morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-27
From: Pickle Branch shelter

To: Lost Spectacles Gap 
Miles today: 5.2

Dragon's Tooth had concerned me for days. Now it stood between us and the town of Catawba. The climb was 1200' and the Dragon's Tooth included rock climbing. I wasn't looking forward to either and had some worries about Chloe if the rock climbing was as tough as we had heard. The climb went on and on constantly going up. We felt like we were fighting gavity and my legs didn't want to move. Several times I dropped my pack and sat down, dripping sweat, to recover. Larry was very patient. We were glad to have a sunny day. So far there weren't any rocks. As we reached the ridge and continued, we scrambled along many boulder areas. It was exhausting, but not intimidating. Further on I had reached my limit and felt as though I had nothing left when we started down. Now it was difficult with small tight footholds, long drops with rebar fashioned handholds and we were already exhausted. Chloe managed to find her way down for the most part and we only had to pass her between us once or twice. It went on and on. I wanted to quit, throw in the towel, call 911 or pitch myself over the side, anything, but keep going. When the trail finally leveled out and we came to a junction, I opted for the shortest, quickest path to town. Town included the "Home Place" restaurant. This was a big draw for all the hikers. AYCE served family style out of a big barn on lovely acreage, we were looking forward to it. The trail to VA 311 was wide, smooth and before we knew it we were roadside with our thumbs out. The threatening skies and thunder made us look all the more pleading. Soon a pickup stopped and we jumped in with Frank and Gwen. Frank had been a Thru-hiker when he was 16. He couldn't pass us by. As it all turned out we spent a fantastic night with them. Frank was an entertaining host and in his own words, "The #1 chef in southern VA." His dinner more than proved his claim along with his constant fascinating conversation. The next morning we took our coffee outside to watch the deer and the surrounding mountains get bathed in sunshine. Frank and Gwen shuttled us to I-81 in Daleville for a days rest and resupply.
Date: 2007-07-28
To: All Good Things Must End
Miles today: 0.0

Half a day enjoying the company of our new friends, Frank and Gwen, was not nearly enough time. The drive through Virginia's countryside showed off it's beauty and I realized how much we were missing while isolated on the trail with only the trees and rocks. After our good-byes we settled in at the Travelodge and I began to plan next weeks hike. I wondered at my lack of enthusiasm. The weather called for rain and the climbs ahead would be long and steep (what's new?). I realized I didn't have the drive anymore and it was time to talk to Larry. His first concern was my weight loss goal. Neither of us wanted to give that up. After hours of discussion as to our options, Larry took the bus back to Georgia and drove back the RV. By the time he returned three days later, I had mapped out our route and we began to follow the sun west. Neither of us had visited this area of the country and the new excitement helped us recover from the disappointment that quitting our hike we now held in our hearts. The hike on the AT was replaced with hikes in the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. As we traveled along we spoke of the adventures ahead and those we had enjoyed and left behind. The Appalachian Trail will go on as a challenge for others, but for us it is only the source of many marvelous memories. Back at home, adventure calls and Mexico waits. The planning begins.....
Date: 2006-12-11
To: Audition Call Back
Miles today: 0.0

OK, I thought I'd had enough of sore feet, aching shoulders, and pushing myself beyond known limits. Why is it the trail beats you up, then calls you back, away from the comforts of recovery? I think because there are far more benefits to be gained than inconveniences to be weathered. Anyway, this time out, starting at the beginning with a new name and new resolve to be more at peace with myself, the terrain, and my hiking partner; I'm hoping to put the death of my father behind me, young adults at home more in charge of their own lives, and trusting that there is a "harmonious" way to hike the A.T. that will be a springboard into a new season of life.
Date: 2006-12-22
To: Layers,Layers Everywhere
Miles today: 0.0

Right now it's really hard to think about going back out on the trail in early March. Everything in me wants to bunker down "at home" with grown children returning for the holidays, between school semesters, or in pursuit of independence. Of course, "baby it's cold outside", and the instinct to hibernate is peaking. After hearing about experienced climbers disappearing on Mt.Hood in Oregon recently, I'm reminded of how important preparation and vigilance are when considering weather conditions in conjunction with adventures out of doors. I see there are many people intending to hike earlier than the first of March, which I thought was bold. I can only hope and pray everyone uses good judgement and common sense when heading out on trail. I guess my mindset has grown into an "err on the side of caution" posture as I approach the half century mark....and hope to push well beyond by walking with grace and dignity across terrains blazed by hearty souls who have gone before.
Date: 2006-12-23
To: Head Trip
Miles today: 0.0

