morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-10-24
To: Returning to parts of the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Last week I went to The Gathering up in Hanover and what a cool event it was. I am very excited to meet some people who are going to hike next year and be able to help answer there questions on many different subjects.My real reason for my trip up there were business related as I have been trying to find a place to possible open a retail store. $38 per square foot sounds like slavery to me instead of rent but never the less every place has its going rate.The days following The Gathering I spend hiking with a good friend in Vermont. He hikes the trail in sections and uses a shuttle driver to pickup and drop off every day. We stayed at the Stratton Inn at the Ski area and the first day we hike the 15 miles from the top of the Gondola at Stratton to Rt 11 that goes down in Manchester Center. It was a good day of hiking. The view from the Pinnacle Rock of Manchester Center was great.The second day we hiked from Stratton Arlington Road south to Rt 9 to Bennington Vermont. That was a much longer day at almost 20 miles. My dog was not to happy with me at the end of the day for making her walk so far. It was cool though to go back to the shelters where I had stayed at Story Springs and the one right out of Bennington that I forget the name of.I met up with two gals, very good looking I must ad, that were finishing up there Long Trail Thru Hike. We passed a suspicious looking fella near the shelter about a mile or so from the Rt 9 Trail Head. The girls were a little freaked out so I decided to offer them a ride to the Hostel. They ended up tagging along to Pizza Hut to eat dinner to. Very cool gals. Polly and Nicole, Yin and Yang were there trail names, and finally at the end of the evening we had them dropped off safe and sound at the Hostel at the old prospect ski area.Returning to the trail was interesting. It has actually set in now what I did. It is amazing in my mind still to think that I walked all that way. I have also been very impacted mentally by meeting some one who I have been seeing since a few days after I got off of the trail. Life is good, now I just need to get a job.My signature at a Jeep related bulliten board that is on the internet reads, Keep Working, my unemployment compensation benefits depend on you. I hope to change that to something else soon as I really do desire to work and contribute to society again. There are just not that many jobs out there that pay much over $10 per hour and I sorta refuse to work for less than $20 per hour. Well enough for now.
Date: 2002-03-31
To: AT 2003
Miles today: 0.0

My name is Aaron, I am currently 23 years old, and this is the start of my journal for the event in my life that I am calling AT2003. I am starting this journal now in preperation for what I am going to do in the future and to track each of the events that lead up to the event it self.Some how the last 24 months of my life I have been spinning around in circles not sure of where, what, or when I am going to do something else with my life. One of the things that I want to make sure is included in my journal is good hard (brief) facts that other readers may find helpful for finding what it is that I am searching for to make me happy, and also for preparing for and attempting this THRU-HIKE of the AT in 2003.The reason behind my hike is un-clear. Another journal that I was reading mentioned many things. The one reason for me that sticks out most in my mind is that the AT is an opportunity for me to stop one chapter of my life and start another. The chapter that I am going to stop is the career that I am currently in with a public utility (sitting on my ass) in an operations center in Northern Virginia. I am very good at my job but I have done nothing but gain weight since I have started working here, and dont have enough time feeling the wrath of earth wind and water.The chapters of my life that I would like to start are un-clear at this time. I have many interestes, and I suppose that if I were to meet a beautiful young woman some where in my travels the next 18 months that would be one chapter in my life that I think that I would like to start. The other chapters may include a career in specialty equipment manufacturing (read Jeep parts) or possibly management of and adventure sports venue some place like Ohiopyle PA. I just cant do the corporate America thing right now. It is not rewarding enough to make me happy.Over the next few months I will be researching and purchasing appropriate gear for a hike of this nature. My previous hiking experience is limited to a few long outings and numerous overnight and day hikes. I have never attempted anything as hard and as uncertain as the AT but I understand that part of the challenge is dealing with the unknown future and the spontaneous challenges that are presented in the Day of the life of a hiker. I plan to go as "Ultra Light" as possible keeping my winter pack to no more than 35lbs loaded. I plan on using mail drops, dehydrated food, and some town shopping for supplies along the way. I have not made decisions on shelter, hammock, or bivy, and I have not made any progress towards picking something out yet.I hope that what I write and keep track of here may be interesting and useful to my self and to others who read it.;-] twofiddy
Date: 2002-04-04
To: Harpers Ferry ATC office and Books
Miles today: 0.0

