morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

total miles-2084.1miles to go-88.5!wed,17sep,913pm-broke a hundred today! 88.5 miles to go. milestones are getting fewer and fewer now. hikers are writing their addresses in the shelter registers more often now. everyone knows its almost over. we've all stuck with it this far. we've gone a long way. why did we do it? now we're all so close to finishing and we're saying goodbyes.i like what fizz wrote when he was here a few days ago and i totally agree. so simple and to the point. completely matched my sentiments at that moment..."fizz lunching here & wondering when the flat shit starts." today was almost mahoosuc notch hard. my knees feel well used today. serious descents. i did 15.6 today and a few times i nearly lost it. while descending one ridiculously rocky, jagged, slippery and rooty 80 degree vertical, a possible book title came to mind..."One Step Could End It...(how i died while 'hiking' the Appalachian Trail)". today was tough. but today is over. time now to listen to the mouse races.im gonna try/attempt to do a 20 tomorrow. ill have to start early to even have a chance, because its dark at 7pm. its the last toughest part of the trail, according the elevation profiles on the maps. so to answer fizz's wonderings, the flat shit starts in about 20 miles. of course he knows that now, cause he just hiked it.im still sorta p.o.ed at my gps. it lost all my coordinates last nite. im glad i at least wrote most of them down in a notebook. so i lost about 90. now i learn my camcorder battery is almost dead. i just charged it at shaw's 2 nites ago. i was worried about not having enough tape for filming the last days out here, but i found a store that had the right cassettes. but out here, noone has electric. sigh...somehow it will work out.the next few days are gonna be weird. thoughts, feelings, flat ground. 88.5 to go...wow.
Date: 2003-09-18
From: Stratton, Maine

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

total miles-2104.8miles today-20.7miles to go-67.8day 188th,18sep,825pm-in the 100-mile wilderness.yep, a 20 miler today. i just had to get done with all these hills. now, im on the flat stuff...finally. and my final 3.6 miles to this shelter, on basically the flat stuff, took me 1 hr 10 min! thats FLYING!from the last shelter (im at east branch lean-to tonite), i was heading here and there was a giant moose on the trail. he was standing broadside to me about 20 yards away, head looking the other way. i stopped dead (tough when youre FLYING) and got my camera all ready, and said, "hey moose". it looked my way and i snapped a great picture, antlers and all! then i started walking and he bolted off to my right. they are loud when they crash through the woods. so i noted the time, got the gps coordinate, smiled and moved on. thats my third moose. i wonder if hikers see more moose than hunters. this moose would have been such an easy shot if i was hunting, even with a bow and arrow.also here tonite are tipperary, snowberry, easy rider and 2 sobo women named sparkles and zesty. clear, starry night, too, so it will be chilly. no bugs that way.on whitecap mtn today, the last big hill before katahdin, i saw katahdin and sat down on the side of the trail and just looked at it for about 5 minutes. its the biggest one around. i wasnt taken by that, though. i was elated to see no more hills between me and it. then some profound words were uttered. "seeing that thing (katahdin) means im close to going home". thats ok. i think im ready for whats next. maybe katahdin takes on a sort of personality to hikers. it does to me sort of. when i see it, it feels right to say something to it. i wonder if other hikers do the same.looks like easy terrain tomorrow and im ready to try it out. probably another 20-plus day. that will get me close to white house landing for more food.met 2 sobo-ers at the last shelter...rhythm and naked indian. he wasnt naked. they were both looking cold actually. trying to get a fire started. it was just all smoke though.i hear the mice racing around. maybe that will lull me to sleep.
Date: 2003-09-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

