morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-09-24
To: Norwood, Massachusetts
Miles today: 0.0

Two buses and a train delivered me back home. And I didn't even need to be up that early. The bus depot is literally out the back door of the hostel. So I caught the mid-morning bus to Hanover, NH then waited about 20 minutes for the Dartmouth Coach which brought me back to South Station and the short commuter train back to Norwood. I didn't have any bad weather on my hike, met some interesting folks, and despite my concerns of having to drink tainted water was able to get by just fine. And my daily pace was better than I anticipated which resulted in me walking off the maps that I had brought. Yes, the last 7 miles were extra miles that I hadn't planned on walking.Soon, I'm hopeful the return to Clarendon Gorge from the North to complete the Vermont section of the AT. But not this year.
Date: 2015-03-21
To: Almost There
Miles today: 0.0

About a year ago, I decided to hike the entire length(aka thru hike) of the Appalachian trail starting South in Georgia and walking just under 2200 miles North to Maine. To start saving up for the journey, I moved back to Midland, where my gracious parents allowed their 28 year old son live at home one last time (providing that it would only be very... very temporary). Aside from moving home to save up, I've approached preparation from a few different angles:1. Researching/Purchasing gear2. Reading first hand accounts of folks who have thru hiked in the past3. Getting physically preparedResearching/Purchasing Gear- There's a lot of backpacking gear on the market. I put in a lot of time researching the gear that would be best to get me from GA>ME. That includes looking at the performance, durability, price, and weight of each piece of gear. You can see my gear list here - http://lighterpack.com/r/87ijeiReading-Lighten up- A handbook for Light and Ultralight BackpackingAppalachian Trials- A psychological and emotional guide to thru hike the Appalachian trailAWOL on the Appalachian TrailAnd lots of blogs/youtube videosPhysical Preparation-I started running and building distances slowly. Shawn, a friend of mine that lives in Austin, said he wanted to run a half-marathon this year and suggested we do one together. We selected the Saint Pats half marathon(entry fee goes towards a non-profit that benefits returning soldiers) in Pflugerville, TX at the end of this month.    Dad and I finally got to do our shakedown hike a few weeks ago. We took an overnight trip down to Big Bend National Park. A shakedown hike is meant to field test all of your gear and make alterations if necessary. The less you have to do on the trail the better(more affordable/convenient). We took all of our gear and loaded our packs up with food/extra water to be as close to trail weight as possible. We hiked a 12 mile round trip from the Chisos Basin campgrounds to the top of Emory Peak, where the payoff view was well worth the 2500 ft elevation climb. I hit the trail on April 17th. That's less than a month. More posts/pictures to come.
Date: 2015-04-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My flight to Atlanta leaves tomorrow morning. From Atlanta, I'll be picked up by a shuttle from the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega, GA. I'll stay the night at Hiker Hostel and then have breakfast there before they take me to the approach trail in Amicalola Falls state park. Depending on how late I get on the trail, I'll either hike about 8 miles to Springer Mountain Shelter or 11 to Stover Creek Shelter. Now that I've finished everything that was on my to-do list before I leave, I've started to relax and get excited about starting my hike. Check out the "photos" page on the left to see the most recent uploads.
Date: 2015-05-22
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Raider and I are sitting at the Travel Inn in Marion, VA. The comforts of home like a warm shower, laundry, and a comfortable bed are lost on the trail so being in town is always quite nice. "Get comfortable being uncomfortable", they say. I think I've begun to do just that. I hadn't washed clothes in about two weeks, My socks got so crusty that they began to provide ankle support, My sleeping bag has been a bit damp at times, and my backpack too heavy. But during all this, there's no place I'd rather be and nothing else I'd rather be doing. -I've hiked about 530 miles thus far and have now been on the AT for a little over a month. -My dad joined me in Damascus on the 16th! We've hiked 63 miles together and averaging about 13 miles a day. I've been impressed with how fit my dad is. -I named my Dad, "Raider" since it's his college mascot. I think he digs it. -I averaged 21 miles a day from Irwin, TN to Damascus, VA so I could walk in to meet my dad instead of hitch hike from the trail. I logged my longest day at 26.5 miles. Needless to say the Zero we took today was much needed. I'm doing this update from my phone so it'll be a short one. I plan on giving a detailed account from Hot Springs to now when I have computer access. Raider and I will embark on further adventures again tomorrow as we hit the trail with our sightes on Pearisburg, VA. My buddy made a website with a map of my GPS pings. Check it out- www.wanderingbluto.com
Date: 2015-06-14
From: Woods Hole

