morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-08-17
From: Shaw's Hostel

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 149 - I slept well until 4:30am and when the parade into the bathroom started. My room was next to the bathroom and in a house nearly 100 years old, the doors don't exactly shut and open quietly. Shaw's was completely full last night, so that meant probably 15 people in the house. I finally got up at 6:30am and started repacking my pack. I had laid everything out in the room to dry so it all had to be reassembled. I cut back on my breakfast this morning since I was going to be hitting the trail and limited myself to two eggs, bacon, hash browns and a couple of pancakes. I was shuttled to the trail and was on the trail at 8:40am. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, mid 60's, a little humid but a good day to be hiking. I had to ford three steams, meaning I had to remove my boots put on my sandals and then reverse that procedure on the other bank. That is still better than hiking in wet socks and boots. I got to Horseshoe Lean-to at 1:10p and decided to push on to the next shelter. Along the way, I met up with Chicago Bull, a carpenter from Maine, who is hiking down to NY. He has done quite a bit of hiking on the AT and was good company. I arrived at Moxie Bald lean-to at 6:03pm, having covered 18.0 miles today. The terrain was fairly flat plus being rested and hydrated I moved along fairly well. Additionally, I encountered my first Maine trail magic, from Stridder who was a thru hiker in 2003. With the miles today, I have now completed 1,253.2 and have 927.8 remaining.
Date: 2011-08-19
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Northern Outdoors
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 151 - I did not sleep that soundly during the night. I had to get up at 1:14am and unfold my rain fly as it had started to rain. David and Becky had offered to take me to Northern Outdoors from the parking lot on U.S. 201 where David had parked his car. I knew that they were faster hikers than I was so I was going to have to get an early start in order to cover the 5.9 miles and not have them to wait on me. I was also concerned about my water situation. I figured I had the option of buying additional 3.0 volts photo batteries for the Steri-pen but that was really not an option if they were only going to last a week. Another option was to purchase a filter or to use the Aqua-Mire drops. I believe I said that they were bleach (NaOH) base but they are actually chlorine based. David very graciously offered me his drops to get me through this crisis which I accepted. I was up at 5:30am and on the trail at 6:20am and got to the parking lot at 9:10am about ten minutes ahead of Chicago Bull, Becky and David. David had left a cooler full of trail magic the day before so the oatmeal cakes, banana, apple and root beer tasted pretty good. We sat around for 30 minutes or so visiting with some north bounders. David and Becky then dropped me off at Northern Outdoors, a rafting outfit but they also have tent sites and cabin tents. I had reserved a cabin tent which is a larger tent with 2 cots/mattresses in them. My cabin tent was not available until 4:00pm and since it was only 10:30am I decided to eat breakfast, consisting of two eggs, potatoes, bacon and a couple of pancakes. They had a computer available so I ended up doing some journal updates as well. They also had a laundry facility so I decided to do my laundry and found a $5.00 bill, nice and clean, in the dryer, so I ended up making money doing my wash. After that, I went out on the patio and unloaded my pack and let my gear dry out in the sun. I had big Rueben sandwich for lunch and mapped out my next couple of weeks, trying to figure out how much food I needed and where I would stay. Sometime, during all of this I also took a shower which was nice. I would like to have done more miles today but I also needed to map out my next couple of weeks too. I checked into my tent cabin and went back to the restaurant to have dinner. I had macaroni and cheese with lobster mixed in with it. It was quite good and a different combination. I am not sure if I have mentioned this or not but some studies have shown that an average hiker will burn approximately 5,000-6,000 calories a day hiking. Of course, this is dependent on gender, age, metabolism, weight of pack, etc. There is no way one can replenish this amount of calories eating dehydrated food while on the trail. That is why, when I have the opportunity to eat, I make the most of it. With the 5.9 miles today, my total is now 1,272.2 with 908.8 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-20
From: Northern Outdoors

