morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Fat Man Walking's parents' house 

To: Fat Man Walking's parents' house
Miles today: 0.0

Had a nice, relaxed day off. In the morning, the four of us sat out on the front porch drinking coffee. Real coffee is one of the things I enjoy the most when I'm off the trail. After breakfast, I went up to my room. Since it was Sunday and I was actually in a town, I felt that I should go to church, but where? So instead I decided to listen online to a sermon from my church back home...a sermon about the "trail magic" provided by the good Samaritan! I had a lot of catching up to do on my trail journal, and since I knew I would be sitting for a long time I thought it would be a great opportunity to soak my sore, calloused feet. I spent a few hours in chair with my feet soaking in a massaging foot bath, and wrote and wrote and wrote. My feet looked like white prunes afterwards but the soaking still didn't remove my callouses. (In case you're wondering, I'm writing this entry on Nov 21 and I *still* have calloused feet.) In the afternoon Fat Man and I went to Kohl's so he could pick up a new pair of Sketchers, to replace a pair he had been wearing since New York. Mock him if you want, but he swears they are the most comfortable shoes he's worn on the trail--and they don't give him blisters.
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Fat Man Walking's parents' house

To: Gordon Pond
Miles today: 12.6

The weather didn't look great in the morning, neither at the house or in Glencliff. We waited, checking on the weather to see if the forecast would improve. Finally, when it appeared that the rain would hold off til night, we decided it was safe enough to hike Moosilauke. Even if it wasn't, I think we would have gone anyway. We were just too restless and antsy. Walter took us to a visitor's center in Kinsman's Notch and we got permission to leave our packs there, hidden outside behind a fence. Our plan was to start at the hostel and slackpack north over the big mountain, pick up our packs, and then keep going until dark. Walter dropped us off back at the hostel, where we picked up some snacks and saw Legion again. When Legion realized what our plan was, he really laid it into us that we should not hike, as it was supposed to rain (at 4pm, he said--but we knew that was wrong) and hiking northbound over the mountain was dangerous, so dangerous that we could die. "Seriously?!" I thought. I wanted to roll my eyes. "Who does he think we are?" It seemed like he was using fear and intimidation to get us to change our plans so we would have to stay back and spend a night there. And it seemed like he was judging us--yesterday he never said anything to Mooch and Rambo, two rather tough looking guys, even though he knew they were going to carry their full packs over Moosilauke--and it was actually raining then!! "We'll be fine," muttered Fat Man and we walked outside. As we were saying goodbye to Walter, Zeus came out to chat. He had just hiked over the mountain the day before, so we asked him what he thought. "Go slow, be careful and you'll be fine," he said. And it was true. We were fine. It was a long climb up but we made excellent time. When we got to the top it was cloudy and very windy but the trail was still visible. And while the hike down was steep in places, it was definitely manageable. I'm so glad we didn't let that guy get to us! What we did was not easy, but I certainly would not classify it as "death-defying" either. At the bottom of the notch, we picked up our packs and hiked on another three miles as the mist rolled in. When it was close to dark we pitched our shelters on a flat spot just off the trail, just before it started raining. I quickly made dinner, ramen with salmon, bacon and avocado, and went to bed, tired but happy to have gotten Moosilauke out of the way!
Date: 2013-09-09
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: scattered clouds

After breakfast, I met Fat Man Walking at his hotel. While he packed, I went to the Post Office and saw Limpin' Eagle on the way. After a few errands, including picking up a much-needed tip for my trekking pole--quite essential on this slippery, rocky terrain--the three of us went out for, well, breakfast. Haha. At the diner I ran into Fritz and Anni again, which turned out to be the last time I would see them. But we didn't know it so we didn't say goodbye. It was a much nicer day for hiking, especially up Wildcat Mountain, which is pretty steep, though not as steep as the rumors led me to believe. (Which is always the case!) We got a late start, of course, but it was a nice climb/hike, steep but not too hard. FMW kept the conversation going by talking about all the girlfriends he's ever had. I can't deny it got old, but it did keep my mind occupied.We arrived at Carter Notch Hut at 4:30 and the CROO there was super chill. Meaning they didn't care how many thru-hikers were doing work for stays. They put us to work cleaning window sills and let us sleep in the guest quarters since they had reservations for only 2 or maybe 4 guests. Apparently this is one of the least-used huts (by guests anyway). The CROO won us over with their hospitality and friendliness. Dinner was good. I think we all enjoyed having a nice meal surrounded by thru-hikers. Some of us were missing the normal AT shelter life, but this came close.
Date: 2013-09-10
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH 
Miles today: 14.9

