morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-02-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I think some of my reasons for trying this journey go back to where I grew up just outside Vienna VA. My house was surrounded by woods with trails and creeks where I would play and feel a deep connection to the natural world. In the fall, my mother would take me, my sister, and her mother up to the Shenandoah Mts to see the fall colors. These trips made a great impression on me that last to this day. When I was fifteen I read Collin Flecther¢s ¢The Complete Walker¢, geared up at Appalachian Outfitters, convinced a friend to come along, and headed out on my first backpack trip in Shenandoah National Park. We did around 30 mile of the Appalachian Trail on Memorial day weekend. On the second night we stayed in a shelter and met a man who said he was hiking the whole trail. I still remember something different about this guy, something hard to put a finger on, and although he didn¢t talk much, that aura he hadabout him probably planted the stray thought that I should hike the whole thing too. This was 1973. In 1975 I moved west and have been living in the Rocky MT states ever since. Hiking in the Rocky Mts is spectacular, but part of me missed the eastern woodlands especially the spring and fall seasons and in 1994 I decided to take the fall off from work and hike from the beginning of the trail in Georgia up to my old stomping grounds in the Shenandoah. At the time my life felt a bit stagnant and I needed a change and a little bit of adventure. So escape and adventure where definitely part of my motivation . But my main motivation then, as it is now, was to practice walking meditation as I went along. I quit the trail after only three weeks deciding that despite all the backpacking I had done over the years, long distance hiking really didn¢t appeal to me. But I learned a few things along the way. One was that the proper motivation was absolutely key for completing the trail. Another was that despite my desire to quit and head for the beach in Florida, the trail had a strange and compelling quality to it. It¢s almost as if there is a current of energy running up it that just pulls you along. A king of magnetic attraction. This pull was sostrong that only a few months later I was certain that I wanted to hike the whole thing. But the trail caused a bigger change in my life that I¢d bargained for and delayed my return for 13 years. Continued in Prep 3.
Date: 2007-02-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I had a fairly long debate with myself (since last summer actually when I first found this site and started to seriously consider doing the trail this year) on whether or not to do this journal. My debate centered around whether I really wanted to make my internal life public as I have no interest in just recording a trail log. My desire to share this journey with friends and family and who ever else is interested, as it was happening, eventually won out. So I make no apologies if I detour into metaphysical musings or philosophical rants. So be forewarned! If it's not your cup of tea, there is no shortage of other journals. I'm on an inner as well as outer journey and I'll do my best to describe both. To pick back up where I left off in the last entry, on that trip in 94, I stupidly didn't purify all my water and picked up intestinal parasites. That infection eventually morphed into Crohn's disease (an auto-immune disorder where the immune system attacks the digestive system) but thanks to work with diet, my Tai-Chi and Chi-Gung practice, Chinese Medicine, and various healers and medicine men, I'm on a role these days and though not cured, still feel strong enough to attempt a thru hike. The last two summers I've been well enough to do some backpacking in the Wind River Mts and every trip I did made me feel stronger. Somehow, the physical stress of backpacking seems to help balance my immune system. That's what I'm counting on anyway. Any major flare up of the illness will definitely knock me off the trail. But something tells me thats not going to happen. Wish me luck
Date: 2007-02-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for those potential thru hikers who are risking the most on this grand if crazy adventure. From the journals I've read people are quitting their jobs, selling houses, leaving loved ones, who may or may not understand, and setting off for reasons that may be somewhat obscure even to them. And I say, THANK GOD!! In a country that worships materialism what better slap in the face of the social norm that to embark on a journey that has no material purpose? In fact, its quite the opposite, as most of us will end up much poorer (financially) than when we started. So I applaud those who are giving up the most, especially those with little backpacking experience, as they are leaving their normal world and stepping into something completely unknown.   For myself I'm risking little as I have a leave of absence from my job, which will be there when I get back, no significant other to abandon, already found a renter for my condo, and since I'm always much happier outside than inside, I'll feel totally at home in the woods and mountains. But I'm still in awe of the magnitude of the undertaking and still can't always believe I'm going to try this. But day by day as the start date creeps up, it sinks in a little deeper. I'm starting much later than most as I only have a 180 day leave of absence so I prefer to start my hike in the spring time and end it when the fall colors are peaking, and avoid the possible winter weather in March as I get my fill of that up here in Jackson Hole. One of my major reasons for the hike is to enjoy the season in the Eastern woods. They say that in Jackson Hole we only have two seasons: winter, and a couple of months of poor skiing.
