morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-09-13
From: campsite

To: last shelter before the Mahousic Knotch
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 109 (13 SEPT 2005)Up early, and on the road; hiking ¢ what we do best ¢ what we do everyday. Didn¢t bother filling up to max capacity on water this morning, and hiking out with 1L was a bad idea, because 2 of the ¢planned¢ streams were puddles, and Mt. Success was a long pain in the bum! By the time we got to the state line NH/ME, we were too exhausted and dehydrated to do any kind of ceremonial dance or line-crossing celebration. I¢m hot and sweaty, and according to Maugeen¢s thermometer, I¢ve been running a 99.5oF fever fro 5 days now. The first ¢definite¢ water source is another mile after the state line, and another 0.3 mi off the trail. I almost run that, and can barely wait for the slow trickle to fill my water bottle! Crazy Horse caught up to us while we at lunch at the shelter, and we hiked out together over cliffs, ramps, chutes, and ladders on to the last shelter before the infamous Mahousic Knotch.
Date: 2005-09-14
From: last shelter before the Mahousic Knotch

To: middle of nowhere, M.E.
Miles today: 0.0

DAY 110 (14 SEPT 2005)We awake bustling with excitement about the Mahousic Knotch, only to find out that ¢The trail doesn¢t open till 10 am today,¢ Crazy Horse. Some 20 yards out of the shelter Stinger¢s bladder broke ¢ his water bladder, silly. After a long rendezvous with duct tape, we are up and over the ridge, approaching the knotch in the mist. We can hear Crazy Horse playing guitar, but we can¢t see him ¢ he¢s in the fog somewhere. The Mahousic Knotch has been played up to be the toughest mile on the entire Appalachian Trail, but everything that we¢ve been told is difficult had actually turned out to be fun, so we¢ve been looking forward to this bouldering labyrinth for a while now. We take a short snack break, before putting away our poles and gearing up for what we thought would be hours of climbing around on our knees. It is the best part ¢ it¢s like a playground! There¢s a strange warm breeze through the fog the first 30 feet or so, and it seem that Golum should live in these here parts. We hesitate, and then get on with the bouldering, clambering, slipping and sliding, crawling, hooting, laughing, making and hearing all kinds of strange noises, and finding ourselves in some curious positions and contortions. We take tunnels and caves out to boulders that we choose to climb over, then get water from a spring in between two mossy rocks. Each one of us essentially taking a different path through the knotch, we giggle and race, and have it done in some 45 minutes. ¢Alright, guys, drop your packs and lets do it again!¢ But wait, it¢s not over yet ¢ there¢s still the Mahousic Arm up ahead. The mountains in Maine are very rocky and slabby, with exposed tops and flat, slimy boardwalks, so I¢m wondering why folks complained about the rocks in PA? The amazing part about Maine ¢ and there are many amazing parts about Maine ¢ is that every mountain offers a view. Stopped for lunch at a shelter near a pond (if only I could remember names), and a day-hiker Tiger Cakes (AT 2001 or 2003?) fed us quiche, carrots, and other goodies. Wow!! In the middle of nowhere! We hiked out to Grafton knotch with her, and she took us out for pizza, and then dropped us of at a place with a ¢No Camping¢ sign to camp for the night, promising to pick us up in the morning around 8am.
Date: 2005-09-15
From: middle of nowhere, M.E.

To: The Cabin, Andover, M.E.
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

