morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Derrick Ko Shelter

To: double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: broken clouds

RAIN... of course.05:40 I had to visit my favorite tree at first light and had to get all rain geared up. I got my food bag from the bear cable on my way back in and started packing up. By the time I got everything in its assigned stuff sack it was light enough to see that along with the rain it was blowing a mini gale out there. I can't waste a day here... I don't have enough food. Early in my hike I was upset because a couple times I got to a place for food re supply and had way too much stuff left in my food bag. Now I'm wondering about getting out of GSMNP without going on a forced diet. Gusts of wind blow the rain in horizontal sheets.The two deer which were around last night keep roaming back and forth as if to find a sheltered place to bed down.When I got here yesterday I was the first one in. This morning there are nine hikers here. As you can imagine I was the first to bed and several came in after that. I'm thankful to be here and experience this. And I'm very thankful the accident moved my starting date to a warmer period... even though the person in the Trauma Center needed multiple tries to punch the chest tube between my ribs to relieve the pneumothorax.I tried to reach Jack for pilots' secret squirrel info on storm duration. No luck.7:45am I don't know how long it's been storming but no one has gotten up since I originally arose before 6am.8am make up my bed again and wait it out warmly. "Giving up?",asks one of my shelterates. I answered, "Yup. Last time I saw trees bend like that was in a hurricane."8:30am shelter mates start getting up one by one. Nature wins. The trees seem to be slowing their wind driven dance. From my nest I can see a small patch of the trees. They seem to impart a sense of sanity in my decision not to start earlier.A shelter mate says the trail is mostly below the tree line except for the very end. Gonna go.I met Ridge Runner Billy who had Thru Hiked in 2006 and now gets to walk the trail all the time.Yesterday was the first warm day of hiking. I met a hiker who was low on water and shared mine. Water management will be totally different in the heat.I met a hiker names Blind Faith. He was about 60 years old. He lost his camera and would take pictures with his iPad. The way the weather kept threatening in the background to be a factor, the next shelter emerging from the trees was a beautiful sight. Sleep well. :-)ole slo
Date: 2013-05-25
From: double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 10.7

Objective: John N.; "Meet you on the high ground."Commitment: ole slo; "I'll save you a chunk."Resolution: Clingman's Dome, highest point on AT at 6655 feet, attained this date, 0922 hrs.Your chunk is enroute.   o. s.You could tell everyone in the shelter was looking forward to reaching Newfound Gap, site of the only road transecting the GSMNP. Virtually everybody was getting off the trail for varying lengths of time. I was far from being the first up today.Since yesterday I had been hiking in an evergreen forest instead if the hardwood forests present since the start of this hike. It felt like New Hampshire as I stepped off into the rising sun.I had planned to spend some time at Clingmans Dome and climb the ramp to the top of the observation tower. When I returned from this little side trip I sat to rest on the parapet at the base of the ramp and experienced the first of two remarkable events I would be privileged to be part of today.An Asian couple approached me to ask directions, and then asked about my backpack. I know you'll be surprised to hear I enjoyed telling them about my hike. Eungwan Ree and his wife Sungni, from South Korea, are here on business and were enjoying our Holiday by learning more about our country. They each wanted a picture with me and, drats, I forgot to get one of them. When we finally went our own ways it was like saying bye to old friends. My final wish to them was that stability return quickly to their country.Some time later I arrived at Newfound Gap the place where the only road to cross the GSMNP joins North Carolina and Tennessee at Cherokee and Gatlinburg. After no more than fifteen minutes of sticking my thumb out for a ride to Gatlinburg I was thrilled when a large white van pulled over for me.In the van was a group of friends who spent the day in the mountains and sharing the experience with a few who had never been there. Chris and his wife Angie were the group leaders through the Sonrise Community Outreach Program of the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Ashville, NC. Group members included Edwin, Jerry, Christina, Alex May and Ken. Ken and I had fun when he taught this Durned Yankee how to pronounce his three letter name in two syllables. I am now based in a hiker friendly motel in Gatlinburg for a couple days.Beauty is the sunrise filtering through spaces in fir boughs and turning them golden colored while allowing the beam to splash gold light on patches of ferns on the forest floor. Sleep well. I surely will. :-)ole slo
Date: 2013-05-27
From: Gatlinburg

