morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 3.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We had an interesting night. At about 10:30 PM a group of 11 riders and HORSES were outside the shelter. They were lost. I gave them directions because none of them could read a map. It was like the cast of Young Guns crossed with the Three Stooges. ¢Hey Moe! Giddiyap!¢The walk into Standing Bear was easy. We had thunderstorms from midnight till 8 AM so it was slick but otherwise no sweat. My sleeping bag got drenched by a leak that I slept through last night so it is hanging to dry tonight. Looking back on Great Smoky Mountain National Park, I realize that even though it was beautiful, I really didn¢t like it much. It really wore me out! Everybody who hikes says that if you can tackle the Smokies, you can go the whole way. I understand why they say that now. Most of the trail was over 4,000 feet and some of it was over 6,000 feet. At a mile, the atmosphere has only 80% oxygen (compared with sea level). Add in climbs, rocks, roots, mud, thunderstorms, sleet, hail, freezing weather in May, inaccurate maps, bad signage, blisters, wet socks, swollen feet and knees, no dry clothes, poor diet, and the fact that I can¢t see crap through my dirty glasses,¢¦ Well, you get the picture. The Smokies were a lot harder than I expected. We did some hard pulls out of pags and crossed the second highest peak in the Eastern US. I saw some of the most beautiful sights in this country. Most people don¢t realize that the trail is not a flat trail. It goes through Mountains. Its is a lot harder than walking down a sidewalk.A mile on the trail is like a 5,280-foot long obstacle course. It will go up, down, or both up to 6,643 feet. It will have logs, rocks, roots, holes, drops, climbs, mud, dirt, stone, water, trees, vines, thicket, poison ivy, snakes, bears, bees, mosquitoes, ticks, ants, day hikers, night hikers, rangers, ridge runners, recreationists, and rude riders. You will have to to navigate this course with a 30 ¢ 40 pound pack, in poor light, with rain, lightning, sleet, hail, heat, wet, dry, etc., ¢¦ The time table will always be a little less than what you need. At the end of this obstacle mile, you will get to do it again, 2,175 times. At this point, we¢ve got 230 more miles of these same mountains. I¢m confident that I will do it. I¢m not confident that it will be fun.On to better things. Today, as we approached Standing Bear Farm, I was hoping it would be a nice place. I found 2 hikers there that I started with. Skinny B and Postal. It was like a homecoming. I thought I¢d never catch up with them. We¢re sitting around the fire and talking about everything. There are 8 or 9 good hiker trash society members here and we are all in the coolest place that we can be. I am happy. It has been a long time since I could say that with no reservations. CHEERS! Blister Bill, Skinny B, Postal, Whimsey, Happy Talk, Curtis, Sprocket, Joe. And here¢s to absent companions Hotsauce, Spiceman, Little Step, and all of the rest.
Date: 2006-02-08
To: Why Hike the Appalachian Trail?
Miles today: 0.0

