morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-11-08
From: Big Walker Inn, Bland, VA

To: Chestnut Hill Shelter 
Miles today: 22.0

Anya was still sick this morning. She called for the shuttle to take me back to the trail and her and Josh south to Atkins, where she could recuperate. This left me with two days of hiking alone.The shuttle dropped me off in front of the Primitive Baptist Church of the Mountains. I was tempted to stay for Sunday services - Primitive Baptists are known for "shape-note" or "sacred harp" singing, an eerie, old world style of music I was introduced to by Quakers in Baltimore. Instead I got an early start on a long day of hiking.The first few miles flew by. As an "extroverted introvert" I love being around people but I need solitude to recharge. It was a good thinking day. I thought about people I love, about my dreams and goals, about resolutions for when I return home. 18 miles into my day I stumbled across some beer and Doritos someone left for hikers - my first trail magic in a long time. I "humped" them on my back to the shelter that night.I reached the shelter after dark. It sat high atop a mountain in a grassy meadow. The view of the night sky was spectacular, like being in a planetarium. After spending some time communing with the milky way I went to look for water, but couldn't find the trail. What did I do? I called dad and had him look up a satellite image of shelter on google maps, of course. :-) Thanks to dad and google I found my way.
Date: 2009-11-09
From: Chestnut Hill Shelter

To: Exxon Station, Atkins, VA
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up to a scarlet sky. After packing up I followed the trail across more high grassy meadows, golden in the morning light. In the distance were faint purple ridges. While getting water at a spring-fed pond, I turned on my radio and caught an NPR interview with author Barbara Kingsolver. The interviewer was walking with her "near her home on Laurel Creek, near the Appalachian Trail." Checking my guidebook, I confirmed that I just walked past Laurel Creek yesterday. Probably the only close brush with celebrity I'll have on the trail!More descents into cool valleys overgrown with laurel, foot-bridges over clear mountain streams, ascents back onto wooded ridges. All this as I listened to news of the health care bill the House passed yesterday. Then, onto rolling, cow-filled pastures and the sound of a freeway in the distance. It started clouding over as I approached the town of Atkins, getting in at dusk. Spaghetti dinner at a southern cooking place. On to the Exxon Station to resupply food. Little did I know I was about to meet the most dedicated gas station owner EVER:"HI! I'm Karen the Exxon Lady!!" "You ate over there? Our food is MUCH better!" "Have some dessert - I made peach cobbler!" "Go ahead and fill up your water bottle at the fountain - it's TRIPLE FILTERED!" "You should meet Crazy Benny - Hey Benny, it's a thru-hiker!" "You know, I just LOVE hikers!" "Tell you what, why don't you just camp outside the store - then you can come in for breakfast!" ----- Short story, I met Karen the Exxon Lady and ended up tenting beneath the pale glow of an Exxon sign with a full belly that night. Karen exemplifies MLK's idea of the dignity of work - if you're a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper ever. If you're a gas station owner, be like Karen. Trust me - you'll sell a lot of peach-cobbler. :-)
Date: 2009-11-10
From: Exxon Station, Atkins, VA

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

It started raining this morning. I had been itching to do some journaling, which has been hard with the short days and long hikes. So I enjoyed a slow morning writing at the Exxon cafe. Great breakfast - Karen's hash potato dish tasted just like my grandma's. By 11am the rain hadn't let up but I figured I better get going.I hiked to Partnership Shelter through an increasingly heavy rain storm. Partnership is next to a visitors center and is famed for having a phone where you can call for pizza delivery. I resisted the temptation and had ramen instead since I'd spent so much money in Atkins. The shelter is also well loved for having a hot shower. The water wasn't running. Boo. There was, however, a blessedly warm loft.While eating my noodles in the loft I had to fend off a mouse who was threatening to to dive headlong into my bowl. At first I got annoyed. But I was reading Kazantzakis' novel about St. Francis and just got to the part about Francis' compassion towards all God's creatures. Inspired by the saint, I placed a peace offering of crumbs and burrowing materials on the other end of the loft - That night both human and mouse both slept warm and undisturbed.
Date: 2009-11-11
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Baptist Church Hostel, Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 15.0

