morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-02-29
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: The Blueberry Patch Hostel
Miles today: 10.6

What a night at Tray Mountain!! More of a nightmare is what I¢d say. Before I left home people would ask if I was afraid of bears, and would say I was more afraid of Southern Rednecks. Ty, Cairo and I spent the night with 6 whiskey drinking, pot smoking, obnoxious rednecks. The morning could not come fast enough! We woke up at 6:00 and were on the trail by 6:30. We hiked 10 miles today and it was tough! My feet have some blisters and they¢re not very happy at all. I spent most of the day ahead of ty and Cairo but they would catch up to me when I stopped for breaks. All of us were hurting a little bit, so we were going pretty slow. I was oh so excited to see the road and excited about my first hitch-hike ever. Cairo, Ty and I thought a hitch would be really easy because were 3 young girls but a lot of people drove right by!! It was a bit distressing and worst of all were the people who slowed down checked us out and kept driving. After about 20 minutes a guy in a pick-up stopped and gave us a ride to the Blueberry Patch Hostel.The Blueberry Parch is the best place ever! It is amazing to hear so much about a place and then to actually be here. Garry & Lennie are very kind. They¢re doing my laundry for me right now!! I was happy to Lars, Maisey & Andrew, my crew from the first few days! Andrew is looking after his sore back and Maisey her knees. They busted out ahead of me a ways back because they wanted to do some bigger miles but look where it got them! Pilgrim Soul is here as well and it¢s been great to finally meet him. Everyone is awesome and this is what I imagined the trail to be like. :D
Date: 2004-03-01
From: The Blueberry Patch Hostel

To: Plum Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The Blueberry Patch is amazing! Lennie and Gary continue to amaze me with their kindness. Their legendary pancakes with blueberry syrup were delicious. They gave Ty, Cairo and I a ride into the Hiawassee library so we could use the Internet. Thank you to everyone who is following along with my journal and those who signed my guest book.The hitch back to the trail was quite successful. We stuck our thumbs out and the first guy who saw us took us about 12 way. Then an old redneck picked us up and when he was dropping us off he told us a little story. He said that the story Deliverance was filmed in his town and that his best friend was the banjo player. Bizarre!We hiked an easy 4 miles Plum Orchard Shelter and it was hot! If it is this hot in March then I can¢t believe how hot it will be in Georgia in a couple of months. I¢m with Lars, Maisey and Andrew from Maine, Cairo and Ty from Michigan.As I was hiking today my pack was about 30-32 pounds¢¦ 15 pounds miscellaneous items, 1 pound stove fuel, 3 pounds water and 6 days worth of food. It was actually fairly torturous gong up some of the hills and I really wonder how fun it can be when people¢s packs on their lightest day, coming into town is more then 30 pounds. I¢ve even been thinking about sending some stuff home, but I think I will probably keep it until after the Smokies at least. Just in case any winter storms hit.I was also thinking that today, being March 1 over 100 people are starting at Springer (according to my last intelligence report.) I cannot even imagine the jockeying that¢s happening for shelter and camping space. I¢m pretty happy with my decision to start on Feb. 22nd. I have people to travel with but there is no competition for space. Hopefully by the time the big pack catches up a lot of them will have dropped out.Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow! Eecch¢¦Jackie B
Date: 2004-03-02
From: Plum Orchard Shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

