morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Rainbow Stream 

To: Wadleigh Shelter
Miles today: 8.1

Tuesday   A little background on my fellow hikers: Ben & Laurant (he introduced himslef as Lawrence, I think to make it easier on people who don't speak French, eh) are 25 & 26 respectively, friends in college at UMass-Boston. Ben is irreverent & ridiculous, & Laurant is so laidback & cool. Lucky, abt 71, a northbound section hiker about to finish at Katahdin, Kenith ("Plays with Bears"), is a sobo thru hiker from Georgia who's writing abt the trail for this little town's newspaper as he hikes. He's 23 a recent Georgia Southern grad & he reads his bible at night before he goes to sleep. I find him at times to be comical in his mannerisms, behavior. But mostly I find his presence comforting. I hiked with him some yesterday, & it was nice. Today I made it to Wadleigh Shelter, & for the last mile and a half or so it rained. But I was happy. The rain was warm, & it motivated me to press on more quickly. I had hoped to get in a few more miles today so as to be able to get to White House Landing early the next morning but the weather would not permit.      Ben & Laurant were already at the shelter, & we all ended up stayiing. Jamie came in a bit later. He's 24, went to Clemson, is from South Carolina, was recently laid off (which let him do this trip), & carries a pack weighing 50 lbs. His facial expressions & mannerisms make him seem younger than his age. I find him simple & endearing, if not a bit anachronistic.   Ben & I got high and laughed a lot, & were both sort of ridiculous, & it was fun. I slept on the shelter floor in only my sleeping bag (sans pad), & was fine. It hasn't been too hard to fall asleep out here
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Wadleigh Shelter

To: WHL
Miles today: 8.6

Wednesday   Hiked to WHL today, & glad I did. It's beautiful here, & I enjoyed the shower I got to take very much. Hiking seems to make one appreciate the little things more, like warm water and a privy closeby. I still feel kind of sick though, & have thus visited the privy frequently since being here. I wish the nausea would go away.    Had the requsite 1 lb burger & nearly finished it, but not quite. Ben and Laurant left after dinner, & I was sad to see them go. I had fun clowning around w/ Ben again (sober! Or I was, at least), & Laurant inspired me. I had found On the Road in the bunkerhouse here & was happy b/c I'd been wanting to read it on this trip & had left it at home. Anyway, as they were abt to leave Laurant told me that this book changed his life, & that it had made him want to travel & the way he said it, w/as cool as he is & the way he makes people feel good when he's around, it was exactly what I needed to hear. See, this girl Elise (who's perfectly nice incidentally) is here b/c she's getting off the trail, & she started at the same time I did, so it was a buzzkill, and a particularly potent one, to hear her talk abt how she was leaving in the midst of my initial excitement abt being here. But Laurant broke the spell. Talking to Tyler later kind of brought back the cloud, but that's a sidenote.   I had a nice talk with Jamie tonight, & I like him even more now. I find the southern mentality so comforting. He told me he loves his mom, that she cried when she dropped him off at the station. He said Ben & Laurant are "cityfolk." I wonder how he sees me.   I talked on the phone to Mom, Dad, & Tyler tonight. Mom & Dad made me feel good, but talking to Tyler was all abt the latest scandal at home, & although it's a serious one, discussing it seemed to limit the span of my world to home & the people there. He didn't even really ask aby my trip till I brought it up. I wish I was better at broadening his world.   Also talked to the WHL patron, Bill. Apparently it's hard making a living here, just as it would seem.   Laurant also offered me his Deet (b/c I'm running low) saying "it's not even a kindness, it's a necessity." What a good guy. Ben's more self-promoting & opportunistic.
Date: 2006-06-22
From: WHL

