morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

On March 29th, I will turn 24. Two days later, Carter--my fiance and the love of my life--will drive me down to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. He will spend that night with me atop Springer Mountain, and the next day, a Sunday, after a tearful farewell, I will again start walking north, alone this time but for the hordes of other thru-hikers. I have planned for this trip much less than most other people, because hiking the AT was a very sudden decision. I won't list all my reasons for this decision here, as many of them are private. You can get an idea of a few of them anyhow by reading journals by other folks. It's enough to say that this is something I need to do, and this is a good time for me to do it. I am very lucky to have a supportive and understanding partner, and a family who will support me even if they do think I'm crazy. Maybe they're right, but it doesn't matter. My mind is made up, and I'm going.Today Carter and I went on a work trip with the Virginia Tech Outdoor Club to the section of trail that group maintains. We cleared some brush (although our weedeater fell apart), repainted some blazes, and stireed up the poo in the composting toilet at the Rice Fields Shelter. Someone--a thru-hiker no less, we later learned--had left an enormous white trash bag of food in the shelter, and had scattered the trail register and magazines all over the floor. After grumbling amongst ourselves about the bad trail manners of some hikers, we hung up a box we'd lugged up to house the register, and packed out the bag of food (after giving the choicest bits to our dog). It was a cold and windy day, but my feet had wings. I wanted to be out there for real. The next two weeks are going to be terribly long.
Date: 2007-03-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Last night when we got home from the trail maintenance trip, there was a message on our phone from a hiker named Paul who wanted a place to stay in Blacksburg. I had left my trail-name and phone number in a register at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter on an overnight trip a few weeks ago. So we headed downtown to pick him up. As expected, he stank up our car, so we took him home where he took a shower and commenced to eat us out of house and home! We spent an enjoyable evening talking trail. I'm VERY excited to get started.
Date: 2007-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today I finally made an attempt at locating most of my gear. I loaded it all into my pack, along with a sack of potatoes because I didn't feel like putting together a realistic collection of food. I took the dog, Winston, and we went on a short hike, about 6 miles, from the road crossing near the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter to the AT's intersection with the Allegheny Trail. It was a gray, wet day today, and I kept expecting it to rain on me, but it never did. I did walk into a cloud, though, as I got closer to the top of the ridge. My legs felt great on the uphill, and I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to start strong when I get to Springer Mountain.
Date: 2007-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The past few days have been tough on me. Although I'm not at all organized for this trip, I am at loose ends and all I want to do is get out there and start hiking. I have lots of things that I should be doing, but all I have been doing is reading other people's trail journals. I have even gone back and started to read Carter's trail journal from his 2003 thru-hike (he's a good writer--if you want to get a better idea of what I'm getting into, search for his name on the TJ site). The next 10 days are going to be torture. Evenings are okay because I can use that time to soak up Carter, with whom I have so little time remaining. The hardest thing about my PCT hike was the abundance of insects almost every step of the way--ants, mosquitos, and worst of all, those evil creatures we all called orifice flies. I anticipate that the hardest thing about this hike will be being away from Carter for so long. We haven't been apart for more than a week at a time since the day we met.
Date: 2007-03-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Here are the trail-related tasks that I need to try and get done (or at least started) today:   * Print the Georgia, Tennessee, & North Carolina pages of the online Thru-hiker's Companion. I know that I ought to buy it rather than print it from the internet, but I don't have the time. I recently got a printer from Freecycle, but my attempt this morning at installing it onto my computer has failed, so it looks as though I'll be printing for five cents/page at the library instead. I am fortunate to have most of the trail maps already, thanks to Carter's 2003 thru-hike. Some parts of some maps will probably be outdated due to trail reroutes, but I think they will be close enough for me to manage. I don't have the maps for Georgia, but I doubt I'll need them anyhow. I really only use them for the elevation profiles, which I'm somtimes better off just not knowing about!   * Go for a long run or a short hike with a heavy pack. I'm feeling lazy today, but I took yesterday off, and I don't want my fitness level to slip even a little bit at this point in the game.   * Figure out which towns I will be sending mail drops to and attempt to pack up the appropriate boxes. I suppose I should also give instructions on sending maildrop care packages, in case anyone feels like doing that!   * Write up a skeleton itinerary for my trip.I'm sorry that my pre-trip entries are so deathly boring. Feel free to skip them. It's all I can think about, but that doesn't mean it's very interesting to the rest of the world!
Date: 2007-03-26
To: Less than a week to go...
Miles today: 0.0