I¢m a little annoyed at North Carolina. It has been raining torrentially for most of last night and all of today. Trudging through the rain was tough, harder then I expected. We¢re at the shelter now and struggling to keep warm. So far I¢m with Andrew, Ty and Cairo and there is room for one more but I¢m not sure about 3. I guess we¢ll deal with it when it happens.As soon as I crossed the border, there were two nasty climbs, the toughest of the trip so far. How easy it would have been to go around instead of over! The trail seems a little less well maintained in North Carolina than in Georgia, and there were a lot of trees across the tail. I had to leave the trail a few times to get around them. It seems that everyone had left the trail to go around the fallen trees, creating some serious erosion. I hate to do it but there was just no way to climb over.Rain is demoralizing. Everyone¢s spirits are a little down but I think everyone is trying to stay positive. It¢s kind of hit me that being out here is extreme, we¢re so dependant on the weather. Of course, it seems obvious that the weather would effect a hiker greatly but I just didn't realize how much until now. I felt alive today, trudging through the rain. I feel alive right now, struggling to stay warm. I felt alive when I fell on the trail and landed in the stream. The rain sucks but I wouldn¢t trade this day for a day at home watching TV. There is a freedom in getting your shoes so wet is just doesn't matter anymore and you can walk straight through the mud/rain puddles. At one point the trail resembled a small stream. Disturbing, but just another thing to deal with in the life of a thru-hiker.The people I am traveling with are amazing! Andrew just gave me a granola bar; Cairo is squeezing the water out of my clothes for me. I just helped Ty do up her pants because her hands were so cold. We¢ve become a family and it makes the bad weather a more bearable.
Date: 2004-03-03
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4

Words cannot convey how thankful I was to wake up in the morning and not hear rain pounding on the tin roof! We crammed a lot of us into the shelter last night, because of the rain. There was the 45 and up club (6 of us who live north of the 45th parallel) and Clown, an ex-navy seal from Virginia Beach.It seems funny that I¢ve ended up traveling as a pack, making group decisions about miles to hike and where to make town stops. I pictured it way more of a solo experience but I can¢t really get away from people even if I tried. We¢ve all fallen into a routine, who gets up first, who leaves camp first, who lights the fire, who gathers the wood.Today was a beautiful hike, mostly flat through dense forest. The air was misty filled with moisture. It was hot almost felt like the jungle of Thailand. The last mile or so was up Albert Mountain, where a fire tower is located. It was a boulder scramble, straight up!! It reminded me of being at home in the Rockies. I pushed myself hard, not really stopping even though my lungs were screaming for air and my legs were hurting. I liked the challenge, to see how hard I could push myself. It also helped that I could see Andrew, Cairo and Ty a ways back gaining on me. Not that it's a competition but I enjoyed the challenge of not letting them catch me.I made good time, covering the miles in about 6 hours, getting to the shelter at 2:30. I was getting hungry so I whipped up some Lipton¢s with tuna and then pudding for dessert. I think I¢ve underestimated my hiker appetite or I may be a bit hungry it being my last day before town. Good times on the AT today.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-04
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.8

What was I thinking? I know it¢s stupid to hike at other people¢s paces, especially when it¢s too fast for me. It killed me but I think I may have finally done it for the last time. Andrew, Ty, Cairo and I all left camp at about 8:00 am and they all hike really fast especially down hill. After about 6 miles, the 3 of them went down the road to Rainbow Springs Campground for a quick trip to pick up more food. I kept hiking to the next shelter and those seven miles were not happy ones.The grade was easy and the weather beautiful, but my feet and legs were hurting from doing those first 6 miles too fast. I went into zombie mode, not thinking, not really seeing anything but the white blazes, toughing out the last miles. I hated the AT but perhaps thankfully the thought of quitting never really entered my mind. I¢m at the shelter now, eating and resting my feet and life looks a lot better. I think I can manage another day of hiking tomorrow.I decided to take action on the 3 blisters on my toes. I¢ve had them all for days and today they started to hurt me. They were getting so big that I think they were crowding the rest of my toes. So I decided to pop them. It was a bold move, going against conventional hiker wisdom. I was desperate. I¢ve been applying liberal amounts of alcohol hand sanitizer to them in hope that they won¢t get infected. I think I¢ve already talked too much about my feet, so I¢ll finish this entry for today. Must ¢¦eat¢¦round two¢¦of ¢¦dinner. Mmmmmm¢¦ Stovetop Stuffing.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-05
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 12.1

