morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-26
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

How to record today? Pancakes. Book sale. Crosswords. Leftovers. This does not, I realize, have quite the adventurous ring -or the adrenaline - of a mountain avalanche or a bear attack. But avalanches (of the geological, as opposed to political, variety) are in short supply here in our nation's capital. And it was a good day, replete with Exquisite Corpse and grape jokes, all in good company.Also, Sara said something the other day and I told her I was going to put it online, and then I forgot and she called me on it. So, without further ado, the occasionally contested genius of Sara S.: "I feel like when you have to verbally assert your intellectual supremacy over a plastic bag, it's time to give up."
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

I've never gotten my nails done before in my life, and during an AT thru-hike seems an odd time to start, but Sara suggested it today (I think partly because the nail place, half a block from here, is one place to which I can hobble without fear of bodily recrimination) and I couldn't really think of a reason why not. 'Ooh', said Tammy, deadpan, 'can we come back here later and braid each other's hair?' We neither of us frequent beauty salons. So we went, and if it was a tad bizarre to watch someone trim my cuticles, it was sort of fun too. Though I drew the line at pedicures, remembering Ranger's cautionary tale about having gotten a pedicure while off trail for a week to attend a wedding, and the pedicurist TOOK OFF ALL HER CALLUSES, so that her feet were baby-soft again when she got back on trail, and consequently prone to pain. This is a hiker's horror story, tailor-made. I'll have enough trouble readjusting to the trail after weeks of sloth; I'd like to keep my leathery feet, thanks.Later we ate Mexican food and drank margaritas. I fell asleep on the couch to the strains of Orgazmo playing on DVD.
Date: 2005-06-28
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

Tammy, alas, left today, muttering something about a "real life in Chicago." Smacks of excusery to me, but what's to be done? Her departure prompted Sara to spend a hyper portion of the morning taking pictures of the three of us, as if to verify that we were, in fact, all here; the photo session prompted me to start writing captions for the past two months of photos I've got stored on my camera. Tammy took the photo card and is now armed with the caption list, so keep an eye out if you care - the photos page will be updated soon.It's been just over two weeks since I got off-trail, and I can tell it'll be at least another week - maybe more - before I can start hiking again. Which brings us to at least three weeks, which is almost four, which is a month, more or less. A MONTH? What happened to June? This wasn't supposed to happen. Ridiculous. No doubt also why every single member of Sara's family, when speaking with her on the phone, says of me, 'She's still at your house? HAHAHA!'
Date: 2005-06-29
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

It feels a little funny to keep posting daily updates, here on - what is it? - day 18 off-trail? I can't imagine that my Satellite Cable Exploits are all that scintillating. And yet, having made a point of posting daily entries thus far, I can't quite bring myself to stop. The TrailJournals entry posting page has no options for time-off-due-to-injury entries either. If it's not Preparation or Conclusion, it's a Trail entry. Fair enough. (But it's a good thing I don't give a crap about my daily average mileage, cause this City Mouse business is dragging my numbers way down.) In any case. My foot feels more or less normal now, as long as all I'm doing is walking on flat surfaces and carrying nothing. This was not the case a week ago, and I'm really happy about that. I'm not ready to be hiking again yet, though - it's still achy and easily tired, and the last thing I want to do is go back too soon and re-injure it. There's a thunderstorm outside right now, with rain hard enough and thunder close enough to - hold your breath - shake the satellite cable signal. Strangely enough, it's making me nostalgic. (For the trail. Not the cable. No, really.) Shouldn't a beautiful day do that? I don't particularly want to be caught out in a downpour. But I do want to be out on the trail, and maybe my inner Zen monk knows better than I do some banal and predictable truth about taking the bad with the good. I feel like I'm rehearsing wedding vows. How odd.
Date: 2005-06-30
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

The Great Screwed-Up Foot Hiatus, Day NineteenMore of the same today. I know my exploits with Honey Bunches of Oats and the Washington Post are eternally fascinating, but rather than detail them for the reading public, I'd like to use this entry to thank all the folks who've emailed me and signed my guestbook since I've been off-trail healing. Friends and family, we've been in touch and you know who you are and you know I love you; to those of you I only know through the internet, thank you so much for your support. It means an awful lot, especially hearing from those of you who've been through similar frustrations. You've helped convince me this is not a dead end but merely a roadblock, and I really, really appreciate it.(Though to my anonymous June 29th signer - thanks for the well-wishes, but I haven't died yet!)Back to catching up on journal entries. As I told Jane, this is a more Herculean task than you might imagine. VH1 is showing, like, seven hours straight of America's Next Top Model. It's like watching a train wreck. Especially the part where they keep cracking on the 5'7" girl for being so short.***Sara: Did you spill ice cream on my shirt?Me: I don't think so...(looking down at unmistakable chocolate blotch)Me: Oh. Maybe. Sorry. I'll wash it.Sara: You're hopeless.
Date: 2005-07-01
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

