morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-09-27
From: Pierce Pond shelter

To: Moxie Pond shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

27 Sept (23 mi)Wikkid windy last night, thanks to the lake; jackets, ponchos, etc. flew all ove rthe shleter. First one out of camp, again (this is a trend, so i¢m not going to write of it any more), and flat 4 miles to the Kennebeck ferry. Eric, who is bigger than Vin Diesel, picked up my poles and placed them in the canoe, picked up my pack and placed it in the canoe, picked me up and placed me in the canoe, rowed across, and revesed the process. Corrected Crazy Carl¢s story about being dumped into the river (apparently, CC is a local that pushes drugs to hikers!! What the ¢¦?) CH catches up, and we hitch into Caratunk ¢ population 32. Traildawg (the one I first met in Gorham ¢ Linus¢ friend) met us at the ferry-man¢s store, and took up back to the trailhead. How does he pop up everywhere?! Pizza the Hut and Moonshine are already at the trailhead, stretching for a 37-mile Madness March to Monson. We joke about joining them (it¢d be 41 miles for me in one day, and i¢ve never even done a 30-miler), but follow them to the Pleasant Pond shelter, where the 3BM, the Alphas, the Machine Boys (from last night), team Sloth, Timshel, etc. are lunching. We hike out to another pond and a gravel road, where there¢s an even bigger reunion. We convince some folks ¢ Holden, Mr. Fusion, History, etc. ¢ to do the Madness March to Monson, and take off. I am intrigued. If we all keep together, it may be fun. Mr. Fusion and i are the slow-pokes of the group, and i don¢t want us left behind in the night. But¢¦ teamwork can go a long ways, so we hike on. The guys vow their support to Mr. Fusion and i. We stop for dinner at Moxie Pond shelter, which is full, with a fire going. There¢s another ¢train¢ reunion ¢ Pizza the Hut (who is hiking with us) and Magic Touch (at the shelter). We are insane. It is dark already. Back up on Moxie Mtn (or whatever mtn that was before the shelter) we watched the sunset. Then, the winds picked up and it got super dark and super cold. I was in front of the group, and my first step off the slabby rock was into thigh-deep much (not too pleasant or exciting). My headlamp sucks, as does Moonshine¢s, so Bulldawg was lighting the way for the three of us, which left us laughing and stumbling. We walk off the trail once, but find again, and march to the Moxie Shelter. The ¢train¢ decides to stay, and the folks in the shelter make room for me as well. The guys eat dinner by the fire, and you can tell none of them really want to go. We can fix enough food for all, and arrange ourselves so that even Moonshine (who is slack packing and doesn¢t have any of his stuff) can stay warm all night, but¢¦ no one wants to be the first one to back out, especially since Pizza and i already backed out. ¢It¢s 8 o¢clock. We¢ll leave at 8:30.¢ At 8:30, ¢well, we¢ll just leave around 9.¢ And so on. ¢Okay, we¢re going¢¦ we should do a chant..¢ they stand in a circle, one hand in the center, but they can¢t even come up with anything to say. Finally, they say something and book outta there, leaving a bag of firecrackers in the fire.
Date: 2005-09-28
From: Moxie Pond shelter

To: 1 mi past Monson
Miles today: 19.0

28 Sept (19mi)Watched the sunrise over the misty lake right from the shelter!! Quick hike out to Monson with folks that needed to hit the post office. Found the Madness March to Monson group some 9 miles south of Monson, sitting in the trail staring at a lake like zombies. They hiked till 2am and passed out on the side of the trail. Ha! Got mail in Monson (Thanks, Dwayne!), split a pizza with Magic Touch, resupplied at the local grocery store (if one may call it that ¢ advice for future hikers ¢ send a maildrop to Monson, it don¢t got jack nada), and hitched out of town w/a local that thru-hiked with Traildawg in 2004! Small world. We only hiked about a mile out, and cowboyed by a pond on soft pine needles. Good wine, good conversation, good sleep ¢ what more does a hiker need? : )
Date: 2005-09-29
From: Knoxville, TN

