morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-07
To: Time goes by fast...
Miles today: 0.0

Wow I have been off the trail for over a month now. 34 Days ago I stood at the top of Kathadin, completing my 2,184 mile journey. Now I am preparing for my next stage in life. In just under 45 days I will deploy for bootcamp with the United States Air Force. I am going into EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal), a job that I have always admired and dreamed of doing. I am working out multiple times a week and trying to prepare myself. It is a strange transition... On the trail I could do whatever I wanted and when I wanted, that will be no more. I will answer to my superiors and do as they say. People think that I will hate this, they are wrong. I am excited to finally get the chance to live my dream, to have the job I have always pushed for. It is up to me now to do well in my tech school and to pass.I miss the trail and am planning to go hike on it for a few days before I ship, I am excited to get to hike one last time before my new life begins. I have noticed a lot of changes stuck with me from the trail, I am more easy going and a notice my determination to do things has grown. Nothing can stop me, nothing can get in my way... and if it does, I will find a way around it. Until I leave I will spend my days working at my full time job again, and getting things ready for my departure. I have to sell my car, pack up my room, and get rid of all my extra crap that will just collect dust. No you can't have my gear That is staying with me! lol. It is really great to hear from friends on the trail, many have finished in the recent days, I am so glad to hear! I have been following a southbounder named Chickadee. She is hiking in honor of her Dad. I admire her as she never planned to hike the A.T., her dad did. However last year he passed away of heart disease and now she wants to hike it in his honor. She knew she was going into the hike with very minimal experience and finances, but she is very determined to succeed, I think she will. I had a great time making up a food drop box for her, now I know why bucketlist enjoyed it so much when he helped me! I encourage all who have followed my blog to follow hers, you get to read all about the trail again in reverse!! Silly Southbounders! www.hikefortheheart.blogspot.comYou will see that she is accepting donations on there to help her get through her hike and raise awareness and money for the American Heart Association. If you can help her out in any way I would greatly appreciate it as I highly admire her cause and she is taking on a huge challenge. Her blog is very exciting to read daily, she often updates it each time she gets in town.Other than that, I do not have much more to report for now.... Talk again soon!
Date: 2012-08-29
To: Back to the trail...
Miles today: 0.0

Thats right! I decided that I needed to go hike once again. After getting home as you know I missed the trail. I had told chickadee I would come hike with her at some point if I could. Well, the opportunity arose! I took the time off from work, and packed my pack. Ah the fresh smell of thru hiker...! I grabbed my hiking uniform and was off to New Hampshire! After getting some help from short and sweet my plans worked. I left my car in hanover and headed to Gorham via shuttle. I met up with chickadee and others at the white mountain lodge and hostel, a very pretty place with caring owners. We headed off the next morning for the presidential range, a hikers paradise. I felt right at home, and was happy to be back on the trail. Almost immediately I was seeing people I knew from many months ago, some who I met way back in Georgia!The weather was perfect, sunny skies, fresh clean air, and a slight breeze to keep us cool. The view was breathtaking and made me feel free again.
Date: 2012-09-09
To: As life goes on!
Miles today: 0.0

My days of being able to post are quickly coming to an end, I am going to miss my Trail Journal family. In eight days I will depart for bootcamp, it is located in San Antonio, Texas. On the bright side the weather should not be all that bad by the time i get there. Last night we had a going away party for me, what a fun time! It was great to see all my friends, family, and random people who showed up. It was really great because two of my best trail journal fans came! Jim and Marji who were common followers came to see me off. They followed my entire journey and come to find out they lived only a few minutes from me and are old friends with my mom's best friend. They also plan to hike the AT next year! (Now you two have got to go!! ).The best feature of the party was the cake. Many people were asking me about the trail and my crazy summer. My mom decided it fitting to make a slight change to my cake. It said Carpe Diem - a quote that i try to live by. In addition it had my name... Bomber! WOOOHOO My trail name lives on! What a great addition to the night.As the days count down I am getting my final preparations for bootcamp. My paperwork is all in line, my bags are almost packed, and my room is mostly all boxed up. My mom will be buying my car. I will have very little once I leave, makes life easy. I will try and post once or twice more before I leave. After that I will be gone for 8.5 weeks of training. Maybe if you all would like my mom can make a post or two on here and update everyone of my adventures. Other than that... Thank you for all the great support and comments that you provided, it was so fun to see peoples comments. For now... Take Care!
Date: 2012-03-24
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

