morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-02-04
To: Scrambling to Get Ready?
Miles today: 0.0

"I didn't find my friends; the good Lord gave them to me." - Ralph Waldo EmersonSince we decided to hike in late January, we have a lot to do to get ready to leave home on March 10th. Yikes! We spent six months preparing in 2003, and this year we have six weeks. So you think we'd be feverishly sorting gear, training, and planning, right? Nope. Instead, we are in Mexico, lazing on the beach. We'd made plans a year ago to travel here with family and friends for a three week stay, so here we are.It's really hard to get motivated to exercise when we're toasting in the sun, margarita in hand, surrounded by people we love. So we're bound to do some snivelling for the first week or two while our bodies adjust to the trail. We're justifying our sloth by convincing ourselves that we're storing sunshine for our trek from Springer thru the Smokies. Sounds good,right? Another round of 'ritas, por favor!
Date: 2008-02-05
To: Physical and Mental Prep 
Miles today: 0.0

"Half of this game is ninety percent mental." - Yogi BerraOkay, so I exaggerated the degree of our slothfulness in the last entry. We are getting up early, walking 40 minutes (to and from the gym), running on the treadmill a while, and lifting weights. That's our usual routine at home, so it's easy to do that even on vacation. Jitterbug has also added walking about 1000 stairs a day. Hoover's in pretty good shape from humping his 35-40 pound golf bag around 18 holes four times a week. We learned in 2003 that absolutely nothing you do ahead of time gets you totally ready for the trail, but we want to arrive as ready as we can.When we set out in 2003 I had no idea what I was in for. I knew that it was going to be tough physically, but I had no concept of how tough. No idea at all. Totally oblivious. A babe in the woods. What I quickly discovered was that, after the first hundred miles or so, the challenge was much more mental than physical. Yeah, the physical was still really hard, but it was the mind-set that made the difference.You have to understand that I am the farthest thing from a jock-ette that you can envision. From ages 21-50 I had a heart condition that required so much medication that I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without resting. My idea of vigorous exercise was carrying in the groceries. Surgery in 2002 repaired my heart problem, and I was ready to start Part 2 of my life - the AT. When I hit the trail in 2003 I'd never had to do anything that was physically challenging. I'd never had to dig deep to push the extra distance. I'd tried things, and if they were too tough I'd just quit. If it hurt, I'd lay off. This mind-set was certainly not condusive to completing a thru-hike.Fortunately, Hoover was a great hiking partner. He taught me I am tougher than I know, that my body is capable of things I'd never imagined, that thinking "I can" greatly increases the odds of actually succeeding. Hoover is the reason I made it 700 miles in 2003, and the reason that I loved it so much I can't shake the AT bug. I owe him a huge debt (for this and for 35 years of other lessons I've learned from him.) The I-Know-I-Can attitude has been brushed off and is trail-ready, the first item going into my pack.
Date: 2008-02-11
To: Gear
Miles today: 0.0

"Do what you can with what you have where you are." - Theodore RooseveltWe're still here in Nuevo Vallarta enjoying the sunshine. So far we've stuck to our workout schedule, so we're feeling pretty self-righteous!One thing we are able to do here prep wise is brainstorm. Mentally, we've been through our packs several times and we've made lists galore. Needless to say, our "to do" list grows every time we talk trail. Since our other AT hikes have been made in the warmer months (May - August), we're having to reexamine our gear with an eye to the Smokies in March. We'll post a total gear list once we're home and can weigh eveything. Meanwhile, here's some of the stuff we plan to carry:Packs- Osprey Ariel 60 and Aether 70 (to be swapped for smaller packs once we shed our cold-weather gear)Tent - Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo by Ron Moak. This is an awesome tent; we bought it at Trail Days last year. We used Ron's Europa II for our first two hikes and highly recommend not just the product, but the amazing customer support he provides! (This is NOT a paid endorsement :>)Sleeping Bags/Pads - MontBell UL SS 15 degree bag for Hoover and Marmot Helium 15 degree for Jitterbug. We'll both use Thermarest Prolite 3 short pads, supplemented with 1/2 z-rest each in the really cold weather. We'll swap to our 30 degree WM bags when it warms up.Hydration- We carry 2 liter platys. We'll probably use our self-made gravity fed water filtration system. Hoover built it using a sweet water anywhere in-line filter, hose and a 4-liter platy zip. Stove/Cooking- We plan to buy a Vargo Triad XE stove that is a combo esbit/alcohol stove. We'll use esbit tabs until it warms up, then switch to alcohol. We'll also carry our titanium cookpot and lexan spoons.
Date: 2008-02-25
To: Two Weeks 'til 
Miles today: 0.0

