morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-08-24
From: ME17 Oquossoc

To: ME 4 Rangeley 
Miles today: 14.0

Monday, August 24th   The weather forecast for today was, rain and thunderstorms. The Iceman and 3D decided to forego the next section which would have them climb over several mountains with sheer rock face and steep verticals. The vertical would be over 4,800 feet. It's hard enough having to climb this terrain in dry weather but in wet conditions it's extremely dangerous. Two hikers the Iceman met recently had just recovered from broken ankles. They lost one month of hiking. The Iceman didn't want to lose the day so he and 3D decided to skip that section and continue onto the next 14 mile section. This was to be a less dangerous section in bad weather. Breakfast for the Iceman, the Sherpa and 3D was at "Keep's" on the Main St. where the hikers had a hot, hearty meal. The Sherpa then dropped them off at 8am on ME 17 and they hiked north toward the ME4. As it turned out, we all know the weathermen aren't too reliable, the day was sunny and in the low 80's. Not a drop of rain all day!! Although they thought the hike would be easy, it wasn't as easy as they thought. The 14 miles should have taken 7 hours but it took 8. The Iceman tries to figure out how many hours each hike will take by looking at the amount of vertical that must be climbed, and in what distance it must be climbed. One doesn't ever know what the terrain looks like until it appears before you. There can be sheer vertical rock that must be climbed either by using rebar that has been drilled into the rock or by just pulling oneself up using branches, roots or whatever there is available. Hiking the AT requires upper body as well as lower body strength. The Sherpa did the usual today and that included posting the journals for Saturday and Sunday and laundry. A trip to the Chamber of Commerce and the Post Office and also some investigating into taking a sea plane ride to photograph the Bigelow range and the terrain that the Iceman would be hiking in the next few days. Since it was going to rain she put this adventure off for now. At the pick up point the Sherpa had a conversation with a 35 year old thru hiker, who's name she didn't get. He has a degree in Fine Arts and a Masters degree and said that he's sent out 100 applications to various schools, for a teaching position, and hasn't gotten a single positive response yet. He has taught in the past but perhaps it was on a temporary basis....... just guessing. We hope he has some luck with getting a job. Dinner was in Rangeley, on the deck, overlooking the lake at "Parkside and Main". Good Shrimp and Broccoli over Fettuccini, Haddock stuffed with Crabmeat and salad and Onion Soup.   This area of Maine has many large lakes, Rangeley and Mooselookmeguntic Lake are 2 of the largest, and on the ME4 there's a sign, with flashing lights for drivers..."Moose Crashes Next 7 Miles". The Moose like to eat at the edges of the lakes and then they come to the road and try to cross. Sometimes they don't make it. Latter in the evening 3D joined us, at the restaurant, and had his dinner.
Date: 2015-08-25
From: Rangeley Saddleback Inn

To: Rangeley Saddleback Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Tuesday, August 25th   Today the Iceman and 3D saw the weather forecast and decided the weather was not going to be conducive for a strenuous hike over bare rock face, so they took the day off.   The Sherpa and Iceman went to breakfast on Main St and then drove out of town to see the condition of Caribou Valley Road. The A.W.O.L, guide, this is the AT hikers bible, described the road as "gravel" but when they got to the road it was a very narrow dirt road and according to other maps, the road would get progressively worse. It was decided that, instead of the Sherpa risking damage to her vehicle or something worse, a shuttle driver would be needed to bring the Iceman into where the AT intersects this road.   Back to town now for lunch at the local pizza place. The next stop was the "Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum", but it's only open Wed. - Sun. So they headed to Quossoc and the Outdoor Sporting Museum. The photo was taken in one of its rooms. It's the size of a small home but it's an interesting museum that has displays of fly fishing paraphernalia, and all things pertaining to sports in the Maine wilderness, such as, hunting and fishing. The tour began with a description, by one of the volunteers, of Maine in the 1700's up to present day. Tonight the Public Library in Rangeley was to have a guest speaker give a lecture on "Giordano Bruno" a renowned astronomer and so at 5:45pm the Iceman and Sherpa went to the library to hear Alan Powers, who wrote a book about Giordano Bruno, give his talk. The lecture lasted an hour and included a slide show.   Reservations for dinner were made at "The Rangeley Tavern" which was across the street from the library. As the Iceman and Sherpa were having their dinner in walked Sam I Am and Red Hot. The hikers pulled up a table and chairs and ordered dinner. The same thing the Sherpa was eating, Double Grilled Pork Chops with Summer Squash. The Iceman had a steak. The food was excellent. All hopped into the car and the two hikers were brought to where they were staying, just a short distance, from the Saddleback Inn. The Iceman thinks the forecast is for rain tomorrow, Wednesday, and if it rains the hike will be cancelled again
Date: 2015-08-26
From: Rangeley Saddleback Inn