Today I made a drive over to Harpers Ferry, about 45 miles from my rental townhouse in Warrenton VA to visit the ATC. I was going in search of those two books that everyone uses to hike with. I did not know the name of the books at the beginning of the day.When I arrived there I was greated by numerous kind, knowledgeable people, and one yellow lab mix pup. My pure yellow lab was going crazy most of the time we were there.After spending about an hour or so looking over some of the books in the library there I decided to purchase the AT thru hike book package that includes the following three titles.------------------------------------------#1Appalachian TrailWorkbook for Planning a Thru-hikeby Christopher WhalenThis title provides and interesting explanation of terms, concepts, and other ideas for planning a Thru-Hike------------------------------------------#2Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion 2002by The Appalachian Long Distance Hikes AssociationThis title provides, in a narrative format, information on shelters, water supplies, towns, stores, and other attractions that are found along the trail.------------------------------------------#3Appalachian Trail Data Book 2002by Daniel D. Chazin of the ATCThis book contains the mileage and other key information on locations, shelters, water suppies, and other avaliable resoruces in a chart format.------------------------------------------I also purchased the additional items#4 The Appalachian Trail Food Plannerby Lou AdsmondThis title is the complete meal guide. It goes over packing rules, dehydrating food, mail drops, re-supply and even has a cook book included.#5 ATC 2002 Membership.#6 Rolled up (not folded) cpy of the map of the trail from the National Park Service.-----------------------------------------So far I am very pleased with the books that I have purchased.Now I have to read each of them two or three times through.
Date: 2002-04-05
To: About my Books
Miles today: 0.0

I am excited about the books that I have purchased and I have learned so many interesting things in the past 24 hours reading each of my books that I purchased.ATC was a great place and the help that I got there was excellent. I recommend that anyone who is going to do this visit the ATC. If you can't make it there before you hike then you need to stop when you pass through Harpers Ferry on foot.
Date: 2002-04-06
To: Sperryville Bed and Breakfast (VA)
Miles today: 0.0

Today was my gandparents 50th wedding anav. What a milestone for these two people who have wandered through there own mess of life together for the last 50 years. There Honeymoon was a drive down Skyline drive in some 1947 Dodge sedan that was owned by my deceased great uncle Hen.My mom and my uncle got a few rooms at this bed and breakfast in Sperryville VA, about 8 miles from the AT road Crossing at Rt 211 and Skyline Drive. Sperryville is at the base of the Blue ridge on one side and Luray is at the base on the other.We spent Saturday at LURAY CAVERENS. I recommend a stop in Luray for all thru hikers to see this 1.25 mile maze through the crust of the earth. It is amazing inside. It is lighted, and it is very very very interesting. The name of the B & B is Belle Mead. The owner names are Susan and Bill and there place sits on a 100 acre plot of land on the piedmont side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They also run a retreat, and a kids camp in the summer at the location. This summer they are going to expand the kids camp to include a few multiday loop hikes on part of the AT and the mountains surrounding inside of SNP. I look forward to hiking with them this summer a few times to test out my new gear and to get in shape.If anyone is planning a thru hike and wants to splurge a nice nite or two at a real b&b I have to recommend this place. Send me an e-mail and I will give you all the info.
Date: 2002-04-08
To: The Office or a Traffic JAM
Miles today: 0.0

The ride to work this morning leaves me yet another reason why I want to do this. I want to use each of the gear items that I buy for this trip for there intended purpose. Automobiles were not made to sit in traffic jams crawling along at a snails pace polluting the environment going nowhere. Now dont confuse me with a Tree Hugger. However I have three old Jeeps, the newest one is seven years old, and has well over 125K miles on it. Today I sat in traffic in my 1989 Jeep Comanche thinking about all the cars on the road. I was thinking about those who are sleeping in the wilderness this morning in a shelter some place in Georgia, or the Carolinas, just a few days into there adventure. There was a train derailment yesterday in Gainsville VA. It was still blocking the main HW today. The traffic was bumper to bumper for most of my 22 mile drive to work.
Date: 2002-04-08
To: What is behind my Trail Name
Miles today: 0.0

My trail name is twofiddy.The origin of the name goes back a few years. I played college football at West Virginia University Institute of Technology. When I went away to school at 17 years old I had lost a ton of weight and was about 210lbs. I played defensive line (T, NG, and E) for four years. When I hit the weights as after my freshman season I bulked up to a plump 240lbs or so. The summer of 1997 I worked landscaping and brick paving all day and I worked out every night. I used to sleep in the truck from job to job because my body was so tired. I really pushed my self to the physical limits that summer and my wrists and hands told me every morning when I woke up. Can anyone say carpel-tunnel.That winter when I got a part time job at the ski area and things un-folded I used the term "twofiddy" in a statement one day about skiing moguls. It was something to the tune of... ...ever see 250lbs (read twofiddy)ski the bumps. Well the next day when I came into work there was a quote on my locker and the nick name stuck. It is amazing now how many people know me only by my nick name. I work for an outfitter at Ohiopyle State Park on the Yough' river as a white water guide and there are hundreds of people there who only know me as "twofiddy" or some correctly pronounce it 'two fifty'. It is funny how you can know some one for a few years and then one day they ask you what your real name is.I plan on being know only as "DEUCE" when I get done with this hike as I hope to shed 40+ pounds of sitting on my arse weight that I have gained at my job.So that explains the nickname, trail name, or what ever else you want to call it.
Date: 2002-04-09
To: My Mental state reason for this hike.
Miles today: 0.0