Date: 2007-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm continually amazed at just how obsessive all this is. I'm constantly thinking about the trail, all the planning left to be done, and what its going to be like to actually start with the intent to hike all the way to Maine! I notice reading other journals that this obsessiveness is almost universal . And I suppose that without it, the idea would remain a dream, never to be realized. I'm finding the planning stage to be actually a lot of fun. I love looking at all the maps, trying to figure out where all my mail drops are going to be. I'm doing almost 100% resupply by mail as the foods I'm taking are highly nutritious and not to be found in the small stores along the trail. I can't afford to lose any weight on this trip, and I've heard the stories of people literally starving themselves off the trail do to poor nutrition. So I'm sparing no expense in trying to give myself the most highly powered diet I can come up with.Part of the obsession is the conditioning I'm putting in preparation for the physical challenge of the trail. I'm not really a fanatic about this as I get plenty of exercise skiing in the winter. The only extra thing I'm doing is a few climbs a week with a loaded pack up and down the town ski area. Its a perfect workout hill as ski bums, and those who just like a good workout, climb up the mountain carrying their skis and then ski down avoiding the cost of a lift ticket. Because of this there are foot steps packed into the snow going strait up the steep side of the mountain. Just perfect for me to get the conditioning hikes that I need. I can get a great workout in just an hour do to the steepness of the terrain. If I want to up the ante, all I have to do is add a few more pounds to the pack!
Date: 2007-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I anticipate that while writing this journal there will be times that I'll be describing the internal processes and mind states arising from my walking meditation practice. Since some readers might be unfamiliar with this internal territory I've decided to include here a little background on what its all about. I've thought for days on how to do this as its an immensely important and complex subject and very difficult to fit in a nutshell! Really impossible to do justice to on one journal page. But here goes anyway.    The Taoist say that the depths of inner space are as vast as the depths of outer space. A meditator then, is a kind of inner astronaut who's rocket fuel is curiosity, desperation, courage, or what ever else it takes to move inward against the conditioning of our materialistic culture. But unlike outer space, many have gone here before and left maps lighting the way. Jesus and the Buddha are the most famous of these inner explorers and they left detailed maps for us to follow. Reading the map may be easy, but walking this terrain may be hard as the journey leads one outside the boundaries of ones own self. The map I use most frequently was presented by the Buddha 2500 years ago and is called Vipassana meditation. The practice consists of focusing the mind in the present moment without clinging, rejecting, or ignoring any aspect of the experiences, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and anything else arising that presents itself for our attention. Over time, this practice begins to interrupt the story of who we think we are, and when the moment to moment creation of the self is broken, a certain spaciousness of mind develops that allows the reality of our true nature to emerge. This reality, God, the Tao, Buddha nature, what ever you want to call it makes itself known in feelings of oneness, joy, equanimity, love, and compassion. A much nicer place to live than in all that ego stuff.   So thats my nutshell. If I bored your socks off, no apology as boredom is often a natural defense agaist inner inquiry.
Date: 2007-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Some of my fellow workers would ask me about my hike and then start humming the dueling banjos tune. Then one morning this photo was waiting for me on the computer in the break room. I tell them I'll be OK. I'm packing my one inch Swiss army knife complete with toothpick. But could it be? Are the characters from "Deliverance" (or their descendants) still wandering around out there? It turns out that the character in the photo is still alive and well and living in Georgia!
Date: 2007-04-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My next entry will be from on the trail! I'm ariving in Atlanta on the 19th and taking a shuttle to Amicolola and starting on the approach trail the same day. I'll be mailing my journal entries to my nephew in Colorado so there will be a bit of a delay in the updates but we will get them on there as soon as we can. Photos might take a little longer. It feel great to be done with all the preparations, and on my last training hike this morning I felt that the journey is no longer in my hands and now the spirit of the thing itself will carry me along. It's been great following all the journals and watching them leave one after the other and on to their various adventures. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch up to a few of these fine folk up there ahead of me!
Date: 2007-04-20
From: Frosty Mt.

