morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-04-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"There are many different answers to why someone would pick up and head off to the woods for weeks or months on end. ADHD of the soul, a spiritual quest, disenchantment, or a case of Springer fever are but a handful of the complex answers to this question"--Michelle Ray, from her book, How to Hike the A.T.I'm down to the last two days before I hit the trail, and my work at home is done. There's nothing else to do but wait, and wait some more, for Monday morning to get here when I board the train to Georgia. The three nor'easters we experienced in Boston this past month have wreaked havoc with the Amtrak lines in Rhode Island and as a result train service is severely limited, and the little service there is is being routed via central Massachusetts and Connecticut, adding hours to train travel in the northeast corridor. Service is so dicey on Amtrak, that I felt compelled to buy a bus ticket to New York City today in order to feel confident that I'll make my train to Georgia with a modicum of assurance. So, come Monday morning, I'll choose either the 7am greyhound or 8am train to NYC in order to assure my connection to my 2pm train to Georgia.         Otherwise, everything has proceeded as planned: walk, walk, walk. I worked my last day at the Appalachian Mountain Club this past Thursday, and my sole focus has been on the trail. My mind wanders to it at will: one moment I'm watching the national news, and the next I'm hiking through the Virginia highlands again; one moment I'm preparing dinner and the next I'm back hiking on the narrow ridge line just north of Charlie's Bunion in the Smokeys; or I'm balancing the checkbook and a digit gives way to scrambling across Mahoosuc Notch in Maine. I'm already out there despite being at home.But soon enough I'll be out there, AND I'll just be out there, on the trail. These last few days simultaneously drag AND dissolve into the ether quickly. Every waking moment now seems a blur of anticipation. The preparatory walking is done -- nearly 500 miles of it, maps and food drops are prepared, the backpack will be packed one final time tomorrow, and I'm just waiting for¢¦ maybe Godot will join me on the trail. (Heh!)A mere 2 "excellent-good" days left until the trail.
Date: 2010-04-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"Follow your dreams"-Inscribed on a talisman, of sorts, given to me.I'm finally on the train to Georgia. This day seemed an eternity in getting here. As I write this the train is entering Richmond, VA, and in 12 short hours I should be standing on Springer Mountain getting ready to start walking, inexorably north, 2,175 miles to Maine.I spoke with Leigh Saint at the Hiker Hostel in Suches, GA this morning and she said they're also shuttling 2 other hikers from this train (haven't run into them yet) in addition to the 9 hikers staying with them overnight. That's a torrent of eager thru-hikers hitting the trail all at once. That insures no problems in my getting a photo of myself on Springer.The forecast for Suches calls for a high of 83 degrees tomorrow, that's downright summery! But it's usually 5-7 degrees cooler in the mountains than it is in town so it should be quite comfortable. The rest of the week is forecast to be warm, and Thursday will bring the first torrential rains -- good! let's get the first thorough soaking over and out of the way quickly.My fully loaded pack is at a manageable 28 lbs. A bit heavier than in the past, but given the freakish weather this year, I've brought clothes out for every eventuality. The swim fins didn't make the final cut, and with this year's rains maybe I should have brought them. After Pearisburg, VA my gear should be down around 20 lbs, and given the warm weather this week maybe that's what I should have brought out¢¦ but I know better.As far as trail updates are concerned, I intend to write them myself, but I also know that cell service from trail towns isn't necessarily reliable, so I'll still be sending my journal entries home, and on occasion (hopefully not too often, for Pattie's sake) Pattie may post them. I hope to be able to update the journal up to twice a week; at best that means a 3-4 day time disjunction, and sometimes it'll be the more traditional week stagger in entries being posted. My blackberry will generally be turned off except to snap an occasional photograph.That's about it. Check back in a few days and hopefully the first update will be up.The "excellent-good" day is here.
Date: 2010-04-06
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