It rained hard and cold all night and into the morning. I wondered if there was anywhere I could update Trail Journals while waiting out the rain, but the two nearby hostels weren't answering the phone. I finally called a Jerry's Kitchen in Troutdale to see if they knew anything about the church hostel next door to them. They said I should talk to the 2 hikers currently in the store - Anya and Josh!Anya and Josh told me the church hostel was open and I should come stay with them. Anya was still sick and not about to hike in the rain. I considered hitching but instead braved the elements. After all, I'd hiked though much worse in Maine (ie MUD MUD MUD). It's amazing how fast you can hike when you're cold and wet. I hiked the 15 miles to the road to Troutdale in just over 5 hours.Interesting hitch to the church with a guy who said that, "with all the evil in the world, it will be better for us to live in the mountains soon anyway so it's good I'm learning how to do it now." Yikes! He dropped me off at the wrong Baptist church and I nearly mistake a hay-strewn shed for the hostel. The RIGHT Baptist church was across the street.That night I had the best hot shower ever and joined Anya and Josh over dinner at Jerry's Kitchen. Anya is considering going home to NC to recuperate for a few days. She'll decide for sure tomorrow.
Date: 2009-11-12
From: Baptist Church Hostel, Troutdale, VA

To: Baptist Church Hostel, Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Cold and rainy day - again. Anya woke up still feeling sick, so her mom is going to come from NC pick her up today. She'll rest up a bit and get back on the trail after we cross into NC. Josh calculated that if we zero today we'll still only need to average 17 miles a day to GA. So Josh and I are hanging out here in Troutsdale where we can use the internet in Jerry's kitchen and sleep in warm bunks. That's about it!
Date: 2008-12-13
To: Longing For the Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Well its Dec.13, 2008 and I am planning my 2009 thru hike. Dr. Yakavonus a 0rthopedic surgeon has found a tear in my left knee,and he has me in therapy 2 days a week. He thinks it should be all set for a March 1st start.I Can't remember hurting it,but from the middle of May it hasn't felt right. Off to rehab I go!I am working on my pack weight hoping to get down to about 25#s. It has been hard on my wife (Pam) because she has been traveling alot, and this was a harder decision this time. I can't get the trail out of my head,AND when she gave me the go ahead and her support I knew that i had to give it one more try. SANTA came early at least for me. One of the things i have to do is lose about 25#. To do this Im hiking,walking about 7 miles a day and by mid Jan I hope to be up to 12 miles a day. IN closing i want to thank all the folks that supported Chad & I aka SOUTH SIDE & BULL. Also all of the great hikers I met on the trail. I am looking forward to meeting all the new hikers and maybe some of the repeat hikers when I get back out there.lata,Southside
Date: 2009-01-16
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well,I am 6 weeks out and pretty set on my pack weight. Winter weight 27 lbs full pack,{food and water included. I have increased my miles to 8-10 miles a day, would be more but my knee is still a little tender. The good thing,the therapist said my movement and flexabilty has improved so I have that going for me. I have been hiking with my dog Tugboat; he is a 2yr old portuguese water dog. So, on weds tug and I are hiking on Mount Tom trail in RI. Just off the trail is the ruins of a 200 year old mill race. Who ever made this thing made it right... the walls are giant granite blocks stacked and placed to divert the water over the spillway {this is where the water wheel used to be}. Well when I walked over to the wall [4' tall] Tugboat wanted to see what was on the other side. Tug jumped up and before i could grab him he fell face first into the ice cold water. Luckily it scared him more than hurt him. I ran up stream and tried to get him to come to me,but he was not moving. This was better than him panicing and going down stream two feet and going over the dam. So I came back to the wall and the only thing i could think of was to make a lasso out of his leash. On the first try I was able to do this and pull him up and over the wall. When tug hit the ground he acted like he just hit a grand slam home run, he ran and shook himself off and away we went. Just glad he did not hurt himself.We dont go over there any more, I don't want to take any more chances.I know i will miss him when im on the trail alone. Well the day is coming fast but i think i am ready HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE TRAIL LATA SOUTHSIDE......
Date: 2009-01-23
