morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-23
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to

To: ME27 to Stratton, ME
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Today would turn out to be a gray day all day. With all the rain in the forecast, I suggested that we do a 13.5 miles day and not camp at Crocker Cirque Campsite 6.2 miles away and First Shadow and Dutch agreed. So we were up at 4:15 a.m. A cloud had surrounded the shelter last night and everything we had was damp. We were ready and hiking at 6:00 a.m. If we made good time to the campsite, we were moving on. Today would not be easy. The mountains were in clouds and it would spit rain all day, and all the trees and bushes we bumped against were soaked which made us soaked.First we had a steep 750 foot climb up Spaulding Mountain, then down 500 feet to a flat area that was about three miles long. We made good time on this section. Then about a 1500 foot cliff to climb down to the Carrabassett River. This was an interesting crossing, since all we had at one point was a 15 foot wooden plank three inches thick and 10 inches wide to walk on. The plank rested on two big rocks chained at one end to a rock with a cable and at one end it rocked. With a fully pack, it was an uneasy crossing. We all felt better when all of us were on the other side.Now the fun began with a 2200 foot climb up and over the South and North Peaks of Croker Mountain. We got to the campsite going up the mountain at 10:45 a.m. and after a short snack break, we pushed on. About a mile down the mountain, we stopped for lunch on the side of the trail at 1:30 p.m. With only 4 1/2 miles to go, we were all tired and just wanted to get into town. Dutch was already talking about town food. With 1 1/2 miles to go, we had another steep downhill but still made good time. The rain was still spitting when we reached the road at 4:00 p.m. and started thumbing. The sky had been gray all day but our attitudes were on the sunny side now.It took about 20 minutes of thumbing before a guy and his wife in a pickup truck stopped for us. We threw our packs in the back and laid down in the back because he was not sure what the laws were in Maine for people riding in the back of a pickup. He dropped us off at the Stratton Motel and after hot showers and supper next door we were ready to crash for the night.This had been our hardest day so far and we are taking a zero day tomorrow. Sue, she runs the motel, told us that heavy rains are predicted for tomorrow. We are glad we made the decision to come into town a day early.
Date: 2008-07-24
From: Stratton, ME

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Slept in until 6:00 a.m. Dutch, First Shadow and I went across the street to the diner for some big Maine blueberry pancakes for breakfast. When we came back, Sue had gone to rescue some hikers that were going southbound. When they got to the Carabassett River, the plank we had walked over yesterday had washed away. Both the Carabassett River and the Oberton Stream had swollen from all the rain we had had in the last few days.The sun came out briefly so First Shadow and I walked up to the Post Office and picked up our maildrops. Kelley and Shanna had sent us more brownies. On the way back to the motel we stopped at the gas station and bought some Heet (fuel for our stoves). Sue was bringing hikers in all day long, by the end of the day she had rescued 22 hikers who had been stopped by the impassable streams. We saw Twix later in the afternoon, she had come to pick up about six of the hikers who were moving on to Rangeley. Twix had been the caretaker at Imp Shelter just before Gorham, NH. Early this morning there had only been five of us here but by the end of the day, the bunkroom and all the other rooms in the motel were full.Went to the pizza place across the street for lunch and it started raining again so we shot a game of pool until the rain let up some. Found some Shoe Goop at the hardware/grocery store to use to repair our boots. We have been drying our boots out using a fan. It continued to rain off and on the rest of the day. First Shadow had put some lines up in our room and we had dried out all our gear. Dutch finally got fried chicken for supper, he had been talking about fried chicken all the way down the mountain yesterday.It wasn¢t until after supper that our boots had dried out enough to repair them with the goop. Our boots have been taking a beating in this Maine environment. We have also been taking a beating, Dutch said if he had been hiking by himself, he would probably have gone home. The three of us are keeping each other going. The trail has got to be super muddy with all this rain. Hope it will stop raining soon but the forecast does not look hopeful.
Date: 2008-07-25
From: ME27 from Stratton, ME