After a breakfast of bacon and pancakes, we washed dishes and hit the trail. As I climbed up out of the notch, I kept thinking about Weatherman's wife's text, and what on earth I should say. It was stressing me out. Whenever I know someone's not at peace with me, if I have wronged someone even unintentionally, it is literally all I think about. So I knew I would need to reply soon, if only for my own sake! The weather felt like my mood: foggy, misty, and wet enough to get my feet wet. Definitely not happy weather. But at least I got to look forward to seeing my friend, Slo-go'en, whom I met in Georgia on my first night. He invited me to crash at his place when I got to Gorham, and since a second night in Gorham seemed to make sense, I took him up on the offer. Plus it's never more fun than to visit with another thru-hiker, swapping stories and such. He surprised me by hiking in to meet me on the trail and we hiked the last few miles together. The company was nice, because the conversation kept me from thinking about how tired I was. I had hiked the 14 miles in about 9 hours, which is pretty slow, but it just goes to show how difficult the trail is. New Hampshire ain't no joke, folks! Slo-go'en treated me to dinner and then we stopped at Walmart to resupply. I don't know why I was so amazed to see that the inventory of pasta and rice sides and other common trail food was almost completely gone, but I suppose it makes sense since this is the last Walmart on the trail. Later I discovered that a number of hikers bought food here to pack in their maildrops for the 100-mile wilderness in Maine. I only wish I had been as smart and proactive, but the thought never occurred to me. Lesson for next time! :-)Slo-go'en lives in a small house out of town, a real bachelor pad. It wasn't fancy but it's a home, and we hikers like homes. He showed me photos from his hiking trips to the Tetons, Rockies, and the AT. And though it was a bit late, I finally remembered to order my fourth pair of Brooks Cascadia trail runners. Even with only 500 miles on this 3rd pair, the tread was almost gone thanks to all the rocks.
Date: 2013-09-12
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: scattered clouds