To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.0

29 Sept (9 mi)Now that the sun rises later, sleeping in. Hiked out after Dude & Co passed us, announcing that the whole crew is zeroing at Shaw¢s. Leisurely-paced day; ran into Hopeful Hiker (who flip-flopped out of¢¦ Gorham?) at a beautiful, boxy rock waterfall. Forded our first river for the day and sat on the bank waiting to see someone esle ford. There¢s a rope across the river, but it¢s very slack, so there¢s no use holding on to it. Supposedly, Spartan held on to the rop and went right into the river horizontally! Tried to get up, but the pack got caught on the rope, and he went in again. The water is mightly cold, i¢d hate for that to happen to me. Two more fords today, which were cold and mid-thigh deep. By the third ford, it was pouring riand, so getting wet didn¢t really matter. We only made it as far as the next shelter after the third ford (1/2 mi) and stayed there. Backtrack, Mr. Fusion, Sunflower, BottleRocket, and Crazy Horse caught up to us. I¢m glad we didn¢t zero in Monson and forded these rivers today ¢ there¢s no say how high the water may rise after the rain. It rained most of the night. We hung out food bags, as usual, in the shelter, but the mice were extra-acrobatic, so CH suggested hanging our food out on trees, which we did ¢ all except Magic Touch. In the night, squirrels had eated thru many of the food bags hung on the trees, but MT¢s (hung in the shelter) was unscathed. Ha!
Date: 2005-09-30
From: 1 mi past Monson

To: Cloud Lake shelter
Miles today: 10.0

30 Sept (10 mi)Crazy Horse had been hiking in Backtrack¢s old shoes, but they¢re too small, so after extensive surgery (on the shoes) he leaves them at the shelter and hikes out in crocks. We break for lunch after yet another ford (this one was hip-deep (for me) and i walked quite a ways upstream to find calmer waters), and cook pad thai with sauteed cucumbers that i brought out from Monson (courtesy of the ¢grocery store¢ and benefit of being called a vegetable on the trail). The pad thai was by far the best meal cooked on the trail. We added bits of trail mix into the sauce, and enjoyed the meal on a sunny bank. We mosie behind CH, but then take a 3 12 hour break on a ledge overlooking a lake and some mountain ranges ¢ the view is unbelievable, especially with autumn foliage; there is no sign of civilization in any direction! This is how hiking should be ¢ we should stop at every view, take a breath, take a break, take a seat, relax, enjoy. None of these madness marches, pushing one¢s self too far too quickly, setting strange and arbitrary goals that don¢t make anyone happy. I wish i had stopped more like this, but i also know that i have, at least, stopped some times, and that is already better than nothing. The day is calm and sunny, and MT and i chat on this ledge, peering into the distance. My mother, at one point, gave me a mud mask ¢with mud from New Zealand,¢ she said. As if i wouldn¢t have enough mud on the trail!? But the mask is actually great, because there isn¢t much face-washing going on in the woods, not by this little piggy. MT gives me a mud mask (he grew up with 4 sisters, poor guy!), which i wash off in a puddle. Have you ever washed yourself in a puddle? It¢s great, i strongly recommend it. Just make sure that the puddle is above 3000ft and that there¢s a breeze to dry your face and a great view to enjoy while you¢re drying. We were going to top off this perfect day with sleep in a firetower, but apparently the big bad wolf had come and blown the shelter part of the tower off the mtn, so there was only the ladder left. We climbed it for a first view of Katahdin, but didn¢t she the Big K, either because we didn¢t know where to look, or it was hazy/cloudy. Hiked on to Cloud Lake shelter for a hot magenta sunset on the lake, which we watched in silence. The shelter smells like pee and there¢s no register, but the sunset was well worth the 0.4 mi we ventured off the trail.
Date: 2005-10-01
From: Cloud Lake shelter

To: Milo, ME
Miles today: 11.0

DAY 127 (1 Oct 2005; 11 mi)Today, the entire crew that zeroed at Shaw¢s in Monson caught up to us. It is sunny and warm, and we have our first clear glimpse of Katahdin. Had trouble finding the trail from Chairback Lean-to, and slipped on a jagged rock at the nearby campsite. Thanks to Magic Touch¢s magic touch, I still have all of my teeth!!! Hiking with Magic has been great! I wish I had done single digit days all along, and I wish I could continue hiking them all the way through the wilderness. I guess I¢ll have to return to do that someday, and take my time. Not sure what all the rush is about summiting so soon, but I guess there is just an unmodifiable long list of things ¢ the ALDHA gathering, a ¢brother¢s¢ wedding, Packstock¢s birthday¢¦ Speaking of taking it easy, Magic has this crazy idea of meeting up with his dad, who is supposedly visiting Maine this weekend, and taking some days off the trail. He¢s working hard to convince me to take those days off as well. That means back-to-back 30¢s when we return, but I¢m out of food, so I let the Universe decide, one again. Just north of Chairback, we run into a section hiker ¢Slow Mo¢, so takes us into town (Milo) from the Gulf of Hagas, and Magic and I patiently await his father¢s arrival.
Date: 2005-10-02
From: Milo, ME

