morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Right Here

To: Damascus
Miles today: 42.5
Weather: overcast clouds

42.5 miles. We hiked from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.. First through the snow, then through the freezing rain, which at least cleared the snow. We finished with a 10 mile hike in the dark that we did in little more than three hours. This crew is hard to keep up with. They are carrying between 20 and 30 pounds each. Nickel is 6'6". Dime hiked last year. We caught and passed Trail Frog, Chaos, and Jack In The Box. They ended up doing 33 into town. When we finally got into town three local kids, probably no more than 15 came stumbling down the street and thought it would be a good idea to harass us. We thought better. We avoided beating up kids and hiked down Main Street where we found (?) was open. We went in and a cop came by and told us to come out right now. We did. "I had a report that you boys have been walking up and down the street shouting at cars". Yeah, we hiked 40 miles to shout at cars. We got him off our backs and sent him over to check out the boys. We ate well, and listened to music, then went to The Place and passed out. My feet look like E.T.'s when he was thought to be dead.We ate breakfast in Damascus at the Sidetrack Cafe. Got my mail drop; way too much food. Finally talked to I-Chieh and she had hurt her knee. After that I sent home my tent, my rain pants, and my rain jacket. Pack is still way heavier than it should be.Got a hot dog meal with Jack In The Box for 1 buck and sat on the porch all day between errands with Sam, Nickel & Dime, and Trail Frog. Finally celebrated the 40 with the same., then went to the Sidetrack Cafe and listened to live music and the Beer Poet. Diesel of 5 Alive then got up and played for a while bustin out Gun's N' Roses. The kids who were harassing us the night before showed up with their older brother, who was maybe 18, and some other kids. Their "ghetto" appearance, with the tattoos, and the "wife-beater" attitude, was mean't to show how tough they were. One kid came over and tried to start something with my crew and it went outside, but none of the locals went out so I talked to them and straightened things out. All in good fun though, right? About 12 thru-hikers were in the cafe and 8 of the kids, with, I guess, their parents...Damascus is an interesting town. Ended up chillin' with Ghung Ho Rider and The Squad, at a place Jody and Jason got. Very nice place. Then we went back to The Place for sleep. All in all the coolest day yet.
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Damascus

To: Bald past Blizzard Rock
Miles today: 24.0

Woke to Chaos telling me I had a phone call (at 7 in the morning). 7 hours was not my idea of sleeping in. Called back then went to the Sidetrack Cafe for breakfast with Duchess and Diesel and ?. Had the Breakman's Breakfast,8 strips of bacon, 2 huge eggs, muffin, and a pancake big as the plate, with 3 or 4 cups of coffee. Gung Ho Rider joined us and was ready to take the challenge of breaking the record of 5 pancakes for a free meal. I was still hungry so I told them to bring them on. So I sat and ate from 7:30 til 11. Had to stop with 5 pancakes. I couldn't afford the bill so I worked for a while wrapping silverware and cutting tomatoes with Toe Cutter and Nickel washing dishes. I was quite obliviated, the pancakes were coming up my throat. Left around 2 and hiked 24 miles up a bike trail to a restaurant then on the A.T. past the shelter and Blizzard Rock. Camped on the bald overlooking the mountains, awesome.
Date: 2003-11-28
To: nowhere to go, did the trail already
Miles today: 0.0

