morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-10-14
To: When is the best time to start a thru hike?
Miles today: 0.0

Some thoughts on one final AT thru hike pre-planning question: This time last year we were already chomping at the bit to get on the trail. Get started as soon as possible. The sooner the better. If February 1st is great, January 1st must be even better¢¦Of course circumstances conspired to keep us off the trail until April 11th, but as a result of our very great success with this date, our thoughts on when to start have done a complete 180&deg: Our council would be there¢s no need to rush into this thing too early in the season.Some things we don¢t like about the first leg of the AT: Dealing with the hordes of people and lack of space in and around those early Georgia shelters. Being stranded in the snow in the Smokies. Getting sunburned from walking under bare branches before spring green-up. All of these problems can be minimized, if not eliminated, by waiting until after the first of April to get going. Let that swarm of early hikers get out there in March and beat a path in last fall¢s leaves for you to follow. Every day you delay means your forced stops at shelters from Fontana to Davenport Gap won¢t have to look like rush hour in Kathmandu. (Another way to avoid the early crowd is to stay at the Hiker Hostel a few nights and slack pack that first 30 miles to Neels Gap in two days. This gives that large percentage of [to quote Thomas Paine] ¢summertime soldiers and sunshine patriots¢ time to drop off the trail and leave it for the serious folks in it for the long haul.)Here are some numbers: Averaging 14 miles per hiking day means you can do the AT in 156 days. Throw in two full weeks of zero days (highly recommended) and that brings the total to 170 days. Start on April 4th and you can still be at Katahdin for the first day of fall, with weeks to spare before the mountain closes. (Even for senior citizens such as ourselves, a very do-able mile and a half an hour pace for a ten hour day equals 15 miles. And that¢s with frequent breaks¢¦)That schedule allows you to follow the mountain laurels as they bloom their way northward, get you past Pennsylvania¢s Great Valley before the worst of the summer heat, and see just the hint of fall color when you arrive in Maine. What¢s not to like about this plan???
Date: 2012-11-07
To: Six Degrees of Separation (November Edition)
Miles today: 0.0

We have followed with great interest the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the AT, and especially the Superstorm¢s effect on those SoBo¢s still out on the trail. We worried when we heard about large amounts of snow from our friends at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and, like everyone else, were tremendously relieved to hear about the successful rescue of Solo (hiker Steve Ainsworth) from the slopes of Mt. Chapman last Friday. N became even more interested when he realized he and Solo both hail from eastern North Carolina (Solo from the town N still refers to as ¢Little Washington,¢ and N originally from Elizabeth City [circa some time around the middle of the last century]). We had read some of Solo¢s recent postings, but had not yet gone back to follow his story from the time when we also were on the trail. When N went to check on when we might have crossed paths, he found it was back on August 6th, between Cheshire MA and Mt. Greylock, and discovered we had a previously unrealized connection, as shown by the following Trail Journal excerpts from that date: Solo ¢ ¢I ate lunch at the [Mt. Greylock Lodge] restaurant and lingered there for quite a while. It was all down hill to Cheshire. A trail angel had left bottles of PowerAid at a fence post in a field.¢ The Troverts ¢ ¢Near the Cobbles, we ran into Kleenex, returned from a day off with her sister, and we shared Tom Levardi's advice to stop at the Shell station and its deli sandwiches on the other side of Cheshire for lunch, and she joined us, as did Bad Penny. We decided to make it our "big meal of the day," and left feeling quite full. They also had a strange hiker special (buy two Powerades, get three free!), which allowed us to leave some trail magic as we headed back into the woods.¢ Well, anyway, that¢s our contribution to today¢s ¢Small World¢ Dept. Only in this electronic age could you ever hope to learn what happened to your anonymous trail magic. We¢d like to think it was the residual strength from that free Powerade that helped Solo three months later survive his ordeal in the snows of the Smokies. And, as they say, every time an AT hiker is airlifted from the Smokies, another trail angel earns his/her wings!All joking aside, we wish Solo a full and speedy recovery; and the best of luck in getting out to finish that elusive last tenth of the AT¢¦
Date: 2012-11-30
To: Troverts: the Next Generation
Miles today: 0.0

