morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-02-21
To: Countdown to sore feet.
Miles today: 0.0

One of my favorites things while on the trail is to observe how different each of us walks or limp in some cases. Sure it¢s one foot in front of the other, but spending a fair amount afoot in the last several years has me more attune into gate, stride, step, slide, shuffle, saunter, bounce, spring, heel toe, toe heel, limps, sore knees, twisted ankle, tendonitis and resupply pack weights. It¢s endless. Of course it all stems from the pelvic-bone connecting to the hipbone connecting to the leg, knee, shine, ankle, whatever bone.Your walk says a lot about you. You can¢t help but easily spot a confident person simply by watching their deliberate pace. Or the timid soul with their slow, somewhat pigeon toed small steps.On the trail most of us can determine if we're walking behind a man or woman based on the size of the shoe print. I¢ve been able to fine-tune this a bit to know if the person had tuna or peanut butter at their snack break. On good days I can also determine their sock fluff. The craziest prints I¢ve followed on the AT weren¢t shoe prints at all but rather barefoot prints for cryn¢ out loud!#? Two thousand miles is hard enough with shoes, but fleshy tender toes and soles naked without protection. ¢ Well, a bag of hammers has a higher IQ.Many of you think the requirement for hiking over 500 miles, a 1000 or 2000 miles comes down to having the right (and left, usually) hiking shoes, which I wholeheartedly say ¢Yea bubba.¢ The modern hiking trend to go lighter with the gear has allowed us to switch to trail runners rather than those heavier leather boots thru-hikers of just ten years ago had to tolerate. Trail runners or lower hiking shoes keep our feet nimble and reduce the leg fatigue that comes with the distance. Almost any kind of shoe can be worn the entire length of a thru-hike if one doesn¢t mind wearing tatters, but the decision to switch out to a new pair always comes down to tread stickiness for me. On my hikes I¢ve gone through three pair and four pair in my two end-to-end journeys. Marley, an ¢06 trail mate, only went several hundred miles in his first pair, that¢s when he came to the trails first river ford. Smartly, to keep his socks dry (A man after my own heart) removed his socks and shoes and with laces tied together draped them over his neck before wading in wearing Crocs. But alas, river bottoms are filled with nooks and crannies and wildlife. It is there, in the middle of the stream that a rather large trout we suspect grabbed his colorful Croc. Marley wobbled but remained vertical; unfortunately the trapeze action sent the sock stuffed shoes to the raging river. Unknown that particular morning was that Venus, Mercury, Mars, Earth and our Moon just so happen to have their gravity¢s aligned and amazingly, Marley¢s shoes bounced rather than sink. The now floating trail shoes turned kayaks found the current and bid Marley good luck on his journey, but they had decided to go with the flow ¢ next stop, The Atlantic Ocean. The remaining sixty miles to town were in Crocs! Classic, made a nice illustration too.
Date: 2010-02-23
To: Top Ten Tops
Miles today: 0.0

As the old adage states, ¢By the time you reach New Hampshire, 85% of the trail is done, but only 15% of the effort.¢ Sort of hard to believe that with just words.That new National Geographic documentary, Americas Wild Places: The Appalachian Trail, used that statement in the narration and coupled it with stunning cinematography that proved the point. Seeing is believing.That led me to making my own personal Top Ten List of the climbs one will face in a thru-hike. Many of the hardest, most demanding ascents were, in fact, New Hampshire and Maine. But mainly those climbs of The Whites where even the most fit of us have to reduce our daily mileage from 20 down to the low teens. A factor in all this would have to be weather conditions(like SNOW) at the time of the climb and how one might be feeling when facing them ¢ blisters, aches, general weakness, etc. My list is combining both my trail journeys to rank them.Additionally, my rankings are not determined by steepness alone, but sometimes by duration ¢ the length of the climb, as well as the elevation gain. Take Albert Mountain in North Carolina. At one point it turns up on quite a steep angle, but it¢s a very short duration, The Mahoosuc Arm is as steep and much longer than good old Albert. In contrast, South Kinsman in The Whites isn¢t as steep, but will take the better part of a full day, hiking with purpose, to reach the summit ¢ it¢s a beast. The Approach Trail, for those who take it, isn¢t that big a deal other than when it comes in the hike and where our trail fitness is in the journey. Being the first climb leg muscles face has it on my list. Direction must also be a factor; this list is based on a Northbound journey. If I was doing a Southbound journey, Mt. Moosilauke might be #1, as its listed, it¢s the most treacherous descent of a Northbound hike ¢ spectacularly beautiful, but crazy steep.Probably the most amazing gesture of deprogramming on a thru-hike is how after a while of making these big climbs, you no longer fret them. Where once they triggered some worry, as the months and miles march forward, so does your perspective. They just become something else in front of you rather than some menacing foe. Mountains transformed into molehills, all thanks to your new found inner strength.
Date: 2010-02-25
To: Snow shoes with style.
Miles today: 0.0