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 0.0

800 miles on the trail so far. Life has been simplified to food, water and shelter. Sometimes when I walk, my mind is clear- I think of nothing other than putting one foot in front of the other. Other times, ideas flow fluidly. The trail offers clarity and perspective that's hard to come by. In a few days, I'll have been hiking and living in the woods for 2 months. I feel as though I'm entering a second phase of thru hiking. I've grown accustomed to the challenges of the trail and as I enter northern Virginia, I find the daily challenges to be more mental in nature than physical. I'm just over half way through Virginia and about 220 miles from the 1000 mile point which is in Harper's Ferry, WV. I'll get to meet up with some old friends there. Shortly after that is the midway point where as a thru hiker, I'm obligates to eat an entire half gallon tub of ice cream. And even further north I'll hopefully be meeting up with more friends in the NY area. I take the trail a day at a time and look forward to the adventures ahead.
Date: 2015-06-30
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm currently at the Harper's Ferry international hostel which is technically in Maryland. I've hiked just over 1020 miles at this point. I've got about 1170 to go till Katahdin! When I arrived in Harper's Ferry, I was able to spend a few days with the Clardy family, who I hadn't seen in 5 years. They fed me and gave me a bed to sleep in and even a dog to cuddle with. I had planned on leaving today but the hostel is so comfortable that I got sucked in for another night. I figured I've come half way, I may as well treat my self. Besides, they have all you can eat burgers and ice cream included in the cost. Burger count: 5, Bowls of ice cream: 3 and counting. I'll be taking off early tomorrow as I plan to hike all 40 miles of Maryland in a day. My biggest day up to this point has been 27 miles so 40 is going to be quite a challenge. I'll be meeting some old friends in PA/NY in a few weeks! Being at the "half way" point makes Katahdin feel tangible for the first time. 10 weeks in and 10 weeks to go!
Date: 2015-08-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Its been a hot minute since I've updated the blog. I'm currently at the Green mountain hostel in Manchester city Vermont. The hostel is a true trail gem. I'm still putting in miles with my trail family Wind and Lorax and we plan on summiting Katahdin late September or early October. Since my last update, I've hiked through Pennsylvania, new Jersey, new York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and about 50 miles into Vermont. I've seen beautiful things and have met wonderful people while getting to see some old friends along the way. I've got 555 miles left and am soaking in every last mile. I'm not ready for my thru hike to be over and find myself thinking about what it will take to do another thru hike next summer... I should probably finish this one first though.
Date: 2015-06-21
To: Flying out tomorrow
Miles today: 0.0

