morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-28
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today I woke up at 5:45 and was glad I could just roll over and go back to sleep. Unfortunately I couldn't fall back to sleep. I finally got up at 6:45 and went downstairs to eat some poptarts. Olivier and Walking Cowboy had already hiked out. Olivier is now using the trail name Stephen Colbert. Squirrel gave him the name. Around 8 AM Phatt Chap was getting ready to give a hiker a ride over to Hanover. Contact and I took a ride with them down to Calamity Jane's Restaurant in Warren. Ray had already headed into Warren on his bike. We all ate at the restaurant. I had 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, homefries, and homemade toast.Contact and I went to the local store after breakfast. It is a gas station/mini mart. It is listed in the book as a long term supply, but the selection wasn't as good as a large grocery store. I got poptarts, Lipton sides, peanut butter and bread, some jerky, and snacks. I also bought a bunch of stuff to eat today.Phatt Chap was going to shuttle me back to the hostel, but I would have to wait a couple hours until he got back from Hanover. Contact left before me and started walking back. I also started walking back. I had two bags of food and a half gallon of orange juice in my hands. I started walking and hoped someone would stop to give me a ride. I walked about a mile until I passed most of the turnoffs so I knew the cars would be going past the hostel. I tried to hitch for a few minutes and then decided to continue hiking. I had hiked about 2 of the 5 miles when an SUV with a kayak on top pulled over. It was Arrow (2002 thru-hiker). He gave me a ride. A little ways further we found Contact and picked him up. Arrow was on his way to drop off some Gatorade and cookies for trail magic at the hostel. Contact's parents picked him up from the hostel for a day. Magellan, Squirrel, and I took zero days. Batman, Rudy, Ben and Amanda, Rodeo Clown, and Trashbag all stopped in at the hostel today but headed back out to the trail. Rockman arrived is staying for the night. I haven't seen him since Delaware Water Gap. He had camped with dad near the Connecticut / Massachusetts border. Sobos Sugar and Hedgehog are also staying here tonight.I just sat around eating and relaxing all day except for my walk from town. I feel ready to head into the White Mountains tomorrow. The weather forecast is for about a 60 to 70 percent chance of rain the next couple of days and then it should clear up for a few days. I hope to get an early start in the morning.
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: moderate rain

I couldn't find a good spot to set my tent up last night. This morning I woke up to the sound of rain and looked around. One of my boots was filling up with water and there was water in one end of my tent. Oh well. I had hoped it wouldn't rain until after I packed up in the morning. I was in no hurry to get out in the rain. I made it on to the trail at 8:30. It rained most of the day or the wind was blowing water out of the trees. My second attempt to waterproof my boots had not worked. The trails these days are very tough. Lots of rock climbing and steep ascents and descents. Today I felt I was in more danger of falling and getting hurt than any day I can remember. The rain and my wet feet were making things worse. I slipped and fell a couple times today. Once, I took a large step onto a wood plank to avoid a puddle. My foot slid on the wet board and I ended up on my back on top of my pack. I felt like a turtle. It was difficult to get back on my feet. I passed about 20 section hikers heading south today and about 8 heading north. AAA passed me this morning and Batman, The Beav, and Osama bin Walking passed me this afternoon. It was a little discouraging to see how much faster these guys can cover the same trails that were such a struggle for me. However at the end of the day, I had reached Full Goose Shelter. I had caught up to AAA, 357 Magnum, Flax Seed and some other hikers. Batman, The Beav, and Osama bin Walking had stopped at a shelter 4.4 miles back. It took me till 8 PM to get here, but I made it.I crossed the New Hampshire / Maine border today. I was wet and tired and could hardly muster up any excitement at reaching the final state on this journey.I didn't find anything to use for a spoon today, so I used my tooth brush handle to slide my Mountain House Pasta Primavera out of the bag and into my mouth. Mmmm, it was very good.Tomorrow I will reach Mahoosuc Notch. People say it is the hardest mile on the trail. It is a boulder field / obstacle course. One girl I passed on the trail today said it took her and her friends 6 hours to get through there in the rain. I have heard other estimates of 2 to 4 hours.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Bald Pate Lean-to
Miles today: 12.0