To: Sassafras Mt.
Miles today: 13.1

I am sitting at the spring at Black Gap shelter boiling water to purify it since last night I discovered, much to my dismay, that my water filter had mysteriously disappeared somewhere between Santa Fe and the top of Frosty Mt. where I camped last night. Hopefully I'll come across somebody with some extra stove fuel, as I don't have enough with all this water boiling, or maybe some water purification tablets to get to Neels Gap. Otherwise I'll have to start building fires to cook and boil. But it's a beautiful spring morning without a cloud in the sky. The birds are singing and the trees are budding with he intent of turning green. Some trees were fooled by the early March heat wave and sprouted too soon. The record cold in April burned the the new leaves. It just goes to show you that even trees can make mistakes. The raw from of the trees is more apparent without their cloak of leaves. They appear to be dancing in a bizarre twisted sort of way. I am enjoying being out here amongst them immensely. I met the ridge runner Rodger on the top of Springer and he took photos of me at the first white blaze, the official beginning of the Appalachian Trail. I was the seventh through hiker to start today. According to Rodger's count almost exactly the same number of through hikers have started this year as last year.Seeing the white blazes gave me a deep sense of coming home and doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. A sense of the endless freedom, a trail without limit, had me grinning from ear to ear as I walked through this quiet sunny day.All the training I did for this hike really paid off today as I did just over thirteen miles with energy to spare. I'm camped on a ridge with a view just shy of Sassafras Mt.
Date: 2007-04-21
From: Sassafras Mt.

To: Granny Top Mt.
Miles today: 13.2

This morning on my first rest break on the top of Sassafras Mt. I was treated to the bird version of "Dueling Banjos". On one side of me a bird would sing a tune and immediately after a bird on the other side of me would answer back with an identical response. Then the first bird would sing a different tune and the second would answer exactly. Occasionally the second bird would take the lead and the first would answer. It was quite a performance! Its a sunny, warm Saturday in the Georgia Mountains and there are more people on the trail than yesterday. I've run across a boy scout troop, a trail crew, even a couple of Japanese day hikers. But for the most part, I hike long peaceful sections without seeing anybody. I've been able to borrow other hikers' water filters at springs so no problem with water. I'll be at Neels Gap tomorrow and should be able to buy a new filter at the Walasi-Yi outfitter there. I'm sitting watching the sun set through the trees on Granny Top. This trip so far has a totally different feel to it than any other backpack trip I've done. Because the end of the trail is so unimaginably far off, this trip gives me a sense of limitless freedom I've never felt before. Life is good on the trail.
Date: 2007-04-22
From: Granny Top Mt.

To: Wolf Laurel Top
Miles today: 11.7

I saw the first wild turkey I can ever remember seeing. A Pileated woodpecker the other day and the first wonderful wood thrush song this morning. Picking up my mail drop and new water filter, taking a shower and sending off my journal had the feeling of a pit stop. It was quite a scene after the peace of the woods, with hikers, motorcyclists, and the general tourists running around everywhere. I was only there for an hour or so but that was plenty of civilisation for me! Now the only sound is the wind in the trees and the occasional early afternoon birdsong. I stopped relatively early (5:30) because of the flat grassy campsite with a wide open view on the top of Wolf Laurel Top. No wolves (so far) and no Laurel but there is a great view to the southeast and campsites with a view are quite rare on the trail. That there is no one here I find somewhat amazing considering how many hikers were milling about at the Walasi-Yi center. So it's just me and the Towhee pecking in the leaves and a turkey buzzard soaring on the wind that's blowing through the gap.
Date: 2007-04-23
From: Wolf Laurel Top

