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

So maybe I will be the girl with a zillion prep entries. But I have one more thing to say, and then maybe I'll wait until March to post again...I've been doing some research on tarptents. The Henry Shires kind look promising, but I was also looking at the Ray-Way kind with the optional bug net. Something irks me about the Ray-Way tent.I have visions of hunger ferocious raccoons carefully unzipping and helping themselves to my food. Or waking up in the night by the tickle of raccoon whiskers on my cheek. Not fond of that thought. Raccoons are crafty little buggers. When I was primitive camping at Pedernales Falls State Park I woke to the sounds of waddling and promptly shined my light on the fattest raccoon I had ever seen. When it ran away you could tell that the whole exertion concept was foreign to it. I think it was in the habit of raiding all camps in the primitive area.I don't think I'm being paranoid. When I was in high school my family had a raccoon as a pet. He knew how to open the house doors, cabinet doors, turn on and off lamps (the pull string kind), open the refrigerator door...when he was a raccoon...pup?...we used to give him a baby bottle which he would drink while laying on his back holding up one end with his feet and the other end with his hands. All these things are endearing. But there's a "but".Our raccoon loved chocolate and pecans. If you tried to take away his chocolate or pecans he would bite you very hard. This is why I don't want to fight with a wild raccoon over anything under my tarp that it thinks it needs. Imagine a virtual shudder. OOOOOOhhhhh.Maybe I'll talk about the bugs in March when I post again.Oh--so in conclusion I think I want the tarptent rainbow.Besides...Ray Jardine won't sell me his tarp book because I don't want to buy his tarp-making kit.
Date: 2007-03-30
To: Vent
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I saw the legendary campus albino squirrel. According to UT lore, if you see the squirrel you are destined to receive an A on your next test. Since I have 3 essays due next week, I think it's a good sign. Hmmm....I think I did get an A on my next test the first time I saw the albino squirrel 3 years ago. Maybe I should join the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society......since I've seen the "elusive" creature 3 times.I think I need all the luck I can get. My doomsday is April 26th some time after 2 pm and before 5. That's when I have to deliver a 40 minute presentation about the Forma Urbis, some broken map of Rome I know almost nothing about. I hyperventilate a little every time I think about it. I hate being the center of attention. I hate public speaking (although there are only about 10 people in the class). The only thing that reconciles me to my fate is the knowledge that I'll graduate in May. Oh to be done. But before liberation day I still have: two two page essays, one eight page essay, one ten page research paper, one 20 page research paper, and a zillion things to read before I can write these essays competently. Only a month and several days to go.On a less brooding melodramatic note: I've started emailing my cousin, Ashley, who lives in Georgia. She is open to the idea of possibly hiking with me next April. I don't know how long/far she meant to go, but anything would be welcome. My parents, boyfriend, boyfriend's family still haven't accepted the idea of my plan to hike the trail. My dad says I better get a concealed handgun license. Uhh...no. Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged by mom to read Bryson's book. I thought it was hilarious, but not necessarily truthful. Bryson doesn't exactly make the trail sound like a friendly place. All I can say is: the moment I heard about the AT two years ago I got all starry eyed and thought, "I want to do that". I'll be 23 years old by the time I start hiking. I don't need parental approval. Oliver's support would be nice but not mandatory. Maybe once I'm out there and they're sure I'm safe their concerns will ease and I'll encounter the enthusiasm I was hoping for from the beginning.
