morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-01-25
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter 

To: Lance Creek Campsite 
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night I slept in a shelter because I thought the surrounding tent sites were closed. I figured out this morning that most sites are open, but I was probably warmer in the shelter sleeping up off the ground. The AT shelters are notorious for their mice and this one did not disappoint. I listened to lots of activity throughout the night culminating in a mouse running across my head. Pretty much every thru hiker has had this experience, so check off another milestone. Another milestone I achieved today were my first official blisters. I will be working on improving that situation tomorrow morning. My stopping point tomorrow will be at Mountain Crossings Hostel at Neel Gap. Depending on the blister prognosis, I may spend a couple days there to heal up.  My feet are the only thing giving me trouble right now so I would like to address them and move past the issue. I had some shoulder pain yesterday so when I got to the shelter I took my first vitamin I (ibuprofen). Worked like a charm. The pain went away so I could sleep well and didn¢t return today. A new feature of the trail today is people! I encountered a dozen or so people today including a group of SOBO¢s who started last summer and will be finishing tomorrow. A SOBO is hiker lingo for Southbound hiker. I¢m a NOBO because I¢m heading north. Also today I met two young ladies who were day hiking up a particularly steep section. When we topped out at an overlook we sat down to enjoy the view and catch our breath. I must have had my mad Yogi-ing skills on display because one of the women offered me a bottle of water. Yogi-Ing is when you are able to get someone to give you something without asking for it directly like Yogi bear. Another great weather day. At times it was chilly usually on downhills that were exposed to the wind. So I took my puffy jacket on and off several times. Tonight I¢m settled in my tent about to turn in. Looking forward to a shower and some decadent food tomorrow!I want to thank everyone who has been posting words of encouragement in my guest book. I¢m unable to respond to everyone individually, but I read all the entries and your thoughts inspire me each day.Zin Master¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zin's finished his 3rd day and we've been lucky with reception so far and have had regular check ins each day.  It's exciting to read the progress he's making at the end of each day.My journey home to Colorado begins tomorrow.  It's been a few nice days with my parents who I don't get to see often enough.It's a bit strange to be thinking I'm leaving Zin behind.  Mom and I ran around to get some final things to include in a resupply box to send out in the next week so it arrives at the spot he's chosen.  We picked up a few things to keep here for when he hits this area in 30 days or so his day or so off the trail to do wash, take a shower and resupply with Mom & Dad. Now, my job becomes making sure everything is running smoothly while he's gone so he has less to worry about and gets the most enjoyment as he can out of the trip.  I've got the easy end of this deal.Keep sending Zin your posts - they are a great break for him and the kind of words he needs to hear to keep up the motivation along the way.Wishing all hikers safe travel and always small steps, big dreams.Peaches
Date: 2018-01-26
From: Lance Creek Campsite 

To: NeelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap
Miles today: 7.3

The temperature last night must have been right around freezing. The ground sparkled with a little frost this morning, but inside my tent the roof was wet from where my breath condensed over night. The Lance Creek campsite was interesting. Apparently the area was trashed last fall by a hurricane. It¢s open now, but there was a lot of work done to clear all the downed trees from the campsites. Many of the trees still strewn around the site exceeded two feet in diameter and were easily 40 feet long. The big item on today¢s agenda was climbing Blood Mountain. At 4,400 feet, Blood Mountain is the highest point on the AT in Georgia. That¢s over 1,500 higher than where I started this morning. So the morning consisted of several small climbs over foothills leading to the final 800 foot ascent of Blood. I ran into many day hikers on Blood because it is located two miles from a highway. It was chilly all day long so I left my puffy jacket on all day. I got a little sweaty on the foothills but figured that was better than being wet and cold without a jacket. Sweat wasn¢t an issue on Blood, because the temperature was much colder and the wind much stronger. Once again today I was plagued by blisters on my feet. I started strong and was averaging 2 miles an hour for the first time on this hike even though the trail was mostly uphill. But after 3 or 4 miles I was feeling a return of acute pain and by the time I reached the summit of the mountain I was pretty miserable. The trek down made matters worse as the first mile or so is steep and rocky and my blistered toes were being pushed into the toe of my boots with the additional force of gravity. I eventually made it to Mountain Crossings, an outfitter and hostel at Neel¢s Gap. There, Jason did a pack shakedown with me and he only came up with 2 items for me to consider discarding. He also gave me some tips on how to deal with the blister issue. I¢m heading to my in-laws house in Tennessee tomorrow to recuperate for a few days. I¢m not stopping, just pausing. I¢m having a great time and can¢t wait to get back to the trail and continue, but I need to deal with this issue and get it put behind me so I can get the most out of this experience.Zin Master¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-27
From: Neel Gap

