morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-27
From: Monson rest day

To: Stream at mile 2079.2
Miles today: 12.6

We had breakfast at the convenience store down the road from the hostel. Afterwards, we came back to the hostel to pack for the remainder of the hike. Because we were going to have food delivered to a prearranged location in the middle of the hundred mile wilderness, we had to pack buckets with our food. We scheduled to have these delivered on the day we would cross Katahdin Ironworks Road. I packed three days worth of food in my pack and five days worth in the bucket. That gave me an extra days worth to get to the pickup point just in case. It took us more time than we planned to get to the trail head. I think town stops are just inherently time consuming and we probably ought to have been more realistic about planning or learned to be super efficient. We still got going by 9:30. It was a momentous day. The start of the 100 mile wilderness. There was just that distance plus about another 15 miles to go to finish the hike. A total of a 115 miles to go. The sign in the picture reminded us of the task in front of us. We were entering a stretch where there was simply not a lot of opportunity to get to town. We had to be sure that we had everything we needed. Given that, I was thankful that I didn't have to carry all the food for this stretch. That would have been a lot of weight. The terrain was fairly flat with just a couple of short hills. We encountered a fair amount of bogs which slowed us down a little but not too much. We stopped a little short of the shelter because it was late in the day. There wasn't a big need to put in a lot of miles because we had to meet "Morning Glory" in a couple of days. It was 30 miles to the place where we were to meet him. Putting in a big mile day meant a short day tomorrow or the next day. Such is the nature of meeting someone along the trail. We found a tenting spot and set up camp. We had dinner, fellowshipped for a little then headed to our tents for the evening.
Date: 2011-09-28
From: Stream at mile 2079.2

To: Chairback Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up this morning quite refreshed after a peaceful nights sleep. The nRtoises this morning told us that it wasn't as much a wilderness as we were lead to believe. A train could be heard just after I woke up. All morning, traffic noise could be heard off in the distance. Still, the area we were in was beautiful. The stars were bright the night before because it was unspoiled by light pollution. We got up and going by about 8. The second river we crossed we had to ford. This was fairly early in the hike. By the time I got across, my feet were starting to get numb. Once I got my shoes and socks on, my feet warmed up. Did I say how much I like my wool socks? We didn't see many people today until we passed a group of northbounders late in the day. There was only one southbounder. The weather was cool all day making the hiking enjoyable. There was a lot of cloud cover which spoiled most of the views. On top of a one of the mountains, Katadyn normally could be clearly seen when it's clear. This would have been an especially nice treat. I've come to appreciate the importance of keeping one's goals in the forefront of the mind as much as possible. Though finishing isn't the only thing about hiking, it is an important part of this trip. We got to the shelter one by one. There was a chance of showers in the evening so everyone decided to sleep in the shelter to keep stuff dry. The five of us were the only ones in the shelter which gave us the chance to be as silly as we wanted to be. After dinner, we all crawled into our bags and began to discuss the rest of the hike. "Sweet Tea" has family coming so it is important that we get to Abol Bridge on Monday. We also will be meeting up with "Morning Glory" tomorrow at around lunch time. With all of those constraints, it looks like our hiking plan will be just fine. As a final talking point, someone asked what was the best thing that happened to each of us today. I think it's important to ask ourselves that question often.
Date: 2011-09-29
From: Chairback Gap Shelter