To: Rangeley Saddleback Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Wednesday, August 26th   The Iceman woke early this morning to check the weather forecast and the prediction was for rain. He called 3D and they decided to skip one more day of hiking.   Breakfast was at the Moose Loop Caf© in town and then the Iceman and Sherpa drove to Farmington, ME to see what it was like. It was 38 miles from the motel in Rangeley. The University of Maine has it's teachers college there, in this town of little more than 7,000 inhabitants. Farmington is a county seat so there's a court house, a few art galleries, cafe's, banks and several thrift shops. One of the gallery owners, an ex-professor of phycology, lives half the time in Florida and half in Rangeley, ME. In this area of Maine, there are quite a few cars with Florida license plates. A walk through the town took about 20 minutes.   Lunch finished and the Iceman and Sherpa drove back to Rangeley.   On the way, they decided to take a seaplane ride, if the weather cleared up, and it did. About 3pm the sun came out and at 4:30 they climbed into a very small yellow seaplane; the kind with pontoons and took off for a half hour of sightseeing. Looking down the Iceman was able to see some of what he'd already climbed and some of what he'll hike in the next few days. It was intimidating to say the least. Sugarloaf and Saddleback are two high mountains and the thought of hiking them was a little frightening after having already experienced climbs on some pretty high mountains. But there are ONLY ten more days of these grueling types of hikes and then it should be just bogs and stream crossings, which are tough also, until Mt. Katahdin, the final mountain to summit. There aren't many restaurants in Rangeley so they went back to the Rangeley Tavern for dinner and once again it was delicious. The photo wasn't taken on the day of the ride. The photo's taken, during the ride, were on a regular camera and the Sherpa hasn't figured out how to put them on the laptop, yet.
Date: 2015-08-27
From: ME17

To: South Arm Road 1968.8 miles
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Thursday, August 27th   Today 3D and the Iceman flip flopped from ME17 back to S Arm Rd. They went south because the ME17 is close to where they are staying in Rangeley, ME and S Arm Rd was an hour and a half away. By starting at the ME17 they had an extra hour of sunlight. There was about 4,000 vertical feet of hiking, today, and they covered 6 mountain peaks that included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd peaks of Bemis Ridge, Bemis Mt. Peak, Elephant Mt. and finally Old Blue Mt. All day the trail went either up or down. It was steep and very rocky and included a lot of very slippery rock out cropping's. The Iceman and 3D were very exhausted at the end of the day and were happy to see the Sherpa who was waiting for them with a slice of pizza and a beer. During the day the Iceman had to grab onto a branch as he slid on his back down a steep rock face and when he grabbed the branch a small sharp broken off branch punctured his left hand. He bandaged it and put on his trusty black glove to keep the wound from getting dirt in it. He also fell at one point on a boulder and injured his elbow. The hike really isn't so much a hike, as we know a hike to be, but a continuous and treacherous climb and descent for miles and hours each day. The Iceman is very tired and now wishes the hike would be over. He's not sleeping well, worrying about what each day will bring, keeps him awake at night. Instead of getting easier the days are just as hard and strenuous as those early on. The next few days will be very hard as the trail goes over Saddleback Junior, Saddleback Mt., Lone Mt., Mt Abraham, Spaulding Mt., Sugarloaf Mt., South Crocker Mt., North Crocker Mt., Bigelow Mt., Avery Peak. They are 4,000 foot mountains and are hiked all within 3 or 4 days. He's gone 1,968.8 miles as of today and that is an incredible feat for anyone, let alone a man in his 78th year. He is my hero, if he doesn't go another step!
Date: 2015-08-28
From: Woods Rd. 