Today I was thankful for the quietness, for the peace as I walked the forest was still. I was joyful that I have chosen to walk to get away from the TV and the noise of everyday life. Life is harder on the trail but it is better.I just made it sound like I¢ve had the best time ever but it was actually pretty tough. My feet hurt, I think popping the blisters was a good thing but I think my shoe is a little too small now that my feet have gotten bigger. In desperation I cut out the tongue of my shoe. It felt infinitely better after that. I¢m going to buy a new pair of shoes at the NOC (Natahala Outdoor Center), in a day or two.I think hiker talk on the trail is a bit bizarre. We comment on the water source like we¢re looking at a million dollar painting. ¢Oooh¢¦ that¢s a nice one.¢ We look at shelters and discuss their various pros and cons. We talk about having to sleep in a cloud at night. We talk about how many mice the night before. Everything is simpler.I¢ve been traveling with the 45th parallel and up club for these first couple of weeks. While getting to know everyone, there¢s been some tension in the group. The couple has HUGE sleeping bags and they take up half the shelter while the other four of us are crammed into the other half.   The couple hasn¢t rolled into camp yet today and there isn¢t too much room in the shelter. The four of us are here and are expecting a little confrontation. I hate crap like this!!! If anyone wants to send me mail/snacks/homemade treats/special hiker food then here¢s a couple of places:Jacqueline Bolen (AT Hiker)C/o Elmer¢s Sunnybrook Inn26 Walnut St. ¢ PO Box 233Hot Springs, NC 28743ETA: March 18, 2004Jacqueline Bolen (AT Hiker)C/o Miss Janet¢s House220 N. Elm AvenueErwin, TN 37650ETA: March 24, 2004(TRANSCRIBER¢S NOTE: You should give the packages 10-14 days to reach Jackie. Some of these smaller towns do not get the mail transferred as quickly as the big cities.)If you are gong to send something make sure it will arrive before these dates!! THANKS in advance to everyone who sends me something.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-06
From: Cold Springs Shelter

To: A Rufus Morgan Shelter 
Miles today: 10.7

I am free! Free from the herd mentality. Free from the childish quibbles. Free from the negativity that I try so hard to be rid of in my life. My group has gone onto the Natahala Outdoors Center one mile up the trail and I have chosen to stay at the shelter and go to the NOC tomorrow. I will probably stay overnight there, because my body needs rest.I am alone but I think that it is okay to be that way. There¢s no pressure, no commitments. I feel a burden has been lifted from me. I came to hike. I came to be challenged. I came to enjoy God¢s creation, not be trapped in the junior high mindset. Not that I acted anymore maturely then the people I was hiking with but at least now I feel at peace.Today was a brutal day of hiking. My shoes are literally crippling me. First it started with slight discomfort in my feet, and then moved to severe pain and finally severe left knee pain. All of this equals Jackie walking down the trail in the rain crying, wishing it would all end. I hated the AT today...hated that my body was so weak and that it was telling me to stop. I will get new shoes at the NOC tomorrow and spend the night and see how I feel the next day. All this struggle for 133 miles. I don¢t know if I will make it to Maine¢¦. This exciting adventure had become a bit of a nightmare.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-07
From: A Rufus Morgan Shelter 