To: WHL
Miles today: 0.0

Thursday Had an amazing swim upon arrival. The was was bliss. Afterward got high with Ben, & thoroughly enjoyed the night.Took a 0 today at WHL, & while it seemed a good idea, I spent the day awash in worry & sadness, as I often am when left somewhere alone to stagnate. I'll be glad to move again tomorrow.My face is swollen w/insect bites. Hopefully I'll look more normal tomorrow. Breakfast is at 8 sharp. After that, we're driven back across the lake in the motorboat to resume our travels.I spent the bulk of my stay here reading On the Road, & I'm almost finished. But the loneliness of it sometimes makes me sad.My stomach was upset before, I realized today, b/c of cramps, before my period. Apparently I slipped up with the birth control a little too often. Good thing I never get laid.A woman stayed here today, Tortoise, who thru-hiked nobo in 2004, & is going sobo now. Her very presence is solid and reassuring. She is not cold, but not terribly friendly, laconic, & she has a slow quiet, confident way abt her that I'm beginning to notice seasoned hikers do. She is a physical testament to AT success, & I'm glad she's here now w/me. When she finished her 1st thru-hike, she weighed 103 lbs.Lucky, the section-hiker I met at Rainbow Stream the other day, should've finished Katahdin today. I hope his fortune continues. The woman who owns WHL, Linda, is very sharp, & a cultivated study in human nature, observant. I didn't notice this abt her yesterday. I wonder how I seem to the people I've met, if they see through me. Maybe they can help me know who & what I am. I feel the darker parts of who I am are often all too easily recognized.
Date: 2006-06-23
From: WHL

To: Cooper Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Friday   Today was all flat, so it didn't seem like 15 miles. The first 8 or so went particularly fast, but after that I tired a bit. Tortoise & I had a nice breakfast at WHL before leaving around 9 a.m. Linda left me a note on the bag I took my leftover pizza out in. It was nice to feel, for a minute, as though I had a trail mom.    I'm sleeping in Cooper Shelter tonight, & around Jo-Mary Rd I first passed Stick & Flying Turtle, who were eating lunch on the bridge. They're staying here tonight as well, & are both nice guys.They met while attempting a nobo thru-hike last yr-Stick finished but Turtle was forced off by an injury in VT, & is finishing up this year.   Also, here are Van Go & Mum (his mom), who seem very pleasant & good-natured & this beautiful soul, a recent Princeton grad from the UK-& a physics major, no less!-who made me feel I was listening to the speaking voice of John Lennon himself. I met him as I was abt to take a dip in this stream in front of the lean-to. I asked what was up, & he said he was just out there thinking, & he said it in the most charming sort of way. Then I accidentally fell in the water, & as I resurfaced I laughed & told him that had been unintentional, & I asked him what he was thinking about. A lovely conversation ensued, & I mostly listened as he talked about drinking wine w/friends & having jam sessions on bass giutar, Chicago, medieval lit & its delicious dirtiness, jazz, & alternative sources of energy. When I speak with someone I think is brilliant, I am even futher from brilliant than normal. Anyway, this will be a lovely story to one day tell our grandchildren. I think I may have developed a bit of a trail crush. Oh! & Stick told me he'd seen my TJ, which was a bit exciting. Also, I've given myself a trail name: Kerouac, after Jack of course.
Date: 2006-06-24
From: Cooper Shelter

To: Logan Brook
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Saturday   Staying at Logan Brook lean-to tonight with 5 other guys in the shelter. Stick, Gondor, Scrambled Legs, Johnny Walker, & Flying Turtle. I came from Cooper, & the first 9.4ish miles weren't bad, but the last 2 or less kicked my ass. They were on the way up White Cap Mtn, & they were eternal. The same group from the shelter last night is here, minus Jamie. Mum is borrowing my tent. Bugs weren't nearly as bad today, & it was a bit cooler, so that was nice. I'm enjoying my company. Legs is a recent Princeton grad as well, & Johnny a rising junior at Columbia.
Date: 2006-06-25
From: Logan Brook

To: Carl A. Newhall
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Sunday   Here at Carl A. Newhall lean-to w/ Gondor, Johnny, Legs, Tortoise, & Mum. We summitted I think 4 peaks today, but should've pressed on. I'd like to get to Monson Wednesday. The views today were amazing, particularly from White Cap. A panorama of lakes & trees tossed about the distant mountains. I leap frogged the 3 boys probably 3 or 4 times today, & vice versa. I felt as though I were moving very very slowly. Tomorrow, on to Chairback Mt, which is allegedly more difficult than all thus far (Katahdin being the obvious exception). Bugs today were awesome! I think we were too high up for the mosquitos. Or maybe they all died, which would be fine by me.
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Carl A. Newhall

