morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-04
From: Brink Road Shelter, NJ

To: Culvers Gap, NJ 
Miles today: 3.6

Cell GoodOG notesHappy Birthday America!We took most of the day off to celebrate the birth of our country. As Yachov Smernov would say "What a country!"We hiked 4 miles from the shelter to a road crossing this morning. We arrived at the local coffee shop and immediately got something to eat while waiting for our son Chris to pick us up. We had a 2 hour ride to his house where we took showers and dressed in street clothes. I wore the jeans that I left there in March. Of course they were too big but they were comfortable. When I tightened the belt it went to the innermost hole; I was on the outermost hole in March.We then went to my brother Mike's house for a family picnic. Thank you Mike and Debby for hosting everyone. A lot of the family on my side was there and it was great to see all of them. I didn't eat myself silly either, I have to admit I don't eat like other thru hikers at AYCE (all you can eat).The best part of the day was spending time with two of our grandchildren. It wasn't as good as having all four of them there but it was good. Tyler and Steven are growing and developing so rapidly that it is great to see their progress. They're a lot of fun to play with too.All in all today was a great day even thought it was mostly an off trail day.   C6 notesAnother night with no dizziness. I did have one very small wave as I was moving about getting ready for bed, but it passed quickly and didn't happen again. Unfortunately, I'm anxious about lying down to sleep now, so I couldn't get to sleep until about 1am this morning...argh. I need a "normal" night (no dizziness) to relax enough to be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.Yesterday morning and this morning I felt a little off kilter as we started hiking, but not a lot. I'm hiking very cautiously, and I do get anxious when we're on rocks. I'm happy to see that there are less rocks now. I look foward to more dirt trail and even less rocks. I concentrate on stepping carefully over rocks so I don't jar my head when I step down. And I go slowly so I don't trip on any of the rocks.With all this care, I really am feeling well. I'm just being extremely cautious so I don't fall again.Right now we're in our son's car on the way to his house to get cleaned up and then go to a family 4th of July picnic OG's brother, Mike, is hosting. Many hikers are going into NYC this weekend. Most of them have never been to NYC, so it's real exciting to go there when you're this close. OG and I lived on Staten Isand, NY (one of the NYC boroughs), and have been to Manhattan many times, so being with family is exactly what we want to do.Since we had to slow down this week (and take the unexpected zero Wed), we're hoping some of our friends take a couple days off in NYC so we can see them again. We'll see.Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-07-05
From: Culvers Gap, NJ 

To: Mashipacong Shelter, NJ
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

Cell GoodOG notesWe had a very nice night at Chris and Kathleen's house last night. We were able to dry out our gear there and wash our clothes, too. It was nice to not have the hiker smell on the ride back to the trail.We had to drive back to the trail in two cars today. Chris' car has 2 child seats which leaves no room for passengers. It was a nice drive back and fortunately not too bad on the highway. Part of the drive is on highways C6 and I use to get to Chris' from our house. It was strange to be driving on highways that are so familiar and not be going to home from there.We arrived back at the AT and took a walk with the whole family. The boys got their first taste of the trail. Tyler walked most of the way and Steven was carried most of the way. We ended the hike at the Sunrise Mountain Pavilion. This is a day use pavilion with a drive up parking area nearby. At the pavilion we had a nice picnic lunch and enjoyed peaceful family time.After lunch we went back to where Chris picked us up and resumed our hike. About 2 hours later we re-hiked the section we did with the kids. It was nice to remember the boys reactions in that section.We hiked past Sunrise Mountain to the next shelter; there is no camping at Sunrise. We arrived to find a nice grassy area in front of the shelter. We were greeted by the New Jersey state bird "The Mosquito." We hurriedly set up our tent, ate dinner, and put our food in the bear box before diving into the tent. We're now safe in our self-imposed prison, the tent. It is actually comfortable in the tent. The biggest problem is that it is hard to sit up without getting a backache.Well safe and sound and down for the night. Goodnight.C6 notesWe hiked about a mile of the AT with our son, his wife, and their two sons (Chris, Kathleen, Tyler, and Steven). It was delightful!!! Chris (our son) found a section that was nice to walk on - some rocks and some uphills, but not bad. When OG and I re-hiked that mile later (it was North of where we stopped yesterday), I loved remembering holding Tyler's hand (2 yrs old) and talking about the white blazes and rocks, etc, with him as we walked. (Tyler's vocabulary is incredible!!) Steven (1 yr old) walked a little, but he's still a little unsteady on his feet so he was carried a lot. They both are so precious!!We hiked up to the Sunrise Mountain pavilion and had lunch there. It was a lovely afternoon, then they took us back to Culver's Gap and we're back on.I no longer have any dizziness at all (and I slept well last night for a change!). What a relief! I felt secure with my footing today, so we were able to hike at our normal speed. It felt good to feel back to normal.Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Wildcat Shelter, NEW YORK