DAY 111 (15 SEPT 2005; 10 mi)It¢s drizzling. We are in the middle of nowhere, Maine. There¢s a river rushing past our campsite, and not another sound. It¢s 8am, 8:20, 8:30¢¦ how do we know we weren¢t brought here for¢¦ oh, I can think of many things one can do with 3 hikers in the woods, but¢¦ wait, I hear a car ¢ it¢s Tiger Cakes and a friend of hers, and they brought us doughnuts, pancakes, coffee, and more food! Stinger got so happy and brave that he jumped off a waterfall! Then, we¢re returned to Grafton knotch, Stinger is getting off the trail for a little bit, I am holding his MP3 player ransom, and Crazy Horse and I are continuing on. I am slackpacking to Androver, but Crazy Horse doesn¢t slack pack. We¢re off into the drizzle, but Maine is so beautiful regardless of the weather. It reminds me of SE Alaska with its multicolored lichens, pink mosses, slabby rock mountains, and persistent mist. ¢D*mn it feels good to be a gansta.¢At East B Hill Road, which is gravel, for those that don¢t know, and isn¢t much of a hitch, Crazy Horse and I snack on the bananas and tangerines (trail magic) while hoping to flag down ¢ or even see ¢ a car. Eventually, the sun has set, and we are shivering in the shade. Jump on the first truck passing by, and it takes us into Andover, dropping us off at the one and only stop sign. Have you seen ¢Northern Exposure¢? Well, Andover is much like Sicily, Alaska, only smaller. Turns out The Cabin (a hiker¢s hostel), and thus my pack, are some 4 miles out of town. The Cabin usually runs a shuttle to town, but it¢s full, so I¢m on my own to hitch there for my pack. It is dark, now, and I don¢t know this town or the people, but I am successful at getting ride out to the hostel with an old fella that knows Bear and Honey (The Cabin hosts). While grabbing my pack, Pheonix Rising finds me and drags me into the dining room, where there is about a dozen hikers, all of whom I know and have been trying to catch up with since the Hiker Feed Fest in Duncannon, PA!!! Suddenly, my jacket is off and there¢s a plate of food in my hand, as Bear leads me to a table and a chair. Not only am I not allowed to hitchhike outta there (to Gorham, to do the Wildcats), but I am allowed to stay in the special guest bedroom for the night!!! Thank you Honey and Bear!!! After the shower, it is customary to pick some strange-wear out of the closet, so I prounce around doing laundry and such in a pink prom dress with a feather bodice!
Date: 2005-09-16
From: The Cabin, Andover, M.E.

To: Southarm Road, ME
Miles today: 10.0

DAY 112 (16 SEPT 2005; 10 mi)Breakfast call is at 6am ¢ make-your-own omlettes, and never-ending biscuits with home-made jams, pancakes, you name it! And when you cannot fit any more into your stomach, Bear gives you a zip lock bag to gather up your lunch! Slack-packing today with a crew from The Cabin and the Guesthouse. About 2 mi in, we come to a part on the trail where it looks like there¢s a drop off and just a cloud sitting in the valley, but¢¦ I see reflections of the limbs of fallen tress, and we walk up to an alpine lake, still as a mirror, completely white, with a cloud sitting on it, and only the stick reflections to guide our reasoning. The senses, however, see the symmetric trees levitating at foot level, and there¢s an overwhelming vertigo of an infinite abyss feeling¢¦ Chubster pops out from the trail ¢ he¢s slack-packing too, and we walk the rest of the gentle, sloping hill trail to the Hall Mtn Lean-to in chipper chatter. Still picking berries ¢ one raspberry today! Cranberries and checkerberries/wintergreen berries all over, but kind of tasteless before the first frost. At the shelter, a SOBO treats us to fresh cucumbers and zucchini/squash, and we treat him with Bear¢s famous biscuits with strawberry preserves. He¢s the last SOBO. That evening, after dinner, Spicy takes me back to Gorham, where Firefly and I arrange to slack-pack over the Wildcats tomorrow.
Date: 2005-09-17
From: Gorham, NH

To: Carter Knotch Hut
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: fog

17 Sept (15 mi)Picked up Firefly at The Barn in Gorham, and we hitched out to slackpack the Wildcats SOBO. Firefly cracked me up ¢ apparently, as one of the last SOBOs, he hadn¢t had the privilege of hiking with anyone, and this was his first time slack-packing as well. We chatted our way up the gradual slope, running into folks whose shelter register entries i read back in Virginia, but who seemed to have fallen off the face of he earth since then (Bubble toes, Rawhide, Too Obtuse, Quijote, etc). The weather was questionable, but nice, and though we had a late start, the 22 mile hike seemed reasonable. Ran into a sectioner ¢ Adrian ¢ gave him the trail name Mix¢n¢Match, but he should really introduce himself as 2 separate entities ¢ ¢Hi, I¢m Mix, and I¢m Match. What¢s your name?¢ I don¢t know, back on the mountain this kept me giggling for hours. We are talking machines today. It¢s always great to hike with someone new, especially with someone so interesting. We take breaks whenever we please, and enjoy the rain that hangs in the air, dense and light, like a vail. We arrive at Carter Knotch hut around 5:30pm. It is still light out, but we¢re in a cloud that¢s resting in the knotch. We are supposedly only stopping for water and a 5-min j-read, but there¢s hot soup, then another plate, then another. Then, we discover that Firefly didn¢t bring his headlamp (or maybe he just said this because he wanted to stay, and Bryan ¢ the host ¢ was welcoming). There was a bit of a reunion at the hut ¢ Yukon Jack (whom I hadn¢t seen since the Kirkridge shelter back in PA), Cruise Control (a fellow Hokie), Panoramic (hadn¢t seen him since Waynesboro, VA), Colorado & Marshmallow (hadn¢t seen them since Killington, VT)¢¦ I love going SOBO for a day, just to run into the folks you might not otherwise see, becuase they¢re just a day or two behind you, but moving at the same pace. While we were still deciding whether to stay or to push on in a cloud over the Wildcats in the dark, Bryan offered us blankets & food, and a visiting group of weekenders offered us a full dinner, and¢¦ it got dark outside. So, we stayed. It was great! Slept on tables, as usual, and enjoyed the company of the other thru-hikers and the hut croo. (Thanks, you guys!!)
Date: 2005-09-18
From: Carter Knotch Hut

