morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-10-10
From: Wise Shelter

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

October 10th 2004 Lost Mountain Shelter Smokey the Bear has been letting me in a little on the hiker vocabulary and proper mindset. Those days you don¢t hike at all? They¢re not called ¢zero days.¢ Zero is so negative. We call them ¢plus days.¢ They just add a day to your trip. He was pleased to find that I had already figured out that if you want to average 14 miles a day, and one day you go 16 miles, you can basically put 2 miles in the bank ¢extra miles¢, and hike only 12 miles another day without changing the day you want to finish. I don¢t really have a day I want to finish, but I¢d like to be done by Thanksgiving, because it¢s going to get cold. Smokey pointed out to me that I¢d only have to average about 10 miles a day in order to do that, so I¢m probably going to finish before then. I¢ve had such a beautiful, unique day ¢ view after view ¢ I wish I could do it all again. I met a day hiker today that showed me a more scenic parallel trail and we heard this strange noise. He said it was a cow, but when we got to the bottom of this hill, we found out that it was really a man, calling his cows home! Farmers bid to use some of the park land for grazing, which keeps parts clear for views. Night Rain caught up to us today; he needed a prescription for his eye. Smokey excitedly shared with him his ¢calorie challenge¢ idea for Damascus. We met ¢What,¢ a hiker, at the shelter today. He¢s so speedy it¢s like he¢s not even there. There wasn¢t much firewood around.If I had known ahead of time, I would have chosen to stay at Old Orchard shelter (for the sunrise) and Thomas Knob shelter (great view) instead of these two.
Date: 2004-10-12
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today's plus day was well-spent. It was sunny and beautiful, but Damascus was so sleepy and outdoor-oriented that we could actually enjoy it off of the trail. Epiphany and Night Rain were actually staying at a different hostel, because at "The Place" there were rumors of stuff being stolen, so we all hung out on the porch, drawing and writing. In the evening, Charlie's wife Maryanne came down with a ton of food and we cooked up a good BBQ. Smokey and Cobol were back from their successful adventure, and it was really a good time had by all. I pretty much did nothing all day long, except walk between the two huge outdoor stores and the grocery store. Doing nothing felt neccessary. When I got back from the post office, I saw a hiker sitting on the lawn of "The Place," wool hat, and sweater, stuff sprawled around him. It was Flare, apparently very stoned, though probably with good reason, as he, Rocks, and Tapeworm had just slackpacked 42 miles from Kincorra back to Damascus, which took them until 6 am. We had lunch and then they went back to Kincorra. I had only met Rocks and Tapeworm briefly, but Rocks seemed really down this time as compared to when I saw him before -- smiling, dripping wet in a hurricane. Now everything seemed so perfect to me, but Rocks could barely sit still. He got out of the restaurant and started pacing back and forth in the parking lot, smoking a cigarette. Less than 500 miles left (compared to the 1700 he had already done), and he wasn't sure he wanted to continue.
Date: 2004-10-13
From: Damascus

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

18 miles today in damp rain. Two ministers were already there, but I waited a while until Charlie the Tuna, Epiphany, and Night Rain showed up. It took them awhile to get out of bed. I understood. When I hiked to the edge of town and got to where the trail re-entered the woods, I just kinda looked up at it for a bit. It was going to be wet, muddy, and steep. Happily, it was short, but I didn't know that then. The hike was fairly easy going.I'm in Tennessee now. I don't fully realize that, except there are no privies now.
Date: 2004-10-14
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Still overcast, but having friends at camp is great, even when you don't see them all day. Full shelter with a young couple doing some section hiking for charity, and their dog. It's nice to write letters at night, and just get to know your hiking companions and all their habits, and make fun of each other and fight over the space next to the wall. Even though I go to a new place every night, every night it's like home.
Date: 2004-10-15
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 10.5

