morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-09-20
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Mea culpa!I received an email from Trailweaver asking about my whereabouts and telling me that people had signed my guestbook asking. So I checked out my journals and found out that:a)        Trailjournals hadn¢t forwarded any of the guestbook entries as emails which had been done, so I didn¢t know that comments and questions had been left in my guestbook. b)        I never reviewed and posted the rough draft I had written of my entry explaining that I was off the trail. I knew I was delinquent on filling in the details of days hiked, but I thought I had at least posted that I was back home in Illinois.I¢m sorry to have left everyone hanging like that.So, a quick update now, and I¢ll try to get more polished entries up later¢¦.Angus and I did hike in Maine, but it was clear I was not doing well enough to continue hiking. I bailed at Jo Mary Road, and Angus hiked on, doing 60 miles in 3 days! When I picked him up in Monson, I still was not feeling up for much more than sitting in the car, so we headed home.This week I¢ll be starting the next round of medical visits to try to find out what¢s up. I should not feel this old and tired and achy day after day when just a few months ago I was walking miles and miles, feeling strong and free.I¢ve mostly readjusted to life back home. Running water and a refrigerator of food are not two of the wonders of the world as they were a few short months ago. A hot shower, although still welcome, is no longer a cause of major excitement and ecstasy. I don¢t bury my nose in the pile of still-warm, fresh-from-the-dryer laundry and let out a rapturous ¢Ahhhhh.¢ I don¢t wonder where I will lay my head tonight or where the next water source is.   Those issues have been replaced by the more typical need-to-pay-the-bills, take-the-dog-to-the-vet, mow-the-grass tasks.However, the Trail is still very present in my mind. A scent or a sound can trigger powerful memories, and suddenly I¢m back out there ¢ sweating and puffing my way through a climb, or feeling the rain on my skin, or standing at an overlook gazing down into the valley below. I check Trailjournals for updates on hikers who are still on the trail. I think of changes I will make to gear or technique when I hike next.I find myself wondering if I could finish my hike as a series of section hikes next year. Is there anyway I could attempt a thruhike next year? Or if not *next* year, how about 2012¢¦?
Date: 2010-04-05
From: Springer

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Gear packed & ready. Bryan will go with us & drive car back home. Pick up hiking partner, Lance Renault (aka Pilgram) at 7:00AM. Flat tire outside Dawsonville. With 6 hands, got the car back on the road in 15 min. Arrive @ Springer Mtn parking area off Ser. Rd. 11:46. Hiked .9 mi. on AT BACK toward southern terminus @ Springer. Began our hike 12:30. Arrived Hawk Mtn shelter 4:15pm. BEAUTIFUL DAY. Warm (in 80's). Very tired. Legs did not seem as strong as I thought they would be. Knoor Brocoli noodles for supper. Set up tent. VERY comfortable. Sleeping bag & liner, cozy.
Date: 2010-04-06
To: Big Cedar Mtn
Miles today: 13.3

Up before dawn - 6:30. Put up sleeping bag 1st. 2 bags of oatmeal, coffee & Tang for breakfast. Packed up & left camp at 8:00AM; first ones out. Had lunch at Gooch Gap Shelter. Very nice. Cool breeze. 12:00 noon. Arrived Woody Gap Hwy 60, Suches - 4:00PM. Fill 2 Liters water. Arrive top of Big Cedar Mtn @ 5:10PM. Made camp. Great view - no water.
Date: 2010-04-07
From: Big Cedar Mtn

To: Baggs Creek
Miles today: 13.8

Up at 6:45A. Left camp @ 8:15AM. Arrive top of Blood Mtn. Highest point on the AT. Met Dragon Tail & Sherpa. Reached Neel's Gap @ 2:00. Arrive @ Baggs Creek @ 5:10. Campsite & water. Saw 1st Timber Rattler within 1/4 mile of Baggs Creek. Today we passed the famous Blood Mountain. According to tales of the Creek and Cherokee, a battle between the two nations on the slopes of the mountain left so many dead and wounded that the ground ran red with blood, which inspired the name. Blood Mountain is the most visited spot on the A.T. south of Clingmans Dome, and the impact of more than 40,000 visitors a year has taken its toll. See picture of Blood Mountain Shelter.
Date: 2010-04-08
From: Baggs Creek