total miles-2124.3miles to go-48.3miles today-19.5day 189fr,19sep,752pm-lying in my sleeping bag, in the shelter, and a really weird noise in the woods close by was just heard. it was a moose. i thought it was a loud bird, like a loon with a new call i never heard before. but at the end of the call (mating call i imagine), it gets gutteral, like a grunt. i dont think birds grunt.what a wonderful day for hiking. flat, sunny, cool, breezy...a day that a hiker dreams of. i even took a de-griming bath at a swimming hole right below a waterfall in front of a shelter. cooper brook falls lean-to. but man, it was cold. there was a thermometer at the shelter there, so i tied a string on it and tossed it in the water for a minute...58. it felt cold. to say there was "shrinkage" would be an understatement. needed a bath though. and it was the perfect day and location.tomorrow marks week 27 on the trail.i think ill be summitting on tuesday, 23 sep. i hope to meet up with dred and two-step (two of the original 1776ers) before heading back. spunky and i met them way back at cosby knob shelter, the last shelter in the smokies, so around april 7th. geez, was it that long ago? where did spring and summer go?the talk im hearing now is that a new 'hike naked day' is gonna be on the 22nd of sep, for those who missed the first one on 21june. why not? we shall see. maybe even literally.tomorrow, in about 2.4 miles is white house landing which ill be able to resupply at and eat burgers, pizza and ice cream. what else can i say...IM THERE!!!today i thought of where ill be next friday...just a week away. the answer...done with this adventure and back where i started. i wonder if it will take long to re-adjust. its so basic out here. i dont remember it being as basic back there. but i know its time to go. almost. a few more days to savor. im gonna miss all this.
Date: 2003-09-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

total miles-2134.4miles today-10.1miles to go-38.2day 190sat,20sep,803pm-at wadleigh lean-to, after a fairly easy day. the morning had me stopping at white house landing to get some trail food. i also had a giant burger and a root beer. then it was back to the trail at 1pm and 7.7 miles later, here i am. also here are medicine man who i havent seen since pearisburg, va,...loa, who i havent seen since just after kent, connecticut, and green turtle who i met in connecticut. and just ahead, less than 8 miles away, is TWO-STEP, who i havent seen since traildays in may! when i got out of the boat at white house landing, she was just getting in. along with starbuck, mothman and swiftsandal. so its been a day of mini-reunions. i hope to have more in the next few final days.there are only 2 more shelters to go on the trail. ill be at the last one tomorrow night. hurd brook shelter. 19.6 miles away. early start so i can get there before dark, which is about 7pm.i went to cook dinner tonite and noticed im missing my pot lid! yep, and i know right where it is, too. at the last shelter. 10.1 miles back. lying in the grass. in front of the shelter. damn. loa loaned me hers tonite and it fit perfect.it was drizzly and misty and rainy today. tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. good.summit date looks like tuesday, 23 sep. then i hope to find dred at the camp he's staying at and hang out for a bit. then on wednesday, find ken and laurie. then head back...just like that. man, is it really gonna just be over, just like that? i really wish we could all just have a big 2003er get-together where we could all just talk and tell trail stories and such. kind of like a de-briefing. something with a bit more closure. 6 months is a long time to be meeting and hearing about other hikers. then to have it just end. it doesnt feel right somehow. geez, am i having withdrawal symptoms already?
Date: 2003-09-21
From: Stratton, Maine

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

total miles-2154.0mile to go-18.6!total today-19.6day 191sun,21sep,857pm-in front of the last shelter on the trail, between two logs, is me, "cowboy camping". just sleeping under the stars, screwed-if-it-rains type camping. 54.2 degrees. hurd brook lean-to...the last shelter. whoa.hi-lites today-1.found two-step just up the trail with her friend swiftsandal and spent some time with them throughout the day, chatting and catching up on the "old" times back when we all just started. 2.walked up on a huge bull moose. 3.saw katahdin twice-the second time i was awe-struck at how colossally huge this thing is (view from rainbow ledges) 4.experienced a perfect weather-for-hiking day, being the first day of fall i believe (and the unofficial second "hike naked day" of which it was impossible not to participate, at least for a part of it).3.5 miles ahead is abol campstore, where i hope to get some good eats and drink. so ill do 13.4 tomorrow and end up at "the birches" tomorrow night. then summit on tuesday the 23rd. then i hope to find where dred is camping out and hang out with him tuesday nite. (p.s.-spunky, i tried for your b'day!)these journal entries are soon coming to a close. but id like to update them as i reenter society again, and maybe tell of the next adventures i hope to go on. we'll see.thank you all for being interested in reading about my thru-hike on the appalachian trail. i hope that you were entertained and maybe even a little more informed about the trail.to the trail angels that i met and who took me and my friends in, THANK YOU. you are the people that restore our faith in mankind. we start as trusting strangers and turn into good friends.now, to bed.
Date: 2003-09-25
To: Homebound
Miles today: 0.0