Laurel Falls was the highlight of today's hike. I sat there for a really long time, but when Smokey the Bear showed up, pleased to have finally run into us, I decided it was time to leave. At US 321 I was thinking about trying to hitch into Hampton, but was told that I could probably get a ride from the hostel. When I got the hostel, however, it didn't seem like that would be an option. I was really nervous, but Bob, the owner of the hostel, ended up giving us a ride down. That was a steep, twisting, scary ride down in the dark. Smokey, who is also a vegeterian, told me that you can get knock off pop tarts that are gelatin-free, and pop tarts without icing also don't have gelatin. I bought a lot of pop tarts. Anyway, this hostel is the greatest place on the trail. I really don't know how anybody could get nicer than Bob. He is in charge of the East Tennesseman Hiking Club, which supervises about 130 miles of trail. I also met trail legends "Otto" and "Baltimore Jack." Lev, Sweetfish, and Ron had slackpacked back to the hostel, and there was a college group up for trail maintenance, so it was pretty full. I had met Lev, a flip-flopper, briefly at Damascus. As he was heading out and I was taking a zero, I said "see you down the trail," but his unusual reply was "I doubt it." He looked surprised to see me at Kincora. Later when we were talking about women on the trail, I said that I expected there to be more, and Lev said he didn't expect to see even one. Happily this bad first impression of him didn't last, though. There was laundry and warm showers, and a wood fired stove. Night Rain got really cold when he was doing his laundry, and it was a bit disturbing to find that my fleece fit him better than it fit me. The cots and bunks had mattresses. What more could one wish for?
Date: 2004-10-16
From: U.S. 19E

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 24.0

Today was yet another overcast day, but I woke up all keyed up. I hadn't slept well because Fort Wayne's bunk had been so close to mine, that I could hear his music during the night even though he was wearing headphones. Bob was doing some trail maintenance south of the hostel, so we were going to walk back to the Hostel, slackpacking North for a day, and I hadn't done that many miles in awhile. Baltimore Jack and Ron had a bit of a tiff yesterday, and this morning Night Rain and Ron were at it. It was a pretty funny situation, with not-yet-caffeinated Night Rain saying "I don't care, it doesn't matter," and Ron trying to explain himself in the mile-a-minute way of his. (He had lost Night Rain's tea.) Finally, Tuna interrupts with one of his one-liners, "Sounds like some pretty heavy shit, man." We all burst out laughing then. Night Rain, Tuna, Smokey and I decided that it was neccessary to take on North-bound alter egos. Smokey had already been dubbed "Vanilla Skinchilla," previously, and had a rather weird, long, and fictitious register entry talking about naked bathing in vanilla pudding, as an explaination. Night Rain became "Slight Pain," though Smokey had his own off-color nickname for him. After trying out a bit of gay propaganda on Smokey and in one of the registers, I became "Rainbow Warrior." It was a good thing Charlie the Tuna a.k.a. "Billy the Barracuda," was along to "watch these kids, especially that Vanilla guy. He's trouble." Pretty much the whole day was like that. There were times when I was laughing so hard I couldn't even walk. That was okay because we were doing a whole lot of running, too. We met up with the trail crew for lunch, and admired (and walked all over) their hard work. When we got back to the hostel, there were showers waiting for us. Warmth. I made spaghetti for everybody and we were all happy.
Date: 2004-10-17
From: Kincora Hostel / U.S. 19 E

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: few clouds

After slack-packing yesterday, my pack feels heavy today. Happily it's finally sunny out again! Today's trail was one of the most scenic days I've had on the trail. From US 19E we first came to the Apple House Shelter, which was pretty trashed. I wouldn't recommend staying there, but as soon as you start to climb out, it gets nicer. At the trail head itself there was a huge bag of spilt garbage: some hate mail from A.T. enemies. Out of today's 15 miles, 13 of them were uphill, but it was well graded. Hump Mtn was my first 360 degree view, and I felt on top of the world. After that, I hiked on my own, stopping at Overmountain Shelter for lunch, which is basically a big red barn. I met some day hikers there who were a little overly concerned with my well being and wanted to give me money/food/clothes/anything. The barn has a great view, and the colorful foliage made it spectacular. Again on Jane Bald and Round Bald were these wonderful, grassy views. The closer I got to Carver's Gap, the more populated it became. In fact, on top of Round Bald the trail even became graveled, it got so much traffic. Unfortunately, I got very lost (and I was doing so good until then!) after Carver's Gap, and tried hiking on an old wood's road instead of the AT. After finding the AT, it was time to climb Roan High Knob, which soon became an evergreen wonderland, which reminded me of Maine, and was like a different biome than just a few miles before. The climb kept me warm for a while, but when I met Charlie and Night Rain at the shelter, they advised me to put more clothes on. At 6385 ft, this shelter was reputed to be the coldest on the A.T. It was the first time I remember having trouble with my stove. It took a very long time to heat up my meal, and it never quite got to boiling. In the evening Night Rain and I shivered together upstairs. I heard a mouse chewing on my pack. It was cold. I wiggled around. An hour passed, maybe two. Night rain: "Are you awake?" Me: "Yeah."Night Rain: "I have to pee." Me: "Me too" Night Rain: "I'll go if you go." Me: "Okay." Poor Charlie, who was downstairs, was probably suddenly woken as we scrambled down the ladder, out the door, and then, 30 seconds later, frantically back inside, up the ladder, and into our sleeping bags. At about 3 am it actually got warmer.
Date: 2004-01-01
To: Happy New Year
Miles today: 0.0

