morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-28
From: wadleigh stream lean-to

To: potaywadjo spring lean-to
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was another easy day, only walked 10 miles from one shelter whose name I can't pronounce to another but I think this one starts with a p. the same sobo crew stuck togther today and will tomorrow then finally I think the crew might change because there will be a choice between two close together shelters.I kinda know everyone's name crankenstine the 58 year old with early Parkinson's, rhino and Chris the cousins from ny who are gonna try to hike it all money permitting, the kid who does not have a name but is 17, Darryl/ dirty d an old guy who is super quiet, and captain red beard and mike two friends from Georgia.Having a group is nice but I have trouble managing myself around new people. Example: today the kid was gonna sleep next to me in the shelter then he set up his tent and is trying to sleep there right now. Was this caused by me making jokes about him as I was making dinner? I don't know but I may have offended him. I thought I had a vibe that he was someone I could joke around with and now he's over in his tent sleeping alone and I am trying to figure out if I just pissed off my favorite person on the trail. #traildramaAnother thing: the famed hundred mile wilderness is hardly such. I was expecting just woods and lakes. Apparently it refers to the lack of towns but throughout it you cross over numerous roads and kids fishing and planes landing in lakes. Yes it's still wild, but it's not the solitude that you are led to believe beforehand.The bugs: I was warned about black flies as well, they aren't a factor but the mosquitoes are terrible. We met a NOBO hiker who wakes up at 330 to hike in a windsuit so the bugs don't bother him. That's too much work but the mosquitoes are worse than anywhere I have ever been.Last easy day tomorrow then the hills of Maine start and the trail really gets real. I don't know whether to be excited for that though because even the little mountain yesterday was brutal and pretty soon elevation will be thrown at me like shrimp at a Kanki. My only real solace is the fact I have no choice in the matter and it's either crawl up these behemoths or turn around and quit and that really isn't an option.
Date: 2014-06-29
From: potaywadjo spring lean-to

To: cooper brooke falls lean-to
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Today was, as we have discussed, the last easy day and did it live up to that title. Besides the NOBO and the other 23 year olds leaving at 3:30, the morn was uneventful. The plan for everyone was to walk 11 miles to the cooper Brooke falls lean to which was supposedly amazing according to the NOBO. It was.It had a running stream in front of it which was cold but after a day of hiking and only listening to Amy winehouse it was exactly what I wanted it even had signal in the campsite. Signal is a commodity probably more important than good food or shelter. When there is good signal everyone is happy- they can text or call back home and it allows most people to assure the people back home that we aren't dead, yet.The 11 miles sucked but apparently tomorrow with the rising elevation the bug problem stops being a complete factor, but that just means the mountain problem starts to kick in.I am sleeping in my tent today at the shelter because I am tired of dealing with mosquitoes and this is much more comfortable than sleeping in a big jacket, I think I will do this from now on, maybe unless it's raining.
Date: 2014-06-30
From: cooper brooke falls lean-to

To: Logan Brooke lean-to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

Things happened todayFirst: hills happened, terrible hills, and they weren't even too bad in the grand scheme of things. All we know is that is what the rest of Maine is like and the time for rest and easy days are over.2: my iPod died and the solar charger does not have enough charge to recharge it. The iPod had been helping me because I have mostly been hiking alone, now I will need to hike with people to not be bored.3: the plan for monson Maine is in sight now and the eta is July 4 on Friday yay AmericaI think my biggest thought of the day is how busy these days are. Most days we wake up at 6:00 and just get moving by 7:00 and hike until 3 at the latest. Then we spend about 5 hours shooting the shit before trying to sleep at 8:00 for another early day. During the hike it seems eternal and then five hours of nothing always seems like not enough time. Somehow burning wood passes the time the same as watching the latest episode of unwrapped. So far these 5 hours every day help the crew get closer togther and it seems that all of us are pushing to keep the same schedule so we make monson on Friday.
Date: 2014-07-01
From: Logan Brooke lean-to

To: East Chair Back Pond Trail
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

And just like that I have officially been hiking the Appalachian trial for a week. WAHHHHHHHToday was one of those days that pressed you nerves. It seemed to be an easy task for once, instead of shelter hopping we would settle for a campsite in order to ensure a happy monson July 4. It literally is all we can talk about, I wonder if it will be like this all trail but the crew is foaming at the lips for a taste of whatever monson has to offer, and we were willing to push ourselves today.Today marked the first time I have walked 15 since that third day except this time there were mountains, and sweat, and sadness and perspiration and lots and lots of breaks. As a group our psyche is good and even Matt the 17 year old managed to make it this far without dying despite 1 singed sock and blisters all over. We woke at 5:30 to start hiking and finished 12 hours later, even though we took an hour break to make powdered mashed potatoes it still felt like endless work. You could tell the camp was zonked, no one made a fire and everyone was in bed by 8, 30 mins earlier than usual.Tomorrow will be like this again but even though we are pushing our bodies and our psyches, the reward of monson on July 4 is too sweet a prize to pass up.Sleeping now at 845 because my body can't take anymore work not even writing a entry.
Date: 2014-07-02
From: East Chair Back Pond Trail