"Here to go!Here as food for the black fliesHere to Maine!"-- Half Moon, from Springer Mountain registerThe train ride to Georgia and the shuttle to the trail were uneventful, and I was walking north on the trail by 10:30 am.After a few photographs on Springer Mountain I had to hurry on as clouds of biting black flies were descending on every patch of exposed skin; with temperatures in the mid-80's today, these voracious little dive bombers were out in full force.And so were the hikers -- there are over 30 here tonight at Hawk Mountain shelter! And that doesn't include others that I saw that either moved further on or are tenting elsewhere.It was an "excellent-good" day for soaking sore feet in bone numbing cold water at Long Creek Falls. I took a long break there, and just as I was drifting off well over a dozen boy scouts seemed to explode out of the Chatahoochee National Forest and descend on the falls. At first I was irked that this large a group was monopolizing the falls, but Troop 116 from Harlem, GA (outside of Augusta, GA) was having so much fun frolicking in and around the falls that I stuck around for a while, sans nap, and enjoyed seeing them have such a good time.It was unmitigated sunburn conditions today: a cloudless day, no leaf cover from the trees -- so just about every hiker is "extra crispy red". A typical first day: lots of complaints from the uninitiated body -- screams and cavils from tendons and ligaments you didn't even know existed, and burning calves and hip flexors all afternoon. I have only learned the names of half a dozen of the 30+ hikers here tonight: Bear, Droid, Ram Sham, Roger, Dustin, and Full Tilt. Someone has made a roaring campfire, but the black flies drove me into my tent at 8pm -- pesky buggers!
Date: 2010-04-07
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Gap
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

"These black flies sure are something!"--Chicken Feathers, at Gooch GapLast night at 9 pm we heard the army rangers from Camp Merrell doing their maneuvers. First it was machine gun fire and then what sounded like mortar fire. At Horse Gap I spoke to a Forest Service supervisor who told me there was a fire on Sassafrass Mountain yesterday, which they luckily put out quickly. A careless hiker is suspected, probably a smoker. When I arrived at the summit it was obvious that the trail had acted as a natural fire break. I ran into three firefighters who were finishing insuring nothing was still smoldering. They dropped fire retardant yesterday afternoon but they had to work it manually as well.I spotted lots of trillium, blood root, and may apple today. With the warm sunny weather there many spring shoots appearing. If one digs up the root below the white flowered blood root one finds the genesis of the name: a small, beet colored, tiny carrot type of root that when broken oozes a red liquid that native americans used to dye fabrics red. It's also edible, but I've yet to try it.We had another warm day in the mid-80's today, and without the leaves on the deciduous trees providing cover we all continue to get toasty and red. I'm starting to see the same folks during breaks and resupplying at water sources and a sense of nascent community is forming. There is a group of 5 people hiking together from Connecticut that I'm running into all day: Bear, Stephanie, Alex, Mike, and Droid; a couple of them are hiking for charity.I choose to camp at Gooch Gap. Chicken Feathers is camped about 50 yards away. He's hiking to Duncannon, PA. A cold front that promises a day full of rain moves in tomorrow morning. Happily, that'll keep the temperatures down and the black flies at bay.
Date: 2010-04-08
From: Gooch Gap

