morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-08-12
From: campsite .8 m from Rt 17

To: Rt 4 Rangeley
Miles today: 13.8

Woke up usual time at 6:00am and started the process of breaking down camp. Woke up Five Star and she was out of camp before anyone, a first for her she claimed!! The trail went straight up until it reached Rt 17. Five star was talking to a SOBO as I reached the highway who tented right on the side of the road. The view of Lake Rangeley was stunningly beautiful!! He said he watched the most incredible sunset last night he had ever seen!! Cars were parked at the overlook up the road a bit also partaking in the beauty. This spot is on the bucket list for the next time I make to Rangeley. I don't think it will be long as I really like this area!! Anyways from 17 the trail again continued straight up and then a steep down. We met two SOBO couples who told us about two ponds that we must stop at.   Both, they said had canoes to paddle around the pond if we wanted to. The loons were calling out as we approached the pond. It was a beautiful sandy beach with crystal clear water. The canoe was pulled up on the sand with a stick handle and a moose clavicle attached by string as it's paddle. We jumped in with our snack and water and shoved off for a short ride. The paddle was not very efficient and the breeze was blowing us as we tried to steer the boat away from shore. We decided that it was best if we didn't move too far away due to the lack of control. The group of kids who we leapfrogged with yesterday and camped with last night showed up and were waiting for a turn on the shore. The trail continued to meander up and down. It really was pretty easy going after getting up that first steep. We had 13.8 miles to cover so we walked at a good pace. We got to the next pond at 1:00 or so. The kids were just finishing their lunch and soon we had the the spot to ourselves. A chipmunk entertained us with its calls and came up close to grab a piece of cracker. I finished off most everything in my food bag. I was really hungry today again. Five Star shared some chocolate chips and I shared my peanut butter and crackers. We mixed the chips and peanut butter to make a delicious spread for the crackers!! Yummo!! 4.8 miles to go and only 2:00. I knew we would be down by five and we were. My last day on the trail this year. Exciting on one hand that I finished Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and accomplished what I set out to do this summer, yet sad to leave the trail behind.   I drove to town and had dinner at the Thai restaurant in Rangeley. We found the Farmhouse hostel on route 4. We are here for the night. I am showered, laundered and ready for tomorrow. A woman was playing her banjo outside while we were doing our cleaning chores. Again the people that I have met this year did not disappoint! I am so lucky to be able to do this journey every summer. Tomorrow I head to Stratton so I can summit Reddington peak. It is my last remaining peak of the 67 New England 4000 footers. Home again after to begin soon another school year where I will once again dream of my next adventure on the Appalachian Trail!!
From: Killington

To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0

One of the commitments I made before my hike that was really important to me was to take time off the trail to join my sister and brother-in-law in Maine to visit my great nieces, Sydney and Madeline, at the Luther Gulick Camps on Sebago Lake in Maine. Leigh and I had gone there as teenagers, and I continued as a counselor and head counselor. The girls' mother, Kim, also went to the camp as a camper, counselor, and director of the modern dance program. The camp experience was highly formative for me, and living among the huge hemlocks on the rocky shore of the lake gave me a deep love of the woods. On clear days, we could see Mt. Washington across the lake, and three fellow counselors and I climbed it on a day off, 50 years ago this month. At camp I learned about living in community, and I gained the sort of confidence that is so important on this AT adventure. Each visit I make reminds me of the incredible value those seven summers contributed to my growth as a person. Now, in my 70th year and in the midst of an AT thru-hike, my gratitude for my time at Sebago Wohelo is greater than ever.
Date: 2014-01-05
To: Three months to go!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Three months from today, I turn 69, enter my 70th year, and plan to start my AT thru-hike near Pearisburg, VA. I'll hike north to Katahdin, and then flip-flop back to Pearisburg to head south to Springer. My hope is to get through the mid-Atlantic part of the hike before the really hot weather sets in, to reach Katahdin by the end of August, and then have plenty of time to finish in the fall. This schedule will give me some flexibility in case anything unforeseen takes me off the trail for more than a few days.My preparations to date have focused on gear, but I am now beginning to feel some urgency about planning food, mail drops, and most important, arranging for all those things I do that someone else will have to cover when I am gone. Unlike many whose preparation journals I am enjoying, I am not doing a great deal of intentional physical preparation. I ski several times a week, and I'll probably wear my pack on frequent snowshoe hikes. Splitting wood for my wood stove and shoveling snow should keep my upper body in pretty good shape. I will begin with shorter days and work up to longer ones as my body adjusts to constant walking. Still fussing with getting my base pack weight down. Right now, the winter weight is about 23 pounds, not counting a pair of micro-spikes. The jury is out on those -- will watch for weather trends as April nears.The journals of many of the class of 2013 have been a great inspiration, and my congratulations to all, whether they completed the trail or had to leave the quest until another time.
Date: 2014-01-09
To: Musings
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

