morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-30
From: Cooper Brook Lean-to

To: Nahmakanta Campsite
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: broken clouds

From: Cooper BrookTo: Nahmakanta CampsiteToday's Mileage: 15.7Total Mileage: 2130.0We had a great night's sleep, as it was just Recon and I in the shelter. The morning was our most perfect weather day, clear blue sky and low humidity. We were on the trail by 7:00 AM and it was jut great trail for miles. We walked along through pine forests on a wide path next to Cooper Brook listening and sort of flowing along with the water and the sun was actually shinning. Recon and I like when we have a lot of landmarks that we pass to let us know where we are on the trail and today was such a day. We took a break at Jo-Mary Road and a truck with forest service people stopped to talk to us for a while. One time, as I was leaning my pack against a log to relieve some of the back pain, Bluebaree, a ridge runner and former Thru-hiker came up on us. Again we talked for a while and she is doing the same 40 or so miles in the same time frame as we are. We stopped at Antlers Campsite to look at it and it is probably the nicest one I have seen, so if you are doing the 100 Mile you might want to plan a visit here. Bluebaree was there inspecting the area and we moved on but she later passed us on our next break. We walked all around Jo-Mary Lake and went on the Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to for a boots off, second lunch break. The day continued to be nice weather wise and so when we go to Pemadumcook Lake we walked out onto the rocks and could see Katahdin in the distance. Recon said it didn¢t look too bad but we will wait and see. The profile on the map today was almost all flat and when you get to ¢K¢ it goes straight up!We had a good laugh at Tumbledown Dick Stream as we made up stories about how it got its name and then walked to Nahmakanta Stream Campsite. As we walked in we were once again met with a large group of teens all girls this time but they had all the campsites occupied. Bluebaree was set up in the back and so we joined her. The campsite had a nice place to sit and get cleaned up so we took advantage of that as we had walked our longest mileage day but it was not our hardest day (it¢s all about the terrain).We had some good conversation with Bluebaree and went to bed with me hoping it would not rain on or in my tent.
Date: 2008-07-31
From: Nahmakanta Campsite

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

From: Nahmakanta CampsiteTo: Rainbow Stream Lean-toToday's Mileage: 13.9Total Mileage: 2143.9Well it did rain in the night, but we had a good thick canopy over us and the rain was not too hard so I stayed dry. The teen girls were up at 5:00 AM so we did the same and packed up quickly as it was threatening to rain again and our tents were not too wet. We were on the trail by 6:30 and it proved fortuitous. Now we have been looking for a moose sighting since we left on this hike but with no luck. All of a sudden Recon says shhh I see a moose and I was afraid of missing it as the mother and yearling were crossing the river. Then they changed directions and came running and frolicking down the river right past us as we stood in the woods. They then stopped and ate in a clam spot for 20 minutes or so. We just stood there and watched as long as we could. I could not believe it. As we said, we not only had a moose sighting but a moose experience. I did not know that the moose submerged their whole heads under the water to eat and then flapped their ears very loudly to get the water out of them. Recon and I smiled the rest of the day over that. We stopped at the Wadleigh Stream Lean-to before we climbed Nesutabunt Mtn. It was a steep climb up and even though it had many steps it took us awhile to climb to the top. It said we were to see Katahdin but it was too cloudy. We stopped to eat at a small pond that had three small boats and I wondered how they got them there. We also went the 30 yards to see the Pollywog Gorge. Every day we think we are going to start to hit constant boggy trail but each day we have some bog, some boards that are very slippery, some rocks but all through the 100 Miles the trail has not been as bad as we thought it was going to be and it certainly is easier than the beginning of Maine even with all the wet weather.We walked along Rainbow Stream a few miles to get to the shelter and were glad we had not stopped for a break, as we were the last two to get a space on the shelter. At least four others arrived after us and had to camp and Tourist was among them. I was glad because of my leaky tent as it was raining by evening. Again it was a little crowded in the shelter and we turned in early on this very wet a dreary night.
Date: 2008-08-02
From: Abol Bridge