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter, NY 
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Cell noneOG notesThe bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain The bear went over the mountain, and what do you think he saw? He saw another mountain, he saw another montain, he saw another mountain and what do you think he did? He climbed the other mountain, he climbed the other mountain, he climbed the other mountain, and what do you think he saw?Our day went much like the song today. We hiked over mountains only to see another mountain. The only thing the song doesn't mention is the rock climbing we had to do. The climbs were fun and very rewarding to accomplish. The problem was there were so many of them they tired us out. Even with all of the mountains and rocks we did big miles today ane we're very proud of ourselves.Incidentally the song "The bear went over the mountain" reminds me of my youth. When I was a boy growing up in New York City my father loved to load the family in the car and drive up here to Bear Mountain State Park. That was in the late 50s and early 60s, long before DVD players in the cars, Nintendo DSs and the likes of all the devices that keep families from having conversations with each other. We sang songs as we rode up here in the car. Of course we sang "The bear went over the mountain" because we were heading for Bear Mountain. My father loves music and never passes up an opportunity to sing, play his guitar, or harmonica.C6 notesWhat a day!! More rock climbing, and some parts were intense. All were fun! Unfortunately, however, the overall terrain was extremely challenging. A LOT of going over small mountains. Eons ago glaciers melted and receded north, they made mountain ridges going north / south around here. We hiked today mostly East, so we constantly went over those mountain ridges, and many of them were rock climbs. It was exhausting, but fun and very satisfying. The weather helped, too. It's unseasonably cool, so we didn't get baked all day. We were very hot from the exertion, but not from the sun.It took us longer than average to do today's 19.6 miles because of the terrain. Almost 12 hours! We've been able to do 2 and 3 mph when the terrain is decent. The rock climbs and multiple mountains really slowed us down. We feel emotionally terrific about such a successful day (and enjoying the rock climbs so much), but both of us had extremely sore feet by the time we stopped. And we were more than ready to get the final 5 miles over with today. Now we're settled in our tent for the night with dinner finished and off our feet, so we're happy campers. I was a very satisfying day!Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-07-19
From: Great Barrington, MASSACHUSETTS

