morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-08-07
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 21.1

I saw Katahdin for the first time today! Rockhound, Chestnut, MoonPie and I caught a view of most of the mountain from Antlers Campsite. The top was lost in the clouds, but the rest was clear and seemed so close! From where we¢re camping tonight, the end of the trail is less than 39 miles away!We had some great walking along rivers and lakes much of the day. There was a stop at White House Landing Camp where Bill, one of the owners, acted like a total jackass to us. We showed up 6 minutes late for the unadvertised end-of-lunch so he treated us like crap from the second he saw us until his wife/girlfriend Linda had some words with him. He stormed away and Linda treated us wonderfully, making up 1lb hamburgers for us and redeeming the camp in all of our eyes. I picked up food for the final day or two until we get out of the wilderness. At this point I¢m so sick of eating bars and freeze-dried meals ¢ I just want real food again! I picked up some raman noodles and a handful of candy bars to tide me over.We¢re camped tonight beside a sand beach, listening to distant thunder and fighting persistent no-see-ums. All of us retired to our tents/tarps/hammocks early to avoid them but are hoping to go out and catch a glimpse of the Perseids meteor shower if the clouds clear later. MoonPie¢s a bit unhappy ¢ her bug netting is just mosquito netting and doesn¢t keep out these tiny bastards with their sharp teeth!I¢ve been looking forward to going home for the past 700 miles, but now am really feeling the impending end of the trip. The woods are beautiful up here. The views are awesome, the loons and moose exciting and different. I¢m ready for the trip to end but definitely going to miss being out here with friends.34 more miles before Heather comes up for the final climb! I¢m so excited to see her! My brother¢s left a couple of messages on my cell phone this week. I miss him and wish he could be here to complete the journey we planned together for years.
Date: 2004-08-08
From: Nahmakanta Lake

To: Hurd Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

The clouds parted for long enough to reveal Katahdin¢s summit for the first time today, highlighted by a double rainbow brighter than any clothing I¢ve worn in the past five months. Not to go off on a tangent here, but I have worn the same grey shorts and beige shirt every day on trail for the past 150 days. Let¢s just say the rainbow was incredible. Rockhound, Chestnut, MoonPie and I sat and stared, occasionally breaking our reverie to take some pictures for a whole hour. When we got to Rainbow Ledges, the top of the mountain was covered in clouds and the rainbow was at it¢s brightest. As we watched, the clouds blew off to the east and the rainbow faded as the summit of Katahdin was revealed.The blueberries on Rainbow Ledges were another high point of the day. I¢m still finishing my quart of berries as I write my journal in my tent. We passed beautiful rivers & lakes, a gorge and plenty of great trail today ¢ but nothing compares to the mountain. It dwarfs everything around it. Even the great conversations I¢ve been having with Chestnut sputters to a halt when Katahdin comes into view.We walked with thunder crackling through much of the afternoon and a storm is again lightly passing through right now. At this point I¢m beyond caring whether I¢m wet or dry, however. 3 miles more of the 100-mile wilderness, 11+ miles of walking through Baxter State Park and I¢ll be at the thruhiker-only campsite called the Birches. I¢ll meet Heather early in the morning and make the final climb, weather permitting. One more day of this trip before the whole adventure turns into a day-hike. It feels good ¢ the trip¢s in the bag and all the hard work, emotional and physical is behind me.The company¢s been awesome ¢ these guy¢s have enjoyed and suffered the same experiences I have during the trip. We¢re shared so much! I¢m just hoping Hoplite can join us for the final ascent ¢cause the weather¢s looking good and we¢re set to finish in just 2 days!
