morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-09-13
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Mahar Tote Rd (Whitehouse Landing)
Miles today: 5.9

I woke up and watched the orange sky get progressively brighter right from my tent. What a beautiful sunrise on the lake! We had hung our food from a tree but the mice still got in my bag again! They only ate garbage though so it again was mainly just the mess that was annoying. We headed out about 7:30 happy to have a short day ahead of us. It was a beautiful clear day with a light breeze blowing. The trail wasn't as nice as yesterday. There were lots of roots, rocks, and slippery planks to walk on, but it was still easier than it had been a couple of days ago. We only had one easy climb for the day of only about 400'. We stopped at Pemadumcook Lake where there was a spectacular view of Katahdin! What a sight! Owl, Ohm, 1/4 Moon were there when we got there and we all enjoyed the view for awhile. Rizzo showed up a few minutes later. We were all anxious to get to Whitehouse Landing though so we could get some lunch. We headed out and ran into TDS who was doing a flip flop. I hadn't seen him since Erwin, TN. He had taken time off to do a long paddle. After catching up with him we hiked the last bit to the landing and got the boat ride to the camp. What a beautiful setting. After lunch, Evil and I had washed some clothes in an old hand wringer washer and hung them on the line to dry. It seemed appropriate. None of the buildings have electricity. So, I couldn't use my phone much even though I had a signal. The bunkhouse has a woodstove so we should stay warm for the night. They are saying there is a chance for a frost. The bunkroom has a big common room so we had a place to hang out. It was only the 3 of us for the night. Bo Cephus and Adam (his brother who came to Monson to hike the rest of the trail with him) came in to dinner.
Date: 2007-09-14
From: Mahar Tote Rd (Whitehouse Landing)

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Received a call from M&M this morning. She is at Whitehouse landing in the 100 mile wilderness getting ready to have breakfast and get on the trail. Everything is great. She is on schedule and expects to complete this amazing journey on Monday, September 17, 2007! Saturday night she will be camping at Abol Bridge. Sunday night she will be at Katahdin Stream. She is looking forward to having her son and friends with her at the finish. Nancy#####################Thank you Nancy for providing the interim update and all of your support!!It was a cold night last night - thank goodness for the woodstove in the bunkhouse. Coffee was ready at 7:45. The lake was calm (it was rough last night with all the wind). Breakfast was at 8 and then we hopped in the boat to head back to the trail. We saw a bull moose on the side of the on the way back. He started running away as the boat got closer. I managed to snap a picture, but it wasn't very close. It was a beautiful morning - very cool, sunny, and blue skies. We were on the trail about 9 AM. We chatted as we walked and the first 5 miles went by quickly. We suddenly came upon a tentsite with a picnic table and a privy with toilet paper! We stopped for a nice long break. It was like days a couple of months ago when you hiked long days and still took long breaks. We continued on to Wadleigh Stream Lean-to and took a break there for lunch. We then hiked up to Nesuntabunt Mtn. There was a view of Katahdin but the summit was covered with clouds. At this point Katahdin was 16 air miles away and 36 trail miles away. It was a pretty good day. The terrain was not bad so were able to get some miles in. We were still tired though and glad to be done. Tomorrow we will he to Abol Bridge...unbelievable to think we are so close!!!
Date: 2007-09-15
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning excited to know I was going to get to see my son today. I had 3 people coming to join me on my finish - my son John and friends Harry and Terri. Harry was bringing my car for me and Terri was bringing my son! What a lucky person I am to have such friends. My son (age 24) has said from the beginning that he wanted to climb Katahdin with me when I finished my hike. So, the plan was for them to meet us at Abol Bridge. I took off pretty quickly. It was chilly and misty. I didn't stop until I got to the Rainbow Ledges. Then I took a snack break and waited for Pootz and Evil Eye. There were no views for us today with the clouds. We didn't stop too long. It started raining a little more and we decided to have lunch at the Hurd Brook Lean-to. We took our time and cooked a lunch. I figured John, Harry and Terri wouldn't be there too early anyway. The rest of the way was pretty easy. It was raining when we got there around 2:30. Pogue was there waiting for Bo Cephus. We were glad to be able to go in the store out of the rain to get a snack and drinks. I called Terri and they were about 1.5 hours away. With the rain we decided it would be nice to stay somewhere other than our tents for the night. It was quite cold and they were calling for frost tonight. As we waited around Pogue told us TomB was camped there! So we went and found him and had a great reunion. He said he was waiting for us so we could all finish together! What a nice surprise. We had been hoping he would and were following his progress. We were all happy to see the cars pull in to pick us up. We headed to the Big Moose Inn to stay for the night. It was a bit expensive for what you get, but we were happy to get settled. The heat wasn't working in the cabin, there were no towels, etc...it seemed like things were just not up to the $315 for the night in the cabin with 7 people. We had dinner there and also felt the meals were quite expensive for what we got. We could have gone into Millinocket, but it seemed so much further away. We still had a nice evening and it was good to be in out of the cold and rain.
Date: 2007-09-16
From: Abol Bridge