The time remaining before my start date of April 5, seems suddenly to be shrinking rapidly, even as the list of things to do grows. Now that I have nearly all of my gear (and I hope not too many excess things), I realize that researching and planning what to take was much more fun than figuring out how to be sure finances and the nuts and bolts of keeping things going with my obligations at home are taken care of. But those things, too, are an essential part of the journey. I dare not put them off any longer.I have loaded my pack (a Granite Gear Escape AC60 Ki) with my cold weather gear and am relieved to find that there really is room for food. After using my tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1) a couple of times with a tyvek footprint, I decided to buy the footprint that goes with the tent. As I pondered how best to set it up in the rain (which I have not had to do yet), it dawned on me that the footprint with the grommets would allow me to set up the poles and the rainfly and then hang the tent beneath the fly, where it could stay at least a bit dry. Tried it in the house, and it worked fine. In the field? We'll see. Easy to kneel on the bedroom floor to switch the tent and footprint corner grommets. Not so easy in rain and mud.A big difference between this hike and my previous long treks is that I am going solo. My partner/spouse Lee and I have done the Long Trail and the Camino de Santiago together, and I know I'll miss her terribly on the AT. I'll see things she would love to see, and I won't be able to point them out. But she has to stay home and work--she is an Episcopal priest. She, along with my sister and brother-in-law, will see me off in April, and I hope she will be able to hike some NH or Maine sections when she has vacation. I got one of the big National Geographic AT maps so the congregation can follow my journey. We have hosted thru hikers (HOBO and Gospel of the 2013 class) in our church's guest house, and I am sure I'll be sending people Lee's way if they need a trail angel in the Killington, VT, area.The good news is that Lee, my family, and my friends are all very supportive of my need to walk the AT. I'll need that support, especially when a string of cold rainy days makes me wonder why on earth I am not curled up at home with a good book.
Date: 2014-01-10
To: Reservations Made!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I just made reservations for Lee and me to fly to Washington, where we will spend a couple of days with my sister and other family and then head south to drop me off in Pearisburg, VA, on April 5. What was a dream and a fun planning exercise is now a definite commitment. I am both excited and a bit apprehensive. But I do look forward to getting this adventure underway and to meeting my fellow travelers on the AT.
Date: 2014-01-14
To: Wet weather preparations
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I had a taste today of a cold and rainy day on the AT. I serve as a Mountain Ambassador at Killington Ski Area in Vermont. We wear red jackets with the universal "i" on the back, greet guests in the morning, and then spend the day on the mountain, talking with guests on the lifts, helping them find their way around our six peaks, serving as additional eyes for the ski patrol and assisting them when they need to transport injured people, and following the last people down at the end of the day. We sign up well in advance for the days we will work (I do two or more days a week), which means we can't predict the weather or the conditions. We go out no matter what, and I love it.Today it rained all day, was windy on the lifts, and was foggy over much of the mountain. Not a great day for being out and sitting on the lifts, though the snow was not bad. I tested out my Mountain Laurel Designs rain mitts, which worked well (I sealed the seams), and generally managed to stay dry inside the outer layers. The jackets are not made with rain in mind, so everything in the pockets got soaked. The easy part was being able to go indoors at the end of it all and take off the dripping stuff. It made me reflect on how I would get my tent set up (I think I have that figured out) and then settle into it without getting everything wet. Hmm. I won't have a helmet, goggles, radio, and all the other Ambassador accoutrements, but it will surely be a challenge with a solo tent.I realized that I am actually looking forward to that challenge! And my excitement is growing as departure day draws closer.
Date: 2014-01-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Had an email from a friend who hiked the Maine section many years ago, and she had some good advice. She went south from Abol Bridge in June, so she had the fierce bugs. I plan to be in Maine in August, and I hope the bugs will have diminished -- living in VT, I know they don't disappear until we get a frost. I am slowly accumulating some food items that I know I'll use. Discovered a website that sells travel and individual sized items of all sorts for less than what one pays in the stores. So, I ordered a bunch of Land O Lakes hot chocolate and some hot cider packets, along with such things as 1 oz tubes of Tom's of Maine toothpaste. The site is minimus.biz. As far as getting out on snowshoes with my pack, not yet. We had a major January thaw, which nearly wiped out the snowpack, and the frigid weather has made a wimp of me. I don't mind teens and twenties, but the formerly frostbitten toes get very cranky when it is below zero.Monday and Tuesday are Mountain Ambassador days, so I will get in some skiing this week.
Date: 2014-01-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Mountain Ambassador duty at Killington on Monday and Tuesday gave my quads a good workout. Skied Monday morning in white-out conditions, then had an abrupt change to sunshine in the afternoon. Both days were cold and windy, and I think the high temp was 5. In spite of the cold, conditions were quite good. The groomers and snowmaking crew are heros this year, since the weather has bounced between frigid and rain, with less than the usual natural snow. Have become a fan of hand and toe warmers, which I had not used before this year. Might throw a few in my pack for the early days, though the weight question might mean I leave them behind in the hope that I won't need them. I have switched from a white gas (MSR Simmerlite) to a canister stove (Optimus Vega) for this hike, and one of my worries was how to dispose of the dead canisters in a responsible way. Just read about a little 1 oz. tool that allows any remaining gas to vent and then pokes holes so the canister can be recycled (preferred) or thrown in the trash if necessary -- Jetboil Crunchit. Think I'll get one.I am used to cold and snow, and in some ways I prefer it to heat and bugs, but I do hope our 2014 class does not have extremes of either.