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

Up @ 6:30, rain intermedite. Instant Breakfast. Left at 8:00. Reached Hogpen Gap @ 9:30. Stopped at Low Gap Shelter. Water, privy - 4 people already in shelter. Rain, wind, lightening - made it to Blue Mtn shelter. 13,8 mile day. 5:00PM. Shelter full. Miracle. Rain stopped - sun out - set up tent. Ate supper & went to bed. Cold. Wore baffin jacket and beanie. This shelter is notorious for cold north winds that blow up Blue Mountain from the gap below. Today we passed Chattahoochee Spring,source of the Chattahoochee River, which supplies drinking water to Atlanta and almost half of the state¢s population. Some 500 miles from this point, the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Springs rising on the other side of the continental divide flow to the Tennessee River and eventually to the Mississippi.
Date: 2010-04-10
From: Sassafrass Gap

To: Camp Sure
Miles today: 13.0

Left at 8:30. Got to Dick's Creek/Hwy 76 & had lunch. Trail Magic. Hike on to a placed named Camp Sure. Poor water, small knoll to set up tents. We were the only ones camped there. Hard day. Foot blisters. 2.1 miles from the NC line.
Date: 2010-04-11
From: Camp Sure

To: Beech Gap
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Another HARD climb. Started around 8:30 out to Chuck Gal Trail. Crossed my FIRST of 14 state lines @ 9:30am. At Bly Gap, we entered the Nantahala National Forest with 4,000-foot gaps and 5,000-foot peaks. Nantahala is Cherokee for ¢land of the noonday sun.¢ Long climbs between the Stecoah¢Cheoah Mountain area and Cheoah Bald offer panoramic views of western North Carolina.Spent the night at Beech Gap. Trail much improved. No 50% grades. Nice campsite. Poor water. Started just the two of us, joined by 2 more thru hikers.
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Beech Gap

To: Mooney Gap
Miles today: 7.8

Got to Mooney Gap about 1:00. This gap has been identified as among the wettest places in the eastern U.S., with an estimated annual precipitation of 93.5 inches. Waited there for our Trail Angels to pick us up. Back at their cabin we enjoyed our 1st hot showers since we started a week ago. Did laundary. Caught up on email. Enjoyed a great meal of BBQ chicken, parsely potatoes, green beans, homemade bread & pineapple upside down cake. I'd sent my bounce-box to their house, so I was able to recharge my cell phone there.
Date: 2010-04-13
From: Franklin, NC (friend's house)

To: ZERO DAY - Town chores
Miles today: 0.0

Good night's sleep on a real bed last night. Quiche, sausage & fresh fruit for breakfast. Into town to run errands (ride courtesy of our hosts). Outfitters, local Rx store, and groceries. Then we went by Ron Haven's Franklin Motel where we caught up with Rocky whom we'd met earlier on the Trail. We also met Krispy Kritter, who is thru hiking, and a friend of our hosts. Back at the house, we prossessed thru what we had purchased. Dinner was homemade spaghetti sauce, generous salads from Kim's garden, a hot bread. Just trying to get everything back into my pack, being sure I took no more than I would need before the next town stop a week up the Trail, was an onorous task. So completes our 1st "town chore day". I understand why they call it "work". It is.
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Mooney Gap

To: Siler Bald
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

On the Trail again. Up before dawn. Breakfast at a local diner. The Lippy's drove us back to the Trail, where we had gotten off Monday. We left them with our Bounce Boxes to ship on, where they will await us at the Hike Inn in Fontana Dam, NC. The temps were in the mid 80's today, which made for some hot hiking. We crossed over the infamous "Albert Mountain", an outstanding and historically significant peak in the Standing Indian Basin section along the Appalachian Trail. Its summit is very rocky and involves quite a steep ascent with some light scrambling. On the summit is a fire lookout.
Date: 2010-04-15
From: Siler Bald

