morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-01
To: One Year Later...
Miles today: 0.0

Well, just over one year has passed, and quite quickly I may add. It is truely hard to believe that I have been off the trail for that long.... seems like yesterday I was hiking in that snow on the way down to Harper's Ferry.       Anyhow, I have made the most of my year so far. I have been extrodinarily busy at times, and even more lazy at others. Currently I am finishing up my second semester at Sam Houston State University. I have occupied the last 7 months (since my last update) with many things, among them are:   -helped get the Outdoor Adventure Club at SHSU up and going... we are having a great first semester   -Worked at home over the holidays   -Attended a couple of rock climbing and mountain biking trips to Austin   -Spent a week in the Grand Canyon for Spring Break- this was awesome... I put some pics in my photo gallery for you guys to check out...   -Decided that there is not a chance that I want to pursue a "general business" degree... I really dont care for those types of classes. So I am now considering what options I have... I am curious about Industrial Design and I may transfer to a school that offers that program- but that is still up in the air.   I also managed to whittle away a vast majority of the money with which I intended to use to hike the second half of the trail.   So that means that I will not be able to fo back out to the trail this summer and hike. As disappointing as that is to me, I know that I cant always do what I want. I am trying to figure out what I am doing this summer- getting an internship with a gear company, is really what Id like to do... but we shall see.      On a brighter note, I am trying to devise a way to get out to Trail Days this year. The budget will be tight, but I am really going to try. Is anybody from Texas heading out that way, by means of a car- I would love to chip in on gas, let me know!   Well I just thought I would drop a note to let people know what my plans are.   Have a great summer!!!
Date: 2007-02-05
To: Fort Collins, Colorado
Miles today: 0.0

Hey Everyone,       It has been a long time, but I definately still think about this trip on a regular basis. I have gotten a couple of emails over the last couple of years, and met with some of you who read about my trip here. That's been rad. If anyone else is out in the Front Range area of Colorado, please get in touch! I love meeting other people who have a passion for the AT. They tend ot be a little bit harder to find out here.      Just a little update on where I'm at now. I still have dreams of going back to the trail and thru-hiking it from start to finish, but I keep getting distracted by the mountains in my backyard. I am living out in Coloado now, and loving it. I am also starting my own business while I go to school... check it out if you'd like - www.r2packs.com. Let me know what you think!      Hope that all is well!In the spirit of adventure,Ronwww.r2packs.com
Date: 2003-03-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 1900.0

Hello, my name is Roni and I am probably the last southbounder of 2002. For the last 4 months I've been e- mailing my friends from the trail via a gadget that enables me to send and receive letters from every payphone. Up to now I never bothered to post them on trailjournals.com , but now, as I've been meeting more and more nourthbounders who wanted to know how I'm doing, I decided to finally post my stuff in trailjournals.A BRIEF HISTORY OF MYSELF:I am a 28 year old Israeli, who, after studying physics for 6 years decided I don't enjoy physics any more and so last summer I flew to N.Y. and starting hiking north along the a.t. starting June 21st. I sumitted Katahadin on August 31st, then hitched to the Canadian border on the northen end of the Long Trail in Vermont and from there I've been continuously hiking south along the L.T. and the A.T.   Ive been hiking through this winter - an experince that definitely wouldn't be best described by the word warm. I've been hiking extremely slowly, hammocking in shelters on the way, timing myself to reach Mount Springer by mid April, when I plan to take a bus to California and start hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.I must say that I am no big fan of the A.T. - I think it has too many climbs and not enough views. I always like to say I don't usually enjoy hiking the A.T.. I enjoy the hiking experience. Indeed - if you read my journals, I'm usually more interested in the people and the culture around the trail than in the trail itself. If you'd like to read a journal that sounds as if it's taken from the diary of a soldier in boot camp, "hiked 23 miles today, 19 miles yesterday and will hike 24 miles tommorow" you'd better skip this journal and go to any other one. You also might want to skip it if you are only willing to read journals written with perfect grammar and spelling. I am not big on using spell checkers (I don't have one in my e-mail gadget) and I believe that as long as you can understand my meaning, the accurate spelling is not important.In return for your bearing my terrible spelling I promise to try and avoid writing about things that other journal writers think people are intrested to know about - like writing about their bowl regularity. I promise to avoid this subject until I'm 70 - an age at which the performance of one's digestive system is one's favorite subject for dicussion. For the next 40 years Ill try to write about sexier subjects like blisters, chaffing and kneepain.One last warning - tact is not somthing I'm really strong in. If you are someone that is easily offended, you might choose not to read my diary,especialy if you are someone who believes in causing bodily harm to those who offended you.Well, enough with the warning,threts and disclaimers...
Date: 2003-03-22
To: Springer Mt.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