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well 5 weeks from launch and everything is right on schedule. My pack is all set, i bought a new pair of montrail boots, my 2nd pair. loved the first they fit like a slipper and there is no break in, just a great boot.      TUGBOAT my dog and i have been snow shoeing about 7 miles a day. On the 21st we hiked'"a good 10 miles. Doing this in 10"of snow in snow shoes it,s twice the amount of work then just regular hiking. I don,t know how many cals. i burn, but i sure get a burn in my legs. Also my knee is getting stronger and i have lost 9 lb,s, since jan 1st. So i think i am going to cut back on my number of days that. i hike.I believe that you only have x amount of hike days in you and i don,t want to use them all now. So i will alternate biking and hiking,less impact on my knees.         My wife Pam has been great in her support and love. All while finishing a huge project in Nashville TN. She,s even trying to find a way to drive me to the trail. THIS IS WHY I LOVE HER. I can,t wait to get to springer,but i would delay or even postpone my thru hike if she asked me to.She has so much pressure on her and some times i feel like i,m taking advantage of her,the only thing that would make this hike special is if she were with me. She is going to meet up with me in TN. THAT WILL BE NICE.                                                         Well hope to see you all on the trail.........latta                  Southside
Date: 2009-01-25
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well i have been only updating my journal once a week. But i had such a good experiance today that i wanted to share. Tug and i were on the shelter trail in RI. and we had gone about 7 miles when we came up on a Dogsled race. Now i have only seen them on tv and it does not do the teams justice. Power and speed can be the only way to describe them. Tug was in heaven seeing so many dogs in one place,all barking and pulling on their leads at the same time. We saw 5, 6,7,8,sled dog teams,they start at one minute intervals. After watching for 20 min. we continued and finished our 10 mile hike.It was a very special day.Pics to follow.                        latta Southside
Date: 2009-02-01
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well not a very good last couple of days here in RI. My wife's sister became very ill following surgery. When we got the call that she was in intensive care it was 9;15 friday am. My wife had been home, [after being away on business] for a total of 15 hrs. By 1 pm she was on a plane to Tulsa,OK. Things do not look good right now. My sister in law is one of kindest and hardest working people i know, my prayers are with her and my wife.         Tugboat my hiking partner was in a full run and slipped or tweaked something in his right leg. For me its a huge set back in our training hikes. He makes the miles go by quickly,he is always happy and ready to go.Today we were about 6 miles into a 12 mile hike when he pulled up limping i found a new route back but it was still 4 miles. He never once made a sound or stopped walking. It seemed to take forever and i had to help him into my truck but we made it home.         So for now i can't wait for my wife to come home and for my dog Tugboat to mend. Hope if you are on the trail or if you are training all is well. LATA   SOUTHSIDE
Date: 2009-02-07
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well 23 days until takeoff and i have all my gear. New boots are giving me a little trouble and i'm trying to figure out why. My left boot is starting to give me a blister on my heal,this also happened last year and they just worked themselves in. So i will keep hiking and allow them to fit my foot. I have been doing a shakedown, on all my gear and i feel very good about everything. This year i am not taking anything extra .............      FOOD.......My son CHAD will send drops to me when i ask him to. Last year i had 15 drops and there was no reason to have that many. Ended up bouncing every one of them to the next stop, so this year i will re-supply mostly from towns or hostels.My Wife and Chad will do the rest.      NEWS on the home front is much better. My sister inlaw is out of intensive care and is doing much better. Tugboat seems ok and we went on a 14 mile hike friday, today we went for 8 miles and if he is hurt i can't tell. Its amazing what time will do..........
Date: 2009-02-13
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Just got back from Chicago, (worked on the auto show) left on sunday the 6th and flew back on thursday the 12th AND now its friday the 13th. So to keep up my training i thought it would be a good idea to keep hiking. Hmmmmmmm... Where do you do this in Chi? oh, i know hike up 34 floors at the Hyatt. So thats just what i did, Monday i did 40 floors up and 40 floors down. On tuesday i told my freind Tracy about my little climb and she said ( i will go with you.) Bingo! Well we decide to do 60 floors up and down. Not a bad time either, did it in 30 min. Tracy and i kept looking at our legs as we were resting at the finish, and they were quivering. I realize they (legs)were not too happy. Both Tracy and I were suffering from P.L.(pudding legs).Honesty did'nt think too much of it until I woke up the next mrning. Got out of bed and Bamm. my calvs were screaming at me. Could not even go down the stairs to the mens room, had to take the elavator. Now its friday and I went on a little 8 miler at the Hunt River and like Tugboat the week before- time heals most wounds(in this case P.L.s......      Starting Sat. i will up my pack weight to 25lbs and the following week i will take it up to 30lbs. Last year i hiked with 37 lbs. for the month of feb. I'm not doing that again. By the time i hit the trail my shoulders were already sore,so i'm going for the slow build up. Well on we go moving closer and closer to launch.......cant wait, LATTA   SOUTHSIDE
Date: 2009-02-17
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