To: Kingsport, Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Today¢s highlight is a ten hour 3 bus Greyhound trip to Johnson City, Tennessee. I stayed last night at Blood Mountain Cabins at Neel Gap. There are signs on the trail that say ¢Neel Gap,¢ and others that say ¢Neel¢s Gap.¢ Not sure which is correct, so maybe I will alternate like the Forest Service does. After getting checked into my cabin I found out that to get food I had to head back up the hill to Mountain Crossings. My feet thought this was boolsheet. I also needed to get better internet signal or wi-fi to plan today¢s travel, so off I went. While I was struggling with Greyhound¢s mobile site trying to see what my options were, a young man (whose name is Pretzel¢ love these trail names) came out of the store and asked if I needed a ride to Gainesville because he could shuttle me there. I said sure but I need to figure out what¢s going on with the bus. He said he understood and was aware it was hard to book tickets using a phone on Greyhound¢s site, so he ran into the bunkhouse to get his laptop that he was charging and he was able to bring up a working reservation system for Greyhound. After booking the trip and making arrangements with Pretzel for when to pick me up in the morning, I got down to business strapping on a feed bag. I picked up a supreme frozen pizza, and the young lady at the counter asked if I needed any other goodies. Hmmm, you know in fact I do. Sausage egg muffin for tomorrow morning, two 20 ounce diet cokes, and two packages of Reese¢s cups. I explained that I don¢t have hiker hunger yet, I¢m just a pig. The ride with Pretzel this morning was great. He thru hiked the AT in 2012, and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2015. He had a lot of great advice and observations for me and assured me I was doing the right thing to get off trail for a few days. So now I¢m on the bus heading for Tennessee. I would feel better if Pretzel had been able to shuttle me all the way to my destination. I¢m pretty sure Greyhound¢s corporate motto is ¢We¢re trying to be as friendly as the Department of Motor Vehicles.¢ In theory I will get where I¢m going tonight, but if not, I¢m prepared to live just about anywhere out of my backpack.Zin Master¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-28
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Let the healing begin. I had a productive first day getting straightened out. First stop was the outfitter to start the boot search. At Mahoney¢s in Johnson City I was helped by Britt who is a very knowledgeable fellow hiker. We concluded that right now my feet are too jacked up and it would be inappropriate to make a decision on new boots until things settle down. We agreed that my size 13 orthotic inserts need to be upsized to 14 to fit better in the larger boots I need. So tomorrow I will attempt to find a local podiatrist who will re-cover the inserts based on size 14. To resolve the problem with the broken tip on my hiking pole, I will need to wait until the Leki customer service line opens  tomorrow morning. Biggest lesson learned today: by law you can not buy wine in Tennessee on Sunday. Second biggest lesson learned today: you can legally buy wine in Virginia on Sunday. I purchased the bottle pictured above. How could the Zin Master pass up Zen of Zin?Zin Master¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-29
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

More progress today. After several attempts at getting a podiatrist to re-size my orthotics, I was referred to a shoe repair guy who believes he can make the modifications. I then called Leki customer service and obtained a return authorization number. One more trip out in my sandals to the post office to send the broken trekking pole to Leki and I was a little closer to getting that issue resolved also. The afternoon was spent soaking my feet in warm water and epsom salt for the second straight day and then moisturizing repeatedly with Aquaphor. It was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 53 in northeast Tennessee, a great day for hiking. Can¢t wait to get back at it. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-30
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

it was a chilly day in northeast Tennessee with the high temperature only reaching the mid 30¢s. A great day for some nice warm comfort food so I made Hungarian goulash. Definitely hit the spot and we have some leftovers for lunches later this week. I had ordered the 2018 edition of AWOL¢s AT guide before I left Colorado and had it sent here. Two copies; one for me and one for Peaches to follow along with. They arrived today, so tomorrow I will send her copy to her. The blisters continue to improve daily. By the looks of my pinky toes, I will probably lose the nail on both of them. Goes to show you that thru hikers will cut weight anywhere they can. This marks the second straight day of what I consider perfect hiking weather: sunny, dry and chilly. I know I need this break to ultimately be successful, but it is still tough to keep sitting on the sidelines. Zin Master¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-01-31
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Today was another great weather day spent not hiking. I did contact Leki to check on the status of my trekking pole. They have received it and will be making the repair tomorrow and sending it back to me tomorrow. I will be checking on the status of the modifications to my orthotics tomorrow as well as visiting the outfitter to try on the Keens I¢m interested in again, now that my feet are starting to get under control. Hopefully the inserts, boots and feet will all be a go for a restart next week.
Date: 2018-02-01
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