Just wanted to let anybody interested to know that I did finish my thru-hike, summiting July 20th. I started as the Outlaw Torn, changed to Demian in the smokies and was fairly consistantly that for the rest of the trail, also known as The Demon Ishmael or Hiker Trash for short stints. I'm currantly sitting in my house on thanksgiving break. I havn't had any time to do anything since i finished the trail, but ill work on filling in the middle. I 've just seen what i have to do to do that... and the task looks daunting. I do have quite a few interesting stories, so check in every once in awhile. To all those who helped me along the way thankyou, i wouldn't have made it without everyones support. I'll try and write to as many of you as i can, but i lost quite a few addresses etc. when my gear was stolen in harpers ferry. I am now going to school in rockport maine for film at... Rockport College. The school is awsome, but i was less isolated when i was on the trail. I was at least walking and could go into town. Now i don't walk and i don't have anyother means of transport, not that that would help because there is nothing up there anyway. We never know whats going on outside our little bubble.I don't regret anything about how I hiked, only a couple of things from when i was hiking and though for quite a large piece of the trail i hated it, only on the realy rainy miserable days end after end cold wet socks every morining for the most part, I would love to be back out there right now... i realy realy didn't think i would be saying that at all and im saying it after only 4 months, so if not hiking, i'll be doing somthing soon. Talking about bicicling thru italy with my family this summer for an option...Anyway i gotta go for now, but yeah i finished oh and i ended up doing the second half of the wilderness in one day... i don't recommend doing that...
Date: 2003-02-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Just getting my journal started so anyone can follow me on my journey this year. I'm currently planning on a departure of March 23rd. My last day at work will be March 14th so that will give me a week to get all the final preparations taken care of. I'm pretty much ready to go as far as gear and planning are concerned. Just need to step up the workout routine over the next 5 weeks and I'll be in good shape to tackle this adventure ahead of me. More to come...
Date: 2003-02-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Another day closer to departure. Work is getting hectic as I'm trying to finish all my projects or at least have them ready to hand off by March 14th. I know I'm only going to have one full week off to make all my final preparations but I think that should be enough since all my gear has been purchased and I'm only planning a mail drop for Fontana Dam, NC. I figure other food maildrops can just be figured out on the trail. Between Bridget and my family I'm super confident that people will send me whatever I need whenever I need while I'm on the trail. I have to send a Thank You out to my Mom who will be transcribing this journal for me while I'm gone. Mike is down in Alabama or somewhere doing a 4 day prep hike this weekend. I hope he is not getting slammed too bad with the weather that is rolling through over the next couple of days. Gotta go.
Date: 2003-02-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm pretty much ready to go live with this journal thing so you can all follow me along in my preparations for the month and then along the trail. I hope everyone has finished digging out from the snow. It only took me about 2 hours to uncover my Jeep and Bridget's car. Lots of fun. Work is getting crazier by the day and yesterday's snow didn't help. I was hoping to take off Monday and Tuesday for the NJ and Philly Phish shows but now I might work at least one of those days. Anyway, I'm looking forward to them since I'll get to catch up with a bunch of people before I leave. Mike (my hiking buddy) is catching a week's worth of shows. Of course he is already done with work so he's got nothing but time on his hands. As far as this journal thing is concerned, I'll be sending my Mom my jounal entries through the mail and she will post them here. They will probably average about a week behind my actual schedule. If anyone wants to send me mail or anything else while I'm hiking, you can look at the maildrops section of my pages. I'll update this section as I'm hiking to make sure it is accurate and current. I've posted my first two mail drop locations because I'm sure I'll be stopping at these POs. Please sign my guestlist and if you have any questions for me, go ahead and ask and I'll try my best to come up with a good answer. Thats all for now.
Date: 2003-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everyone. The weather hasn't really cooperated much for any outdoor activities this last week but as the snow finally melts, I'm looking forward to getting out and hitting some of the trails around the Philly area. Granted it will be nothing like Georgia but I need to get out of the gym -- the stairmaster and treadmill are getting boring. If anyone was wondering Mike's trip down south went well. He ended up hiking the approach trail on his way down to Florida. We are probably going to skip it when we start so that worked out well. He said he met some interesting characters -- just a few of the many we will encounter on out journey. I'm starting to get a bit anxious because I feel like there are a million things to do before I leave but I'm sure everything will just work out. It always does.
Date: 2003-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The last few weeks has been a whirlwind thus the reason for no recent entries. The last 2 weeks have been filled with family parties, concerts, and of course lots of work. Its just hitting me that I'll be leaving work for over 6 months starting on Friday. There is a lot to be done and lot that I'll miss, but everyone at work has been so supportive. Hopefully a lot of EK people will be following me through this journal. So the gear has been bought and our limited number of maildrops have been planned. The only thing left to do is say goodbye to loved ones and hike over 2,000 miles. No problem. Seriously, the hardest part is going to be away from all of the people I've grown to depend on. I'm not really sure how I will feel once I get out there and start hiking but there will certainly be mixed emotions for a while. For all of those who are coming to my going away bash (Thanks Mom & Dad), I'll see you this weekend. I'll try to post some more stuff next week before departure. Later...
Date: 2003-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everyone. Just wanted to write before taking off for the trail. We were suppossed to leave this morning but Mike's car had some problems so we had to change plans. Now we are going to drive to Jacksonville to drop his car off and then head back up to the treailhead. This means we will probably hike the Approach Trail which is fine with me. Thanks to everyone for coming to my going away party. My mom posted a few pictures so make sure to take a look. The few extra days have actually helped out a lot. It let me spend some more time with Bridget and get myself organized. I think I'm ready, we'll see. We hit the trail on Tuesday.
Date: 2003-03-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