It was cold and rainy when we woke up. Some hikers ventured out, but most of us decided to wait out the storm, checking radar on smartphones and hoping to find a dry window of time in which to hike. In the meantime we watched the clouds move across the valley. Zeus saw a mama and baby goose at the pond which was exciting and seemed to confirm just how far north we were. Around 10 we finally decided the rain wouldn't stop and we hiked out.Zeus, Ahvoh, Acorn, and I stopped to take photos at the welcome sign for Maine. It was hard to believe we had actually made it to this, our last state. Hadn't we just left Virginia a few weeks back? The moment felt surreal. Underneath the word Maine someone had written, "The way life should be." Ahh, yes. Maine: filled with lakes, forests, moose, mountains, the 100 mile wilderness--and Katahdin. I was so excited to experience it all. I had been looking forward to Maine ever since I started my hike. And as I reflected on how far I had come, I thanked God for bringing me safely to this point. A few miles later the rain started up again, harder this time. My umbrella proved once again useless in the blowing rain. In fact, it was so windy I had to fight to stay upright. And as if the timing was planned, the lightning and thunder began just as we were hiking over the many exposed summits of Goose Eye Mountain. I knew it was stupid of us to expose ourselves like that, but it was so cold, none of us wanted to stop to wait it out. Then we'd be putting ourselves at risk for hypothermia. We just hiked as fast as possible, which isn't saying much because the rocks were so slippery. To top it off, we found that the trail was not well-maintained. A number of times we had to cross some bogs, and at those points Trail Clubs will build bog boards, usually two parallel boards that you walk across, so that you don't sink. Up here we discovered that most of the boards were sunken. At one point as I was feeling my way across one of the bog boards, my foot suddenly slipped off and I landed in the bog up to my thigh. No one was around to help me up, and it was incredibly awkward to crawl out. But at least one foot had stayed on the board. I got to the shelter just before dark. I was very cold and miserable and quickly tried to get into dry clothes and eat some food to warm up. Acorn told me she had fallen completely into the bog. Others almost lost their shoes! Later on an older SOBO flip-flopper arrived who said it took him 13.5 hours to hike five miles. Poor guy had to hike down the Mahoosuc Arm and through the Notch in this weather! Maine seemed to be mocking us all. Is this really "the way life should be"?! Yeah, right. What a yucky day.
Date: 2013-09-13
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up to gray skies and threatening rain. Not a great day for Mahoosuc Notch, but we might as well get it done. I ate breakfast and waited as long as possible to put my wet clothes back on, which is my least favorite part of the day. After packing up, I headed out onto the trail once again with Zeus, Ahvoh, and Acorn. It really wasn't too bad going up over the first mountain and down to the notch, which AWOL describes as the "Most difficult or fun mile of the AT. Make way through jumbled pit of boulders." Which is exactly what it is. A bunch of boulders that have settled haphazardly in the bottom of a narrow notch between two mountains. I had read different accounts of it, and everyone seemed to think it was so difficult, but I really like climbing and bouldering, so I actually had a blast! Sure, the falling rain made it a bit sketchy, but it was fun figuring out how to get through and around these obstacles. Arrows pointed the way at times and occasionally we had to crawl through a few tight places, but I never once took my pack off--I'm stubborn like that! It took me two hours to get through the Notch, which was faster than I anticipated. Definitely the most fun mile of the trail.Once I got to the other side, I couldn't find the trail. I looked around. Where did it go? Then it dawned on me that what I thought was a river was actually the trail. The water came up well past my shoes, but I hiked through it and began making my way up Mahoosuc Arm, a very steep mountain rising 1600 feet in 1.5 miles. Going up the Arm was like hiking in a waterfall or river. Towards the top I met a group of middle aged men, who said that 5 inches of rain had fallen in the past 24 hours. I was not at all surprised. (At the top of the Arm, someone had formed a pithy, snarky statement out of rocks, but I cannot remember what it said. Does anyone remember?)When I got to the shelter, it was just 2pm and I had hiked only 5 miles, but I did not want to keep going. Neither did Ahvoh, Zeus, Ridgerunner, Acorn, Spider, Chiquita, and three others who were all in the shelter, trying to warm up in their sleeping bags. I went to the pond to rinse out my muddy, dirty compression leggings, socks, and skirt and hung them up to dry, though I knew they would still be wet in the morning. Then I put on all my dry clothes and got into my quilt with no intention of ever getting out. But after a little while I realized my air mattress had a hole somewhere. Getting out to fix a leak was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had no choice. Thank God the pond was nearby so I could submerge the mattress in order to find the hole. I would never have found it otherwise. After a while it was fixed and I got back in my quilt to warm up. That was a fun night, hanging out together in the shelter, but man was it cold!! Brrr!!!
Date: 2013-09-14
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