March 24, 13.0 miHiking through Georgia was easy at my own pace. My body just went, somehow effortlessly up thousand foot climbs. But as the sun would start to set and all the nature around me glowed gold I'd get very pensive. Sometimes I'd cry. I marked my trend of straight up abandoning something when I didn't like it. In that moment. I'm not sorry about the jobs but I do think about all the beautiful losers I've ever lost.¢I'd rather wash ur mom's hair. She can't do it herself, she's just had plastic surgery! I can see the seams in her face and she lets me drive her Cadillac.¢ or:Why'd you trade me at Union Jack's only to ¢nurture¢ me in, private? That makes no sense.Oh, we're human and we live on earth?I object.Watch me fly. Ciao, Paolo.(insert suicide here)
Date: 2012-03-26
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Whitley Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

March 26, 10.4 miThere was an old post office at the top of Blood Mountain. I'd heard diverse voices from above and to the right of the trail and they drew me off course and up. Tendrilling moss, wild with all sorts of shooting prongs, covered the large slabs of stone I climbed, and the smaller version of the rhododendron bush swished against my exposed knees. A minor patch of flat ground through blue lichened trees and I found myself coming out onto the top view of the mountain. I found five other hikers communing on the broad, flat surface of the bald. The defunct post office, stone, really old, was below us.Moose and Mooch were two women about my age traveling together, recently graduated. Butcher didn't have a trail name yet, another guy smelled as though he'd been on trail for five months already, and Starfish was aptly named by Moose because he had a disappearing chin. At least I think that's what was going through her mind.I cocked a hip and munched on some M&Ms I'd snagged in ziplocs from a hiker feed earlier that day. I'd met Butcher there and hadn't been too impressed, but Moose was clearly one of the ones who would ¢make it.¢ I could picture her slugging out one of her own kind up in Maine. The aptly-named Mooch was just along for about two weeks, after which Moose would ford on alone. Hmm.I didn't stop at Neels Gap because it looked like the definition of a tourist trap, at the valley between two mountain peaks and everything. The socks were pushing twenty, I caught sight of a Budweiser in the hand of Butcher as he lay in the sun out back and I was like, ¢Socks? Who needs socks? I don't need socks. I'm good.¢ After five minutes of civilization I was ready to keep moving. I hadn't even taken off my pack.¢C.V.!¢ A woman's voice called after me. Crap. Was that...? ¢Coinvolta!¢ Crap! I forgot I'd told her my name, my real trail name. Sheepishly I hung my head and stared at the dust but didn't turn around or anything. She stepped to my side and casually threw her arm around my neck. I felt about as much comfort as it's possible to feel when some crew member you barely know practically has you in a headlock. I was scared.¢Do you have everything you need?¢ she asked.¢Yeah.¢And by ¢yeah¢ I mean no, absolutely f*cking not. ¢Three pairs of socks!?¢ I wish she could have said to me, I wish she could have known how they were the only part of my trip planning I'd gotten right. I'd tried. For two years I'd painstakingly gathered to myself all the parts, the gear, that would make my memories of that section hike become a thru-hike. But despair has been underlying all my actions for years. I won't make it, I won't...¢Are you sure?¢ She sqared with me, held me out at arm's length.¢Yeah.¢ And I left.oLevelland Mountain was a very sharp climb out of the Gap but I found a recent register entry from Jay at Whitley Shelter: ¢Chaffing is awful! Baby powder doesn't help.¢What?Regardless of what that meant, I knew he was only 1 day ahead of me. That meant I could potentially catch him, grab his face, and kiss it one day soon.
Date: 2012-03-27
From: Whitley Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