To: Pinkham Knotch
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: fog

18 Sept (6 mi)The kind weekender group from last night fed us the left-overs of their breakfast. They¢re actually on a get-to-know-each-other trip this weekend, in preparation for a January ¢06 climb on Kilimanjaro!! After bfast, we pick a # one thru seven, and are assigned chores in the hut complex. Trained in the previous huts in the Whites, we finish the chores quickly, and hike out. The climb out of the knotch is brutal, but it is so beautiful to see the ponds around the hut, and the mtns so steep around the knotch ¢ like a tunnel! Ran into more thru-hikers that i hadn¢t seen in a while, and lots of chatting along the way. Firefly is great company! Lunch at the gandola, which appeared out of the cloud like a space ship on the mtn side (hoping for a free ride down, but¢¦ that would be cheating). We slip and slide all over the wet, slimy rocks, and my knees are just not liking this. This has got to be the yuckiest part of the trail ¢ it is for me. And this is criticism after having just done the Whites AND the Mahoosics! I¢ll gladly skip this 3-mile section if i ever do the trail (or this section) again, and not feel like i¢m cheating at all. Once is enough. I only have 2 knees, and both are on their death bed, and no amount of Nutrageous bars is going to change my mind. So, the crazy, harmonious flow of trail life continues as Pixie and Pinedragon anwer our hitchhiking pleas and take us back to Gorham ¢ they were headed to Maugeen¢s house too!! (Maugeen is the trail angel that took care of me while my knees were on cloud 9, and has been outmost hospitable to myself and a few other hikers.)
Date: 2005-09-19
From: South Arm Road, Andover, ME

To: ? shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

19 Sept (9 mi)Today is Maugeen¢s Birthday ¢ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAUGEEN!!!! Thank you soooooo much for your care, concern, and hospitality!!! I cannot thank you enough! She was very kind to take us to run errands, and then back to the respective trailheads. Hiked with me a bit, which was a rather nice addition to my day. Thanks to Spicy and to Moonshine, as well, for getting my fleece and tyvek back to The Cabin for me!! Geez, there are so many ¢thank you¢s¢ to send out, that, hmmm, i might as well not do anything but thank these beautiful, kind folks over and over and over. The hike today is rocky, muddy, and very wet, although the weather is nice, and it¢s great to still be hiking in a bikini in mid-september. Lots of moose tracks and poop, but no moose. Kite guaranteed me a moose in Maine, and where is he now, huh? Is he actually going to chase a moose out onto the trail for me to see? Exactly, that¢s what i thought, too. Picked one super-delicious blueberry today. Is this the last one? I keep thinking that each berry i pick these days is going to be the last one, and each is tastier than the one before. I know some hikers were out here trying to curb bad habits, quit drinking, learning to enjoy one beer¢¦ i tried learning to enjoy one berry¢¦ to each his own. Finally got to meet Swinging Jane, Sunflower and BottleRocket, and ran into the folksies slackpacking SOBO from The Cabin. Came to a clearing in the trail from which could see the lakes down below relecting the pink of the sunset, the wind cold only on one side of my body, the blue trees and ridgelines in the distance¢¦ and no one else but me. Maine IS magical!! Ah, this whole trail is magical. This style of existance, of living in the moment, of swimming in the whirlpool of awesome people¢¦ it is all magical and addictive. Sharing the shelter with Sunflower and BottleRocket tonight. It thought they¢d be my only company, but a curious, fearless mouse also joined us for dinner and a j-read!
Date: 2005-09-21
From: ?? shelter