To: Great Barrington, MA 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Cell goodOG notesWe are sitting in the Great Barrington, Mass, Days Inn as I type. We spent the day shopping for things we need, especially new pants for me. The pants I've been wearing have split the outer seam and I had no idea when the inner one will split. I looked for new pants in Kent but they didn't have any. Fortunately I was able to find what I needed here. The outfitter here in Great Barrington didn't have much of what we needed today. The only thing we bought there was a fuel canister for our stove and some insect repellent (and even that wasn't exactly the kind we wanted). The other thing I bought was pants in a clothing store and we found sports beans at the bicycle shop. The outfitters up here are not like the ones down south (they have everything).We've been going through some real soul searching about the trail lately. We have had times where we wondered whether we would continue hiking or go home. A few days ago when we were at a low point we decided we would not make any rash decision until we got here. After a shower and a day off we are refreshed and ready to go back out tomorrow. We want to go all the way as much as we did when we started. I mentioned yesterday that I fell and landed on my hiking pole. Today I have a huge bruise at the point of impact on my thigh. I have a huge lump and the area is turning black and blue. It only hurts when I touch it and put pressure on it. I'm okay though and we'll be moving on tomorrow.   C6 notesIt's nice to be in a bed for two nights. There are days that I just want to go home. Hiking for hours every day is hard, especially with all the rain and bad weather we've had since we began this hike. I prefer sunny days, but we seem to only get about 3 or 4 of those, at most, in a row and then a few days of rain. This past week I woke up 3 mornings ready to call it quits and go home. I truly do want to go all the way and don't want to quit, so we said we'd wait until we got here (Great Barrington) before we decided if we would stop now or not. I'm feeling better, so we are continuing.It was a nice day today. We got some things we needed to get and enjoyed lunch at Subways, then relaxed all afternoon. I'm looking forward to a nice dinner and another nice night in a bed. We'll get our resupply box from the Post Office in the morning and head out again.We only have 667.6 miles left! That's a LOT of miles, but when you look at how long this hike is, it really isn't a lot of miles over all. The weeks fly by. I'm constantly amazed to realize another week has passed. For example, it's been 3 weeks since I fell and hit my head...where do the days go?! Before we know it we'll be at Mt Katahdin! I look forward to that!Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-07-22
To: Post Hike # 1
Miles today: 0.0

OG notesRight now as I type we are riding on AMTRAK towards home. We called all of the car rental agencies in the Pittsford and Albany area and there were no cars available for one way rentals. On a whim I decided to call Amtrak to see what the train schedule for trains heading toward home. They had two this afternoon and the first was scheduled at a time we could make. Diehard drove us to the train station in Rensaleer, New York (Albany). We purchased our tickets and had enough time to have a sandwich with him before the train left. Thank you Don and Gail for rescuing us and for the two days of hospitality. We have been blessed with so much support and love from friends both old and new. God has blessed us on this trip and we have felt His love through everyone.I have realized how important Sue (C6) is to me and how much I love her. We have been through so much in the 42 years I have known her. We have shared the joy of raising two offspring together, I won't say children, as they are now adults with their own children. I went away to Desert Storm which was emotionally challenging, I thru hiked the AT and was away for 5 1/2 months, and we have been hiking together for the last 4 months. We have faced many emotional challenges and joys through the years. This certainly was the toughest physical challenge we have faced together.I have been blessed to have a partner who wanted to share an experience like this with me. I am glad we set out to do it and I'm proud of what we accomplished. We are no longer thru hikers but we are well on our way to being Appalachian Trail 2000 milers. You see the Appalachian Trail Conservancy recognizes anyone who hikes the entire AT no matter how they accomplish it. You can do it any way you want as long as you hike every mile. You can section hike over a number of years, you don't even have to sleep one single night on the trail. I can honestly say that with 1,520 miles out of 2,178 miles completed we are well on our way. We will probably continue to hike the remaining miles sometime in the future. We can do long sections or short ones if we want. That will all be determined in the future.Right now our priority will be to get our strength back and ensure we have not done damage to ourselves. We will be seeing our doctors as soon as we can get appointments.Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-07-23
To: Post Hike # 2
Miles today: 0.0

