morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-25
From: stealth site at 1210.7

To: stealth site 1229.4
Miles today: 18.7

So today started out with a short but very steep decent into Port Clinton. I went to the Post Office and got my mail. There were two other hikers doing the same thing. One Feather and Mountain Girl, both super nice. One Feather had way to much food so he was giving stuff away. Mountain Girl was sending her tent home and was going to just use a tarp. I ended up hitchhiking into Hamburg with Mountain Girl. She is from Australia. We went to the worlds biggest Cabbalas. I ended up buying my seventh pair of hiking shoes. Salomon high top hiking boots. My right foot was getting destroyed because it did not fit properly. They were good though as they helped my feet through some other issues. I left Mountain Girl at the store as she was staying in town. I got some lunch at an all you can eat Asian restaurant and then I hitched back to the trail. I was hiking just after 1:00pm. I made my way about five miles before I stopped to get some water. I was also at that time thinking I had to figure out a better way to strap my crocks to my pack. I took my pack off and my heart sank as I only had one crock again. I meant to figure out a way to secure it earlier but then I ended up going into town and then I just forgot. Pretty stupid on my part. There was no back tracking this time. It could have been all the way back at Cabbalas for all I knew. I wanted to just leave the other one right there on the ground, but that would make me a bad hiker, so I still have the one and will get rid of it when I find a trash. I got to my camp are around 7:30pm and set up my tent and stuff and realized all my electrical stuff was missing. All my external chargers and cords. I unpacked everything at the post office and must have forgot to repack that. I am pretty bummed. I am just not that good at this. It really makes me wonder what I am doing. I am just throwing away money everyday because I keep making mistakes. It is killing me. I hope I feel better tomorrow. I probably need a day off the trail to recharge a bit.
Date: 2016-06-27
From: stealth caml mile 1251.8

To: stealth camp mile 1276.2
Miles today: 22.4

Up and out of camp around 7:00am. As I got started I was concerned with the water situation for the day. I had carried three liters from the restaurant to my campsite last night and I did not cook a hot dinner because I did not want to use the water. I left camp this morning with a liter to get me to the one reasonable water source for the day. To me walking one to two miles round trip down a steep hill for water is not reasonable. I arrived at the water source mid morning and drank down two liters. I did not know that was possible, but believe me, it is. I then packed up and carried four liters to get me through the day and coming night and following morning. That is around nine pounds of water. Not good, but this is the option I chose. I hiked on and it was a really nice day. I climbed up a steep incline and it was rocky and exposed. It was really fun and made me feel like I was hiking the way I like to hike. At points you had to use your hands to get up and over the boulder type obstacles. After the climb I was on an exposed ridge line looking down into a town. It did not take long for me to run into some black raspberry bushes with ripe berries. I stopped and ate a bunch and they were so good. I walked a little more and their were more bushes, so I ate more. It kept happening for around a half mile. It was awesome. It was nice to have a little sun exposure today and get out of all the bugs. It was still hot, but not too bad. There was a nice breeze which also added to the pleasantness of the day. I hiked on and encounter lots and lots of rocks. They are so frustrating. Around 3:00pm the clouds moved in and it started raining soon after. I arrived at the shelter at 6:00pm. I decided to hike on and hope it would stop raining. I made it another three miles and the rain did indeed stop. I stopped for the night around 7:45pm and I stealth camped. I had not drunk as much water as I anticipated so I was able to have a hot dinner. A little over sixteen miles tomorrow and I am out of this awful rock ridden state. I am so glad I am finishing this state though because I do not think I would have ever come back. We just did not see eye to eye at all.
Date: 2016-06-28
From: stealth camp mile 1276.2