Hiking in some of the current snow depths, is many things, not sure hiking is the best word? Maybe trudging seems to be a more honest assessment of what many are slogging through. At least the start to Neels gap has improved.I¢m not amazed that the mountains can get this kind of snow; they are mountains and have higher elevations. We may be able to predict what will fall, but controlling it the last time I looked was still in the hands of a higher power. For those who have preservered through it all and make Fontana (160+ miles of the most extreme AT conditions), they¢re getting the dubious rewarded that The Smoky¢s still having 18 to 46 inches of snow. Unless the area miraculously turns into Miami, trudging without relief will be the status quo. Oh, it will melt, just not on the normal thru-hike season schedule. At least the winds aren't blowing like they currently are (at the time of this posting) atop Mt. Washington (122 mph).That nice sunny warm up last week knocked the heck out of some of it, but if the AT teaches you anything, it teaches you to relearn the concept of patience. Sort of waiting out a lightning storm. Some of us who¢ve delayed our start dates are chomping at the bit to hike to see what can be seen, unfortunately it seems spring will be quite late and Punxsutawney Phil was correct on his prediction about winter this year. Some out on the trail, in order to keep going are considering getting snowshoes. I had no idea that high-tech snowshoes were $150 to $300, did you? I have a couple of old Wilson Tennis rackets that would help many make better progress than what our skinny, not so wide hiking shoes allow for. And I didn¢t realize snowshoes weigh in the 4 to 5 pound range for the pair. No wonder you don¢t see a lot of show shoeing in suburbia. That, and we all have cars in suburbia. However, I think I¢ve finally figured out the easy solution to the leg post holing in these snow depths everyone is tolerating. What might make things a touch easier is some of those really big Ringling Brothers circus clown shoes. They're big and wide, they have laces and we could just slip those dinner plate sized monstrosities and float our way on top of all this nuisance snow. May even be able to toboggan down some of the descents, making for easier miles. And some are actually quite stylish, coming in poka-dots, checkerboards and tuxedo patterns for the more well-to-do of us. Heck, at about $25 bucks, you can get several pair.Yep, lacing up a pair of big honkin¢ clown shoes could turn thru-trudging back into thru-hiking? Hey, it¢s a thought.
Date: 2010-03-04
To: Waiting doesn't agree with us.
Miles today: 0.0

Why do we dislike WAITING so immensely? Is it because our true start in life begins with us having to hold up for ten months in Mom, in the dark? Or do we somehow feel we¢ll fall behind in the great game of Life if we have an unplanned pause? Is that why so many behind the wheel cut in front of us at a road merger rather than practicing some road courtesy and taking their turn? (We all know how terrible it is to arrive 2.8 seconds later for being a courteous driver!)Even when you go to The Happiest Place on Earth ¢ Disney, you have to wait in lines. Sort of like foreplay before the big event in a ¢G¢ rated way. We wait in rush hour traffic on the way to work in our box and we wait on the way home too. The speed limit may be 65 in most places, but I hear in Los Angeles all they can average is about 18 mph. Heading out into a wilderness adventure was supposed to put an end to all that waiting, wasn¢t it? Other than waiting for the Post Office to open back up after closing for lunch, there¢s not a lot of waiting on a thru-hike. Until this year.The slower groundspeed of foot travel coupled with thousands of miles does teach one patience by the completion of the adventure. However, this is at the start of the journey where ¢cityness¢ is still pumping raw and unrestricted in our veins and it¢s driving us batty. We need more sun and warmer temps and we need to get this thing called spring in bloom, and quick. For me, all the pieces have become crystal clear in regards to my half-hike to Harpers Ferry. Since I already know it takes me 14 days to arrive at the Smoky¢s southern entrance, I really can¢t start until I know they¢ve had a significant melt. Whatever rhythm I¢ll have in the hike will come to a screeching halt unless I embrace my inner Yukon Cornelius and opt for snowshoes ¢ Ahh, thank you no. This now means that the conditions in the Smoky¢s are now my barometer in determining my start date. If they become vastly improved there, it will be gravy on the trail leading up to it. That¢s the vision. That¢s the new strategy. So I¢ll wait to start to avoid waiting when I start.
Date: 2010-03-09
To: Northbounders
Miles today: 0.0