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: few clouds

Harry and Terri got an early start since they were planning to hike North Brother, Fort, South Brother and Coe to work on some peaks that Terri needed. John took the rest of us to the store and then back to Abol bridge for us to walk the 10 miles into the park. We started hiking around 10AM since we knew it was going to be a pretty easy day. John went back to the Big Moose Inn and watched football to kill time until we got done. We had a very nice, leisurely day. It was a beautiful sunny day with only a few clouds here and there. We heard it was suppose to be even better tomorrow! What a nice day and nice hike. The terrain was easy...a few places with roots and rocks but not bad at all. We took our time and stopped at Pine Point to enjoy the Nesowadnehunk Falls. We ambled on and decided to take the side trail (very short) to Big Niagara Falls to have our lunch. It was really winding down...we felt like we could relax today and just enjoy. We decided we wanted to make sure to take another side trip to Daicey Pond Campground. This is where people take a picture of Katahdin reflected in the pond. What a beautiful view. There was just enough breezed that the pond had some ripples so we didn't get a perfect reflection, but it was still great. It was well worth the stop. Okay, only a couple more miles to go so we headed on to our destination. We went to the ranger station at Katahdin Stream and registered. I was number 230. They said the numbers were down a little this year. We got a lean-to site at Katahdin Stream and John got there just before us so it was perfect. John and I took some Mother/son time and drove in to the camp store to get some snacks and whatnot to bring back for everyone. When Harry and Terri got back, Harry said he had stored his cooler outside the car so it wouldn't be as hot and it was missing when they got back to the car. He had a very nice bottle of champagne in there for my finish so he was upset about it. In walks Rizzo with a duty free bag and a Canadian beer. He said someone had given it to Grits and then Grits gave it to him. It turned out it was the contents of Harry's cooler! A couple had found it and apparently (?) thought it was trail magic and took it to the Birches for the thru hikers. Grits said he didn't drink but would pass it on. Anyway, Harry got his bottle of champagne back (thanks Rizzo!). It was going to be a cold night. We were all pretty excited about tomorrow.
Date: 2007-09-17
From: Katahdin Stream CG