To: Blue Mt.
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Saw another Piliated woodpecker this morning. They are such an impressive bird with the big red crest and black and white wings. I almost stepped on another strange bird, a woods bum who was sleeping right on the trail. He had also built a fire right on the trail and had his odd assortment of equipment that included a large jar of coffee, a can of baby powder, and a large yellow rope suitable for tying a ship to a dock, in piles by his pack. I've been meeting more through hikers lately. As i was writing this Gandolf and Guppy stode by. They are young lanky guys from the midwest who have to finish the trail by mid August to go back to school. If I keep up with them they will be going much too slow to make it! This has to be one of the easiest sections of trail that I am hiking today to be found anywhere short of Virginia. Long level sections and easy grades. The quiet sun drenched woods, and the rhythmic walking make it easier to focus on the medatative state. My goal on this trip is to live more often in the timeless awareness in which everything arises, where the world is much less solid than we think. Here the world can dance and float and move in its own way, withiout any rigid structures of thought to bind it. And so I become less rigid and structured. Grace loves emptiness and movement.I must admit to taking some amusement in hearing my fellow through hikers complaining of the difficulty of todays trail as I know the terrain up ahead in the Nantahala Mts. gets much harder. I took advantage of the relatively easy day and did my longest hike of the trip at 16 miles. I'll also confess to feeling a little macho pride in outhiking some of the young bucks on the trail. But I'm not setting any speed records as it took me over 12 hours to do that 16.
Date: 2007-04-24
From: Blue Mt.

To: Powell Mt. Camp
Miles today: 14.5

I woke up before dawn and packed up by headlamp. Started walking at 7:10 and now it's a noon lunch break on top of Tray Mt. The only people on the trail so far today were a couple of ex-through hikers who were setting up "Trail Magic" at a road crossing. They brought coolers full of soft drinks and beer and were setting up a grill to cook burgers and dogs. There was a clump of through hikers a few hours behind me who are going to be pleasantly surprised! Because hikers on the AT generally overnight at shelters, they tend to clump up on the trail. I've been camping in between shelters which often leaves me in the gap between the groups while I and hiking. This gives the trail a wonderfully deserted feeling that I quite enjoy. First rain today! Cloudy all morning then rain for two hours. But it was a warm, almost tropical rain. Then the sun came out for a balmy warm evening. Just a few miles now to Dick's Creek Gap and my resupply at Cloud 9 Hostel.
Date: 2007-04-25
From: Powell Mt. Camp

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

(Note to readers from Claudia Kean, Steve's sister - sorry for the delays, we've had some technical difficulties, and are now rolling. Way more photos will be uploaded in the next few days, now that we are hunting down the right equipment. Thanks for your patience!)I just resupplied at the Cloud 9 hostel and it's a very classy place. I would highly recommend it but I didn't stay there as it's a beautiful day and I'm feeling good and would rather be in the woods and on the trail.There are more flowers peeping up, the birds are singing with some enthusiasm now, and a lot of trees are thinking it might be safe to send out some leaves. Following spring north is one of my major motivating factors for doing this hike and it is glorious. There are even some butterflies floating about and I heard the first cricket last night.Though I had to walk down to Cloud 9 as I didn't get a ride hitching, it only took 1/2 hour and as soon as I stuck out my thumb for the way back up to the trail I got picked up by an interesting fellow who worked with bear management in the area. He told me that the country I was headed into, the Nantahala Mts, is where they relocate all the problem bears! I'll be delighted to pass on that interesting tidbit to my fellow hikers. Should raise some eyebrows. I'm sitting beside a little stream watering up before the next mountain and a just saw a beautiful bird that I've never seen before. It had a golden head and breast with a black neck band. Any of you birders out there know what that was? Bigger than a goldfinch I think. Crossed the Georgia/North Carolina state line! Pack was heavy with six days food and definitely slowed me down some.
Date: 2007-04-26
From: Bly Gap