To: Cloud pond lean-to
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I reached cloud pond.I really did itA year ago when I was planning this hike I was looking at another sobo trail journal and the cloud pond lean-to was the lean-to that I wanted to go to the most. It looked amazing- a mountain lake surrounded by trees, I was sure it would be amazing. I planned to throw a frisbee and just enjoy whatever was left of the day.Reality was different than the dreamWe planned 15 but after struggling over the hills only went ten and slept at cloud pond instead of the one five miles later. The place is beautiful yes, the thunderstorm weather and lack of a frisbee killed the dream though. Part of the trail is just getting shitted on and that was a prime example. Still right now I'm writing with some of the best nature I've ever seen surrounding me, only thing that could beat this is if we saw one of the mystical Maine Moises- I think that's the plural of moose.The crew may or may not have lost danger Darryl which is sad but crankenstine said he was feeling sick and having trouble up the first mountian we went up. That would still mean he would have third, third and a half, fourth mountain and the cloud pond mountain before he reached us. We all like Darryl and hope he catches up with us in monson because over these last 7 days we have formed a trail family and he's he sensible older dad of the crew.In a related note there is some animosity growing within the group as acting like they are on "the real world". It's difficult to deal with because there was no choice on letting people in, we all were just victims of shelter placement and a start date. Now we need to learn to deal with each other or just get out.One last thing today was "humid". That's the word that the fastholes aka the New York 23 year old cousins said. After growing up in North Carolina I felt great. For once years and years of hating my life during the summer paid off and I was able to keep up with them and hike because they couldn't handle the heat of the mountain kitchen.In summary, when it comes to humidity New Yorkers Are babies
Date: 2014-07-03
From: Cloud pond lean-to

To: Leeman Brooke lean-to
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Fuck fuck fuckidy fuck. That was my mental processes for today, this Fourth of July eve 2014. Why you ask? The reason was the one thing I was most afraid of on the trail. Those who know me can guess but besides my lack of training, the fact I bought most of my gear without trying it, my heavy pack weight and six months of solitude from friends, my number 1 fear for the trail was realized today.Trail ivy. Maybe it's sumac maybe it's oak but what it is is it sucks. Sucks so bad I would re hike these last 50 miles to stop past Chris from getting it. My usual plan for ivy is to be sedentary, that makes the pain not happen often, however sedentary and the trail are sworn enemies. Not only was this my longest day thus far but the whole time if I experienced a rush of adrenaline, or worked hard or even adjusted my fucking hip belt I was greeted with a pain that felt like a little needle poking you every spot you have a bump.   Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk oooooooooooouuuuuuuuucccccccccchhhhhhhhhWe pushed it for two reasons, one yesterday we stopped five miles too soon and two tomorrow is Fourth of July aka I love not being in the wilderness like a forefather day. I started at 8:00 and ended at 8:50 pm. Yes I took breaks but without those and the kid to push me along ( I dragged him along when his boots were dragging at the end of the day) I literally would have died today.Tomorrow in monson I'll get some Benadryl and try to figure out the plan. AlsoPizza, fries, burger, food, beer . That is all
Date: 2014-07-04
From: Leeman Brooke lean-to

To: monson
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

What a difference 24 hours makes. 24 hours ago I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, there was a giant thunderstorm and I had not seen real food in 8 days. Today we woke at 6:00 and hiked 3 miles til 7:50 until we exited the hundred mile wilderness.   It was a painful three miles just like the miles from last night hurt but I knew they would pay off in getting to Monson early and boy did they. Monson isn't a big town but the things it has to offer in comparison to the trail are amazing. First thing we did was get picked up and eat at shaw's, a hostel which for 22 dollars gave us a place to sleep at night and for another nine served us a hot breakfast. Next was the shower which was extra nice for me as I could finally for sure wash off all the ivy oils which may or may not have been on me.Third was find Benadryl which was not easy. There were basically three places which would sell it: shaws, a bakery with a resupply and a gas station.   After going to all three I could not find it despite the fact that the lady at the bakery called her sister to check if they had any at their house when I said I had ivy (how nice). She did not by the way but around my second trip to the gas station I realized overlooked the Benadryl and bought 15 bucks/ 48 pills for the immediate future. After I finished this the next 15 hours have been dedicated to resting.Spending a whole day doing nothing is not new, some days we were done by 1 but being done at 8:00 this morn was different it felt as if we did not even walk today and for that reason everybody is rested and ready to go however the weather might force us to stay another night. More to come tomorrow but for now awesome sleep in a bed what a difference 24 hours makes
Date: 2014-07-05
From: monson