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

Well, this is it. Today is the day. What a strange feeling. John and I planned to get going before everyone else. John hasn't done any hiking so we weren't sure how long we would take. Plus, it was nice to be able to hike with him by myself. We got up at 5 AM. It was still dark but we got things packed up, ate breakfast and got ready to go. It was pretty cold. We started out about 6 AM once it was light enough to walk without headlamps. The first mile is pretty easy. It was wonderful to have my son with me and chat with him as we hiked. He moved along with no problem. Then came the rock scrambles. He loves that kind of stuff. He was rock hopping and having a blast. Me on the other hand...well, I'm not as good with things that aren't meant for short legs. We had a great time though. Grits passed us...another thru-hiker on his 2nd journey. He had started soon after us today. We got to the Tablelands and I stopped to get a little water from Thoreau Spring. We kept watching to see if the others were behind us, but we didn't see them. Then we got close enough to see the sign and the summit. I was trying to decided what to do - do I wait for the others before summiting or go to the summit and wait. We could see for a long way behind us so I knew it would be quite awhile before anyone else got there. So, I decided to summit. I liked the idea of completing the journey on my own with just my son there to see me. I couldn't help but shed a few tears. It was about 10:15 AM...pretty much the same time I got to Springer Mountain 6 months ago on 3/17. It was a picture perfect day. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Grits was the only other person up there. He took some pictures for us. I stood on John's shoulders to take a picture of me at the sign. The others arrived about 11:15 and the 4 of us touched the sign together. There was a lot of picture taking. Others arrived in the meantime. Harry brought my bottle of Champagne...thank you Harry!! Radar, Quatro, and Gandalf arrived and celebrated too. This was a triple crown finish for Gandalf. He had already done the PCT and CDT. What an amazing accomplishment. We didn't leave the summit until after 1:00. Now for the descent...it didn't seem fair that we still had to go back down that difficult terrain...we were done after all! It was really hard on the knees to come back down. John did really well although I think he ended up with some blisters and we all got some sun. Terri and Harry went on over to Hamlin Peak. Terri finished her Northeast 115 on Hamlin!! That is a major accomplishment too. Congratulations Terri! Once down we headed in to Millinocket to the AT Lodge for the night. What a wonderful, exciting, beautiful, and emotionally exhausting day. I can't believe it. The journey is done.
Date: 2007-02-10
To: Greetings
Miles today: 0.0

It is strange trying to think of how to begin a journal that will hopefully encompass one of the defining accomplishments of my life. I am assuming that most of the people who read this will already know me to some extent but even so an introduction of some kind is in order. After graduating last May with a degree alowing me to teach English to kids in grades 6-12 I began the requisite job hunt but I found that I really was not motivated at all in this pursuit. Now this may not seem that strange (I mean really, who wants a job?) but I truly do want to teach, I enjoy it. However despite this desire I found that I also did not feel ready to begin teaching. It was not that I was academically unprepared it was more that I felt mentally unprepared. What did I have to offer students beyond a piece of paper from a college? Now I do not expect the trail to turn me into the world's most fantastic educator, or even for it to give me the necessary life experience to become a worthy role model, but hopefully it will give me the necessary confidence in myself so that I at least believe in my own capabilities. If I can accomplish a thru-hike, then imparting knowledge to the next generation should be easy, right? This is the reasoning I am now at in my life. However, the idea of hiking the AT came to me gradually over the summer following my graduation from college. Probably the most direct instigating factor was that I managed to land a part time job at the local REI. This job really stoked the fire of my love for the outdoors and also provided a great deal of valuable education about hiking in general (In the last 8-9 months while prepping for my hike I have also had to unlearn alot of the stuff I learned at REI about what materials and equipment is actually necessary). While working there I met some very cool people, one a previous thru-hiker, who also loved hiking and the outdoors and the idea of a thru-hike grew until it became a plan. So in general one thing led to another and now here I am with a case of Springer Fever three weeks away from starting my attempt at a thru-hike of the AT.
Date: 2007-03-08
To: Three days till go time!
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I finished up my last day as a substitute teacher today and there is only three more days until I will be at Amicalola to hike the Approach Trail up Springer. The original party that was supposed to accpmpany me for the first week (my dad, an uncle, and a brother) has dwindled down to just my dad but Tom (the brother) has promised to join me for a week or so at a later date. This was slightly disappointing but not too catastrophic as this will give me company for two weeks instead of just the one. Hopefully, it will not be too lonely anyway as, from what I've read, there is a fairly prolific community of fellow hikers.
Date: 2007-03-10
To: T-Minus 10 hours
Miles today: 0.0