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 152 - I slept OK, actually my mattress was damp so I ended up sleeping on my deflated sleeping pad in my sleeping bag. The tent cabin was right on the Kennebec River so it was very damp and humid. I was up at 7:00am and went back to the restaurant to enjoy their breakfast buffet. I did not overload, only had a few scramble eggs, potatoes, bacon and pancakes, since I was hitting the trail. Northern Outdoors shuttles hikers back to the trail head around 9:00am, there was no reason to go sooner because of the following:The Kennebec River is approximately 75 yards wide at the trail. Many years ago, hikers would ford this river, water being waist deep. However, there is a hydroelectric dam about 10 miles up the river and they would release water but not necessarily at a scheduled time. A hiker actually drowned when the wall of water washed them down the river. The official method of crossing this river is now in a canoe. It is supported by the ATC and they cross from 9:00am-11:00am and from 2:00pm-4:00pm. After a short 0.4 miles walk to the river from the highway, I arrived at the river. David, the canoeist, starts from the north side so I was the first passenger on the day. This was important because the bottom of the canoe was dry so my pack did not get wet. David said that the river was currently flowing at 610cfs but would increase to 5,100 cfs after the dam released water. He said that one or two young hikers would attempt to ford the river during the year and that he normally has to pick them up in the river. The trip over took less than 10 minutes and there were 8 north bound hikers waiting to go north. The river bottom is the lowest elevation in Maine on the trail at 517 feet. In the next couple of weeks as I exit Maine I will have to traverse over 9-10 mountains in excess of 4,000 feet and that many more with 3,000 feet summits. In Maine alone, south bounders have 36 major peaks and a total elevation gain of 55,500 feet. This means you travel up the mountains a total of 55,500 feet over 10.5 miles. Of course, I still find going down the mountains more difficult and more dangerous, so I have to go down the same number of feet. The day was good, a lot of bogs. I crossed over a tremendous walkway that had been constructed over a bog near Bates Ridge. It had 39 sections of approximately eight feet long, just over a football field length. I also crossed over the trail that Benedict Arnold, before turning a traitor, used in 1775 to carry out a surprise attack on Quebec. I arrived at West Carry Pond lean-to at 5:50pm after hiking 13.8 miles. My total is now 1,286.0 with 895.0 miles remaining. Later that evening a north bounder arrived, I had been looking for him for the past couple of days. It was Johnny Love from Church Hill and a friend of an individual that I used to work with, Judy. He is completing his section hike and should summit Mt. Katahdin around Labor Day. It was nice to finally meet him and wish him well.
Date: 2011-08-21
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Saffor Notch Campground
Miles today: 12.2

Day 153 - I slept well in the lean-to. One reason, that I neglected to mention, was that I went swimming in West Carry Pond yesterday afternoon. I just got in with my hiking shorts and washed all the grime off of me and rinsed my shorts out at the same time. I was up at 6:00am and on the trail at 7:00am. Nothing of any significance happened today, the big issue was wondering what was going to happen with the weather. David, the canoeist, said that there was to be a huge storm to come through on Sunday night, which was today. The problem is that the lean-tos are too far apart and over some tough terrain. The first lean-to from West Carry Pond was Little Bigelow lean-to which was only 7.3 miles, that was not enough miles for the day. The next one was Horns Pond lean-to but it was 17.3 miles away plus one had to cross over Avery Peak at 4,090 feet and Bigelow Mountain at 4,145 feet. My only viable option was to hike to Safford Notch campground and try my luck there, as it was 12.2 miles away. I got to the campground at 4:05pm and Chicago Bull and Myra were already there and set up. I picked out a tent site, not completely happy with the slope but I also did not want to sleep on top of rocks. I went to the spring, got water, rinsed off and went back and sat with Chicago and Myra to eat. As soon as I started eating at 5:10pm it started to rain with strong winds. I took my food inside my tent and ate and tried to settle in. An hour later, it was still raining and the lightning and thunder were right on top of us. It was raining so hard that the muddy water was running between my tent floor and the ground tarp. The rain fly was not keeping all the rain out either, there was a slight mist coming through the ceiling of the tent. There was nothing I could do, I put everything back into my pack and covered it and just sat and read. I do keep my backpack inside my tent, the one reason I got a 2 man tent. I laid down early that night to go to sleep and covered my sleeping bag with a large trash bag which helped a little. With the 12.2 miles today my total is 1,298.2 miles with 882.8 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-22
From: Saffor Notch Campground