To: Monson Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Monson day 2 So nice we did it twice? Not really. Monson day one was sick, endless food check, no walking check, no Mosquitos check. But good things get old fast and we were all aching to get on the trail today. The plan was to hike today but our homeboy hurricane Arthur messed that all up. As we sat in monson all we heard were stories of people doing river fordings where the water was up to their waist and they were shimmying across cables as the water swept the feet out from under them. Needless to say it's for the better we didn't hike.What we did do was visit the gas station 4 times the bakery 3 times and loiter around the city of monson hoping for something today besides wandering aimlessly. Yes we did watch the World Cup games which was a highlight for me but I wanted to get back out on the trail and hike again despite the fact my back sucks and it will hurt again once I really start hiking. Tonight I rented a tent spot at shaws for 12 bucks to save money and am gonna wake up at 6:00 to jump on the trail and hopefully crank out some real milesAlso one last sad thing, yesterday danger Darryl told us he would no longer be hiking and that kinda brought us all down as he had been part of the group since that first day at rainbow stream. I wish him the best of luck in not thru hiking and thank him for his deet and hand sanitizer which I grabbed like an addict the second he offered up his hiking box. And then there were six....
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Monson Zero Day

To: Piscataquis river ford campsite
Miles today: 12.0

Day 13So that's what hikings like again.   After 2 days in town one with only 3 miles of hiking and then other being our first zero we got a taste of what hiking was like again and today was one of the most tiring and rewarding days of the trail.It was not rewarding in the sense that white cap mountain was or finishing the hundred miles but today was the first day we hiked without a goal, just to hike. The kid even asked me at one point "so what's the next goal?" And I didn't have a answer, southern Maine? Newhampsure? The end? Currituck? I don't know but what we did do was try to hike as far as we could to move forward.Today we got dropped off from shaws at 900 and hiked from then until 515. Today the highlight of the day and maybe the trip was the river fordings. The water was rushing fast because of the recent storms and walking across a moving stream with only a rope to stand between you and your supplies getting wet is a crazy feeling. After I crossed the second river I went back to the rope and just hung off of it superman style like a kid in a wave pool just for fun. I am sad to hear that fordings are only in Maine and that our final one will be tomorrow because it is experience that makes the trail feel much more wild.Today although we didn't hike the 18 that we thought we might another 13 day just showed us how much more competent we are getting at hiking and how we are really prepared for everythingMonson Maine to piscataquis river ford campsite114.5-126.5
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Piscataquis river ford campsite

To: Bald Mountian Brook Lean To
Miles today: 10.0

Day 142 weeks on the trail dayyymnR&R means rocks and roots forever for me, forget rest and relaxation Maine you are rediculous. No matter where you are Maine has them endlessly, after only walking in here for two weeks I see how rediculously spoiled I was walking in va and nc. It's not bad walking but the second the things get wet it turns to hell and slipping on both of those is a real problem but I prefer wet roots to wet rocks. The mud sucks too btwToday walking was quite nice, it was a short day and puncuated by only one hill which we climbed after a two hour lunch where I ate a hot meal for the first time as a lunch. I am getting a mail drop in currituck so I am trying to finish off the last of the food which j still had from the hundred mile wilderness. Making food and chilling out is my favorite part of the day and doing it for lunch is a great mid day break.NOBO vs sobo is another thing which Is a new revelation for us. We really had not met any nobos in the hundred mile but interacting with them at shaws was to me annoying. There is no problem with nobos and most of the ones we have met have been great but just like a bad employee at a restaurant can make you hate it a bad NOBO can leave a poor taste in your mouth. So far we have only met like 4 bad ones and like 20 good ones though. Once I read it was like two different spheres of hikers and that when they hit each other there are bound to be problems but I respect them for hiking this far and I envy the knowledge they have of backpacking after what they did.Tomorrow we are hiking to the side of currituck so we can wake up early and catch the ferry in 2 dayspiscataquis river ford campsite to bald mountain brook lean to126.5-136.5
Date: 2014-07-08
From: Bald Mountian Brook Lean To