Well, my dad and I drove down to Georgia today and we are now in a hotel just about to go to bed. It's hard to believe that my hike will begin in the morning. The drive was uneventful and the weather was absolutely beautiful the whole way and the weather forecast shows that the weather should be good for most of the next week with only one thunderstorm predicted for Wednesday and the high temps in the 50's or above and lows above 40 for the whole week. Sure should be nice if the meteorologist have it right.
Date: 2007-03-11
From: Amicalola

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Dad and I woke up about 6:30 and had breakfast at the hotel. We packed up and left by 6:30 to meet our shuttle driver at 8. The drive took a little longer than expected but we arrived only a couple of minutes late which didn't turn out to matter because the driver's other passenger was an hour late after forgeting about the switch to daylight savings time.    We arrived at Amicalola State Park about 10:30 and signed in at the visitor center. My pack weighed 32 lbs on the scale which was a little more than I expected but not too bad with food, stove fuel, and water. The climb to the top of Springer was very enjoyable in wonderful 70 degree weather. When I reached the top around 4:30 it seemed surreal to finally be there looking at the famous plaque that starts the trail after so many months of planning. We took photos, signed the register, and after a quick lunch dad and I continued our hike past our first AT blazes. We got to Stover Creek shelter at 6:30
Date: 2007-03-12
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Gap 
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

Weather was again great today with sun and highs close to 80. This was actually almost too hot but can't really complain considering that it would be more normal for the temperatures to be in the 40's from what I've been told. Ended up getting a bit sunburned actually but not painfully so. Gooch Mt. Shelter where dad and I slept tonight is extremely nice with two sleeping floors and a nice over hang with a picnic table. Had my first real social experience with other hikers at a shelter today and everyone seems really nice and pleasant to be around. One guy in particular was quite funny as he was going through his 70 lbs (no joke) pack and giving things away to anyone who would take it. If noone would take it he's leaving it in the shelter. Turns out he is an ex-English teacher who couldn't take the beauocracy of the schools so he quit after 15 years or so and started a career with the airlines. Kind of worrisome how many teachers seem to get burned out with the system in a relatively short time.
Date: 2007-03-13
From: Gooch Gap 

To: Blood Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 13.8

Yet another beautiful day although it is supposed to rain tomorrow. Definately noticed an increased level of humidity. Dad and I were told repeatedly last night and today how difficult the final climb up Blood Mt was so we planned to stop at Slaughter Gap campsites about a mile short of the summit. However, once we got to the campsite and had dinner we decided to ascend the remaining 800 ft with another guy about my age named Curtis. The ascent was nowhere near as bad as we were led to believe and the view and shelter were definately worth it as sleeping in the small two man tent is very cramped. The summit of Blood Mt at 4460 ft is the highest point in Georgia and as I said the view is incredible although there was no real sunset due to a great deal of haze on the horizon.   The shelter is also quite unique if not exactly nice. It is constructed entirely of stone and has two separate rooms, one with a sleeping deck and one with a stone fireplace which is unfortunately filled in with stone. Still it is a very interesting place contructed by the CCC during the 1930's.
Date: 2007-03-14
From: Blood Mt. Shelter

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, the rain held off today but according to the Mountain Crossing Outfitters at Neels Gap it will rain tomorrow and on through Friday. We left Blood Mt kinda late around 9:30 and got into our first civilization, the above mentioned outfitters, around 11:00. At the outfitters I purchased a third compression strap for my pack, a real wind screen, and most importantly a hot dog, chips, and soda. I had planned to buy a few days of food here but I seem to have overpacked severely on the food as I still have sever days and POUNDS of food leftover so we didn't buy any food other than the hot dogs. Dad and I got into Low Gap Shelter about 6:45 where Rattler and Wirenut, two hikers who have been going the the same mileage as us, were already eating dinner but had pitched their tents to sleep in. This left only one spring break hiker in the shelter so we again didn't have to set up the cramped tent. This was good. In fact I am loving this so far and Life is good!
Date: 2007-03-15
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 14.9