I came to the decision to keep an online journal of my 2006 thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail so my family, friends, and students can stay updated on the daily progress of my journey. The thought of keeping a journal online frightens me a bit considering that I have never been one to openly share my thoughts and feelings. But I hope you enjoy and don¢t forget to sign my guest book over to the left.Well it only seems fitting to start this journal with some kind of explanation as to ¢Why¢ I am attempting to walk over 2,000 miles in less than 4 months. This is not an easy question to answer but I will do my best to explain. I have spent my life surrounded by great role models. My Grandfather, Fred Bare, is the smartest, toughest, and most humble man I know. One of his many brothers, Alan Bare, completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail when I was an elementary school student. I grew up watching my Dad, Mike Klinedinst, run marathons and compete in triathlons (Most memorable being an Iornman Triathlon 2.5 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.) As a student in the Dallastown School District, I was lucky enough to be exposed to many great teachers and coaches. I believe that my daily exposure to these great people has made me the goal driven person that I am. So how does being a goal driven person lead me to the trail? Well in college I found myself section hiking the trail in PA. I ran into several thru-hikers attempting the half-gallon challenge at Pine Grove Furnace and talked with them about their experiences. From that time on, every step I took on the trail made me dream of the day I would complete my thru-hike. I will turn 30 years old two-weeks before I start my journey on April 29th and the time to complete this goal is now.It is hard to describe what I want out of this experience. So rather than trying to express this in my own words, I will let the words of successful thru-hikers explain what I can¢t say.I had the most amazing experiences hiking the A.T. It was exciting, tiring, magical, lonely, frustrating, beautiful, wet, sublime, scary, cold, amazing, boring, hot, humid, surreal, and perfect. It was everything all at once. It was everything I hoped it would be. It was nothing like I expected it would be.--Megan ¢Glacier¢ SuppleFinishing the A.T. was like winning the Super Bowl on my way to the electric chair.--David ¢Stewball¢ AckleyThis is a hundred times harder than I ever imagined, and a thousand times more rewarding.-- John ¢Madhatter¢ PassmanIt is not easy to commit to a goal in which the odds are stacked against you. Less than 20% of the people that have attempted a thru-hike have made it, and most of these people were planning their hike over a period of 6 months. Taking 4 months away from my beautiful wife and family, a month of unpaid-leave from my teaching position and the many other sacrifices I am making will all be worth it when I reach the top of Mt. Katahdin.
Date: 2006-02-09
To: About the AT
Miles today: 0.0

The purpose of this entry is to provide information about the Appalachian Trail. I am amazed at the lack of general knowledge people (especially students) have about the trail. This post will also serve as a useful tool for Mr. Myers¢ students and other classes that will be using my thru-hike in their classes. I have also included a number of links to useful facts and info about the great Appalachian Trail.The Appalachian Trail, known simply as the "A.T." among those who hike on it, is a 2174.9-mile-long scenic mountaintop footpath used each year by millions of backpackers from around the world to fellowship with wilderness and commune with nature. Many hikers venture out for a day or maybe even a week at a time, about 2,000 people a year attempt to march all five-million steps from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine.At a Glance (Information from A.T.C. web site)The Appalachian Trail, completed in 1937:¢¢        Is a unit of the National Park Service. ¢¢        Is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2,175 miles. ¢¢        Is the first national scenic trail, designated in 1968. ¢¢        Houses more than 2,000 occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species. ¢¢        Crosses six national parks. ¢¢        Traverses eight national forests. ¢¢        Touches 14 states. ¢¢        Is maintained by 30 trail clubs and multiple partnerships. Threats to the A.T. experience include:¢¢        Highway construction ¢¢        Housing developments ¢¢        Invasive exotic plants ¢¢        Declining air quality Fun facts about the Appalachian Trail:¢¢        Lowest elevation: 124 feet. ¢¢        Highest elevation: 6,625 feet. ¢¢        There are 165,000 blazes along the length of the Trail. ¢¢        More than 8,000 people have reported hiking the length of the Trail. ¢¢        It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail.A.T. WebsitesAppalachian Trail ConservancyAppalachian Long Distance Hikers AssociationTrailplace       Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics For many more links check out this web pageAppalachian Trail Links
Date: 2006-02-09
To: Gear
Miles today: 0.0

I began my quest to reduce the weight of my gear last summer. I learned quickly that the backpacking gear I had purchased my senior year of college (99-00) has already become outdated by lighter and better designed gear. I did a lot of reading and research before purchasing any gear because I feel that the success of a thru-hike is very dependent upon what you carry on your back. Over the next 2 months I will continue to test the items I have purchased and make my final decisions about what I will carry. To check out my gear click on the GEAR link to the left.
Date: 2006-02-15
To: Time for Serious Preparation
Miles today: 0.0