To: ME4 1983.6
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Friday, August 28th This day caused the Iceman sleepless nights for the past week. He had heard from many hikers that it was the most difficult stretch of the entire AT. The Sherpa dropped the Iceman and 3D off at the Farmhouse which is less than half a mile away from the Rangeley Saddleback Inn at 6am. Shane, the owner of the Farmhouse, was to shuttle them to Woods Rd (a logging road)where they could hike in, about a mile, to pick up the AT. The drive from the Farmhouse is about one hour from Woods Rd. Here they would hike back to the ME4 where the Sherpa would pick them up at the end of the day. The entire hike, from paved road to paved road, is 32.2 miles and there's no way the Iceman and 3D could have hiked that far without tenting out. Fortunately, Shane has a vehicle that can manage logging roads but most important he knows how to find the closest spot to where the AT intersects those logging roads. Even with GPS it's very difficult to know which turn or fork to take on an unmarked dirt road so better to leave it to an experienced driver. The Iceman and 3D started hiking at 7am and 9 1/2 hours later arrived at ME4, the pick up point. First they hiked up and over Saddleback Junior Mt., then up and over The Horn Mt. and then finally up and over Saddleback Mt. All of the assents and descents were very steep and almost entirely rock face. Thank God, the rock face was dry! The Iceman felt there was no way he could have done these assents and descents if it were raining or the rock was wet. Along the way the Iceman and 3D met Iron Lady (Buffy) but they didn't stop to chat very long, as they had so much ground to cover today. It took nearly 10 hours to cover 15 very tough miles. The Sherpa spent the day in the tiny town of Rangeley looking for protein shakes for the Iceman and other things of that nature. Everyone knows everyone in town and they're all so friendly. A stop for lunch, a slice of quiche and cappuccino, at a shop with an eclectic assortment of items, such as magazines, cards, pottery,cosmetics and other things that don't seem to go together and then on to another shop with kayaks for sale and organic soaps. Because there are so few places to shop each store has a variety of housewares and also clothing and products with "Rangeley" imprinted on them in addition to paintings by local artists. It's a fun town. The Chamber of Commerce serves as the Visitor Center and public bathroom. The "Red Onion" an Italian restaurant/pizzeria serves as the local hangout and meeting place for the town fathers. Dinner was at the "Parkside and Main" and when the Sherpa and Iceman walked into the restaurant, 3D was waving at them from his table. All ate dinner together and then it was "home sweet home" and bed.
Date: 2015-08-29
From: Woods Road near Stratton