Is it really JULY? How does this happen? What if I mutiny? What if we compromise, and make it mid-June? Surely two weeks of rewind isn't an unreasonable demand? Is this what it feels like to be old enough that birthdays arrive unnoticed and pass by in a breath, like a sneeze? That time of year thou mayst in me behold, old devil Time, etcetera. (Could I be more melodramatic? Also, I'll admit that birthdays past 21 lose some of their old ineffable thrill. Though I am kind of looking forward to the day I'll be allowed to rent a car. Just to know that I can. Also, because this entry is getting away from me here in paragraph one, let me clarify: it is not yet my birthday. September 19th. Mark your datebooks. But in the meantime, admit it: the change of month can be psychologically jarring, especially for "hikers" busy sitting on their "asses.")Speaking of sneezing. Have I been on the couch too long, or is it allergy season everywhere in this part of the world? (or, c) both of the above?) Does pollen sweep in on a July wind? In the past three days I have devolved into an allergic wreck. Naturally, the bottle of generic Claritin I carried with me from Springer to Waynesboro is currently sitting in a bounce box in Harper's Ferry. "I never use it! That's at least an ounce! I bet I won't have allergies at all this year! Bounce that sucker!" So cavalier. And here I am now, surrounded by a sea of Kleenex. ***An Incomplete List of Things in the Near Future to which I am Looking Forward:1. Seeing Maggie for Coffee at the Jolt N' Bolt Tonight, and Reminiscing About How Our Old Bosses Used to be Somewhat Stymied by Our Proclivity for Skinnydipping After Work 2. Getting Back on the Trail, Possibly as Soon as Monday or Tuesday, and Definitely by Next Weekend3. The Gilmore Girls Afternoon Rerun***Sara: "I am torn between my desire for Chipotle and my desire to never leave the house again."***Sara: "Okay, Jessica. There are several notes of which you must be informed. First, America's Next Top Model is on, and will be for several hours. Second, MTV has a show called 'Date My Mom.' These are the television-related things of which you must be aware."Me: "Hang on."Sara: "Are you writing this down?"Me: "Yes."Sara: "Let me know when you're done transcribing our conversation, so that we can continue having it."Me: "Ok."Sara (who is wearing a 'My lawyer can beat up your lawyer' T-shirt): "I want money. I think we need to work out a contract right now. You're going to turn this into a book and you're going to totally cut me out. You're going to be like, 'You never played THAT big a role, but here's a signed copy.'"
Date: 2005-07-02
From: Washington, DC

To: Wynnewood, PA
Miles today: 0.0

It turns out traveling to Philadelphia from DC via a Chinatown bus the day of the Live 8 concert is not a brilliant idea. I had not considered this when I decided to spend a few days of my interminable recuperation in Philly, visiting my stellar aunt and uncle. The unsurprising upshot is that the bus scheduled to arrive at its destination at 2:15 in the afternoon did not arrive until 5:00. Long afternoon. Most of the extra time, though, was spent not on the bus but sitting on a Chinatown sidewalk in DC, waiting for the bus to arrive. ¢Oh no no,¢ said the Today¢s Bus ticket agent, at least three times. ¢This bus New York. This bus no Philadelphia. You wait.¢(Rob said I should consider that it was an extraordinary day overall for travel up and down the entire East coast. I¢ll grant that. But, oh, I¢m nostalgic for slow-and-steady foot travel. I may walk at two miles per, but at least I¢m always headed somewhere. I¢m convinced this is not the same phenomenon as that evinced by people who, when standing at crosswalks waiting for a signal, will repeatedly push the ¢walk¢ button just because it gives them something to do. I remain unable to articulate WHY these phenomena are different, but stubborn intuition and a quarter will get me a gumball. I like gumballs.) I digress. The rundown: much waiting, eventual arrival, and a lot of reading in the interim¢ Ron Suskind¢s ¢A Hope in the Unseen,¢ which I¢ve heard about for years, and, at Sara¢s recommendation, a solid chunk of William Monahan¢s ¢Lighthouse,¢ which is sheer lunatic genius and everyone should read it right now, including me, because I have not finished it yet. It¢s lovely to see Rob and Amy and their kids. I don¢t think I¢ve seen them since last Thanksgiving, and Rob spent about five minutes this time berating me for having bothered to ask in the first place whether it was okay to come visit them. ¢ ¢If the offer still stands!¢ Of course it stands! Do I need to beat you over this? Are you limping? How long are you staying? A month? I could stomp on your other foot and make you stay longer.¢ ¢Whoa,¢ I said. ¢Back up.¢ They¢re wonderful at making people welcome, and I¢m glad to be here ¢ though my itinerary plans for a stop of a few final recuperating days, not a month.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: Wynnewood, PA

