morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-15
From: Grafton Notch

To: Stream Next To Cascade Trail
Miles today: 10.2

We hit a string of luck getting into Bethel yesterday. First, it's 17 miles from the trail and we a got a ride from some local day hikers. Our luck held out this morning too after we got up, packed, put on our unbelieveably heavy "resupplied" packs and headed down to ME 2 hwere we would attempt our hitchike. A convience store was on the corner where we were hitching so I went inside for an orange juice and an elderly couple called me over and we talked about the hike. After awhile I went outside and started hitchhiking along with Beekpr when the elderly couple pulled up and offered us a ride back to the trailhead. It was a 34 mile round trip out of their way, it's just amazing to me the kindness some people show to the thru hikers. Yesterday left both of us really fatigued so we took our time most of the day. The hike yesterday was so rough in fact that my right boot has 2 split seams from the rocks. When I get to Rangley I'll attempt to at least give them a temporary fix to try to make them last the next 256 miles. We did make good time climbing the 2,400 feet and 4 miles to the East Peak of Baldpate Mt.in just under 2 hours. Once on the summit we ran into Footslogger, Gadget, 2Paw, and Fish all slack packing south from East B Hill Rd. We stayed on the summit for awhile enjoying the fantastic views and eating a leisurly lunch. The rest of the hike was a long descent, another climb, and another long descent to our present location. Between yesterday and today the steep decents from the mountains have been playing havoc with my knees so I'm taking the downs a little slower than usual. The Campsite we have is really awesom. It's a clear, cold stream with a small falls and a large pool under the falls...it's really cool! It'll also be nice to lay back in my tent and listen to the water coursing down the stream tonight. The weather report this morning predicted rain for tomorrow...maybe if i pray for rain tomorrow the sun will come out...well it might be worth a try.
Date: 2003-08-16
From: Stream Next To Cascade Trail

To: Bemis Stream Trail
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: moderate rain

We left our beautiful campsite around 7, crossed East B Hill road and proceeded up to the north peak of Wyman Mt., some 1,500 feet up. This was the easy part of our day believe it or not. The climb was gradual over about 4 miles and then a descent 1,800 ft. into Sawyer Notch. This is where things started getting a little tough. On the other side of the notch was a near vertical climb in many parts up 1,280 ft. in .9 mile. About half way up there were ladders attached to the stone walls and in some places metal rungs attached to large boulders as hand and foot holds. Once on top of Moody Mt. we collasped on an exposed section of rock and ate lunch. The hike down Moody was a lot more gradual so we made good time getting down to South Arm Road by 1:30. Well here it was 1:30 and there were no areas near the road to camp and the next camping that we knew of was 8.8 miles away and over 4 mountains. After climbing the other side of Sawyer Notch to the summit of Moody Mtn. we figured the climb up Old Blue Mtn. in front of us would be much easier, but were we ever wrong. The climb up Old Blue didn't waste any time and seemed to go straight up the mountain. The first 1000 feet were every bit as hard with the next 1200 feet a little more moderate. All in all, Old Blue kicked our butts this afternoon. The climb and the rocky, muddy condition of the trail was slowing us down and we realized we wouldn't make it to our detination until around 6:30 p.m. There were no other camping areas along the way listed in our guides and since we were beat from the climbs we did during the day, we could only hope there would be a place to set up a camp along the way, and there was. We saw a bunch of tents in the woods to our left that were occupied by a group of Trail Maintainers and 100 yds down the trail from them was a great little campsite which included a stream...we couldn't ask for more than that! So now I'm snug in my tent and ready to relax the rest of the evening. Beekpr is in his hammock and we both are turning in for the night for some much deserved shut eye.
Date: 2003-08-17
From: Bemis Stream Trail

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

What a beautiful morning we had. I woke up at 5:30 and looked out my tent to see the tops of the trees in the sunshine giving them a golden effect. We left camp at 7 and climbed Bemis Mt. and the 4 next peaks named after him. Not only does he have 5 peaks named for him, the stream at the bottom is called Bemis too. Beekpr and I were wondering who this Bemis character was to get all that named after him and Wahington and Linclon only have one mountain named after them. We ran into Fish, Gadget, 2Paw, and Footslogger slack packing the other way on the second peak of the Bemis range. The were doing about 11 miles from ME17 to South Arm Road. About 20 minutes later we ran into Spiderman and Just Dan also slacking north to south, but they were covering 23 miles back to B Hill Road which is a tough hike even with the light packs they were carrying. Our trail was much better today than the past few days with no long near vertical ascents or descents. If it wasn't for the rain an hour before we made camp the day would have been delightful. We passed many lakes today and I heard my first loon...I just love the sound they make.Both Beekpr and Me seemed to be rather fatigued today on the accents but we figured it had to be from hauling our heavy packs up and down some very badassed steep mountains the last few days. We're going into Rangley tomorrow, which is only about 4.5 miles of hiking down to ME4 and then a hitch into town to resupply and rest most of the day to give our bodies a chance to recharge. All the hikers we passed slacking today will be in Rangeley also so it should be a fun evening.I just checked our guide book and when we leave Rangley we'll climb Saddleback Mtn about 7 miles away and get our first possible view of Mt. Katahdin. That will be so exciting if its visible, to see our final destination on the A.T.
Date: 2003-08-18
From: Little Swift River Pond Campsite