March 27, 12.1 miMoose, Mooch, and Butcher caught up with me very easily. It turned out they were all rowers.I decided to give up on preparing hot meals after I saw Moose's setup. The small tank of fuel and snaked cord might have been expensive, and maybe it was advanced, but there is no way to determine these things. It looked heavy.Prioritize: What is necessary on this hike? What will help me?Realize: I've come such-and-such miles today. Fact.I slept in my tent again, in front of the shelter, while the crew braved the hard boards and potential bug bites.Wild snarling and eerie calls kept me awake for about two hours.¢What is that?¢ I asked whoever was awake on the platform above.¢Probably cyotes,¢ Butcher said.¢Oh.¢ I writhed in fear on the ground, unable to help myself.
Date: 2012-03-28
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

March 28, 8.1 miIn the morning I set out to follow the girls but they were soon too far ahead, it didn't merit my straining myself. I took a break from sun and hiking by sitting down and applying some sweet-smelling sunscreen lotion encased in a mint green pill box a woman named Poco a Poco had given me. Butcher found me easily set on the slightest of flat stones, bare legs straightened across the trail, barring the way.When I saw him staring, I lifted my chin an proffered a smile, hopefully fetching yet ¢ as I've come to realize lately ¢ rather wolfish. Yes?¢I walked about two miles an hour faster than I'd planned all the day before yesterday, just to catch up with you,¢ he said.Really?
Date: 2012-03-31
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

March 31, 12.5 miI was splashing the amply flowing spring water on myself when Croc-o-dile-done-D yelled down from the trail and surprised me.¢Hey! How are you?¢Dammit. I thought I'd scanned both ways. Where the hell did this guy come from?¢I'm OK,¢ I replied.He started down the embankment so I walked up and met him halfway, looking daggers.¢I thought for sure that I was the first one out today,¢ he said.Who cares?OK, seeing as how he's in my face, I'll look.He's perfect. Mean-looking, a serious face with glinty eyes.He takes pride in his own body. It doesn't look like that without effort.¢I have to be the first one out in the morning,¢ he went on. ¢It's just a thing I have. Gotta be first.¢¢Well, after you then. I'm kind of taking my time here, so...yeah...¢¢I'll wait for you at the top!¢ he announced, for some reason. ¢But if the view isn't that great, I'll move on.¢What?¢OK, deal,¢ I said.The thousand foot climb (over only three miles) to Standing Indian Mountain felt good after I'd finished rinsing off. The view was so-so. I kept moving ¢ but not too fast.That night there was one of my favorite campsites. The shelter was up the lip of the gradually rising hill above the large, flat valley where most people had set up their tents. A fire was already blazing in the middle of the clearing of trees. I walked across the closely-packed, green tufts of grass and sat down next to Cackles, a blonde in bright shorts, and Wobbles, the guy who'd been gradually provoking Crocodile Dundee last night. We watched the fire burn in peaceful silence, but I felt positive energy beaming out of them both towards me. We shared and conserved without moving or speaking, the three of us.Later on, after everyone else had gone inside their tents, I went back out to the dying embers because I could not sleep. Crocodile Dundee walked back from taking a piss and found me there.¢You should get a trail name,¢ he suggested. He looked more like the self advertized by his name in a wide brimmed leather hat.¢I'll work on it.¢¢How about Yogi?¢ It took me awhile to retrieve what he'd said because his words were submerged beneath his surface, his perfect picture of strength and vitality. Abrasive. I wanted to grasp his arms, just touch him all over. Maybe fight him? More awake than ever, stimulated from the miles, the exertion, and each other, we faced each other.¢I dunno...like Yogi Bear?¢ I sneered.¢No!¢ cried Wobbles from within his tent, a few yards away. ¢That name is already taken. Some famous guy who hikes the PCT.¢¢There you have it,¢ I told him, fighting a delighted smile.
Date: 2012-04-07
From: N.C. 28