We woke up to another cold, drizzly day. It was very hard to pull myself out of bed and get packed up, but I knew I had to keep hiking or I would run out of food before reaching Andover.On the long 3.5 mile hike down to Grafton Notch I met many day-hikers who were apparently undeterred by the (IMHO) miserable weather. These Mainers are tough folk! Everyone we asked said it was supposed to get nicer by the afternoon. A lot of hikers were getting off the trail at Grafton Notch to go into town and though it sounded good, but I wanted to keep going. I figure I might as well hike if I'm already out in the rain--plus I would have to go into Andover anyway because that was where I had shipped my shoes. At Grafton Notch I ate my lunch and then before I left a trail angel arrived with a box of just-expired MRE's from her work. They're like army rations, just heat (or not) and eat. They were actually pretty good, and it helped to stretch my food a bit farther. I think I ate two of those 400 calorie energy bars (Raspberry flavored with a hint of hydrogenated oil ;-) and at least one cold MRE right away, on top of my lunch. And people ask me how I manage to keep my wait up. Really, have you seen me eat? I threw a few more in my pack for dinner. Sure they're heavy, but at this point I couldn't care less. I needed the calories and welcomed the change of diet--not having to cook dinner was also appealing. The sun came out briefly as I hiked over Baldpate mountain, which has two bald peaks. It struck me as beautiful, perhaps with the changing colors and the light coming through the clouds. I don't know, I just liked it. It was still cold and windy, but at least it wasn't raining. There were a few steep, slick sections of granite faces that were scary to get down as I came down the second peak. Going up is so much easier to me than going down, which makes me feel like I'm on a waterslide.No one else was at Frye Notch Lean-to when I arrived, and after weeks of being in crowded shelters, I felt so very....alone. But then Zeus and Ahvoh arrived along with their humor and silliness. It's so good to be with friends. We ate our MRE's and then went to bed, hoping for sunshine in the morning. Another cold night.
Date: 2013-09-16
From: Andover, ME

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 8.7

I wish I could say that I got to sleep in, but for some reason I woke up at 4:30 and of course I could not fall back asleep again. I hate those kind of nights. After I packed up, I walked the short block and a half to the Post Office to get a package that my brother and sister-in-law sent me. When the nice lady there asked me how I was, I started crying, which was embarrassing. I explained why and got a comforting, empathetic response. Love these small towns...I walked to the deli to open my package. How nice to receive a maildrop on such a morning! Homemade banana bread and a note lifted my spirits. Another thing that lifted my spirits was what happened next. Some random guy--I think he was a motorcyclist--struck up a conversation with me as we were getting coffee. When he found out I was a thru-hiker he insisted on paying for my breakfast. I thanked him, and then for some reason felt prompted to mention what had happened to me the night before. And to that he smiled and said, "Well, clearly the guy's crazy!" That made me smile.Limpin' Eagle drove us to the other hostel in town to pick up Ahvoh and Zeus, and we ended up staying there the rest of the morning while we waited for the skies to clear. I was in no mood to hike, anyway. I felt worn out. It was nice to chill out with Bootsy, Tiny Tim, Indigo, and some others who were zeroing. Ahvoh, Zeus and I finally started hiking around 1pm. (Fat Man Walking had already gone out to the trail.) Fall was in the air. It was so cold and windy that I stopped to put a long-sleeved shirt and a wool hat on. The hiking was slow as we had to navigate around multiple muddy areas, often unsuccessfully. Sometimes the trail was completely filled with mud, and we had to rock/root-hop across. Many times I fell into the cold, muddy water up to my shins. One time Ahvoh had to rescue me. By the time we arrived at the lean-to, which was full, it was dusk and my feet were so cold I could hardly feel them. I set up my tent, ate dinner, put all my clothes on and then rubbed my feet for a long time to get the blood circulating again before I actually fell asleep. Brrr!
Date: 2013-09-17
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-To

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today seemed a hair easier than what we had just come through. It was nice to get some decent miles in. It was still cold when we got up, so it took a while to pull myself out of the cocoon of my quilt. But once I got out of my tent I was delighted to see sunshine and blue skies! About ten steps into my hike I slipped on a wet rock. What a way to start the day! The highlight of the morning was finding Mt Dew Trail Magic--almost 2 cases! I never, ever drink Mt Dew, but for some reason it tasted good, so I drank two cans of it. The hiking today was a bit slow because of all the mud, which in many places covered the entire trail. By late afternoon I was getting pretty tired of it all. I had just taken another fall into a mud pit, getting my nearly-dry shoes wet, so my feet would probably be very cold at night, once again...No thank you! It was the day before my birthday and all I wanted was warm, dry feet, so I was planning on going into Rangeley to stay at a hostel that some southbounder had told me about...But I hadn't communicated my plans with Ahvoh or Zeuz, who were a bit ahead of me. I didn't know if they would stop at the road or keep going. But when I got to the road, there they were, waiting with Limpin' Eagle. I was overjoyed! The only disappointment was that Fat Man Walking had kept hiking--I wasn't sure if I would see him again or not. I wanted him to celebrate with me. The Gray Beast hostel was run by a nice, funny lady named Lori. The hostel was pretty ordinary, but still I really liked it, mostly because of Lori. To me, a great hostel has little to do with the accommodations and almost everything to do with the attitude and personality of the owners/caretakers. Anyway, after showers a bunch of us went out for drinks and appetizers to celebrate my birthday. Someone bought me a slice of coconut cream pie, which was better than cake. It was a fun night. And it was fun to celebrate 5 months on the trail with Zeus, who started the trail the same day as me.
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Stratton, ME