Finally, we¢re not the only ones moving north. Thought everyone tired of waiting, tired of snow could use some really good news from one of the best barometers that winter is on its last leg. It¢s not unusual to hear Canadian geese high overhead in my neck of the woods, the house sits directly underneath a migratory flight path for thousands of bird species. Even the monarch butterfly¢s come this way. Anyway, yesterday while in the backyard de-winterizing things for the season, I heard another large flock of geese as I do most days, only this group of seventy or more were heading due north and at a great altitude. Those two aspects coupled together say their heading back to Canada. Sunnier days are ahead and melting temperatures will continue ¢ Hallelujah.Just a touch more patience on all of our parts and everyone will be able to hike, not trudge, be able to make miles instead of prolonged motel stays and find their rhythm with the outdoors ¢ Thank you northbound geese, better days are coming.
Date: 2010-03-24
To: Stink happens.
Miles today: 0.0

The following is a public service message to all friends and family who intend on visiting their hiking loved ones. Be warned, you endanger singeing your own nasal passages from the initial ¢Hello hug¢ and your clothing may need a month long tomato bath to recover. In one of the truly blessed silver linings for a long distance hiker is how they become immune to their own stupendous stench. Out on the trail, they¢re nasal receptors shut down, retreat to their happy place until scented soap can replace scented sweat. Oddly though, this only works unidirectional ¢ they become very aware of other hikers forest perfume. It¢s not uncommon for one hiker to position their mummy on the other side of the shelter floor from another. Rude, a bit cruel I suppose, but when it comes to survival out there, drastic action is sometimes required.In 2004, I created The Scale of Smell in my book ¢We¢re Off To See The Wilderness, The Wonderful Wilderness of Awes¢ in an effort to globally standardize the destructive force. Inspired by the destructive ratings given to hurricanes and tornados, hiker aroma became classified by the moniker PU1, PU2, etc. topping at the very repulsive PU5, where a fifteen foot perimeter is required by visiting family members to avoid being scarred for life ¢ especially since smell is one of our most powerful memory triggers.Visiting family members should exercise caution when approaching their hiking loved one, it is extremely difficult to detect a PU5 by eyesight alone, although circling flies have been documented in past field tests. Sufferers of PU5 can sometimes be under the influence of a malady known as ¢Stenchia¢ which misleads them to thinking that you may actually want to embrace them with a welcoming hug. Keep your distance at all costs, a ten foot pole used as a poker has proven effective historically ¢ thus the origins of our American expression.You can take solace in knowing that your loved one can have a full recovery with time and a $115 gift basket of perfumed soaps and lotions from a Crabtree & Evelyn (and little V-8 Juice doesn¢t hurt either).
Date: 2010-03-24
To: Joy ether.
Miles today: 0.0

The longer you hike the happier many become; The farther you go the more giddy some act; The more time spent in the simplicity of trail life the greater the appreciation ¢ or so it seems. Those who discover this quality, this intangible trail ether, this happiness vapor have a whole new, additional motive to continue on State after State. The first reason being one only they can answer individually.Sometimes while in the backyard or on my runs, which I¢ve mentioned on an earlier entry, the breeze will carry in that unmistakable essence of the wilderness I found on the trail. So innocuous I struggle to describe it completely, but it is a sensation that is indeed felt ¢ for myself found only out on the AT. Wouldn¢t it be wonderful if it could be jarred and savored? What a birthday or Christmas gift it would make.What could you name so special a substance? Maybe it could be named ¢Happy Trail,¢ no, seems too glib. Maybe ¢Elation ether,¢ ¢¦possibly ¢Wilderness Wow¢ or just plain ¢Ecstasy¢¢¦hmm, that sounds like cologne. See, it is difficult to put into words, but I shouldn¢t be surprised though. How do you turn grandeur into a vapor or the spirit of happiness into a mist? What I do wish for all my fellow hikers this season is to have a head-on collision with that, that stuff. Hey, what about calling it ¢Joy Jello¢ ¢¦ahh, maybe not?
Date: 2010-03-26
To: Not exactly a red carpet.
Miles today: 0.0