We were tickled today to learn X¢s nephew Brendan Buzzard is featured as ¢Explorer of the Week¢ on the National Geographic website. His wanderings in north Kenya put the AT¢s 100 Mile Wilderness to shame, at least as far as the difficulty of resupply goes¢¦For the small handful of folks who have complained about not being able to get their daily Trovert fix since we got off the trail, here is a link to Bren¢s blog ¢ ¢The Critical Nomad¢ ¢ where he deals with saving the world and other such issues. Enjoy.
Date: 2012-12-24
To: A Christmas Present from the Wiffle Chicken
Miles today: 0.0

In a continuing effort to keep our readers informed about other AT info options, so they can make good decisions about the best use of their time, we urge you to skip this page and rush over here to see what the illustrious Wiffle Chicken has done to document his AT thru hike. To our great chagrin, we were usually just a few days behind the Wiffle Chicken bubble. (I think we may have seen him in person only twice, the last time in Delaware Water Gap, with him leaving town just as we were arriving???) That meant we were able to enjoy all the Wiffle Chicken art recorded in the various shelter logs, but that we were never around for a chance to be included in this video. Hand - eye coordination has never been N's strong suit, but we believe eagle eyed X would have done right well with the wiffle, just given the opportunity...In any case, being left out of this epic on-line movie will remain our Biggest Trail Disappointment for 2012.
Date: 2012-12-25
To: Our 3rd Month Anniversary
Miles today: 0.0

Ninety-one days after Mighty Kathadin, the afternoon in northern Mississippi is rainy, windy, and cold. A great time to be snuggled up with the ATC¢s 75th anniversary book, one of the more thoughtful and appreciated gifts we¢ve received. Much more fun turning the pages and recognizing so many now familiar places in its pictures, rather than pushing to find a dry shelter before the early gathering darkness catches us out in the elements. And yet, and yet¢¦Our AT completion cards are all sent, and even a few received from fellow Class of 2012¢ers. And yet, and yet, there still seems to be one more missing piece of the puzzle¢¦So, tomorrow we grab our backpacks, load them up with a supply of Swedish Fish (that chewy candy delicacy, so easily available on the northern sections of the trail, but unheard of here in the not-so-sunny South; and certainly our most appreciated holiday present!), and head off to Amicalola Falls SP to celebrate the 37th anniversary of our love affair with the AT by doing X¢s first hike of the Approach Trail. Wish us luck¢¦
Date: 2012-12-28
To: One More Highpoint
Miles today: 0.0

Admittedly back in April we were both so out of shape that everything seemed tough, but we do seem to recall a lot of big climbs in the state of Georgia. In addition to struggling up Blood Mountain (4,461¢) just before we reached Neels Gap, we got up to 4,000 feet above sea level on four other occasions in the Peach State: Blue Mountain (4,025¢), Rocky Mountain (4,017¢), Tray Mountain (4,430¢), and Kelly Knob (4,191¢). However, none of these is the highest point in Georgia. That honor falls to Brasstown Bald (4,784¢), located on GA 180 Spur about an hour north of Dahlonega. Although the park had been closed from the 24th to the 27th, according to their website they would be back open today, and since we were in the neighborhood, we decided this was a good time to go check another highpoint off our list before heading home. As an added benefit, this side trip north on US 19 provided an excuse to stop by Mountain Crossings at Walasi-Yi for one more time in 2012. We made a pit stop, got one final picture for the year of X on the AT, and ran into Lumpy and Pirate all before we even made it up the steps. We enjoyed wandering around to see newly posted Kathadin photo cards from fellow members of the Class of 2012 (with our friend Carver taking the prize for the card with the latest summit date we found ¢ October 17th!). And of course, X could not leave without buying a new pair of socks¢¦ When we reached the gate at Brasstown Bald, we found it still closed at 10:15 a.m., and a half dozen cars already waiting to get in. Folks were milling around, unsuccessfully trying to contact the office on their cell phones, and seeing if anyone in the assembled group could confirm an opening time. Finally a worker showed up at the gate about 10:20. We think they may have been checking the three mile roadway to the parking lot for ice before opening to the public. From the parking lot there is a steep 6/10 mile walk to the rather large facility on the summit. In the shady spots on the pavement, the black ice was really tricky. From the observation deck on the top we had a great view of the route of the AT off to the east, and to the south we could see back to Blood Mountain and Neels Gap. The town of Hiawassee was plainly visible off to the north. We were surprised by the popularity of the place, as we saw over 100 people before getting back to our car to leave. Certainly on a clear day, Brasstown Bald is worth the drive¢¦
Date: 2012-12-29
To: Two Pair of Love Birds
Miles today: 0.0