Wrestling season ended last weekend so now I can focus more time on preparation for my hike. I was very proud of the Junior High wrestling team (which I coach) for their improvement this year. They started the season off shaky, but worked hard and made major improvements as the season progressed. The varsity team at Dallastown had an awesome season finishing in the top 6 in the PIAA team tournament. Sectionals start this weekend and I wish the team luck as the individual season begins.With 2 months to go until I head south to Springer Mt. I am feeling the pressure to get everything ready. Mileage, mail drops, and gear are some of my hiking concerns but then there are those work related concerns like substitute plans and budget materials. This leaves me all of my ¢free time¢ to help Danielle prepare things around the house for my absence. The only part of my preparation that I feel good about is my physical conditioning. I spent last summer training for a half-marathon which I ran Labor Day weekend. (By the way, my Dad whom I mentioned in a previous post beat me in this race and I ran a 7.20 min/mile pace.) I have been working out on a treadmill and stepper during the week and hiking on the weekends. I am fortunate that I live beside a county park that has a series of trails, so I have been loading my pack with various items I find around the house and getting some actual trail miles in. I even went out this past weekend in about a foot of snow and logged several miles.I plan to go on several shakedown (fancy term for testing out my gear) hikes on the AT before heading to Springer Mt. My original plans were to hike all of PA before going to Springer and then skipping from MD to NJ this summer. I would still like to get the majority of PA done before I start but if I am on pace with my mileage plans (20-25 miles per day) I will re-hike PA. I just wanted to end this post by thanking all of my family and friends for their understanding and the positive encouragement I have received. It is your support that makes me confident in my ability to carry out this goal.
Date: 2006-02-28
To: Exactly 2 Months
Miles today: 0.0

Today marks exactly 2 months until I start my hike. I have made some progress since my last post and I now have almost all of my gear ready. I have also completed my itinerary which was a very humbling experience. The process of planning mileage, lodging and mail drops has made the reality of my thru-hike set-in. As far as my training goes, it has been going well although I have to admit I am done with the treadmill. It seems like every time I try to run or walk on a treadmill I end up with shin splints or planter fasciitis. Several years ago while training for a half marathon I developed planter fasciitis (this is an injury that occurs to the ligaments in the bottom of your foot). Ever since injuring my foot, I have had to deal with on and off heel pain. The treadmill seems to change my gate and cause the planter fasciitis to reoccur. So I have been enduring the cold weather and doing a lot of hiking on the trails by my house. This weekend I am going to do a section of the A.T. from Boiling Springs to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Danielle will drop me off Friday night at the ATC office in Boiling Springs and then I will hike about 4 miles to the Alec Kennedy Shelter leaving me with 16 miles to hike on Saturday. I hope it warms up, the last few nights have dropped into the teens so I am not sure if my 20 degree bag will be enough. If it is calling for temperatures that low, I will probably take my summer bag to use as a liner with my other bag. These temperatures will be a good bit colder than anything I will have to deal with on my thru-hike. Because of my late start, I should not run into to many nights that drop below freezing. I ordered a Pocketmail device yesterday, if it gets here before Friday I will be typing my next journal entry while out on the AT (How exciting!). Pocketmail is a small handheld device that allows you to send and receive email from any telephone. This device will allow me to keep my journal somewhat up-to-date while I am hiking. I will type in my entries and then when I can get to a phone I will send them to Danielle via email. Once she receives the email, she can copy the text and paste it into my online journal. Pictures can not be sent with Pocketmail, so my pictures will usually follow the journal entries by a couple of weeks. If you were reading closely, you may have caught the part about RECEIVING email. Yes, I will be able to receive emails sent to me while I am hiking. If you sign my guest book on this web site it will forward your entry to my email account. If you want to send me an email directly you can also do that, I will put my email address on here once I know which one I will use. I hope to hear from everyone that reads my journal. I think it will be a great way to deal with the loneliness that I will experience on the trail.
Date: 2006-03-05
To: Shakedown Hike
Miles today: 0.0