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 0.0

I'm so stuffed I can't eat another bite. I have lost some weight and Linda has taken over a my Nutritionist in Chief.Today's major activity is to organize my food bag for the next four days. I also will arrange for a shuttle back to Newfound Gap to resume this little walkEarl, thanks for the book. I can't wait to be able to read it.Randy, please tell Sheila to email me. I don't use Facebook on this trip.Sue, I'm still walking. Commo in the first part of GSMNP was very limited and I burned a lot of battery power trying to get entries sent to Butch. It will be worse for the second part of the NP starting tomorrow because my external cell phone battery charge cable came up missing. Please be patient and I will eventually update everything. :-) its nice to know you were concerned.Thank everyone for your comments and encouragement both on this site and Butch's Facebook.While walking to breakfast early this morning there was virtually no pedestrian or vehicular traffic in this carnival like town. Beautiful. Sleep well. :-)ole slo
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Gatlinburg

To: Ice Water Shelter
Miles today: 3.0

I didn't feel rested yesterday when I woke up, but I did today. Time to get back to the trail.You remember my hiking companion from the Florida Trail. Well he didn't make the weight cut for this trip. It seems he somehow made it to Butch's home in Georgia and desperately wanted to catch up with me. Butch and Pat performed liposuction on him and found transportation for him. He was waiting for me when I checked into the motel in Gatlinburg. I've got my NUTS back!I got a shuttle back to Newfound Gap and set off on the trail at 9:30am.The last two days I hiked my legs were tired. Today they hurt from the added weight to my food bag. As I have quoted my Muse in these pages - push a little each day to improve. I'm gonna; it should work.I'm used to being the helper and not the helped. I received some great help this weekend and I am humbled and grateful.I spent a lot of time keeping track of what I ate today and my calorie intake. I will use this info the next time I resupply.Got to the shelter early and saw a lot of people come through. Wash and Blue Bear from Mississippi, Taped Toes and No Map from Seattle and Kansas City.Argo, a thru-hiker from Cleveland is burning miles in the 15-20 miles per day range. While settling in she was surprised by her friend String who is hiking a section.I saw the smallest Fairy Violet yet. They seem to get smaller with altitude. Beautiful. It's going to be a good night for sleeping here. I will sleep well, I hope you sleep well too. :-)ole slo
Date: 2013-05-30
From: Pecks Corner Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: broken clouds

Update from Butch (Logistics Officer): Dad is doing well. Unfortunately cell coverage in the GSMNP is spotty at best. Either me or the Nutritionist In Chief have received a short daily text with him checking in. He is feeling better and putting in good mileage. The external battery issue has been corrected and he will have it at his next Mail drop in Hot Springs NC. He will be back online with more updates soon.Many thanks to Trail Angel Jack M. for checking in on him. I will be sure to post more often during the commo blackouts :-)Take care everyone Go Safely. BPT
Date: 2013-05-31
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 8.0

ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS GOD GAVE US IS THE ABILITY TO PERCEIVE BEAUTY. The beauty of his inanimate creations. The beauty of his animate creations; And, the beauty of their creations.ole sloSleep well. My heart is still over-filled with joy. :-)
Date: 2013-06-04
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0

Not bad for a seventy one year old and slow fart with COPD.My last day in the Smokies I passed the ten percent point of the Appalachian Trail. I have come to appreciate why only twelve or so people in their seventies complete a thru-hike. I have no doubt that if I had never smoked I would still be walking rather than writing this entry. As I told you, self inflictedwounds do not warrant empathy.My last two days in the Smokies were especially tough. I came to this wonderful little mountain town of Hot Springs,NC to regenerate and try to adapt my limitations to the rigors ahead.I went out this morning on a fifteen mile Slack-pack hike. I had a small pack with only food, water and rain gear. Seven pounds instead of my usual 28-34 pounds. The shuttle driver dropped me at the trail head fifteen miles from Hot Springs and I would walk the AT back to town. At the three mile mark a look at my watch revealed that it had taken three hours to get to this point. Do you remember the book I told you about, "Appalachian Trials"? In it the author suggests that the reader make three lists. One of these lists is essentially what the hiker will gain from completing a thru-hike. I listed eight items. I have achieved four of them; I have experienced many more of Gods' gifts if beauty, I have made many trail friends, I have fulfilled many years of "Somedays" and I have stacked up wonderful memories.I looked at the list again standing on this magnificent trail that weaves through this wooded Cathedral.Decision time. Take what the trail has given me... or, continue to plod along like an aging athlete unwilling to admit his limitations.I looked up toward the summit screened by forest giants, I turned, took one step toward the trail head and paused. I vowed to never regret starting this hike. I vowed to never regret ending this hike. I vowed to never stop giving thanks for being allowed to do what I am still able to do. Three hours later I was back at the trail head looking for a ride to Hot Springs.A lot of people sent encouraging and comforting words my way. Thank you all, even those who checked in silently to monitor our progress. I can't thank Butch enough. Again I came up with a hare-brained plan and all he did was shrug his shoulders, shake his head and get to work doing whatever necessary to keep this adventure moving froward.This trip would not have happened if not for Linda encouraging me it was OK for me to do stuff like this only for myself. That kind of concern is hard to beat. Thank you Linda.Jack was prepared to travel the Eastern Seaboard to make my journey easier. I have known this man for nearly half my life and he has never said "no" to me. My Muse. From pushing myself a little more every day to improve, to concentrating on the joy in my heart with which I was bade to travel, my Muse was always by my side. If I had a question or a difficult moment to deal with I could always fall back on asking "what would my Muse do."Thank you for joining me on this beautiful and inspiring walk. Sleep well. :-)ole slo
Date: 2012-11-02
To: Oh The Waiting...
Miles today: 0.0