"When you are prepared, you're more confident." - Fred CouplesJust two short weeks from today we'll be leaving home to head to Georgia. Not all has gone as we'd planned, but when does it ever?While in Mexico I managed to break my left baby toe kicking a beach chair. Ouch! It took a week before I could wear shoes at all, and another week before I could walk comfortably. This has put a real crimp in my workout routine! Now I am finally able to walk somewhat pain-free, and I've come down with a doozie of a head cold (my second of 2008). I'm not letting it slow me down yet, but I am dreading the prospect of a lingering cough, hoping one doesn't develop.We have our gear and supplies nearly ready. Hoover is making a new alcohol stove and windscreen that can also be used with esbit tabs in an emergency. I did not like my Marmot Helium (the women's version is too confining for my comfort), and sent it back. I bought a MontBell UL SS 15 degree bag like Hoover's instead. We tried them out this weekend at 26 degrees and we were quite toasty. We have to work with venting our tent some, as we did have some condensation issues this weekend.My sister-in-law, Karen, will send us our maildrops and gear change-outs. She handled this for us in 2003 as well, and we sure do appreciate her help! We're using the new USPS flat rate boxes, so I worked to trim each maildrop to fit the flat rate $8.95 size box. We're planning just 8-10 drops this year. We'll also have a bounce box in the $15.95 size flat rate sized box. We plan to bounce that box ahead ~14 days at a time, so we'll be sending it forward a dozen times or so. Of course if we don't need it, we can always get the P.O. to forward it free.Since we'll be missing the birthdays of our three grandchildren while we are hiking, I am having an un-Birthday Party for them this weekend. We missed our twin grandsons' birthday in 2003, 2004, 2007 and now again in 2008 -- not a great track record since they're not yet eight years old. The kids are excited about the un-Birthday celebration, especially about having PRESENTS to open. Missing the three of them is going to be the toughest part of being gone for six months!I'd better get back to the prep work. Please sign our guestbook.
Date: 2008-03-01
To: Getting Antsy
Miles today: 0.0

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - ConfuciousOur packs are loaded, the maildrops are set, and we are ready to hit the trail. But we can't leave just yet--right now our hearts are with our grandkids. First we have one more stint at grandparent duty--a double overnighter on Thursday and Friday. Our son and daughter-in-law are going to Orlando for a long weekend with her sister and brother-in-law, and we have the three kids and the grand-dog until Saturday, when the other grandparents take over the watch. We are really looking forward to a concentrated dose of grandparent joy to carry onto the trail with us.Saturday night we're hosting a birthday party for our friend, Jeff. Jeff doesn't know yet, but his party has a hidden agenda: we're using this occasion as a chance to give away "door prizes" - the contents of our fridge and my houseplants. We hope our cupboards will be bare by the time our friends head home. No one leaves the premises without a bag full of perishables!Our packs weigh in at 24 for Jitterbug and 27 for Hoover with 2 liters of water each and a couple of days food. Not bad, considering all of the cold weather gear we are carrying. Of course we'll be carrying a lot more food through the Smokies, as we want to skip Gatlinburg unless the weather is really foul or we absolutely need a day of f the trail.We should be able to shed about five pounds of gear apiece by May. We are still waiting on our new stove/windscreen and an MSR gravity-fed water filitration system, but they should be here by Wednesday. If they're delayed, we'll just hike with our old gear and swap out later.That's all for now, folks!
Date: 2008-03-09
To: Heading to Georgia
Miles today: 0.0