The shakedown hike this weekend went well. Friday evening I got a late start out of Boiling Springs and didn¢t roll into the Alec Kennedy Shelter until almost 7:00 PM (3.9 miles). The shelter was .2 miles off the AT on a blue blazed trail. I was the only one at the shelter. Dinner went well, I used my alcohol stove to boil water and add to a dehydrated meal. It started to get really cold really fast so by 8:00 PM I was bundled up in my sleeping bag. I read the shelter registry and called Danielle and then by 10:00 PM I went to sleep. I slept through the night pretty well. I unraveled myself from my sleeping bags (Yes this is plural) about 6:30 AM and my thermometer read 23 degrees. Over the next hour I learned the following lessons about winter hiking:- Do not leave water in the hose of your hydration bag, it didn¢t thaw out until after lunch.- Alcohol stoves are difficult to light in cold temps, especially when the lighter fluid is to cold to operate.- Clean pots etc. immediately or leftovers will instantly freeze to the sides of the pot.- Don¢t take over an hour to get up and get hiking or your hands and feet go numb.After I ate my oatmeal and drank my well deserved hot tea, I was off for a day of hiking. The morning was full of some difficult climbs and rock scrambles. At about 11:30 AM I stopped at the James Fry Shelter for lunch. The hiking in the afternoon was much easier and I arrived at Pine Grove Furnace State Park around 2:00 PM (15.5 miles). Physically I had no problem completing the miles although Saturday afternoon I did start to feel some pain in my foot. I did not see any wildlife except a mutilated deer (This was eerie check out the pictures). I did meet a few people after lunch. I ran into 3 day hikers and talked with them about my thru-hiking plans. Later, I saw a group of boy scouts on a side trail but didn¢t stop to talk. While waiting for Danielle at Pine Grove State Park, I met an interesting hiker that goes by FANNYPACK. He hiked the A.T. in ¢96 and since has hiked the PCT. He offered me some great advice on taking care of my feet and dealing with planter fasciitis, which he had on his PCT thru-hike.This coming weekend I will be at the State Wrestling Tournament. I will probably head out to do another section hike the weekend after that.Later
Date: 2006-04-09
To: Less than 3 Weeks
Miles today: 0.0

Those of you that watch Lost may have mistaken this picture of my basement for the inside of the hatch. Those of you that don¢t watch Lost probably think that I have a serious junk food addiction. What you see is what I will be eating for the next several months. My goal will be to eat 4000 calories a day (This is about double of what I eat on a normal day). That seems unreasonable to me now, but after a week of 20 mile days I doubt that I will have a problem with that much food. The goal of a backpacker is to carry foods that are very light but very dense in calories. So my 4000 calories need to come from a total of about 2 pounds of food. Other than planning maildrops (which are now posted), purchasing food, and refining my gear I have been busy strengthening my ankle and getting things at school and home ready for my absence. The ankle is feeling much better (Thanks Laura!). Last weekend I put in about 12 miles and it swelled up a bit, but yesterday I did about 8 miles in the mud and rain and I didn¢t even notice it. I am very confident that the exercises and stretching that I have been doing will have it ready to go by the 29th.That¢s right less than 3 weeks and I will be Northbound. There is definitely some anxiety setting in at this point. Did I choose the right gear? Are my maildrops and re-supplies going to be sufficient? What type of weather will I face? Can my body stay strong and healthy? The beauty of an adventure like this is that there is plenty of time to make changes and adjustments. So if things aren¢t going well you make adjustments. I have made arrangements for getting to Springer Mt. in Georgia. Danielle, my parents and I will leave Friday the 28th and drive to Knoxville, TN and stay in a motel. From there we will have about 4 to 5 hours to get to Amicalola Falls State Park. Then we will all hike the approach trail (8.8 miles) where we will say our goodbyes and my long walk North will begin.
Date: 2006-04-20
To: One Last Shakedown Hike
Miles today: 0.0