Tomorrow I fly out to Maine to start a Southbound thru attempt of the Appalachian trail. I somehow managed to trick my pops to fly out there and summit Mount Katahdin with me. Many people get very introspective with this sort of thing, and I would probably be one of them, but for now all I can really muster is being honest about how insanely nervous I am.We will climb Katahdin on The 23rd, and then my dad will be taking off for Kansas City. Ahead of me is almost a 2,200 mile walk. There isn't really anything left for me to do except walk....that's the easy part right?
Date: 2015-06-22
To: Flying out to Katahdin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Earlier in the year, when I decided to attempt the trail, I asked my father if he would like summit Katahdin with me, and he agreed to. We both boooked a flight out of Kansas City, where he lives, to Portland, ME. I flew out to KC from Denver, CO which where I ended up moving about a month before. I had a good time in KC, and I ended up getting a little too drunk with some old college friends. Luckily for me I was able to ditch the hangover before hanging out with my pops on father's day.We caught the redeye out of KC, and got into Portland at around 11 AM. Before driving up the coast we stopped down by the waterfront for a couple of lobster roles and a pitcher of beer.It was a nice day for a 3 hour drive, and before stopping at the Baxter Inn we drove up to take a look at Katahdin. The surrounding area only has an eleveation of about 1000 feet, so the mountain sticks out rather majestically at 5350'. A park ranger informed us that the weather was supposed to be poor the next day, but being the stumbling fools that we are we made the call to summit anyways.To celebrate the decision we checked into the Baxter Inn. The Inn is owned by a married couple, and the lady in extremely helpful when it comes to local information. They have a giant topo map of Baxter Park hanging on the wall. My dad and I decided that we would summit from Roaring Brooke, and the he would pick me up at Abol Bridge after I had hiked out a bit.Armed with this plan, and upon our inkeeps recommendation we went and had dinner at the Scoobic Inn. The pizza we had was pretty good, and the beer was a mild Amber called Katahdin Red. That's the last time I ever associated anytihng mediocre with that name.We went back and set alarms for 5 AM so we could get to Baxter at park open.
Date: 2015-06-25
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 11.5

Oh my science...I am currently eating my first prepared (dehydrated) meal. I spent so many months making these damn backpacking meals, and now I finally get to eat them in the wilderness. It is the most amazing things that I have ever tasted.I know that this specific has slightly under 650 calories, and is composed of these dehydrated components: eggs, ham, potato, cheese, and butter. I even threw in a Taco Bell Diablo sauce for extra flavor...it wasn't needed. What I didn't know was how to equate ounces or liters to cups. My measurements for water to add are of the cup variety, and the scales on my pot are...well you can probably guess. I used way too much water and am left with egg water. I don't care. Egg water is delicious.The best part about this is that this is only first dinner. I really wanted to walk, so I just ate Clif bars on the trail all day. Hurray for being a hobbit!Oh yeah, and I had a few other firsts today. I had my first fall. This was luckily without injurt. It was a good reminder to pay attention, and to stop thinking about things like how sill the word existential is. I also saw my first bull moose. He was chilling in a lake munching on lake vegetation. he was a safe distance away, so I watched him for 10 minutes. Cool guy that moose...I named him Theodore.My feet still hurt from Katahdin. I think I understand why the SOBO route is hard, well for me at least. I know I can pull higher miles, but I roll into a shelter area just know tha tI need to stop. The rest of my body might want to take on another 10 miles, but it is the weakest part of my body that I have to listen to. Currently, the weakest body part is my feet. Someday I will rock a 15, 20, or 25 miles, but for now I just need to listen to my feet. Plus, I have delicious egg water to consume in the mean time.I should point out to anyone unfortunate enough to be following this that I am by no means a consistent writer. I switch tenses and perspectives often. I'm going to skip out on very important things, and probably will fail to record dialog. Rest assured that I would only write about things that ammuse me, and will leave you hanging every chance I get, so...eh...enjoy? Also a disclaimer about proofreading is probably good to throw in. I'm writing from my phone, and these won't get posted until I have service, which is definitely not going to be in a place labeled "the 100 mile wilderness."
Date: 2015-06-26
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite
Miles today: 13.9

Today I hiked my longest mileage day. I overdid it though, and I can feel it in my feet. It's the tree roots that are the killers out here. I have to ford a couple of rivers tomorrow, and I hope my leuko tape patch job holds up to the water.For dessert I had 2 benadryl, 3 ibprofen, and a shot of vitamin b...that's b as in bourbon.I'm still having a hard time socializing. I talk to people, but I don't feel the need to stay up around campfires. I would rather go read, and write a little bit. I wonder if this mentality will keep up.
Date: 2015-06-27
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