NJ-----Conshohocken------Jacksonville------GeorgiaAbout 24 hours in the car in the past two days and i'm here in the falls lodge ready to hike. We decided to skip the TPC @ Sawgrass which was gearing up in Mike's Florida community, and start hiking this trail. We are going to hike the Approach Trail tomorrow which should be a nice break-in day for us.We have already met some characters in our travels including a lady feeding a cat cheeseburgers when we stopped for food offI-95. I think we are ready to start this thingfo-sheezy.It's kind of weird starting this adventure with all the stuff going on in Iraq. God Bless America and the troops protecting our freedom.
Date: 2003-03-25
From: Amicalola Falls Lodge

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

Had a real nice climb up to Springer today. Lots of people from all over started today. There are about 20 people here tonight-- mostly thu hikers. Only saw a few people on the trial but everyonne sems to gather at the shelters at the end of the day. Met some pretty funny characters once again today. The weather by the way is 75 degrees sunny all day. What a day to start. I think I've got the lightest pack at the shelter tonight and there is still more weight that can be cut. I'm prepared and ready to do this thing. I already miss Bridget and everyone else at home but this is really going to be quite an adventure. see you tomorrow.   "Kiss the mountain air we breath,...its time to fly"..WP      FYI people met Coyote, Booble, Gretel, Joe(NZ) among others
Date: 2003-03-26
From: Springer Mountain

To: Campsite 0.5 miles north of Hightower Gap
Miles today: 8.4

Camped here with Mike and Boobel(Aaron). We stopped at Hawk Mt. Shelter but it was a madhouse. Today we just mozied along-- not in rush to get anywhere. Mike and I both walk pretty fast so we take lots of breaks and chat with everyone along tha trail. It's kind of weird because we see the same people everyday but really don't know them at all. We hung out last night building a fire with Joe and his Dad from FL. They are section hiking 6 days total. Some people already have blisters but I'm in good shape. Two fighter jets buzzed Springer Mt. this morning. they were about 500 feet above our campsite-- pretty cool. We are just getting used to the trail. We could put in more miles but we want to everything adjust. the first part of our hike today was through a pine forest filled with rhododendrums about to bloom. It will be a very cool section to walk through in a fwe weeks. The weather was amazing again today sunny and 75 degrees all day. I could get used to this stuff. I think my trail name will be Parkway-- Jersey and traffic engineering connections. I saw something big in the woods when getting water. Bear? Boar? It was big and black Hmmm..."Travein light is the only way to fly" JJ Cale
Date: 2003-03-27
From: Hightower Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Campsites @ Woody GapLong walk today--about 12 miles to get to these sites right by the road. It's the first real road we've seen in three days--kind of weird. The day was filled with sunshine as usual. We climbed Sassafrass Mtn. and had realy cool views all day. Tomorrow we will climb Blood Mountain and then maybe on to Walasi-yi the first place we resupply. My feet are sore and I have a few blisters but everything is OK. I'm kinda getting a nice funk about me. Time to go light a fire.
Date: 2003-03-28
From: Woody Gap