To: Natahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 0.8

Last night I sat at the shelter and watched the sun fade over the mountain. The sky was turning from blue to pink, finally a deep purple and then darkness. It was peaceful and I felt happy to be alive, happy despite the pain. I rejoiced that the NOC and new shoes were only a short 0.8 miles away.How satisfying to throw my old shoes in the trash. The evil crippling pieces of crap! In their place I got some Chaco¢s, a kind of sport-sandal. Shocking! Who long distance hikes in sport sandals? I am desperate to continue and I know that shoes would probably worsen my pain. It is 3 days until Fontana Dam, so it will be one day at a time for me until then.I arrived at the outfitter¢s store at 9:00 am this morning and finished off a pint of Ben & Jerry¢s while I browsed. I was ravenous because I shorted myself on food and didn¢t have anything to eat for breakfast. All of the restaurants at the NOC are closed because it is still early in the season.I picked up a new pair of socks, a lighter weight food hanging rope and some emergency iodine to replace my Aquamira water treatment. I¢ve been drinking straight from the water sources and bypassing the really sketchy ones. My Aquamira is too heavy for something I never use. I'm convinced that most people have digestive problems on the trail due to lack of sanitation instead of bad water sources. I also cut my stove windscreen in half and got rid of my flip-flops, now that I have sandals. Hopefully this will save a pound or two from the old house on the back. A guy who worked at the outfitters picked up my pack because he needed to move it and couldn¢t believe how light it was. All the guys in the store came over to check it out. I was flattered. On the AT it doesn¢t matter what kind of car you drive or how much money you have, it¢s all about pack weight.I walked a mile down the road to a gas station to resupply and then hitched back with a kind lady who works at the NOC. I¢ve taken a much-needed shower and washed lots of stinky clothes. Now I sit by the Natahala River basking in the sun like a cat, resting, writing, people watching, listening to music, eating and eating. My body is happy to be at rest. My knee and feet feel infinitely better and still have 24 hours or so of more recovery time.Before I forget, just a little warning about two things to avoid. 1. Snapple A Day meal replacement is like a pasty chalk. 2. Luna Bars, just 100% nastiness and to be avoided.As I was lounging around I ran into 2 hiker friends, the couple from Maine. They told me about what happened yesterday. That the other 3 people in our little group saw them across the river and then took off the other way, without telling them where they were going. The couple heard it through the hiker grapevine that the 3 were trying to ditch them. Maybe now I will lower my expectations for the hiker community to what I would expect of 12 year olds.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-08
From: Natahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafrass Gap
Miles today: 6.9

There¢s a chill in the air and it feels like snow is coming. It¢s sunny and clear today, the temperature hovering above freezing, perfect hiking weather. I got my first glimpse of the snow topped Smokies and what lies ahead.I am alone at the shelter, by reading the shelter register it looks like Andrew, Ty & Cairo are 2 days ahead and Lars and Maisey, Pilgrim Soul & Clown, are one day ahead of me. I enjoy the solitude but it¢s hard not having some familiar faces around. I hope to see at least a couple of them at Fontana Dam.The sandals seem to have solved two-thirds of the physical ailments. Both feet are a lot better. The only complaint is that all the aeration is drying out my skin but I'd rather have that than blisters and nasty pain. I¢ll have to pick up some moisturizer at Fontana Dam. The left knee pain has also improved but it still hurts. I¢m going to do a 9-mile and a 12-mile day to Fontana and then a zero day. So hopefully low miles, new footwear and rest will improve my situation.I covered the 7 miles today in a very modest 4 12 hours¢¦ Grandma ??!! Usually I¢ve been racing to get a spot in the shelter but this was a lot more enjoyable. I admired views, rested in the sun, sat down to snack; quite different from how I¢ve hiked the past miles. Maybe my knee pain is what it took to get me to live in the moment and enjoy the experience.As for the pain I have decided that if I can still walk, I will. I¢m going to stop caring about miles and just walk; however far my body will take me each day. I still want to make it to Katahdin, that desire will probably never leave me but it is freeing to be free of the rat race on the AT, that is ever-present with some people.Thessalonians 5:16 ¢Be joyful always.¢ This is my goal.Jackie B
Date: 2004-03-09
From: Sassafrass Gap

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.1

Last night at the shelter I was preparing to go to bed when a group of seven spring breakers from Florida rolled into camp. I will refer to them as the Cotton Club (CC). It was an all around gong show that thoroughly entertained me. Bill Bryson described some Boy Scouts kind of like this in his book and said it was better than watching TV. Perfect description of the CC. The weather has turned cold and snowy now, so I worry a little bit about if they are prepared enough. The CC did the 7 miles gong into NOC and then the 8 miles coming out so by the time they pulled into the shelter they were all hobbling and partially disabled. Good times! Who thinks doing 15 miles when you're out of shape and underprepared would be a good idea? Only crazy people, that's who!Today was a bit of a crazy day! It alternated from bitter cold wind to sun, to rain, to snow. It¢s currently snowing and I¢m definitely happy to be at the shelter. It has actually started snowing a lot now. I think I¢ll wake up to a foot of snow (or more) tomorrow. Hopefully my swollen feet will hold up. Maybe they'll like being cold.This shelter has a really good set-up. The fire pit is just outside the overhang, so I¢m sitting out of the snow but near the warmth of the fire. It is quite beautiful and I feel really warm now, so I¢m happy.The hike today was tough! I think the person who designed the trail after the NOC has never heard of switchbacks. I think today was the hardest climb of the hike so far. Here¢s a mental picture of Jackie hiking the AT:1. ¢Picture a mountain that goes straight up, then another one and another one.2. --Picture Jackie with a look of horror/torture on her face and glazed over eyes. 3. ¢ Picture Jackie bent over at the waist using poles to haul herself up the mountain. 4. ¢Picture Jackie wheezing like a smoker.Not a good scene and I¢m happy nobody had to witness it! I have changed my motivational saying from one day at a time to one step at a time. At one point I just wanted to give up and sit down and die of dehydration/exposure but then I thought to myself one more step¢¦ one more step..one more step. But I got up and kept walking. It¢s what I do.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-10
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 12.7