Walking away or walking towards?Avoidance of dealing with the past or confronting the future?To walk towards the future, we must walk away from the past.To avoid repeating past mistakes we must confront the present, and gently guide others into an understanding beyond what they've presumed to be unshakeable truths.How we walk is everything.It will define who we are becoming and how we are remembered.Best to start, one step at a time,Keeping our sites on the path before us,Out of the heads of others attempting to walk there own paths with dignity,Unless we are asked to give an account or offer perspective
Date: 2006-12-28
To: Countdown Incognito
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, I can hardly believe it's so close to the end of 2006 and the countdown clock above my computer work keeps ticking....a reminder that I need to hit the eliptical and light weights daily to be ready in March! I hope and pray that I can have business finished or delegated by Feb. 28th when Traildust and I leave for Springer Mnt., GA. It would be nice to hike without having to try and do work from the trail this next attempt.I bought a "hoodie" to protect my face from wind, and lighter-weight gloves with Christmas gift money. No other wardrobe or accessories seem quite so important as being prepared for colder weather than what I'm accustomed to when hiking....a little anxious about it, but with global warming, maybe it won't be so big a stretch to hike in the cold and sleep burrowed in a cozy sleeping bag next to my soul-mate. Without him to warm me, I wouldn't be out on the trail after dark in March! My family and business associates will think I'm crazy to be out hiking in early spring; but this may be our last chance to attempt the hike before we need to settle down and dig into making a shared vision our reality. It's like a shadow hangs over you until you sense some sort of completion....the impetus to "do it before the joints freeze up and the cobwebs crowd the grey matter" is fueled by my partner's contagious ambition to finally earn the invisible badge of "thru-hiker" status.I am excited and anxious, but also hopeful that this will be a point of launching into something that will catapult us out of our suburban nests (where we'd rather not die from stress-induced heart attacks trying to turn a dime into a quarter) and into an awakened state that better serves all.
Date: 2007-01-06
To: Day Spa Remedies
Miles today: 0.0

Every time I get stressed over work or family life now I'm told to look at the countdown clock....the great escape approaching.....it works for a few magical minutes while reading trail journal entries and considering how many others will be electing to "take a hike" on the AT this spring. As an alternative to working myself into a depression and getting frantic over a household of young adults who don't want or appreciate supervision from mom, I suppose long distance hiking is better than going on meds or paying a counselor to sit and listen to the ruminations of a middle aged mother of 4....who's already figured out: life's no leisurely hike in the woods with perfect weather in the forecast, as a rule. It is what it is, and taking one day at a time with a flexible vision to accomodate the unseen, is the only way to travel. It's only a month and 3 weeks to the start of our adventure, but a very critical time of getting business in order before I can leave and hike without thinking so much about everything being left behind for a season...bills (prepaid), tax work(completed), taxi service(delegated), clients(settled or referred). I look forward to not having to drive in nervewracking traffic, and relish the thought of actually being able to sleep through a night without being wakened by "sounds of progress and protection of the public interest(police/fire/ambulance)", which are no respecters of darkness when restorative sleep happens. My hiking companion, Traildust, and I have no illusions about the possible challenges of the "long haul" from out time out last summer betwen W. VA and Vermont. I'm hoping this time to enjoy more of the social aspects of hiking, as well as the physical challenge of getting into better shape at a time when our metabolism is slowing and unwanted pounds have started latching onto and filling out stiffer skeletal structures. "Lube the joints and let'em go" is our motto. Nothing a little lithium (batteries)and caffeine won't boost.
Date: 2007-01-22
To: Romancing the Trail
Miles today: 0.0

One month, five days, 11 hours, 6 minutes....til trail time. Getting one's head in the right frame of mind in the midst of winter doldrums is the key...tricking the mind into thinking the romance of trail scenery and adventures will surpass the depressing day to day "non-starters" of our paper laden lives....Feeling like I am living in two realities: one foot in the muck of tax work and daily household chores and attempts at doing business in a "dead" market....and the other foot lifted with the intent of finding "terra firma" once the vibram (soul) meets the dust (or mud, or snow)....this is my present reality....feeling like I want to sleep through the boredom, and wake suddenly to find myself in an alternate reality, more challenging and invigorating...beyond Jan. 2007.
Date: 2007-01-30
To: Perspective from a Pioneer
Miles today: 0.0