I found out today that the upsizing modifications to my orthotics will be done tomorrow morning. After I pick them up, I will head to the outfitter and once again try on the Keen¢s I looked at on Sunday. Hopefully, this time my feet are in good enough shape to make a good assessment of the fit. I will likely end up buying them and then trying to stretch the leather around the toe box slightly to make some extra room without going overboard.I stopped by Johnson City Brewery tonight to satisfy my microbrew craving. Afterwards I went to a college basketball game at East Tennessee State. ETSU dominated Samford in a high scoring game, though neither team seemed too interested in playing much defense. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-02
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Major progress today. I picked up my orthotics with their new size 14 covers. They should be a better fit for my new boots, which I ordered today at the outfitter. I¢ve worn a size 13 shoe going back to when I was in high school. For this hike, I upsized to size 14. Based on how beat to shit my feet were after only 30 miles that wasn¢t enough. After I trying on the Keen size 14¢s today, I didn¢t feel comfortable with the fit I was experiencing. Keep in mind this was at the store with non-swollen feet, so I was already thinking about what would happen after hiking a few miles. Somewhere between 2 and 5 miles feet begin to swell and shoes that worked fine previously start blistering your feet. I decided to order out 14 wide boots. My problem is that my feet are wider than normal at the toes. The extra width that I will get should keep my toes from getting so constricted. There is a possibility that more room inside the shoes could equal movement within the boot and therefore blisters. But the standard width boots seemed like a sure fire way to more blisters. I can deal with a little too big. Nearly impossible to deal with too small. When these new boots arrive I will be upsized in both length and width. I think this gives me the best path forward to start going forward on the path once again. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-04
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Being forced off trail by injury and being a house guest for an extended period has been a struggle for me. Part of the struggle is a longing to be on the trail and to experience this journey. Part of the struggle is maintaining a sense of relevance and purpose. Without something to do I will quickly devolve into non-stop TV viewing and internet surfing. To keep busy today I baked four loaves of bread and put together a shelf. I mention what I do each day to document it, but also to paint a picture for potential thru hikers of what your experience may be like if you sustain an injury. I consider my injury to be self inflicted. As much preparation as I put into this hike, I neglected to get my footwear right and now I¢m paying for it with a forced stop to heal and reconfigure my gear. I¢ve been blessed to have family relatively nearby who I can stay with while I go through this process. Without them I would have been forced to return to Colorado putting the entire hike in jeopardy. My advice to future thru hikers would be to make sure you have all your bases covered before you start. The trail will expose your weaknesses. Leaving a hole in your planning like I did could end your thru hike attempt. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-05
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Another day. The highlights: unpacking and setting up a new toaster oven, and mounting the outside sensor for a new indoor/outdoor thermometer. I also learned that the reverse of the bus ride that I took to get here will be a 20 hour odyssey with a 10 hour overnight layover in Atlanta. As much as I¢m excited about spending the night in a big city bus station, or alternatively spending at least $200 for a downtown Atlanta  hotel, I decided to look into renting a car. Best news of the day is that for a few dollars more than a bus ticket I can rent a car and drive myself to within 13 miles of Neel Gap in less than 4 hours. And because I¢m renting from Enterprise, I believe they might run me up to Neel Gap, if not it should be a relatively inexpensive shuttle ride. I¢m waiting only for my repaired hiking pole and new boots to arrive to resume my journey. I¢ve had a fantastic visit here, but can¢t wait to get back to the trail. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-06
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Checked on the new boots today. No update. I should get a tracking number soon. Picked up another roll of KT tape and a couple of food items so that I¢m good to go once I restart. I picked up a couple of bottles of zinfandel¢ you can never have enough zin as far as I¢m concerned, and my father-in-law shares my love of it. Just to be clear zinfandel is a red wine. ¢White zinfandel¢ is an abomination. Zinfandel pairs well with almost any red meat, or pizza, or bratwurst, or anything else. I don¢t need much excuse to open a bottle of zinfandel. I¢m enjoying the wine on this break, because I know I have months of beer ahead of me. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-07
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