To: ME4, Rangeley
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Beekpr and I both got up around 5:30 to go down to the lake shore we were camped at in the hopes we might see some Moose splashing about. Unfortunately there was no Moose, but there was one of the most beautiful mornings I had in recent memory. There was a mist hanging just above the water and the sun was just breaking over the top of the trees reflecting the trees in the still water....it was just awesome.We packed up and headed to ME4 to hitch into Rangeley for resupply and to get some much needed rest. We're heading back to the trail tomorrow and the next section also has many mountains to climb through to Stratton so it's good that we get to rest our legs today for they'll surely get a good workout over the next few days. We went looking for a place to eat tonight and saw a couple of familiar looking packs in front of a pub so we went inside. Sitting there eating dinner and having a beer were our good buddies Spiderman and Just Dan. We ended up having dinner with them and a beer, for medicinal purposes of course. Tomorrow, if the weather is clear, we'll get that first glimpse of Mt. Katahdin from Saddleback Mountain. The end of the trail is getting near and there is a mixture of anticipation and sadness among most of the hikers. This has been a long trail and I know I'm not alone in saying I feel connected to every part of it in some way. It's been a very wet, very cold, very buggy, and very hot and humid hike but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Date: 2003-08-19
From: ME4, Rangeley

To: Poplar Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.7

We had a rather leisurely morning, getting up at 7 instead of our normal 5:30. Beekpr had a haircut appointment at 7:30 and some boxes to mail when the post office opened at 9:30 so there wasn't any rush. After breakfast at the local diner we packed up and were hitching a ride by 10:15, at the trailhead by 11:00. The trail seemed to gain altitude from the start but gradually at first. By the time we got to Saddleback Mountain's base we started climbing very steeply, finally coming out of the treeline and going up it's rock face to the top. Even though it was clear, it was hazy and there was no view of Katahdin as advertised but the rest of Maine's mountains were looking spectacular. The vistas were just awesome today. Tomorrow we're climbing Sugarloaf so maybe we'll have better luck to see Katahdin from that summit. Today's hike took us over Saddleback Mountain, The Horn, and Saddleback Jr. Mountain, about 400 feet shorter than Saddleback. We're hoping to make the Crocker Cirque Campsite tomorrow night which will give us a good jump off point to climb both South Crocker and North Crocker Mtn. the day after tomorrow, and then down to ME 27 and into Stratton, Me. for resupply for the next leg into Caratunk.
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Poplar Ridge Shelter

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Beekpr and I rolled out of camp at 7, and being the first to leave we hoped, as usual, that we might be rewarded with a Moose sighting. About an hour from camp we heard something large up ahead just off the trail to the left. As we made our approach as quietly as possible, the object of our attention either heard us or got a wiff of us and took off like a bolt of lightning. It wasn't a Moose, but it was the biggest black bear either of us have seen on the trail to date. Considering its size I was more than happy to see it take off in the other direction. Well, there's always tomorrow. We're bound to see some Moose in this state sooner or later. I have to say that with the condition of the trail and the extremely steep climbs and descents miles have been hard to come by. The trail so far in Maine can be characterized as very rocky and probably the worst rooted trail on the AT. We've hiked through rooted trails in every state but the roots here are really bad. There is hardly a wooded section so far that isn't honeycombed with every size root you can think of and it makes it much harder to hike with mileage in mind, especially when you throw in all the rocks on the trail too.That being said, we hiked a good bit of the day with Just Dan and Spiderman. We had a couple of mountains to climb today, Lane Mtn., Spaulding and sugarloaf mountains.Before climbing the 500 feet up to our present campsite we had to ford the South Branch of the Carabassett River. The sun was out and we couldn't resist the water and we layed out on the rocks for about an hour soaking our sore tired feet. It was great to just lay there for awhile rapping with some good friends.The campsite we came up to has wooden platforms to set your tents up on, which I've never used before. Hooking up a non-freestanding tent took a bit of doing but it's holding up well. Tomorrow we'll climb the 2 Crocker mountains and proceed into Stratton, Me. for resupply.
Date: 2003-08-21
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: ME27-Stratton, Maine
Miles today: 7.3