In September 2003, I asked my wife, Susan, how she would feel about me hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2005   She hesitated a moment then agreed and she has supported me 150%. By that I mean she encourages me when I feel like backing out. I have since moved my schedule ahead a year... I go in the spring 2004.I'm getting excited!
Date: 2004-01-02
To: Decisions, decisions.
Miles today: 0.0

I didn't realize the magnitude of preparations that are needed to get ready and I am still feeling totally unprepared. (doesn't everyone say this?) The more I read at "trailjournals.com" and the books I've borrowed and purchased the less confident I feel. In fact, I have wavered a lot about going at all. Last night, as I expressed various thoughts about NOBO vs SOBO, my wife firmly encouraged me to DECIDE and to choose my departure date and place. (I prefer an end-to-end route.) So... I start from Springer Mtn. on March 4. (get it?). March forth on March 4th. *hehe* Dumb, I know.I'm itchin to get goin'.
Date: 2004-01-04
To: More thoughts about gear
Miles today: 0.0

I have tinkered with pop can stoves... they are FUN to make and impressive. I have new ideas each time I make a stove but it is actually heavier to carry with its alcohol fuel than the MSR propane stove and canister. Which is why I decided to carry the stove my wife bought.I bought a nice little pot for cooking. Its not a lightweight one, but I felt at the time that I wanted a sturdy, inexpensive pot with a fitted lid. Since then I have decided to leave that pot home and I modified a 19 oz soup can to serve as my pot since I'll only need to heat water. I have a Rokk Minaret 5000 cu in pack... It was on sale and seems durable if not fancy or terribly convenient. It has a little day pack attached to the top. The day pack seems unneccesary and heavy so I might leave it home. Does anyone have experience with this pack?My old sleeping bag won't compress small enough to fit in the new pack so I bought a new sleeping bag. It's supposed to be a 0* bag and after a trial hike on a frigid night in Utah I am pleased to report it is worthy. The brand is High Peak Simex Sport Bery II. Seems a strange name... fortunately for me its not "bury I". I think it's obvious I am not a gear freak. I love to read about the stalwart and sturdy mountain men and Indians that didn't have our "advantages". I doubt I'd do this hike in early spring if I didn't have synthetics and plastics to keep me warm and safe.I will use tarps for shelter in the south. When the bugs get bad Susan will send me a bright yellow Eureka Solitaire tent that she gave me for Christmas. What would I do without her?
Date: 2004-01-05
To: Fuel
Miles today: 0.0

My planned menu will be extremely simple and static from day to day. I'm not an epicure by any means.   (A decided advantage for a long distance hiker.) Still, I'm surely going to look forward to town food.Any meals that I cook will require nothing more than heating water and then pouring the water into a freezer bag (my brother taught me this) to re-hydrate instant rice, dehydrated veggies, noodles and such. So here's my menu plan.Breakfast:OatmealRaisinsbrown sugar or honeySnacks:Snickers and gorp.Lunch:Peanut butter and honey on Pita or tortilla.Snacks (I will never tire of Snickers or Gorp)Supper: Probably divided into two smaller meals (cooking before I reach camp)Rice flavored with dehydrated veggies and gravy or other spice mixes.Ramen Noodles (I love 'em)Exciting menu huh.Quantities and selection will change as my need for food changes. I plan to buy fruit, vegetables, cheese and some other such luxuries for the first meals out of each town I visit.
Date: 2004-01-13
To: Soon
Miles today: 0.0