To: Stratton Motel
Miles today: 10.5

Day 154 - It rained again hard at 10:10pm and then dripped off the trees for the remainder of the night. I was pretty tired so I slept OK but woke up several times trying to keep my sleeping bag dry and checking to see if water was seeping through the tent floor. I was up at 6:00am, dreading packing up my wet gear. The wet tent, rainfly and damp pack probably adds 2 pounds to what I have to carry. The tent, rainfly, ground cover were completely covered in wet mud as well. I did the best I could and was on the trail at 7:20am. Chicago Bull and Myra left in front of me as they move faster than I do. The climb up Avery Peak and Bigelow Mountain was tough, a 1,906 foot rise in 2.7 miles. I slipped and fell again, tweaking my right ankle, but kept moving and it seemed OK. I also got stung again for the second day in a row on my ankle by what I guess was a yellow jacket. I keep 'after bite' in my side pouch and had it on the stings 30 seconds after they happened and the pain dissipated soon thereafter. All three of us arrived at ME 27 at basically the same time, 3:20pm. Chicago Bull was going to be picked up by his daughter and Myra and I were going into Stratton. I got to the motel, hung the tent, ground cover, rain fly out back to start drying. I took a shower, went to the small grocery store and bought a can of Pringles, a quart of milk, a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale and a bag of Oreos. I unloaded the balance of my pack, hung out my sleeping bag and air mattress in the room to dry and sat down and ate my goodies. Afterwards, I went over to the White Wolf Inn and had their 1/2 pound hamburger, fries and a salad. I did a total of 10.5 miles today, bringing my total to 1,308.7 and I have 872.3 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-23
From: Stratton Motel

To: Campsite at Sugarloaf Mountain
Miles today: 10.3

Day 155 - I slept extremely well and was up at 7:15am. I went over to the diner and had two eggs, hash brown potatoes, with sweet potatoes mixed in and some ham. Before going to breakfast, I had laid my tent and gear out on the parking lot in the sun to continue to dry. When I returned, I borrowed a broom and swept the dry mud off the best I could. I noticed on my map last night that I was only approximately 27 miles from Canada.I got packed up and started hitchhiking back to the trail head at 9:15am. A nice gentleman from Skowhegan picked me up and delivered me to the trail head. I was on the trail by 10:00am and felt really strong. I am not sure if it was the hamburger, the good night rest, the whole milk or the Oreos or a combination of all of those. Even as strong as I felt the mountain climbs were tough. I was not moving as quickly as I would have liked, I wanted to get to Spaulding Mountain lean-to which would be 13.4 miles. Around Sugarloaf Mountain it was already 5:30pm and I had another 3 miles to go. I asked for guidance and direction on what I should do and 5 minutes later I saw a stealth campsite off the trail 10 yards away. A stealth tent site is not an official site but one that has been used before by others. There was my answer. I stopped set up my tent, ate and went to bed as it was damp, windy and starting to cool off. I was in my tent by 6:32pm, in my wool socks, silk long underwear, wool cap and my down jacket. It was 55*F but I was at 3,650 feet elevation and it felt cold. I covered 10.3 miles today, for a total of 1,319.0 miles with 862 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-24
From: Campsite at Sugarloaf Mountain