Date: 2007-04-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I had another AT dream last night. A very very weird one, I might add. In the dream the trail began somewhere in the central United States and ran south through Louisiana...I think it followed the Mississippi River, and instead of hiking you had to raft. I was laying belly down on my thermarest on the river and paddling with my hands, and I was worrying about what I would do once the river drained into the ocean. At this point in the dream I think consciousness intruded the AT was back beginning in Georgia where it belongs. Then I started dreaming about the night before I was to fly to Georgia. I wasn't excited or anxious, just sad to be leaving my boyfriend and family and dog. This worries me.This is probably the biggest deterrent to my journey right now that I need to deal with before the big day arrives. I know that no matter what I do there will probably be some sadness at leaving them all behind, but I don't want it to hold me back. One reason I want to hike the AT is so I can gain some much needed independence. I think about the Appalachian trail every day, but usually not in-depth. Right now, most of my anxiety revolves around April 26th Doomsday. It won't be so bad as I'm anticipating. Right? I just want it to be over. Still--every time I speak in class I start shaking uncontrollably, my voice becomes unsteady, and my mind gets all cloudy and forgetful...even in the best of conditions. On doomsday I will have to stand in front of the class and talk for 40 minutes about something I have absolutely no interest in. I'm trying really hard not to have a panic attack. I would rather have something amputated. I don't need my pinkie toe, do I? Maybe I should get hypnotized....Visions of Graduation....and graduation presents Maybe I'll get my tarptent rainbow with the proceeds. I will start researching my topic today, I promise.The only remaining question this morning is--donuts or poptarts for breakfast?
Date: 2007-04-20
To: Po' Lazarus!
Miles today: 0.0

I'm going to be brought back to life next week at five o'clock. I've been referring to that day as "Doomsday," but I think the word "Liberation Day" is more appropriate. After next Thursday I won't have to dread my forty minute presentation any more, because it will be done! Hallelujah!I've had a terriffic day, even though I woke up this (Friday) morning thinking it was Saturday. It was a bea-utiful day, and I was fortunate enough to be able to walk around town, people watching while I was working. I had a delicious lunch, a scrumptious supper, a FREE Newfangled bottled Godiva Belgian blends french vanilla latte, and several gut wrenching laugh sessions.Even though I'm not out hiking with you class of 2007-ers, I think I'm sittin' right perty myself in my present sich-ee-yation awaitin' my time in the sun: 1. I am the pack leader and have brown adoring eyes cast upon me all the time and a furry face resting on my lap.2. Katherine at work has voted me Miss "Pretty tan, pedicured feet". This means that when I finally do start hiking I can have a grotesquely startling before and after picture.3. I am going to be part of the class of 2007 University of Texas graduation ceremony coming up in less than a month. FREEDOM!!! And since I will have two equally useless degrees, English and History, hiking the AT will give me lots of practice living in a box (or Hennsessy Hammock!) down by the river when I can't find a 'real' job.4. Maybe I'll have a chance to develop some mad sewing machine skills and construct my own less expensive underquilt for the hammock I have yet to order.         5. Soon I will have time to read books that I actually WANT to read! Okay, no judgement, but.......Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out this summer! I might have to bust out my Hogwarts schoolgirl outfit and crash the midnight release party :D I wasn't even joking about that one.6. Oliver is almost convinced that he needs to hike the AT with me! We might need to participate in some medical research studies to make the dream happen, but those drugs are already tested on animals....right? Or maybe his declaration was just a Pint-Nite Dog and Duck Pub imagining.7. I have a papasan chair. Enough said.I should definately make a pie or something tonight. Complete with a scoop of Amy's Mexican Vanilla ice cream on top. Gotta have something to get me through a weekend withering under fluorescent library light.