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Our hike today took us past the infamous Wayah Bald which is a high-altitude treeless open area in Nantahala National Forest, near Franklin, North Carolina. The Wayah Bald Observation Tower is located at the area's highest point (5,385 feet); the stone observation tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 for fire detection. The Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail cross at Wayah Bald. Wayah Bald received its name from the Cherokee natives. It was named "Wa-ya" (pronounced Why-ya"), the Cherokee word for wolf, after the red wolves that once inhabited the area. Spear points found on the bald indicate that indigenous people used the area as hunting grounds more than eleven thousand years ago.
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Brown Fork Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: few clouds

Today our hike assended high to the Wesser Tower (see picture). After leaving there, the trail desended into the valley of the Nantahala River, the land of the noonday sun. An elevation change of nearly 3000 feet and several steep, rocky sections made this a strenuous hike, but the views from Wesser Bald and the Jumpup are excellent, mountain laurel and rhododendron are everywhere. Most of this section runs along sharp ridgetops with no water. Long haul out of Fontana today! Seriously, the trail went uphill the entire afternoon! The grades were gentle but it was a super long day. Thankfully it was cooler today but sunny and beautiful again! The ridges are carpeted with pretty wildflowers and being high up on the ridge was just wonderful walking.
Date: 2010-05-05
From: Roan Mountain Shelter

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 15.4

387.0 total Beautiful views. Hump and Little Hump mountains. Hiker Soto injured ankle. Other hikers pitched in to get him down. Gray Wondere, pa carried his pack down. He's the man. Hope to be at Kincora on Friday 5/7. Note: Lippy fill in picture 'till we get one of Shagman's)
Date: 2010-06-05
From: Montbellow, Va

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We are at the Dutch Haus B&B in Montebello VA, will be here one night and then on to Waynesboro and the SNP (Shenandoah Nat. Park, 103 miles). Click on the left tab that says "video" you will see a video of a large timber rattler taken by our hiking companion from GA, Chicken Feathers. we are doing fine and now see the end of the hike approaching for my two hiking companions that will be getting off trail at Boiling Springs and Doncannon PA in a little under 300 miles. We had gone .5 miles off trail to get to the shelter for water and to eat lunch. Pilgrim and I left out before CF and between the time we reached the AT trail and CF came walking up the snake crawled onto the trail. I saw CF do a quick turn and a yell and thought he had twisted his ankle instead he had almost stepped on the snake. You will see the snake do a little jump near the end of the video when I prodded him with my trekking pole.Hope you all are doing well, will write more later.Shagman aka Keith
Date: 2010-06-08
To: Waynesboro VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello folks,We arrived in Waynesboro VA last night and will stay in town today and hike out tomorrow. We will start the 103 mile section of AT in SNP (Shenandoah NP) and we understand that it is a little easier then some of the earlier stretches, we will see. They all seem hard to me.The country is somewhat familiar to me as we will pass by above the Elkton area where Jacobs, the company that I worked for, designed the Coors Brewery in the Shenandoah Valley. I have many fond memories of trips made up to the project site from when it was a corn field to a full blown brewery. We started on our tenth week on the trail Monday. A classmate of mine from VMI and his wife will be coming to visit us this afternoon from Richmond. I look forward to seeing them as it has been sometime since we last got together. I even managed to get by the barbershop for a haircut and beard trim. We also learned that that three of our day hiking friends in the GNHA hiking club started hiking from the north end of SNP on Monday at Front Royal VA and will do 56 miles to Hwy 33 where they will meet their ride back home. We hope to pass David Morris, Heinz Looser and Delores Flores on our way up but will only have three days to do the 47 miles and it will depend at what time they will arrive at the hwy.We have heard that a hiker staying at one of the shelters that we recently stayed at was found dead by a lady hiker with the trail name of Ms. Joy whom we passed about a week ago. Have been wondering who the hiker might have been, very little information other then some rumors.Thanks for your words of encouragement and support, keep in touch.Shagman aka Keith
Date: 2010-06-23
To: Carlisle PA
Miles today: 0.0