To: The Bank
Miles today: 17.0

21 Sept (? mi)Up early. Such a cozy row of colorful cacoons, snoring and snoozing, with the respective colorful wall of backpacks. Eagle Foot and i eat bfast very quietly, then back up and hike out, while Moonshine and Mr. Fusion explore the wonderous game of cribbage in the double privy! I hike solo, the way i like to in the mornings. It is sunny and warm; the trail takes me around some ponds and lakes, and i am breathless, in hopes of stumbling onto a moose, or a cow with a calf. The climb up Saddleback Mtn, which was rumored surprisingly difficult, was indeed long and hard, and without cheerful company. The day was beautiful, though, and i was cheery enough by myself. That is, of course, until getting to the exposed ridge, where the wind was so cold that the weat on my scalp and back seemed to freeze momentarily! Had to hide behind a boulder and put ALL of my clothes on to hike the seeminly neverending summit. At the summit proper, there is a horseshoe-shaped wall of rocks, behind which one may find solace from the wind. EF, who had caught up to me, and i enjoyed the wild dance of the cloud that had sat on top of the summit, it¢s sides ripped away along the side of the mountain, but even that didn¢t seem to drain or diminish the cloud, stubbornily wrapping the mtn top. Together, EF and i made a slow, cold traverse over the next couple of ridges to lunch at the first shelter. I realized that i¢m a bully. It¢s a horrble thing to realize. I¢m a little girl, i can smile all day long (because i¢ve got lots to smile about), but then i can turn right around and bully calm, paced folks like EF into doing way more miles than they want to. Hmm, at least i¢m not a mileage assassin, huh? Today, i wasn¢t successful in bullying myself into a 21-mile day, so we settled on 17mi after a nice break at a freezing cold waterfall. (Turns out EF got sick the next day and had to take a zero, which evened out his average, but made me feel horrible.) I, myself, felt tired and lightheaded on the last climb ¢ i hope i don¢t have lyme disease ¢ and cruised the last 2 miles on the thought of food. Food, food, food. I ate 2 dinners and was still starving. Barely enough food left for tomorrow¢s 13 mile trek into Stratton ¢ i¢m gonna eat a bucket-full of food there tomorrow! Oh, and the shelter we stayed at ¢ the one right before the Sugar Shack on Sugarloaf mtn ¢ is now The Bank. Of course, this joke is only funny for Mr. Fusion , Moonshine, History, Seeker, and the rest of the crew that had to sing the ¢blah blah blah¢¦ at the Bank¢ songs all day for the last couple of days. That crew rolled in after dark, for a mad world series on rock-paper-scissors, more song writing, and moonlit frolicking.
Date: 2005-09-22
From: ??? shelter

To: Cranberry Campsite, ME
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

22 Sept (15 mi)We all awake early to a magenta sunrise. Moonshine and i traded sleeping pads for the night. Of course, M could have just given me his 2-inch inflatable mummy, because i¢ve been using a yoga mat for the last 4 months, and, as per M, ¢it doesn¢t do sh*t¢. I kept slipping off his mommy (i mean, mummy) all night, and since the night trade didn¢t seem successful, we decided to trade clothes for the day ¢ i¢d hike in his kilt, and he¢ll hike in my hot pink shorts¢¦ we both fit the clothes, but¢¦ M couldn¢t move a 100 yards in my shorts, and couldn¢t lift his leg to climb the mtn, so they had to come off. I got to look like Britney Spears for a day, thigh-high knee braces, plaid skirt, little braids and all. Hiking out with Backtrack, who told me stories the entire way up the mtn, all i could think of where the 3 candy bars i had left and how i¢d love to eat all of them right now. Funny how hunger turns all brain cells to fire in only one direction. M caught up to us on the last big climb, just in time for a break, during which i nursed a candybar, and M, having a bigger appetite, covered B in peanut butter and¢¦ licked it off. This guy is insane! Is there anything he wouldn¢t do? One definitely wouldn¢t get bored with him, because he¢s just full of new ideas, stories, adventures all the time! But to lick another thru-hiker¢s arm¢¦ ugh!!! I guess the ¢snack¢ gave him some good energy, though, because thereafter the guys took off, and no matter how fast i tried to run down the mtn, i didn¢t catch up to them till 5 miles later, already at the road (to Stratton). Hippy Longstonckings (+ truck) already at the road, waiting for the Alphas, and the whole crew that stayed at the shelter/sugar shack last night, before riding into Stratton. No mail for me; I seem to somehow be missing all of my maildrops. M and i split a tub of coffee ice cream for lunch ¢ he at with his hands, because he doesn¢t have a spoon ¢ this guy just cracks me up! Crazy Horse (with whom i finally caught up, again), has done our laundry, so we get the clean clothes and book out to the trailhead with the Alphas to camp out 2 miles from town and run 14 miles by 2pm tomorrow to meet Bubbski, who¢ll be giving us a weekend off the trail : ) Having just re-supplied for 5 days, we pig out as much as we can so as not to carry all that weight on our dash tomorrow morning. Sharing a tarp with Crazy Horse, who is such a sweetie, helping me stay out of the rain. It is still very warm, even at night.
Date: 2005-09-23
From: Cranberry Campsite, ME