thu,25sep,0433-its all done. the hike is over. i made it. 2172.6 miles, plus a bunch of extra miles, but 2172.6 officially. and it was almost as foggy up on top at the KATAHDIN sign as the day i started at springer. so, a fitting end.today's summitters were, in order-Loa, me, Tipperary, Starbuck, Wizard, Jason and Troutlily, Blaze and Face. we each got to the sign separately and at different times. sometimes the fog broke for a few seconds to let the sun hit us, but it didnt keep. it was 40 degrees up there according to wizard's watch thermometer and my walmart digital indoor/outdoor model. and windy too. almost as windy as the whites. BUT, NO RAIN!as each hiker approached the sign, those of us already there began clapping and cheering for them. like at a finish line. each of us pulled out of our packs various types of "celebration beverages" to pass around and do cheers with.before leaving, there were lots and lots of pictures of various poses taken at the sign. and video. my video camera made it all the way. i was lucky and was able to charge it up at abol bridge campstore on monday. whew! im so glad that worked out.it took basically 3.5 hours to get up there. and about the same getting down. coming down we saw the best views. most of the fog was gone. awesome views. leaves changing. big lakes.about half a mile maybe before we reached the camp at the bottom, we were met by tipperary's brother and cousin. john and ed, respectively. john was playing the bagpipes! nice touch. we entered the camp area with music. like marching in a parade to a hero's welcome.we were surprised to see the faces of all the "soon to be" official thru-hikers who arrived at camp while we were doing our big summit day. oopala, yo-yo, zero, skidmark, baloo, samarai, viking and giggles (even young keith from shaw's in monson as there) to name those who i know. they helped us celebrate and it was a perfect celebratory atmosphere. it was all much more than i expected or anticipated. for me, it was really special. being with my new friends for an occasion like this. tipperary even goaded me into giving a little congratulatory speech in my jimmy stewart voice.then more pictures of us new summitters, official thru-hikers, each of us with little cups of champagne to drink.then it was time to say goodbyes and get any final email addresses before leaving. that part was hard. so final.loa needed a ride to millinocket, and luckily, though, she lives on the way to where i live, so my friends ken and laurie who came to get me helped her to get home. im glad that worked out for her. we all had a pleasant ride.so right now, at 0513, we're at a motel somewhere around albany, to get some sleep. i'll get to see my famiily later today.so how do i feel? im tired now. ill expound on that subject later. goodnite
Date: 2003-09-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

fri,26sep,1126pm-i dont really understand what im feeling, now that im done with the trail. i ended up at a bookstore tonite, one of those cafe type places, looking at outdoor books about hiking and the AT, etc. and there was a picture or two of katahdin, the sign, where i was just hours ago really. i was just there. wasnt i?today, my friends andrew and anthony came to see me. they were overwhelmed with how my looks have changed. "man, you look like charles manson", they said. later when i went to visit my mom and sister, they echoed the same thing. my nephew didnt recognize me either. same thing with my grandma. hmm, this could be fun.
Date: 2003-10-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