To: Chairback Gap
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Monday   At the Chairback Gap lean-to tonight. A "Maintetainer" is here, the ivy league boys, Tortoise, Van Go, & a cool guy named Wolfclan who thru-hiked in 1978. Also a nobo named Taco, who did 26 miles to get here today. It rained today all day, & mostly I reveled in it. It was much better hiking in the rain than in a cloud of mosquitos-but they'll be back!   Chairback Mtn. ended up requiring some hand-over-hand climbing at the end, but wasn't too bad. It was a short climb.   Taco has some interesting anecdotes about a guy named Tyvek, a 'Nam vet who's hiking barefoot; the guy made all of his gear out of. . .Tyvek. Apparently the dude's crazy, but he sounds interesting. Like really interesting. Taco's #7 in line for finishing nobo.   Mum left the trail today which made me sad. I think the 3-day rain forecast got her out of here.   Forded the West Branch of the Pleasant today as well, only to discover that the river's aptly named. It was a good day.
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Chairback Gap

To: Long Pond Stream
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: light rain

Tuesday   Today seemed to go on forever. There were so many ups and downs, what with Columbus Mtn, 3rd & 4th Mtn, & then Barren Mtn afterward. I only did 10.9 mi, but it seemed everlasting. On the last steep up (& I didn't know it was the last steep one) I was thinking about how sick I was of climbing, & then-right on cue- I passed a guy & his exotic-looking Mexican hiking partner & the guy kindly voluntereed the fact that I was on the home stretch. My morale was restored! Holla.   Excessive climbing aside, today really was an ideal hiking day. It was cool & breezy, but not cold & it didn't rain at all!! There were virtually zero mosquitos, which was too rad for words. I haven't used any Deet in 3 days.   I can actually see my belly getting smaller! If that's not motivation, than I don't know what is. We're staying at Long Pond Stream lean-to tonight-me, Vango, Legs, Johnny, & Gondor. Last night Vango freaked out on Gondor a little because of his snoring. It was funny, but Vango felt bad about it. He's this 6'1' 260 lb clown w/a quick temper, & he's pretty hilarious. He co-owns an art gallery in Bangor, & is one of the studio artists-I think the website is robertdowlingstudios.com. Anyway, I think what he's doing with that is the coolest thing in the world. He said a lot of witches but his pieces. Haha.   Tortoise is kind of mean to me. Haha. I think it's maybe because I'm a girl.   Tomorrow (hopefully!) I'll get into Monson. We're 15 miles away but it's relatively flat, & plus I wanna try to get in in time to call Grandpa & wish him a happy 84th birthday. &, Shew's is supposed to be pretty rad. Goodnight!P.S.- I had the Princeton boys explain the eating clubs to me tonight. Vestigial elitism, in full-blown focre. It's kind of trippy stuff.
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Monson

To: Monson
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

Thursday   Zeroed in Monson, & it was a good day. A group of like 9 of us went to dinner at a BBQ place in town. It was BYOB, & we were rowdy & loud. It was fun. Mum showed up to resupply Van Go, which was cool. I was happy to see her again. Ben & Van Go hit it off pretty well.   After dinner we went to Lakeshore Inn (?), the other hiker hostel in town, which has a pub by the beautiful Lake Hebron that opened like 2 days before we got there. How awesome is that? The owners are this great couple, a fun wife & a beautiful beautiful specimen of a man that is her husband. They're from Boston I believe. & yeah, the husband is like top 5 on my list of most gorgeous men I've actually seen in real life. Anyway, our pack of sobo hiker (& one nobo girl, Robin's Nest, who was really nice) sat out back next to the water under the night sky & laughed & talked & it was one of those great times that you associate w/ youth & will always remember. When we got back to Shaw's, Ben (aka Bumblebee), Van Go & I smoked & walked around town & laughed & talked abt Family Guy. etc. I ended up in bed much later than I planned, not wanting to leave the next day.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Monson