To: Horns Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: scattered clouds

At 6:00 a.m. we went across the street for some Texas-size French toast for breakfast. Only a few clouds in the sky and the sun is out for a change. At 8:00 a.m., Sue shuttled five of us to the trailhead five miles out of town. There was Director, Treadmill, Dutch, First Shadow and me, all headed north. Director and Treadmill are section hiking. Treadmill is going to Monson, ME.Within a mile after we began hiking, we came to a swollen stream where we used fallen trees to get across the fast-flowing water. We only have a 5.1 mile day planned but it is a 2200 foot climb to the lean-to. The trail wasn¢t as muddy as we thought it would be and there was some rock climbing and some sections through some fall pine trees that made the trail a little easier. At one point we had a great view of Bigelow Mountain that we will climb tomorrow. Looks like only one more day of hard mountain climbing in Maine until we get to Katahdin Mountain at the end of the trail.When we arrived at the Horns Pond Lean-to, Director had moved on but Treadmill was stopping there for the night. Treadmill is from Richmond, VA. We ate our sub sandwiches we bought from town and some of Kelley and Shanna¢s brownies. The three of us walked down to Horns Pond after lunch. It is strange to see such a beautiful pond way up in the mountains.There are two lean-tos at this site. Genna the caretaker said that is because this is one of the most heavily used campsites on the A.T. in Maine. She was doing some trail maintenance and had a hacksaw with her. Dutch was able to use it to cut off his new wooden hiking stick. He had traded it for his repaired hiking stick from the hiker box at the Stratton Motel. Genna came back to get everyone registered after supper and spent some time telling us about the mountains up here.It has been a cool day today and as the sun drops it is getting colder. We have started to notice that the days are getting shorter the further north we go. No one else has come in, so it is just the four of us in the shelter tonight.
Date: 2008-07-26
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

All of us were up at daylight. No rain last night so the trails have had a chance to dry out some. Treadmill left at about 5:45 a.m. Dutch, First Shadow and I left the shelter at 6:15 a.m. We knew we had four peaks in the Bigelow Mountains to hike over, they were the South Horn, West Peak, Avery Peak and Little Bigelow Mountain. The first three peaks weren¢t that hard and the views of Flagstaff Lake were spectacular. The sky was clear with no chance of rain, a beautiful day. Going over West Peak we were above tree line and the wind was blowing about 25 mph. On Avery peak the wind was not as bad, it was also above tree line and there was an old abandoned fire tower. It was a long, straight-down 2000 foot drop down Bigelow Mountain. Then we had about an 800 foot climb up Little Bigelow Mountain. About a mile up, we stopped and sat on an old log to eat lunch. By the time we got to the top, we were really tired, but then on top we started this roller coaster hike for over a mile. That got old really quick, we just wanted to get down the mountain. As we started down we ran into a family out for a day hike, they passed us and a little later they were sitting on the side of the trail picking blueberries.It was 3:00 p.m. when we got to the blue blaze trail leading to the lean-to. I turned around and saw Treadmill behind us. We thought he was in front of us and already at the shelter. But we must have passed him when he went to one of the overlooks or when he went to Safford Notch Campsite to eat lunch. Got our water from a beautiful brook in front of the shelter. There was been a nice cool breeze blowing here all afternoon.It was about 5:00 p.m. when Last Master hiked up to the lean-to. He is a young man doing a flip-flop thru-hike. He started in May from Georgia and hiked to Waynesboro, VA, then went to Katahdin and started hiking south back towards Virginia. Another hiker came in at 8:00 p.m. but is tent camping. This shelter is supposed to be a 6-person shelter and there are five or us in it tonight. Treadmill is going to try a 17-mile day tomorrow but that is too far for us.
Date: 2008-07-27
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained briefly last night around 11:30 p.m., but the sky was clear this morning. Treadmill left at about 5:30 a.m. He is doing a 17-mile day today. Dutch, First Shadow and I left at 6:45 a.m. It was an easy hike down the rest of Little Bigelow Mountain and then around Flagstaff Lake then up and down a 500 foot mountain with no name - that is when we came to the 2000 Mile Marker point on Long Falls Dam Road. This used to be the 2000 mile point before the trail was relocated many times - it is actually 2007.5 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia.It was a muddy, rocky and rooty climb of 800 feet up and down Roundtop Mountain. Then a short walk along the edge to West Carry Pond Lean-to. We were there by 11:15 a.m. We even discussed going 10 more miles to the next shelter, then decided not to hike further.After eating lunch, Crumbs hiked in and about a half-hour later, her boyfriend Pounder showed up. Crumbs is from a small town less than five miles from where my daughter and granddaughter live in South Carolina and Pounder is from London, England. They are on their last leg of their thru-hike.The lean-to faces West Carry Pond and there is a path down to the shoreline where you can go swimming. Crumbs and Pounder hung around until about 2:30 p.m. then moved on to the next shelter 10 miles away.Oh! Before I forget, Treadmill left us a note at the shelter. He was making really good time, he arrived at the shelter at 8:58 a.m. for a brief break.Several day hikers stopped by and a few thru-hikers passed moving on to the next shelter. Treadmill will have a lot of company tonight. Late in the afternoon a south-bounder named Oreo arrived.We have dropped to an elevation of about 1300 feet so the temperature is a lot warmer at this level. Had a change to dry our socks and boots out this afternoon, but they will get wet again tomorrow. Looks like the mosquitoes are going to be a problem so we are going to put up the mosquito nets tonight.
Date: 2008-07-28
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: US201 to Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 14.0