(Morning, Mar 19)Yesterday I entered the Smokies. The trail here is unlike anything I¢ve hiked before. It isn¢t a path here, it¢s more a highway. It is wide and extremely well graded, and at times is a few feet below its surroundings, in what looks like a deep ditch, due to erosion from the thousands of feet walking on it every day. And it¢s so much alive! It is surrounded by a thick impenetrable wall of evergreen bushes and trees that stand in stark contrast to the gray leafless winter forest I¢ve been hiking in for the last months. This place is a paradise for wildlife, supporting thousands of species of vegetation and animals, some of them unique to the Smokies.For the last days, the Smokey Mountains have been true to their name, being engulfed by a continuous cover of clouds and fog . So I was not able to see any of the great views these mountains are famous for. But I didn¢t have to see to enjoy this place. I could hear, hear the singing of birds, the occasional staccato of a woodpecker as it is drilling its home in a tree, and the sound of raindrops as they fall off the pine leaves.But best off all is the smell here. It is the sweet smell of composting dead organic matter. It has been frozen all winter but now, as heat suddenly arrived, it started its long journey of decay and absorption by the ground, to be reborn in the form of moss and pines, and eventually in the form of birds, deer and bear. This intoxicating aroma is the smell of rejuvenation and rebirth, of life of and creation. It is the smell of spring, and for me it is the smell of Springer. This mountain is now pulling me with unbelievable force, attracting me and making me want to reach it as fast as possible. Yes, I know, it is an unimpressive, viewless wooded mountain, whose only unique feature is that plaque on the stone marking the southern end of the Appalachian Trail. But that doesn¢t matter any more, because I suddenly understand. I suddenly understand why people who bitch about the trail all the way to Georgia, arrive at Springer and then suddenly turn around and start hiking north, back to Maine. I suddenly understand why people who swear they¢ll not hike another single yard of the trail, hike all of it again, and again and again. And I can suddenly understand how beautiful it can be even when it is covered by heavy fog and rain, as it is now.Roni
Date: 2003-04-23
From: Springer Mt.