Date: 2004-08-09
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: The Birches
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I can¢t imagine today being any better. Snacks at the campstore at Abol Bridge, a swim at Rocky Rips, views of Katahdin throughout the sunny day and Heather and MoonPie¢s parents waiting for Rockhound, Chestnut, MoonPie & I at the Birches! What a wonderful surprise to find my fianc©e waiting for me a day early! MoonPie¢s parents laid out an incredible spread of steak, salad, bread, pie & watermelon, wine, beer, soda & more and we feasted for hours! The park¢s gates close at 10pm, so Heather left our site at 9 and MoonPie¢s parents shortly after that. At 10, we were hungry again so broke into the hot dogs we¢d originally packed in for our dinner and roasted them and marshmallows over the fire. We hung out for a while watching the Perseids meteor shower before I crashed way past thruhiker midnight (that¢s about 12 hour after dark.)Great trails all day! We watched an osprey hunt next to Abol Bridge while we hung out and ate ice cream and soda for breakfast. Our next break was at Rocky Rips where the river runs smooth and fast over carved bedrock. I stood in the river for a while, playing with the standing waves that formed around my legs as the water collided with them. It¢s a cool sensation to stand in the middle of a river and have one leg totally dry because the other leg is diverting all the flow around it! Our last break of the day was at Daicey Pond where we had a beautiful view of Katahdin over lunch. I¢m rested and ready for our summit in the morning. It¢s 5.2 miles and 4200 feet up and I¢m ready to git ¢er done!I¢ll be the 84th northbound thruhiker to complete the AT this year. I was #104 at the midpoint at Harper¢s Ferry and the word on the trail is that 1500 NOBOs started this year. That¢s down a bit from the surge around 2000. It felt like the SOBO count was pretty low as well, but I don¢t have a number. I wish my brother could be with me tomorrow. It¢s possible that the thruhike was my idea, but I remember him selecting 2004 as the year that we were going to do it. After the torment I went through in New England, missing Heather and home excruciatingly, I know he made the right choice for himself back in Virginia, but I still wish he were here!Bedtime. Let¢s see if I can still sleep with the butterflies dancing in my stomach! I¢ve been waking up around 5:30 for much of the trip but the last few days have been slipping towards 4:30. Anyone care to make a bet? I¢m so excited!
Date: 2004-08-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It's disconcertingly easy to slip back into real life. At least that's what I'm feeling right now! I lost my wild hair and beard yesterday. My head appears to have shrunk massively and - guess what - I have a neck! Heather's still staring at me funny as of this morning. 'Course that's nothing new...I'm running through my journal, compiling addresses and getting ready to send out pictures to all my trail friends. At the same time, I'm starting to work again, editing and working on new websites, spending up to 10 hours a day in front of the computer. So far I haven't felt an overwhelming need to hike - just to take Tally out for walks. My foot pain has faded considerably and I'm hoping the pain in the knee tendons will follow in the near future. Heck, even my appetite is starting to drop off! I didn't even have ice cream for breakfast this morning!I miss the trees. When I'm driving down heavily wooded roads, I sense the forest close in around me and feel like I'm back on the trail.
Date: 2004-09-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The trail life is quickly fading behind. I flash back often when I'm taking a shower, getting a glass of water or attempting to put anything on my feet other than the one new pair of sneakers that fit my feet. But every time I need to buckle down and do something that I need to do, it comes real easy. The trail has put a bit more steel in my backbone - everything's easy compared to getting up and hiking on cold, rainy days!With the rush to get my website design business back up and rolling compounded by the 4 hours I spend 5+ days a week coaching volleyball, I haven't talked to any of my trail friends in what feels like forever! They don't fit the patterns I've set up and are falling through the cracks right now. A real shame too, 'cause they're the ones who understand why I'm sitting on the curb for 15 minutes while walking my dog, delaying the return to my computer.I am doing a lot of things right - the way I decided to do them on the trail. I'm focusing my business efforts on the local small businesses, getting 'em online within a reasonable budget. That way they feel good, I get new customers and continued hosting revenue from 'em. Making sure business felt good was one of the things I decided was most important to me.Hiking? Nope. My longest walk since getting in my car at the base of Katahdin has been about 2 miles. But I spend a lot of time running and jumping around a gym and haven't gotten fat yet! My body's pretty much returned to pain-free status as well. Knees are still a bit achey and my feet don't hurt partially because some of my toes are still numb, but I'm OK with that.I'm still working on photos, turning 'em 90-degrees as need be, sorting 'em and naming 'em. 1200+ photos is taking way, way, way too long in the craziness of the coaching season!Hey - if your name is Hoplite and you're reading this journal, drop me a line. I miss your sorry - and often naked - butt.
Date: 2004-09-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Walking in the rain is wonderful. Especially when you have a great dog to keep you company. And more especially when you can walk home, get dry and make yourself a cup of coffee (and give your dog a treat!)Ah, life post-trail - it's good stuff. The girls on my volleyball team were, as they often do, complaining about being stinky after practice. HA! I get a wry look on my face and try to eloquently describe the stink of a thruhiker. That shuts 'em up! I'm spending 4 hours a day in the gym right now, so getting some decent exercise and really enjoying the super group of girls on my team. But if you haven't gone a week without showering, you don't have a clue what funk really is...My brother sent me a present. After hiking with Rockhound for over a thousand miles and munching on a few of his Swedish fish, I know just enough to know Sqwish Fish really don't taste very good. At all. But hey - it's the thought that counts, right? I've been exchanging email with Hoplite, Condor, Skyline & Sundance, Einstein & Rockhound. Nice to know my friends are going through the same thing I am!