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Greetings from Stratton, Maine, less than 200 trail miles from Katahdin! I'm really behind on updating my trail journal (and even writing in my personal journal), and have decided to sort of let that go until I finish the trail. But by way of updating--I am doing well overall, happy to have gotten through most of southern Maine (THE hardest section of the whole trail) and still very much enjoying being out here. I celebrated my 33rd birthday this week in Rangeley with some trail friends at the local watering hole. After the crazy rain and thunderstorms of last week (about 5" of rain fell in one day) and some really COLD weather early in the week, the weather has significantly improved and we've seen some of the nicest days ever the last few days (though we've still had a lot of mud to carefully step/leap through). Yesterday I started feeling sick and I seem to have come down with a cough and congestion. All I want to do today is sleep, but I'm hiking out. I don't want to let it keep me from getting miles in or enjoying the Bigelows, one of the prettiest sections on the trail. And the fact that it's only getting colder is a strong motivating factor. But I would appreciate prayers. Thanks. Thanks for your patience as I struggle to balance my deficits of time, energy, and sleep. But be assured that I'm still pluggin' away, sucking the marrow out of Maine. It's so nice, I might just move here ;-) Lots of love,Poppins
Date: 2013-10-16
To: Minneapolis, MN
Miles today: 0.0

On Friday, October 4th, after about 5 1/2 months of hiking, I reached the summit of Katahdin, kissed the sign, and finished my thru-hike. I will write more about that day when I catch up on my journal (I promise to do it soon), but for now suffice it to say that reaching that sign was one of the happiest, though bittersweet, moments of my life. I was overjoyed to to have successfully finished my thru-hike but felt a bit of a let-down that it was over as I really had enjoyed my hike so much. Although it's been nearly two weeks since my summit day, I am still not home! Since then I have celebrated with friends along the Maine coast, Portland, Gloucester, and New York City which has been fun. This past weekend I attended the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA) Gathering in Shippensburg, PA, which felt like a "Hikers Anonymous" meeting in which we just find new trails to feed our "addiction." I met a lot of wonderful and--let's be honest--weird hikers as well as a few semi-famous folks in the long-distance hiking community whom I had been wanting to meet such as Yogi, Squatch, Weathercarrot and Billygoat. I also reconnected with many great folks I had met along the trail like Miss Janet, Jester, and the people running Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs, NC, and Bearded Woods in Salisbury, CT. And I got to spend time with Maw and Paw which was wonderful...My trail friends Acorn and Ketchup and others were also there. So it was a lot of fun!! Now I'm visiting SIS in Indianapolis and heading to the Chicago area for a few nights and then, finally, Minneapolis. Life post-trail had been wonderful, tiring, and emotionally up-and-down. I miss the trail and my friends but I am also excited about seeing my family and friends back home. I'm already planning on doing the Pacific Crest Trail, though I'm not sure if I can pull it off next year or if I will have to wait til 2015. All I know is this: I'm not done with long-distance hiking! But first I gotta get a job... =( Please pray that God will give me wisdom and will provide a job. And pray for me as I move back into the "real" (?) world. I am not sure where (what city/state) I'll live. Anyway, thanks to you all for reading my journal--please continue to look often as I will start updating my journal soon. And keep bugging me until I do ;-)Love to you all,Poppins