To: Carl A. Newhall Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Our plans were to meet "Morning Glory" and pick up our resupply at the next road crossing. Because he wasn't going to be there until around 1pm and the distance to the road from the shelter was around 4 miles, there was no hurry in getting up. We had the shelter to ourselves which made the morning special as we talked about how things were going to be once we all got off the trail. We finally got on the trail around 9:30. Most of the hike to the road was just going up and down small hills with a descent to the road crossing. Most of my thoughts revolved around wondering how things were going to be once I got home. I simply don't know what has changed over the last 6 months. I assume that the house is ok but it is everything else. Also, after being on the trail so long and experiencing this life changing journey, I'm not sure how I was going to relate to everything that was my life. My perspective is completely different. There are desires and dreams that I still will pursue but how I go about these pursuits is cause for reflection. I shouldn't concern myself with these issues to much as they have a habit of working themselves out independent of how much I think them through. As we got to the road, we encountered trail magic in the form of fresh fruit and other goodies. It was about lunchtime so we probably ate more than we should have. Fresh fruit is always a great treat because we just don't get to eat it that often. We finally got to the road and just sat there while we waited for "Morning Glory" and our resupply to show up. While waiting, we got a little mischievous. We convinced "Hopeful" that he needed to take a picture from the to of a hill nearby. While he was walking that way, one us got a rather large rock and put it in his pack. Out was hard to keep a straight face when he got back but we managed. The driver finally got there a little after 1. It was great to see "Morning Glory" again. He met the crew known as team yardsale. As everyone was putting their food in their pack, we heard "who put this rock in my pack?" Of course, we the laughter could no longer be restrained. Even though we assured him that we would not have let him hike with the rock in the pack, he still looked at us with suspicion. Such is the humor and fun we have had since I started hiking with them. After we all got our resupply packed, we took off down the trail to the shelter. Rain was in the forecast so there was a desire to get there as quick as possible. We had to ford one river on the way which turned out to be the easiest of all of them so far. The deepest it got was about midcalf. When we got to the shelter, it was already full forcing us to go to a nearby tenting area for the night. We got our tents set up while "Sweet Tea" made a fire. "Morning Glory" brought in brauts for dinner making him instantly popular. After a great dinner, we all headed to our tents for the evening.
Date: 2011-09-30
From: Carl A. Newhall Shelter

To: Mountain View Pond Tentsite
Miles today: 12.6

Total distance 12.6 miles. We got up and all got going very close to 8. "Morning Glory" took off early because he knew that we would eventually catch up to him. We are on very good shape after hiking for nearly 6 months so someone joining us is going to have a hard time keeping up unless they are in good shape. Today is the last big climb other than Katadyn. The rest of the trail past White Cap Mountain is fairly flat. It rained the night before so it was quite foggy all day. Of course, that spoiled the view of Katadyn once again. I was hoping to get a good picture of Katadyn from the mountain top. "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" and I got up to the top of the mountain at lunchtime. The wind was fairly strong on top of the mountain because of the storm. We found a spot where we were protected from the wind and dug into our food bags. We continued on down the mountain after lunch. It was still wet from the previous nights rain making the descent treacherous. Once we got down off the mountain, the terrain became very easy. We cruised along enjoying the flatter, easier trail. "Hopeful" digested a stealth camping spot on the edge of a pond. It sounded like a great spot so we decided to make that our stopping spot for the night. Just before we got to the tenting area, there was a river to ford. I went across first. There were gaps between the rocks that were large enough to step in. Unfortunately, "Hopeful" stepped into one of them and fell into the water. His backpack went completely under and he ended up injuring his foot. We helped as much as we could to get him to the other side. "Sweet Tea" took his tent and headed for the camping area to make a fire to dry out everything while "Guinness" tended to "Hopeful"s injuries. "Morning Glory" and I headed to the tenting area to help out "Sweet Tea" any way we could. We were able to get much of "Hopeful"s stuff dried out, at least enough so he could sleep in the dry. We had dinner and chatted while during around the fire. What could have been a disaster for "Hopeful" turned out to be an inconvenience, albeit a big one. We headed for our tents for the evening.
Date: 2011-10-01
From: Mountain View Pond Tentsite

