morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-09-03
From: Horns Pond tentsite

To: Stratton Pond parking area, (car)
Miles today: 0.0

Despite some seriously dark clouds that came on during the after noon yesterday, last night grew very clear, and bright with stars. We woke to clear blue skies. I slept much better last night, maybe the stuff sack pillow was a little softer, maybe the ground underneath us was more level. What ever the reason, I woke up dreaming deeply and felt well rested. Tom was already up and perched on a boulder drinking his coffee. I pulled on my black microfleece top and bottoms, light jacket, and socks with Crocs, and went out to start my breakfast. Its cool out when you first get out of a warm sleeping bag. It was about 60, I think, which when I'm just standing around feels cool. It warmed up pretty quickly.On the menu this morning: One and a half packs of plain instant grits with butter, a little brown sugar and walnuts. It mixes up with boiling water and tastes pretty good. I dripped a mug of coffee with some added Nido and sugar, which finished off the meal. I packed up the food bag with the pot set and stove and trash bag. I got into my damp hiking clothes, and stuffed the clothes bag. Brushed my teeth, stowed the sleeping bag, rolled the mat and put on my hiking socks and boots. We rolled out of there at 8 a.m. I love the more leisurely pace of this trip.Harvard's freshman group was camped next to us last night, and we had enjoyed their playfulness and antics. When they woke up they were full of cheerful energy, and made me smile. We stopped to say goodbye and offer appreciation for their good neighborliness.Our climb up out of the pond area was along the AT, where we met Rick Forzese from Winchester, MA. He was on the trail yesterday as well as at the same campsite with us. We talked our way down to the Cranberry Peak cut-off before parting company. It was fun to exchange hiking info and experiences. We might have been the only hikers there voluntarily: neither thru hiking nor part of a school orientation group! We made better time today, thanks to a more moderate downhill trail. We stopped to sit on a stream side bench briefly, to snack on dried apples from Tom's dehydrator, and pistachio nuts. Odd combo but tasty. Town was calling us, so we went out where the AT crosses the dirt road to Stratton Pond. We hung a left there, stashed our packs behind some trees and walked the last mile to the car. Time to find us some lunch!Kingfield kind of wanders along Rt. 27, and we thought we might have to go further, but we found Longfellow's on the Main Street, and had excellent turkey and ciabatta club sandwiches. Then I went to Giffords and splurged on two scoops of ice cream: chocolate and peppermint stick. We decided to spend our last night over at camp in Hope, so drove here and dried out gear and are ready to start some supper. En route we found corn and fresh tomatoes, so plan to make a seasonal supper to end our September outing. Auntie Mame
Date: 2008-09-12
From: Bingham, ME

To: Bingham, ME
Miles today: 0.0

Rain patters against the picture window and softens the sounds of traffic on Rt 201. I am back with my hiking friends, Certain and Incessant, to hike an AT section from mile 159.4 to Monson. I have mixed feelings, some sadness, some eagerness, as I sit here on the eve of my last formal AT section hike for this year. Its wonderful to see these animated friends again, something I did not know would work out until a few days ago. And, despite the now rather effusive rain, I am thrilled to be heading back out onto the trail.When I drove up to this area with Tom today, I found myself staring out the window at the roadside weeds and trees as if they were some rare and wondrous plants I hadn't seen in years. Like they were significant, full of importance in the great scheme of things. Long distance hiking set up a fresh relationship to wilderness that I did not expect and am just beginning to understand. I dropped Tom off at the Long Falls Dam Rd trailhead around 2, and he set off to backpack the section that I chose to slack. We took his car to Monson earlier, so that he can hike out and drive home on his own timetable.Tomorrow Certain and I are hiking a fairly short first day (for me), come rain or come shine. Auntie Mame
Date: 2008-09-14
From: Caratunk, ME, mile 151.2