I find my self in a "manic-depressive" state at times.I have periods of 10 days that go by some times when I hardly get a wink of sleep, and I am not tired. During those times I lay in bed some times for nights on end in a state of half-asleep-ness, running thought through my head. There are other times when for days on end I have no energy and almost hibernate in thoughtlessness. These days are espicially hard because I really do desire to be productive every day.I think that many of the factors that lead to this are conditions of my job working shifts for a public utility in an operations department. I work in a NASA like center and my job is little more than glorified dispatching. I am way to damn smart for this kind of a job. I dont know how or why I ended up here doing this. I guess that it was because of the money. I was wooed by the 60K+ potential that was offered to me to come here (with overtime). This is not what I want to do with my life. I dont care about my job, and I dont care about the relationships that I have made here at my job. As long as my light switch turns my lights on at home I dont give a DAMN.There are so many things that I am good at. I worked in operations at a ski area for a few years and I always take initiative to do things and to improve situations where I work. I once thought that was the way that you make it to the top. Now I think that you make it to the top based on what dick you suck or ass you kiss. I dont participate in the good ol' boys system. I never have. I played football for 12 years and the times when I was successful it was because the leadership was unbias. My HS coach never played the booster president's son just because his dad was president of the boosters. He had to earn the spot. I think that my performance at my job has earned me more than what I am getting. That has also caused me to develop a bad attitude.What I dream of is a job like the one in this link.http://www.aev-conversions.com/aboutaev.htmlI am a junkie of sorts that loves to build things. In a way it is a form of art and I was always one of the people who could draw, and make things with clay, and do wood and metal work. The idea that I might some day be able to find a nitch in life where I get to see direct benefit out of what it is that I devote my life to is what I desire. How rewarding that must be to work for the company that developes, builds, and maintains that Yellow Jeep, and the accessories on it. It must be even more rewarding to be able to venture out into the wide open world and use the things that you develope at your job for personal gratification or gain.I wonder if the way that I am is going to affect me during my six months on the trail? I suppose that there might be sleepless nights, and lethargic days. There might be some depression and withdrawl, and other things that I experience.I hope that what I get to see and do gives me a better feeling than I have right now at my job... and I hope that it helps me to find a path towards happiness in life.
Date: 2002-04-10
To: Employment at Galayans
Miles today: 0.0

Last night I got hired at Galayans part time in the Camping Department.I have been talking to the Manager of that department for the past few weeks about joining the team part time for the summer months. I totaly explained to him up front that the major part of my motivation was to get aquainted with the gear so that I can purchase a few of the final things that I need to get for my hiking trip. I will be starting next week some time and working a few days a week for a few hours before or after my real job.I plan on ordering the following items through the shop.Sleeping Bag (Marmot or TNF)Two Pairs of Asolo Boots (one spare pair)One pair of New Balance Trail Shoes (for flat terrain and warm weather)One Petzel Head LampSome kind of shelter (sleeping facility, tent, hammock or other)MSR Wisperlite or SnowPeak StoveOther simple assorted stuff like a titanuim pot and pan and socks etc.I am sorta excited about the possibility of exploring future employment within this company also as I have a degree and the desire to work in the recreation industry. I am not sure if I am intereted in retail as much as I might be interested in moving on to management or developement.
Date: 2002-05-01
To: Update on preperation
Miles today: 0.0

I am planning to go on a small Circuit Hike at Shennanhoah National Park next week on wednesday night to test out a few pieces of new gear that I just bought. I am going to spend Wednesday night out there with my Lab, and a wisperlite dragonfly stove that I borrowed from a friend to see if I am interested in buying that stove. I am looking to make a nice easy trip out there, (read easy as no thunder storms, and no other weather related events) if possible I would like to stay in the AT Shelter that is located on the circ hike. I will post the map and the trail names and the location later this week.I am getting real excited. I submitted my request for leave from my job today. I hope that it gets approved or my employer can goto hell.I am out for now.
Date: 2002-05-06
To: Dont get me wrong here
Miles today: 0.0