Hello All,Just an update, We are at Lance's sons home in Carlisle PA, mile point 1073, got here yesterday but under some bad circumstances. Lance started to lose energy on Monday and had a fever that night, it broke he said in the morning and we started to hike on towards Caledonia SP. About noon Lance was feeling very badly and we just barely made it to the park. Lance called his son and he picked us up about 4:00 pm on Tuesday, by 7:00 pm we were in the Emergency Room at the local hospital, his temp was 105 degrees. After ice packs, cool water blankets, Tylenol etc. they were able to get his temp back down to 99.2 and he returned home. They could find no reason for the temp hike except for possibly preheat stroke, everything checked out fine. Lyme disease results still pending. Lance is off the trail just 17 miles short of the half way point of the AT and 39 miles short of his destination, bummer! He plans to do the second half next year and will just have to start a few miles further south then originally planned. Our hiking companion for several weeks, Chicken Feathers also had to leave the trail short of his destination of Duncannon PA due to a suspected case of Lyme disease. I will be starting solo tomorrow. Carlisle is a pretty little college town with Dickinson College, Penn State School of Law and the US War College with nice old homes and a campus atmosphere. Lance's son Mark, wife Tara and two daughters live right in the campus area and Mark teaches math at Shippenburg College. They have provided some wonderful meals and have been able to accommodate us even with us coming two days earlier then planned, Tara's Mother arrived at the airport last night and the family had just returned from Amelia Island in GA the day before after having their flight cancelled. They are amazingly resilient.I hope you all are doing well and will let you know what traveling solo is like after I have tried it for a while. Actually most of the hikers are solo but keep running into familiar faces. We saw some at Caledonia SP that had even taken the time to get in the local park pool for a short swim with a bath and clothing wash in the shower room.Shagman aka Keith
Date: 2010-07-20
From: New Hampshire

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 17.0

Completed 1448 miles. Crossed into CT @ 2 pm today. Tenting @ Ten Mile River Lean To. 17 mi. Kent,CT tomorrow for a nearo. Scribe has 3 new photo disk & promises to load them w/in a week (very time consuming (:>)).
Date: 2010-08-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Note to Shagman's followers from Dodger (Shagman's hiking partner) Since Shagman is with me each night, folks may be interested in my Google map. Please make it available to anyone interested in Shagman's location. It is updated with my SPOT each night.DodgerAT Google Map (click on the balloons to get Shagman's latest email trail update... assuming good cell reception)Notice it also has an RSS feed button.http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=103364299899361801310.000464251a65eab8fcbed&z=11
Date: 2010-08-24
To: Heading into Maine
Miles today: 0.0

Hello All,This will have to be quick as the library will be closing in a fewminutes. Dodger and I are now in Gorham NH, we just completed thenotorious White Mtns and I can tell you they really wore me out. Theviews are spectacular, nothing before this has compared but on theother hand you work for every view you get. On top of that the weatherhas been quite rainy and that compounds the difficulty especially whengoing down hill over rocky sections. Mt Washington is the highest peakin NH at 6288 ft which might not sound like much to those folks out inCO and other areas but it has the most extreme weather ever recorded.The max temp recorded is 72 deg, the worst recorded temp and windtogether is -47 deg and 110 mph and the highest winds ever recordedwas 231 mph. When you get above 5500 ft you get into the Alpine zoneor above the tree line so one is fully exposed to the elements. Theday we hiked to the top, clouds covered all the views, it was rainingand the wind gusting between 30 to 50 mph. The whole thing feltsurreal. I started out with a light wt synthetic long sleeve shirt andmy rain shell on, before long I was freezing and all my other coldweather gear at the bottom of my backpack, duh. finally made it to oneof the huts, Lake of the Clouds, where I was able to get some soup,coffee and cake and put on the rest of my cold weather gear beforeheading to the summit. Keep in mind this is August. the clouds clearedand we had great views at the top of the mountain. We stayed there fora short time for more food before moving on to the next hut, MadisonSprings. Folks pay money to stay at the huts but thru hikers if theyget there at the right time can get work for stay which means food anda place to sleep on the dining tables, it's a great deal and we did itat four of the huts. Dodger would always get there way ahead of me buta little early to be able to get work for stay, so he would say he wastraveling with an older gentleman and that it would be another hour orso before I would get there and I would be toast. It was the truth andit enabled us to get to stay. They don't send you off if there is noplace to go safely before dark.That's a mighty long paragraph but as I said this will have to bequick. We are about 17 miles from ME and then we have 280 miles to go.Unfortuanately some of the most difficult hiking is ahead in thesouthern part of ME in the Mahoosic Range especially Mahoosic Notch,about a mile of boulder crunching. The average time from Gorham to Mt.Katahdin ME is 24 days.All for now, as always thanks for your thoughts and messages.Shagman aka Keith
Date: 2010-09-04
From: Little Swift River Pond campsite