My "March Forth" is getting closer and my "todo" list is finally getting shorter rather than longer. There's still a lot to do. (Like income taxes and such. Yuk) We are laughing because we have to pay tax on interest received FROM the IRS. "The IRS giveth and the IRS taketh away".... and take and take and take.I have been reading a lot of journals from last years class, hoping to pick up hints and wisdom. You people are an inspiration! Also I'm reading class of 04 prep journals. Nice to meet you all. Hope to see you on the trail soon!These feet were made for walkin'.'n that's just what they'll do.one of these days these feet are gonna...walk the trail thru.corny, huh!GA dew MEguh doo mee
Date: 2004-01-18
To: Possessions
Miles today: 0.0

The last few days I've packed and weighed, and repacked and weighed my backpack to pare off a few pounds and I have managed to invent a few ways to cut ounces here and there. It feels so good to experience that sudden euphoria that comes when a new idea is discovered to cut pack weight. Admittedly, most of "MY brilliant" ideas were born from tid-bits I've picked up reading hiking books, forums and journals, but when I realize how to make these ideas work for me it feels..... ingenious! Discovering how to shave weight without a helpful hint is especially rewarding. This past week has been fun!!! My base weight now - including the clothing I'll wear is about 32 lbs. Now I need to resolve some issues regarding the food I'll carry. One step at a time, eh?I'm not saying anything about the weather.... hoping if I ignore it - it will go away.GAdewMEguh doo mee
Date: 2004-01-20
To: Dear Diary
Miles today: 0.0

Writing this journal is a challenge. I struggle with each entry because I vacillate on who my audience is. My audience should be "me" primarily. But, I want to share my journal with anyone interested in my preparations and the trek. I have enjoyed reading other journals and they serve as an example for me. I welcome you to my diary. I will try to focus my journal as if I am the main "interested party" as much as I can, sparing my guests the "unfit for sharing" details. My entries ought to be notes to myself to help me with:(1) The "next time". (2) Anything I'll enjoy reading after short-term memory has faded. (3) Comments and answers to guest book correspondents.I received my pocketmail device and I've been learning to use it. I am trying to memorize instructions for lots of stuff, including:>> Pocketmail device>> Casio altimeter/barometer/thermometer/compass/calendar/alarm/even tells time Watch. (I've had it for so long the battery went dead on the shelf - now I'm finally going to get to use it)>> Digital radio. (Silence is golden, but for 6 months?) >> Trekking Poles Not exactly what Jeremiah Johnson carried now is it!   But, he would if he could, wouldn't he?   I'm anxious! I still have 44 days to wait, but "the day" feels much closer, and at the same time, far away. I feel like a child waiting for Christmas.Life is GOOD.Gadewme
Date: 2004-01-22
To: getting closer.
Miles today: 0.0

I have made my plane reservations and arranged for shuttle and hostel in Georgia. It feels so good to have these items crossed off my "todo" list.Thanks! to John B Braswell for hooking me up with Josh and Leigh Saint and their new hostel, in Dahlonega. I talked to Leigh earlier today and - WOW! I can't believe how she solved so many concerns for me in a few minutes on the phone. I'm looking forward to staying there. They have a nice web site here: http://www.hikerhostel.com I'm smilin!Dave
Date: 2004-01-25
To: Test Mode
Miles today: 0.0

There have been a few times when I went shopping with a fabric in mind, most notably silk in China. Polyester... first time was in November. Gore-tex in December... fabrics are a new science to me. I took a six-mile walk near my home last night to train myselfusing layering concepts. It wasn't as cold as I hoped because anew front was moving in and bringing warmer air and snow alongwith it. So my first layering test I was removing layersinstead of adding. At 28 degrees F I am well prepared. I wantto try colder temps out though, because I live in a dry desertand I know 28* will FEEL colder on the AT than in Utah. Theweatherman says it will be cooler tonight.With fond childhood memories, I slept in my yard (on existingsnow) after my layering test... to test my tarp system.I slept warm and dry, but parts of my sleeping bag got soakedfrom condensation and falling snow. So I need to revise mythinking some. I figure I cannot totally avoid moisture on mythru-hike, but I can make it better. I have two $7 tarps for my shelter. (Am I cheap or what????) I'm willing to go to a tent if I can't make the tarps work out. -More testing tonight.Still in test mode... this entry will be edited and transcribed by Susan, her first venture into this function. THANKS, SUE!
Date: 2004-01-26
To: night hike
Miles today: 0.0