It's been a few weeks since we've been bothered by mosquitos, but not last night. The campsite was infested with the little SOB's. I must have at least 15 new bites and most of them while I was taking my tent down. Just Dan and Spiderman left about 20 mins. before us and we got out about 7. The first thing we did was climb very steeply toward the south peak of Crocker Mt. About 15 minutes into the climb we heard some familiar voices behind us, Nuke and Milo. They were camped just below us last night and it was great to see them again. Last time we saw them was Gorham, N.H. We hiked together up both the South Peak and North Peak aof Crocker Mtn. and down to ME 27 where we hitched a ride into Stratton, Me. for resupply for the next push on to Caratunk. We arrived around 11:30 and checked into the White Wolf Inn and had lunch, did our laundry, mailed stuff home and finished our grocery shopping, all by 2:00, which gave us plenty of laying around time. Our room was like an oven with the high humidity and no air conditioning, just a fan. We stretched out on the beds anyway and about an hour later we had a surprise visit from Russell and Ashley, the two Southbounders we slacked packed with for 2 days in N.H. It was really great to see them and we got together for dinner. They are hiking southbound and finishing Maine, and since they finished N.H. and most of Vermont, they'll slide down to finish that state before heading into Mass.Tomorrow, Beekpr and I will be heading into the Bigalows to climb the last of the 4000 footers before getting to Katahdin.
Date: 2003-08-22
From: ME27-Stratton, Maine

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We had a typical trail town start this morning. We got up at 6:15, showered and met Russell, Ashley and Ashley's sister, Toad, for breakfast. After a leisurely breakfast, Beekpr and I had to wait until 8 until the grocery store opened to pick up a few last minute items. When we got back to the inn Russell offered to take us back to the trailhead on the way to their trailhead. They've hiked NH, almost all of Maine and Vermont and will head down to where they left off in Vermont when Maine is complete. I surely hope they have better weather for their southbound journey than we did going north. Good luck to both of you, we'll miss you. We began our hike today at 9 and, for once, it started out rather flat, but not for long. We only did a little over 10 miles today but they were some pretty tough ones. The first mountain we climbed was South Horn with a 2,400 ft elevation gain. The high humidity only made lugging our full packs up that mountain even harder. We then dropped a few hundred feet onto a ridge that eventually had us climbing up the West Peak of Bigelow (4145), the last of two 4000 footers until Mt. Katahdin. Again we dropped down into a Col and then started our climb up Avery Mtn (4088). From Avery Peak there is a steep 1800 foot drop on some very rough trail and by the time we arrived at this camping area we decided to call it a day around 4:30.Tomorrow we'll climb Little Bigelow Mtn. early and have one other mountain to climb thats under 2000 feet so we should have a pretty good mileage day. My knees are looking forward to getting out of these high steep elevations for awhile and it looks like we're almost there.
Date: 2003-08-23
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: Pierce pond Lean-To
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We got up this morning to dryer, cooler weather and sunny skies. A day made for hiking. We left camp at 7 and climbed the 800 feet to the summit of Little Bigelow, our last high mountain before descending into the valley around Flagstaff Lake. It's amazing what cooler temps and a little flatter trail will do to your hiking day. We flew down most of the trail even though a good bit of it wasn't condusive to fast walking with the rocks and roots that were vey abundant. When we arrived at the shelter the skies were getting dark with clouds and the wind was gusting at least 30-35 mph. The shelter is situated about 15 yards from the lake so the wind comes right inside. I decided to stay in the shelter and Beekpr is staying in his hammock, though there is no getting away from the cold wind blasts coming off the lake. As for me, I'm just going to hunker down in my sleeping bag and leave my windproof winter hat on for the night. I knew there was a good reason for not sending that home with the rest of my winter gear. Tomorrow we have reservations for breakfast at Harrison Camp, about .4 mile from here and then we'll take the ferry across Kennebec River and into Caratunk for the day. We'll resupply for the next leg of our hike, to Monson, which we'll leave for on Monday morning. Before I forget, another milestone today. I went over the 2,000 miles on the trail. It really boggles my mind to realize you hiked that far, only 155.2 miles left.
Date: 2003-08-24
From: Pierce pond Lean-To

To: US201-Caratunk
Miles today: 4.0

I had a very windy, cold night in the shelter. I'm very happy I sent my summer fleece bag home and had my sleeping bag sent back to me before the White Mountains in NH. My down bag made it warm even in the cold, windy conditions. I have to mention that our breakfast at Harrison Camp was great. The pancakes were out of this world to say the least. After breakfast we made our way down to the Kennebec River to be ferried across. The woman running the ferry paddled across in a canoe, with difficulty because of the wind, to pick us up. She took us both across at the same time and we lent a little paddling help. We're staying at the Caratunk House Hostel tonight and we'll resupply for the next leg of our hike to Monson. We were also reunited with an old friend, Big Paw, who we haven't seen since Vermont. He caught up with us here and it's great to see him again. Only 151 miles to Katahdin.
Date: 2003-08-25
From: US201-Caratunk