A very slow news day and a great day to spend indoors. Rainy and gloomy all day with heavy overnight rain causing some minor flooding around streams and drainages nearby. I picked up some more supplies today as I continue to ramp up to my coming hike restart. Zin Master¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-08
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy times! My new Leki poles arrived today. I thought that Leki would repair the broken pole I sent them, but instead they sent me two new poles. I¢m very impressed with Leki¢s customer service!  The last remaining issue is getting my new boots. Still no tracking number available on them. In an effort to keep busy today I made a couple of grocery store runs and baked three more loaves of bread. The house should be well stocked for a while after I leave. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-09
From: Newland North Carolina

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

A great day in the books. My boots will be in the store on Monday, so the restart will be next week. I managed to connect with my cousin in Newland North Carolina, so I drove to his house today. After spending the afternoon catching up with him, we met his son for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Banner Elk. I was introduced to my cousin¢s son as a ¢great cousin.¢  I prefer greatest cousin. We had a nice dinner and I enjoyed two large margaritas. I don¢t think the waitstaff was accustomed to Wisconsinites, because when I ordered a second large margarita our waitress had to clarify repeatedly that I wanted another. Hell yes was the answer to that. Settled in now back at home watching the Olympic opening ceremony. I¢m excited that my hiatus will end soon and I can resume this great journey. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward¢
Date: 2018-02-10
From: Newland North Carolina 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

Back in Kingsport after a great visit with my cousin. I helped my father in law make 10 pounds of Italian sausage today. Having never made sausage before, I was assigned the grunt work. It was an awesome learning experience and I would like to try making my own batch someday. Getting excited that I will soon resume hiking. I will pick up my new boots Monday and rent a car late Monday afternoon. Early Tuesday I will drive back to Georgia. By getting to Georgia early on Tuesday I will have the option of starting to hike Tuesday or waiting until Wednesday. Right now the forecast looks better for Tuesday so I¢m planning on starting then. Regardless of any particular day¢s forecast, I¢m virtually guaranteed to be wet on the upcoming section as there is a significant chance of rain each day. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-11
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Restart is now just a few hours away. Today I reserved a car that I will pick up tomorrow afternoon. I will leave Kingsport at zero dark thirty Tuesday morning and return the car in Blairsville Georgia. Also today I reached out to Pretzel to see if he could shuttle me to the trail. I will have my boots tomorrow. I have a series of short mileage days planned to break them in slowly. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-12
From: Kingsport Tennessee 

To: Kingsport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

This is certainly not the longest zero streak on record. Day 3 on the trail I met a SOBO who started  in July of 2017 and had taken a month off twice. But 17 consecutive zeros is quite enough for me. I¢ve been blessed to have my in-laws living in the region and willing to host me for the last two and a half weeks. Undoubtedly this will be the best trail magic I will receive on this journey. I¢m am deeply indebted.Tomorrow morning I head back to Georgia to resume my hike. I will be leaving here at 4am to get to Enterprise in Blairsville Georgia around the time they open at 8. I¢ve arranged with Pretzel to shuttle me to Tesnatee Gap. From there I will head trail south 6 miles back to Neel Gap. Pretzel will hold onto most of my gear so I can slackpack my first day back on the trail. I will stay at Blood Mountain Cabins, or at Mountain Crossings tomorrow night. Pretzel will then shuttle me to Tesnatee Gap Wednesday morning and I will resume hiking NOBO from there. This has been a big unexpected reality check, but if I have the footwear right now it was worth it. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢
Date: 2018-02-16
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Today I took a zero in Hiawassee. I spent the morning doing town chores:  laundry, sending some extra clothing home to Peaches and getting resupplied. Just in case I haven¢t filled up on enough town food in the last day and a half, I bought a sandwich from Subway tonight for my lunch tomorrow. This afternoon I started working out a routine for unpacking and packing up at camp.  My current strategy of fooling myself into thinking I¢m organized and then basically letting my pack explode, followed by handling everything three times in the morning as I try to put it back together is not working for me.  After watching Mainer pack up quickly yesterday morning I figured out that the key is to be set up for efficiency the night before by pre-packing what you can, then following a logical order of tasks so that everything is handled only once on its way to being packed. We¢ll see how this goes Sunday.  I may still be fooling myself into thinking I¢m organized.I will very likely run out of good luck with weather tomorrow morning. Every forecast calls for a high probability of up to half an inch of rain tomorrow. My strategy continues to be start and finish early. I¢ve got a shuttle scheduled for 7:30, and hope to be hiking Before 8:00, which would be my earliest start yet. I¢ve got about 6 miles to go to the shelter with a couple of big climbs and one big descent. I¢m hoping to get to the shelter mid-day to dry off, warm up and recover. Zin Master ¢The journey is the reward.¢