tu,14oct,705pm-all these zero days cant be good!yesterday, i got back from hanover, nh, where the "gathering" of ALDHA (appalachian long distance hikers association) was held. i hadnt planned on going, but im very glad i did. atwannabe offered to take me with her. and it was on her way anyway. it was worth going. i think i needed it. warren doyle and bill irwin, the blind hiker, were there. and steve the kennebec river canoe guy was there too. and takoma ted, the trail song guy.one thing i think i decided on as far as doing another long trail is that i would probably want to do the AT again. i know how to do that one. and i would be more comfortable having done it once. no real mysteries now.i feel as if im stuck back in this world again already. physically. mentally im out there. on the AT. how do i know? listen to this...while at the gathering, i noticed i didnt have my apartment key in the hiker wallet (that spunky made me) where i usually keep it. which caused me to figure out how i was gonna get into the house when i got back. call the landlord for a new key? unscrew the window screen to open the window?so, we unloaded my stuff from the truck and put it on my porch. we said goodbye. then i went to open the screen door and THERE IT WAS! in the lock! for 5 days, the key was in the door. see what walking for 6 months does to the mind? all of a sudden you're back, with a hundred new things you have to keep track of. luckily no one stole anything.two things-there's a pay phone about 100 yards from my house to send pocketmails. but there's no volume control on it so it doesnt do the pocketmails. damn. also, the cell phone i have now doesnt work inside, so i have to go outside to use it. and im not doing that when this weather gets bad. so, what to do.soon, ill have a final gear list posted here. a few times out there, because of all the electronic things i had, my trailname was in danger of becoming something like "data" or "stats" or "batman". batman because my hip belt looked like batman's utility belt. but i had fun with the gadgets. i used every one of them, alot. it was extra weight, yes, but to me it was worth the weight. i was amazed at the lack of video cameras out there. how could you do a trip like this and not bring one? it was as important to me as water. and it only weighed about 1 liter of water.at this time, id like to say to those of you that i havent recently contacted, that i havent forgot you. the transition back to this life, with all its details and schedules, etc, makes my hike life seem incredibly far away. im slowly fitting back into this. some days i just dont have anything to enthusiastically comment about. i didnt see a bear today, or almost fall off a cliff, or get to swim next to a waterfall. today i ate cereal, charged the cell phone, dug some dirt and finished panelling a roof. exciting, huh? i do want to keep writing here though. and if youve kept up with my entries, you know i dont write everyday. even if i did, the pay phone doesnt work to send the entries anyway. and the cell phone doesnt do it either. i guess i have to get a real phone. sigh.
Date: 2003-10-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

tue,21oct,1219am-im still bearded and long-haired, and still loving it. its my last hurrah before the plunge. or uncontrolled crash and burn. back down to earth after being a mountain man for months and months. what an eye-opener. was it an awakening? when i go through the ratted out trail handbook i carried, i remember every day vividly. now,that's eventful. everyday for over 6 months being completely aware. what can compare?ive noticed that the calloused skin on my shoulders and hips is wearing away; must be too many showers. yesterday, i pulled a hair from my beard and one from my head, and taped them into my journal. then measured each. 5 inch beard hair, 7 3/8 inch head hair. tonite, in another notebook, i finished calculating how many miles i did each day. the data/stats organizing goes on...i think after a month of not hiking everyday and letting my body heal, its time to get serious about doing a daily exercise session again. not that ive vegged out the whole time. but im just itching to bring my body back into the daily routine again, like it was on the hike. it tells me "vacation is over".re-entry is.....like rebuilding the fort that you escaped from as you kept knocking pieces down til you could get out. now you have to get back into it and repair what you broke. and you just do it, because you cant walk 15-20 miles a day anymore. that hike was...freedom. now im putting my cuffs back on. but i know what freedom is now. and i can do it again. someday.im sure my new hiking family feels like this too. i hope i came close to describing how they feel too.on a positive note, i should have a phone this week and then internet. bill and another bill. (back to a depressing note, eh?) nahhhh! its not so bad.p.s. i hope youve enjoyed my little excursion into self-pshycho analytical metaphor-rich dialogue. and as scarlet o'hara said, "tomorrow is another day".goodnite
Date: 2003-10-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