To: Potaywadjo Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

Today was the first big miles day while in the 100 mile wilderness. The trail was very flat compared to what we had been hiking. It rained the night before just enough to get everything wet. The funny thing was "Sweet Tea" having to scramble to very the tarp over her hammock. It's funny because she bragged that she had guessed the weather correctly the entire way and didn't feel the need to get the tarp setup the night before despite being warned by us. After scrambling around, she got the tarp in place and went back to sleep. "Hopeful" woke up a little sore but not as bad as we thought he'd be given the bad spill he took fording the stream. We had breakfast, packed up and headed down the trail. I stopped at the stream that ran along the trail to fill up on water. The pond that we slept next to had a lot of tannins in the water which made it a little undesirable. The stream was much clearer and thus worth waiting for. Between the bogs and the rain from the night before, the trail had plenty of wet stretches that kept our boots wet. It was overcast the entire day causing us to be concerned that it would rain during the night. There was a group of 5 that stayed at the shelter just before the camping area that we stopped at the night before. We knew that if we didn't hustle, there wouldn't be shelter space for us and we would get our tents wet. The problem for me was that my rain fly developed a leak so staying in a shelter was a must for me. "Morning Glory" had left much earlier than the rest of us and actually had gotten to the shelter first. "Sweet Tea", upon realizing it was a race to the shelter, took off to try to save a couple of spots. I picked it up too. We ended up getting all of us in the shelter along with 3 from the group that stayed at the previous shelter. Shortly after we got settled in, it started to rain. I was so thankful that I didn't end up in my tent. I would have gotten wet by the next morning. "Morning Glory" ended up getting a nasty blister from having his feet wet. The rest of us had tough feet from months of hiking so the wetness didn't cause us problems. He was in such bad shape that he decided to go to Whitehouse Landing to get off the trail. He was bummed that wouldn't hiking with us for the rest of the trip. It is important to deal with hot spots, as they are called, when they occur. A little care can minimize blisters. We all were a little tight because we had one more person in the shelter than what is layed our for. However, there wasn't too many problems. We just ended up bumping each other a but more than normal.
Date: 2011-10-02
From: Potaywadjo Shelter

To: Pollywog Stream
Miles today: 15.7

We woke to soggy conditions from the previous night's rain. We did the normal routine of breakfast and packing then took off for the next spot. Our goal was the shelter about 2.5 miles from where we actually ended up stopping. There were plenty of bogs, generally soggy stretches of trail and puds. We also were feeling the mileage from the previous day. We were all just generally fatigued from being on the trail for so long. All of these conspired against us and kept us from reaching the shelter. There was a place we could have stopped to get a view of Katahdin but the overcast skies made going there unprofitable. So it was a day of just cranking out the miles. When the decision was made to stop next the the stream, I was relieved because I was tired but a little concerned about the rain. I figured out where the leak was on my tent but wasn't sure that my fix was going to work. The temporary fix was to use one of the large ziplock bags to cover the spot on the rain fly where the leak was to keep the rain away from it. After we had dinner, we headed to our tents for the night. Shortly after that, the rain started once again. I held my breadth. The plastic bag worked. I fell asleep knowing that I wasn't going to get wet from the leak.
Date: 2011-10-03
From: Pollywog Stream

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! The last long day. "Hopeful" would get to see his wife. "Sweet Tea" would get to see her parents, "Guinness" would see get her mom and "Nate Dog" would get to see his friend and "Morning Glory" would be back with us. There was lots to look forward to. I woke up dry and thankful for that. The fix for the leak seemed to work just fine. We had breakfast, packed up and took off down the trail. We ended up getting separated with me pulling up the rear. "Hopeful" normally didn't stay ahead of me but I think he was motivated. I took a few more breaks than everyone else which put me in catch up mode all day. It was like all the previous days in the hundred mile wilderness, overcast, wet with bogs with several puds (pointless up and downs) thrown in to keep us humble. As I got close to the road crossing, I could hear the familiar Marco-Polo signaling that we used to locate each other. The way it worked was one would yell out Marco and anyone else who heard it would respond with Polo. It was a great way to keep track of each other. I turned the last corner before the official end of the hundred mile wilderness and was greeted by cheers from the rest of the group. They wanted to celebrate the completion of the hundred mile wilderness as a group. What a milestone! We now had just 15 miles to go! We headed down the road to Abol bridge where the campground was located. We arrived, "Sweet Tea"s parents were there waiting along with "Morning Glory". "Morning Glory" was standing in the parking area drinking a coke and eating a snack. As we approached him I held my arms out like a zombie said cola over and over. He started to protect his snack at which point the rest of the group started saying mine, mine, mine like the seagulls from "Finding Nemo". We all had a good laugh. It was the typical team yardsale silliness. We all decided to stay in town so we could dry out a bit. We met in the restaurant that was part of the hotel and had dinner. Tired but no longer hungry, we headed to our rooms. Tomorrow, we were to hike Baxter State Park then the next day, the big finish, 5 miles to Katahdin!
Date: 2011-10-04
From: Abol Bridge