"Today is your day. The mountain is waiting. So get on your way." - Dr. Seuss The car is loaded, our checklist is down to just a couple of items, and we're heading out tomorrow early. We plan to make it to the Hiker's Hostel in Dahlonega by Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday we'll head to Springer.I've been watching the weather with fingers crossed, hoping for modearte temperatures and little rain. Every hiker's wish, I know. So far the forecast looks promising, and we are generally pretty lucky with the weather. Even in '03 with La Nina, we managed to stay fairly dry. We hope that our luck carries over into this '08 hike.Our packs stayed pretty much the same since my last post, with a few gear switch-outs last minute. My pack weighs in at 25 and Hoover's is about 28. Hoover made some foam insulating tubing for our platy hosers, and we decided to carry nalgene canteens as well to start with. I'm really hoping it isn't so cold that the hosers will freeze, but I guess it's better safe than sorry. I tend to be cold-natured, so staying warm in camp and at night are my two biggest concerns. I'll keep you posted on how it goes...I do have my Can-Do Attitude in my pack, so I'm confident all will be well!Our next entry will be posted after we've hiked a few days. Send us your positive vibes!Jitterbug
Date: 2008-03-12
From: Springer Mountain

To: Horse Gap
Miles today: 10.2

"Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing." - Helen KellerAfter a comfy night and a yummy breakfast at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega (wonderful facility, great shuttles, excellent people!), we were shuttled to the closest point at Springer Mountain, .9 miles from the top. We were so excited to finally get boots on the trail again! The weather was brisk, so we started the climb to the top wearing our fleeces, hats and glover liners. By the time we reached the summit we were all warmed up.We had perfect views from the top, and a congenial group to start with. Two young men from Maine, Beatbox and Nick, and a man from PA, named Mike all started with us. We took the obligatory photos, signed the register, picked up a Springer pebble to carry to Maine and took our first steps down the trail at 10 a.m..The trail is easy for the first few miles and we made great time to the first shelter at Stover Creek. There we met AT Red, a twelve year old, and his father, Serenity Rich, who are attempting a thru-hike. We also met Anne, who had started on the approach trail yesterday. After a snack and a stretch, we headed on.We finished a tough climb at about six miles and started looking for a nice rock or log to use for our lunch stop. I was admiring the view, not watching my feet, and, before I knew it, I was down and sliding on a pile of leaves. Boom! Ouch! Nothing serious, but I believe I bruised a rib and slightly banged my right knee. Putting the pack on was a little painful, but with a little help from Hoover I was up and hiking after we ate lunch.Our original goal was to hike to Hawk Mountain Shelter at 7.6 miles and stop for the night. With the .9 miles we'd hiked to Springer's summit, that'd make a nice, easy 8.5 miles for the first day. But the hiking went so smoothly that we were at Hawk Mountain Shelter before 2 p.m. We settled in there, took off our boots and played a little gin. At about 4:30 we cooked our dinner, ate it and packed up to head down the trail a couple of miles. As it turns out, we should have stayed at Hawk Mountain. The extra 2.6 miles we hiked took a toll on my sore knee, and by the time we got our tent set up at Horse Gap, I was feeling pretty blue. When we crawled into our bags, Hoover, the best hiking partner in the world, gave me a great pep talk, and reminded me how tough I am. I went to sleep, uncomfortable with my ribs and knee, but with a positive outlook for tomorrow. All in all I had a great time today, and I love being back on the trail. Maine is still calling my name...
Date: 2008-03-14
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