When the skies opened up and dropped a deep layer of snow on the city, I stopped my daily walks, mostly because of the ice and partly because of sore ankles. Big mistake. It's amazing how fast I lost the gains from the previous training. The ground is still covered with snow that's over a foot deep on the flat and frozen hard. Now I am training again on the crust of snow, but sometimes as I walk along I step on a weak spot and posthole. It's a tooth jarring, joint wrenching stumble, but I haven't fallen - yet.I waited till after dark to walk on Saturday because I wanted to hike in the coldest part of the day, to test my hiking clothes. It wasn't that cold, but it was a great walk. I didn't need a light because there was an eerie light reflecting between the clouds and the snow. So quiet! I had the trail all to myself and I was lucky to see a lot of wildlife that I don't get to see in the daytime. I saw one beaver, swimming less than 30 feet from me, but heard the warning alarm of five more beavers. Two of the tail slaps on the river surface made deep resonant thudding sounds, like dropping a bowling ball sized boulder straight in to the water. "THUMMMP!" It was something I haven't experienced before, but I have heard many less spectaular beaver alarms. There are a few "new" ducks wintering on the Jordan river, in Utah, that my walking path parallels. I don't know much about ducks. I can identify mallards and mud ducks, but I saw some beautiful species on my walks this week that I don't know. One is small and dark in color (I think black) with white wings, a very sharp contrast. When it flies it sounds like a loose power steering belt. (Probably a Blue Bill Scaup - Thanks Jinnie and Mike for helping me identify the ducks.) So cool!Another species; the male and slightly smaller female are identical in coloration. Dark grey body and wings with a velvety black head. The beak is a light yellow. Very pretty duck. I've been told it could be a Gadwall, but it might be a "Least Grebe".Most exciting, I saw a rare (around here) racoon running on the opposite side of the river, about 60 feet away. It was pretty big, I estimate the top of his back was 18 inches from the deck. He stopped to scold me with his chirping stacatto stutter. I like night hiking and hope to do more real soon.
Date: 2004-01-28
To: My Journal Signature
Miles today: 0.0

Today I saw a bumper sticker that said; "Change is inevitable, growth is optional."   It is a good phrase for my journal signature. To "walk the Appalachians." The romance of the idea has been with me for many years. Some of my thoughts are about how I will change after months of hiking and all the challenges, adventure and experiences I'll find along the way. For certain, this will be the most unique experience of my life, so far.I'm not looking for anything that will distract from the daily joy/task of hiking or just being out there... but growth will happen.I like this phrase a lot
Date: 2004-01-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Last evening I walked with Sue. We only walked about 6 miles,but that snow that I keep mentioning has changed. For over amonth it sat hard and frozen, but yesterday the temperature wasabove freezing and the snow that was crusty is now soft andslippery. It made for a great workout, slipping and slidingwith each step. But not all of our walk was on the snow. Much of it was on acleared, paved walkway alongside the river. The sunset was init's full glory as we left the house and walked out our backgate and into the parkway behind our home. The parkway runsalong the Jordan River and its a great place for folks to walk,skate, bike or run. On this cold winter evening though, we metonly three other hardy souls. As soon as we approached the river, we noticed motion in thewater where some branches had fallen in. A beaver was chewingat the bark of the branches and paying little attention to us. We stood and looked at it. I have known this beaver was herebecause I hear him slap the water from time to time when Iapproach, but I hadn't seen him before this moment. We watcheduntil he finally swam to the bank and we lost sight of him inthe undergrowth. (Notice I am assuming he's a he.)For me, the wildlife, even when common is the most thrilling aspect ofhiking. I never tire of spotting a muskrat, mallard oreven a mouse. What about bobcats, bears and beavers? All thebetter!!! So... my animal count for last night.1 beaver2 muskrats3 grebes (I think they're "Least Grebes") very pretty1 Blue Bill Scaup (messed up my sequence huh)lotsa mallards19 Canadian geeseRegrettably, no mice, moose or musk ox