To: Wynnewood, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Spent some quality time today bonding with E.V. (Escape Velocity), a name which sounds like it belongs to a hiker but which actually belongs to Rob and Amy¢s cat. E.V., among felines I have known, is unique in that he ¢ to all appearances ¢ thinks he is a dog. This makes it easier to bond with him than with most strange cats, as he possesses none of the species¢ trademark standoffishness. I¢ve never known another cat to come up to you and head-butt your hand until you scratch behind his ears, or to lean against you until you pat him, but I¢ve known innumerable dogs to do both, as does E.V. Amy calls him ¢the human burr.¢ Apparently as a kitten he suffered from failure to thrive, so to encourage a sad and skinny kitten to perk up, the vet advised that he 1) be hand-fed and 2) be held as much as possible. So for an entire summer, Amy hand-fed him and my cousins and their friends ensured that he was in someone¢s hands or lap every waking moment. E.V. recovered, and in the process became a cat convinced that the natural function of humans is to hold and to pet. We¢ve been getting along quite well.In the afternoon I went with Rob and Amy and my cousin Tom to a neighborhood barbecue, where I enjoyed myself despite (or perhaps because of the challenge in) fielding the following actual questions:- Aren¢t you afraid of getting killed out there?- What do your parents think of this¢¦trip?- You hurt your foot, so obviously you don¢t know how to take care of yourself in an emergency, right?- You like theater? Do you think you¢re talented?- Do you sympathize with Matthew Shepard¢s murderers? - Do you own Birkenstocks? Are you a feminist?- Is Rob a good uncle?Theatrical, gender-stereotypical, and familial questions aside, it¢s funny responding to people¢s instinctual fear of the thought of thru-hiking. I dealt with a certain amount of incredulity before leaving, of course, but I¢d sort of forgotten in the meantime what an incomprehensible undertaking the Trail is to so many people. When your community consists almost entirely of a) fellow hikers and b) residents of small Trail towns who are accustomed to seeing hikers, you quickly grow accustomed to the idea of what you are doing. It¢s still a bizarre undertaking, but there is a certain level at which oddities begin to be taken for granted. And while I¢d never expect everyone to jump at the opportunity to spend extended amounts of time on-Trail, I am saddened by what I see of automatic antipathy towards the idea. So many people are so sure it¢s perilous, fraught, devil-may-care, foolish. I¢d be lying if I said hiking wasn¢t without risks, but I¢ve found these judgments to be on the whole rather more visceral than considered. Rob and Amy tell a story of some acquaintances of theirs who despise road trips up I-95 on account of having to hold their bladders for so long ¢ because they cannot, of course, ever stop to use the toilets at highway rest stops, which "everyone knows are frequented by gun-toting drug dealers." So much unnecessary fear.
Date: 2005-07-05
From: Wynnewood, PA