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

From: Abol BridgeTo: Abol BridgeToday's Mileage: 0.0Total Mileage: 2158.9Miles to Go: 15.1It rained again all night and once again we decided to take our last zero day and try to dry our boots out and rest up for the last two days. The Big Eddy Campground has homemade baked goods and so first we had cinnamon rolls, blueberries muffins and then Mary Anne made us sausage and eggs for breakfast. We drove down to the falls and as we got there 18 rafts were congregating up river to start their trip through the rapids so we stood on the bridge and watched them run the rapid. It was fun to do something different again on our zero day.We went into Millinocket, ME and did laundry and went to the AT Caf© for lunch. They have this ice cream challenge with something like 17 scoops of ice cream plus a lot of toppings and then the hikers write their name on the wall. And we saw Marco Solo name for last year. I hiked with him a few days just before I got off last year: Go Marco!The rest of the day we relaxed and got ready for our last two days on the Trail. I can¢t believe I am this close.
Date: 2008-08-03
From: Abol Bridge

To: The Birches
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

From: Abol BridgeTo: The BirchesToday's Mileage: 9.9Total Mileage: 2168.8Miles to Go: 5.2 (really 10.4 you have to climb down!)We woke up to a dreary day with showers forecasted for later in the day but packed up and headed out to enter Baxter State Park. We arrived at the registration board and signed in for the Birches spots in the shelter. There are two small shelters each sleeping four and one tent platform and once it is filled you can¢t go into the park as you can not stealth camp anywhere. We were the only two to sign so far. There was also a note from Bluebaree about a new high water trail.The hike today was again very pleasant and Recon and I walked along Nesowadnehunk Stream watching the rafters travel downstream as we walked upstream. At one point a group of them were out of their boats and diving into a waterfall and then going under and coming up at the bottom with a guy throwing a rope to them as they went by. One jumped in too soon as almost went on downstream. We again saw many mushrooms of different sizes. colors, and shapes and we saw a lot of bear scat today for the first time. The bears have been eating blueberries but apparently do not digest the berries, as they appear completely whole in the scat!When we got to the Lower Fork of the Nesowadnehunk Stream it said footbridge on my paper but there was no footbridge only a raging river of water. There was no way I could rock hop or wade through it so we backtracked to the blue blaze (thanks Bluebaree) trail for high water. I hated to do it, but it parallels the white blazes on the right side of the river and it proved to be a good decision as when we got to the Upper Fork of the Nesowadnehunk (also said footbridge) the water was higher and swifter. There just has been too much rain for the trail at the moment.We arrived at the Ranger Station and signed in to climb Katahdin tomorrow. I was pleased with the ranger when he put on my sheet that I was finishing a 2007 Thru-hike. I know it is a small thing but I still feel like I did a Thru hike last year and I am just finishing that hike.We got water from Katahdin Stream and walked the .3 miles to the Birches. There was already a hiker there, Mofo, and we wondered when he had gotten ahead of us. Mofo had Thru hiked in 98 and was completing a section hike now. He had already done the 10 mile section from Abol Bridge and so had walked the Blueberry Ledges Trail which apparently is very nice and only 4.4 miles! We arrived just before it started to rain and we set up and cooked one of our meals. The rain stopped and Recon gathered wood and we had a fire. Mofo, Recon, and I sat around the fire and discussed the trail and other hikers we have gotten to know. It was a good last night for me and on today¢s walk I was constantly thinking about the whole 2000 plus mile hike and how much I will miss it and its people.It started to rain again and so Recon and I went to one shelter and Mofo the other and we snuggled in our seeping bags for the last time on this trip.
Date: 2008-05-04
To: It's Official!
Miles today: 0.0