Hoover here:Today's hike started with a shuttle from The Hiker Hostel back to Woody Gap, where we left off yesterday. The weather was great for the first 2 hours, and then a light rain fell pretty much constantly for the remaining 2.5 hours. The most significant impact of the rain today was the danger of slipping on wet rocks and tree roots. The top of Blood Mountain, the last climb of the day, is covered by very large areas of flat but sloped rocks. This required slow and careful walking to avoid a fall. The descent down the north side of the mountain into Neels Gap was likewise dangerously wet, and my boots got pretty muddy as I opted for stepping in mud to avoid the wet rocks.I had a nice talk at lunch with a young man from Maine named Adam, who has a degree in anthropology but is currently working as a carpenter. This was his first day on the trail, and he plans to hike to Newfound Gap (half way through the Smokies, near Gatlinburg). He plans to thru-hike later--perhaps next year. He climbed Blood Mountain faster than I, so the next time I saw him was at the outfitter in Neels Gap. I picked up supplies for the next few days at the outfitter, and then Josh picked me up for the ride back to the hostel, where I'm typing this.Now for the bad part. I had to hike alone today, while Jitterbug nursed a sore knee and bruised ribs back at The Hiker Hostel. She's feeling better now, but she plans to take another day and a half off and then join me Sunday afternoon at Unicoi Gap. If all works out, I'll hike alone again tomorrow and Sunday morning, covering the approximately 20 miles to Unicoi Gap. Josh or Lee from The Hiker Hostel will shuttle Jitterbug to Unicoi Gap around mid-day, and we'll hike another 4 miles together to the next shelter. Keep your fingers crossed that 3 days off will be enough time for Jitterbug's knee and ribs to recover! If we make it all the way to Mt. Katahdin, we will return to Georgia next fall and hike the 30 miles she is missing here. More from up the trail....
Date: 2008-03-15
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

Hoover again:After all the thunderstorms last night (when the tornados hit Atlanta), I was leery of hiking today. But the forecast from the Atlanta TV station was that the next band of thunderstorms wouldn't hit until between 2 and 4 pm. With 10.8 miles to hike to the Low Gap shelter, I was confident I could get there in time. Well, I was right about my hiking speed, but the forecasters were wrong about the weather. Severe thunderstorms hit at noon, and I hiked for 2 hours in a drenching downpour and nearby lightning.I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that I arrived at Low Gap with soaked, muddy, clothes. And that safe, dry shelter I had anticipated was packed with 10 hikers who arrived ahead of me. So I set up my tent in the rain, getting everything except (thankfully) my sleeping bag pretty wet. I learned some things about this process that will make it better next time.One downside to staying in the tent instead of the shelter was the boredom. I was in my tent alone by 2:30 pm, with nothing to do and no one with whom to talk. I did have an iPod with a recorded book on it, so I listened to that to pass the time until dark. I was asleep by 8 pm, and slept fairly well.I'm looking forward to meeting up with Jitterbug at Unicoi Gap tomorrow and hiking together again.
Date: 2008-03-16
From: Low Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Hoover again:I got a relatively early start this morning, leaving Low Gap at 8:10 am, second among approximately 15 hikers who stayed there last night. It was a beautiful morning, sunny but cool. I stopped on a ridge about a mile north of Low Gap and called Jitterbug back at the hostel. She told me her knee felt good and her ribs were feeling better. But after considering my knee, her ribs, and the chance to get all my clothes and gear clean and dry, we decided not to hike on from Unicoi today. Instead, we decided that she would ride out with Josh and pick me up for another night in the hostel.I made really good time all morning, and my knee held up very well except on steep descents. Especially in areas where I had to step down off a big rock (a step-down of maybe 15 inches or more), I had to turn sideways and step down with my left foot first to protect my right knee. It wasn't nearly as painful as yesterday afternoon, though.I arrived at Blue Mountain shelter at 11:15, having covered 7.2 miles in just over 3 hours. This allowed me to sit in the sun and relax for 45 minutes before beginning the 2.2 mile leg into Unicoi Gap, where Jitterbug was to meet me at 1 pm. I knew I had a lot of elevation to lose, but thankfully it was a long switch-backed descent that didn't hurt too much.Jitterbug arrived with Josh at 1:20 to pick me up. I was sitting at the gap listening to that novel on my iPod while waiting. I unclipped it from my shirt, picked up my pack and gear to load into the truck, and I never saw the iPod again. I hope someone finds it and gets some use out of it, and not that it was run over by a car.The new plan is that Jitterbug and Hoover will be back together tomorrow, starting in early afternoon and hiking 6 miles from Unicoi Gap to Tray Mountain shelter. So with any luck, you'll be reading Jitterbug's journal entries again from no on!
Date: 2008-03-17
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Back together on the trail! Jitterbug and I shuttled back to Unicoi Gap this afternoon for a short, 3-hour hike in to Tray Mountain shelter. (Even though we were at a shelter, we stayed in our tent nearby, not inside the shelter; we just prefer our tent.) Jitterbug did very well, to our huge relief. I have to help her on with her pack, and she has to take it pretty slowly uphill. Her rib pain prevents her from taking a deep breath, and shallow breathing means slow climbs with lots of rest stops. We still managed to average almost 2 miles per hour, which is no problem at this stage of the hike.At the shelter with us were Brad, Dirt Bank, and Pine Sol, all thru-hikers. We had met Brad shortly after leaving Unicoi Gap. Dirt Bank and Pine Sol are a young married couple from Indiana, and we had a nice visit with them after eating our dinner of Mountain House spaghetti (yummy).Tomorrow we will hike a little over 11 miles into Dicks Creek Gap, and spend the night in Hiawassee. There we will buy food for the next 3.5 days and then hike out Wednesday afternoon to the next shelter. That will leave us with 3 days to hike about 33 miles to Franklin, NC.It is SO good to be hiking together again!
Date: 2008-03-18
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: overcast clouds