I was slow getting up this morning. It was only about 50 degrees and I preferred to stay in my warm sleeping bag. Everyone else had left the shelter when I finally got up and prepared to leave.I started hiking at 8:50 and reached Mahoosuc Notch at 9:55. The mile of trail through Mahoosuc Notch took me about two and a half hours to complete. It was a lot of climbing over, under, and around huge boulders. I put away my hiking sticks and used my feet, hands, butt, and stomach to maneuver my way through this area. It wasn't too difficult and was actually enjoyable. It was just very slow.I stopped to cook some mac & cheese once I reached the other side. I still didn't have a spoon. I remembered squirrel was eating with chop sticks and figured it would be easier to make chop sticks than a spoon. I found a couple of small sticks and scraped the bark off with my pocket knife. They worked well. Ben and Amanda passed me while I was eating my mac & cheese. The trails were steep after the notch. My feet were hurting. They had been wet the day before and had some sore spots, so I was wearing liner socks today. The liner socks help reduce rubbing, but also cause my feet to slide around inside my shoes. This causes my toes to squish into the ends of my shoes on the steep downhill sections. My toes were hurting and I was hungry by 7 PM and I was still 3 miles short of the shelter I had planned to reach. I just found a place to camp along the trail.It was a tough day. I covered less than 9 miles in ten hours.
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Bald Pate Lean-to

To: Hall Mtn Lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I was determined to make up the miles I missed yesterday, so I was up and on the trail by 6:30. I only have enough food to make it to Rangely, ME if I stay on schedule. If I don't cover all the miles and need another day I will run out of food. I made a decision to skip Andover, ME, where many hikers resupply.I was pleased to find myself hiking on dirt trails for most of the day instead of climbing up and down rocks all day. The rocks really slow me down, because I must stop and think about every step I make to ensure I won't fall. The skies were partly cloudy and the temperatures were in the upper 60s or lower 70s. I stopped for lunch at Frye Notch Lean-to. Batman, Skiman, Catchup, Rodeo Clown, Trashbag, Ben, and Amanda all passed through while I was taking my lunch break. All of them were slackpacking north except Batman. They were all headed to Andover for the night. It was 2:45 by time I started hiking again. I had only covered 6.9 miles so far and wanted to hike another 10.5 miles to Hall Mtn Lean-to. I reached East B Hill Rd at 5:00. This is the road that leads to Andover. There were several postings at the road for local hostels. It sure was tempting to head into town. I wanted some pizza and ice cream. I sat by the road for about 20 minutes considering the options. I think if anyone had stopped in a car and asked me if I wanted a ride to town I would have gone. Only 4 vehicles passed me and one was a UPS truck. None of them stopped. I decided I needed to stick to my original plan. I hiked with determination up the hills to Surplus Pond Campsite about 2 miles further up the hill. I was able to hike about 2 miles per hour on the dirt trails. It was a little after 6 PM when I reached Surplus Pond. It was another 4.2 miles to Hall Mtn. I decided I would continue. I needed to push myself to make it before dark. I didn't stop until I reached the lean-to at 8:05.I filtered water, cooked dinner, and set up my tent by 8:30 and was ready for sleep at 9:00. It was a long day. I hope I can keep up with the longer days I have planned. I hiked 17.4 miles today, which is double what I did yesterday. The difference was the type of trail.
Date: 2007-08-13
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a wonderful feeling to wake up this morning without having to think about packing everything up to go hiking. I was still awake by 5:30, but today my most important activity was to eat. I left the hotel around 7 and walked around to see what was in town. I saw 357 Magnum and talked to him for a few minutes then I went to the diner. I ordered the 3 egg plate with bacon and toast, a side order of homefries, and 3 blueberry pancakes. I ate all of it and didn't even feel full when I was done. The Beav, Osama bin Walking, Hangman, Castaway, Ski Man, and Catchup all arrived at the diner while I was eating. I went over to talk to them for a few minutes.I walked by the library and found out it is closed on Mondays. I called Alltel to discuss my problem with internet access. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good answer. They keep telling me I can't use the user name and password that I have used the past 5 months nearly everyday. They give me a different one that doesn't work either. I think I know more about how this phone and their system works than they do. Oh well, I'll keep trying. I only seem to get US Cellular towers in this area. I need an Alltel, Verizon, or Sprint tower.I took my dirty clothes up to the laundromat and cleaned them. When I got back to the hotel room I was tired, so I took a nap for several hours. I finally woke up and convinced myself there were things I needed to get done. But first, it was time to eat again. I went and ate a pizza then returned to the room to figure out how much food I needed to get to the next town, Stratton. I walked 0.7 miles up to the IGA grocery store and bought food. I only needed 3 days worth of food, so I could afford to carry some heavier food items this time. I headed back to the hotel and cleaned up my filter, hoses, and water bottles with some bleach. I packed everything up and realized I had lost my headlamp. I must have left it in Jared's truck when he gave me a ride to town or dropped it when I got out at the hotel. I rushed out of the hotel, but all the stores were already closed. It was a little before 8 PM. I went into Sarge's pub and ordered a cheeseburger and fries. I went across the street for a milkshake after I ate. It was getting late. I went back to the hotel to finish packing and cleaning. I created a journal entry for the previous day and went to bed around midnight. I had requested a wake up call for 5:45 AM. Hangman and Castaway had arranged for a shuttle back to the trail at 6:30 AM and I was going to join them. It was only $15 per car load. $5 for a sure ride to the trail sounded much better than trying to hitch a ride back to the trail.
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Orbeton Stream - old railroad bed
Miles today: 13.5