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

April 7, 10.3 miThin Timber jacked a headlamp from the shelter box and gave it to me after I learned a valuable lesson in conservation:¢Oh, you have a pepper to put in with our dinner tonight?I can dice it up.Hey wait! There's an onion in the hiker box. What if we slice off a few rounds and take them too?Wait. If I take a piece out of it, it might never get taken by anyone else who might need it or want it more than we do.¢I was ready to go hiking. But Thin Timber was really stretching out the time he spent taking down his hammock. I must have eaten half a bag of Blue Diamond almonds by the time he was done twisting the delicate fabrics together then slinking the outer ¢snake skin¢ material over the sheath. Then he sat down beside me at the picnic table and said he wanted to take a shower. ¢Good idea! I'll take one too.¢ Before I left for the shower stalls he lent me his oversized crocs to walk in and tossed me the sock he'd ejaculated into the night before. ¢Oh, can you rinse that out?¢ Like a traumatized clown, I walked over to the shower.I ran into Peach in the bathroom. We eyed each other suspiciously and said nothing. But I noted her progress in the registers as the months passed on ¢ at first with jealousy, then with admiration. 'Timber was still reluctant to leave after showering, so I headed out alone. ¢It is what it is.¢I don't have to be savvy or smart to have a good time on the AT ¢ and that's good, because I'm really stupid. I'm so stupid, that in the utter absence of common sense, social obligation, and mores, natural desire is the only impetus of my being, and it informs my actions ¢ often, to my benefit. I do what behooves me, what is ultimately in my best interest, totally unconsciously. At the time I didn't realize the seemingly obvious, that the two of them were routing extended trysts around me, but I ended up acting as though I had caught on and made him pretty jealous ¢in return.¢ More importantly, I would ultimately end up not depending on him or hiking anywhere near him. Base instinct prevails to save me when reason cannot do its job.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

April 10, 8.7 miI heard a car go by to my right on the way to Clingman's Dome. Excited, I bushwhacked through the tallgrass up the embankment of a real, paved road. With paint on it and everything! I'd intersected with civilization. I hitched a ride with a family of redheads in a minivan. They couldn't have been more safe. They even had a rainbow peace sign window sticker decoration. I regaled them with tales of my hiking but they'd already been party to the beauty of the Smokies for five days. I stared out the window, amazed at the beauty of the vivid green forest and the many rivers that gushed along near the road. Very luckily, they were driving right then to a grocery store in Gatlinberg. An otherwise quiet child piped up in order to inform me they were having sausages for dinner that night. I hadn't eaten anything in well over 24 hours, and not well for about a week, and my insides squealed together at this news.My trail resupply skills were still developing. I spent more time ogling the new strains of Budweiser than finding the actual food I needed. In the end I gathered the following into my cart:-1 giant ream of oatmeal-a bunch of bananas-a plastic bag full of Reese's Easter eggs-1 valu pak of brown sugar (for the morning oatmeal)That was it.I'd calculated it out awhile ago, that if I ate only ramen for the duration of the trip, two times a day, I could make it to Maine with the money I had left. But once I saw the bananas it was over. And they had Marlboros on sale for $3.65 a pack! I bought two of the Marlboro Blacks, knowing that nothing could stop me from thru-hiking, even being broke less than two weeks in.¢That's all you're getting?¢ the father asked me as I stood in the cigarette counter's que. ¢Yep.¢ He looked skeptical, which was all well and good, but...what? You gonna donate something? OK then. Back in the car, I found my pack still safe inside. The beautiful mother who'd sat in the middle seat opposite me on the ride over offered to take me back inside the park. Well, that'll keep me from walking back in and buying a case of beer.Gatlinberg was an alarming circus to behold after the peace of the woods. It didn't seem to make any sense amidst the majestic natural beauty of the Smokies. Boardwalk fried food, a haunted house attraction, pinball machines, piercing stores, and flashing, gaudy lights were fun to look at ¢ from inside the car. I knew that if I ever set foot in that place it'd be bad for me. All my money would be spent at the first sports grill I came across, and I wouldn't be able to go hiking for days. So I was ostensibly thankful for the ride.By the time I climbed to the Icewater Spring Shelter everyone was asleep inside and the shelter was full. Thin Timber was awake on the bottom level though, and he lifted his head to see me when I pulled the plastic wind screen aside. I just gaped for a few seconds, then quickly turned around and went about setting up my tent.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