Date: 2014-02-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I am getting more serious about the physical training part of this adventure. Spent over three hours on snowshoes Sunday doing some fast walking in the hilly woods above the house in Killington. Then hauled some firewood I had cut last fall downhill in a plastic sled (five trips round-trips about .3 miles each). Good exercise both directions. Monday and Tuesday were Mountain Ambassador days at Killington. Though the temperature stayed below 10 both days, the skiing was good, and my legs are getting stronger. Yesterday, I managed to trip on some uneven pavement and land hard on my right knee. I was carrying my ski boot bag on my back (like a back pack), and the fall was a good reminder of how the momentum of a pack can make a fall much worse. Knee is sore today but okay, so I didn't do too much. Got new glasses today. I wear tri-focals, which I can't use for hiking or skiing, so I also have a pair of distance only glasses with magnetic sunglasses. Of course they are useless for anything closer than three feet, but I can squint at a map with them pushed up or down. I am hugely grateful for all the support from family and friends. My sister will be a big help in mid-May, when I have to leave the trail for a meeting in NYC and then come home to VT for a few days. She will pick me up in PA, take me to her home near DC, where I can make myself presentable and pick up my "city" clothes, and put me on the train north. And she'll deliver me back to the trail when I get back. A couple from my church is talking about being in Baxter State Park when I get to the end of the northbound part of my flip-flop. And my spouse will be doing all manner of tasks I normally do plus taking care of mail drops and I hope hiking a bit with me in NH or ME.Much to do in the next 51 short days, including income taxes. Ugh!
Date: 2014-02-16
To: New Snow!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We have finally had a good winter storm. I know people further south have had more than enough, but here in central Vermont, it is our winter life blood. What snow we had in December and early January practically disappeared in a couple of thaws -- then bitter cold. This Valentine's storm brought us better than 18" in the valley below Killington Peak, and after much time behind the snowblower and shoveling, Lee and I got out today to enjoy our trails.We live in a house across from Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal), where she serves as the priest. The whole property (170 acres of mostly wooded hillsides) is known as Mission Farm, and in the last couple of years, we have begun to establish a trail network open to anyone who wants to enjoy this very special property. That means weed whacking in the summer and breaking trail in the winter. We love it. And now that we finally have good snow, I am using the trails to do a little conditioning for the AT.Mission Farm is about 7 miles from where the AT crosses Route 4 in Killington. We have a guest house that can be available to thru-hikers if we don't have other things going on. Last year, we hosted Gospel and HOBO. Drop me a note in my guest book if you want Lee's contact information.
Date: 2014-03-08
To: Four weeks to go
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Four weeks from today, I will start my flip-flop hike from Pearisburg, VA. So much to do, but it will get done. I am enjoying reading the journals of those already on the trail, and I wish everyone fair weather and great hiking.On Feb 27, Lee and I drove to Middlebury, VT, to hear Lady Grey give a talk about her thru-hike last year. I had followed her journal, but it was even more fun to hear her stories and see her good photos. As my departure date nears, and this hike becomes more than a planning exercise, she put flesh on the whole enterprise. Thank you, Lady Grey! Also enjoyed seeing Infinity in the photos. I hope our paths will cross -- she seems to be well on her way this year.I had a big scare on Monday with a very hard fall on my back. Hit a mogul I didn't see while skiing, and it felt like my whole torso kind of squished together. When I hit the snow, the first thing on my mind was the AT. I did something to the connective tissue between one of my ribs and my sternum -- sneezing and coughing are no fun -- but time will heal it, and it should not affect the hike. The bigger worry has been my back. All the muscles in my lower back seem to have been wrenched, and I have been on ice and a heating pad, not to mention vitamin I. Everything works, but energy levels are only just beginning to get back to normal. I thought that I'd be out on snowshoes with my pack, but that will have to wait. Needless to say, the whole thing made me very anxious about my hike, but today is better. More energy and less pain. I am determined to make my birthday start date, but the initial days may be lower mileage than planned.Best to all on the trail or about to start.
Date: 2014-03-18
To: Two weeks to VT departure
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Two weeks from today, Lee and I fly to VA to spend a couple of days with my sister and visit my mom, niece, and great nieces. Then the drive to Pearisburg for the start of the AT adventure.Other than minor worries about how well this aging body will hold up, I am most concerned about ticks and Lyme disease. I got some permethrin spray, but then I learned that one can have one's own clothes treated by Insect Shield (www.insectshield.com -- look for "IS your own clothes" under the about menu). I sent all my socks, my pants, and a couple of shirts, and they came back in just over a week. The DIY spray is good for 6 washings. This treatment is supposed to last for 70 washings and is thus cheaper than buying the spray.My back and sternum injuries are healing, so I do hope to load up the pack for some snowshoeing in the remaining days. I have been able to ski but have been pretty cautious. Finished my Mountain Ambassador commitment at Killington (23 days) yesterday. Sadly, at the end of the day I had to radio for ski patrol to transport an injured snowboarder to First Aid. Those folks do a wonderful job of easing anxiety, respecting pain, and getting the injured off the mountain and to medical help quickly. I'll miss my time on the mountain, the Ambassador group, and my favorite spring skiing, but all of that will be there next year. THIS is the year for the AT!I am sending mail drops, as well as a bounce box, for the first 5 weeks of the hike. Then I'll evaluate whether to continue. They won' have lunch food, except for some Power Bars. That I will pick up along the way. My best to all who have been enduring cold and rain. Spring will come someday! Also to those in the Warriorhike group, who started yesterday.
Date: 2014-03-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Lee and I had dinner with a friend, Christine, at The Lookout in Killington, and I thought the Long Trail Ale glass was most appropriate! Just got my hair cut for the trail. The list of things to do seems to get longer and longer, but we'll be off for Virginia on April 1, whether or not it is all done. Apprehension is beginning to join excitement as this adventure approaches.
Date: 2014-03-30
To: A church send-off
Miles today: 0.0

