morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-08-12
From: Gentian Plnd

To: Goose Eye Mountain
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: mist

8/12: Hiked 9.6Miles. Humid again. Mt. Success was a 3,500' mountain of rocks. Nextup was the New Hampshire, Maine border. Maine is the fourteen andfinal state of the trail. Goose Eye Mountain west and north peak wereall rocks and no way to get off them. Spent the night on a platformat Full Goose.
Date: 2022-08-13
From: Goose Eye Mountain

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

8/13: Hiked 5.1Miles. Ten hours to hike 5.1 miles, this was the day that includedthe hardest mile of the whole trail. About a mile into today's hikewas the start of Mahoosuc Notch which most concede to be the mostdifficult mile of the AT. It's one mile of jumbled pit of boulders.We needed three and a half hours to work our way through. Then came avery hard 1,700' climb up Mahoosuc Arm into Speck Pond Campsite forthe night.
Date: 2022-08-14
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Bethel ME
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: overcast clouds

8/14: Hiked 4.6miles. Just 637' to the top of Old Speck that was just about straightup. From there it was just under 2,600' down an all rock trail intoBethel, ME. Bethel Village Motel would be the only motel that wewould stay at this entire hike. 8/15: Zero day. Ilaid on the bed just staring at the ceiling most of the day. This wasmy recovery plan.
Date: 2022-08-16
From: Bethel ME

To: The Cabin run by Honey
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

8/16: Hiked 10.3miles. First up was a 2,315 climb up to Baldpate peak (most likelythe Best part of this hike). What a great view. I hadmy first real fall this day, with Boo Boo having one about an hourafter me. After Frye Notch the trail got a little easier. Five milesdown into Andover, ME where we stayed at The Cabin owned and run by¢Honey¢. Bunks were $20 and the dinner and breakfast were great.
Date: 2022-08-17
From: The Cabin 

To: The Cabin 
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

8/17: Hiked 10.1miles. Slackpack south today in an afternoon rain. In the morningwent up Moody Mountain and down into Sawyer Notch and back up WymanMountain. The final 5 miles back into Andover was on a real nicetrail in the rain.
Date: 2022-08-18
From: Bemis Mountain 

To: Bemis Mountain
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: mist

8/18: Hiked 8.7miles. A hike from hell going up and over Old Blue Mountain in therain. This was doing Stair master level 20 in nothing but Water andmud. This was not a happy time. Then we had to deal with BemisMountain before stopping for the night at Bemis Mountain Lean-to.
Date: 2022-08-19
From: Bemis Mountain 

To: Sabbath Day Pond
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: broken clouds

8/19: Hiked 8.3miles. After dealing with Bemis Mountain Second peak it was down toBemis Stream for the first fording of the hike. After coming out ofthe water, the trail was noticeably nicer. This was an 8 hour hikingday. Camped the night at Sabbath Day Pond.
Date: 2022-08-20
From: Sabbath Day Pond

To: Hiker Hut
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

8/20: Hiked 9.4miles. After a short up, Boo Boo set out to see if she could kill mewith some hiking speed. We covered 9.4 miles in a fast 6 hours. Inthe early afternoon we came into Rangeley, ME and stayed at the HikerHut. Had a outdoor shower, and for the second time on this hike, wewent out for dinner, this time at Sarge's Sports Pub & Grub.
Date: 2022-08-22
From: Redington Campsite

To: Sabbleback Junior
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

8/22: Hiked 10.7miles. After a hard climb up Saddleback Junior, there was fordingnumber 2, and 3, followed by a not so bad hike up Lone Mountain.Camped at Spaulding Mountain Lean-to.
Date: 2022-08-24
From: Spaulding Mountain

To: Hostel of Maine
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

8/24: 7.4 miles. Itrained all night, and on and off this day. Went up South Crocker andNorth Crocker Mountains. The day's hike ended with a six mile descentinto Stratton, ME for a zero at Hostel of Maine.8/25: Zero. Spentthe day at the Hostel of Maine. This is one great hostel.
Date: 2022-08-26
From: Hostel of Maine

To: Avery Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

8/26: Hiked 8 miles.A great hard day of hiking. Worked the way up Bigelow Mountain westpeak. There was a big wind storm at the peak, and we sat down on theback side of the mountain to get out of the wind. Watching six otherhiking going on, and not coming back, so we decided to give it a try.Big wind was coming from the east, but after a short climb, you couldsafely move off to your left out of the wind for good. Ended justpast it at Avery Memorial campsite.
Date: 2022-08-27
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: Flagstaff Lake
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