It's Monday afternoon. I will start hiking on Sunday. By this time next week, I hope to have hiked about 30 miles of the trail (although Carter tells me this is a bit ambitious). I can't wait!Yesterday, Carter and I went canoeing with some friends. We had a great time, and I almost regretted the similar days that I will miss this summer when I am on the trail instead. I got over it pretty quickly, though. In terms of training, I have been going on long trail-runs about every other day, and I am feeling good and fit! I'm glad I managed to stay active this past winter better than I normally do. It will make life much more pleasant once I start hiking.
Date: 2007-03-27
To: Care Packages
Miles today: 0.0

In the Mail Drops link on the sidebar, I have listed most of the towns through which I will be passing in the first 450 miles of my long journey. If any of you feel like sending care packages to me along the way, they would of course be much appreciated. However, mailing packages can be somewhat complicated. Here are things I would like to receive, if you'd like to send them to me: tasty dehydrated meals, if you can find any; homemade cookies; oat fudge bars from Bollo's (if you live in Blacksburg); lightweight books that I'd enjoy reading; sample size bottles of shampoo/tubes of toothpaste; ziploc sandwich bags.If you decide to send me a package, please let me know that you will be doing so several days in advance. You can do this either by e-mailing me (riskier) or by calling Carter (safer), whose number I will be posting shortly.Label the address as follows:"Hold for AT Hiker, ETA (insert date I'm planning on arriving)Rhiannon ChandlerC/O General DeliveryTown, State, Zip."It's unfortunate this process is so complicated, as it will probably decrease my chances of getting care packages on the trail!
Date: 2007-03-29
To: Longing
Miles today: 0.0

I have spent the past few days making ameager attempt at packing up my half of the house. We (or, more specifically, Carter) will be moving over the summer, and I am trying to make it a little bit easier for him. This morning, though, I stumbled across part of my PCT journal from last year, which put an immediate halt to my productivity. Then, on Trailjournals, I stumbled across Teatree's 2007 journal, and learned that she will be hiking the PCT again this year. I have never met her, but have enjoyed reading her other journals, as she is a very good and entertaining writer. Reading of her joyful excitement and anticipation about starting the trail once more filled me with longing and an incurable ache.I know (and was reminded again when re-reading my journal) that it wasn't all fun and games, and there were many days that I was miserable and wanted nothing more than to go home. But I have also never felt so genuinely and jubilantly alive as I did on the trail, and I miss it more than I can describe, to a degree that only other long-distance hikers might understand. I am very excited about hiking the AT, of course, and can't wait to get moving. In fact, this ode to the PCT seems almost disloyal in a journal about the AT! But, although I hope I'm wrong, I fear that the AT will only be a temporary fix. I think the PCT is my trail, and I know I will return to it someday. First I must go to grad school, so the soonest I could do another long hike would be 2010, or, more likely, 2011. Can that be right? That seems impossibly, painfully distant. I hope grad school keeps me busy enough to distract me from this crazy longing.
Date: 2007-03-30
To: Itchy...
Miles today: 0.0

Last year when I started hiking the PCT, I managed somehow to run into poison oak on my first day on the trail, and spent the following week in itchy misery. This year, it seems that I went ahead and got a jump start and rain into poison oak (or ivy, or sumac, or some equally disagreeable plant) a full week in advance. What a deal! We're leaving for Georgia tomorrow!
Date: 2007-03-31
From: Blacksburg