To: Bird Gap
Miles today: 13.2

"Half Moon will be here soon"-- Loon, from Blood Mountain shelter register.It started raining earlier than forecasted this morning. I was off to an early start after quickly packing a wet tent at 6:30. Chicken Feathers caught up to me before Woody Gap and we hiked together for a while; he was intending to get to the hostel at Neel's Gap in hope of resolving an issue with a blister he has.The rain was incessant, and heavy at times, with a couple of passing thunderstorms in the afternoon. It rained all day. Just past Jarrard Gap there was an explosive crash about an eighth of a mile behind me when an oak tree was felled by the high wind gusts. It was a challenging day, but "excellent-good" nonetheless. A day like this soothes the sunburn of the previous two days, keeps the water sources flowing nicely, and is merely the first of many like this to come; so it's best to embrace it early and with a sanguine attitude.I needed hot food and drink, so after 10 miles, I made a stop at Woods Hole shelter and was surprised to find 6 fairly unhappy looking people already in their sleeping bags and holed up for the night at 2 pm. The shelter only sleeps 8 or 10, and with a group of nearly 20 from Gooch Gap shelter headed here (undoubtedly with designs of staying here tonight) this place is going to be a mess. Thes is the one of the challenges inherent in starting at the height of hiker season, shelters often become crowded and smelly hovels full of less than cheery people. In my estimation, it is much better to tent, early on, before the crowds thin out. In fact, traditionally, according to Roland Mueser's book Long Distance Hiking, about 15% of the hikers that start intending to thru hike will drop out tomorrow at the Walasi Yi center tomorrow, the first opportunity at civilization right on the trail.At the top of Blood Mountain, as if scripted by Hollywood screenwriters, the rain subsided and the sun broke through, and provided the best view in Georgia yet. I met Mosey, who was set up inside the very wet, cold and drafty Blood Mtn. shelter. Mosey was out on the Long Trail in 2008, but I didn't run into him then. He gave me a weather update, telling me the front had moved through, but that the temperature was dropping into the 30's tonight. I moved on at 4pm because if it was going to get that cold I didn't want to be up 4000+ feet in that shelter. I knew there was a nice flat area full of glacial erratics about a mile down the mountain that I headed for. I was able to dry out all my gear in the now partly sunny late afternoon. I have the place all to myself, and as I write this I'm hearing the distinctive call of a barred owl... as I said, as if on "spec" from a hollywood screenwriter. I love this trail!
Date: 2010-04-09
From: Bird Gap

To: S. of Cowrock Mountain
Miles today: 6.5

"Bear, bear go away, you won't get my food today..."-- hiker singing as he walked past my tent at 8:45 last nightI walked all of 34 minutes this morning before taking a 7 hour break from hiking. It was a good opportunity to see hikers reach their first landmark, the Walasi-Yi center and Mountain Crossings. Hikers are usually very happy to get here, for some it means a resupply, a hot meal that comes from somewhere other than their foodbag, for some it's the first night's lodging other than a tent or shelter floor (read: a soft bed), and for some, unfortunately, it means the end -- about 15% of hikers that intend to get to Maine will end their thru-hike attempt here; but I don't see anything like that in the faces of hikers coming in here today.The news of the day are the 3 bear strikes that happened yesterday, and by strikes I mean black bear (or bears in this case) taking hikers food bags. A trio of section hikers got their food bags and a pack torn apart at Woods Hole shelter; a guy who is doing a week long loop hike had his bear vault rolled about a quarter of a mile away from his camp site at Slaughter Gap -- he showed a number of us his bear vault and it was covered with claw and tooth marks, but it worked! But Mosey's story was best of all. I had mentioned an April 4th entry in the Blood Mountain shelter register to him as I was leaving yesterday. He told me he later read it, and insured to hang his food bag well; nonetheless, around 7pm he heard a tree crash down and he saw a black bear making off with his food bag. He chased it down to a rock overhang and scared the bear off his food bag (a braver man than I, that's for certain!) and he found other hiker's food in this area. This accounts for the incident last night when a desultory sounding hiker walked past my campsite at 8:45 last night singing "bear, bear, stay away..." That's the trail for ya'.My body is feeling sapped from the long walk in the rain yesterday, so I sit around relaxing by the scenic overview at Walasi-Yi talking to hikers as they come in, and I get a bit of trail magic -- a double cheeseburger! Another hiker who is slackpacking this section had his ride provider take him to Mc Donalds and is handing out a couple of dozen double cheeseburgers to the assembled hikers here.I finally get moving at 3:30 pm and hike a few miles to the base of Cowrock Mountain. I find a neat spot off the trail at a small gap, and you can rest assured I'll be sure to hang my food securely beyond the reach of bears tonight.
Date: 2010-04-10
From: S. of Cowrock Mountain