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up extra early today. I put my headlamp on and took down my bear bag and packed up my camp. It was strange knowing this would be my last day doing this for at least at least the foreseeable future if not for good. I was on the trail at 5:45am. The earliest I have ever started. I was glad to get moving because my cloths were damp and my boots were soaked from all the hiking in the rain yesterday. I made my way down to Wind Gap and then right back up the hill out of Wind Gap. This would be my last good climb for the day. I still battled the rocks all day, but I just kept counting down the miles. 16, 15. 14, etc. I ran into another thru hiker. Her name is Trotter. She is a sixty three year old women and super nice. We hiked together for an hour or so before she moved on. I stopped at the last shelter of the day for a break. I did a lot of soul searching and thinking about my future on the trail. I would like to get back on in a few weeks after some rest and a trip to the foot doctor. I love the idea of going to Maine now and working my way south to New Jersey. I guess time will tell. I ended up hiking into Delaware Water Gap at around 2:30pm. I was pretty excited to have finished Pennsylvania. I stopped at the church hostel and took a long very overdue shower. I then went and got a ice cream and walked down to the Delaware River bridge and all the way out of Pennsylvania just to make it official that I finished the whole state. I then walked back to the hostel where I found my dad waiting for me. I got my pack and we headed for home. It took four plus hours to get home. It was very strange driving back into Mass. It did not feel right. I am in my bed now and it does not feel right either. I need to find the right pair of hiking shoes and get back on the trail. My cousin Jimbo has some ideas on shoes so I am going to check that out. I will be off line here until a final decision is made about my thru hike for this year. I do plan on taking at least two weeks off for rest no matter what though. I have plenty of time still and can afford to take this time to rest and heel, especially because I most likely will be hiking south out of Maine. I am hopeful it will work out and I will be back in two, three, or four weeks.
Date: 2016-07-17
From: Millinocket ME Appalachian Lodge & Hostel

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I have been in Maine for one full day and just like I thought I would I totally love it. I was up at 5:00am as it gets light really early this far north. Carl, Preston, Becky, Kristina, and I left the hostel at 6:30 for Baxter State Park. We checked in and got hiking around 8:00am. The weather all week said today was going to be sunny with no rain.....until yesterday they changed it to rain and thunderstorms. Bummer. It was overcast but not raining as we left and the rain was suppose to start around 11:00am. I really wanted to just take my time and go slow, but with the forecast the way it was I found myself hiking up the mountain fairly quickly. It was a difficult hike that was very vertical at times. Much of the middle third of the hike you had to use your hands along with your feet to get up and over boulders. It was fun going up, but I knew going back down would be a much bigger challenge and more difficult. I was able to get some really incredible views as the trail moved above the tree line. However that did not last long. As I finished the uphill Boulder scrambling and made my way into the flats the trail entered the clouds and that is how it stayed all the way to the summit. I made it there in three hours and twenty minutes. I took a few pictures and ate a few bars and then started back down the trail. It was cool and windy so I was getting cold and had to get moving. The hike back down was indeed much more difficult then going up. I had no choice but to take my time and go slow. The rain held off until I got through the boulder field. I got wet but not soaked through. I made it to camp at 3:30pm. My legs were fatigued as this is the first hiking I have done in seventeen days. I hung out with Beaver who I met on the way up the trail. He is going southbound as well. I am camping with Carl, Preston, Kristina, and Becky. They are going south too. The sun came out this afternoon and it looks like a beautiful night is in store here at Katahdin Stream Campgound.
Date: 2016-07-19
From: Rainbow Lake Campsite