To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 128 (2 Oct 2005; 0 mi)Success!! We meet up with MT¢s dad, and spend a day of exploring Maine ¢ Baxter, Millinocket, float-plane ride over the lakes and the mountains (and Katahdin)¢¦ Awesome!! Thanks MT¢s dad, gf, and MT!!!!
Date: 2005-10-03
From: Gulf Hagas

To: some shelter in Maine
Miles today: 18.0

DAY 129 (3 Oct 2005; 18 mi)After another fun morning, we are returned to Gulf Hagas. First thing is a ford, but the water level is a lot lower today than 2 days ago! I put 17 miles under the belt in the sunny afternoon (MT stays one shelter back), and share a shelter with another group that I¢d been hoping to catch up to since¢¦ well, actually just since Gorham ¢ Serenity and the Pod. They are great company!
Date: 2005-10-04
From: some shelter in Maine

To: campsite by a river in Maine
Miles today: 24.0

DAY 130 (4 Oct 2005; 24 mi)All these days start running together. It is little more than a last-minute push to still summit on the 6th. Team SOS ¢ Summit-On the-Sixth (originally the Seventh). I¢m outta camp early, I love the solo mornings, Maine is beautiful ¢ what else is new? I just love it!! The early sun hit the yellow/orange birches, setting them ablaze. The trail is very smooth today, leading to lunch by a riverside, and on and on on rolling flatness. Debating whether to pull my first 30-mi day today, I come out to a lake with a pebble beach and not a soul around. It is warm enough to sun-tan, which I do, and swim, which I do also. Forget the 30 ¢ it¢s more important to enjoy life. Isn¢t that what this hike has been all about? There¢s a bit of an excitement over doing big miles, but really, I like just enjoying this wilderness and it doesn¢t matter how far or how fast I go. Life is beautiful!Meet MT, Too Obtuse, and Quijote at the next shelter, and convince them to do another 4-6 miles to a campsite by the river. We arrive at the campsite in the dark, only to meet a very cool canoeing couple from an organic farm in Maine. They are great company, and share their tea with us, chatting of how nice it is to be able to bring cast iron pots on the boat with them! I want to canoe the Maine waterways, too, someday! But for now, cowboying in the woods is just as good.
Date: 2005-10-05
From: campsite by a river in Maine

To: Abol Bridge campground
Miles today: 29.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 131 (5 Oct 2005; 29 mi)Big day. We all know that we have 29 miles to do today. This will be my record day. I am nervous and excited. We are up and out of the campsite around 4 or 5am. Going fast on the flat trail, but then it gets steeper. I am content at hiking solo, with few stops. Sorry to pass Rainbow Lake ¢ would have been a nice place to camp. The last shelter of the wilderness is full of thru-hiker info and goodbye¢s, and it¢s sad to realize that for most of these folks, this is the last night spent on the trail! I am so luck to be a flip-flopper ¢ more miles after Katahdin, you know.The view of Katahdin from Abol bridge at sunset is spectacular!!! MT, TO, Quijote and I eat dinner at a picnic table, and scheme on a place to sleep. We cannot enter the park at night ¢ or can we? A van pulls up with Mr. Fusion, Mr. Fusion¢s dad, Backtrack, and Crazy Horse ¢ they summated today! CH stays with us, and all five of us stealth-cowboy at a nearby campground.We need to be at the Birches by 9am tomorrow, preferably earlier, but that¢s still 10 miles from where we are today! I am worried. I don¢t want to get there at 9:15am and not be allowed to summit.
Date: 2005-10-06
From: Abol Bridge campground