8/27: Hiked 9.9miles. A lot of rocks going over 4,090' Avery Peak, then down andback up to Little Bigelow Mountain. After that, the trail wassomewhat nice going into East Flagstaff Lake Tent pads.
Date: 2022-08-29
From: Pierce Pond

To: Boise-Cascade
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: few clouds

8/29: Hiked 9.2miles. Spent the night where we did for two reasons. First, it wasnext to Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps where you can get a big pancakebreakfast, and we were first in line. Three miles from camp is theKennebec river where you must use the canoe ferry service. Theservice is free daily from 9am to 2pm. After crossing we stopped inat the Sterling Inn for a shower and resupply. Spent the night onBoise-Cascade Logging Rd.
Date: 2022-08-30
From: Boise-Cascade

To: Bald Mountain Stream
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

8/30: Hiked 15.6miles. I have no idea how I hiked 15.6 miles. I can't hike in theheat, and this was a hot day. Early in the day, we went up a 1,000'to Pleasant Pond Mountain. Nine and a half miles into the day's hike,I was really feeling the heat. I said that I had to stop and take anap at Bald Mountain Brook lean-to which we did for about 20 minutes.I was clearly having issues on this day. As we started going up MaxieBald Mountain, Boo Boo pointed out that this was one of the very fewmountains on the trail that has a bad weather bypass trail and that Ishould take it. I agreed. As Boo Boo went up and over the mountain,my path was about a half an hour shorter. Somewhere in the middle ofthe bypass, I could see the peak of the mountain, there was no waythat I could have made that climb. On the other side of the mountain,where the bypass meets back up with the main trail, Boo Boo found methere past out. I somehow made it to Bald Mountain Stream camp tosend the night.
Date: 2022-08-31
From: Bald Mountain 

To: Monson ME
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

8/31: Hiked 15.9miles. We had camped about a foot off the trail and knew that rainwas coming. Up before the sun, with no rain, that lasted about 10minutes. We had to put the day on hold for a few minutes until theheaviest of the rain passed. The rain would last all morning, but weneeded to get moving. This day saw us ford water five times.The trail was mostly somewhat flat meaning it was nothing but treeroots and mud. We came off trail on ME 15 and a man stopped to gaveus a ride into Monson, ME to Shaw's hostel.
Date: 2022-09-01
From: Shaw's

To: Shaw's
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

9/1: Hiked 15.3miles. This is the start of the 100 miles of Wilderness. To get backon schedule, we decided to do three days of slackpacking from hereand not take a zero. Shaw's dropped us off at Otter Pond Parking andwe had to hike to the trail from there. Heading south, we ford sixwater crossings on this day, bring the total fording to 14. The firsthalf of the day was hard slow hiking, but we could pick up a littlespeed the second half heading back into Shaw's.
Date: 2022-09-02
From: Otter Pond 

To: Katahdin Iron Works
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

9/2: Hiked 14.5miles. Back to Otter Pond Parking and the hike back up to the trail,this time heading north. Up a 1,000' to Barren Ledges for some niceviews, then up another 600' to the top of Barren Mountain where thereare some remnants of a tower. Down a bit and then back up to FourthMountain. Down to Mount Three and a Half, and back up to ThirdMountain/ Monument Cliff where there is wreckage from a plane crash.Next up was some more hard hiking going over the Chairback Mountains.We got picked up on one of the very few roads in the Wilderness,called Katahdin Iron works Rd. spent the night again at Shaw's.
Date: 2022-09-03
From: Logan Brook

To: Branch Pleasant River
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

9/3: Hiked 14.9miles. I believe that the ride to Logan Brook Rd was an hour and ahalf, this time we headed south back to Katahdin Iron works Rd. Goingup over 2,000' to get to the summit of White Cap Mountain whichstands at 3,650'. The last ¢Big¢ mountain before Katahdin. Theremust have been over 1,000 man made steps on the way up. The stepsmade it a little more bearable, but it was still a hard climb. Upand down for the six miles after that to West Peak. The final sevenmiles for the day were downhill that included Gulf Hagas which isknown as the Grand Canyon of Maine. There are some big ass treesthere. Right before the pick up point, we had to do our 15thford of the hike across West Branch Pleasant River, it was a wideford with a slick rocky bottom.
Date: 2022-09-04
From: Logan Brook