In spite of our advanced years (perhaps we should instead say ¢because of our wealth of experience¢), we would like to think if the ATC held a contest to determine the most ¢young and in love¢ couple on the Appalachian Trail in 2012, we would be strongly candidates in the running for that title. However, some of our stiffest competition would certainly come from the hiking team of KitFox and ManCub.If you have not yet seen their thru hike video montage, you need to immediately hit this link to enjoy it now. It will be the best 9 minutes 44 seconds you spend all day. You don¢t have to be a thru hiker to appreciate what a great job they have done in catching the essence of the Appalachian Trail.We never met them on the trail. With their March 1st start date, they had a 41 day lead on us when we began, and when they summited Kathadin on August 26th, we were only just reaching New Hampshire¢s Crawford Notch in the heart of the Whites. But we soon heard (we think from ¢Seeks It¢ the first time) about ¢The Epic Proposal¢ that marked the end of one adventure and the start of another. Therefore, on our stop yesterday at Neels Gap, we were tickled to see we had finally caught up with them, if only by means of our photo cards next to each other on the wall at Mountain Crossings. Having worked at several national park sites they have visited (Manassas Battlefield, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and the Grand Canyon, to name a few) we feel like we have a lot in commom. Anna and Micah, congratulations on a great hike, thanks for sharing it, and we hope your next 37 years together will be as happy as our marriage has been so far...
Date: 2012-12-30
To: Two Year-End ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂTrail in ReviewÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ videos
Miles today: 0.0

An opportunity to present a little longer program on our AT hike at the local Audubon club provided the incentive to prepare a couple of short videos. We¢ve posted them on YouTube, and the links are below: the Troverts do the Appalachian Trail ¢ 2012and The last 2012 northbound Appalachian Trail Thru Hikers to tackle the Approach Trail
Date: 2012-12-31
To: Happy New Year, and best of luck, AT Class of '13
Miles today: 0.0

And so comes to an end our ¢Year of the Hike.¢ Our recent outing on the Approach Trail only punctuated how much we enjoyed our five and a half months in the woods, and what a melancholy moment this is as we complete one full year of AT journaling¢¦Santa brought us a guide book and lots of maps for the John Muir Trail, and our boys (in an attempt, we assume, to move us into the 21st century) went together to give us a GoPro Hero3 camera; so we think they are all trying to tell us something. In any case, we¢ve got a date circled on our new custom made ¢1st anniversary Troverts on the AT¢ calendar to start sending faxes to try for an initial JMT camping permit, and then we¢ll have about six months to master the camera¢s learning curve. At least that¢s our plan for now. N had been looking without much success for an appropriate final picture for 2012. Then, on our absolute last stop on the AT, like one final piece of trail magic, there it appeared off to the side of the main room at Mountain Crossings: I got you to walk with meI got you to talk with meI got you to lighten my packI got you to watch my backI got you to share the painI got you to hike to MaineI got you, babe. Soulmates: don¢t leave home without one¢¦
Date: 2013-02-19
To: International Confluence Day Eve
Miles today: 0.0