To: Monson
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Friday   Took another 0, which hasn't been great on my financial situation, but was wonderful otherwise. It was raining early, & the pack of hikers I'd been with took off in small groups. The Ivy league boys, Stick & Turtle, & Tortoise all left. Of course B took forever, & Van Go moodily toggled back & forth b/w staying & going, but eventually he left. I read an entire book & took a siesta in the afternoon as it rained more, but the isolation quickly made me too thoughtful & sad, so I made sure after that to surround myself with people. I met a guy, Flapper, who made the night a good one. At 1st he talked & talked, & I kind of wanted to escape him, even as he bought me beers at Lakeshore's pub. I did get away eventually & went to the BBQ place, where I was joined shortly by Moses (Ryan) & Aaron (Nate), brothers from VA. They're 17 & 19 respectively, & at 1st when I met them they seemed kind of surly, but the 100 mile wilderness will do that to you. At dinner though, they opened up more, & I found they're very religious & musical. It was fun. Ryan reminded me a little of my Ryan.   Then Flapper found me as I returned to Shaw's, & introduced me to Running Bear, who's from-get this-East Sparta, OH. It was nuts. His real name's Jim Brothers, & he knows Grandma. Oh what a world.   & Flapper, who apparently teaches ballroom dancing lessons (but coincidentally sort of lacks a sense of rhythm), got me to go to the Monson General Store, where the townfolk gather Friday nights to play & listen to live music. Flapper was teaching me salsa steps in front of the packed house, it was wonderful. & the locals were so nice & friendly. After a while Flapper grabbed a fiesty old lady from the crowd, & they dance merrily, to the delgiht of everyone who watched. The sense of community & fun inside that little general store was like the very essence of happiness.   I can feel myself getting better. Other times, in other days, I wouldn't have danced or even gone out at all, & would've spent the night thinking thoughts that made me lonely & sad. But the happier I'm becoming the easier it is to let the negativity go.
Date: 2006-07-01
From: Monson

To: Bald Mtn
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Saturday   Biggest day so far! I was racing the sun at the end, but managed to make it to Bald Mountain lean-to. Overall the terrain was pretty flat, but muddy as hell, & there were a lot of blowdowns. It took me maybe 5 miles or so to get in the groove after my two days off, but after that I began to experience the 1st moments I've had where I felt like a real hiker. It was badass!   I got a ride to the trailhead at maybe 8:30 in the back of a furniture van with Batman, Robin's Nest, their friend Greg, & Flapper. Running Bear, the guy from East Sparta, came along for the ride as well. It was sad to leave Shaw's-Buddy even gave me a hug before I left. What a great great place.I hung out for maybe an hour where the West Piscataquis(?) forked, after I'd forded it. It was amazing. The sun was at my back & there was a cool breeze, & I just felt connected & at peace. A very nice feeling indeed. It's just Patrick/Blondie & me at the lean-to tonight, though there are a bunch of French-Canadian kids camping by the pond. I puked not too long after I got here-it was these disgusting baby crabs that I'd eaten a few hours earlier. What's interesting, though, is that I ate peanut butter after the crabs, & yet I puked up no peanut butter. Did it stick to my stomach? Maybe the world will never know.Patrick's a really chill guy. We had a good, long conversation before falling asleep.~ Kerouac
Date: 2006-07-02
From: Bald Mtn

To: Pleasant Pond
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Sunday   I caught up w/ everyone tonight! I'm pretty psyched, but I kind of messed up my feet in the chase, dammit all. I've got several blisters where there were none, I pulled a muscle in my left quad that slowed me down, & my right ankle is swollen. I'm a mess I tell you.   It rained a lot last night, so this morning as Patrick was getting ready I had this strong aversion to getting up at all. But eventually I did, & the rain actually stopped. But it was horribly wet, of course, regardless. I hate mud. But your mom is hot.   I climbed Moxie Bald & managed the thigh deep mud thanks to Robin's Nest's warning & a well-placed trekking pole. The mtn wasn't bad at all, but the next mountain, Pleasant Pond, went forever. I swear I thought I has summitted at least 5 times before I actually did. So it all took much longer than I thought, & that coupled with the late start resulted in me hiking in the dark, in the rain, at the end for a while. It was stupid. I eventually made it to a dock on Pleasant Pond as other people camping on the lake lit fireworks & laughed & celebrated. It was nice to be around, so I sat on the dock & ate some peanut butter & managed to at long last find my headlamp. But then the campers saw my light & got pissed, & started flashing me with their light & yelling. Haha. What the hell? It's like, a little reading light that's strapped to my head. And they were mad that I was shining it their way. But with the help of the lamp I made it to the lean-to, & rolled in in time to see who all was here. We've got B & Laurent, Blondie (Patrick), Van Go, & the Ivy league boys. Holla                                                                     ~ Kerouac
Date: 2006-07-03
From: Pleasant Pond