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.2

It was light out well before 5:00am and the breeze had picked up quite a bit over night. Cooler and dryer air had moved in and it felt great. The sun was out and reflecting off the lake. I took my time getting up and getting out of camp. I chatted with Chris for a while which was nice. It felt like I was leaving really late but when I checked the time as I left it was only 6:45am. The time thing up here is really throwing me off. Today I hiked next to some form of water practically all day. The streams are so beautiful and the lakes and ponds with nothing but the wilderness surrounding them are just awesome. It was a cooler dryer day today so I opted not to swim even though I passed many great spots to do so. I stopped at the first shelter and ran into a NOBO (northbound hiker) His name is Clemintine. He will be summiting tomorrow. He started on March 26th. That is two days before I started!! That is crazy. He was really good to talk to and a super nice guy. It has been great talking to all the NOBO's. I get a lot of information about what is a head of me in terms of terrain and the best campsites. They have been great. I met a young male hiker named Chris(different from the female Chris from last night and this morning) this morning who was just starting out southbound to do the 100 mile wilderness. He is only twenty years old and very polite. I passed him a second time this afternoon and he said he was done and was going home. It was just was not for him. I talked to him for a bit and then hiked on. He is tenting next to me tonight and will be making his way back to Baxter starting tomorrow. We talked and hung around the fire for a bit before he headed to bed. I also met another flip flop hiker like me here at the shelter. Her name is Zero's. She seems very nice and we also chatted quite a bit. I helped her get firewood so we could have a small fire which was nice. The scenery here continues to amaze me. It is really beautiful. I am still lacking energy and feeling fatigued too much during the day. I am hoping after a few more days I will get my hiking legs back and will start feeling normal again. There are five of us here tonight at the shelter and it is another nice summer night in Maine.
Date: 2016-07-20
From: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 13.5

Today was the perfect day. The weather was awesome and the trail was incredible all day. I was up and on the trail at 7:30am. At 8:00 am I came across a large sandy beach that was facing the sun. It was so inviting and I could not resist so in I went. It felt awesome. I just floated around for a half hour and then sat on the beach area for another half hour. I felt so invigorated when I got back on the trail. I hiked next to a lot of water all day again. My brother would love this part of the trail. It would be fun to do it with him some day. There are so many great places to camp right next to lakes and rivers. I just love it all. I continue to pass NOBO's who are flying bye me. It is nice to see them when they are taking a break or at camp because then we can talk longer. Many of them just want to be done and get to Katahdin so it is a quick hi and then they are off. I am liking this new pace I using. I am hiking a lot slower and taking many breaks. I also am taking many side trails to see views and wild beaches. I have been soaking my feet in stream and lakes everyday too. I saw two NOBO's at the first shelter. Apple and Crispy and I am camping tonight with another flip flopper named Faceplant. He has hiked from Harpers Ferry to here. After he summits Katahdin he is going back to Harpers Ferry and will then hike to Georgia. I think is it so cool that there are so many ways to hike this trail. Right now I am running into people doing it all different ways. Tonight's campsite is right on Jo Mary Lake. It is called Antlers Campsite and it is another incredibly awesome campsite. It is on a peninsula so we can see the sunset and sunrise over the lake. I hiked a short day and got here at 3:30pm. No one was here when I arrived. The first thing I did was jump in the lake and again I just floated around. I then laid on my tyvek and dried off and just relaxed. Soon after that two lady section hikers showed up and then Faceplant came in. It is just the four of us here now. I brought my small transistor radio and am listening to the Red Sox now. What a day! What a night!
Date: 2016-07-21
From: Antlers Campsite