To: Loggin Road after the Bigelows
Miles today: 14.0

23 Sept (14 mi)We¢re up early. There¢s a slight rain, and i really don¢t want to get up. CH doesn¢t give much time to wonder; he¢s packed and ready to go by 6:15am. I lag, but get out of camp as quickly as possible. I¢m dreading the 14 miles we¢re supposed to do by 2pm. Whose idea was this anyway!?!? (any time i ask such a question, it¢s my idea, really) Hiking in the rain w/o glasses, i get lost on a blue blaze on the first uphill. Caught up to CH by bfast, then off alone again. Thank goodness for Stinger¢s MP3 player and Hippy Longstockings¢ batteries ¢ keeps the rain out of my brain! The climbs are very rocky, slippery, and on the tops the wind gusts are up to 40mph, blowing me to the side, the cliffs filled with white (cloud), and i¢m falling all over the place, pissed off at my poles sliding and getting stuck everywhere. On top of the West Peak of Big Bigelow it¢s relatively warm, but the gusts leave me slipping and stumbling, and the white abyss down a cliff to my right doesn¢t look too inviting. Avery Peak is a repeat of same. I¢m thoroughly flustered and annoyed at this morning, at my poor decision-making; i¢ve done barely >1mph this morning; CH is way ahead; i feel like i¢m running, but i¢m just scraping up my legs, tearing up my knees, and getting nowhere. Suddenly, there¢s CH, and i¢m stuck, poles and feet slipped between two boulders, and i cannot hold it in any longer ¢ ¢these f***ing poles, god damn it, i cannot take this sh*t any more!!¢ ¢¦ yada yada yada. CH, in his perfectly calm composure, is stading there, restraining a laugh. He¢s so understanding; there¢s no fuss, no bullying, noaccusations. Today i¢m slow, thus, our only choice of making it on time is taking a blue-blaze down to a logging road, and then walking along the road. The distance is about the same, minus the climb up Little Bigelow, and there¢s a chance that Bubbski might drive up the road and see us before we¢re done. He makes the decision so easy, natural. There¢s a lot yet that i am to learn, and CH is a great teacher by example. (Thank you, Crazy Horsey!!!) The difference between a blue blaze and the AT is stunning ¢ the trail is flat, wide, beautiful. My knees are in knee heaven (if such exists in the mountains). We walk out to the road, walk a bit, and hitch a ride on a logging truck. CH gets to stand on the outside step and hold on to the door ¢ he¢s happy like a kid with a new toy! We walk a bit more, and hitch a ride with another truck to our meeting point. I think we¢re early, but neither one of us has a watch, at least, not easily accessible. The weather down in the valley is gorgeous ¢ sunny and warm, and we roll out our sleeping pads for a tanning session while we wait. Then comes our ride.
Date: 2005-09-24
From: Farmington, ME

To: Portland, ME
Miles today: 0.0

24 Sept (zero)Bubbski is our ever-faithful host. He is crazy, feeding and entertaining us, like we¢re royalty. (Huge ¢Thank You¢ to his family, as well, for their undying hospitality!) I wish he was still hiking with us. In any case, the next 2 days are amazing, relaxing, fun. This is the first time i¢ve taken a zero, gotten off the trail, and didn¢t feel a dire pull back to the woods. Hmmm. Balance. Life is good.
Date: 2005-09-25
From: Portland, ME

To: Little Bigelow shelter
Miles today: 1.0

25 Sept (1 mi)More of same ¢ relaxing getaway. Eventually we have to ¢go back to work¢. The sky is wikkid today ¢ steel vortex over the mountains, something out of Harry Potter! Bubbski returns us to the trailhead, and we hike back to Little Bigelow shelter, which is complete with a phone (no long distance calls outside of shelter) and a pizza menu. My grandmother is always worried that there are no phones in the woods ¢ well, here it is. There also aren¢t any phone LINES. Dude, Kiltic Strider, Spartan & Caboose join us for the night. What am i going to do without CH¢s music every evening?!p.s. it's my 4-month anniversary!