C6 notesI'm amazed, again, at God's hand in this. Getting off the trail could have happened anywhere along the trail, but the final fall that made us decide to get off took place close to Diehard and Gail's home. Diehard was available to come get us when we needed him, and they graciously took us in for two nights. Diehard went through not finishing the AT in one shot in 2006, so he and Gail were sympathetic to my emotions. It was wonderful to be with them through the beginning of this adjustment. Thank you, Don and Gail, for being the wonderful people you are, and thank you more than we can express for all of your support and help.Today OG was able to get an appointment with his doctor. She isn't concerned about his bruise because of where it's located. Had it been on the back of his leg, there would be reason to worry.I see a doctor at the VA Women's Health Clinic. When I called there today, the nurse urged me to go to the VA emergency room because my head is involved and it would take too long for me to be able to see my own doctor. So I went there and had excellent care. Another CT scan and other tests were done. I'm okay. In fact, the doctor was very thorough and took a bunch of blood to make sure everything is okay since I lost so much weight (I figure 25 pounds). All came out okay, so I'm relieved. The nurse from the Women's Health Clinic came down to the emergency room to see if I heeded her advice and came in. I liked that she came down and checked on me. I'm pleased with our local VA.My emotions fluctuate minute to minute. As we were coming home on the train and rode through wooded areas, I felt very sad. I hate having to tell friends we're off the AT, but so far everyone's reactions are so comforting. Thank you, all, for being so caring and supportive. When we got to our house and I saw the boxes still in our basement to be mailed to us, I cried. I want to be on the Trail. I want to see our friends who are still out there. But I KNOW this is the right thing for right now.The doctor today encouraged me to gain some weight and get some strength back, and then to go back out and hike more of the AT if I want to. I like that doctor, he's a very nice guy.The emotional waves are normal, but frustrating to have to cope with. It's nice to be home in some ways, but I still want to be out there, too. A major comfort is when it rains and knowing we aren't hiking in the rain and dangerous conditions. And it's been raining each day since we got off. I feel sorry for our friends who are still out there in this crappy weather.Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-08-25
To: Post Hike #6
Miles today: 0.0

C6 notesWe got to the Route 17 trailhead around 7:30am in case Braid had decided to get an early start today. The shelter is only about 5 miles from this trailhead, so it could take him as short as 2 hours to get here and as long as 5 hrs...depending on how fast he's hiking and how the terrain is.Around 10am, "Walking Home" came by an said he was with Braid last night. Braid was packing when Walking Home started hiking this morning, so we knew he wouldn't be real far behind. We were thrilled to be able to surprise Braid by being there, and we had a glorious 2 hours with him! It was a wonderful visit, filled with lots of reminiscing and catching up. I loved every minute of our time with him.Unfortunately, the minute he went into the woods and we started driving away, it occurred to me that we should have taken him to a restaurant in town for lunch and helped him find an Outfitter so he could get some water treatment chemicals he mentioned needing. We never expected to have so much time with Braid, so leaving the trailhead just didn't enter our minds until it was too late. Our visit was fabulous, however, and I think if we had run around taking care of business our visit might not have felt so personal and special. It would have been very special though, and it would have been a big help to Braid so I feel awful for not thinking of those things while we were visiting. I kick myself for quite a while when I have these revelations when it's too late to do anything about them. Argh!I loved seeing Braid. Now we're heading up to Monson, where we hope to find some other friends.Braid sang a "Hiker Song" he composed and wrote over the past couple of months. I videotaped it and I'll upload it to the YouTube site our son set up when I figure out how to do that. ( The site is www.youtube.com/oldgoatandcheck6 ) It's a nice song, and I love that he let me tape it and said he approves of my uploading it so others can enjoy it.After we left Braid, we drove to Monson and got a room in Shaw's for the night. We saw DOC and T-Suds there, but there were very few other thru-hikers in town, and no others we had met along the way. BUT...we went to the trailhead and met "Hot Sause" and "Loon" as they arrived at the trailhead to go into Monson. We had seen their shelter log entries while we were hiking. They were always ahead of us, so we never met them. They had heard of us though.We gave them a ride to Shaws and they told us of a whole group of our friends who should get to Monson tomorrow. They listed Newt, Miss Scarlett, Sunbeam, Halfmoon, Hellbender, Samwise, Stretch, and Tinman (not the Canadian). We're so excited to possibly see them all tomorrow!!Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-09-02
To: Post Hike #8
Miles today: 0.0

OG notesWe climbed Mt. Katahdin today to cheer on friends as they reached the last white blaze. They all arrived up there before we got there but we did get to congratulate them.C6 notes27 thru-hikers summited Mt Katahdin today! This was the largest group of thru-hikers on one day so far this year. We knew that many of our friends were among that group, so we went up Mt Katahdin to congratulate them. It's a hard mountian to climb, but it was an extremely rewarding day. We are so glad we could come celebrate their successful completion of their thru-hikes!Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-11-01
To: Post Hike 9
Miles today: 0.0