Rocks and roots and ruts ¢ and freedom;Rain and hail and sleet ¢ and sunshine;Creepyies and crawlies and slitheries ¢ and birdsong;Darkness and noises and frets ¢ and delight;Isolation and loneliness and down moments ¢ and camaraderie;Horizons and uncertainty and exhaustion ¢ and serendipity;Heat and sweat and stink ¢ and simplicity;Ruggedness and thunder and gales ¢ and summits;Inconvenient and itchy and damp ¢ and adventurous;Mountains and mountains and mountains ¢ and vistas;Falling and aches and pains ¢ and pride;Day one and day ten and day hundred ¢ and discovery;Coldness and humidity and everything in between ¢ and flowers;Trying times and quitting and continuing ¢ and redefining yourself; Walking and climbing and patience ¢ and Stateline¢s;Scrapes and hunger and no guardrails ¢ and grandeur;Light breezes and puffy clouds and evergreen andbrooks and waterfalls and sunsets and friendships and joyand beauty and butterflies and and and !What will the hikers you know focus on? Will it be clouds or silver linings?It¢s always nice to start a hike with a favorable forecast ¢ I¢ve had it the other way before, I chose the sun, warmth and blue sky. But hey, that¢s me. The forecast is that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be glorious. The trees may finally have their chartreuse hue of buds as they awaken from winter¢s wrath. Although the nights and mornings will be chilly, there won¢t be single digits with snow and ice. Those adversities are being replaced with sunburn and mosquito swatting ¢ good trade. The packs loaded, the leather wallet is once again a Ziploc (yea, I¢m a classy guy) and the drawing pad is anxious to see what we can see. Unless I change my mind, which I always reserve the right to do at a moments notice, I¢ll be sketching this hike in black and white ¢ saving about a half-pound by not carrying my normal array of color instruments. Illustrating my journey means my journal postings will be a week behind others smart phone postings, I travel phoneless. I will be carrying my optimism and laughter; they¢ve served me well on past hikes. I welcome, as has happened on each of the previous hikes, to help someone stay on the trail during their low moment of despair if I can ¢ it happens to the best of us. I look forward to new friendships and new perspectives, to celebrating the forests and summits and wildlife sightings. And I look forward to drenching myself in trail ether. So, we¢ll talk soon ¢ me from the trail and you, well, you know where you are.
Date: 2010-03-31
From: The Approach Trail