Colleen & I moved to Asheville, NC back in late Jan/early Feb 2008. Before the move we lived in Knoxville, TN where I had lived all my life. Colleen grew up in North GA (Lake Lanier & Cumming) & moved a couple of times before landing in Knoxville in 2005. We met at the Hill of Truth 12 hour mountain bike race in Knoxville Oct 29, 2005 & were married on Springer Mountain the following year on that same date. We hiked the AT to Standing Indian Campground, NC for our honeymoon and decided some day we would thru-hike the AT southbound from Maine back to Georgia. Asheville is a wonderful place but Colleen's job required far more travel and hours than ever expected and I had trouble finding a job that suited me. This combined with a the frustrating chore of findng a house in such a expensive housing market lead us to the idea of doing our hike now. Our furniture is already in storeage, we have to be out of our rental by June 1st, we have no mortage/bills, both of us need a job change, and we have the money saved. So what better time? Wait until later in life? Who knows what will happen, how it will happen, if it will happen so both of us feel this is the time. So over the weekend we decided to go for it. Five or more months of adventure filled hiking on the Appalachian Trail starting sometime in June 2008!
Date: 2008-05-19
To: Trip to Blairsville, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Hiking from Maine back to Georgia? The biggest hurdle to make this trip happen is to find someone to look after my best furry friend ever, Wiley. Wiley is my 15yr old Jack Russell and the thought of leaving him has caused me many sleepless nights. I have spoiled him rotten and want the very best for him while we are gone. Because Colleen and I both work (well at least I used to) and we are gone alot hiking/biking Wiley spends alot of time at home alone so a trip to doggie daycare or a over night stay at Cheri's or Dog House is a treat for him. Back in his day he could go with us but one eye less, loss of hearing, and age has limited his activities. Thru-hiking has been a dream of Colleen's and myself and I do not know when a more perfect opportunity will present itself. So we have to go. I asked everyone I know if they would mind the HUGE responsibility of taking care of him while we are gone but everyone has their hands full. There is NO WAY I could kennel him that long and the very few "sitters" I found were proud of their work (the cost of that would have been more than each of us will spend during our trip). So I searched long and hard online for a few days and found a post on White Blaze for Auntie Deb's Park A Pet in Blairsville, GA. The lady who posted actually has her two dogs and a cat there as she hikes for 3+ months on the AT. I drove down to check out Aunt Deb and got a great 1st impression. Her kennel is a social kennel that is a part of her house & she spends alot of time with her campers. Wiley liked it too so I decided that will be a good place for him. I emailed her when I got back to see if she is comfortable about him after seeing him and how he interacted. If she is good its a go & I plan on taking a box of tissues...
Date: 2008-05-23
To: Eighty Dinners!
Miles today: 0.0

Well after receiving a 28 pound package from Harmony House on May 21st of assorted dehydrated veggies, beans, TVP and numerous trips to various groceries for instant rice, shitake mushrooms, bouillon, dried milk, zip-lock bags, spice, cous cous, and a TON of other stuff, I have finally assembled 80 2-serving meals for Colleen & I to enjoy during our journey from Maine back to North Georgia. Because our planning was last minute and not 100% organized we have ended up with alot of extra dried veggies which may come in helpful for more meals if needed. We may decide to use some of the leftover ingredients to assemble warm lunches. Oh well, you can't always expect to get everything just right the first time. From Baxter State Park, ME we will start off with a weeks worth of food, enough for us to get through the 100-Mile Wilderness, and have a mail-drop waiting in Monson, ME, and another 75-ish miles further in Stratton, ME. After this we will coordinate with my brother-in-law/sister to send drops from TN as needed. Hopefully they will not mind turing their office into a shipping room? We have experimented with a few drops on our section hikes of the AT and they have gone smoothly...hopefully this will too. Its all starting to come together.
Date: 2008-05-23
To: Whooo Cares...
Miles today: 0.0