I dont want any one to get the idea that I am mentally ill or that I am on the verge of snapping in a negative way. I am just in a situation that I dont want to be in. I am not real happy with the outcome of my efforts and what I am doing with my self. I want to be saving more than I am but I spend a ton of money in rent and I spend a ton of monet on stupid stuff to have a nice place.I look forward to this hike as a way to spend time thinking, and to battle a challenge and an opponent. I hope that the time that I spend hiking and the people that I meet on the trail will enlighten me and my life. I have given serious thought to FLIP FLOP hiking SNP while on my thru hike to meet the many of you who will be thru hiking at the same time. I also look forward to the adventures along the way and the things that they will teach me.
Date: 2002-05-16
To: Heading out for a testing trip
Miles today: 0.0

Well I have been busy latley. The thunder storms that have wrecked middle Appalachia latley have wrecked havoc on the Dominion Virginia Power service areas. Tonight is my last night of working seven nights in a row. I am heading out for the weekend to work at Ohiopyle Guiding and I am going to do a few short circuit hikes in the evenings after work, and in the morning before work over the weekend.I have also started the job at Galyans finally. I have purchased my self an MSR water filter that screws onto Nalgene bottles and MSR's large volume H20 bags. I like the large H20 bag to use for going to the spring to get water to cook with and clean with. So far I love the filter. It has a ceramic filter medium and a charcoal core to purify. It is light weight and compact and the pump action takes little effort.I picked up a vacume sealer the other day at WALMART too. I have been parcticing dehydration and re-hydration of foods to make good tasing highly nutritional meals. I want to vacume seal the food and leave it set for a week or two before preparing it into a meal so that I can get closer to actual results.I will write more later. Right now I need to get rested up for the weekend. The river level is high and the rafting outfitter that I work for will be running large 10 man boat formats where I guide will be neede for each trip of 90 people of which there are three each day. SO THIS WEEKEND I WILL BE MAKING SOME HUGE SIDE MONEY.I will write more next week.
Date: 2002-05-23
To: Equipment Trials and making a shelter decision.
Miles today: 0.0

I spend this past weekend camping at Ohiopyle State Park in PA testing out a few things. I worked all weekend at the outfitter in town but I ate and drank my dehydrated food and filtered water all weekend. I am still sleeping in my KMART tent with a TARP hung on a rope over top of it to keep it dry. I am about to purchase a tent and I have my selections down to two different models. One is the EUREKA ZEUS EX02 and the other is the MARMOT AT. I like the marmot tent because the floor zips out of the tent and the single wall/fly can be used simply as an open floor shelter instead of a fully enclosed tent. I wish that some one on here could give me some feedback on these two tents.I also just placed two large orders with Cascade Designs and MSR. I decided on purchasing a new Dragon Fly stove from MSR, Titanium Mess kit from MSR, I ordered a new Therma Rest in the 3/4 length, and I orderd some other misc items like pack towells, camp soap, and a map case. I am planning a thru hike of the LAUREL HIGHLANDS HIKING TRAIL in just a few short weeks where I can test out many of my new fangled contraptions. This whole thing is really starting to come together in my mind and IRL. I am a slight bit nervous but that is OK. It keeps it interesting.
Date: 2002-06-22
To: My tent is the MARMOT AT
Miles today: 0.0

I decided to go with the MARMOT AT tent.It has the capability to be packed very small, and very light, and the floor is even removeable to reduce size and weight. I like it alot. I had it set up on the floor in my living room and I slept in it a few nights this week. CALL ME CRAZY I GUESS!!
Date: 2002-06-23
To: My equipment order has arrived.
Miles today: 0.0

It has been a month since I have posted here. I have been busy. I started an EMT course right after my last post and it is compressed into just 12 weeks so I have been studying, and working, and some where in the middle of all of this I found a way to take a vacation to hike and paddle.The biggest news of the past month is that almost all of my gear has arrive that I ordered. Some one out there says that you can buy everything at WAL-MART that is needed, I bet that you can but here in AMERICA we "can" do better than the junk at WAL-MART. So just because we can I decided that I wanted some nice things like a Titanium Pot and Pan Set, a new stove, and a new 3/4 Therma-Rest.I bought a package of 12 bottles of camp soap so that I can enclose one in every other mail drop, and I got repair kits for the stove, Therma-Rest, and water filter that I have. I am headed out to SNP again on Monday to hike a few miles, camp overnight Monday night, and hike back out to the car on Tuesday. It should be an intersting weekend because I have my beat up old Jeep here that does not have a top and doors on it. I will have to find a good place to park it.I hope to take along my digi-cam to take some photos along my little loop hike that I have been training on. I will write more in a few days.