Date: 2009-08-14
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Well, it's been 5 years since Katahdin and life continues to bring new challenges and rewards!What's happened since? I married Heather in 2005 and we designed and had our house built in 2007, then our son Emerson was born in late 2008. My company's grown every year and continues to follow the business plan I established as I was walking. And despite the changes, I can still hear Hoplite singing 'Hot for Teacher' as Heather showed up at the Doyle back in PA. Trail friends are eternal.Hiking? Sure. Little jaunts on the AT, adventures in National Parks with my bro - Green One. Talking about the John Muir trail somewhere down the road. My body fully recovered after a couple months and then started a slide towards the reality that I spend a lot of time at my computer. I need to walk more. Most of us do!I've had the honor of helping a few thruhikers plan their hikes and the joy of watching them complete their journeys. It never gets old. Walking and talking the Trail remains one of my greatest joys and my hike will always be one of my greatest accomplishments. And it's the people who were part of my trip - not so much the Trail itself - that define my memories.
Date: 2003-12-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi All:My surgery on the foot has become 99.9% pain free and I am in the process of planning for a 2004 trip North on the trail. I have many friends who support this craziness and I really appreciate their help and encouragement. What is really so very important to me, is the fact my wife supports me and that really makes my choice simple. Having support from family and friends is really important to a successful thru hike. The trail is so demanding mentally that it would seem almost impossible to start such a hike without that support.So let the planning continue.
Date: 2003-12-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

If you look at my gear list you will see a pattern developing. Get rid of some weight! I've been working on reducing my pack weight and at this point I have it down to about 33.66 pounds. That weight includes everything I will carry in my pack, including 31 ozs of water, 15 ozs of fuel and 4 days worth of food @ 32 ozs per day. When the weather warms, I will lose another 40 oz of clothing which will reduce my summer pack weight down to a little over 31 pounds. Compared to 42-44 lbs, this will almost be fun to carry.My pack weights do not include the clothes I will wear while hiking or the pocket knife and camera with batteries and memory that I will carry on my person. These two items weigh 20 ozs.I'm still working on reducing the weight further, but without going to an ultra lite pack and or a tarp, there is not too much room for more weight savings.Now I have to start working on the body, there are pounds of savings to be had there.Till later.
Date: 2003-12-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have a journal under 2003 and I opened another journal there for 2004. The journal appears along with my 2003 journal, but has not yet popped up on the 2004 journals list. This is the third entry, so we will see if I'm doing this correctly. All right, it works just great!Isn't this the greatest site? These guys do one heck of a job and everybody utilizing this site ought to help support them. For me this site is a great way for my friends to keep track of my progress. It also provides me with a great deal of reading material and helps with my planning and equipment purchases. By reading the journals for 2003 I can get an idea about the towns and facilities up the trail. And get a sense for the kind of experiences other hikers have had in the towns and at different establishments. It kind of gives me an idea of where I might like to go and not go. For me that is worth a lot and I have and will support these guys.Today, during a break from one of my projects around the house, I had my pack and most of my equipment out, trying to decide how much room I was going to have. 6000 cu inches seems like a gracious amount of space. Although I did not actually put anything in the pack, it seems like I may have plenty of room. I'm sure that will change when it comes to actually loading the pack, which I will do soon. Well its time to get back to the projects, laying a wood floor, puting up chair rail, painting walls and ceiling, wall papering walls, raking leaves, pressure washing walkways, driveway and patio. I'm having so much fun! The 2100 mile walk to Maine will seem like a vacation.Till later.
Date: 2003-12-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi FolksToday I made a trip to Walmart and cruised the food isles picking out food for a 3 day trip on the trail. My purpose was to have everything on hand that I would carry in my pack so that I could load the pack. I wanted to see if 1. I could get everything inside the pack and 2. How much the pack would weigh with food, fuel, water, clothes, tent, zrest, etc. As it turns out I can get everything into my pack except my zrest which I will strap on the bottom of the pack. Normally I would strap it on top, but at 6'1+" inches tall, I find that anything strapped to the top of my pack takes a beating from the overhanging branches.My spring pack weight is right at 32 pounds. Summer weight will be around 30 pounds. I am really pleased with my pack weight. Now I have to seriously work on the body weight and condition. It is certainly possible for me to loose the 32 pounds that my pack weighs. Wouldn't that be great, that would be like walking up the trail with no pack at all. I'm working on it, but it is not on my list of fun things to do. More later, it's off to do my 2.5 miles and exercises.