The day started out great, much like yesterday afternoon. Jitterbug had minimal rib pain, and her knee is virtually healed. We made really good time for the first 6 miles. But then we started up a long 1000' climb up Kelly's Knob. Jitterbug had to hike very slowly, again unable to take deep breaths. And then about half way up the mountain, she used her left hiking pole to pull herself up a big step-up onto a rock. She felt a pop in her ribcage, accompanied by a sharp pain, and her rib pain was essentially back to as bad as it had been before her 3-day layoff. The rest of the hike, and the rest of this day, was very tough and very emotional for both of us.We reached Dicks Creek Gap around 4 pm. The 11.1 mile hike had taken us nearly 7 hours, despite the fact that we covered the first 6 miles in less than 3 hours. We got a shuttle to the nearby Cloud 9 hostel, where we're going to spend the night. Jitterbug has decided she cannot continue to hike, at least for now. I have decided (much due to her encouragement) to continue without her. She will ride to the Atlanta airport with the hostel owner early tomorrow morning and return home to Arkansas. This is going to be tough on both of us, but it seems like the best of our poor options.I plan to hike out mid-day tomorrow, as we had planned to do together, but the weather forecast is not good.
Date: 2008-03-19
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Jitterbug left this morning, and it looks like the rain will keep me here at the hostel all day. I've hiked 7 days in a row, so it's about time for my first "zero day" anyway.I got into Hiawassee this morning to buy food at the grocery store there. I also got word from a hiker staying at the Holiday Inn there that he had my iPod! He found it at Unicoi Gap, right where I had waited for my ride back to the Hiker Hostel Sunday afternoon. The hostel owner here at Cloud 9 stopped by the motel this afternoon and picked up the iPod from Will, so I'm reunited with my music and recorded books. That's the good news for the day.The bad news is that I'm very depressed. And I mean that in the medical sense of the word. I'm sure it will pass in a few days, but today has really been tough. And I'm sure that Jitterbug is going through the same thing on her way home--probably even worse. Hopefully when she gets home and I get back to hiking, we'll both feel better. Luckily, the separation will only last about 2 weeks, and with any luck she'll rejoin me on the hike in mid-April.Here's the plan: I will hike for about 2 weeks to Hot Springs, NC, where we left our car. I'll drive home to Arkansas, and then we'll both fly to Cabo San Lucas for a week in the sun. That will be April 7-14. Then, assuming her ribs are sufficiently healed, we will come back to Hot Springs together to continue our hike. If she is not ready at that point, I will return to Hot Springs alone, and she will rejoin me farther up the trail when she is ready. A lot depends on whether her ribs are broken, cracked, or just bruised. She is going to our doctor when she gets home, and I'm sure he will have her x-rayed, so I should know more in a couple days. Keep your fingers crossed!