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 132 (6 Oct 2005; 22 mi)I am awake at 2am, after numerous dreams of ¢sleeping through¢ Quijote¢s wake-up call. At 4am I cook breakfast, and we¢re on the trail by 4:20am. Hiking in the dark, but the trail is rather kind and flat, mostly pine needles. Our first ford that we rock-hop ¢ our first and last ¢ and then it¢s light and we¢re walking on a gravel road towards the Birches. A whole crew of hikers is there ¢ Moonshine, Fester, Holden, Bulldog, History, Getty Lee, Jackaroo and his friends from Japan/Calgary¢¦. We register with the ranger, and I¢m out first, because I¢m slowest, right? The gang passes me a third of the way up. It is another beautiful day ¢ we have been so blessed on this trek!!! Not a cloud in the sky ¢ all the clouds are condensed in the valleys like a fluffy mattress. It is sunny and warm, and we make our way to the table lands, from which it is a mad rush to the top, because you can see it, but it¢s still far away. At the top ¢ at the sign ¢ each thru-hiker is greeted with cheering from the already-summitted thru-hikers. There¢s wine and champagne, honey buns, cheese, fresh bread, candy, and all kinds of goodies to go around. There is constant picture-taking, giggling, cheering, and general good atmosphere. Twenty two thru-hikers summitted today!!!But the summit is half the job ¢ now we have to get down, and of all the routes, we choose the Knife¢s Edge, which really looks like a serrated knife¢s edge, with drop-offs to either side of the narrow walkway. It is exhilarating and scary, but no word description would do it justice! One should just go and do it for the experience, but remember that it is probably one of the most difficult climbs along the whole trail!! Still magical, and great company.After coming down to the trailhead in total darkness, we got a ride into Millinocket, found the rest of the hikers in a hotel room, and celebrated!!DAYS 133-145 (7 Oct ¢ 19 Oct 2005; 0 mi)Off trail.
Date: 2005-10-20
From: Rte 321

To: Kincora, Hampton TN
Miles today: 9.0

20 Oct (9 mi)Heading SOBO from Rte 321 to Springer to finish the thru-hike. Slack-packed myself from Rte 321 to Kincora in the afternoon. Must have been about 80 degrees F, and it¢s mid-october! The going is slow ¢ it¢s always hard returning to the trail, but it¢s difficult returning FROM the trail as well. About 2 hours in, wished i hadn¢t slack-packed myself, then i could just camp/cowboy wherever, without having to cover any specific mileage, but that¢s the general reaction to slack-packing. Hiking solo, and i love it! We just don¢t give ourselves enough time to enjoy our own company, you know? Bob & Pat, at Kincora, were great! So welcoming and accomodating!! Bob is such an interesting person ¢ if you¢ve met him but never talked to him, i.e. of what he used to do for a living, etc., do so! Met 2 section hikers ¢ Wobbles & Skippy Magoo ¢ and convinced them to slack pack 24 mi with me tomorrow. Slave driver, i know.
Date: 2005-10-21
From: Rte 19E

To: Kincora
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: scattered clouds

21 Oct (24 mi)Very easy trail today¢¦ of course, having returned from Maine, anything should be easy, right? Wobbles and Skippy are great company ¢ we pick a good pace, take breaks whenever we want, and enjoy another sunny day. In the evening, Wobbles made his amazing pancakes, for which i had hoped to rename him Dr. Pancakes, but¢¦ instead, i just have the recipe, which he had permitted me to post on in my journal:Wobbles¢ Wonderful Pancakes:Fry up 4 sliced apples with copious amounts of sugar, cinnamon, syrup (corn), and respectable amount of oil or butter. Add in scoops of sugar periodically as the fruit softens.Heat up pan, butter slightly and add some apples. Add generous portion of pancake mix. Let cook for 1 minute. Push batter to center to make a mound of batter. When it seems reasonable, flip the very thick pancake. Don¢t worry if it breaks ¢ just push it back together.Pancake mix:Follow direction BUT decrease milk slightly, add lots of sugar & cinnamon, for every 2 eggs substitute 1 egg & 2 egg whites.Stack 2 (or more) super thick pancakes that are brown but not totally cooked through. Cover with sugar, cinnamon, and syrup from apple frying, plus more if you really want to be crazy. Add a couple of apples on top for class.Bake in pre-heated oven at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes.Take out, thank Wobbles, and ENJOY!
Date: 2005-10-22
From: Kincora Hostel, Hampton, TN

To: Kincora
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

22 Oct (zero)Third day out and already a zero! Doing hardcore trail maintenance with Bob today, picks, shears, and all. Great group from his church, community, local high school, and ASU, another perfect autumn day, fantabulous upper-body workout. Returned for a dinner at a local BBQ joint with a SOBO thru-hiker (Midnight) and the 2 sectioners from Kincora. Last minute decided to drive some 400+ miles out to Richmond, VA, to see Crazy Horse¢s last gig at Mio¢s Pizzaria. Long drive, but by the time we got there, there was still a crowd, CH was still playing, and there were other (thru-)hikers there, too!!! ¢ Fester & Holly, Stone Passer, Superfeet, Big Fish, Lady Bug, Tuna, Wobbles, Midnight, myself, and my best friend Dr. Jones (who started this adventure with me).
Date: 2005-10-23
From: Kincora Hostel, Hampton, TN