fri,31oct03,1104pm-halloween...very warm for western new york. about 65 right now. a good nite for trick or treaters.im back to work with my dad now. started officially this week. also now i have wheels. a minivan, like i wanted. im back online too. and almost summerlike weather. and the weekend is here...sounds almost too good to be true. what's about to go wrong?i want to make a list of how things have changed or things that ive noticed have changed since being done with the trail. now, ive had nosebleeds. none on the trail. cause? being indoors when i sleep? hmm. i dont think its from a lack of nutrition, either. i didnt take vitamins out there. and there's no way i was eating healthy. come on, snicker bars and poptarts?what else...im certainly not sweating as much and am cleaner now. having a shower is nice. but i think being this clean makes you want to avoid being not clean. which means, who wants to exercise and get all sweaty again? and its hard to get motivated enough to want to walk around the block a hundred times, just to get exercise. used to be, i just hiked. all day. now i have nowhere to go. just daily suburban loop trails that have you end up at same shelter every nite.the beard is gone, too. makes it easier to eat at least. nothing dripping all over. not as messy. but eating is something thats probably not conducive to staying trim, along with the added lack of exercise. like i need to make eating easier. especially now. so, i wish i kept the beard. i didnt eat as much with it. plus, it was good for scaring people. but you cant do that for very long or the cops get involved. LOOK AT ALL THE TROUBLE THATS CAUSED BY COMING BACK FROM THE TRAIL! JUST TO FIT BACK IN!i miss my friends from the trail. im realizing how much now, as the days get farther away from when we were hiking. we were trail trash, and we liked it. it was our trail. we had our home. and our family. and our job (hiking). we were our own bosses. the day was ours. what a difference now.
Date: 2003-11-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

sun,9nov03,705pmtotal miles-0miles today-0zero, zero, ZERO!this weekend i drove my new dodge minivan (new to me anyway) down to journey's house, about 200 miles. i havent seen her since her summit day, the 22nd of sept. i got there saturday morning. since the last time i was there, the state of PA, or whoever is in charge of changing road exit numbers, CHANGED ROAD EXIT NUMBERS. was i gone THAT long?! it was really great to see her again, and jack. and the dogs. and then in the evening, twofiddy and his new girllfriend, heather, dropped by and we went a chinese buffet for dinner. chinese buffet...on the trail these uttered words together meant "bliss" or "heaven". now, we barely got through 2 plates, as opposed to the hikish 5 or 6. interesting. we also kept notice of the occuring lunar eclipse, periodically throughout our meal. heather would move the window blind and wipe off the condensation from the window and we could see the moon. then later, when we got back to journey's, we sat outside in the below freezing air by the pond and watched it more. i even got some video of it too. i seem to have that camera with me everywhere. you never know what you might see. i just got home about 45 minutes ago. a 3 hour trip. my minivan made it just fine. im very happy about that, cause now i feel confident enough to go on little road trips with it. and i plan to do them frequently as the winter gets here. i cant be stuck in this snow this winter or i may just go nuts. not that im that far from it now....but arent we all nuts, at least somewhat?
Date: 2003-11-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

as you know, i havent made a journal entry in here in quite a while. its not because i dont want to write whats going on now. well, maybe it is somewhat, being that everyday life now isnt as adventurous and noteworthy as it was just a few months ago. life now is so full of obligations, and outside forces pulling at me from every direction, that when i get "home" at the end of the day, i just need to veg out and somehow make some sense out of what just happened to me. where it was once "i need to make dinner and then get water and then go to bed" is now "am i behind in any bills, are they gonna turn something off, is the truck gonna make it through winter, who am i forgetting to visit, ...". id like to just have it simple again, and i wonder if it can be simple again. and then there was Thanksgiving...and i needed to think about that. how can i even make that list? it would be so long. im healthy, strong, young, not starving, have a great job working with my dad, a good vehicle, great friends back here...yes, i am quite lucky. thinking of all these things helps put it into a perspective for me. as i frequently said to myself on the trail, when the rain was drenching me and everything i had, or snow was mocking me for leaving buffalo, ny, or when sleet was pelting me in the face and i felt the chills just run through me, knowing i didnt have a guaranteed warm and dry place to sleep...and not to mention the bugs that bit me and the nasty unshowered feeling you get after days of sweat and grime build an actual shell around you.....i would say to myself, applying the concepts of my soldierly head games training....when i said, "THIS SUCKS!".....i would just turn it around and grit my teeth and with an evil grin say, "I WISH THIS WOULD SUCK EVEN MORE!!!" that did the trick and i was happy again. lets see if it works now.