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

We got back on the trail after a great breakfast with the friends and family of team yardsale. We were driven back to Abol bridge to hike to Katahdin Stream Campground. We were all light hearted for the whole hike. The expectation of completing this journey had us all excited. In fact, today's hike just seemed to be a simple prelude to tomorrow's big hike up Katahdin. The terrain was easy, weather was decent even though it was overcast and the trail was in good shape. The only issue was crossing Nesowadnehunk stream. Because of all of the rain during the previous couple of days, the stream was fast flowing and thus too dangerous to ford. We were forced to take the bypass trail which crossed the stream at a point where the water was much calmer. We all got to the campground to waiting friends and family. It was back to town for another good scrubbing and dinner. If we were excited at the start of the hike, imagine how we felt having completed today's hike. There was just 5 miles to go. Single digit mileage signaled a significant milestone in our hike. After dinner, we climbed back into bed to rest up for the finale. It was a little hard to get to sleep because of the prospect of completing a major journey. Fatigue eventually won out and I was fast asleep.
Date: 2011-01-02
To: Good Karma
Miles today: 0.0

I'm a big believer in Karma. That's why Trail Magic strikes me as a good investment. In the last week at work I've found one Thru hiker, the mother of Nurse Ratchett from Skywalkers book and the daughter of a section hiker who is 80% finished. Here's hoping that hearing stories will make her want to get back out and finish.Small world, huh? What do you think the odds are that I'd meet Skywalker twice last year and the mother of one of his travelling companions at work, on the eve of me taking off?
Date: 2011-01-08
To: Start date
Miles today: 0.0

I think I will be out on 3-20 unless the weather is so good that I can't wait! The 20th should position me perfectly to be in Franklin NC for Ron Haven's April Fools Bash. If I go out earlier, I'll backtrack for this party! It's that much fun! This schedule will sort of force me to go slow and easy for the first week and a half. Tons of flexibility! As far as I can tell, too far,too fast is a killer early on. Let's hope I can control the adrenaline and ego!
Date: 2011-01-09
To: 70 days out!
Miles today: 0.0

I'm 10 weeks away from leaving. I ordered a small cache of food from Packit Gourmet. I'm going to really try to go out slow and stay comfortable for the first few weeks, and this food is as good as most restaurant food! I'm going to hit the trail with more sleeping bag than i figure to need, whether that is a zero or twenty degree bag. My neoair pad is super comfortable. I have expedition weight thermals to sleep in. Raingear is good. Let's see.....warm, dry, well-fed, and well-rested. I've done what I can do to stack the deck in my favor. Now to put the calender on fast forward!
Date: 2011-01-13
To: Another hurdle
Miles today: 0.0

Turned in my notice at work yesterday. That takes me out of the planning stage and really starts the countdown. I was pretty nervous, but they were great. All I got was "That sounds like a blast. See you when you get back." What more could you ask for?Also got an order of Enertia foods in today. 13 meals, 9 different types. After trying the El Capitan 3 bean chili from these guys I felt safe ordering a variety. I also have an order from Packit Gourmet on the way in. Packit foods are better than anything I can cook! These food play into the plan to start slow, easy and comfortable. I'll have good food to look forward to, be sleeping warm and taking short days into the Smokies. I'll let the mileage get longer when the days get longer.
Date: 2011-01-22
To: Short Shakedown
Miles today: 0.0

I did a short 4 mile walk with 90% of my packload.I weighed out at 27 lbs. I went from the Craven's House to Sunset Rock on Lookout Mtn. It was just below freezing with a coating of snow on the trail. I felt a little tenative due to the footing but maintained 2 mph. No issues noted with layers or boots. I feel this will be typical of the worst mornings encountered in late March.
Date: 2011-02-06
To: 6 weeks
Miles today: 0.0