April 12, 7.7 miI said goodbye to everyone at the shelter, made sure to get my water from the convenient pipeline channeling the spring out of the rock right in front of the shelter, then we all went our separate ways. That night I nearly lost my temper while trying to get some sleep in the shelter. A father and his boys were heckling with each other and sharing s'mores with the rest of the hikers and I couldn't get comfortable. Of course I wanted some chocolate. And I love teenage boys. But especially after it got dark and my earplugs didn't help much, I decided to be proactive and get some sleep wherever I could. I sat up, hurredly gathered my things together, and stormed out of the place and down the steep hill in the dark. There was a perfect tenting area down there that I'd seen when I'd come upon the shelter. I'd been so happy at that time to be the only one around. ¢Damn day hikers!¢ I thought to myself as I tried to set my tent up as quickly as possible. (This was difficult while trying to hold a flashlight as well) After I was done I thought no more of the screeching children. I didn't waste any more of my precious energy on anger. I unzipped just enough of the tent flap to roll myself inside. I didn't want a single bug in my tent.
Date: 2012-04-13
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Snowbird Mountain
Miles today: 15.1

April 13, 15.1 miI woke up and heard some gentle rustlings from inside the tent pitched in front of mine on the same flat. Reluctant to get up immediately, I turned onto my side in my spacious tent and began the endless process of organizing my food and gear.When I heard the sound of a zipper, I likewise unfurled myself to the world to find Gumby in her tent across from me. ¢Hey C.V.!¢¢Well hello,¢ I replied. ¢I thought you were with the Wolf Pack.¢ The thought of Thin Timber titillated me in a completely inappropriate way now that I'd banished him from my company. I didn't want to be anywhere near him. But I wouldn't have minded knowing his whereabouts. ¢They're not here, are they?¢¢No, they fell behind. They've been hitching into towns, going to restaurants, and getting realy drunk. I kind of got tired of it so I left. Besides, I'm going to meet up with my boyfriend soon when we get to Tennessee.¢¢How long will it be before we get there?¢ I knew I had a map and that I'd check later, but the thought of a new state first thing in the morning was too exciting. I was grateful she'd reminded me. ¢I think it's about ten miles, but we pass through the northern boundary of the Park today in eight.¢ ¢Really?¢ I was ecstatic. I'd just hiked through the Smokies in seven days.0The first few hours maintained the altitude I'd climbed up to the past few days. I walked across the highest, open crests, the sun shining bright even in the early morning. I walked on the highest point for miles around.At one point I felt slightly sick, upset to my stomach, so I dawdled and spent a good two hours laying by the side of the trail in the sun, my mat further padded by the mounds of blonde tallgrass. A pair of thru-hikers, a guy and a girl, passed by me and simply smiled, waved a friendly greeting. They understood. That rest was all part of the process. The descent out of the Smokies took me half the day. At first I was enamored with the seasonal change; at some point during my descent of over 5,000 feet it became green again. The Smokies had offered dips back into fields between mountains where a rare, pink blossomed tree could be seen, but as the hours passed and I zig zagged down, I realized I'd walked into spring.
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Grassy Fork, TN

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 0.0

April 16, 0.0 miI woke up late to the sun casting irregular, swaying patterns on the thin green layer of fabric above me. My purple polka dotted sleeping bag was comfortable, despite how I'd begun to hate the way it reminded me of Dino. I hardly moved all day except to turn over onto my stomach in order to prolong my sleep and stay in the womb. I had about a liter and a half of water left so I didn't even go in search for a source, though I really should have. The amount of alcohol I'd consumed in the past few days was unusual even for me. There had been diversity, even exposure to something completely new like the iced wine. I was severely dehydrated.I didn't know what time it was. The fast-paced events in Grassy Fork had left little time for me to think of calling my mother, and I didn't have too many friends I was on speaking terms with anyway. A steady rain had begun to fall. Too lazy to make dinner, I ate three fudge rounds and went back to sleep.