I am realizing what a challenge it is going to be to keep an updated journal while hiking. For the last five days, I have been thinking about writing an entry and haven¢t had the time to do it. With just over a week to go I have been doing a lot of final prep.I had a great Easter weekend! Danielle agreed to a weekend on the trail as a birthday gift to me, so Friday my Parents dropped Danielle and I off where Rt. 11 crosses the A.T. near Carlisle. We started hiking about 2:30, luckily the rain held off and we made it to Cove Mt. shelter just before dark (13 miles). When we arrived, there were a number of guys already staying in the shelter so we decided to set up the tent. We made mac n cheese and were in our sleeping bags by 9:00 pm. Fortunately the thunder storms passed just south of us, although the thunder woke us throughout the night. Saturday we were up early and on our way into Duncannon for AYCE breakfast. One day on the trail and we were both starving. We parked at the truck stop just by Clark¢s Ferry Bridge so we had to walk through Duncannon for a total of about 6 miles from Cove Mt shelter(A total of almost 20 miles for Danielle¢s first trip, I think she could do the whole thing). She enjoyed the trip except the up hills, which are hills and not mountains as she called them. It was great to have Danielle out there getting a chance to see what my world will be like in less than 2 weeks. Well, it is time to get away from the computer and finish packing maildrops. Hopefully I will get another post up before I leave, but if I don¢t I will be entering my next post from Hawk Mt Shelter.
Date: 2006-04-24
To: Thank You
Miles today: 0.0

5 days and counting!I just wanted to thank my family and friends for an awesome party this weekend. Your support means so much and will definitely be with me on the trail. I also wanted to thank Frank Bodani of The York Daily Record, for his excellent coverage of the Appalachian Trail. Reading the series last year about Joe McMaster and the others attempting thru-hikes was very inspiring. Click HERE to read his story about my upcoming adventure, which appeared in the York Daily Record, Monday, April 24, 2006.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Amicalola Falls State Park 

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

The long walk I have been talking about and planning for has finally begun. It¢s currently 9:30 and I am tucked safely into the warmth of my sleeping bag on a cool night in the mountains of Georgia. The wind is whipping here at Hawk Mountain but my tent provides me with a great shelter.The last couple of days seem like one big blur. Last minute details at home and school kept me to busy to ever really get nervous. Before I knew it we were in the car on the way to Knoxville. A quick nap (5 hours of sleep) at a hotel and it was back in the car to finish the 13 hour drive to Amicalola Falls State Park. The weather was beautiful until the last hour of the trip when the rain started to come down. When we got to the visitors center, it was still raining and my mom and Danielle were having second thoughts about hiking the 8.8 mile approach trail and then turning around and hiking it again. With the encouragement of the park official they decided against the hike. Instead they hiked the first mile of the trail, to the top of the falls and then drove to the top of Springer Mountain.I had said before it was raining, but when I left the visitors center to have my picture taken as a thru-hiker, the sun was shinning. It was awesome, come in one side of the building and it was raining, exit out the other and it was perfect.My dad and I hiked the moderately difficult approach trail in 3 hours. My beautiful wife and mom were waiting at Springer Mountain with delicious subs. (It is to bad my family couldn't provide this type of service throughout the entire trip.) I checked in with Richard the ridge runner. He informed me that I was about the 900th thru-hiker to set off for Maine this season. The parking lot was about 1 mile down the A.T. so we all headed to the car after lunch. This was a long walk knowing I was going to be saying goodbye to Danielle and my parents. Their support of my hike is unbelievable and I love each of them so much. After saying our goodbyes, I hiked about 7.5 miles to the shelter where I am now.The shelter was full and there are probably about 20 people here tonight. Most of those here are boy scouts, but i did talk with a few hikers. I talked to Ol skool for a little while. He thru-hiked the trail in 2000 and I am hoping to pick his brain some more tomorrow. I did also meet a number of hikers today, but I have not yet met any other thru-hikers. Well its time for some sleep. It took me nearly an hour to try and type this on my pocketmail. Someone needs to invent a voice recognition device like this.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I pulled up short of Blood Mountain. After 19 miles of tough ups and downs, I was a little intimidated by the 1,000 ft climb over 1 mile.I hit the trail about 8 am and was cruzing pretty good. I caught Ol Skool about 8:30 and we hiked together on and off all day. He is here at Woods Hole, which was another reason I called it a day. It has been really cool walking with ol skool. He was a wrestler in Missouri and he has a lot of great stories about his thru-hike in 2000. There were a couple of great views today but you couldn't stay long because it was so cold and windy. It is in the 40s tonight in the shelter, but I am plenty warm. Tomorrow it is in to Neel's gap. This is the 30 mile point where they say that 30% of thru-hikers pack it in. I won't add to that statistic although I may have to back my miles off until my blisters feel better.