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.0

I had a great night of sleep last night sleeping at Antler Campground right on Jo Mary Lake. The sunrise was so nice and it was another perfect morning. The weather has been more then I could have hoped for. I left the campsite around 7:30 am. I have been waking up at 5:00am and really taking my time and enjoying the morning much more then I was when I was down south. It was a sunny day but it did warm up a bit more. It might have reached 80. I hiked to the first shelter where there was at huge set of falls with a big swimming pool at the bottom. I dropped my gear and cloths and in I went. It was really cold compared to all the lakes I have been swimming in, but it still felt really good and it refreshed me for my afternoon hike. I met a bunch of really nice NOBO's there as well. A few of them were trying to catch trout with there head net. I saw a dozen or so NOBO's on the day. During my afternoon hike I encountered my first trail magic in the form of a sealed large container full of crackers, chips, Oreos, and other assorted snacks. It was very nice to come upon it. It was put there by Boy Scout troup number 61 out of Wrentham, Mass. So a big thank you to them. I sat and had snacks there with a NOBO named Lost Pony. He was a cool dude and it was good to chat with him as we snacked. I made my way to my resupply spot in the woods after moving on from the trail magic. I had a map and had to find my five gallon pale of food which was hidden in the woods. It was kind of fun to find it. What was not fun was putting that ten plus pounds of food in my pack and then immediately have to climb a decent hill. I am planning on taking my time and doing shorter mile days so that means I need more food to get to my resupply points. I reached the East Branch Lean-to around 4:30 pm. My feet were starting to ache so I stopped for the day and made camp here. There are seven of us here tonight. Shepard, Nancy, Jean, Jorden, Nan, Afterburner, and Beth. Five of these folks are in there sixties and are out here and loving it. I think that is awesome. We all ate and chatted at the shelter. Jorden found a really good swimming hole down stream from our water supply spot so we both took a dip there and got all cleaned up. It has been so nice to be able to stay so clean while doing all this hiking. It just did not happen down south like this. I love it. I love Maine. We do have some rain in the forecast the next few days so let's see how I feel after that. Tomorrow is also the first major mountain I have to hike. White Cap Mountain. It is about a 2400 foot ascent and it is pretty vertical. I will start to get into more and more mountains from here on out. My energy level is still not where I think it should be. Hopefully it will improve soon. Either way I will just keep putting one foot in front of the other and carrying on.
Date: 2016-07-22
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: Pleasant river campsite
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: broken clouds

Woke this am after another good night sleep. I got out of my tent and could not believe how mild it was out. It felt really strange like it was 5:00pm not 5:00am. When I was packing up I lost a tent stake somehow. I looked everywhere for it but it was no where. I was doing so good not losing things too. Oh well. I left camp at 7:00am and had another really good hike. The scenery continued to impress. I went right up my first big climb as I summited White Cap mountain which stands at 3650 feet high. I then hiked Hey Mountain and West peek. I was at the second shelter of the day at 3:00pm and felt good so I decided to hike five in a half miles to a campsite right on Pleasant River where there was good swimming. About a mile into the five mile hike it started thundering in in the distance. I decided to see if I still had thru hiker pace and took off at over three miles an hour. It went ok for about three miles then my feet got fatigued so I backed it back down. It sprinkled but never did rain hard. I made it to my camp spot around 5:30pm. I set up quickly as the weather looked ominous. After I was set up I went in the river and got cleaned up. It felt soooo good. It is so nice to be clean every night after hiking and sweating all day. It has been quite a treat. I am going to enjoy it while I can because I know down the road it will not be this way. There are two other people here with me tonight. Wendy and Wendy. They are friends who are hiking the 100 mile wilderness together. Overall another great day with great views atop White Cap. I did manage to fall and break one of my trekking poles this afternoon. I was able to gerry rig it so it works for now. The bottom shaft broke but I was able to slide it up the sleeve of the middle section and make the upper section longer. I will probably need I new pair. I will be in Monson Sunday or Monday and out of the 100 mile wilderness. This place has been great so far and just what I needed. Severe storms in the forecast for tonight. It should be interesting. Beaver just called out my name in the dark outside my tent. I spent a lot of my first day and night with him. He has caught up to me after leaving Katahdin a day after me. He also had my lost tent stake. Apparently he passed Shepard on the trail who found it and she gave it to him in hopes he would see me. The people out here amaze me. Everyone has been awesome. I really like the amount of people on the trail right now. I am optimistic it will continue to be good even when the NOBO bubble come through. I mean only the toughest of the tough will have made it all the way up here. It continues to be cool to see and talk to the NOBO's when I get a chance.
Date: 2016-07-23
From: Pleasant river campsite