To: Caratunk Maine
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 15*writing this drunk cus the new youtkets bought wiskeyDay 15 sucked terrible t's continued more to come when I feel like I won't vomit from lying flatbald mountian brook lean to caratunk Maine136.5-151.2
Date: 2014-07-09
From: Caratunk Maine

To: Pierce Pond Lean To
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 16So from the previous note one could gather that I did not have the most responsible night yesterday. Because of that I have learned a few things and I was always taught bad experiences in which you learn something can be more beneficial than positive ones1. Hiking is my job for the next six months.   Me hiking hung over is just as bad as a school bus driver being hung over, kinda. I must approach alcohol more responsibly if I ever intend on finishing this hike2. Mail drops are good but mail drops are also bad. I picked up my mail drop in curritunk inside it had food for a week and a half. Good side: I don't have to buy food for a week and a half. Bad side: my bag is laborious to carry and made walking 4 miles hung over difficult.3. People care, today I had the hardest day of the group despite the fact I hiked about ten miles less than everyone else. When I arrived at the first lean to utterlybewilderd I learned the crew had been waiting for me and had only left 30 mins earlier. There is no way I could have walked any more today, the fear of constantly vomiting and just beating sun rays did me in after only four miles but the fact that they waited for me to catch up means a lot to me and I know right now they are speculating what happened to me, little do they know tomorrow I plan on busting out big miles to catch up4. The need to vomit and being in a tent don't mix. I vomited in my tent last night, it was gross and I just stayed to the right of my sleeping pad for he rest of the night, I cleaned it this morning using a bag technique my sissy taught me and right now it only smells "kinda" bad I would give it a 5 out of ten tolerable but not ideal.5. Lastly hike your own hike, today I could have pushed, and it might have pushed me off the trail. Instead I literally slept for an hour in the middle of the trail when it was too mUch for me. Then a hour later I took a 15 min break, yes I wish I could have told them to not wait up for me but my body would not allow that. Once I arrived at camp at 3 I slept from 3-5 then ate only a lil food before ending the day from 6-8 by talking to cardinal and skywatcher two section hikers and professor turtle a NOBO thru hiker.In summary, did I do much today no, four miles is a terrible days work, but it's a marathon and if I fail to listen to my body and do what it tells me this marathon might end In cramps and a early dismissalCaratunk Maine to pierce pond lean to151.2-155.2
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Pierce Pond Lean To

To: Stafford notch campsite
Miles today: 22.7

Day 17: the walkiningFirst I mentioned the phrase terrible t's two days ago I should explain as today was another terrible tTuesday 1: katadinThursday 1: 15 miles with a full packTuesday 2: 13 miles with hillsThursday 2: poison oak/sumac and hills and 15 milesTuesday 3: a lot of miles to curantuckThursday 3: today 22 miles to play catchupThese days arnt planned out to be bad but Tuesdays and Thursday keep on being the hardest day of the week. Least I have a guess that my next hard day is 4 days awayToday I walked 22 miles waking at 6 leaving by 7 walking 10 miles 1130 the. Walking 7 miles from noon till 4 then five more from 5-8( the last 12 were hilly)But as I was doing that I heard countless updates from people on the trail about the southbound group missing a person and varied speculation on where they were staying the night either 22-24 miles from my start place. Knowing they were talking about me and cared where I ended up mattered to me and pushed me especially at about 700 when I saw a nice flat spot where I woulda set up a tent if it had had water.Fortunately for me they only walked 12 because those last two miles were straight up hill and I knew I was not going to walk them by seven when my feet finally started talking to my head.Throughout the day I was constantly thinking about my motivation for walking this far to keep up with five other people who I had only known for two weeks and I think it just goes back to the idea of a team. I like being on teams and having people to get through the tough times with, if I lost the crew I know hiking at least New Hampshire and southern Maine would be much more painful. Do I think the crew will stay together for the whole trip? No I don't even think through Maine but in the eternal words of shaggy I know it wasn't me who caused another person sized slice of the cake to fall off only a week after grieving the loss of danger Darryl.Also I listened to a lot of music today so I figure why not list it. I usually listen to a bit but today from 7-7 I had music, some say it's against hiking to pump your ears with music and not listen to the serene nature, I say rick Ross and weezer make sunsets more beautiful, soooo yeaaaPinkerton: weezerAmerican weekend: waxatacheeDjango soundtrackPulp fiction soundtrackLes miserables soundtrackWant: 3OH!3Streets of gold:3OH!3The blue album: WeezerTrouble in paradise: Lana del ReyPure heroine: LordePierce pond lean to to stafford notch campsite155.2-177.2