Well I'm 6 weeks from leaving for the AT. Nothing unexpected has happened. Food is way less of an issue than I'd thought. Just not getting in the prep hikes that I'd like, but I only have 2 1/2 weeks left at work. That last 3 weeks will be daily hikes I hope. But hey, plans are for wimps!
Date: 2011-02-20
To: 4 weeks
Miles today: 0.0

I'm in my last week at work and 4 weeks until my planned start date. The butterflies have really kicked in! I feel really good about equipment but still haven't got into the serious shakedowns. The weather is unseasonably warm and may yet throw me a curve. All during the winter I have been prepping to keep warm for the first weeks and now 60-70 degree days. The tests for flexibility are starting early.There is a good chance I'll move my start date from Sunday to Monday to dodge the crowd a little. Still weather dependent.
Date: 2011-02-28
To: Change of plans!
Miles today: 0.0

After talking to Miss Janet a few weeks back and the crew at Mtn. Crossings yesterday I have decided to change the departure date to 3-17. That lets me take off on a Thursday (less starting on weekdays) and I like the idea of taking off on St. Patrick's Day. The crowds should be lighter in the first couple of shelters and I get rest days before Franklin.
Date: 2011-03-11
To: 6 days
Miles today: 0.0

Weii I'm almost there. I have added a Kelty 20 degree Lightyear bag and a Patagonia nanopuff jacket to the list of things I "needed"! The nano will save considerable pack space over the puff jacket I was going to take. The 20 degree bag gives me the option of trading out of the zero bag at Franklin if it's too warm. It turns out that I have 10-15 more meals than I was planning on shipping out so I can call home for an extra drop whenever I need to. The fully loaded weight is coming in about 32 lbs. with winter gear, so I've been pretty happy with that. Practice runs have been few and short! 2-3 miles but hopefully this is enough to warn my legs what's coming without wearing them out!
Date: 2011-03-16
To: Last day at home!
Miles today: 0.0

I'll be leaving home tomorrow with a heavier heart than expected due to health issues with my grandmother. She's 90 years old, so I knew that there was a possibility of an issue while I was on the trail but 4 days shy of my leaving she has had a very minor stroke. All seems well and I still plan on heading out early tomorrow morning. Off to do the last minute repacking. Hooboy! After packing 5 days of food and packing ALL of my winter gear instead of wearing any of it, my pack weight is 40 lbs. A good 5 lbs more than I wanted but I think I know where it all came from. Off to bed at Midnight. Next entry will be pics of the sendoff! Here we go!
Date: 2011-03-17
From: Southern Terminus

To: Hawk Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

On trail 1315 - Passed Stover Creek Shelter 1500. Hikers Cog, Big Dawg. Arrived Hawk Mtn shelter ~ 1830. Didn't drink nearly enough (or eat) weak & slow but no harm done. Fell asleep ~ 2045 with glasses & headlamp still on.
Date: 2011-03-18
From: Hawk Mtn Shelter

To: Gooch Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: clear sky

Start with steep climb out of Cooper Gap. First evidence of hikers lightening pack (pic). Rock outcrop top of climb. Starbucks break. First reminder that this is (pic) for fun not a death march! Pic near top of Justus Mtn. Barely 1 mph! Turns out less! Camped at Justus Creek with Icicle from Minnesota.The climb over Sassafras and Justus Mtns. was waterless for 6.2 miles! I'd urge anyone behind me to make a special note of this stretch and plan accordingly. I was completely spent when I got to Justus Creek and sat and drank water for about an hour. On the plus side, because I didn't even have the energy to go 0.8 miles to the shelter, I stayed at the tentsites 0.1 mile above the creek. The sites were just perfectly graded and terraced into the hillside. A definite cut above shelter camping!
Date: 2011-03-19
From: Justus Creek Campsite

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Slept late. Very weak. Pace crawling. Going to meet Angie at Woody Gap. 6 miles today. Gave Icicle my sunscreen. He's Pink!I did more damage than I thought with the waterless stretch yesterday. I was slow all the way into Woody Gap. No foot issues or anything unexpected. It's a learning experience to both plan ahead and be ready to adapt to a curve thrown at you.