      30 years, thats how long i have been married to the same wonderful person. Every single one has been better than the last. I see things in the trail, that i see in my wife. The sunrise in her smile, the sunset when she sleeps. A lite breeze when she talks to me and the thunder when I bring out the storm in her. The trail is like our marriage; always going north, straight,and beautiful. The only things the trail has that we don't..... are p.u.d.s. rocks, and a slipery slope. Pam is in TN working, and i'm home preping for the trail. So Pam if you read this HAPPY ANNIVERSARY thanks for the first 30 years love JOHN;.....                                                                           Well 13 days and off i go "im pretty set now". My final pack weight is 28 lbs 2more than i wanted. Maybe i can shave off 2 lbs before i go. Pam and i have set all our travel plans to get to the trail on Monday the 2nd of March. We will drive from Nashville,TN on Sun the 1st, take the shuttle from the hiker hostel, and he will drive to the trail head, drop Pam and I. We will then hike up to the top of Springer mountain, take some pics, walk back down to the parking area and i will hike on. Pam will ride back to the hostel. She will then drive back to Atlanta for business... what a plan....   I can,t wait                                                                           hope to see ya on the trail...LATTA SOUTHSIDE
Date: 2009-02-25
To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well i took some flack over my last journal entry. But i don't care. Most of my friends (male) gagged, and most of the women who read it thought it sweet. I will go with the girls vote. Plus my wife is good enough to let me try this two years in a row, so some sucking up was in order. So i succesfully completed my physical therapy and got a thumbs up from Rick my trainer. I have been hiking with about 15 lbs on my back and averging 10-12 miles a day. This last week i upped my weight to 26 lbs and i'm hiking 9 miles a day. Every thing was going well until tues. i stepped on some ice and took A Major header hitting my elbow and right knee.I HATE.........ICE. Lukily i think both are O.K. New socks are working great, boots are well broke in and now i'll just keep packing & unpacking and then repacking trying to get my weight down to 25 LBS.      D-day is close at hand see you on the trail.   LATTA SOUTHSIDE
Date: 2009-03-01
To: Georgia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Made it to the Hiker Hostel not too far from Springer. Josh and Leigh are great hosts and their place has everything that a hiker may need in the way of amenities. Due to the weather and the fact that this is the big month for starting the trail there were a lot of people at the hostel. I think that there was about 18 or so there. My plan is to start the hike tomorrow but to do a slack pack. The temp is supposed to get down into the low teens for the next couple of nights and I don't want to start out with freezing cold on the first couple of nights. I will stay at the hostel Monday and maybe Tuesday and have Josh shuttle me to and from the trail. The shuttle leaves after breakfast around 8:00 for the trail and Pam will head to Atlanta to work for a couple of days.   Looking forward to getting going in morning! lata, Southside
Date: 2009-03-02
To: ri
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Bull signing in... Southside is off and hiking again. He was starting fresh from Springer this morning in hopes of getting his first good day of hiking in. To Maine he goes! Life has got me consumed at the moment so unfortunately he's alone to start off this year. Plans are to meet him at some point(May or June) and hopefully be able to hike a month or so with him. I will keep you informed.Lata-
Date: 2009-03-03