This was my last Sunday at Church of Our Saviour until I make a brief return in May. Lee had the congregation gather around as she blessed me for the trail. A few of our regulars were missing, but it was a great send-off, complete with a full breakfast coffee hour. Lee has an AT map posted in the parish hall, and she will be marking my progress.
Date: 2014-04-01
To: First Stage
Miles today: 0.0

Lee and I flew from VT to Dulles Airport, where we were met by my sister, Leigh. We are staying with Leigh and Mike for a couple of days to visit family and do final preparations. They will drive us to Pearisburg on Friday, and then will walk with me a bit as I start my flip-flop thru-hike. Then I'll be on my own as I head to Maine. The big unfinished item is income taxes. I plan to eFile them before leaving.One thing I have not done is figure out how to do more than rudimentary editing of images on my iPad so I can post them here. Hope it will work! Remaining posts will come from the iPad.
Date: 2014-04-04
To: Family and final preparations
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

On Wednesday, 4/2, Lee, Leigh, and I went to REI for stove fuel and a knife, which I could not bring on the plane. Then a decadent lunch at Ben & Jerry's and a grocery stop for PB & J and tortillas. Had a great visit with Mom and a walk before dinner. Spent the evening playing games and working on taxes. Thursday was given to taxes and then a fun birthday dinner with my niece, Kim, her husband Patrick, and my wonderful great nieces, Sydney and Madeline. Sydney demonstrated her fine violin skills, and Madeline played piano beautifully. I felt hugely supported -- and celebrated! And, after we got back to Leigh's, I finished and sent off the taxes. Hooray!Friday morning, we packed up and headed for Pearisburg, about a five hour drive. We got to the MacArthur Inn in Narrows, where there was one room ready. Turns out that there is a big construction project going on nearby, and during the week, all rooms are taken by workers, who go home on weekends and make a few rooms available. Lee, Leigh, and I went exploring to find a good spot for me to start the trail. While stopped by one road crossing, we met Annabelle and Colin,who had resupplied and were headed for the Rice Field Shelter. They had stayed at Woods Hole the night before and said it is a must when I flip flop back to head south.We checked out the restaurants in AWOL's guide, but Leigh found The Bank in Pearisburg on the Web. An excellent send-off steak dinner in a beautifully refurbished bank.