Well now with the 50% mark past, and less than 6 months to go and I've decided it was time to open a trail journals account.It is hard to believe that it was only 3 years ago that Connor (my son), Oliver (my dog) and I took our first hike. We'd never been hiking before, we'd watched a program on the Discovery Channel and decided that's something we wanted to try. We did a one week hike from Lake Watauga to Mt. Rogers. We were amateurs, we set up our tent in shelter if we were alone, I¢d wake up at worrying about nighttime noises. I remember hightailing it to a campground when a bear crossed our path where we decided to stealth camp, finally putting two and two together that those piles of mushed berries along the trail were bear scat. But, we made it, we didn¢t starve, we didn¢t get sick drinking from streams, we didn¢t get eaten by a bear. Well the next spring, we (Connor, Oliver and I), went down to Springer Mtn, and did a 3 day hike to Neel¢s Gap. We rubbed elbows with some ¢real¢ thru hikers. It was rainy and cold, a hugh thunder storm blew thru. Again, not only did we survive, we had fun despite the bad weather. It was then I decided I wanted to attempt a thru hike.Well that summer we upped the ante, 2 weeks and 220 miles. This time we, Connor, Oliver, Bobby (my son¢s friend) and I, we hiked from I-40 to Damascus. We camped under the stars at Max Patch Bald, slept in the shelters without tents, stayed at hostels, anticipated bear encounters (didn¢t have any), and hiked in the pouring rain. We were real long distance hikers, maybe not 2178 miles, but still a good distance. It was after that hike, I decided I am going to do this and I set a date, April 2013.I did a few more overnight hikes, a two nighter with both my sons & Oliver, and solo with Oliver. The solo with Oliver was to see if we could both use the hammock, and the answer is no.Well this summer, I finished shaking down my equipment and working on my technique with a south bound hike from Daleville to Pearisburg.Well with now over 500+ miles and over a month on the AT under my belt, Oliver and I, yes Oliver is going with me (more on that later), are ready to go. Now we are down to waiting¢¦ 169 days and counting.
Date: 2012-11-29
To: Another Milestone Reached
Miles today: 0.0

Well today marks another milestone. I have officially 142 days left before I start hiking (4/20), which according to my plan is exactly the number of days I will be on the trail. 142 days, is 4 months and 3 weeks, with an average of 15.4 miles per day, finishing up on 9/10. I picked that date, but based on a number of journals I've read and their stats, and figured it is a good a number as any other. I wanted date so I could judge my progress, and to give my family, friends and office a date that I "could" be done. 9/10 still gives me a buffer of 35 to make Mount Katahdin.This weekend is the Mistletoe 1/2 marathon. I haven't been training as rigorously as I have in the past, so I don¢t think I¢ll break any personal bests, but I¢m pretty confident I won¢t have any problems finishing with a respectable time for a 50 year old. I figure if I can keep up my normal physical fitness level (working out 4-5 times a week and playing soccer on Saturday and Sundays) between now and April I¢ll start off in decent shape. Oliver is another matter, I don¢t want to start too soon, but I really want to get him in better shape for this hike. He¢s done 20+ mile days straight off the couch, and he¢s even pulled a 25+ miler, but that was only for a week or two. I want to make sure he¢s really ready for this hike and in the best shape to make it a significant distance. (Again, I don¢t expect him to make the whole thing and I won¢t make him walk more than he wants too, I just want him to travel with me as long as he is comfortable).To that end, I picked up a jogging leash for Oliver.   It is one of those hands free leashes, with a bungee cord lead. It is much better then homemade bungee leash I have been using for hiking. He¢s really good at heeling on the trail, but he tends to pull too much when I let him lead. I like to let go up front once in a while, to be a dog and have some fun. I¢m going to start working on getting him better at just walking causally a few feet in front of me and I¢m hoping the jogging leash will be more comfortable for both of us.
Date: 2012-12-03
To: My Hiking Partner
Miles today: 0.0