Back on February 20th, either in 2004 or 2005 , I created a monster. On that date in 2004, I took my GPS to Alabama to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Alex Jarrett¢s visit to 43° 00.000¢ North, 72° 00.000¢ West, which led to the Degree Confluence Project, initially voted one of the Internet¢s ¢100 most useless websites,¢ but today is an amazing, and still growing, organized photographic sampling of the world. In 2005, I once again set out looking for the elusive ten zeroes on my GPS, this time in the state of Mississippi, and that trip quickly became a quest to visit a whole integer latitude ¢ longitude crossing (a degree confluence, if you will) on February 20th [which I have designated as International Confluence Day] in as many different states as possible. After last year, I had made 19 such visits, and this crazy hobby has become an obsession!This year I decided to tackle three more such imaginary spots, in SC, NC, and VA. Starting from home in Mississippi, that meant I would be crossing the AT both going and coming, and would have a chance to provide trail magic for that handful of hikers who are already braving the snows of 2013 with an early start on their walks to Maine.I decided that Mooney Gap, where USFS Road #83 passes between Standing Indian Mountain and Albert Mountain would be a good, out of the way spot with a dearth of early season trail magic, where a soda might hit the spot, and also allow thru-hikers to celebrate completion of their first 100 miles. [This would also give me an excuse to stop by Outdoor 76 in Franklin and see how Rob and Cory were coming with the move to their new location (which now looks like it's coming in mid March].However, new snow on the morning of 2/19 made the Forest Service road too slick to navigate without four wheel drive (did I mention thru-hikers are crazy to be out on the AT so soon!!!) and I was forced to drop off my little plastic bin of Mountain Dews, candy bars, crackers, and cookies at Wallace Gap instead (old US 64, at the turnoff to the Nantahala NF¢s Standing Indian Campground). Although I was there fairly late in the day (4pm), there were no fresh AT-hiker tracks on either side of the road for the day. I wondered how much (if any) foot traffic there would be before I returned in a few days to pick up the trash¢¦-N
Date: 2013-02-23
To: A Snapshot of Who's on the Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Just to recap: On a quick trip from Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean and back (just the usual stuff: visiting relatives, taking a latitude-longitude holiday at spots where my GPS showed lots of zeroes, and training for the upcoming Virginia Beach marathon), I prepared a nice little plastic bin of trail magic which I wound up setting out on the AT just north of USFS 67 junction at about Mile 107 (Wallace Gap).When I came back today to pick up the trash, I found several stalwart members of the Class of ¢13 had cleaned out all the candy bars and salty snacks, but not the Mountain Dews or a handful of cookies. [I¢m uploading their comments, as it provides non-hiking readers with a look at the reaction to finding trail magic in a season when it¢s not yet a common occurrence.]As the roads were now clear, I drove up to the Rock Gap Shelter parking area, and hiked in, hoping to find some thirsty hikers, but alas, the shelter was deserted¢¦ With trash containers only a 14 mile north, I hoped folks wouldn¢t have a carry trash very far, and left my leftovers.I¢m glad to since read they survived the shelter mice, and even more glad to learn they were put to good use! See Rash: February 27: I heard fruit punch was following my blog. Thanks for the trail magic the other day, the fruit and water was great! Also thanks to the person who left Mtn Dew and Oreos at Rock Gap shelter, it's always a pick-me-up when we stumble across it.and Blues Man: February 24: easy day, mostly downhill. Encountered some trail magic in the form of mountain dew at the black creek trailhead. Great energy boost. So now I'm in town with flo for the night restocking on some supplies and resting my heels. Tomorrow will be an easy day too, just a few miles. Today was a great day for those hiking what I did yesterday, as the weather could not have been better. Looking forward to more great hiking Good luck to all you folks on the rest of your hike. You¢re off to a great start! Spring (we hope!) is just around the corner...-N
Date: 2013-03-10
To: Spring Break 2013: Still further proof...
Miles today: 0.0