To: Caribou Valley Road 1982.3
Miles today: 10.0

Saturday, August 29th The Sherpa dropped off the Iceman and 3D at 7:30am at the Farmhouse so that Stacey, Shane's wife, could drive them to Woods Road. Woods Road is a logging road and from Rangeley it takes 50 to 55 minutes to get close to the trailhead. To get to the trailhead the guys had to walk on the road, for about a mile, before intersecting the AT. They started the actual hike, on the AT, at about 8:30, and ended 10 miles later at Caribou Valley Road (also a logging road deep in the mountains). The hike went over Lone Mt., Spaulding Mt., elevation 4000 feet, and finally descended to the South Branch of the Carrabassett River, which they had to ford. The vertical was 3,600 feet up and over Spaulding Mt.   Except for the descent from Spaulding Mt., which was quite steep and rocky, today's hike was much easier than those of the last 3 weeks. It was quite a relief for the Iceman.   They were able to complete the hike in about 7 hours at a rate of better than 1 1/2 miles per hour. This was an easy one for both the Iceman and 3D, and they really needed an easy one at this time. There's another thru hiker, "Quahog" who's journal, of August 28th, has a photo showing what the trail looks like with roots, rocks and mud. He also mentions the depression that sets in, at this point in the journey, and the body's fatigue. At nearly 2,000 miles the hiker struggles to continue, mentally and physically. Knees and feet are a constant source of pain, as well as the back and hips. The need to eat properly is so important at this stage.   Protein must be consumed in shakes, meat, power bars and supplements everyday because the body has lost all muscle but also fruit, veggies and large quantities of water are needed. The Sherpa packed up again, and moved 40 miles north east to Stratton, ME. Stratton seems to be growing in population. The 2010 census shows a population of 618 and the 2014 census showed 629. Stratton is a village in the town of Eustis with a Main St. that is also ME 16/27 and a few side streets. We're getting further and further into the wilderness. The Spillover Motel is the new base camp and it's an updated old fashioned motel. Across the parking lot is an excellent restaurant. The best we've come across in a long while. The Coplin Dinner House. Great meal last night with Iceman and 3D.
Date: 2015-08-31
From: ME27 2001.0 miles

To: East Flagstaff Rd 2017.7 miles
Miles today: 16.7

Monday, August 31st.   The Iceman and 3D were dropped off at ME27 at 7am this morning as they had decided to do a tough 16.7 mile hike in the Bigelow range that would take them over two mountains of 4,000+ feet , Bigelow Mt. and Avery Peak. According to the Iceman this is the last "bad ass" mountain section they'd have to hike until Mt. Katahdin. What a relief! They climbed over The Horns, elevation 3,831, then Bigelow Mt., 4,145 feet, and last Avery Peak, 4,090 feet. The total vertical was 5,000 feet. Much of the ascent and descent was steep and arduous; they were wiped out by the end of the day. They hiked, non stop, until 5pm, except to look out at the magnificent mountain ranges spread before them when the reached the tops of each mountain. Breathtaking, is how the the Iceman described what he saw, and said it was worth every bit of sweat to get to those summits. The wind today was so fierce that at the summits they had to cling onto the boulders for fear of getting blown over. The Iceman believes it may have been 70 miles/hour and the only way he could stand was to place himself behind a wind shield that was on the mountain top. He held onto his hat as 3D took his picture. Knowing that he could relax, so to speak, and that there were no more brutal mountains to climb, except Katahdin, is what kept him moving. He'd be able to sleep soundly tonight. Shane, the shuttle driver, picked up the Iceman and 3D at East Flagstaff Rd., a logging road, that takes about 45 minutes to get to from Stratton, if you know your way. They returned to the motel, cleaned up, and the Sherpa joined them for dinner at "White Wolf Inn". Wow! What great food! Frogs legs in garlic sauce over saut©ed kale, a Wolf Burger with all the trimmings, seafood soup ... Fabulous ....prime rib and apple crisp.   A real surprise to find this kind of cooking in a town of 600 people.
Date: 2015-09-01
From: East Flagstaff Rd 2017.7 miles