What am I doing this morning? Up at 5:30 AM and in a car headed back to the trail by 6:30. I am leaving all the comforts of town and all the good food behind to go hike up hills on rough trails. I must be an idiot.Hangman and Castaway started up the trail in front of me. In a few minutes they were out of sight and I never saw them again. I stopped at the Piazza Rock Lean-to after just 1.8 miles. Batman and John Knee Mud were there eating breakfast. I talked to them for about 30 minutes and then headed up Saddleback Mountain. The trail was steep in rocky most of the way up. I passed several ponds along the way. It was a very cool morning. I think the temperatures were in the low 50s. I was able to hike uphill without sweating! I don't remember the last time that happened. The trail went up above the treeline near the top of the ridge. Now I was exposed to winds blowing at about 30 mph and the temperature was still in the 50s. I put my mapdanna on my head, zipped on my pant legs, and put on my fleece gloves to stay warm. The skies were clear and not hazy so I could see a long way. My guide book says you can see both Mt Washington and Mt Katahdin from the top of Saddleback Mtn. It may be true and I may have seen them both, but I couldn't recognize either of them from the rest of the mountains.It warmed up a little in the afternoon. I made it to Poplar Ridge Lean-to by 3:00. Three section hikers arrived at the same time, then Batman, John Knee Mud, and Rockman. I ate my lunch. I had my hiker pizza lunch (spinach wrap, pepperoni, cheddar cheese, & pizza sauce). I haven't had that since Virginia, because it is heavy food. It was great. Rockman set up his tent, while the rest of us decided to hike further north. We all stopped at an old rail road bed next to Orbeton Stream, except Batman who continued towards the next shelter. The old railroad bed was nice and flat and perfect for tenting.John Knee Mud had an extra headlamp that he let me borrow. He said I can mail it to him when I finish the trail. Everything just seems to work out when you are on the trail.
Date: 2007-08-15
From: Orbeton Stream

To: Stratton, ME - Stratton Motel
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: scattered clouds

The skies were overcast this morning and I heard a few rain drops hit my tent this morning. I really don't like hiking in the rain these days. The only part that really bothers me is getting my feet wet, since my boots are no longer waterproof and take a long time to dry out. I heard John Knee Mud moving around outside and the three section hikers leave as I laid in my tent wondering if I should get up or stay inside.By 8:00 I had packed up and decided to hike. I had hiked a couple miles further than I planned to yesterday and now town was less than 20 miles away. If I could make it to the road by 8 PM, I would go into Stratton tonight. I left the camping site before John Knee Mud and hiked to Spaulding Mtn Lean-to about 5 miles up the trail. It started raining on my way there. The clouds cleared for a few minutes when I got to the shelter then it started raining again. I decided to eat lunch even though it was only 10:30. John Knee Mud showed up about 15 minutes later and then Rockman, Grand Daddy Long Legs and Jim. I was at the shelter for about 2 hours. John Knee Mud left about 20 minutes before me.The trails have been getting much better the past couple days. There are still a lot of rocks and roots, but the steep uphill and downhill areas often have rocks forming steps rather than just sloped surfaces. There also has not been very many mud bogs to go through without logs to walk across. I am able to hike faster on these trails....or should I say less slowly.I caught up to JKM at Crocker Cirque Campsite. This is where I had planned to stay the night, but it was 4 PM and only 7 miles to the highway. I decided to go to Stratton tonight. JKM continued on, but wasn't going all the way to town.I reached hwy ME27 a little before 8 PM. There were not a lot of cars on the road, but the third or fourth car to pass me stopped to give me a ride. John Day took me to Stratton. He had the same phone/pocket PC that I have. He has service through Verizon and was able to access the internet here, while I am still not able to! I will be calling Alltel again tomorrow. I got dropped off at the Stratton Motel/hostel. The hostel was full so I had to get a motel room for $40. I put my stuff down and went across the street to a bar and ordered some food. I started with chicken tenders, then a cheese steak with homemade potato chips, and finally meatloaf with french fries. Just what I needed. I am feeling much better after a couple of town stops and lots of food. There was a band playing at the bar and about 20 people in the bar, it was a fun place to hang out.
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Stratton, ME