To: S. of Poplar Stamp Gap
Miles today: 7.5

"Going uphill is like throwing an anchor from a boat..."--from a hiker ascending Poor MountainToday was about as perfect weather day a hiking day can be sunny with temperatures in the 60's. I took 3 long breaks today and the mileage ended up on the short day side. I took an 90 minute break at the exposed rocky summit of Cowrock Mountain to journal and enjoy the view of the Georgia highlands and the upcoming ridges on the trail. I took an hour long break at Hogpen Gap to get much needed water and met a couple of hikers, one was named Rollie -- he is also writing a trail journal here. I also took a two and a half hour break at Low Gap shelter. I had dinner there and socialized a bit with the people I've been seeing since the first day: mike (now clothes line, as he almost decapitated himself a couple of days ago on another hiker's clothes line), droid, dustin; and some new hikers I met today: ohiobro, bandana man, and bobby.It was obviously going to get crowded so I had dinner and moved on about 1.5 miles to tent near Poplar Stamp Gap. A day of long breaks... my body was asking for it.
Date: 2010-04-11
From: S. of Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: clear sky

"You're going to hike tonight?!"-- from a section hiker at Tray Mountain ShelterI didn't know how long this day would be when I started it, but I did know it had the potential to be long. It seems every time I get to this area the gravitational pull of seeing my friends Gary and Lennie at The Blueberry Patch in Hiawassee pulls me into an all night hike.The day started normally enough, an 8:10 am start and some very pleasant grades along an old stagecoach road that provided views of the brasstown bald observatory and the manifold ridges stretching out both to the east and west of the trail. I sat for some minutes with a lost boy scout that was separated from his troop until two of the adult troop leaders appeared to fetch him.With these clear sunny days we seem to be frying to a crisp under the still leafless deciduous trees. But there continues to be more evidence of new spring shoots: bluets, some of the trillium is opening to reveal the burgeoning flower, dogwoods are blooming, and so is some early azalea. I've also seen downy and pileated woodpeckers, evidence of bear (plenty of scat but no actual sighting yet) and heard many a grouse.I began taking two hour breaks starting at noon in the event I would choose to do an all nighter. I knew I'd make my final decision at dinner at Blue Mountain shelter. Many of the hikers I know passed me today during my breaks: Dustin, Clothesline, Bandana Man, Ohiobro, Bobby, et al., but if I decided to walk all night I knew I'd see them all tomorrow in town.I felt energized after dinner and chose to hike until I felt I had to stop or arrived at Dick's Creek Gap. I left at 9:30 pm, much to the incredulity of a trio of section hikers in the shelter that thought I was mad. I had to assure them that night hiking without a full moon, a la head lamp, is all quite the same as hiking during the day with the singular exception that your field of vision is limited to the 15 feet directly in front of you.It's really cool to stop walking every so often and sit on a rock or log stump and turn off the head lamp and allow everything to go dark all about you. It's amazing: the sky ablaze with more stars than you've ever seen, the darkness envelops you, and you seem to become one with nature, as if you belong as much in that place as the hickory tree beside you or the rock you are sitting on. It's a tremendous confluence of feeling, at once, an overwhelming oneness with nature and feeling of insignificance in its midst.Anyway, I hiked until 4:30 am until I reached Dick's Creek Gap, 20 hours after I began walking yesterday morning. I opened my z-rest and got in my sleeping bag for 3 hours of fitful sleep on top of the stone picnic table. I think I've earned my first day off tomorrow. And more importantly, some time with my good friends Gary and Lennie Poteat at The Blueberry Patch.
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