To: Jo-Mary
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

9/4: Hiked 13.8miles. Back to Logan Brook Rd one last time. After getting droppedout, headed north. Back into water right away for the 16thfording of the hike. The only other thing I remember about this daywas that it should have been an easy hike day, and as normal for thishike, it wasn't. Stayed the night at Jo-Mary.
Date: 2022-09-05
From: Jo-Mary

To: Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: heavy intensity rain

9/5: Hiked 14.8miles. Rained most of the day. The trail was nothing but tree rootsand mud. Passing Pemadumcook Lake, I got a great view of Katahdinfrom about 50 miles away. I'm not sure if the last fording was overTumbledown Dick stream or Nahmakanta stream marking the 17thand last time I went into the water. Camped at Nahmakanta lake.
Date: 2022-09-07
From: Rainbow Lake

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

9/07: Hiked 9.7miles. Today was a nice hike. Finished the 100 miles of Wilderness,and came up to the border of Baxter State Park. Like most hikers, Istayed at Abol Bridge Campground. They have a restaurant out front,and all the other hikers just dropped their backpacks and headed into¢calorie up¢. I was right with them. Boo Boo and I shared acampsite with a hiker named Money Stash. We will be up early tomorrowfor it is of the most importance that we get a campsite for tomorrownight at a place called Birches, which will line us up to summit on9/09.
Date: 2022-09-08
From: Abol Bridge

To: The Birches
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

9/08:Hiked 10 miles. To get a campsite at the Birches, you need to be oneof the first 12 hikers to sign-up just inside the park at a RangerStation kiosk. The Ranger is to show up at 7am and assign the spots.To guarantee that we would be two of the hikers picked, we got up at1am to be first and second in line. I can tell you that it was a colddark night out there at that kiosk. It was light by 6am, and by 7am,when the Ranger was due there were 13 hikers in line. Well, 7 cameand went with no Ranger, by 7:30am all the hikers were in agreementthat we were done waiting so we got a piece of paper and made our ownlist. Boo Boo and I were number 1 & 2 on the list. After the listwas made, each hiker took aphoto of the list. All the other hikers then went back to therestaurant for breakfast with just the two of us heading up thetrail. The hike was 10 miles of tree roots and mud. The Birchescampsite Ranger Station is at Katahdin Stream Campground and weneeded to report in. The Ranger was out to lunch so we made thedecision to just take 2 sites, set up our tents and then check inwith the Ranger. By the time we got back to the Rangers Station, hewas outside sitting at a picnic table with about 20 hikes around him.Just then, he looks at his phone and says that he wants to startcleaning up the list and ask if Boo Boo and StillBill were present.We raised our hand and he had us come forward to be signed in. By5:30pm, I was out for the night.
Date: 2022-09-09
From: The Birches

To: Summit of Katahdin
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: mist

9/09:Hiked 5.2 miles to the summit, and somewhere around 5 miles backdown. I've been told that Katahdintakes no prisoners,We were planning that it would take 7 hours to go 5,000' over 5 milesto the summit. The summit is the northern terminus of the AT. Got upat 4am and was heading out of the Birches by 5am. The first thing onthe way was to stop by the Rangers Station at Katahdin StreamCampground to store as much of our gear as possible in the lean-toout front. This way we would be slackpacking with about 10 pounds onour backs and not carrying around 35 pounds for the day. By the timewe got on trail it was 5:30am and the first light was upon us. By 6amit was light. The first 2 12 miles went easy and fast. Next came therock climbing. The poles were put away for the climb. There were bynow a few people in front of us and we could see where and how theywere moving forward. This went on for about a mile, and then we cameonto the Tableland. Standing back up and getting our poles back outwe hiked the final 1.6 miles to the summit. Overall, it wasn't thatbad of a climb. Stayed at the summit for about 45 minutes gettingphotos, talking to other hikers and some personal time for reflectionof this event. Made the decisiontonot return the same way we came up, so we descended by way of AbolTrail. It was about one mile very close to straight down. The first 14miles probably took an hour. The whole Abol Trail was listed as 2.8miles, but it was much longer than that. Once down we headed intoMillinocket, ME and stayed three nights at The Appalachian TrailLodge. Starting each day having breakfast down the street at TheAppalachian trail dinner, and then for the most part just laid aroundall day. The way home was two buses to Boston and then a 17 12 hourtrain ride back to Toledo.
Date: 2022-09-10
From: Boo Boo