As I've said earlier Oliver will be going with me, or at least part of the way. He's already hiked more of the AT (400+ miles just three hikes) than probably most of the 2013 would be thru-hikers, and he's been out on three long distances hikes.So why bring Oliver? One, he's been on every hike so far. And two, He's "my" dog, he follows me around everywhere, sits on couch with me watching TV, rides along in the car on my errands, etc.. As my sister law said, "I think he'd be miserable without you around no matter how bad the trail gets. He'd rather be with you". I tend to agree, but I also love the little guy too much to abuse his loyalty to satify my or his desire to be together. (That picture is from Wesser Fire Tower, I thought he'd want to stay at the bottom, those rickety steep stairs had me freaked out, I didn't think he want anything to do with them, but after taking 5 steps I look behind me and there he is, climbing up those stairs like it was just another section of trail. Going where ever his dad goes, no questions asked). So if things gets bad for him, he will go home, period, I swear.Like all hikers, each hike I have learned what works and want doesn't for Oliver. One, he needs a really good hair cut. The hair on his feet must be trimmed tight and checked often. Two, watch his sides for abrasions from his back straps (he won't complain or show any signs of discomfort). Three, watch our pace. Oliver and I do best with a slow and steady pace, we can hike long distances, but we do better with short breaks. Each break I have him drink alittle water and on those hot days I cool him down by pouring a little water on his head and back (I know this means I will be carry more water than the average hiker, but I'm prepared for that). Four, use his dog boots, especially on any road walks. Lastly, I live in North Carolina, only about 3+ hours away from the trail all the way up thru mid Virginia. This has made my decision to bring Oliver much easier, because if he needs to go home one call and 3 hours later he's home sleeping on the couch. He can stay home permanently or take a few zero days while I hike on. If he's still with me beyond Virginia it's still only a long day trip home at its worst. Another plus, is I have family and friends all up and down the east coast, so help and a ride, will never be too far away.So those of you reading this, please don't be worried too much about Oliver, he's an experienced hiker with a strong support network. I promise to take care of him.
Date: 2013-01-01
To: Planning...
Miles today: 0.0

I've been reading a number of my fellow 2013 class trail journals, and it's funny (and confronting), how much we're all doing the same thing. Training, planning our route, fine tuning our gear, picking our food selection, figuring out whether or not we should use mail drops or not, dreaming of the day we start, and of course waiting. So I guess it is about time, that I too, added some details.Training. Unfortunately, other than running, going gym and playing soccer, I¢m not going to get much of a chance to really train carrying a pack.   Most of my weekends in the late winter and early spring are going to be taken up with soccer games, so getting away for any weekend hiking trips will be difficult (I'll need to hope for rain outs, not something I normally do during soccer season).Planning. I spent time over the holiday¢s mapping out on a spreadsheet where¢d I¢d be if I averaged 16 miles a day. This really helped. I¢ll use this to know approximately where I¢ll be at a given date and can answer, in very general terms, questions like ¢when will you be in MD?¢ or ¢Where will I be on the trail when Connor graduates?¢. I¢ve also decided to use some mail drops, but I¢m leaving open exactly where and when I¢ll have them sent out. I¢ll have them ready and just call home and tell them where to have them mailed 5-7 days in advance.Gear. I haven¢t made too many changes. I¢ve downsized my Jetboil stove down (or upsized based on cost) to the Titanium Sol version, it is 6oz lighter and a smaller. I¢ve picked up a few squeeze bottles so I can carry smaller portion of certain liquids (e.g. camp soap, sunscreen, bug repellent, and hand sanitizer).   Using these smaller/lighter bottles I figured I¢ve dropped almost 8oz if not more. The one item I¢m still mulling over is my food bag. I have an Ursack and I have used if for years, I really like it, but it is listed a 7.3 oz (feels like more), vs. a 2oz Ultra-Sil bag. The idea of not having to hang a bag bear when I come in tired and late or if it is raining and just tying the kevlar bag to a tree has a lot of appeal. For now, I¢m going to carry the 5oz and go with the Ursack, I can always switch out later. All in all, my pack weight is looking good, about 24lbs winter weight and 21lbs summer weight, without food and water. Still room for improvement, but not too bad.Food selection. Actually I¢ve spent more time lately researching Oliver¢s food then mine, since I¢m pretty much know what I¢ll be bringing(see below). I think for Oliver, I¢m going to try Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula. If anyone has any other suggestion let me know. For myself, I think I¢ll go with what has worked in the past. Breakfast will be Carnation instant breakfast, a nutra grain bar, freeze dried fruit (picked up a huge bucket of assorted fruit at Costco) and powdered Gatorade (no cooking). Snacks: Snickers, peanuts, jerky and peanut butter crackers.   Dinner: Freeze dried dinners most nights, ramen noodle and tuna or chicken others. 109 days and counting.