Date: 2007-04-26
To: Pack musing
Miles today: 0.0

I am now re-reconsidering my Osprey Aura 50 as a pack. My GG Vapor trail came in the mail the other day and I was not impressed. I bought it in a size short but it was still too big for me, so that when I had the hip belt sinched around my hipbone there was a huge gap between the pack and my back. I couldn't get it adjusted so that the weight transferred to my hips, so after wearing it loaded with books for a few minutes my shoulders got sore. The GG pack might (must!) work better for someone with a longer torso...at least longer than 15.5.So in the spirit of comparison I loaded the same books into my Osprey and was incredibly comfortable. I think I'm going to hold on to the Osprey (I was thinking of selling it on ebay) until I get most of my gear, and see if I can get everything to fit. The small aura is 2800 cu. I'm really doubtful...but I got the pack for $99 when they sell at REI for $199 so I won't feel so bad if I don't end up using it.I may sell my sleeping bag. I realized that it's going to be too bulky and too heavy. I initially liked the Moonstone Morpheus because it was half down and half polargard. Now that I'm planning on hammocking I'm going to have to find a more compressible sleeping bag because I will probably have to carry an underquilt for the hammock. I don't mind so much, I got the bag on sale for $108 last winter. This coming winter I will know better what to look for in a bag....LIGHTWEIGHT. Amen.I did my "40" minute presentation today in class, but mine came out to about 15 minutes. It was really bad and embarrassing. There were a lot of prolonged silences while I tried to remember what to say Strangely, I don't even care. I am so happy that it's over! I write well to compensate for my lack of confidence when speaking. Sometimes I think people are surprised to find out that I have a voice. Well, until you get to know me. If I'm comfortable around someone I can't seem to keep quiet.Right now I want to drink beer and play in my hammock. We have a case of Newcastle. I like my beer dark. Some people at the sand volleyball court have usurped all of the good hammock-hanging trees, so my wish may only half come true. There's always the beer.I talked to my bestest buddy Casey last night. We hardly ever talk or see each other but I still feel like she's my best female friend. With other people I feel like I'm pretending to be someone else. Anywho...I am going to be the maid of honor at her wedding. In fact I may be the ONLY bridesmaid. In a maroon dress. She goes to Texas A&M and I go to UT. It's a rivalry thing. Maroon is ugly in the best circumstances. Feels like blasphemy to me. I'm going to have to attach a piece of burnt orange longhorn flair to my dress at the reception. It's kinda like a hooker wearing a crucifix. Not quite right.No offense to Catholic hookers.
Date: 2007-05-17
To: Eureka!
Miles today: 0.0

I finished my ring buckle supports for my hammock, and all I can say is that they are SPLENDIFEROUS! I had my hammock set up in less than a minute, actually about 30 seconds, and sooooo easy to adjust! As you can see, I opted for purple webbing. This was my effort to prove that a person can maintain femininity while smelling like a musk ox and sporting inch-long manly leg hair. Yesterday I submitted my order for my MacCat tarp, which is exciting in its own right. Brian can take as long as he wants with it...I can feel nothing but empathy for someone who is working and going to school. Ahhh....I remember when I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I liked to read before it was my major. I'm starting to like it again, now that I can choose what I read. A Passage to India.   E.M. Forster. Ooooooohhhh Yeaaaaaaahhh. Classics.   Lately I have been trying to be compassionate towards my friendly neighborhood couriers who routinely stink up elevators and small rooms all over town. Today I forgot to put on deodorant before work, and then I walked a few blocks in the hot sun. Well, you get the picture. I could definantly smell myself when I was putting up my hammock. I'm also preparing my feet for the rigors of a thru-hike. Well, maybe not the rigors, but at least the dirtiness. My feet have been black for the past few weeks because my sandals are black, and I think they are trying to molecularly meld to my feet. All efforts so far have been unsuccessful, but they persevere. Also, the bottoms of my feet are callused to hell because I don't wear shoes during the summer. Only sandals. If only bottom-of-the-foot blisters were those that plague hikers...But I could probably walk on those notorious Pennsylvania rocks without missing a beat. It's all in the genes, you know. My grandpa likes to brag (yes, brag) that when he was a kid, he could strike a match on the bottom of his feet. I think I'm almost there.Monday I had a brain-dead moment. I wanted some 28 gram carabiners for my ring-buckle supports, but REI did not have any in stock. Alrighty. So I looked on www.backcountry.com and found some, added them to my shopping cart and proceeded to checkout. Shipping: $7.50. All I had to do was add $37.50 to my order and I could get shipping for free! So I spent the remainder of the day doing strenuous gear research to the point where I was actually stressed out. I added a headlamp to my cart, but couldn't think of any $7 item to add to my cart. After several hours of this, I thought: Why don't I just go back to REI and get the next lightest carabiners? Duh. Was a few extra grams worth this much frustration? I don't think so. On the plus side I now pretty much know everything there is to know about headlamps But I still have a problem with shipping that costs more than the item. Especially when those items' combined weight is 2 oz. I could put both 'biners in a single envelope and ship them for $0.75 or less, depending on the weight of the envelope. I will try not to be so flabbergasted in the future, but I vow to use the word "flabbergasted" more often.