I have been adding some of our gear to our TJ's "Gear List" while I wait for the V-Dub to get done (yeah, right before we leave the VW's a/c condensor decided to fail...$$$) and started to realize I really do not know what much of this gear weighs. Should I be concerned about this? I have put thousands of miles on my bikes and someone will ask what they weigh or what gear ratios I'm running and I say "I have no clue"...I just love to ride. So here we have all this gear we have used for section hikes on the AT and various long weekends and I have no idea what weight we will be carrying. Should I be concerned? Everyone seems so focused on this question. Are we carrying too much? Too much to worry about....its simple, if I have a hard time picking it up then its not going on my back. Our system we have has always worked for us and weight is important but who really cares? I'm intentionally not going to weigh our stuff. Colleen might differ but I bet she will think the same. So, I guess I really should leave the chainsaw and homebrew kit at home?
Date: 2008-05-25
To: Victim of Gravity
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday was a beautiful day. We had friends from Knoxville in town and we all met at the farmers market and had a quick lunch at Mamasita's then headed for some biking at Bent Creek. We took Wolf Branch & Ingles Fields up to "5-Points" then North Boundary trail to Green's Lick. All this climbing was going to be worth it because Green's Lick is a legendary downhill experience. I lectured everyone not familiar with the trail on how easy it is to get away from you & to be very careful. We all headed down, me second, and not but 2-3 hundred yards down the trail either my pedal or front tire clipped a hidden stump and I went airborne then landed on my right shoulder. The pain was excruciating and I was sure I broke my collar bone (common cycling injury). After the shock wore off I was convinced my collar bone was OK but had probably separated or broken my shoulder. I was pissed. Two weeks to go to start our trip south and this happens. We walked over an hour to get out of the woods were I was greeted by EMS and park rangers who graciously gave me a ride the rest of the way back to the car. Next was the over 4 hours spent in the ER. I will not even go into how inefficient hospitals are but this was Memerial Day weekend. Fortunately I found out I was extremely lucky and only had a A-C joint seperation. While this is not what I want to hear before backpacking for 5+ months straight it could have been alot worse. Monday we will make an appointment at Blue Ridge Bone & Joint down the street and hopefully will get an appointment early in the week and find out more. Keep your fingers crossed!
Date: 2008-05-26
To: Blue Ridge Bone & Joint
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up this morning at about 3am-ish in more pain. Colleen filled up my ice pack put it on my shoulder and I took a few Hydrocodine...back to sleep. Colleen got up about 7:45am to leave and meet for a road ride from Charlotte Street. I finally got up about 8:30am fixed breakfast and called Blue Ridge Bone & Joint per ER recommendations. They were open and Dr. Smith was able to see me at 9:30am. Luckily it was a short 5 minute walk and I got there on time. An hour later I found out there is basically nothing they can do & rest is the best medicine. I asked the doc if hiking the AT would be wise and he left it up to me to make that decision. So Colleen and I have moved our start date back a week from the 7th to possibly the 14th. Baxter at this late in the game requires a call no longer than 2 weeks and seemed to think it would not be a problem. In another turn of events the PDA we got from Verizon that has been nothing but problems decided to completely die over the weekend. I'm going to try and cancel our contract and give the phone back. If this does not work hopefully they will provide a new phone that will not be such a pain in the ass. What were we thinking in the first place? Who needs one of those damn things anyway?
Date: 2008-06-04
To: Cumming, GA
Miles today: 0.0

Well things are happening fast. I spent a few days in Knoxville at my sister & brother-in-laws dropping off our drop boxes (as well as other gear we may need) and explaining to them what needs to be done. I had a great visit with them and even managed a quick lunch with my dad yesterday (does not seems intrested in this adventure or does not approve?). This morning I woke up and headed to Blairsville to drop off Wiley at Aunt Debbies. I'm drinking Pisgah Porter right now to not think about it : ( Actually I think he will be fine as she is excellent with dogs as much as I can tell (I always trust my gut instint). If it does not work out there are backup plans so I feel pretty good about it. I spent some time with my very best furry friend of all time and Deborah before driving the beautiful roads of North Georgia to Cumming and arriving around 4PM. I stopped at Neels Gap along the way and remembered hiking through there south with my brother-in-law and another friend and even more importantly hiking north on my honeymoon. Also we have biked those roads during our 6-Gap 100 mile adventure twice. I love North Georgia!!! All this has made me realize its actually all starting to take place...it still has not really hit yet? I think the drive to Maine is going to be another reality factor then the drive to Baxter followed by being dropped off. I can not wait!! Colleen feels the same. Wow! Oh, the shoulder is healing quickly (although I hurt it today) but my left toe has swollen and has sharp pain. What the hell is happening to me? I'm sure it will be Ok by the 14th...and two days straight in the car should help...keep your fingers crossed again!
Date: 2008-06-11
To: Prospect Harbor, ME
Miles today: 0.0