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 14.7

Wow, 2 days in a row to wake up to a fantastic breakfast. Harrison Camp yesterday and the Caratunk House today. When we first arrived in town yesterday morning I didn't think we would find any place decent to stay in, but boy was I wrong. I recommend this to thru hikers as a great place to stay. From the free shuttles for guests to nearby restaurants, to the hostel's camp store having all of our resupply needs to get into Monson, to the nice accommodations for hikers, and don't forget, the breakfast-WOW! It was all you can eat French toast, scrammbled eggs, muffins, fried potatoes, fruit, coffee and orange juice. I would rate it as one of the best hostels on the AT. We left the hostel around 9 and headed for the trail. For the most part it a was nice, easy hike today. We had a rather long steep climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain and, other than a few bumps, it went smoothly. We decided not to push it too far since we're both experiencing a little stress in our knees. Tomorrow we're planning on camping a few mile outside of Monson and then go in on Wednesday for resupply for the 100 Mile Wilderness and to pick up from the Post Office and the last chance to send anything not needed home.It's calling for the possiblity fo rain tomorrow, sho what else is new, but we are still hopeful for a good day. We we're happy to have Big Paw join us on our hike here today. He moved on up the trail a few more miles tonight, but I'm sure we'll see each other again in Monson in a few days.
Date: 2003-08-26
From: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To

To: ME15-Monson, Maine
Miles today: 22.0

It's hard to believe I'm in Monson tonight. We've been talking about this town for the last 5 months when it seemed an eternity away and now I'm here. Next stop, the Hundred Mile Wilderness.We began this morning at 7 with the intention of going about 16 miles. The first thing we did was climb Moxie Bald Mt with a 1,400 ft elevation gain. We hoped for good trail after the climb but most of it was very eroded with rocks and roots clogging much of the way. At about 11:00 we ran into a southbounder and asked about Monson and he told us about Shaw's Boarding House and the all you can eat steak dinner. Well, there is nothing more motivating to a thru hiker than the words "all you can eat" and of course the word "steak" didn't hurt either. Beekpr and I looked at each other, and with 13 miles and two streams to cross, decided to go for it. Except for the last couple of miles and a few short stretches the trail was not very condusive to moving quickly, but we did arrive at ME 15 around 5:00. It took us about 10 minutes of hitchhiking to get a ride into town and to Shaws. We arrived at just the right time since they were serving dinner at 6 P.M. It was a great "AYCE" with ham, all the trimmings and dessert-I was stuffed. We're taking a zero tomorrow since we need to resupply for the Hundred Mile Wildnerness, and to let our sore knees and feet heal before we head out on Thursday.Before I forget, yesterday I saw a red fox, haven't seen one before in the wild. It was exciting to see it. We've also seen and heard dozens of Red Squirrels everyday as we hike. At night you can hear a thumping sound in hthe woods, which when we first heard it thought it was a Moose walking around. Instead it was the industrious squirrels breaking Pine cones off the Spruce Trees where they go down after dropping a bunch and peel the cone, piece by piece, to eat the seeds. The sound though is the thumping or stepping sound we heard.This will be the last journal entry my wife will post for me since there isn't anyplace in the 100 mile wilderness to mail anything home. I'll finish posting the entries through the next 100 miles and the climb up Katahdin. We only have 114.5 miles to go and it's hard to believe it's ending. I'm going to enjoy everything that is left and looking forward to this last stretch in front of us.
Date: 2003-08-28
From: ME15-Monson, Maine

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

As hard as it was to believe we finally got to Monson, its equally as hard to believe we've started and are in the 100 mile wilderness. With the 15 miles we hiked today there are on 99.4 miles left to Katahdin. Our day started at 6:30 with a knock on our door letting us know breakfast was ready. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw had an AYCE ready for us and we definitely ate our fill. After breakfast we came back to our room and packed up our backpacks which this time included about 6 to 7 days worth of food, or about twice what we normally carry since resupply is very limited to Katahdin. Mr. Shaw took Beekpr, Big Paw and myself to the trailhead and we got a 9a.m. start. The first 10 miles of trail was pretty good with some ups and downs and the last 5 miles were god-awful with the rocks and roots and unmaintained trail. There weren't any large mountains to climb today but we passed 3 large lakes or what they call ponds here and hiked through some beautiful forest areas. Tomorrow we start climbing again with a 1700 foot steep climb up Barren Mountain and then climb a few more before the days end. I've seen a Moose in Mass. and N.H. so far but none in Maine yet. We've seen many moose signs so hopefully we'll get our chance soon. Only 99 miles to go...this is getting exciting.