To: Redington Campsite
Miles today: 13.2

Day 156 - I slept OK but I had my sleeping bag zipped all the way up and I was inside my silk sleeping bag liner and felt like a geisha lady all bound up. The temperature in the tent never fell below 54*F but I am sure it was 6-10 degrees cooler outside. I was on the trail by 7:30am and at 8:00am I passed the plaque recognizing the completion of the last section of the trail. I stopped by the Spaulding Mountain lean-to and ate breakfast. Part of the day¢s hike was along the Sluice Brook which was very nice, with many little water falls. The brook emptied into Orbeton Stream, which I had to ford to get over to the other side. I could have tried to jump the rocks but I did not want to take the chance of having to hike the balance of the day in wet boots. About 2:00pm, I had a 1,500 foot climb up to Poplar Ridge and it absolutely kicked my butt. I guess I had run out of energy since I had only had grits at 9:00am. Once I got on top, I did stop and ate some cheese and pepperoni, as I still had 3 miles to go and had to cross over Saddleback Junior Mountain at 3,655 feet. I arrived at Redington Campsite around 5:50pm and set up my tent. Chicago Bull had elected to stay at the shelter north of me but I wanted to get Saddleback Junior out of the way today because I had two other mountains to climb tomorrow. Overall it was a good day, I had done 13.2 miles, which was good given the terrain. My total is now at 1,332.7 miles with 848.3 remaining.
Date: 2011-08-25
From: Redington Campsite

To: Rangeley Inn
Miles today: 8.2

Day 157 - I slept well but I was chilled when I woke up a little after 6:00am. The temperature was 58*F but again, it was damp outside and very breezy. I was on the trail at 7:10am headed up The Horn, only an 865 foot climb but all within 0.7 of a mile and over sheer granite rocks. It was completely fogged in with mist all around as I traveled up the mountain. I got to the summit at 8:00am and about 10 minutes later, Chicago Bull showed up. He had started hiking about 5:45am. After The Horn, one drops 400-500 feet and then you start back up going to 4,120 feet, to Saddleback Mountain. From here it was all downhill to the town of Rangeley. Once again, I almost had a catastrophic tumble but I was able to catch myself with a tree limb. Thank you God. The guide book actually calls out the dangers of the sheer granite slopes (45-60* degrees at times), particularly if wet. In one place, there is a ladder because the trail goes up/down a vertical wall. During my descent, I crossed paths with Night Hawk; I had not seen him since May in southwest Virginia. I did take a 0.1 mile side trail to see Piazza Rock, which is a flat boulder cantilevered out of a cliff. I need a zero day to rest my feet and shoulders and Rangeley is the place. I arrived at ME 4 at 12:50pm and after about 20 minutes got a ride from a nice lady, Sydney Wade. She is a professor of poetry at the University of Florida and teaches for 4 months in Gainesville and lives the rest of the year in NY and Maine. I checked into the Rangeley Inn, showered and went across the street and ate lunch. I went to the library and updated my journal and just rested. The big issue is what to do with Hurricane Irene headed this direction sometime Sunday. Megan was able to call and get me a semi-private room at a hostel in Andover for Sunday. God willing, my plans are to take Friday off, leave early Saturday morning and hike Saturday and Sunday and cover the 26.4 miles post haste and hopefully beat the worst of the storm Sunday night and Monday.I only did 8.2 miles today bringing my total to 1,340.9 miles with 840.1 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-26
From: Rangeley Inn

To: Rangeley Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Day 158 - I took a zero day today in Rangely and worked on my journal at the library. Mailed some stuff home, found and bought fresh supply of Aquamira and planned as much as I could the next two weeks. Planning is very difficult right now because I never know exactly how far I can travel given the terrain. Of course, I was also watching the path and intensity of Irene and weaving that into my plans as well. And, of course, I found time to eat. A little bbq place, the meat was OK, the baked beans not so hot. It rained a little off and on during the day so it was good to be off the trail and off my feet.
Date: 2011-08-27
From: Rangeley Inn