To: Blood Mountain
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Another great day on the trail. I've got a few blisters so we are going to hike down 2 miles to Neel's Gap and get a cabin with Booble, Mike (Sidewinder) and Alex. It was slow going today due to the blisters but the climb was nice. The up and downs aren't bad at all. The almost zero day tomorrow will be nice to make phone calls and check in with the real world. We met Alex today and hiked with him most of the day. We hooked him up with some supplies and he was very appreciative. Not too many characters on the trial but we did meet a guy that walked out of nowhere. He proceeded to rip the AT and how crowded it was. I didn't mind. Life is good."Shit man, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing" Office Space
Date: 2003-03-29
From: Blood Mountain

To: Neel's Gap
Miles today: 2.4
Weather: broken clouds

Motel in Blairsville GeorgiaWe hiked two miles down into Neel's Gap this morning. A few hours were spent at Walasi-Yi shaking out our gear. I got new Salomon boots because my Montrail's just were not cutting it. Too many blisters. Me and Mike are splitting a room with Booble, Toonces and Miranda. We already arranged for a shuttle in the morning. We will probably do around 10 miles tomorrow, I got to talk to Mom and Dad and Bridget. It was nice to hear some familiar voices. The power of the telephone. I've got to put my stuff together before hitting the sack so I'm going to get moving. Best quote of the day at Neel's Gap. "I'm a thru hiker and today I'm through hiking"We're still going strong.
Date: 2003-03-30
From: Neel's Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: broken clouds

Got a good nights sleep last night and watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Ahhh, the joy of TV. Long walk today about 11 miles in the wind and snow. Got some great photos and the forest looked amazing. Too cold to write. Its dropping into the low 20s tonight."Kick it into 3rd if you know you're going to climb that hill."-Ween
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Yeah, I know another hotel, another town stop!? Yes. It was super cold last night so a motel was calling our name. Me, Sidewinder (Mike), Booble, and Truckin' (Brian Pound - also on trailjournals) are splitting a room tonight. $10 bucks a head and the have a mini-fridge and heated pool! Booble just set his stove on fire trying to cook dinner. Too funny. Looks like its time for a new stove for him. Next step - grease pot from Wal-Mart to cut some more weight. The hike today was around 10 miles. Cold but very sunny. At the Blue Mtn. Shelter is was decision time. Shelter or walk another 2 miles and hitch to Helen for a hotel. The hotel won out w/ a little convincing from your's truly. I forgot to mention this is the first place we've been where we can buy beer! We are slowly creeping out of the bible belt. I just got off the phone with B-money and all is good back at home. Its always nice to get some good news from the real world. We seem to be hitting a lot of towns but we are putting in the miles too so we are on schedule. We got a super kind ride into to town from 2 UAB kids doing a section hike on spring break and the lady that cyhecked us into the motel offered us a ride back to the trail in the morning. Gotta love southern hospitality."In my mind I was like a child, and it felt good!" -WP
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Addis Gap
Miles today: 10.8

After a pretty long day (about 11 miles) we are sitting by the fire. Me, Sidewinder, Booble are here as usual. Bumpkin and Muddbutt (also on trailjournals) and Healer are here too. The terrain today was moderate to difficult. The views atop Tray Mountain were awesome. The weather was much better today - about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We got a ride back to the trail from some older guy in the back of his pick-up truck. Seems to be the norm for hitching these days. We couldn't understand a word he said but he gave us a ride so he ok in my book. Hiawasse tomorrow. Email, showers, fast food here I come. Can't wait to talk to Bridget and the family. As I am writing, Healer is giving chiropractics (sp?) help to eveyone. I'm up next for a back adjustment.Doc - I heard you are engaged! Congrats!!!"I'm the man on the mountain, won't you come on up."-Rolling Stones
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Addis Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: clear sky