To: Avery Campsite
Miles today: 8.0

I called Alltel this morning and went through the same round of wasteful run around that I have gotten the past couple times. Everyone tells me the username that I have used for the past 5 months definitely doesn't work and I have to use one with my phone number. Of course when I do this I get the same errors. The guy today tells me after 30 minutes of useless other stuff, that I am connected to a US Cellular tower and they don't have any agreement with US Cellular for data services so I can't connect on their towers. Apparently Verizon must have an agreement with US Cellular. It looks like I won't be able to upload over my cell phone until I leave Maine.I headed across the street to the diner for breakfast. John Knee Mud, 357 Magnum, Rodeo Clown, Trashbag, Ben, and Amanda were finishing up breakfast. Batman arrived after me. I had eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. I headed over to the grocery store to get 3 days of food to get me up to Caratunk. I came back over to the hostel and was able to get on the computer for about 30 minutes. It was a slow dial up connection. I paid my credit card bill, checked email, and made a short up date to my journal. There were about 6 people waiting to use the computer, so I couldn't spend too much time there. I ate a pint of ice cream and packed up my food.Bonnie Carolyn arrived at the hostel. I had seen her back in Virginia on a couple days. She flip-flopped when she reached Port Clinton, VA and is headed south. People will flip-flop if they are not far enough along to make it to Katahdin before October. Once the mountain ices over, you can't complete your hike. I saw YoungNDum across the street and went over to talk to him. I hadn't seen him since North Carolina. He took a month off because of a ligament problem in his foot. He started the same day I did in March.Susan Smith, hostel owner, gave YoungNDum and me a ride back to the trail at 1:30. I hiked with him up to Horns Pond Lean-to. He was planning to do 16 miles and I was only going to do 10, so I didn't see him after that. I actually stopped after only 7 miles because it had gotten cold and rainy. I camped at Avery Memorial Campsite. It was very windy and raining. I set my tent up and climbed inside for the night.
Date: 2007-08-17
From: Avery Campsite

To: East Carry Pond - campsite
Miles today: 18.7

I rolled over as I woke up this morning and realized my sleeping bag was wet. I thought I must not have done a good enough job securing the vestibule flaps. Then I noticed my boots were still dry in the vestibule area, so why was my sleeping bag wet? I tried to sit up and felt something under my sleeping bag. It was the bite valve for my water bladder. I had some how trapped it between my sleeping bag and pad when I rolled over in the night. It had drained a liter of water into my sleeping bag and clothes. I looked outside and could see clear skies. I decided I would let everything dry out before I started hiking. The only problem was Avery Mtn was to the east and it was blocking the sun from reaching me. I was warm so I stayed in my sleeping bag. The sun finally cleared the mountain around 9:15. I got up and moved everything that was wet into the sun light. By 10:00 everything was dry and I started hiking.The skies were clear and visibility was great this morning. I climbed up to the top of Avery Mtn. The views were great from the top. I could see the profile of Mt Katahdin off in the distance (still nearly 180 miles away by trail). I continued hiking over Little Bigelow Mtn, which marked the completion of 2,000 miles! A couple miles later at the first paved road crossing, "2000 MI" was painted in the center of the road. John Knee Mud and I took each others picture here.The clear skies and sunshine had disappeared behind some dark grey clouds. Thunder rumbled through the sky and a gentle rain started to fall a mile or so later the gentle rain became a heavy drenching rain, which was soon accompanied by 3/16" hail for a few minutes. I continued to hike through this. The next shelter was about 2 miles away.I reached West Carry Pond Lean-To at 7:30 PM. 357 Magnum and three other hikers I didn't know were there. I signed the shelter register, put my head lamp on, and continued to hike. JKM arrived as I was leaving. I hiked another 4 miles and found a spot to camp beside East Carry Pond.Tomorrow I have to cross the Kennebec River. There is a canoe ferry service for crossing the river. It is the official way to cross the river, since someone died trying to ford the river years ago. The ferry only runs 9 to 11 AM and 2 to 4 PM. I was concerned if I stopped at West Carry Lean-To, I might miss the 4 PM deadline, since it would be 14 miles away. Now it is only 10 miles and I should easily make it there for the ferry. I called Verizon today to see if I could change service. They said I would have to buy a new Verizon phone and they could ship it in 2 to 3 business days. This phone is $600, so I won't be buying a second one to use for my final week. I would definitely have signed up with Verizon before starting this journey if I had known I wouldn't get internet service for the last month with Alltel.