I smell something fierce tonight; that something is me. Today started pretty overcast in terms of weather and mood. It's strange how that can happen that the weather seems to have such a strong impact on how a person feels but beyond that Dad's knee, which had been bothering him earlier, really started acting up today. The first 3-4 miles were not too bad but then we hit a very rocky section and this broke the camels back and Dad had to stop at Blue Mt Shelter. It was decided that I would hike on ahead and pick up the car from Dicks Creek Gap and drive back tomorrow to pick him up at Unicoi Gap which was about 2.2 miles from Blue Mt. The climb up out of Unicoi Gap was very long and ascended about 1100 ft in just over a mile. Just as I reached the summit it bagan to sprinkle and by the time I started to descend it was coming down pretty hard. This was the first test of my rain preparadness and I seem to have passed alright as nothing got soaked. However, I will have to start carrying the rain cover for my homemade pack as, despite my best efforts, some of the seams leaked a little. The rain was actually quite enjoyable as the temps stayed in the mid 50's. The accompanying haze and dense fog was quite pretty also. The next major climb up Tray Mt was a bit painful as the soles of my feet began to hurt and my knees started to hurt as well. I think that I am perhaps going to fast too early in the hike. There was no view from the top of Tray despite it's 4500+ ft due to the fog. I got into Tray Mt shelter about 6:30 and immediately realized that my hopes of having a spot in the shelter were gone as there was 20 or more tents pitched all around. This meant that I had to jerry rig my shelter from the rain fly and the groundcloth of the two man tent Dad and I had been using. I ended up using my trekking poles to hold it up and staking it out using a couple stakes that I had and tying to rocks and trees. After setting up the shelter I went to cook dinner at the shelter and sat around and talked to a couple of the many hikers for 45r minutes or so. It is amazing how nice and easy to talk to the people are out here. It is a very wonderful community.Well, I am in my makeshift shelter now and I am reasonably confident it will keep me dry as long as the wind does not pick up. That confidence is about to be tested as it just started sprinkling again...
Date: 2007-03-16
From: Tray Mt. Shelter

To: Dick's Creek
Miles today: 10.6

Well, the shelter held up nicely despite the downpour all of last night. It rained hard but not too windy luckily. I was up and was on the trail by 8:45 today and although rainy it was still in the fifties so not too enenjoyable, however, the temperatures dropped and by 11:30 it was about 40 degrees. This, with wind and the fact that my knees were really bothering me today, made hiking rather unenjoyable for the first time. However, late in the day I was chatting with another hiker with whom I had been leapfrogging (we were passing eachother repeatedly throughout the day)and I told him I had a car at Dick's Creek. He was very interested in this and decided to hike out with me in order to catch a ride into Hiawassee to a hotel. Having company seemed to help the knee somehow, maybe it was just that I wasn't thinking about it as I was talking. We got too the car about 1 or so after the owner of Cloud 9 Hiker's Hostel tried to hustle us into staying at his place. The guy seemed very pushy and definately rubbed me the wrong way as he was hiking a quarter mile up the trail to ask us if we were looking for a hostel. I dropped U-Turn (the guy I was hiking with) off at the Hiawassee Inn and then went to pick up Dad at Unicoi. Dad had another Hiker, Tim, with him. Tim was actually the other rider in our original shelter ride to Amicalola so it was kinda nice to see him again. I finally got to the hotel about 4 and the shower was glorious. Dad and I went out to dinner at a local restaurant and had ribs and couple beers which were also glorious. Then it was off to the laundromat and the grocery store for a small amount of resupply as I still had a fair amount of extra food. I'll hit the trail again tomorrow I think but only do a few miles as my knees is has been bothering me all day even withouth the pack, very stiff. Next update will hopefully be in six days or so...
Date: 2007-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm about to leave the hotel to get a quick hair cut before I hit the trail again. Here is a link to all of the pictures I have taken thus far. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgreszle/Also, looks like alot of people have viewed the journal so far, please feel free to leave a quick note in the guest book, encouragement from strangers feels just as good as from those I know. Thanks.