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Arrived Stratton, ME. MP 1991.3 for night in motel, shower, laundary, food & resupply. Rained HARD last night. Stayed in shelter. Nine Colbey college students tented outside. Seven ended up IN shelter before morning. Quite a jam. Stuff all over. Only 188 miles left to go. Out of the mountains tomorrow. Thank God!
Date: 2010-09-10
From: Caratunk, ME

To: Monson, Me
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hello Folks,Well, we have just arrived in Monson ME about 115 miles short of Mt Katahdin, from here we enter the 100 mile wilderness.We are now pretty much out of the mountains with only a few to go before the big climb up Maine's tallest peak. They say the last 50 miles to Baxter State Park is a cake walk, we will see about that. Can't wait to wrap this thing up and get back to the world of comforts, tired of sleeping in tents and shelters and eating pop tarts for breakfast. We hope to summit Katahdin on 9/18 and then I plan to catch a ride to Millinocket and from there take a bus to the closest AmTrack where I will sleep and read on the train until arriving in good old Greenville.Dodger and I are still hiking together although we make an unusual duo. He is much faster then I am and is always at the destination long before I arrive. Sometimes he may go to the next shelter or I might run out of daylight and have to camp for the night but the next day he is waiting for me to arrive. It has really made this part of the hike much more enjoyable having someone to connect with at the end of the day or when going into town.There must be moose all over Maine, we see their droppings everywhere but so far neither of us has seen an actual live moose. Lots of beaver dams and ponds all along the trail, loons making their strange calls and the other day early in the morning while camped out on a sandy beach could here a coyote making his erie howl at the moon. We crossed the Kennebec River several days ago and to do that they have a canoe cross over and pick you up to take you across, two at a time. The river looks pretty harmless but due to dams that discharge water the water level can change quickly. We are now fording some rivers as they are not suitable for rock hopping and do not have bridges. It's a nuisance as you have to take off your boots and socks, carry them overthe wilderness at a place called White House Landing. You take a short walk off trail and come to a river where you blow a horn for a boat to come and pick you up. The next day they will take you back to the trail.One last quick story, the other day I noticed that I was missing my pack cover which I put on to protect it my pack from rain, it fall off while I was hiking. Several days later I had a young hiker going north pass me and as we usually do had a short conversation and I asked if he might have seen a pack cover on the trail, he immediately said yes and pulled out my pack cover and returned it to me. A few days later while walking the trail saw a North Face fleech jacket on the ground, picked it up and hung it on the outside of my pack hoping it belonged to a north bound hiker. Guess whose? It was the same fellow that found my cover, Hatteras Jack.All for now, next email hopefully will be after the hike has been completed. Thanks for your support.Shagman aka Keith
Date: 2008-03-01
To: Amicalola Falls State Park, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

In 2008 I carried a voice recorder on a thru hike. This is the transcription from that record. That little recorder made it possible for me to take much more extensive notes for a thorough description of my hike and hiking companions. The first day of hiking for me was March 2nd, and during my hike I met several other distance hikers who had started the same day. One guy, Pickax actually started two weeks later and caught me on his last day in Shenandoah National Park.1 Mar 2008: My friend, Greg, generously offered to drive me from Irmo, SC to the trailhead at Springer Mountain in Amicalola Falls State Park north of Atlanta. Weather has been mild this winter, but there has been enough rain that all the usual water sources are providing that vital fluid. There is no snow on the Great Smoky Mountains at this moment. Cynthia surprised me with a Hennessy Hammock for a Christmas gift. Thanks Cynthia! My new down sleeping bag from GoLite weighs only 1 lb 3 oz and is supposed to keep me "warm" down to 20 degrees. Goodnight. I have a ton of things to do before dawn, so I'm going to "sleep" for a few hours now. I've learned how to take pictures with my cell phone, so there should be some of those on my Picasa site before too long. Last years experiences provided convincing education about the merits of traveling light. Maybe the new digital recorder will survive with a "running" commentary.