Got up at 3:00 a.m., packed up and ate breakfast and waited for daylight. Sunrise is not until about 5:18 a.m. but it starts getting light at about 4:45 a.m. We want to get to the 2:00 p.m. canoe ferry across to Kennebec River and we are 14 miles away ¢ that¢s why we are getting an early start.Left the shelter at 4:50 a.m., it was just light enough to see the mud, wet rocks and roots. We crossed the bog bridges over Arnold Swamp with no problems. Two days earlier they were sinking a foot under water as hikers crossed them because of all the rain. With no rain in the last couple of days, the water level in the streams has dropped and the trail has dried out some. Some sections, mostly through the pines, were great to hike on and we made good time. As we came around East Carry Pond, we could hear and see four loons swimming on the pond.Arrived at Pierce Pond Lean-to at 10:10 a.m. We had averaged almost two mph. Ate an early lunch there and laid down on the shelter floor for a much deserved rest. Just lying on the flat wooden boards felt great. Only took 45 minutes to eat and rest and we were off again.The trail followed Pierce Pond Stream all the way to the Kennebec River. It see-sawed up and down all the way, not an easy four miles but we still got to the edge of the river by 1:15 p.m. and waited for the canoe ferry to come across the river to pick us up. The ferryman, Dave, showed up and ferried First Shadow and me across the Kennebec River first, then he went back and got Dutch.By 2:13 p.m. we were hiking toward the post office in Caratunk, ME. When we got to US 201, it was another 0.3 miles to the post office. There were a couple of surprises ¢ brownies from Kelley and Shanna AND pizzelles (Italian cookies) from Peggy, First Shadow¢s wife.At the post office, Dutch talked a young woman in a pickup truck to give us a ride about two miles to Northern Outdoors. We reserved a small cabin for the three of us for two nights. We signed up for a raft trip tomorrow down the Kennebec River. We need the rest day, if you call rafting down a river a rest day.After getting hot showers, a beer and a good meal, we were ready to hit the sack. Before supper, we talked to another hiker, Tigger. She was in the Marines and is doing a flip-flop. She hiked from Harper¢s Ferry, WV, to Springer Mountain in GA and flipped to Katahdin and is hiking south to WV.
Date: 2008-07-29
From: Caratunk, ME