OG notesI am disappointed that we didn't hike the entire 2178 miles this year but I am not sorry we left the trail when we did. The decision we made was the right one and had to be made. C6 has seen the doctor a few times and as far as we know her head is fine. She sometimes feels the disoriented feeling and wonders if she is okay, it isn't often but it does cause concern. Right now the shoulder she fell on in Connecticut does cause her pain. She has had a CT scan and xray taken which have not shown anything. She is scheduled for an MRI to take one more look. Hopefully the doctors will figure it out and correct the discomfort. I'm still feeling heel spur pain, I'm icing the heel to reduce the inflammation. I have an icepack and a football like device that I freeze and roll my foot on. I think we'll be back in hiking form by next spring. We are hoping to continue our hike and restart at the spot where we stopped this year. We hope to restart approximately the last week in May. We hope to reach the White Mountains in New Hampshire just as the huts start their 2010 summer season. This is important because the Whites are above tree line and the huts are the best place to stay. Also the weather should be starting to get warm up here in the north and comfortable to hike in. The downside is we'll be right in the middle of black fly and mosquito season, that's one element we'll have to deal with. We won't be thru-hikers in the sense of hiking from Georgia to Maine so we'll have to pay to stay in the huts. This will be expensive but nice because we can take our time in the Whites and enjoy the scenery, hopefully the clouds won't spoil the view.We'll probably be ahead of the 2010 northbound thru-hiker pack, oh sure the fast hikers will be going by us but we won't be seeing them for long. This type of hiker usually don't talk much as they are so intent on making miles. The first thru-hiker crowd we'll meet up with will be south bounders. We may see some in the Whites but I expect to see most of them in Maine. Most south bounders start in early June, as I mentioned earlier we hope to be in New Hampshire by then.We will be starting slowly and try not to be too aggressive with the miles as we get our bodies back in hiking shape. This is where the reality of being section hikers will hit home. Thru-hikers are usually on cruise control at this point, section hikers have to restart every time they leave home. Another problem section hikers have to overcome is getting to and returning from the trail. We are lucky in that we left the trail at one the closest points to our home. We already have family and friends offering to take us back to the trail.Right now our fate is dependent on how well C6's shoulder mends. We'll continue to post updates as the winter progresses.   Old Goat & Check Six
Date: 2009-11-30
To: The Holidays
Miles today: 0.0

OG NotesI'm going to have a heck of a time restarting the hike next summer. I'm eating like a hiker (Eating everything I see) and not burning it off. I've gained back most of the weight I lost while hiking the 1520 miles this year. The holidays will also add to my problem with all the great food. My problem is I have no willpower. No matter what I'll work it off once we hit the trail even though it will make things harder.At the same time C6 is struggling with shoulder pain and cannot lift or do anything without suffering. She is going to physical therapy twice a week to correct this problem. It is frustrating for her as the pain stops her in her tracks. She really should become very inactive and not lift anything or move around much. Instead she goes ahead on does these things only to have the pain return with a vengeance later. We are both hoping this will pass soon and she will not have to live with pain.As many reader may remember she had fallen 3 times where she hit her head. We were very concerned with a possible concussion from them. She had a dizziness like disorientation which was our major concern when we came home. She only has an occasional bout with this now and has had numerous tests taken that are supposed to reassure us that she is okay. The tests did not indicate any impending problem so hopefully she is okay.In the meantime we had our son Chris, his wife Kathleen, and our grandsons Tyler and Steven here for the Thanksgiving weekend. We also had our daughter Cindy, son-in-law Chris, grandson Kyle, and granddaughter Natalie here for Thanksgiving dinner(they live locally). It was a great weekend time being surrounded by family.Now to focus on Christmas and into the new year. If I don't get around to posting anything before the holidays Happy Holidays to all.