To: California
Miles today: 0.0

AN END AND A BEGINNING:I am now in L.A. , after taking a 52 hour eventful but surprisingly enjoyable bus ride from Knoxville,TN. The bus took me from the forested rolling hills in Tennessee, past the oil wells on the Texas prairie and cactuses in the Arizona desert, and through mountains in California. But best of all, it gave me a glimpse of the snow-covered peaks near San Bernardino pass, where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses. It was the end of my 10 month Appalachian Trail journey, and the beginning of a new pacific one. Tommorow I will get a ride to a P.C.T kickoff event, not too far from the Mexican border, and within days I will start my northbound thruhike - an event I've been anticipating for so long.Roni
Date: 2003-01-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Two months to go! Looks like we'll be starting on St Patty's Day. That's a Monday. It'll give us a five-day head start on the weekend throng. Of course they'll catch up to us in no time. Our motto is "Start out slow and taper off!" It's exciting to see our plans starting to fall into place--although we still have lots to do. I hope to go up to Maine the first of March. We'll finish up our drop boxes and get everything ready for Jim (Lorna's husband) to send off to us. Lorna got our maps and guide books in the mail yesterday. Wish I was there to pour over them with her!Lorna, Jim, and I will drive to GA from Maine. We'll pick Roger (my hubby) up in GA. The guys will get us as close to the trailhead as they can to see us off. They'll hang around together for a few days and we'll meet up with them at Neels Gap. It's only 30 miles--we'll be there within a week! (Remember our motto.)Yeeha!Brenda
Date: 2003-01-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, it's been quite awhile since I've had a chance to sit down and write anything. I guess a quick update from Maine is due! My job at L L Bean has ended. It was great fun and gave me a chance to get some MORE STUFF at pretty good prices. It was long hours between running the daycare and then rushing straight to Bean's until midnight or later, but the people were great and many were interested in our hike. I have also picked a date to close my child care business. I briefly mentioned in my first or second entry that I had some hard decisions to make about my business. Our elderly and not-so-healthy mother lives with my husband and me. She helps me out with the daycare (it's in our home), which keeps her somewhat active or at least occupies her time and mind. She is not at all happy about me leaving for 6 months and her being alone so much. I had considered having a younger sister continue the business for me while I am away, but she and Mom don't always get along very well. We all decided it would be best to close. So, that said, my last day after almost 20 years as a child care provider will be Jan.31. This will give us time to move Mom downstairs before I desert her! GUILT :( I still feel like there's a million things to do before we go and we're running out of time so quickly! I'm still making lists of things we need and things to do. I'm starting to feel panicky, but mostly antsy. It's almost surreal after all this time to think we'll be out there in 2 months. What on Earth was I thinking ?!? Gulp!
Date: 2003-02-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

28 days 'til Springer! I'm scared to death now. I don't think I can get everything done that I have on my "To Do" list and train as well as I should. I closed my business and am now officially unemployed. I need to wrap up the books and get the taxes done next. My daughter and her family were here for a short visit last week to spend some time with me before "The Hike". Now all we need to do is work out a tentative itinerary, train, plan mail drops, train, shop for and pack mail drop supplies, train some more, learn how to use the stove and water pump, stop training and just do some serious walking, learn to load my pack in the most efficient way, walk some more.... There's just not enough time!I went out today for an hour. It was 10 degrees with a -3 wind chill. For the most part I was warm and toasty except for my face and thighs. Need one more layer for my legs. My pack weight was only 28.5 lbs so I need to build that up some more as well as walking time. It is supposed to warm up to a balmy 36 degrees by the end of the week so I can get out longer! Brenda is up to 35 lbs and several miles. I feel like a slug! Can I work up to a reasonable starting condition in just 4 weeks? Lord, I hope so!See ya on the trail!
Date: 2003-02-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This is getting real now. I leave San Antonio on Monday for Portland. Sassafras and I will put together a few mail drops and pour over maps and guides. Some days I feel overwhelmed by everything I need to do. Other times I realize most of it is make work. Being a classic procrastinator, I work well under pressure. It's amazing how much I've been able to do in the last few days. I'm just about at the "Just do it" point. If I could just get those taxes done...Focusing is a challenge. It's been exciting reading the HikersRUs emails (thus, the taxes aren't done). So many people are heading out this weekend. Cool. Uhhh...cold! (Hope the weather improves a great deal starting now!) Lorna and I talk for an hour (or two) on the phone everyday--sometimes just reading journals together and getting to know the folks we'll be hiking with. I can't wait to meet them (including the Smith family!).Every now and then we question why we're doing this. We decided it's where we belong. As kids we were always in the woods (if you knew our mom, you'd understand ;) ). We were Robin Hood's merry kids riding wild boars in Sherwood Forest. We were Indians singing our secret gathering chant (Tongooo..). We were the crew from Lost in Space on an exotic planet. As spies from U.N.C.L.E. we chased the bad guys and found their secret formulas buried in hidden caches. As the Aadams Family we had the coolest house (complete with a pet graveyard). We were shipwreck survivors on the rocky coast of Maine. We lived outside in the woods and found adventure, fun, and in later years, solace there. It's where we feel most at peace. Too bad grown up life got in the way and kept us away from where we really belong. It'll be good to be back home again. Brenda
Date: 2003-03-04
To: From Portland
Miles today: 0.0