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Clouds are rolling in this morning with thunderstorms predicted today. The climb I just did out of Bly Gap over Sharp Top and Courthouse Bald had a bit of a sting in it due to the grade and my heavy pack! But I'm still enjoying these little challenges the trail is constantly throwing at you.Well, today put my rain gear through the ringer, and I came through as dry as can be expected with constant wind, rain, and fog. I'm staying the night in Carter Gap Shelter and it's still raining. Four other hikers here with me including Gandolph and Guppy. Still, I enjoyed the day, especially because my rain gear (Patagonia) worked, and the misty, foggy forest is somehow soothing . . .
Date: 2007-04-27
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rocky Cove Knob
Miles today: 14.0

I'm sitting soaking up the sun on a cool day at the Albert Mt. Fire tower. Great 360 degree view. Glad I didn't come by yesterday as I wouldn't have seen a thing. The mountains have spread out in all directions now, and there is a bit of a wilder feeling in these Nantahalas than there was in the Georgia mountains. I still cross the occasional gravel forest service road so its not true wilderness by Western standards, but wild none the less. It feels extremely peaceful and calm up here after the blowing storm of yesterday. I like storms but I'm in no hurry to experience the next one.I really enjoy the place names on the map. I just passes Big Butt Mt. and a little ways back was Chunky Gal Trail. Do you suppose they could be named after the same person? At Glassmine Gap. I crossed the 100 mile mark. But is a mere pittance compared to what's ahead. If I enjoy all the rest as much as I did the first 100 miles I'm going to be loving life. But then I do already. A great close to the day, sitting on a windy ridge top listening to the wood thrush sing.
Date: 2007-04-28
From: Rocky Cove Knob

To: Lick Log Gap
Miles today: 13.0

Coming down to Winding Stair Gap I found a friendly group of trail angels, complete with free snacks, drinks, and assorted necessities. I helped myself to a new pen as I'm sure my journal transcriber (nephew Ryan) will appreciate as the old one was malfunctioning and hard to read. After leaving the gap, I was surprised to see Lion coming up behind me. He is a young athletic looking guy with a pace almost double my own and I thought he was a day ahead, but he had stopped in Franklin to resupply. Major Tom and Moondog just stopped to look at my map. They are an older (than me) pair on their way to Pennsylvania where they live. Seems I've caught up to a new bunch by not having to resupply in Franklin. I've heard the social scene of long distance hikers on the AT described as a linear community, stretched out through space and time. One of the major connections between us all are the trail registers in the shelters where you can see who's ahead of you and how they are faring . There was a family of Japanese tourists on top of Siler Bald taking in the wonderful view. On the way down to Wayah Gap I heard continuous rifle fire. Were some hillbillies picking of the thru-hikers when they came through the gap or were they after the Japanese tourists? It being Saturday it was probably just some good ol' boys shooting cans.It seems to be the day for meeting people. Ranger Jan came up on me quickly with his ultralite rig. A thru hiker from '04, he designed a non- pack pack that consists only of two stuff sacks and pads on his back and a pouch and water bottles in front. Quite unique! If any of my fellow workers back at the the Jackson Hole airport are reading this you'll get a kick out of this. One of the next guys I met was roommates with Levi (ex Jackson Hole Airport employee) at Weber State! He said it's a small world. My energy has been totally up and down today, being strong in the morning, then weak and light-headed in the afternoon, then strong again in the evening. Go figure. I could see the Smoky Mts. from the Wayah Bald look out tower still a good five or six hiking days away.