Last night I had a bit of company at the shelter. I met a father and son duo from Maine. Rican& Junior who started hiking after me and are averaging about 15 miles a day. The kid is taking a semester off from high school to do this with his dad. I was happy to spend the night with them. Lulu arrived a bit later.We woke this morning to a beautiful winter wonderland. There was snow hanging from the trees and a couple of inches on the ground. It was cold and I was thankful for my good sleeping bag the night before. I started walking at 7:30 am, just as the sun was starting to rise over the mountains. It was a sight to behold, with the sun reflecting off the trees and I knew then that there is no other place I¢d rather be. I took a couple of pictures but I know that a picture won¢t do it justice. How could anyone see this awesome winter wonderland and deny the God who created it?My knee felt good for the first 7-8 miles. Then it hurt the rest of the way. It feels okay on the flat sections but really hurts on the steep ups and downs of which the last 30 miles has bben full of. It is hard to describe my desire to get to Maine. I think every AT hiker wants to but I also know that I don¢t want to keep hiking with debilitating pain everyday. I will hike the Smokies and then if it still hurts I will see a doctor in Hot Springs and find out the bad news.Fontana Dam was a bit of a disappointment! How long I have been looking forward to real food, first at the NOC and then here. Only nothing is open Another gas station meal for Jackie. I went to the PO and picked my maildrop and then headed to the Fontana Hilton Shelter. It overlooks the lake and is quite nice¢¦well worthy of its name.How fitting that I should run into the first 3 people that I started hiking with¢¦Lars, Maisey and Andrew. Andrew is waiting for his maildrop here and Lars & Maisey took a zero day today. They are heading out tomorrow. Pilgrim Soul and Brair Rabbit left this morning. Ty & Cairo left the day before that¢¦ They are on a crazy mileage rampage, 20-22 miles a day. Who can compete with that? I¢m happy I¢ve given up trying.Jackie B¢¦
Date: 2004-03-11
From: Fontana Hilton Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Motel
Miles today: 0.0

I think this is the best $30.00 I have ever spent. I write this from a motel room at Fontana Dam, after gorging myself at the breakfast buffet, after taking a bath and now I lay on a luxurious bed with my legs on 4 pillows, watching talk shows. How my body needed this!Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is how competitive some people on the trail are. People are obsessed with big miles! OBSESSED!!! Why do people try to suck me into their stupid competitions? I have a low pack weight but rarely talk about it unless asked. Certain people always try to tell me what in their not so humble opinions need to stay warm and happy just so my pack will be heavier than theirs. People are obsessed with trying to make my hike less valid than theirs because I hike less miles everyday. People are obsessed with how much or how little money they can spend and make it a competition with everyone else. It's all SO STUPID and I want no part of it but it's all around me. I have vowed never to speak of it again in my journal because it's not worth my time to even write about it.Back to happier subjects! Fontana Lake really is beautiful. I woke up this morning at first light and sat on the bench outside the shelter watching the sunrise over the mountains. I heard loons calling and coyotes howlling. The people here have been kind...almost everyone who's driven by has picked me up when I've been hitching. The lady at the post office didn't have change for my $20 so she let me mail my letter for free. The woman at the hotel gave me her personal moisturing lotion because the hotel didn't supply any and I needed some. Amazing.