To: Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 0.0

It is a habit now to wake up a first daylight in the morning. It finally cooled down some last night which made for better sleeping. They had a great buffet breakfast over at the restaurant and at 8:00 a.m. we had our whitewater rafting briefing, then went and picked up our life jackets, paddles, helmets, wetsuits and booties. At 9:00 a.m. loaded on the buses to take us to our put-in point up the Kennebec River. This point was just below the dam. The water is released every day at 10:00 a.m. which raises the water level in the river by about three feet. There are 90 of us with nine people in each raft.By the time we unloaded from the buses and slid our rafts down these metal rails about 70 feet to the river¢s edge, all we had to do was wait a few minutes for the water level to raise. Each raft had a raft guide who knows the river. The trip was exciting ¢ we went through some class two and three rapids before we got to a class four rapid, then went through more class two rapids. Everybody and everything in the raft was soaked.At noon, we stopped at a rock beach, where the staff cooked us chicken, steak, salmon, dirty rice, pasta salad and cookies for lunch. After lunch, it was a casual float down the river and the staff had pumped up some duckies (inflatable kayaks) that we could take turn paddling. This was Dutch¢s first time on a whitewater raft trip and he was a little nervous at first but later told me he was glad I had set this trip up. Just before we got ready to pull out from the river, a rain shower passed over us. Once loaded on the buses, it was only a short trip back to Northern Outdoors Center. It had been a great day on the river and a welcome change from pounding our feet on the trail.After getting cleaned up, doing some more laundry, it was time for a beer and supper. While doing laundry, we ran into a group of women hiking south who have been hiking with Tigger. They were glad to hear she is only one day ahead of them. They are from Maryland and had started at Harper¢s Ferry on March 27. They are the ¢100 Acre Woods Clan.¢ Tigger is the high energy one. Rabbit, Owl and Rue are mother, daughter and their dog and Soaring is a friend of theirs.Looking forward to getting back on the trail again, we only have about two weeks before we get to Mt. Katahdin.
Date: 2008-07-30
From: US201 from Caratunk, ME

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: broken clouds

It got cool early last night, so sleeping was good. Again, out of habit, we were awake at daylight, but didn¢t get up until about 5:30 a.m.At 9:00 a.m., Northern Outdoors gives a free shuttle back to the trailhead. Rabbit, Owl, Rue, Soaring, Dutch, First Shadow and I all loaded our gear and climbed into their big van for the two mile ride. All the ladies and their dog hiked south to the canoe ferry and we started north with a 850-foot climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain. We only had 5.7 miles to go and it was fairly easy except every now and then there would be a lot of mud. Sometimes it feels like the mud will suck your boot right off your foot. This was to remind us that we are still in Maine.Ran into a southbounder names Bryan who is an ultra-light backpacker. Fully loaded, his pack only weighs 13 lbs. There has to be a lot of gear he is not carrying.We got to the shelter at 12:30 p.m., in time for lunch there. We could hear some heavy machinery, sounded like a lot of trees getting cut down. After lunch we took a short walk down to the sandy beach on Pleasant Pond. Were we surprised when we got there. On the way we crossed a gravel road and at the pond¢s edge there was a small pier and cottages all around the lake with motor boats and canoes. Kids and their dogs were playing in the water. One family had lost their dog, a beagle named Riley. They must have found him because after about two hours they stopped calling for him.Dutch said there was some irony in the name for this shelter (Pleasant Pond) because with all the noise of civilization, it wasn¢t very pleasant. It was a little difficult to get our afternoon nap with so much noise. All the kids hiked past the lean-to to look at us. It was like they had come to see the ¢wildlife¢ in the woods.At 6:15 p.m. Sweet Sixteen, she is in her sixties, showed up. She was hiking south and had hiked 13 miles over two mountains. We had met her before near Andover, ME. At 7:30 p.m. two northbound section hikers arrived, they had hiked 19 miles and looked really beat. So the shelter is fully with the six of us in it for the night. The temperature is dropping and it looks like the mosquitoes are leaving. At about 8:30 p.m., the people on the pond set off fireworks for about 10 minutes but we could not see them.
Date: 2008-07-31
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Rained again last night and was still raining when we woke up at 3:30 a.m. We want to get to Monson by tomorrow (Friday) night so we can pick up our maildrop boxes on Saturday morning. So we have to hike some big miles. Sweet Sixteen said they saw some moose in the pond at the shelter we are hiking to.Left at 5:40 a.m. and climbed over Pleasant Mountain. I was soaked from the wet bushes and trees within minutes. The sky was overcast and the forecast was for 90% rain. Our cameras are double packed in plastic bags. We decided that Pleasant Mountain should be renamed Unpleasant Mountain because of the wet rocks, roots and mud. It rained a little during the day but the woods were real wet.At the bottom of the mountain, there was a stream we had to ford but we looked at the water flowing over the rocks and decided that we could make it without taking out boots off. Everyone made it across the stream safely.We stopped at Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to to each lunch at 11:30 a.m. but moved on quickly because the sky looked like rain was coming soon. Moxie Bald Mountain was an easy climb and descent, and we were at Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to by 2:40 p.m. We had just got there in time because a thunderstorm rolled in at about 3:30 p.m. Just before it hit, a young southbounder name Yogi came in.About an hour later, a young man, Paul, and his black dog arrived. The dog came into the shelter and shook its wet fur all around the shelter. Paul let him stay in the back of the shelter where all our heads were facing. After supper, Dutch politely asked Paul if he could move his dog to the other end of the shelter but he would not respond. The dog is well behaved but I cannot say the same for his owner. Dutch turned his sleeping bag around so he would not have to smell wet dog all night long. But that still does not matter because all of us could smell the wet dog. People with dogs should be considerate of other hikers when they bring their dogs on the trail.Almost everyone was asleep at 8:30 p.m. when the dog heard something outside, got up and went out barking but in a few minutes he came back whining. I think he saw a moose and that scared him. A lot of moose sightings have been reported in the shelter journal.
Date: 2008-08-01
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: ME15 to Monson, ME
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: broken clouds