To: Wynnewood, PA
Miles today: 0.0

A slow and rainy day (not that rain matters very much indoors). Here, for your reading pleasure, a Spine-Tingling Blow-by-Blow of My Day So Far (hold your breath): In the morning I 1) ate Barbara¢s Puffins and 2) drank a cup of tea while 3) Rob explained how to work the DVD player and 4) tried to pull his ¢I¢m-a-doctor¢ card, seriously intoning that I probably ought to plan on staying at least another month. I 5) said I doubted he was speaking in a medical capacity (the tone being rather too avuncular), and then I 6) took a shower and 7) reread ¢Mary Poppins.¢ In the afternoon I 8) told Tom, my cousin, who is eighteen and, I think, something of a kindred spirit (he once accidentally synthesized TNT in a chemistry class taught by a mercury-poisoned nutjob), that he needed to read ¢Lighthouse,¢ and 9) he said he¢d read it if I read some of his 19th century futuristic dystopian science fiction. I 10) said deal. Then I 11) told Tom¢s friend Matt about the time two summers ago when I stayed for a while at a French hippie commune overrun by an itinerant village of Rainbow People camped in the yurt field refusing to leave, and 12) Tom asked how I could say that with a straight face and13) Matt asked if my mother was anything like me. I 14) said she was comparatively normal, and then 15) paused to rethink my answer. Evening is approaching now and I¢m 16) thinking guilty Gilmore Girls thoughts. Also, 17) somebody whom I have never met named Ruby just sent me an email apologizing for accidentally thinking I was her boss. 18) The End. ::wipes sweat off brow::My plan is still to try and get back on the trail this weekend ¢ my foot¢s mostly normal now, just still sort of generally tired. But I think another few days of rest will do it, and I cannot WAIT to be back on the trail. I¢m slightly perturbed, however, by***SPOILER WARNING: THE REMAINDER OF THIS PARAGRAPH CONTAINS EXPLICIT REFERENCES TO TOES AND TOENAILS. SARA SEEMS TO FIND ALL SUCH REFERENCES DISGUSTING. SO DON¢T SAY I DIDN¢T WARN YOU.***the fact that despite my considered rejection of a pedicure last week, my time off-trail has STILL resulted in extreme peelage of hard-earned calluses. I lose more skin every day. I think my tootsies are going to hurt, readjusting to the trail. Is it wrong that I¢m disturbed by the hints of sensation returning to my formerly entirely numb big toes? At least I¢ve got a full set of ten toenails again.
Date: 2005-07-06
From: Wynnewood, PA

To: Wynnewood, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Rob, or ¢Uncle Pusher,¢ as I am beginning to think of him, affectionately, took me to EMS this afternoon and generously insisted on paying for the replacement Superfeet I needed, spouting some nonsense about having neglected years of birthdays, and quashing all my protests. Then he wandered around the store, trying to convince me I needed more ¢ ¢You need sunglasses? A knife? A bigger knife? No? How about ski boots? A kayak? You¢re hiking the Appalachian Trail, you must need SOMETHING else.¢ ¢Thanks, really, but I have what I need,¢ I said, ¢and besides, I can¢t carry any more than I already have anyway.¢ ¢How about an avalanche beacon?¢ he said. ¢You have to stop,¢ I said. He finally talked me into a T-shirt. ¢Take two! This weighs nothing!¢ ¢That¢s the idea!¢ After a follow-up trip to the grocery store, in kind (¢Broccoli rabe? That¢s it? You want anything else? Fruit? You want some fruit?¢) he conceded he was kind of a pusher. ¢But I could be pushing much worse things.¢ That¢s true enough, and regardless I truly appreciate his and Amy¢s kindness. I¢m pretty lucky having family watch out for me ¢ even if he maintains I ought to stay here till August. I¢m gearing for a fight on this one.Later I went with Rob and Ian (my fourteen year old cousin) to the local YMCA, and, after clearing up a brief misunderstanding with the receptionist (she was sure I was under seventeen and thus not cleared for facilities access without express parental consent), went down to the workout room and spent thirty-five minutes on the elliptical cross-trainer. My foot didn¢t feel any worse afterwards, which is good, though of course the whole point of the elliptical is that it¢s no-impact. More to the point, this is the most sustained exercise I¢ve taken since getting off-trail three and a half weeks ago. I¢ve gone from walking eight or ten hours a day to a point where thirty-five minutes is a significant step up. Ridiculous. I mean, nothing to be done, but oy nevertheless. Forget the foot; how long will it take the rest of my body to readjust ? Well, I managed it in March; I¢ll manage it again.
Date: 2005-07-08
From: Wynnewood, PA