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Driving south this morning was like watching Spring in fast-forward. In Blacksburg, some trees had started to leaf out but many were still bare, daffodils were in bloom. The landscape got greener as we drove, and by the time we reached southern Tennessee, most trees were fully leafed out and tulips instead of daffodils graced people's yards. Dogwood trees are in bloom everywhere. The West may own my heart, but the changing of the seasons is unbeatable in the Southeast.We arrived at Amicalola Falls State Park just in time for me to sign in the register before the Visitor Center closed. In the bathroom, I overheard two elderly women talk for 5 minutes about the poor quality of the toilet paper, and I hoped I would never care about anything quite so trivial. I weighed my pack on the famous scale (25 lbs) and Carter took my picture at the arch, and then we drove for another 30 minutes to the trail. It was a cloudy evening and there were no views at the summit, but it felt great to be there. Tonight we're camped near the Springer Mtn. Shelter. Tomorrow I will have to say goodbye to Carter. I'm not looking forward to it.
Date: 2007-04-01
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

My first night on the trail was somewhat arduous. Carter stayed with me, and we tented near Springer Mtn. Shelter. Winston was restless all night and kept moving around and waking us up, and at one point he even nosed out from underneath the tarp and escaped. It rained most of the night, and by morning everything was muddy and wet. The night stretched on forever, and I was glad when it was finally late enough to justify getting up. Carter hiked north with me for the first few miles before he and Winston turned back after a tearful (for me) farewell. Shortly after, it started to rain, and it has been raining constantly ever since. I got to this shelter about 1:30 and thought I might push on if the weather ever cleared up, but it shows no indication of doing so. There are about 16 other people here, and we are packed tight as sardines in here (and almost as salty, although the rain has washed much of the sweat off). It will be a long night.
Date: 2007-04-02
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Cowrock Mountain
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Despite getting absolutely no sleep last night, today was actually a good day. I was up and out of the shelter by 6:30, and never saw any of the people I camped with there for the rest of the day. The sun teased me all morning, peering out from behind clouds before being hidden by rainclouds. By midmorning, though, the rain was gone for good, and I walked in the sun for the rest of the day.Carter told me on the drive down that I would be walking in and out of spring for weeks, and so far he seems to have been right. Most of the day I was fairly high up where the trees are only starting to turn green, but I could see down into the low valleys where the vegetation was lush. Wildflowers lined the trail, and it was beautiful.The hardest climb of the day was over Blood Mountain, which still wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. The summit was swarming with flies and day-hikers, so I only stayed long enough to snap some photos and look inside the dank and slightly creepy stone shelter. They say that on a clear day you can see Atlanta from there, but today was not that day. The descent down the other side was harder than the climb up, because my feet were starting to hurt.At Neels Gap, I bought a pot stand to replace the homemade one that failed on me last night, took a shower, talked to Carter, and rested a bit before hiking another two hours at a slower pace. Tonight I am camped at a beautiful overlook, and I am watching the sunset from my sleeping bag (sort of--I already took my contacts out so I'm pretty blind). I really hope I get a good night's sleep tonight. I need it.
Date: 2007-04-05
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I stayed at Cloud 9 Hostel, outside of Hiawassee. The owners are great folks and they have a really nice place going. I enjoyed my stay there very much, although I didn't get much sleep because everyone else was drinking loudly outside the bunkhouse until I went and yelled at them a little after midnight.Today, Fran gave us a ride back to the trailhead. I hiked most of the day with Hartley Hounddog, a retired cop from Delaware who gave me a run for my money. It was nice to have some company and someone to talk to for once. My foot has been feeling pretty bad all day, especially on the downhill. The exciting news of the day is that I crossed into North Carolina, so now I only have 13 more states to go! Tonight is going to be really, really cold. I'm not too excited about it.
Date: 2007-04-07
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Franklin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hobbling around my hotel room this morning on my lame foot, I am amazed with the miles it has been able to walk, and equally amazed by how much worse it feels when it is not inside a real shoe.It's frustrating to have this injury slow me down because my body is feeling so good otherwise. While most people I meet are still shocked with the number of miles I have been doing most days, it honestly hasn't been all that difficult for me. I was lucky to have been in top shape before I came out here. If not for my bum foot, I think I could actually be going further.I hadn't planned on taking a zero day this early in, but I hope it will give my foot a chance to recover a bit so that I can keep putting in the big miles. And I am really happy about the opportunity to see Carter, who should arrive around midday.By the way, it's snowing outside.
Date: 2007-04-08
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wesser Bald Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: clear sky