"I hear Katahdin calling on the back of a pancake covered with blueberries... "--Loon, from The Blueberry Patch registerAfter 3 hours of fitful sleep on a stone picnic table at Dick's Creek Gap I was able to yogi a ride from a couple of guys, that dropped a friend off at the trail head, to the Blueberry Patch. It's been 4 years since I've seen Gary and Lennie Poteat, but previously I've been here in 2000, '01, '02, '04 during my previous thru-hike attempts; and in '05 and '06 when I hiked Georgia. I still hold the record here for the longest stay, 21 days, after I was injured at Plum Orchard Gap shelter. After I recuperated I hit the trail again on May 2, 2000. Tomorrow marks the 10 year anniversary of the beginning of my 21 day stay here, so naturally, I'm going to take the day off and help Gary around the farm. The Blueberry Patch isn't only a hostel but a working organic farm, so there's always plenty to do around here.I meet an entirely new group of hikers: Chef and Casper, Jess and Justin, Warrior, Cotton, 93, and others I already know -- Ohiobro, 7, Dew Lap and Rainer -- it's nearly a full house here tonight.We went into Hiawassee and resupplied and are now doing the obligatory hiker socializing as it approaches "hiker midnight" -- 9 pm. I needed to recuperate from the 24 mile Hiawassee/Blueberry Patch-a-thon. It was another "excellent-good" day.
Date: 2010-04-13
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I'm taking my planned zero day today. Technically, I walked for 4 1/2 hours yesterday after midnight, but today I've stayed off my feet all day and given my legs a rest.Half of the folks who were at the hostel last night left this morning, but then half of those that left came back. Warrior and Cotton returned because Warrior has some sort of respiratory infection and is having problems breathing. Everyone else stayed as they are nursing injuries. One person of each of the two couples that are here are injured: Chef of Chef and Casper has a bad ankle, and Justin of Jess and Justin has a bad knee. We were nonetheless able to do some chores around the farm today as well as go into town.So it's basically the same group tonight: 93, Warrior, Cotton, Jess and Justin, Chef and Casper, and Rob who came in from Unicoi Gap with bad blisters on both feet. This is where ailing hikers come to get better and hikers that are doing well come to get "excellent-good." The Blueberry Patch will cure what ails the nascent thru-hiker. You'll even find a cute resident flying squirrel living in a birdhouse next to the bunkhouse.And tomorrow, 9 miles north on the trail, we enter a new state: North Carolina!
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

"NC/GA"-- sign at the A.T. border crossing from Georgia into North Carolina. It's always difficult for me to leave the comfort and hospitality of the Blueberry Patch, but today Jess and Justin, Warrior, Cotton, and I do so; and Casper will take a 9 mile day hike in and out while Chef recuperates from tendonitis of the ankle. I hike with Casper up to Plum Orchard Gap shelter, and he regaled me with stories of his and Chef's two year stint as eagle watchers for the National Forest Service, and at the shelter I show him where I fell off the second story loft which started my 21 day rehabilitation at the Blueberry Patch back in 2000. The day is clear and quite warm with temperatures reaching the mid-80's, but within a few hours there has been a shift of 20 degrees as it appears a front is moving through -- the temps are in the low 60's by 6pm. Both Jess and Justin and a couple of other hikers are congregated at our first state line shooting celebratory pictures, and I follow suit (see above). We're out of Georgia and inside North Carolina now. Yes! That's "excellent-good" -- 1 state down, 13 more to go. There are a couple of strenuous climbs today up Sharp Top and Court House Bald. And marvelous views of a large valley cove and Hiawassee to the distance from the ridge Muskrat Creek shelter is on. We walk through a number of dense rhododendron thickets to get here, I also spotted a blue nuthatch too this afternoon, and plenty of bluets, blood root, and ramps are evident as well. It appears as it might rain tonight so I decide to stay in the shelter tonight, and I'm lucky there's room. Staying inside the shelter with me tonight are Jess and Justin, Hot Sauce, and Captain Guts. But there are at least another half dozen hikers tenting here tonight: Serenitina, Rollie, Bandana Man, Wild Hare, et al. The rain is moving in as I write this and at nearly 10 pm, it's well past hiker midnight... I'm off.