To: Moxie Pond Rd, ME
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Imagine your legs encased in cold nylon fabric, sweat creating moisture on the inside, rain drops creating moisture on the outside. Picture your socks and boots totally soaked, squishing as you walk. And then, notice that your rain jacket is creating a sort of damp environment for your upper body.The sky is dark, the winds pick up intermittently, puddles appear before you and scruffy saplings crowd you into the center of the trail. This describes today's hiking experience. The sapling crunch only happened briefly, but it was memorable for the copious amounts of water that clung to our clothes through there, and the way in which the thin, leafy branches obscured our view of our feet. Dear Karen drove Tom, Certain and me to the trailhead at Caratunk this morning for an 8:00 a.m. launch. We could feel the rain beginning, or maybe it was just fast fog, as we took off into the woods. I was in the lead, deciding to make some time on the unusually level and modestly graded trail.We got to the Pleasant Pond LeanTo around 10:30, and decided to have a first lunch, thinking that we would not have another roof over our eads for the next seven miles. Tom leafed through the log book, and came upon last year's Sept. entries. Friends of his had signed in, and he had as well, on his way through to the next tenting area. We saw in this year's log that Racoon had just been through. It would be great to catch up to him, but he's a much faster hiker than Certain and I. Pleasant Mountain came right after our lunch break, so we had a mile of climbing to do among the slick boulders, wet moss, lichen, and damp leaves. Once we crested the multiple peaks wreathed in fog, I began to feel the happy suchness of walking on the trail again. I was surprised by it, and very uplifted. Here we were in a pool of moisture, in this rain forest around us, and I felt content, at peace, and alive. Once we got to the road, Tom decided to hike on to the nearest lean to, while Certain and I went back to the motel. I look forward to tomorrow, another rainy day most likely, but a rainy day on the Appalachian Trail.Auntie Mame
Date: 2008-09-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Lakeshore House in Monson, high ceilings, half a dozen hikers, narrow kitchen area, old but lotsa hot water bathroom... a mix of hostel and guest house. Incessant, Certain and I dragged ourselves up the outside stairs this evening, only to be told they didn't have our reservation. This was not the best day for a sudden change in plans, but then it got straightened out.The triple was full, but two doubles opened up.Our day began about 8:30, back at the trail junction where Tom took off last night. My boots were soaked through from the day before, and weighed a ton. I don't even want to mention how rank and sour they smelled. Right away we had to balance our way across an area of flowage, with little to indicate where the AT actually went. Eventually I found a blaze, which lead us up into a beautiful pine forest. Sun came in and out and the wind blew fiercely at times. I could feel the cold front clearing away the lingering humidity.We duckwalked up and over innumerable granite ledges today, strode through forested areas and picked our way over bogs, mud ponds and beaver flowages.Karen picked us up on an unmarked trail crossing off of the Blanchard road, after which we picked up the other car in Bingham.By then it was after 5:00, and we drove up to Monson as the light changed from day to evening. The architecture of old rural New England factory town, and the chill in the air from the season's shift put me in a somber mood. I was facing elements of this kind of hiking that I usually do not focus upon. There is a lot of hardship and discomfort that comingle with the acomplishments, natural beauty and sense of freedom.This was an evening I hoped would quickly allow for an early bedtime. Nothing resolves both physical and emotional stiffness or pain better than a good night's sleep.We found out that the gas station sold pizza, so went over there as soon as we dropped our things in our rooms. They accomodated us nicely, and I went back to the hostel with a mini pizza, some grapefruit juice and a big sense of relief. Half an hour after munching down, I was stretched out reading my novel, in the quiet northern Maine night.Auntie Mame"
Date: 2009-04-12
To: New blog called "Offtrail09" at blogger.com
Miles today: 0.0

Today I opened a blog on blogger.com, which may provide some ongoing reading for those who like that sort of thing. I need the ongoing writing to anchor the post-hike flotilla of thoughts, observations, and experiences. The address is "offtrail09 "at blogger.com, the former blogspot.
Date: 2008-02-28
To: Staying At Ashish's House
Miles today: 0.0