To: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: overcast clouds

My trash bag is filling up much faster than I had anticipated. This isn't from me generating more waste, but due to my insistence on picking up trash I find on the trail. It's the way I was raised, and I was happy to see that my dad still practices it too.This morning I hit my limit when I went to the privy and found that someone had filled it up with a fair amount of trash. I did my business and just left. There was no way I could pack all of that out. I know that I am going to spend a good half of a day being pissed at myself for not making an effort to at least make a dent in it.I know everyone has a different interpretation of leave no trace, but if I'm going to be angered by this type of thing then maybe my decision to be a solo hiker isn't the wrong one. For now at least. I guess I have something to think about today, which is nice.Me being in a huff about trash led me to take my sweet time getting out of camp. I didn't take off until 10:00 AM. I had planned to hike 16 miles so this wasn't really a good start.I kept a pretty good pace even though I had to ford a few rivers. After keeping the pace up for a couple of hours I knew I needed to take a break. This break involved me taking a nap on a sunny rock on the shores of a lake...it was a great nap.I ended up at the site, and after setting up my tent I forced myself to go to the lean-to and talk to people. This was a very good idea. I haven't really decided if this will be my group, but it was nice just to talk to people. We are all shooting for a shelter 11 miles away, so it should be a leisurely pace, but it is also supposed to rain.Tonight I am sleeping next to a waterfall. How dumb are ambient noise machines?
Date: 2015-06-28
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

I walked all of 8.1 miles today. It started raining right as I was leaving Cooper Brook. Originally I had planned to go further, but walking in the rain miserable.I met up with some of the people at the shelter last night and we played Euchre. It wasn't a terrible day considering we were all cold, wet, and miserable.
Date: 2015-06-29
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 10.8

It stopped raining this morning at around 6 AM. I skipped hot breakfast so I could get out of camp quickly. I was still the last one out, but barely so this time around.I'm still unsure if I am going to talk about the people I hike with. It has been changing pretty rapidly, so for now I'm skipping it. I have also been playing catch up on writing all of this, so I've had to cut corners.My goal was 11 miles. Despite the low mileage it was still going to be a tough hike. I had to summit Whitecap mountain, and a couple of smaller mountains after that. It was to going to be a hard day on my feet. Luckily, I had a dry pair of socks...unluckily my shoes were still soaked through. As my feet reached an unhappy damp medium I set out. I said to hell with it and decided to play music today. I cranked on Zopolite Machine by the Mountain Goats and started pounding out some miles with my damp feet. I ended up summiting Whitecap in a decent amount of time. I was able to make a call from up there to the hostel I will be staying at in Monson. I went ahead and booked two nights so I cuold enjoy some 4th of July festivities. I'm pretty excited about that. I have been outside the country for the last 2 Fourths.
Date: 2015-06-30
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 9.9

Today marks the beginning of my easy days. I am only going 9.9 miles today, and I am getting a pretty late start of it. It's almost 10 am, and despite being up for a couple of hours I haven't really gotten that much accomplished.I did manage to retape my feet, and they really needed it. My feet are the worst that I have ever seen them. I don't doubt they will just continue to get more hideous as my trip goes on.At on point during the day the AT intersects a semi popular day trekking loop. All of a sudden, Poof! There was a little kid running around. I thought I had lost my mind. It really through me off my game. Luckily this only lasted a mile or two, but I was shaken for a bit after that.On my way up Hagis Mountain I ran into another dude in a sport kilt. He was hiking with his wife, and had completed both the AT and the PCT. They invited me to stop by New York if I wanted to. They have an apartment on the Upper East side. I got a good laugh out of that. I smell terrible, and I got invited to post New York. There were really cool people, and meeting them brought me a little bit of happiness.I'm currently camped out on top of a mountain with a bunch of dudes. I hope none of 'em get fresh just because I'm wearing a skirt. Oh yeah, and my Achilles tendon is bothering me on my left ankle. The inside of both my feet from my big toes back also go numb every time I take my shoes off. I'm sure this completely normal, and it will work itself out eventually.
Date: 2015-07-01
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Phone is dying and my external is running out of juice. I had a good day today. It rained so I stayed in a shelter, but I managed to make the miles I wanted to.I hiked most of the day with a guy named LB. We talked about everything there is to in life. It is strange how you just open yourself up to random people on the trail. After tomorrow I might never see LB again, but he knows exactly what I want out of life. I know all of his stuff to. I also have the concept of tiny houses to research.
Date: 2015-07-02
From: Long Pond Stream Lean-to