To: Boo Boo
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

BooBoo (Janice): We have had many memorable times in the 700 total milesthat we have hiked together. This year's 300 mile hike was neverending hard. Through the good times and bad, I'm glad that I was withyou. Thanks for being the brains of this hike. You are a champion!
Date: 2022-04-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Going through my gear, picking out what I'm taking this time.  Every trail requires different stuff. I'm anticipating a fair amount of rain this time so I'm taking a tarp in addition to my tent. I think the extra 8 oz for the tarp is worth it. I'm not an ultra lite hiker and my base weight is somewhere just under 15 pounds. The only DCF gear I have are my tent and tarp. I've seen several DCF packs get really beat up after hiking only 700 miles. My ULA packs are 14-15 yrs old and are still looking great. I've had to replace some buckles from time to time, but that's a cheap fix. I'm getting older, losing muscle mass, and stamina definitely not as good as last year. Hoping I can do the 16-20 miles/day on this section hike. We shall see. My gear is basically the same as my AZT thruhike gear so I won't repeat listing that. It's definitely different from my section Hike of the AT in 2016. I did not keep an online journal for that hike (but did keep a paper journal), but am thinking about posting it. You may simply look at my AZT thru hike to get details on my gear. I don't think I'll carry any paper maps this time, but will carry a compass anyway.
Date: 2022-04-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Did various things today. Sanded rust off an old, large pipe clamp. That took about a hour or so. Then tried to clean and lubricate my sander but ran into problems reassembling it: the motor brushes were spring loaded and I wasn't able to reinstall the motor because I wasn't able to push the brushes back in. Then Mark picked me up to play golf. After I came home I was able to reinstall the motor. Then put everything back together. The sander started right up and I had no extra parts laying around. Then proceeded to go through my gear again, trying to familiarize myself with the tent set up, quilt set up. Then looked at the mileage data that KJ had put together. Looks like he's going to take it easy on us: No 20 mile days!!!  :) :) :) Still have to work out the shuttling of cars with Shoelace but we'll figure it out. I booked a room for Shoelace and myself in Damascus.  We'll reach there in about 2 1/2 days. It's past midnite and I fly out in about 20 hours.
Date: 2022-04-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Did some last minute checks of gear. Still have to soak/wet my water filter. Maybe tomorrow or at the Boots off Hostel. This acts to prime the filter so when I actually use it it will flow better.Rechecked the resupply strategy, but that is still not written in stone. I think we are pretty set from the beginning on 4/22 to when we reach Marion, VA on 4/29. Looks like there will be 7 of us in our merry group.  I guess some will sleep in shelters and some will use their tents. Sometimes shelters have a lot of mice so I might elect to sleep in my tent, unless the weather is really bad. Thankfully KJ is being relatively easy on us. He'll have more than 428 miles under his belt by the time he gets to the Boots Off Hostel (where we start). Boots off is at mile 428 or so, but he did the Benton Mackaye trail from Amicalola Falls State Park to the I-40 crossing near Davenport Gap, and that was already 290 miles (where the AT and Benton Mackaye Trail rejoin). So in total, maybe 460 miles or so under his belt when we meet up with him. He's mapped out our 8 days with him and there are no 20+ mile days! Yay!. Perhaps 14-16 or so with a bunch of 7 and 10 mile days.  Thank you KJ.Shoelace drove to Florida to pick up a trailer for a client. He dropped it off at a friend's home in Richmond, VA and tomorrow he's picking me up in Roanoke. When he drives home he'll deliver the trailer to his client in Maine. Flying out in a few hours from now.
Date: 2022-04-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