¢¦you can leave the Trail, but the Trail never leaves you!March 10th ¢ Davenport Gap (TN32, NC 284). Heading over to Virginia Beach to run the Shamrock Marathon, we turn off I-40 to find a suitable place to drop off some trail magic. We worry eight days is a little long to leave a plastic bin unattended, but hope it¢s early enough that Great Smoky Mountains bears won¢t be doing any wandering just north of the park boundary.Upon our return, we find the bin empty, except for a very soggy notebook which records a week of history:¢Thank you so much for the 2 dews. Greatly appreciated!¢ From the GRATZ (your east Texan friends)¢Thanks a bunch¢¦ a soda ALWAYS hits the spot. This is my first Trail Magic of the trip, too Woohoohoo!!!¢ ¢Foxtrot, Caledonia State Park, PA (Jan 6th) -> GA (?) 2013 [and AT ¢97, AT ¢98, AT ¢96-¢07, AT ¢05-¢09]¢Thank you! I needed that, YES!!!! You R So Cool¢ ¢Arrowhead¢This is better than Christmas morning!! Started to believe trail magic was a fluke, now I¢m a true believer. Thank you. Thank you.¢ ¢Sheirkein¢The lid was open ¢ Now it¢s all wet. : ) Anyway. Guys, thank you very much. It¢s the best reward after Smokies! Great trail magic! You¢re awesome!¢ ¢Skinny Jeans, Moscow, Rus (NOBO 2013)¢3/17/13 Stumbled upon this box, very awesome thought. No soda, though : ( ¢ ¢Kaley & Richard
Date: 2013-03-11
To: Ten Months Later, North CarolinaÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Other Border
Miles today: 0.0

Last year, during late April and early May, we spent about two weeks walking a large part of North Carolina¢s western border, going around 200 miles north on the AT from Doe Knob to Doll Flats (minus a few spots like the I-40 crossing, Hot Springs NC, and Erwin TN, where the trail doesn¢t exactly follow the NC/TN line). For over 35 miles of this trek, our elevation never dropped below 5,000¢. Along the way we were hailed on at Clingmans Dome, and nearly frozen to death on the climb of Roan Mountain. Now, ten months later we were back in the Old North State to tackle a much shorter stretch on NC¢s right border, at Nags Head on the famed Outer Banks. On a glorious spring-like afternoon, the warm sunny beach temperatures met the chilly waters of the Atlantic to create pockets of shoreline fog, and that, combined with the flat, hard-packed sand made for excellent running conditions. Unencumbered by last year¢s heavy packs, we breezed through six miles at a comfortable nine minute per mile pace. It would be hard to name one single hour of our 2012 thru hike that topped today¢s experience at the other end of the Tar Heel State. We continue to revel in the benefits of our combined 56 pound weight loss last year along the Appalachian Trail¢¦
Date: 2013-03-17
To: Life After the Trail (Continued)
Miles today: 0.0

Those of you who have followed the Troverts as far back as January 18, 2012, have previously heard the oft told tale of how in 1979, N read an article in a medical journal that said you lose 10% of your I.Q. every time you run a marathon; and how he stopped racing them then, as at that point he had already run nine full marathons, and figured brain-wise he didn¢t have any more wiggle room.However, that is not entirely true¢¦ Actually, the onset of middle age worsened a weak left ankle which dated back to cut ligament damage at age 25 (caused by stepping on a sharp hidden stake while running barefoot on the beach). Over the years, N would run into trouble (literally) whenever his training runs ventured beyond six miles at a time, and finally he gave up all hope of ever running a marathon again. But an amazing thing about his AT thru hike: all of that walking seems to have strengthened his left leg along the way. By Virginia, he had stopped wearing any ankle brace, and at the end of the adventure, he was talked into getting back into doing some serious running.Over the winter, he adopted a running style he describes as ¢running on egg shells,¢ but was able to up his mileage enough and today he attempted his first marathon in almost 35 years. [Along the way, someone also pointed out to him that even if you lost 10% IQ with each race, on the second race you¢d only lose 9% (10% of 90), on the third only 8.1% (10% of 81), on the fourth only 7.29%, etc., etc, so you would never truly get to zero %.]In 1972, N completed the Virginia Beach race in 8th place with a time of 2:43:32. Today, although he finished 1065 places further back, and 82.5 minutes slower, he found the results very satisfying. In spite of a strong northeast wind off the ocean, especially in the last six miles, and temperatures in the low forties, he placed third in his age group with a time of 4:04:04. More importantly, this time qualified him for next year¢s Boston Marathon, beating the standard for his age group by almost six minutes!Earlier in the day, X ran her first half marathon ever. It seems if you can hike the AT, after that, anything else is possible¢¦