It must have been about 2:00 a.m. when First Shadow and I heard a moose walking and feeding down at the edge of the pond. The pond is only 100 feet from the shelter. And at about 3:00 a.m. the bottom dropped out of the sky and it rained heavy for over an hour. The woods will be wet again and the trail will be muddy.Started hiking early today at 5:50 a.m. We need to get to Monson, ME, almost 18 miles away. The trail was what we expected it to be ¢ a lot of wet rocks, roots and mud, but there were some long sections that were good hiking. Then there were the three river fordings that made it exciting but slowed us down. The highest the water came was up to our knees. Only one time did someone almost fall in ¢ Dutch was crossing first and there was a big flat wet rock at the water¢s edge and he slipped and almost fell in. There was a lot of slipping today on the rocks and roots, and a few falls but no one got hurt.At 11:15 a.m., we got to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to and went in to eat lunch. There were two young southbounders who had just got up and were packing to leave. Ate our lunch quickly and we were gone before the two young men had finished packing. The pull of town can make you move faster, also the sky had been gray all day with a few sprinkles every now and then.We took the trail to Lake Hebron ¢ it is the old A.T. that leads to Pleasant Road which goes directly into Monson, ME. We knew the road would be flat and we could make better time. We were racing the rain, it was a light mist all the way to Shaw¢s Lodging. Ran to the post office to pick up our maildrop boxes before they closed at 4:30 p.m.After getting our bunk assignments at Shaw¢s and showers, we went to the Pub at Lake Shore House for a beer and supper. All three of us got Rueben sandwiches so the bartender/waitress called us the Rueben Boys.On the way back to Shaw¢s, we stopped by the General Store to get a soda. It was crowded there with all the locals because there was a band playing inside. They play every Fright night. They play a wide variety of music, from a waltz to a Janice Joplin song. When we got back to Shaw¢s, almost all the bunks were taken.Sometime after dark, three young hikers came in with their head lamps on. They had hiked 33 miles that day- almost twice as much as we had. Plysically it is hard to believe that someone could do that, but these young hikers do it all the time.