6 hr flight to Dallas then 3 hr flight to Charlotte NC. My layover in Charlotte was 30 minutes but I ran like Foest Gump to my gate. Miraculously my checked bag came through. Shoelace picked me up. Happy Warrior and hs grandson Bubba were waiting in their jeep. We drove to the Quarter Way Inn hostel on VA 610 and left Happy Warriors jeep there. The owner Tina asked us to transport a jar of honey to the owner of Boots Off Hostel. Pretty cool. We will use Happy Warrior's vehicle to get back to Shoelace's car (which will be parked at the start of the hike at Boots Off Hostel. We are now settled in at Boots Off in Tennessee. Cupcake and Rambo grilled hamburgers for us.lThe drive through the Virginia countryside is just beautiful. Blossoms are coming out. Spring is here. I like this hostel. Nice bunkers, latrine, and they have supplies. It's good to see Cupcake, Rambo, and KJ again. The weather is supposed to be nice. I'm really tired after this flight. Looking forward to hiking.
Date: 2022-04-22
From: Boots Off Hostel at mile 428 near Watauga Lake

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Started hiking a 8 am. We slowly rose above the western shore of Lake Watauga, then crossed over Watauga Dam. From there it was a lot of ups and downs: over 5000 feet of elevation gain. I took it slowly and endeavored to rest each hour. It was a little hot. I filtered 3 liters of water , then walked into camp. Several hikers were already there, and later the rest of our group trickled in. We are all quite tired. It's 8:14 pm and I'm gong to sleep!
Date: 2022-04-23
From: Iron Mtn shelter 

To: Abingdon Shelter 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, today was relatively easier but it was still 16 mile and "only" about 3600 ft in elevation gain. Trail tread was much gentler. We started hiking by 8 am. Most of us filtered water at a very good spring near the hiway 91 but I had lots of water. We crossed a beautiful meadow/bald and that was the first highlight of the day. We ate lunch and filtered water at the Double Springs Shelter. 7 years ago Shoelace and Happy Warrior met at this very shelter, so they reminisced fondly about this, I am getting to know Rambo and Cupcake (aka Yard Sale) much better. They both grew up together and have known each other since about the third grade. They are both 32 and are really good hikers. Being pretty big guys they are intimidating at first but turn out to be very thoughtful, kind human beings. They could easily outhike us but they make sure everyone was safe and will stay in back of the pack if things go wrong. Looks like Happy Warrior and his grandson Bubba will end early tomorrow at Damascus. Happy Warrior thru hiked the AT in 2015 but today he had some serious cramping in his legs and thighs. Their car is parked at the end (quarter way hostel) but his wife Tricia will drive down and pick them up. Another unexpected highlight of the day was trail magic at Low Gap. Lunch ( AT 2014) and a bunch of other people that thru-hiked the AT in years past drove from New York and set up a barbecue with drinks. I got into camp at the Abingdon Shelter at about 5:30. I decided not to set up my tent but chickened out and set up my tarp instead. Tomorrow we hike 10 miles into Damascus and cross over from Tennessee into Virginia. I've reserved a room there for me and Shoelace.
Date: 2022-04-24
From: Abingdon Shelter 

To: Motel in Damascus 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

For some reason I didn't sleep that well last nite. It didn't rain so I really didn't need to set up the tarp.  We set out at 8:06 and maintained a 2.5 mph pace. It was only 10 miles into Damascus. Yardsale and Rambo got there in about 3.5 hrs and were waiting with Yardsale's truck. They had drinks and snacks. We went to the motel and left our stuff there. Yardsale and Shoelace drove to the Boots Off hostel to get Shoelace's truck. From there Yardsale drove back to Damascus and picked up Rambo and went back to Alexandria. Shoelace stopped at a gas station in Tennessee for fuel and a drink. He was having a pleasant conversation with the attendant until the attendant asked him for his driver's license. . Being from Maine he told him , "promise not to laugh". When he saw Shoelace's license he told him , "you're a damn yankee". Then said nothing more to him. By the time Shoelace came back we were all checked into the Damascus Inn. Then, Happy Warrior, his wife Tricia (who had driven down to pick him and Bubba up), Bubba, Shoelace and I ate dinner at the Wicked Chicken restaurant. Plan is to drive to Abingdon tomorrow to zero, resupply, do laundry tomorrow and hike out of Damascus on 4/26. (We would have preferred to stay in Damascus but there was no room availability and no laundry facilities. ) At that point it will just be 3 of us: Shoelace, me, and KJ.I am tired but not injured. My right boot failed on the trail into Damascus.  I have about 900 miles on these boots. I did pack an extra pair of shoes in Shoelace's truck. I have no blisters and I am very thankful for all of that. Moreover I am very thankful to be hiking with some great friends.