Just got home from visiting my grandmother who turned 100 recently. She was a pioneer, born in a dugout, whose father went from poverty to prosperity after they settled in Texas and took up ranching. She looked at AT hike pictures and we read journal entries. I tried to explain to her that I would be hiking out of doors because I wanted to, and there was great bewilderment on her face. I guess at 75 lbs., staying bundled up in a house with indoor temps kept high, she can't grasp why such an adventure would have any appeal. Still she would smile and say "thank you so much for sharing".I feel like this alot in life lately. I'm hearing alot of peoples' stories that I don't understand, but I do appreciate them having the confidence to share their stories with me....perhaps simply to know they're not alone.....or in hopes that someone will at least try to understand and appreciate their predicaments and life choices.I am frustrated in business often, but recall on the trail how many things were out of our control --- how we had to improvise or adapt to weather patterns, aches and pains,or our needs to resupply and rest. When I get to the point in business where I want to pitch in the towel and just "take a hike" (a very long one), I'm reminded that our best intentions and efforts may not be recognized, and that our courses may change....but there are always stories to be told along the way.I pray for listening ears, and a mind open to receive the riches of stories in the making as we leave our comfort zones to enter yet another phase of adventures on the AT. For now, these outings seem fragmented, but I trust somewhere along the path there'll be glimpses of continuity, revealing a bigger picture to frame and "hang my hat on".
Date: 2007-02-01
To: Responsible Development
Miles today: 0.0

This is a modified "Letter to the Editor" my hiking partner, "Traildust",is submitting to some major cities' newspapers on my behalf:   On a recent flight thru Atlanta, I was looking out my window to the east more as a distraction to pass the time than in pursuit of scenery at which to marvel. Far below, the terrain revealed deltas and finger-like waterways lined by sensibly spaced homes and boats docked cozily along the irregular shorelines. Dark browns and charcoal greys of winter revealed barren trees crowding dormant tributaries, harboring undercurrents of more colorful seasons we all trust will come.   An empty row of seats across the aisle of the plane's interior invited me to shift my gaze slowly to the west. Glancing out of the diminutive window, rich blues and a succession of gently rolling mountain tops just beyond the plane's wingtips, resurrected feelings of awe. The quiet and calming skirts of grey-white clouds, hanging loosely around the base of the mountains, kindly reminded me that in less than a month I would be hiking that very terrain starting at Springer Mountain, GA. I felt suspended in time as burdens of the coming days in February suddenly lifted for at least a moment.    As the visual drama of unspoiled beauty disappeared to the northwest, a harsher reality loomed ahead. The skyline of Atanta was emerging amidst the shroud of a greenish-yellow haze. As the palour seemed to engulf commercial buildings and houses below, the descent to urbanization ached like the ear and head discomforts caused by the poorly regulated cabin pressure on the Airtran flight. Land stripped naked and staked out for new home developments unapologetically reminded me of "too many rats crammed into cages" whose bottoms were lined with newspapers broadcasting old news.   Like many others caught in the use-now-and-pay-later economy, I wondered again why we as a nation have been so slow to apply the pioneering spirit of innovation and entrepenuership to develop alternative energy sources and uses that don't poison our environment. I wondered anew: Will we push headlong, continuing to consume a disproportionate share of the world's natural resources, until we "hit a wall" and we're rudely awakened to the neccessity of making more responsible choices? I am once again angered by local, state, and federal government law makers and program developers who don't seem to be putting constraints on out-of-control development in and around our major metropolitan areas. I am angered once again that there have not been more incentives offered and promoted to encourage and reward individual home owners, as well as businesses who are willing to make changes that help preserve and restore people and places in our realms of influence.
Date: 2007-02-09
To: Under the Comforter
Miles today: 0.0

Being between Dallas and Baltimore in the past week, I can only say I hope the end of February warms up in Georgia. I am not looking forward to hiking in cold weather that pushes downward to the teens and below (with wind chill). Yet another trip to a supply store after I said I shouldn't buy anything else, made me think "what's another $100" if it means the difference between being miserably cold and having a chance at maintaining some body heat close to the source. Breaking in some upscale (1/2 size larger)Asolo boots that already make me feel like "big foot" (up to a 10 now). Traildust is bugging me to wear them more, but I'm conscious that if I break them in any more, I may change my mind about wearing the larger size...feel like a clod in them now. The "up side" is that when I kick Traildust in his "arse" to get him to move along the trail, he'll feel it through the 4 layers of clothes he keeps promoting.Of course, first I'll have to let him think I'm in pain so he'll take the lead....for some reason he likes to follow me....his excuse for going at a slower pace, I think. Next trip to REI I'll know to check the map and directions before we leave...Traildust had the number in his phone all along, before we found out we'd take a detour around the Capital Beltway at traffic time! Aargg!
Date: 2007-02-16
To: Eleven Days, Eleven Hours
Miles today: 0.0