I spent a wonderful day in Franklin yesterday with Carter. We didn't do much besides resupply, but it was good just to be together.Carter dropped me off around 11 am at Winding Stair Gap, much better prepared for the cold this time with a full ridgerest, a sleeping bag liner, and a pair of pants.After the first 10 miles of hiking, which were cold and relatively uninteresting, I came to Wayah Bald. These balds are grassy, treeless areas atop hills, and are a unique feature of the southern Appalachians. Due to alteration of the native fire regime, many of these balds are now being overtaken by trees. This was the first of these balds I had encountered, but I was hungry and looking for a windless place to eat lunch, so I didn't stop.Around 4:30, I came to Cold Spring Shelter, where most of the other hikers who'd stayed in Franklin the night before were planning on staying. It was bitterly cold on that side of the mountain, so I kept going in hopes of finding a warmer and lower campsite.I didn't find a spot near Tellico Gap where I'd hoped to, so again I pushed on. A few miles on, I came upon an observation platform with two flights of stairs leading up it perched atop a ridge. The view from the top was outstanding, and if it had been a little warmer I'd have pitched my tent below it and waited on top for the sunset. But I knew if the wind picked up it would be terrible there, so now I'm camped near the Wesser Bald Trail. I hadn't intended to hike this far today.
Date: 2007-04-09
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm sitting in the River's End Restaurant at the NOC, trying not to gulp down my blueberry pancakes too quickly and regretting ordering a second glass of chocolate milk. Now I'll have to hang out here awhile to digest all this food.I slept a little better last night, although I still woke up cold around 2 am. Getting out of my sleeping bag in the cold was tough this morning, so I didn't get moving until around 7:30, which was still earlier than anyone else at the shelter.
Date: 2007-04-09
From: Wesser Bald Shelter

To: Stecoah Gap
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a tough day for me. After a steep and rocky descent to the NOC, I enjoyed a second breakfast of blueberry pancakes and chocolate milk. But too soon it was time to hit the trail again, and the climb up out of that canyon was brutal and lasted for hours. At Cheoah Bald I got some fabulous views of the Smokies, but was too tired to fully appreciate them.I had intended to get at least as far as Brown Fork Gap Shelter tonight, if not all the way to Cody Gap, but there was trail magic here hosted by two 2006 hikers, Bare Bear and Jellybean, and that put an end to my hiking plans for the rest of the day. I had bagels w/ cream cheese, salad, 3 bean salad, hot chocolate, candy, and even a vodka cranberry (and it is amazing what one drink will do when I've been hiking for a week!).Tonight I'm camped w/ at least a dozen other people. I didn't hang my food bag, so I hope I don't get eaten. It's a bit warmer tonight than last night. Tomorrow I will get to Fontana Dam, where I have a maildrop waiting for me, or maybe a bit further and into the Smokies.
Date: 2007-04-10
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