To: Oquossoc's Now Bed and Breakfast
Miles today: 13.2

Day 159 - After watching the forecasted path of Irene, I determined that I had one good day of hiking before she hit early Sunday morning. I was up at 6:30am, at the cafe at 7:00am and had corn beef hash, with two eggs and hash brown potatoes. I was along the side of the road by 7:45am attempting to hitch a ride. I had packed the night before so that helped me get out early. I thought there would be a lot of traffic on Saturday morning, but I was wrong. I finally got a ride around 8:05am but he could only take me a few miles up the road. Thankful for what I could get, I accepted. I then stood for another 20 minutes and finally Bob picked me up and took me the rest of the way. The trail head is 15 miles from town so it is not an easy task to get there. Bob, an active Army personnel, is working as a technician on a USAF base and was very interesting to talk to. I was on the trail at 8:45am and the terrain was OK but the trail was full of mud and roots. It was difficult to get a real walking rhythm, every stride was a different length, depending on where I was stepping. I passed 10 students from Tufts University; they were out for a pre-semester orientation. I have passed about four groups of students from Bates College in the past couple of days as well. I hustled most of the day, taking few breaks because I needed to cover the 13.2 miles before dark. I arrived at ME 17 at 4:20pm, having made good time. I had been told that I could easily hitch a ride into Oquossoc from this point, which might have been the case if there had been any traffic. I sat there for 10 minutes or so and decided to call the Bed and Breakfast at which I was going to stay and see if they could come out and get me. While I was on the phone, a guy drove up, going the opposite direction and asked if I needed a ride. I responded "yes", but that I was going to Oquossoc. He said no problem; they were going there as well to the bar. I told Joanne on the phone that I had a ride and the gentleman, Rick, over heard me and asked if that was Joanne at the Oquossoc Now B&B. I responded, "yes" and he said he would take me to her front door step. He turned around and drove me the 12 miles into Oquossoc. We had a lively conversation during the ride, he was quite a character. His son in law, David, was also with him, an active U.S. Coast Guard serviceman. I was most appreciative for this ride. After checking into my room, I went to the tavern and as I walked up I saw Rick and David drive off, I was sorry to have missed them as I would have bought them a beer. I had a nice stuffed haddock dinner with a salad and baked potato. I sat at the bar and watched the weather channel following the impact of Irene along the east coast. I covered 13.2 miles today, bringing my total to 1,354.1 and have 826.9 miles remaining.
Date: 2011-08-28
From: Oquossoc Bed and Breakfast

To: Oquossoc's Now Bed and Breakfast
Miles today: 0.0

Day 160 - The Oquossoc's Now bed and breakfast is a 1903 vintage house and the owner/operator, Joanne was quite an interesting character. She is 83 years old and just a lively, interesting lady. It started raining at 4:20am Sunday morning with moderate winds. The rain did not cease all day. I was glad and fortunate to be off the trail. I watched the weather channel, read the newspaper and took two short naps during the day. I also hung a window shade and changed some fire alarm batteries for Joanne. A couple from outside Bangor was also there, Cindy and Jerry. They had been on vacation on a small island on Rangeley Lake and thought they needed to get off the island due to the anticipated winds and rain. Jerry was concerned about the boat being battered around. The island and small house has been in Cindy's family for three generations. They were a delightful couple and I enjoyed talking and listening to them. The three of us went into Rangeley for dinner that night to the Red Onion and I had a good pork roast dinner. So today was an unplanned zero day but I really had no choice. Even if I had been on the trail it probably would have been too dangerous to have hiked.
Date: 2011-08-30
From: North of Old Blue Mountain 

To: Hall Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.4

Day 162 - I slept well and was very lazy this morning as I did not get up until 7:00am. It got down to 54*F in the tent last night but seemed colder because of the moist air. I was on the trail by 8:00am and in the next two hours I met 14-16 north bounders. They were on the move after their zero day yesterday. I saw Circuit Rider and Sherlock, who I had met in NC/VA. I also ran across three gentlemen and found out that one of them, Hayward Douglas, was the retired pilot for Clemson University and flew Jim Barker, Clemson's president. Jim is from Kingsport; I do not know him but do know his brother, Joe. Hayward was very familiar with Kingsport and Eastman. I was able to see Mt Washington from Old Blue Mt, 88.7 miles away on the trail. Old Blue's elevation is 3,600 feet. Today's hike was nothing memorable, just a lot of ups and downs, through the mud, up sheer granite rocks and down the other side. I did have to ford the two streams, one had water up to my mid-calf and the other was 3 inches above my knee. It was scary but He helped me across and kept me from falling in. I only slipped and fell once today which in itself was quite an accomplishment. I arrived at Hall Mountain Lean-to at 6:00pm pretty well beat. There was one north bounder there camping so I decided to stay in the shelter. I covered 8.4 miles today, increasing my total to 1,371.3 and decreasing my miles to go to 809.7.