To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Spent last night at the Hiker Hostel again since it was so cold. Josh shuttled me back to Horse Gap and I picked up where I left off doing the 10 miles pretty easily. Another great day for hiking! I ran across a lot of guys out there that are really packing heavy. My pack is at 25 pounds and I am trying to get it down more. There was a guy out here weighing in at about 300 lbs and carrying a 60 lb pack. Can't even imagine what that feels like. A lot of talk at the hostel about a hiker named Cimarron. Get this folks...he is 88 yrs old and was to start this week as a thru hiker. Cimarron held the record for the oldest thru hiker @ 78 yrs old doing this 10 years ago. Last year another guy thru hiked at the age of 82 and completed Kahtadin on his 83rd birthday taking the record from Cimarron. So, Cimarron is coming back this year to regain his record with the help of Bear Bag ("the kid")a 68 year old hiker who will assist him. Cimarron put his start off for a week due to the weather and will be out there next week. I will keep you posted as I hear about his hike. Cimarron is a great story but there is also a guy out here named Sarge and he is 78 years old. Yesterday he came in to the hostel and had fallen down a ravine. He is a little banged up but seems okay. So, there is a 68, 78 and 88 year old people out here and me a young 55 year old! I hope they don't leave me in the dust. Leaving the hostel in the morning and will head for Neels gap which is another 10 mile day. The weather is supposed to be great the next few days so I should be able to motor along. I will be at the shelters or in my tent. Lata, Southside
Date: 2009-03-04
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Today Josh dropped me off and I'm not looking back. Headed out to Neels gap thinking about Blood Mountain and how it tore Bull and I up last year. I was determined to put that part of the trip behind me. The weather was great today and the hike fairly uneventful. Passed a couple of young ladies this morning that were really carrying heavy packs (looked about 40 lbs). I could only think about how much I worked to get my pack down to 26 lbs this year and cannot imagine carrying that much weight. I wonder how long before they dump some of the "non-essentials". Amazing how you quickly realize how much is truly not needed out here...especially when you are carrying it for thousands of miles!When I arrived at the gap the University of Georgia had set up some really great trail magic. They had hamburgers and chips for the hikers so I didn't have to eat my "trail" food for dinner. THANKS! The trail runs right thru an outfitters retail which is kind of like an REI and the trail is blazed right through the store. One of the guys fixed up my boot where it was rubbing and starting a little blister and gave me his car to run into town to the ATM. I had a little issue this morning with an expired debit card so I had to give up my cash to pay Josh. Last year when Bull and I got to Neels Gap we were hurting a little with the blisters so I feel pretty good about my condition rolling in here today. Spending the night in the bunk house here and heading out tomorrow hoping to make Hiawassee by Saturday latest. lata...Southside
Date: 2009-03-05
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

Last night Pirate (guy that runs the bunk house) made 15 bean soup and served it with corn bread and salad. It was really good but can you imagine bean soup with 15 guys in a bunk house? Well, it was a "shelter symphony" and there wasn't much harmony. I was up and moving by about 7:30 and covered the 10 miles by about 1:00 giving some thought about doing another 7 miles to the next shelter but decided to hold up here. I don't want to push myself too hard this first week out here. Today was the first day with my full pack and i want to make sure that I ease into the routine before I push distance. I am fighting a couple of blisters; one on each foot but they are not as bad as last year and I caught them early. Had a couple of PB & J sandwiches for lunch and just motored along. The walk was good even though the trail is wet and mushy. Everyone that was at the bunk house last night maed it here arriving spread out between 1:30 and 5:30. The two girls I told you about got here with their heavy packs and I asked them how much their carrying and one of them is packing 45 lbs on about a 130# frame. Their trail name is M & M. I stand corrected on Cimarron's age (got an email correction). It seems that he is ONLY 86 not 88 as I had written earlier! Oh and Sarge is 76 not 78. Anyway I am still the kid of the senior set...No excuses for me!lata Southside