To: Kincora
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

23 Oct (zero)¢¦moving right along¢¦ drove back from Richmond, bought halloween costumes (bunny ears for Midnight, bibs fro Skippy & Wobbles, tiara & tutu for me), met Running Water (SOBO) and returned to Kincora for more of Wobbles¢ Wonderful Pancakes, this time dark chocolate & banana!!
Date: 2005-10-24
From: Rte 19E

To: Roan Mtn shelter
Miles today: 15.0

24 Oct (15 mi)It¢s raining and no one wants to get up. I have a car for this SOBO portion, which allows for sporadic side-trips, but requires lots of hitching to retrieve and move it along the trail. Finally, we¢re out the door, and i¢m hiking solo, NOBO over the balds north of Roan Mtn. S & W drop me off in a snow cloud at Carver¢s Gap. Everything is coated with frost, and the sign ¢Do not pick flowers¢ leaves me giggling for a good mile. The day clears up, and the frost-coated balds glisten in the sun, pearl-bright against the blue sky. Stop for lunch at Overmountain shelter, which is beautiful. The foliage is amazing, and under a lace of white, it is breathlessly beautiful. Well, not so breathlessly, i guess, since the wind is howling, and i¢m all bundled up in layers, with the fuzzy pink tiara atop the ninja balaclava mask. TP ¢ the terrorist pricess, eh? About half way, i meet with the boys for a key hand-off. Mosie on to the longhorns, that are actually still grazing on the side of the mountain. Snuck up on them for a shot, but they all turned to see who¢s coming, and i stalled. They are huge, and i don¢t know just how docile they may or may not be. Rush to the car after that, through golden corridors filled with pink air of autumn. It¢s crazy ¢ like walking on rose petals, still! Scenes like that put a smile on a face for the rest of the day! I drive around to Carver¢s Gap and hike SOBO to Roan Mtn shelter in a blizzard. The snow is sideways, the wind is merciless, and it is mighty cold. This is where i need to interject that the friend of mine that had my winter gear and was going to sent it to me, was suddenly sent half way across the world (i¢ll let you guess where), so i only had my fall gear with me, layered to expose only my eyes, and still shivering. Luckily, Roan Mtn is a 4-walled stone (cold) shelter, and with 2 other sectioners the night wasn¢t so bad. Sleeping in all of my clothes, and rather excited that i get to experience all four seasons on the trail.
Date: 2005-10-26
From: Iron Mtn Gap

To: Indian Gap
Miles today: 11.0

26 Oct (11 mi)There¢s something adventurous, mischevious, and romantic about sleeping in the car, solo, in some dark pull-off in the woods; wherever, really. It¢s difficult to get organized in the car, though. Hiking in the misty morning wetness, munching on yesterday¢s left-overs. I am dehydrated, but the water is too cold to drink lots of it, and i don¢t feel like cooking in this miserable weather. I make myself feel useful by doing some more little tid-bits of trail maintenance, but am mostly sliding, sloshing, slipping, and tripping down the trail. On the sunny sides of the mountain still hiking in the bikini/tutu/tiara getup, but the shadow side has me back in a jacket. There¢s still snow on the mountain tops, but most of it is dripping in huge, wet, slimy clumps, trying to land on the back of my neck, on my head ¢ all the pleasant places. W & S must have passed me yesterday while i was getting the car, because i¢ve been following their footprints in the snow, and found their snowman on Unaka mountain. Unaka mtn was incredible ¢ each tree framed in white from the direction of the wind, the sun reflecting in it¢¦ I take a break on Beauty Spot, and it must be about 60 degrees F, but wet boots don¢t allow to sit too long, so i mosie on down to Indian Grave Gap and hitch to Miss Janet¢s.
Date: 2005-10-27
From: Indian Gap

To: Miss Janet's House, Erwin
Miles today: 8.0

27 Oct (8 mi)I am doing partial slave-for-stay at Miss Janet¢s, but with a 6-12 person crew, i am not sure how she manages the kitchen and all the kids (hikers) running around. What a woman! We get everyone fed and out of the house, and then i slack pack 8 miles with MJ¢s dog ¢ Fabian. Very easy trail today, and Fabian is a delightful companion. He patiently waits for me as i fullfill my leaf-collecting obsession on this beautiful, warm, sunny day.Back at the hostel, MJ made us dinner, and entertained us all evening till we climbed up into our wobbly bunks, like cubs in a den.