Date: 2007-05-27
To: Untitled...Is that a Title?
Miles today: 0.0

I spent the weekend shopping for all things except hiking gear. It was actually refreshing to reject things on the basis of poor fit, bad color, ugliness and price--in other words, rejection on the basis of anything except weight in ounces. These days I find myself guessing the weights of everything. Its so bad that my friend asked me how many ounces I think she weighs. 1,760? I don't really know. I boughts a purse from Goodwill, and some earrings on sale at Kohl's. That's right. I allowed myself to spend money on non-hiking items. It felt good.As for budget, so far I have $1500 in my savings. Needless to say I'm looking for a job. Any crap job will do, as long as it contributes to my savings account.In some ways the AT is practice for when I am forced to live in a van down by the river because I can't find a job with my two useless degrees. That's right folks. I have not one, but TWO useless degrees. English and History. What was I thinking? I'd probably make a good editor/proofreader--I'm picky about grammar, spelling, word choice and sentence structure. Anal in fact. In my defense, I think sentence fragments are acceptable in journal entries for the purpose of dramatic effect I love fragment sentences.Oliver's dad got me an excellent graduation gift--a denatured alcohol stove he bought off e-bay a few months back when they were still $9.99. I hope all of the other hikers aren't jealous that my stove doesn't smell like pepsi or cat food. All jokes aside, the stove is pretty snazzy.Yesterday my friends from Lytle came to Austin to visit me for a few hours. We went to a psychic and got $10 palm readings because none of us had ever gone to one, and we thought it might be fun. The psychic did not look at the lines on our hands...she just felt our vibes. She told me that I lack confidence and ambition, that I've been soul-searching lately. She said I will go on two trips (like vacation, not falling down) in the near future. But most importantly, she told me that she sensed a long life for me. So there ya go. IRREFUTABLE evidence that I will remain safe on the Appalachian Trail. Maybe I can get the psychic to write my parents a letter...
Date: 2007-06-07
To: Useless Musings...
Miles today: 0.0

No one has ever warned me that unemployment is boring. No school, no work...no flowing brainwaives. I like watching informercials because:1. They offer solutions to problems you didn't know you had. Do you buy paper towels in bulk? Have you run out of places to store them? Never fear, the Roll-And-Stow bulk paper towel storage system is here! I did not make this up. I'm not that creative.2. The people on infomercials have an obscene amount of difficulty completing the simplest tasks, so you feel better about your own shortcomings. No matter my problem, I take comfort in the fact that I can take the shell off a boiled egg with little muss-n-fuss.3. The product offered on infomercials seems to make people's lives complete. Wow! I've always wanted to cut a penny in half with a pair of scissors! Finally! I can make my own mayonnaise with the Magic Bullet!Sometimes, while shopping for hiking gear, I feel like a person on an infomercial. I discover products all the time that solve problems I've never had before--Take too long to put up and adjust your hammock? Make some ring-buckle supports! Tarp won't stay taught--why not try some self-tensioner-mabobbers?Actually I'm really excited right now because I received an e-mail today that my MacCat has been shipped :D Ahhh...life is complete.