This morning I got to have 2 delicious cups of hot chocolate, thanks to the trail magic of Bare Bear and Jellybean, in addition to my typical milk and Instant Breakfast. So I got a bit of a late start, but it didn't matter because I didn't have too far to go (and I was still the first one out of camp). The first climb of the day was a killer, and I was glad to be doing it first thing in the morning rather than in the evening.The trail was driving me crazy today because it went to the very top of every hill in sight. At any point I could look for the highest spot and assume that the trail would be going there, probably with no switchbacks.The descent to Fontana Dam was steep and hard on my knees, but it was really pretty because as I got further down, Spring was in full swing. At the Fontana Dam I hung out with La-La and tried to fit 6 days worth of food into my pack. At the dam I got to take a hot shower with soap and shampoo from some more trail angels, Hikers for Christ.I think that La-la and I will be hiking together through the Smokies, which will be nice. We get along well, and it will be good to have company. Tomorrow we are supposed to hike 23 miles, so I should get to bed. There are a lot of people at this shelter (and some of them are very drunk) so I'm afraid it's going to be a loud night.
Date: 2007-04-11
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This may not have been my longest day of hiking ever, but it was by far the toughest. Somehow last night I managed to convince my new friend Lala to hike with me through the Smokies, and we were on the trail by 7:30 this morning. The first mile or so was a road walk over the dam and into the park, and that part was tough on my sore feet.Once we got on the real trail, we immediately began a steep climb that lasted for 10 miles until we got to the first shelter. After a mile or 2 out of Fontana, the fog settled in, and for the rest of the day I couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me. At that first shelter we stopped for lunch and some hot drinks, and the rest of the gang from the previous night began tricklingi n as we were getting ready to head out.For the next 6 or 7 miles, the terrain got a bit easier, but it started to rain. All day it had been very windy, so conditions were deteriorating. At Pence Field Shelter, we ducked in for a snack near the fire, and we really should have stopped there for the night. But we were stubborn, and instead we pushed on through the rain.The rain and the wind got worse, and the trail got steep again. Suddenly, just as we were getting to the top of a ridge aptly named Mt. Thunderhead, a lightning storm struck, seemingly from out of nowhere. We were between two mountains, so it didn't make much sense to go back, and we were too wet and cold to stay where we were, so instead we ran across the mountain-top balds between lightning strikes, slipping around in soggy shoes and holding our metal trekking poles as close to the ground as we could. It was awful.After seemingly endless miles of cold, wet hiking, we reached Derrick Knob Shelter as it was beginning to get dark, soaked to the bone. The shelter was already packed, but they let us in anyway, where we crouched in front of the fire for hours trying to dry out our clothes and warm up. My clothes bag had somehow gotten wet inside my pack, but fortunately my coat and sleeping bag stayed dry. After a hot dinner I started to feel better, so I spread my pad and sleeping bag on the floor and now it's time to sleep.
Date: 2007-04-12
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a better hiking day than yesterday. We woke up a bit late to clear skies, although it was still cold and windy. The first few miles in the morning were tough because my legs were so tired from yesterday. As we approached Clingman's Dome, the highest AT point in the Smokies, the trail got considerably easier. The deciduous forest gave way to confiers, and I almost felt as though I was back home in the West.Clingman's Dome itself was crawling with tourists, who had driven all the way up to mountain to spend 5 minutes shivering atop the observation tower in the cold wind before driving back down. The views were excellent, and we got to see what the park looked like, since we couldn't tell yesterday.Once leaving Clingman's Dome, it felt as though we were walking through a tree graveyard. I've never seen so many recently dead trees outside of a burned area. Many of the spruce and fraser firs are being killed off by acid rain.When Lala and I finally made it to Newfound Gap, we stuck our thumbs out for half an hour before being picked up by a wonderful couple from Wisconsin, Brian and Julie, who were themselves returning from a backpacking trip in the Smokies. They drove us to Gatlinburg, where we searched in vain for a hotel. (We learned later that all the hotels were full because the annual Dollywood Parade is tomorrow!) We finally all found a hotel in nearby Pigeon Forge, probably the most obscene towns I have ever seen, and our new friends took us out to eat at an Italian restaurant. They've also offered to drive us back to the trail tomorrow! They are true trail angels.