To: Mountain Crossings-Neels Gap
Miles today: 39.5
Weather: overcast clouds

3/29/10   #46 HikingToday¢s Miles ¢ 39.5Started at: Approach TrailHere at: Neels GapMight have to leave the trail. My body gave me a blister on my middle finger-- You know, The finger used for a particular gesture of disapproval. Seems my body isn¢t pleased with this excursion to the woods and mountains, or so that¢s how I¢m interrupting it¢¦ ¢Giving me the finger.¢My legs and feet don¢t seem to mind, and they're acting like true champs. Day One, saw a very late start on the Approach Trail (1 p.m.) ¢ made it to Stover Creek Shelter to tent for the night by 5:30 (11.8 miles).   The late start came from Amtrak arriving four-hours late due to flash floods along the route and switcher damage from high winds. But after 19 hours, the kind people at The Hiker Hostel (Leigh) picked us up and got me to The Visitors Center at Amicalola. With little pomp-and-circumstance I headed toward Springer Mountain with all due haste! Surprisingly, The Approach Trail has seen a re-route since my 2006 thru-hike. You now go up the stairs the tourist take to climb by The Amicalola Falls (maybe the highest waterfall this side of the Mississippi River). It was sort of like walking up the steep staircase of an 80 Story Skyscraper ¢ made it a touch tougher! Fortunately, we arrived at those endless stairs with fresh from the city legs, ¢So I spit on your Stairs, Amicalola!¢Day Two, saw a ridiculous 18.3 miles for no reason other than I got an early morning start (first out at 7:30) and my light load (23 lbs. with everything) and my New Balance 813 Trail runners are the lightest footwear I¢ve started with. The miles just clicked over and over bringing me to ¢Preacher Rock¢ at the top of Big Cedar Mountain ¢ it¢s the type of vista that epitomizes ¢Getting Out There¢.Myself and Bruce, Eric and Tom (No, those are not their trail names) are hunkered down in the most minimal of tent crevices (notice I didn¢t say spots). It¢s fairly blustery now, well actually, all day ¢ kept the wind chill down despite a bright sunny day. Oh, and kept the gnats under control¢¦ sort of.For the first time in all my visits to The A.T., today I saw my first Pileated Woodpecker ¢ big suckers! I¢ve heard their wild-Africa-like yoldel many times, just never set an eye on them ¢till now. They were the best wildlife sighting, beating out a spider and beetle (the non-Volkswagen kind).The Army Rangers were active in training again, they set off a huge artillery blast in the afternoon ¢ it was either that or some hiker over-primed their white gas stove and took out an AT Shelter? Now that I think about it, I did see fewer hikers AFTER hearing the blast, hmmm??Weather and forecast are excellent, legs and feet are happy ¢ some evening cramps due to the new exercise program I¢ve instituted, but all is good. Even dealt with that middle finger issue ¢ yes, all is good! Tomorrow will be over Blood Mountain to Neels Gap, do the mail drop shuffle and mosey on up the trail for a nice tent spot.So, Good Night from The Appalachian Trail, here on Big Cedar Mountain.
Date: 2009-12-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, GarageMan and I are making summer plans from the comfort of our warm house, looking out into the cold and dark of Fairbanks, Alaska. When we walk or swim to keep in shape, we look ahead and back at the AT.In February, we'll be hiking for 2 weeks in the Grand Canyon with Desert Fox, a great guy we met on the trail. We still hear regularly from Birch and Star Trek, but we wish we heard more often from Hot Chocolate (are you and Czech-Mate married yet?) and White Paws (want to finish with us?).Our AT plans are as follows, so far and subject to extreme swings in motivation: May 17: Murphy and Kid Rock will be starting in the Boiling Springs area of Pennsylvania. Kid Rock (not yet officially named) will be only hiking with us for about 10 days. Murphy and I will be hiking north for a month....going as far and as fast as we want.GarageMan will meet me in Gorham when Murphy goes home and we will hike the last 300 or so miles so that he completes the AT. I will still have a piece in the middle and have been heavily recruiting for a hiking partner. Hopefully, it will be GarageMan, but there are a few other prospects to hike Vermont and NH up to Gorham.For those of you who are just tuning in- he hiked from Spring Mtn, GA to Gorham, NH where he fell and broke a rib. When he arrived home, he'd lost over 40 pounds and was in extreme pain. Common sense dictated that he not continue. We both still think about a complete thru-hike, all in one year, but for now, we'll settle on finishing within these 2 years.For Christmas, we are making our lists of gear that we need to replenish, replace or review. I'll be updating our gear list for this year. We're lots smarter now, but we still never can predict the weather.We've got the AT itch and it's contagious and chronic. We're looking forward to seeing old friends (and new friends) on the trail.
Date: 2009-12-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Mike Quinn (maybe Strider) came over to talk trail with us. It was great to meet him. He'll be hiking the AT starting in March. He lives across town here in Fairbanks, AK, so it was great to find each other. The only tough part is that there are months before our hike. Check out his 2010 trail journal.
Date: 2009-12-07
To: Grand Canyon- prep
Miles today: 0.0

We spent some time last weekend packing up and checking gear for our upcoming hike around the Grand Canyon with Desert Fox. We can't wait, although the -25 temps are preventing us from really physically preparing. I guess we've taken town gorging to a new level.For the first time ever, we'll be taking some Mountain House food. We also sent away for some freeze-dried ground beef and some packets of veggies and put together some other home-made trail meals.Thanks to DF, we plan to hike into the Canyon and around for 6 days, come out to "chill" overnight and back down Bright Angel Trail to Clear Creek and out 6 days later. We leave in 1 1/2 weeks- right now I'm working in the western Alaska village of Scammon Bay. I'm reminiscing about the excitement of hiking the AT last year. It will never be quite as thrilling, but the prep and planning is still exciting for this relaunch.