To: Cloud Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up this am at 5:00am which has been pretty standard all week. We did not get the storms or rain that was predicted for the overnight, which was good. I did not sleep as well last night. I have no idea why, but I was excited because I knew today I was going to be hiking mountain and they would have a lot of views. I have loved being on the floor of the forest for the first four days, but now it is time to start really hiking. Today did not disappoint. I was out of camp at 7:30am. I stopped and said hi to Beaver who was camped just up the trail from where I was. I was a little sluggish to start the day. It was uphill to Chairback Mountain. When I did get up on top there were great views to the east and north and I found a bunch of wild blueberries which was a nice treat. The rest of the day was up and down smaller but tough mountains. Columbus Mountain, Third Mountain, Mount Three in a half, and Forth Mountain. I took lunch at Third Mountain where there were cliffs and incredible views in every direction. I stayed there for an hour. It was so peaceful and beautiful. No houses, no roads, no societal noises, just mountains, forest and lakes as far as you could see. As the afternoon progressed I started hearing thunder in the distance just like yesterday. I quickly hiked over the last two mountains and made it to Cloud Pond Lean-to at 3:30pm. The pond was huge and more like a lake. I found the perfect spot for my tent with a perfect view of the lake. I then jumped in the lake and as has been the case all week, it felt incredibly refreshing. I am here tonight with a whole bunch of people. A group of kids are occupying the shelter and all us hikers are down by the pond. I have been conversing with Beaver, Jay, Wendy and Wendy for the most part, but I did meet T who is a NOBO and talked to him for a bit too. This pond is absolutely gorgeous and now all the frogs are chirping very loudly. It is pretty cool. Today I only hiked 11.2 miles as I am trying to not over do it. I have plenty of food left so I think I will do another short day tomorrow and then go into Monson on Monday.
Date: 2016-07-24
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Little Wilsons Falls
Miles today: 12.5

Another picture perfect day today. It started out with me sleeping in until 6:00am. It was so peaceful on the pond. There was a crispness in the air as cooler dryer air moved in overnight. I actually had to put my down jacket on. I ate my breakfast down by the shore as the sun was shining brightly across it. It was beautiful. I then finished packing while chatting with Wendy for a bit before heading out of camp around 8:00am. I hiked through more pine, hemlock and spruce forest. The smells continue to be heavenly. The forest floor in these area is covered in a carpet on green moss. It looks like it is right out of a fairy tale at times. It is so nice. The forest led me to the top of Barren Mountain which had a old fire tower structure, but with no building on top. The ladder rungs were still on it so I climbed up to the top and had an incredible 360 degree view of the wilderness and lakes. It was amazing. It was sunny and clear which makes all the difference. During the afternoon the landscape changed to a more hardwood forest which also was super nice to walk through. The sunlight shining through reminded me of being on Mount Wachusett from back home which is a beautiful mountain. I had to ford my second river this afternoon. I walked way up stream to try and find a place to rock hop but there was not a place so I took my boots off and zipped off my lower legs on my pants and made my way across. I crossed paths with Beaver, Wendy, and Wendy several times throughout the day as well as a half dozen NOBO's. I got to my camp spot around 5:00pm. After hiking 12.5 miles. Jay was here already and Wendy and Wendy showed up after me so it is the four of us here tonight. We are at a site that has a huge waterfall. It has to be fifty feet high or higher. It has a great swimming hole at the bottom and we all went in. It was awesome and felt amazing. So again tonight for the seventh night in a row I am going to bed clean. Ahhh, hiking life is so good this week. It has been the best week ever. Jay, Wendy and Wendy will finish the wilderness tomorrow so I will not be seeing them anymore. They have been great company. I have 6.5 miles into Monson and will probably get back on the trail Tuesday. It will most likely be back to normal hiking with only occasional lakes and swimming holes at the end of the day. I can hear the sound of the falls from inside my tent. It is pretty darn soothing. It should make for a great night.