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

Okay, a few words of clarification: Apparently several people concluded from yesterday¢s entry that I was throwing in the towel for good and announcing the official end of my 2005 thru-hike attempt. Not so. These are, perhaps, the occupational hazards of publicly spewing one¢s angst. (Can¢t a girl spew a little without everyone assuming the worst?) But I suppose it¢s what I get for whining aloud (aprint?).In any case, rest assured that I am still on the trail (a primarily metaphysical designation which here means ¢on Sara¢s couch.¢) Which is to say that I am not actually bodily on the trail just now, but I will be as soon as I can swing it. And by God I am finishing that trail this year. This injury has done nothing so much as piss me off, and those who know me best know that the surest way to induce extreme stubbornness in me is to piss me off. (Because, of course, I am normally tractability itself.) However, I¢m yet again delaying my return to the trail, in spite of rather than because of stubbornness. I swore I¢d be getting back on the trail this weekend, and I left Philly early this morning to return to DC, to pick up my stuff from Sara¢s and spend one more night with her, to get a ride back to the trail in the morning from fellow hiker Just Playin¢ Jane, who very kindly offered to take me there. (Jane and I go way back. I¢m talking Hawk Mountain Shelter.) By the time I got back to DC and did all the necessary walking between bus stops and metro stops and apartments, my foot was aching again, which did not seem to augur well, but I was doing a decent job at ignoring this fact. I figured I¢d go back to the trail tomorrow anyway, and take a few more zeros on-trail if necessary. Then Jane emailed me, apologizing profusely for canceling but her sister had just broken her ankle and she needed to take care of her. Of course, I told her, don¢t worry about it; I hope your sister is all right. Me: Maybe this is a sign. Maybe I¢m supposed to wait a little longer. Cause, um, actually, I¢ve sort of been ignoring it, but my foot still hurts.Sara: Well, of course it¢s a sign, you raging fool; God just dropped an anvil on someone else¢s foot because breaking yours didn¢t do the trick. Me: I guess I¢ll go back to Philly for another week or so. That¢ll have to be enough. Man, that¢ll be a crow-eating phone call. This morning Rob was all, ¢Are you totally sure about this?¢ and I was all, ¢I¢ll be fine!¢Sara: You can call back and say ¢I just realized I¢m a gimp.¢Me: I can¢t believe I¢m still here.Sara: We need to eat ice cream now. Like, RIGHT now. *I* need to eat ice cream now.Blind faith and bullheadedness will, it seems, only get you so far. But give me another week or two. As our friend the Terminator likes to say, I¢ll be back.
Date: 2005-07-09
From: Washington, DC

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

A MORNING CONVERSATION WITH SARASara, I¢m still here.Unhhh.What?You should get a tattoo today.I should get a tattoo today?Yeah. I¢m sick of looking at you. We need to change what you look like.I can¢t get a tattoo today.Why not?Takes too long to heal.Jessica. What the hell have you got to do?It takes six to eight weeks for tattoos to heal! By God I will be back on the trail by then.Sure you will.By God. Besides. I couldn¢t get buried in a Jewish cemetery.It doesn¢t take that long to heal, anyway.I think it does.Two weeks.No way.We could go and get you a nice tattoo, be done before you know it.Where am I gonna get a tattoo?Downtown.No, where on my body?Well, I don¢t know.And what am I gonna get a tattoo of?Some AT gang symbol, maybe?Some people do get AT tattoos.See?Dave has a tattoo that says ¢I heart tacos.¢Well, you don¢t have to get a taco tattoo.It¢s been done.I¢m sure the tattoo artist could help you figure something out.I heart burritos?If you like.I do. Heart burritos.It¢s good, then.Wait a minute. I don¢t even want a burrito tattoo. Why you gotta be hating on tattoos?I¢m not hating on anything! I have no problem with tattoos! There just isn¢t any tattoo I especially want, which seems like a decent reason not to get one.Hater.Why is this about me? Why don¢t you get a tattoo?I can¢t get a tattoo. It¢d break my mother¢s heart.***Well, what if we google ¢tattoo healing time?¢Okay.Okay.If you do this you get even more spontaneity points than Tammy did for coming here from Chicago.I¢m googling.And?Wait a minute. When did this become an actual discussion?Well, I don¢t know.Six to eight weeks. And it has to be cleaned five to seven times daily.For all eight weeks? Bullshit.That¢s what it says.Don¢t buy it.Ix-nay. Even if I had a tattoo I really wanted ¢ which I don¢t, by the way ¢ this would not be the time to do it.Says the girl who has been living on my couch how long?Yeah, I know. But no tattoo now.Well, fine. We¢ll cut your hair.Sara.Throw me a bone. We have to change how you look SOMEHOW.I¢m leaving here tomorrow morning!It¢s a symbolic gesture.