I made it to Maine--the first leg of my journey. I managed to get most of my to-do list taken care of in Texas. Now it's up to my Roger to finish up what I left undone...like taxes. My friends threw me a surprise party before I left. Thank you Judy and Irma. And Sonny and Cliff. What a crew. I miss them already. My brother-in-law, Luis, and sisters, Linda (The Older) and Vickie (The Younger) suggested new Trail names--Smelly and Hairy. They figure the names will fit. True as that may be, no thanks. I think I'll just keep looking.Brenda
Date: 2003-03-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Another day closer. Lorna's still plugging away with her "stuff". I'm trying to take care of other things so she can focus, focus, focus (thank you, Miss Judy). That's no easy feat--focusing. Too bad she's so busy she can't look at journals.I'm SUPPOSED to be working on mail drops, resupply points, and the like. So many past hikers have said if they had to do it all over again, they'd just wing it rather than agonize over detailed plans that change after day one. Who are we to dispute advice from the Sage Ones? Besides, I'd rather just read Trail Journals all day. It's productive. I've made a list of the folks who are heading out around the same time as us. We feel like we know some of them already.We had a couple of good training hikes this week despite the cold and ice. Our training pack weight is about 35 pounds and we seem to handle it well for 3 hours at a time. Of course we don't exactly have mountains to practice on. Today we stopped by our local outfitter (Putt Putt Pete) to talk Trail talk and have him look at our bag adjustments. Next week we'll take in our loaded bags for him to inspect. I just know we've got to ditch the MSR stove and water filter. Before food and water we are at about 27 lbs each.I have a sign on my back pack that says          AT 03      GA > ME      2171 MIWe've had several people congratuate us on being almost done. We just thank them. Heh, heh. We're enjoying all the Guest Book entries. Thanks! Keep 'em coming!Brenda
Date: 2003-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This is it! It's almost here! Yikes!!! We leave for Georgia on Friday morning, 3/14. My ever-supportive husband Jim will drive me down with our gear and Brenda and Roger will fly and meet us at Amicalola on Sunday. Jim and I are stopping in Tennessee to see our daughter, Sara, her husband Mike, and our sweet grandson, Austin, before heading over to Springer. Almost everything here is done. The mail drops are scheduled and mostly packed, the itinerary is planned (at least a general idea), our packs are ready to be loaded, weighed and checked out by our new friend Putt-putt Pete at the outfitter here. What are we forgetting? We still need a last run to the grocery store and a few odds and ends, but then there's always something left to do anyway!      Last night was the highlight of all this prep work we've been doing since forever! We got to meet Bluebearee (AT 2002) in person! After enjoying her journal last year and learning she was from Maine, we connected via emails. She was gracious enough to come over after work and give us some wonderful advice, encouragement and I hope, a little peace of mind for Jim (and us, too!)Sandy--thank you so much!!!Ah, the perfect lead-in to my next "to do". I just want to take a moment to thank our family for the love and support we have. Jim, I love you. Thanks for helping to make this dream come true. To my kids, Sara, Mat, and Zac--one step at a time :) I love you. Boys, take good care of Nana while I'm gone. Marcus, I'll be home in time for your birthday, I promise! Don't forget to say "Goodnight" to the moon every night. Zane, you and Marcus need to help Nana, too. Be a good boy :) Austin, Grammy loves you. Linda, Vickie, and Erica, we'll be thinking of you all the way. Mom, I love you! And Dad, we'll see you in VA! Roger, thanks for giving me the best hiking partner I could have! I wouldn't even attempt this with anyone else.Thanks also to everyone who has sent us tips, hints, encouragement and kind thoughts. With your support and God's blessing, I do believe we'll make it!   Lorna
Date: 2003-03-13
To: Just Waiting
Miles today: 0.0