I'm sitting at the library in Hiawasse right now. We just rolled into town after doing about 6 miles this morning. So far we've hit McDonalds (a little piece of heaven right there), got a motel room, hit the post office, and now I'm updating my journal. So why didn't anyone send me mail? The only thing I got was a package I sent myself :( So if you sent me something, it will most likele get sent back to you in a month. I'll check again in the morning just in case stuff comes in today. Anyway we've got some more errands including re-supplying and Booble's got to make a new stove.I know the entries are kind of not in order but my Mom will update the beginning of the trip once she gets them in the mail. I sent them on Monday so it should be updated soon.Everything else is good. I'm a little sore and have some blisters but all in all we are doing good. We should cross into NC tomorrow. The first state line! Things are good. My next maildrop is updated -- Fontana Dam on or about April 10th if anyone wants to send me stuff.Better go check my email now. Any guess on how many messages? I'm thinking 50."I have nipples Greg, can you milk me?"--Meet The Parents
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Plumorchard Gap
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: clear sky

Got moving a little late this morning. Rolled out of bed around 9:00 and downed a glazes donut and Gatorade compliments of Sidwinder. Shot over to the P.O. to double check on mail. Turns out there were 2 envelopes there for me. One from Bridget and one from Mom :) Woo-hoo. I knew somebody loved me. It always nice to get letters from home. The guy at the post office yesterday was not in a very good mood so I don't think he really looked for my mail. I think he may have just broken up with his girlfrien on the phone as we were walking in. I don't really care since I got all my mail after all. My mom sent me a bunch of stuff from her students -- very cute letters and drawings. We hit Subway for some foot longs before crusijng back to the trail. We started hiking at about 1:30 after chatting with some other hikers at the trailhead. 5 miles later, we are at the shelter. It looks like NC will have to wait until tomorrow. There are some T-storms in the forecast so we are hoping for the best. The mountain are really cool and the hiking is fun. I've never hiked in this area before so it is really new experience.Me, Sidewinder, and Booble are at the shelter with only one other person which is odd for thru-hiker season. I guess everyone else pushed on for Bly Gap and the state line. Papa Bob (the onther guy here) is 78 and lives in State College, PA. Small world. He has an apartment in King of Prussia too!"It would be a whole lot cooler if you did" -Dazed & Confused
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Plumorchard Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Got out 1st rain of the trip today. It was just a sprinkle and felt nice during the hike. Put in a nice 12.2 miles today and I feel great. Today was a huge milestone for us -- Goodbye GA and hello NC!!!!Looks like tonight is going to be a little cooler. Its OK because the fire is rolling as usual. We have a cou0ple of nice climbs tomorrow. I hope the weather clears up so we can enjoy the 360 degree views. There are some section hikers here tonight including Short Trip who rolled in late last night to Plumorchard. Smiley (a thru) is also here. I think out crew is almost ready to start pushing big miles. The 12.2 today as actually pretty easy. I'm still nervous about the Smokies which await us in about a week. One thing Short Trip pointed out that I really noticed today was the difference in vegetation at different elevations. Around 3000 feet, spring is in full bloom but above 4000 feet it still feels like winter. Sometimes I feel like I'm in the rain forest and then in the tundra."Anything you want to keep cold, son"-Tommy Boy
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: heavy intensity rain

What a crazy day!!! I woke up to some serious thunderstorms rolling through camp. After an hour of wishing it would stop raining, I finally crawled out of my tent and dashed over to the shelter. The scene was not good. My tent was soaked and completely covered in mud. Apparently, when you set up a tent on dirt and then it rains, the dirt turns to mud and splashes all over the tent! Who knew? At this point my spirits were low. We were 24 miles from the road to Franklin, NC and out gear was soaked. We all packed up and Short Trip offered to pack our garbage out and he also gave me some trash bags to keep my stuff dry. Thanks Short Trip! We finally got rolling around 9:30 after a short "Sun Dance" by Sidwinder. Within a half hour the rain stopped, the sun was out, and I was peeling off the layers. By lunch time I was hiking in shorts and a t-shirt and loving it. It was a complete change, both weather and mood. We ended up hiking 14.4 miles -- out longest day yet. The hike included an amzing climb up Albert Mountain. Tough but worth it. We climbed the obsevation tower at the top and were rewarded with the best viewes of the trip. (Photos coming soon!) Truly a remarkable day. Tomorrow we hit the 100-mile mark. Can't wait."How should I know, I'm not a bartender." --Booble