Date: 2007-07-10
To: Workin' Hard for the Money
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday I signed up to participate in a clinical research study which pays "up to $1600". I called the Cedra clinic, told them my name, address and which study I was interested in completing. They proceeded to ask me questions to see if I qualify, which was fine until they asked, "Would you be comfortable having blood drawn 14 times in a 24 hour period?" Uuuhhhh....is there any person in the world who is truly and honestly COMFORTABLE having blood drawn even once--not to mention FOURTEEN times in a 24 hour period? So of course I answered "Yes".This is an excerpt from the Cedra Clinical Research website which proves that being a guinea pig can make your wildest dreams come true: "The majority of CEDRA's subjects are repeat visitors. The friendly staff, comfortable facilities and healthy compensation keep them returning time and time again. Participants also enjoy meeting new people and making lasting friendships. In fact, just last year, a couple met while participating in the same study. They fell in love and married months later. This happy duo continues to return to CEDRA to participate in various healthy studies¢¦together." I feel like they're trying to make me comfortable with having blood drawn 14 times in a 24 hour period. I could make friends and find a fiance (sorry Ollie) at the small price of only--14 blood drawings and arms that look like a heroin addict's. In a way, the clinical research IS making my wildest dream come true--after I receive payment from the clinical research (assuming I can still participate after my medical screening check-up), I will have around $3200 saved for my hiking fund and it won't take so long to build up a little more for the savings and gear fund.I made some small gear purchases this week, things I will need for weekend hikes this coming fall and winter: Antigravity Gear 3 cup pot with additional handle, 4 L Platypus, 2 32 oz nalgene collapsible bottles with drinking tube, set of snake skins for my hammock, and surgical latex tubing to make my tarp tensioners.Lost Maples State Natural Area, here I come!
Date: 2007-07-22
To: Short Break from Harry
Miles today: 0.0

Change of plans--my intended foray into a career as Clinical Research Test Subject has fallen through. Apparently my blood was not good enough for the good people of Cedra, so here I am, lounging in my papasan chair at my parents house hoping my laptop doesn't die before I finish typing this entry. I've returned home with: no $1600, no new lifelong friends, and no new fiance (as promised by the brochure--looks like Ollie has a second chance :P ).This is probably a good thing. My reproductive organs are still intact--their well-being would have been questionable had I ended up "dosing" the non-FDA approved birth control whose possible KNOWN side affects were as follows: Nausea, vomiting, changes in appetite, stomach cramps, bloating, abnormal vaginal bleeding or spotting, changes in menstrual flow, no menstrual flow, vaginal yeast infection, tender or enlarged breasts, weight gain, change in skin color (WHAT?!?!), skin rash, loss of scalp hair (I really didn't want to look like Aunt Leona!), migraine headaches, nervousness, change in mood, depression, dizziness, blood clots, stroke, heart attacks, gallbladder disease, liver tumors, changes in pap smear results, and cancer of the sex organs. We were warned that we may experience additional side effects yet unknown, which was the reason we were testing the drug to begin with.Another good thing: Last night I managed to place my hands gingerly upon my very own copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, instead of having my blood drawn 14 times in a twenty four hour period. I feel like I should be commended for tearing my titillated eyes away from my new prized possession to update here The down side is that now I even more desperately need to find a full-time job ASAP. It should be pretty easy to save money once I find a job since I don't have a single bill and my entire income can be devoted to my AT fund. I've applied to several (hmmm....over ten) jobs so far and have had zero calls back, but I'm still confident that there will be jobs opening up once students abandon their summer jobs to go back to school.Today I feel wildly optimistic about hiking the Appalachian Trail, but it's been a difficult month in that department. Self-doubt comes upon me periodically in waves. Six months and 2175 miles has begun to seem daunting and Sisyphean lately, but yesterday as I was counting the mintues until midnight when the afformentioned long-awaited book went on sale, I came to the realization that it was stupid to feel intimidated by miles. Hiking the AT is not about obtaining that coveted photograph of oneself hovering in triumph over the "Katahdin" sign--it's about the wonderful experiences and self discovery that happen along the way. I have over a year off of school (planning on graduate school in Spring 2009) and I can't think of a better way to spend it than frolicking (is frolicking a little too optimistic with a 20+ pound pack on my back?) around in the woods with untended leg and armpit hair billowing in wind inoculated with the sultry smell akin to a middle school boys' locker room.