We have a day and a half before we head on over to Baxter. We are wrapping up a few errands, and hoping we have planned appropriately. The rugged coast of ME is spectacular, but I can hardly wait to see what the dark Maine woods hold. We hiked to Schoodic Head yesterday, and heard the bellows and foghorns the whole way. It was about 40 degrees, windy and foggy.Today it's sunny and mild. We'll probably bike on an errand to Winter Harbor, then are having dinner with friends of our family. We haven't seen any black flies yet, but they may still be in the woods. My dad keeps talking about how horrible they are.It's been great to relax with my family before heading out on this long walk.
Date: 2008-06-12
To: Last day in civilization
Miles today: 0.0

We drove over to Schoodic Pennisula today and spotted a Pilot whale, an eagle's nest and a seal sunning itself on the rocks. This piece of Acadia is ony 10 minutes from my parent's house, so my dad comes here all the time. He knows the best places to spot wildlife.We also collected a few last items as we got our packs loaded up. I'm on an errand for beer and toilet paper. Franklin is cleaning the mussels we harvested from a cove at low tide. Hopefully our last meal in civilization won't make us sick.I can't believe this is finally here.
Date: 2008-06-13
From: Last day in civilization

To: Baxter Peak!
Miles today: 5.2

We woke up at Prospect Harbor and left by 5am for the 3 hour drive to Baxter State Park. Joe dropped us off at Kathadin Stream Campground and we began our hike at 10:20am. At 1:45pm we arrived at the summit of Baxter Peak on Mount Katahdin, Baxter State Park Maine. As you can see it was the most beautiful day possible and we lucked out. We took the Hunt Trail up the AT (5.2 miles) and came back down the same way so we had a 10.4 mile day. The trail was not a hike but a climb, the hardest hike we have ever done and this was confirmed by talking to others on the mountain. It is now official, we have begun our thru-hike to Springer Mountain, GA.
Date: 2008-06-22
From: Baxter Peak!

To: Monson, Maine!
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: light rain

We had a very intresting 1st week on the trail. The 1st 100 miles are know as the 100 Mile Wilderness and it is supposed to be the most remote section of the entire 2175 miles of AT. Our 1st day out of Kathadin Stream Campground was beautiful and fairly easy. We exited Baxter State Park, crossed Abol Bridge, and hit the 100 Mile Wilderness. Our 1st night was at the Hurd Brook Lean-to and we met Brandon & Bryson from NC who were carrying a mandolin & backpacker guitar. We were treated to a little mountain music then got in the tent for a good nights sleep. The next day everything went south (ha, ha!). After June 22 it rained every day through the 100 Mile Wilderness (now the 100 Mile Hell). The mud, roots, mosquitoes were unbelievable! Our boots and everything we owned were soaked. Colleen, as well as everyone we met, was having terrible blister problems (I lucked out). We got in a group with Sweetwater (TN), Shepherd (TN), Micheala (MA), Cripple (VA), Brandon & Bryson (NC), Sunday (NJ), and Moose (PA). Everyone suffered through the wilderness and we all celebrated when we exited at Monson. Joe (Colleen's dad) drove over from Prospect Harbor and picked us up at the trail-head and took us to Shaw's Hostel & then out to the Lakeshore Pub for beers & dinner. It was good to get the 1st section done & we do not care if we ever see it again (at least not when record rain is occuring!). Pictured are left to right, Cripple, Silver Potato (me), Colleen, Micheala, & Shepherd.
Date: 2008-06-23
From: Monson, Maine!

To: Monson Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

We took our 1st zero day in Monson, Maine at Shaw's Hostel. We woke up to a huge breakfast at 8am, probably the best we will have on the entire trail and hun g out with everyone. We helped the pub owner load a demolished deck into a dump truck and then unloaded the wood and stacked it at the pub. In return she fixed us a huge plate of dynamite bruschetta and invited us later to a bon-fire Maine style. We took a shuttle to Greenville to get Colleen some new shoes and went to a grocery to supplement our next section. I bought some schock cord to repair our tent poles. We returned and hung out with everyone, got our packs ready to leave the next morning and went to the bon-fire. The bon-fire was in a huge oil can cut in half, anchored in the pond, and loaded by many trips out i a paddle boat. It was something to see. We all had some beers and went back to Shaw's. Ready to leave after another huge breakfast tomorrow!