06-25
From: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA

To: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a work day on Rambunny and Aqua's new hostel in Atkins, VA. I wasn't sure what I'd be doing, but I got started and stayed busy all day long. Mrs Gorp and Rambunny worked on the kitchen most of the day, while Aqua tended to some plumbing issues. I started by taking down the field fencing across the front of the property, then pulling the posts out. Aqua helped me fill in the holes so their grandkids wouldn't break a leg by falling into one. There was a burn pile that had lots of glass and wire and probably anything you could think of in it, so I shoveled all that into the dumpster. I weed wacked the front yard where the fence had been, then Aqua and I cut down a big tree that was growing too close to the corner of the house. I trimmed some top branches first so it wouldn't pull down the electric service to the house, then Aqua cut the tree down. We piled it up where the old burn pile had been. Aqua wanted to save it for future campfires. Mrs Gorp wanted the window in the kitchen to open before they painted the kitchen, so I went to work on that. It had been completely caulked shut and also screwed shut. I spent a couple hours pulling all the caulking out, then pulling the window panels out. I had to put new guides for the windows to slide on and eventually had the window working nicely....and Mrs Gorp was happy....and when Mrs Gorp is happy, well.... ;-) Rambunny wanted me to hook up the computer next, so I got that all put together and then it was Yeungling time!!!! We all sat on the front porch and had a bottle of Yeungling. :-) Sobo even joined in with a drink. Ha!! I was tired at the end of the day, but it was a good tired and I felt like I helped out a little. I was pretty happy with the jobs I got. I don't think I'd have liked doing what Mrs Gorp and Rambunny did....cleaning out kitchen cabinets and washing them down after taking out 50 years of contact paper. I really wanted to go back to walking, but they won't let me leave for another day or two yet. Ha!! ;-) I am taking pictures of the new hostel and will post them when I get into an area with data service. That was a great story that Papparazzi wrote in my guestbook!! Thanks!!
Date: 2008-06-26
From: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA

To: Juniate River, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This was another work day on the Rambunny and Aqua hostel in Atkins, VA. I wanted to see where the Appalachian Trail was from their property, so Mrs Gorp and I walked back to it on a carriage road. The AT corridor backs up to their property. I saw an old brick structure and a couple old barns that had long since been abandoned, then right after walking by them, there was the AT! Very short walk from the AT to Rambunny's house. When Mrs Gorp and I got back, we picked up some trash near the fence line and put that in the dumpster, then I washed my legs just in case I had walked through any poison ivy. I saw quite a bit of it. Aqua was building a pen out back. I helped him dig post holes, then when he went to buy some lumber, I went inside the house and helped Rambunny and Mrs Gorp paint the inside of the kitchen cabinets. They gave me the upper cabinets to do, while they sat on their butts and did the lower cabinets. :-) I went back outside and helped Aqua finish the pen. We put a double top rail around it, then ran about 80 feet of field fencing. I went back into the kitchen and put a second coat of paint on the inside of the kitchen cabinets. Mrs Gorp and Rambunny had worked all day painting the kitchen. I think everyone was tired because we all ended up calling it a day about 5pm. We sat out on the front porch talking for a while, then Mrs Gorp and I got to be the first ones to sign the hostel register. I even used one of my last Stumpknocker stickers and I used a couple extra smiley face stickers....it was a special occasion after all!! :-) It was time for me to make my way back to the Trail in Duncannon, PA, so tomorrow will be a driving day, then I'll be back to walking north on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday. It's been fun helping some friends get started with their dream these last few days! :-) I still don't have data service to post any pictures, but expect to have it tomorrow. I'll post the pics I have of the hostel then.
Date: 2008-06-27
From: Juniate River, Duncannon, PA

To: Juniata River, Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was one of those long days on the road. We left VA and made it near Duncannon, PA. The plan is to walk tomorrow....without my backpack! :-) Mrs Gorp said she could slack me one day before she needed to get back to VT. I went and resupplied with enough food to get me into northern PA. I patched 3 holes in my tent, switched sleeping bags to a summer bag which is a full 1 1/2 pounds lighter than the 3 season bag I had been carrying. I'm ready to start walking tomorrow....I'm REALLY ready to start walking!! :-) Mother Nature gave me their eta to Palmerton, PA and I might just see them on their zero day there if I can keep moving everyday for the next week. It would be fun to walk with her and Smokestack for a few days. I finally posted a few pictures of the Happy Hiker Hollow....Rambunny and Aqua's new hostel in Atkins, VA. It needs lots of work, but they are both ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. They have done so much in just a week...I can't wait to see it next time I'm through that area. I should be back to journaling like normal tomorrow. Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. :-)
Date: 2008-07-20
From: Bulls Bridge, CT

To: The Moosie's Excellent Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up early.....and excited because the Moosies' have a coffee pot! :-) I went into the kitchen and ground up some French roast beans and made a 12 cup pot all for myself! Boy oh boy, what luxury! :-) I had a bowl of cereal and talked to Mrs Moosie for a short while before she headed off to church, then I walked outside to start working. It felt like I walked into a sauna. Gnats started flying all around my head and I started sweating even before I started moving the firewood in a wheelbarrow to where I needed to stack it. First pile of wood I stacked todayI got that first load of wood stacked and Moosie came walking out of the house just long enough to tell me he didn't like where I put it and that he wanted me to move it to where he could watch me work. :-) Mrs Moosie showed up. I misunderstood her because I didn't think she'd be back till after noon and I hoped to have all the wood stacked before she got back. We all went into the barn and decided where they wanted me to stack the big pile of wood. We made some room and I got started stacking wood. Moosie came over with a lawn chair to supervise. :-) I made sure that each time I bent over to pick up more firewood....well, let's just say I wasn't facing him. ;-) He didn't stay long. Ha! Every job needs a supervisorMrs Moosie helped me with some of the stacking, then I had a Coke before I mowed their one acre lawn. It was 1 pm when I was done and I was feeling hunger pains. I got a shower and we had tons of leftovers....very good leftovers! I was instructed to empty as many bowls of leftovers as I could. I emptied six. :-) I had sugar snap peas, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, watermelon, beets, pork roast, swiss chard and then went back and had seconds. Ummm, ummm! We talked mostly the rest of the afternoon....just lounging around inside where it was cool. The rest of the day slipped by and it was dinner time already. Moosie and I fixed a small plumbing problem with the dishwasher, then had hamburgers grilled outside along with some squash and mashed potatoes. I was soaked with sweat this morning while I was working, but I still had fun. I think the last lawn I had mowed was a few years ago when I mowed Pie Lady¢s lawn up in Monson, ME when her grandson didn't show up to do it. The last firewood I messed with was when I showed my ol' buddy Chief how to use an axe at Bob Peoples' hostel in Hampton, TN and we split and stacked firewood. It felt good to do this stuff here today. We watched a movie at night and it was 10pm before I knew it....way after my bedtime. Another great day spent along the Appalachian Trail....with very good friends! :-)