Date: 2004-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Folks:During Christmas I was at a party in Columbia, SC, with a bunch of friends. Upon learning of my proposed 2004 hike, the wife of one of my friends suggested she would like for her 13 year old son to accompany me on the hike. I know Gregg, he is a great kid and before I could stop myself, I agreed, provided they could work out the finances and equipment. As it turns out Gregg has all his own equipment. Subsequently the finances have been worked out, so Gregg and I will leave Springer on 3/25/04, for a long walk in the woods.Gregg does not have a trail name yet and I think I will label him "Shadow".Sunshine and Shadow, I think that may be a great combination.Well thats all for now, more later.
Date: 2004-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Folks:Have not been to the site for 6 weeks and the 2004 group has really made their presence known. Just got back from 6 weeks in not so sunny Florida. Had a great time, got in a few rays and some fishing. Caught a few fish which we ate, really great when fresh caught and cooked. The wife and I met "Burn" and his wife at Fernandina Beach, Fla. We treated them to a little pre-trail magic at our 5th wheel - steak, salad and potatoes. "Burn" is a great guy and I look forward to meeting him somewhere on the trail.A lot has changed since I was last on the site. My foot has healed nicely and I'm now doing 5-6 mile power walks every day. I've lost 20 lbs and working on some more. And I've got a new partner.
Date: 2004-03-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Folks:Well the weight loss program is going great guns. I'm right at a 34-35 lb loss. That translates into more than my pack weighs. Alright, I'll be walking up the trail with "no pack". I wonder how long that bubble will last? I figure it will bust not to long after Unicoi Gap.I was sitting here thinking about my motivation for this trip. In 2003 when I started out on the trail, I was walking North for 2 reasons. 1, I wanted to experience another great hike before it became physically impossible. And 2, I lost a good friend named Randy and in memory of him, I wanted to carry his Tennessee ball cap up the trail and leave it on Baxter peak. Well when I was forced to leave the trail, I turned Randy's hat over to his mother in Tennessee, I think not being able to carry Randy's hat to Katahdin was a bigger disappointment that not completing another thru hike. After the surgery on my foot, I realized there was a good chance that I could hike the trail in 2004. Now as I prepare for that hike, I want my attempt to be in part for Randy. When I gave Randy's mother his cap, it was obvious it meant a lot to her and there wasn't anyway I was going to ask her for it back. So I went on the net to the Universitry of Tenn and ordered a "coaches Cap". Now as I walk North, I will again be wearing an orange and white Tenn. cap for my friend's team. As a further reminder to myself and anyone else who reads the journal entires in the shelters, I will sign the entries with a smiling sunshine over and orange letter "T". That way I will leave a little something of Randy all along the trail. I guess I've got plenty of motivation, now it is just a matter of getting out there and doing it.Later.
Date: 2004-03-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Folks:The past couple days have been hectic. I drove to Inman, SC, Wed. and met with my friend "Shoe". "Shoe" and I have hiked all over the Southern Appalachians and have known each other many years. The purpose of my trip was to get Shoe up to date with the computer. He is computer literate but not computer accomplished. I wanted to show him how to take my digital camera memory and load the images onto his computer and then onto a CD and subsequently upload the better ones onto trail journals. And then I wanted to show him how to do the journal entries and how to up load the photos. This instruction is coming from someone who just the other day wrote a note to a trail journal hiker and after correcting the note twice, ended up posting all 3 versions to the hiker's journal. Anyway, between the 2 of us, we got everything done and "Shoe" is now computer accomplished...I wish "Shoe" was coming with me on this trip, but that is not in the cards. I know he will get a thrill out of following Shadow and me as we work our way North.After leaving "Shoe's", I drove to Eastover, S.C., on Thurs. and met with Shadow and his mom. We spent a couple hours going over his pack and equipment. We removed a few items and lightened some others. Notable was the toothbrush that was removed from its nice plastic case and then cut in half. The soap bar that was removed from its nice plastic container and put in a zip lock bag and the best of all, the roll of toilet paper that was reduced to a 4 days supply. When I first spotted that roll, I thought maybe the Shadow had a problem I didn't know about. He assured me he did not have a probblem and that it was just an oversight. We had a lot of laughs and I'm really looking forward to having him as a partner.I'm ready and I think Shadow is ready. Come on 3/25/2004.
Date: 2004-03-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Folks:Today has been a bummer. Started out with my transcriber calling me to say he is unable to upload a photo onto my journal site. So far we have not discovered what he is doing wrong.Following that conversation I picked up my digital camera to charge the batteries and it is not functioning. I charged 2 different sets of batteries and still no luck. It is dead! Trying now to find a place to repair it.I dug out my old 35 mm film camera and will carry it until my digital is fixed and shipped to me. I suspect I will not have my digital until at least Hot Springs or Damascus. I guess I'll have to have my film photos put on a disc so they can be eventually uploaded onto the journal site. Hope nothing else jumps up to clog up the works at this late hour.