      I feel like a child today, anticipating a great challenge and welcoming a nameless change just "over the next mountain". Barren trees crowded together along the interstate to Annapolis, frozen behind glass-like encasements of ice. Their rigid outlines stood erect in the frigid air, reflecting boldly in the early morning sunlight. It seemed as if they were held up by invisible hands of countless children proudly displaying their first craft projects of winter made from silver glitter over thick applications of glue.      A strenuous day in court, now behind me, makes the prospect of hiking even in cooler temps seem kinder than the legal system that challenges concepts of what is good, and fair. The "melt-down" of finalizing costly legal disputes was the only source of warmth in my day, but now it's time to "move on". As I recall: "The end of a thing is better than its beginning", and "man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps"....reminders making the steps to follow, beyond one end, a more significant trail-marker in pursuit of truths that will sustain our earthly vessels and dwelling places. Completion, resolution, freedom to rest briefly beyond strife....just to be someone/something beyond what paper documents and the "legal tender" of daily living say we are about or "ought to be about".....surely there are others who understand a need to let it go and just put one foot in front of the other..... to let a day's concerns be "sufficient for the day.... hidden from violence, casting the root of bitterness aside, and dreaming beyond what is plainly seen. I can only hope and pray some visual beauty or spiritual revelation will revive and lift me out of this incessant weariness ....even as I think of and pray for those surrounded by enemies they seem not be able to evade, because they are thrust into harms way by leaders willing to send even their own "sheep to the slaughter".         Apologies to journal readers looking for more ethereal and romanticized sentiments. The "would-be recluse and writer" in me is venting.... until the sun sets and rises again...and mercies are renewed. Scraping and digging done, sleep in pursuit of a taker, and a new day to build a vision on firmer foundations....just ahead....
Date: 2007-02-25
To: Two til Take Off
Miles today: 0.0

Thank God it's only 2 days before I can get up before dawn, throw my pack in the car and be off to the airport....not looking back....the next time I face "home" will be at the launching point of Springer Mountain. We just had 5 inches of snow in Maryland and it's supposed to freeze overnight, so I'm enjoying two more nights in a warm bed with hot water showers, before venturing south where "precipitation events" are more likely to be rain. Up to the last minute, it seems there's always a multitude of loose ends to tie off so the roof stays put and nothing "leaks" on the home front....at least until I get back....and as long as the stamps stay stuck, no bill is left unpaid. Always a good feeling...until the next batch predictably arrives....another day, another dollar....but for now, I smile inside at the mere thought of "take off".
Date: 2007-03-01
To: Amicalola Falls
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Arrived in Atlanta yesterday and enjoyed a drive to Amicalola catching up with a long-time friend on the way. Amazing how a beautiful, sunny, perfect hiking weather day turned to driving rains and high winds overnight. Glad we got to see the falls and take shorter trails around Amicalola State Park while the visibility was favorable. Due to the forecast today thru tonight (severe thunderstorms,driving rains, and up to 70 mph winds), we've decided to stay put until Friday launches a series of friendlier hiking days. Until then, resting, reading, and meditating on elevation maps for our first 8 miles ahead (the approach trail to Springer Mnt.) Maybe it's age, but not being in any particular hurry is a nice change from the pressure cooker of the past few weeks.Hiking for enjoyment and not to break any records is the intent.
Date: 2007-03-02
From: Amicalola Falls

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Perfect hiking weather. Glad to let cabin fever find relief along the approach trail. Last 2 miles feet and outside of right knee started feeling the 30 lb. pack weight but pauses to take a drink or consider how nicely kept the trail was took my mind off the predictable soreness coming. Ridgerunner monitoring top of mountain very friendly. "Many Sleeps" and former SB in '98. Other thru hikers, including John who recently graduated with degree in Park & Forest Management fulfilling a dream. "Tod" laboring under a 57 LB pack stopped before Springer tonight. Just trying to stay warm tonight.....down to 30's. Wind another consideration....
Date: 2007-03-03
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke to 30 degrees and only wanted to burrow deeper in the sleeping bag. Wind outside picking up, but by 8am sun was unavoidable. Traildust suggested we pack up and move to a location further down hill before trying to start a fire for hot water. Ate brunch at Stover's Shelter then on to Hawk Mountain. Trail skirted gap interiors with fallen logs covered in moss, in sharp contrast to the barren trees hugging the mountain side. Abundant water trickling down to full streams. Other passages lush with the bright green leaves of rhodedendrumbeginning to bud, even in the cold. We heard our first bird sounds of our hike today...one lone chirrup, followed by the cry of a hawk overhead. Met Todd, John, Chris, Andre with his beautiful sable German shepherd "Sam"; Martini & Rossi,T-Mack (speed hiker sporting Go-Lite),followed by Mickey & Forgetful. We all observed a lunar eclipse from the mountaintop before hunkering back down into our sleeping bags by 7:30pm to keep the dropping temps outside our cocoons.