To: Leeman Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 12.0

Phone dead! I am writing this from way too many days ahead. Eh...the walk was okay, and I looked forward to many beers.The shleter I stayed at had a bunch of kids from Qu©bec staying there. They were at a summer camp in Maine, and the 100 mile wilderness was on the agenda. Qu©bec is a place that I have had some travels to. They were REALLY excited to talk to me about their home...even if it was in English. Oh, and they fed me. I walked up to the shelter, and the counselor looked up at me and goes, "food?" The Qu©b©cois are good people
Date: 2015-07-03
From: Leeman Brook Lean-to

To: Monson
Miles today: 3.0

After a three mile walk I arrived at the parking lot. I came out of the 100 mile wilderness and was immediately offered a ride by a very nice lady. In return she asked if I could look for her husband's glasses at a lean-to after Monson, and then drop them off at an inn up at the road. I had to explain to here that I wouldn't be there for 4 or 5 days but she was okay with that.I am staying at the Lakeshore Inn, which is a really awesome place with some pretty good food. I ended up getting pretty buzzed over at Shaws, which is a hiker hostel. I was able to switch out some gear at Shaws' gear shop, and am very happy with the new gear.On the way back to Lakeshore I ran into Wildcat who is a tripple crowner, which makes him an expert on just about everything. He asked me if I liked scotch, and he offered me a drink on the porch later. I shipped off old gear to my mom, and then drank with Wildcat on the porch.Wildcat is one helluva backpacker, but is also just amazing person. Everything he says sounds heartfelt, which is accentuated even further by a deep voice. A party soon formed with all the people I had met at the 100 mile wilderness in attendance. Most of them were staying at Shaws, so I agreed to go back there after dinner.Lakeshore has Dogfish Head 60 minute on tap, so by the time dinner ended I was pretty drunk. I went to Shaws and got more drunk. I ended up back at Lakeshore eventually and talked with Her Dudeness and Nightingale. I had met them on my first day in the 100 mile wilderness. While getting even more drunk the Inn's owner came up and offered us some morning work. Somehow I thought chopping vegetables after breakfast would be a good idea and so did everyone else, so we all told her yes.My writing is kind of crap right now. I'm writing this 3 days after the fact, and it was about days that I don't remember that well. Tomorrow won't be much better for you reader, so sorry about that.
Date: 2015-07-04
From: Monson

To: Monson
Miles today: 0.1
Weather: overcast clouds

The next three days will just be a short paragraph about the days, and then I will talk about three people that I have been travelling with. I'm getting a little fuzzy about these days because I have taken too long to write them down; however, it would be impossible to forget these people.This was my first zero day. I positioned myself to be in Monson for the 4th. I woke up with a hangover, got awesome breakfast at Shaws, chopped vegetables with Her Dudeness and Nihtingale for a couple of hours at Lakeshore, drank two bloody marys for lunch that were accompanied by a salad, got day drunk at Shaws, ate the best prime rib of my life, drank some more at Shaws, watched Big Lebowski, and then shaved my head. It was a good day.Her Dudeness' real name is Chelsea. I first encountered on day one of the hundred mile wilderness. I said maybe 20 words to her, and then breezed right by her.People like Chelsea make the world a better place. Everyone knows someone like Her Dudeness. They are the people that make you smile when you need it most. When they enter the room the chill factor just seems to go up immediately. Everything about her just seems to be kind and supportive.I actually couldn't guess her age. At some points I think she is a mere 21, but at others I think she might be on the upper end of the 20's scale. It doesn't really matter though. Chelsea is up front and honest about everything in life, which is super refreshing for someone like me. The full reason she is doing the trail never really came up, but if there is one person that deserves the finish it is her.