To: Scott Rd 2029.7 miles
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Tuesday, September 1st. Can't believe the summer is just about over! Shane picked up the Iceman and 3D this morning at 8:30 so they were able to sleep late. Breakfast was leisurely, at the Looney Moose Cafe, where Blaine was also having breakfast, the retired game warden for the Bigelow Preserve, and he invited the Sherpa to come back to the cafe, after the Iceman left for his hike, to talk about the villages history with the locals. The Iceman left for East Flagstaff Rd. but instead of going north today went south. Reason is that the gravel logging road that the Iceman and 3D were to meet Shane on, at the end of the hike, would have been virtually impossible for them to find, therefore the flip flop. They would now be picked up on E. flagstaff Rd.   The total vertical for the day was about 1,500 feet, ....sweet! ...., and the Iceman enjoyed every inch of this easy hike. As they hiked they met about a dozen NOBO's and all of them were as happy as the Iceman to be on such an easy trail. They got to East Flagstaff Rd. an hour earlier than expected, and had hardly raised a sweat. The Sherpa sat at a table, in the cafe, with Blaine and 4 local women who were between 50 and 80 and enjoyed their stories of the old Flagstaff Village. In the early 1920's a utility company bought all of the homes in the village, flooded the land and built a dam to generate power. One woman told of her childhood home being sawed in half by her father. One half of the home was moved to one town and the other half to the next town. Those that didn't want their homes moved, sold them to the company and they were burnt down. What a great morning the Sherpa spent taking to these friendly people. The game warden suggested the Sherpa take a cruise around Flagstaff Lake with Jim, another local, so he called Jim and made the arrangements. Unfortunately, the Sherpa got lost and missed the boat, literally! But, Lee Ann, owner of the Spillover Motel, sent Jim a message on Facebook ...Facebook comes to the rescue ... And Jim responded. At 3:15, the Sherpa, Jim and 6 other customers boarded a pontoon boat and spent a glorious 2 hours on the lake listening to the history of Flagstaff Village, now underwater for most of the year. No restaurants are open on Tuesday night in Stratton, so back to the Rangeley Tavern to enjoy another fine meal with our old friends. The waitress treated us as if we were long lost relatives and tonight 3D got to taste the great cooking at the Tavern. He hadn't been there while in Rangeley.
Date: 2015-09-02
From: Scott Rd 2029.7 miles

To: US 201 Caratunk 2038.0
Miles today: 9.0

Wednesday, September 2   The Iceman and 3D ate breakfast at the Looney Moose Caf© and, at about 8am, Shane picked them up for the drive to Main Logging Road.   From Main Logging Road they began their hike to ME 201 in Caratunk, ME. At 9am they hiked north along a relatively flat but very rocky trail that followed the Pierce Pond Stream to the Kennebec River. The Pierce Pond Stream flows through a deep gorge and for most of the hike, along the stream, they were about 150 feet above the stream looking down at it. It was a most impressive sight. They passed Pierce Pond Stream Falls and then a major waterfall, that they couldn't see but could hear from 100 yards away, and the sound was deafening They reached the Kennebec River at about 12:30 but had to wait until 2:00pm for the canoe ferry. Hikers are not permitted to ford the Kennebec River. The current can be strong and when the dam is opened the river rises about 10 feet and at that time the river becomes dangerous. The ferry, at this time of year, runs from 9 to 11am and 2 - 4pm.   At 2pm the Iceman and 3D boarded the ferry/canoe, which carry's 2 passengers, and 3D rowed at the front, the Iceman sat in the middle and the ferry "captain", rowed in the back. The canoe is an integral part of the AT and there is a white blaze on the floor of the canoe (see the photo). After the ferry crossed the Kennebec there was less than .4 miles to hike before reaching ME201 and the Sherpa's car. This morning after posting Monday and Tuesday's journals, the Sherpa packed up, said goodbye to LeeAnn, owner of the Spillover Motel and drove off in the direction of The Forks, ME. The Forks is sort of a village north of Caratunk, which is sort of a village. These so called "towns", have one or two places to stay, not counting camping sites or cabins, and one or two places to eat, usually pizza or burgers. The "Inn on The River" is our new base camp and it's an old building with about 10 rooms on the second floor. The rooms in the front of the building overlook the Kennebec River and the main highway ... that is, a two lane road. This area of Maine supports either tourism or logging. There's hiking, fishing, snowmobiling, ATV trails, rafting and just plain peace and quiet for one to enjoy with a good book. There are very few east/west roads in this part of Maine so, to go from Stratton to The Forks, the Sherpa had to drive 80 miles which took over an hour and a half. Dinner was outside on the porch of the Inn and it was made by a nice young man who loves to cook. He created what he calls, "chicken goulash" with fresh veggies from the garden and the Iceman had pasta with a good Puttanesca sauce. On the first floor, the main floor, there's a small bar/lounge and a good sized area with a fireplace and sofa for all to enjoy. In the evening, one of the guests decided to play the piano in the living room, for a short while, thank goodness.