Ha! We did it! Our packs are packed. Without water they are only 27 pounds. YES!!! We were prepared to go with a Pepsi can stove and aqua mira, but now we can go with our expensive, heavy alternatives! For now anyhow. And we thought we'd done our research.    We took our packs to Putt Putt Pete at Maine Montainworks. He gave us a couple of pointers, asked a few questions and announced we were ready!    One more sleepless night and we head south. "The sisters went down to Georgia. They were looking for a trail to hike..." Someone finish that song up for us.    Pray for our feet, knees, and families!Brenda
Date: 2003-03-16
To: One More Day
Miles today: 0.0

Roger and I got to the Lodge at Amicalola Falls on Saturday night. In the morning we decided to hit the Approach Trail for a little hike. Yep, I'm glad Lorna and I decided not to do it. 8.8 miles to get to the BEGINNING of the Trail. No thanks. We only hiked up about 3.5 miles. You know you're in Georgia when you're hiking in the woods and hearing gun shots and ATVs. Not to worry it was only target practice--and I don't think they were using thru-hikers for targets.      We ran across our first thru-hiker on the way up. Itchy Foot from Southern California. He's about 70 and has a big pack. I took a picture of him and told him maybe I'd see him along the Trail.    It was a pretty day, not to hot, and partly cloudy. The Trail wasn't too bad, but there were parts that I was sucking air on. I can hardly wait to do this with a pack on. Maybe the poles will help. Right.    On the way back down the Trail we passed several other hikers. Some had humongous packs. Others were carrying more manageable loads. One guy had blue jeans on with his pant legs tucked into his combat boots. He was trying to get his heavy pack back on. He had a big sleeping bag loosely attached to the top of the bag and it kept whacking him in the head. Gonna be a loooong hike for him!   Lorna and Jim finally showed up around 1700. We "nearly" came to tears as we giggled about finally being there. The guys could only shake their heads.Brenda
Date: 2003-03-17
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

We woke up to rain and fog at Amicalola Falls Lodge. Our husbands (Jim and Roger) took us to breakfast at the Lodge. We had our favorite waitress, Inez. What a wonderful, fun lady. She introduced us to two other sisters who are thru hiking, Jeanette and Helen from England. Then we loaded up the car and headed to the access road. On the way we stopped at the park visitors' center to weigh our bags. 34 and 35 pounds ! What's up with that? Four pounds of water and a few toiletries made our packs heavier than we expected.    When we got to the parking lot, The guys carried our packs the .9 miles to the top of Springer Mountain so we could officially register as thru hikers! We met Gizmo, the caretaker, on the way. It was so wet, we had a hard time signing the register. We strapped on our packs, took the requisite photos and hit the Trail. After getting back to the car, we said our tearful goodbyes to our hubbys. They were glad to get into the car and out of the rain. They didn't have rain gear. They never complained, though.   Fortunately, the first four miles are downhill so we just walked along in the rain, marvelling that we are actually here! It's so pretty! The rhododenrons really do make a "green tunnel"    At 5.8 miles we were feeling pretty good so we decided to keep going. Then we hit a climb . I had a hard time with it, but Brenda kept me going. I gotta hurry up and get in shape! The rain had let up some and we were passed by two guys, so we figured we'd just head on to the Hawk Mountain shelter. We got in around 5 p.m. in the pouring rain! The shelter was packed--people even camping under it! We found a spot for our tent (next to Blue Jeans Man), got set up, ate Ramen noodles in the dark and put our bear bags on the cable. Whew! Hopefully, we'll get some sleep and the rain will stop.