To: Northern Outdoors
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Monday   At Northern Outdoors tonight, in a $9 cabin! & the Outdoor Center itself is awesome. I'm in Caratunk, ME right now, & my whole day was bliss. I was very very sore in the moring, so I laid around for quite a while. It was nice. Van Go & the 3 amigos (= the Ivy league boys) left earlier, but Laurent & B hung around awhile & we laid on the dock at Pleasant Pond in the warm sun & ate bagels & pepperoni & this couple drove up in a boat & gave us beers! It was so nice. I turned to B & said " man, this is what it's all about," & he confirmed that this staement was true. We left a bit later, & I was pretty ridiculously sore & stiff for the first couple miles, but once I warmed up I felt stronger than I have so far, which was a sweet feeling.   Once I'd completed the 6 miles to Caratunk (B & Laurent, who are much faster, were a ways ahead of me) I tried to hitch a ride down the highway to get the 4 miles from the trailhead to Northern Outdoors, & almost immediately a guy on a BMW motorcycle picked me up. Thanks Charlie! It was very very rad.   Northern Outdoors itself was very rad as well. $9 for the cabin, which meant we could also use the hot tub & pool, the internet, we could play pool & use the arcade, AND the food was great. & they served the local brewed beer I drank in mason jars! Sweet. I got an 8 oz. burger w/fries, split 2 appetizers w/B, had 3 beers, & still had room for dessert. After dinner we hung out in the hot tub/pool, then went back to my cabin & smoked & drank some beers. There were like 6 of us. It was fun.   I passed out early after a great day.                                                         ~ Kerouac
Date: 2006-07-04
From: Northern Outdoors

To: West Carry Pond
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Happy 4th of July!TuesdayI woke up this morning to Laurent coming into my cabin to get his stuff since he & B stored their things there, & I did not want to get out of bed. It was raining already, & it was pretty hard to leave my mattress, which, notably, was in a closed(!!) (typers note, aka Rachel's sister, since the website does not allow underlining and Rachel has become very excited at the thought of a bug free cabin, among other things, if you see this: (!!) you know she underlined the word) cabin (w/electricity!) that the bugs couldn't penetrate. But alas, I did get up, & enjoyed a great blue-berry pancake breakfast w/milk(!!),which I'd been craving for a while. I also enjoyed the company of the Ivy league boys at breakfast as well. They zeroed in Caratunk today, so I hope they catch up. Then B, Laurent, Aaron & Moses (brothers from Va who I may not have mentioned; they're 19 & 17 respectively) & I took the free shuttle toward the trailhead, but I got off early so I could resupply at Steve the Ferry Man's store. Steve himself-the trail legend in the flesh-was behind the register, & he gave me a discount on my Snickers bar, as well as a ride to the trailhead in his van. What a guy! B & Laurent were already across when we got down to the Kennebec, but Van Go was there waiting, so we chatted w/Steve a bit before we were ferried across. Kinda cool to be ferried, eh. The guy, Jeff, that ferried us was cool as well.   So I hiked w/ Van Go virtually all day, & he told me this elaborate fantasy story he's been working on that I really hope he actually writes down because it was really very good. We caught up to B & Laurent after going through this bog, & w/them we played a movie trivia game that made the hiking hours quickly pass. It was cool to finally actually hike w/these guys for an extended period of time, & escape my often negative solitary thoughts.   We got caught in the rain pretty seriously a couple times, but mostly it was a fast, quality hiking day.   I'm here tonight at West Carry Pond lean-to w/these guys, Moses & Aaron (who, incidentally, whipped out their guitar & violin in the lean-to earlier for a bit of a jam session. B joined in on the tin whistle. Haha.), a weekend-hiking couple up from D.C., a section hiker called Tin Man, a sobo Brit who I noticed in Monson & whose name (I think) is Anglia, & Blondie. Quite a collection. Stratton in 2 days?                                                                           ~Kerouac