Alright, I spent the night at Ashish's House in Chattanooga, Tn last night. His mom made some wicked Chicken Curry, Paneer, Chaana, and Gulab Jamuns for dinner...that stuff always hits the spot. I went to bed and woke up early to prepare for my pick-up by the Hiker Hostel. After a 30 minute wait, Paul, an older gentleman arrived and Scott (Kip '06) from the hostel took us to Wal-Mart so that I could buy some Peroxide because I had a huge cut in my mouth.Well, when we arrived, Josh and Leigh (Profile and Almanac) showed us around. By 10:00 pm, everybody had arrived. They included: Liz (Mad Hatter), The General ('04 and '08), Paul, Badrock, Peddler, V8, Auntie Mame, 4 guys out for the weekend, "The 4 Wall Sisters," and me!!!I'm a little bit nervous about starting the hike because the more you talk to people, the more nervous they make me. Now, I'm chatting with my bunkmates--The General, Mad Hatter, and Paul--and now we're talking about The General's '04 Thru Hike and his 3.5 yrs in Iraq as a Private Contractor. I'm finally excited because Mad Hatter and "The 4 Sisters" will be joining me on the Approach Trail in the morning...Yes! Some trail companions!!! Time for Bed!!!!!
Date: 2008-02-29
From: Hiker Hostel 

To: Springer Mnt.
Miles today: 0.2

Woke up around 6:45 am this morning, after going to bed at 11:15-ish pm), I'm not really sure why, but I just did!!! The General, Mad Hatter and I were up and chatting on the couch with The 4 Sisters' mom and enjoying life! At around 7:40 am, breakfast was ready. What did we have? Well, that's a very good question: a plate full of Pancakes, eggs, grits, and oatmeal...not bad, eh? After breakfast, Josh packed the 4 weekenders, Paul, Mad Hatter and me into his car and dropped us at our respective drops. As Paul was leaving at the Springer Mnt. Parking lot, I gave him a hug and told "DAD" that I would see him soon and give him 2 Snicker Bars when I pass him. Eventually, Mad Hatter and I signed in and noticed that the 4 sisters had signed in before us. After waiting for Mad Hatter to finish using the bathroom, we took photos at the Arch to Amicalola Falls and immediately ran into a veteran hiker named Solace and his twin brother KTR ( Kick The Rocks). So, soon I blazed ahead of Mad Hatter and the brothers, who were talking with August, another one of their hiker buddies, and enjoyed the sight of Amicalola Falls--The tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi (It's got a bigger drop than even Niagara Falls). After enjoying this view, I pressed on and caught up with the 4 sisters, who were taking a lunch break. I joined them and made off with 1/2 of Olivia Wall's brownie. So, I joined them until Black Gap Shelter, where they were gonna meet up with Michael Farmer, but I had to press on...it was fun getting to know them. Their trail names are: One-Way ticket, Puddle Duck, Alpaca, and Graceful. While at the shelter, I ate some Hummus and Pita for some energy. As I was climbing up toward Springer, I began to feel sick. I think I may be over exerting myself too soon, but I didn't even hike the 8.8 Approach Trail. Oh Well...just gotta take it slowly I guess!!! When I finally got to Springer, I felt really tired and slightly sick, but a young couple...named Chris and Lacey from Ohio were there and we took turns taking each other's pictures and signed the Famous Register. Soon I made it to the shelter and spoke with Many Sleeps, the ridgerunner. Soon, I entered the shelter to meet Seema, Regular Brian ('04), KTR, Solace, some guy Kirk, Homeless Dave and some guy named Stovie was tenting. As we were eating dinner, I gave Homeless Dave a pack of Hummus and Pita to eat. Even with warm food in my stomach, I still felt sick!Homeless Dave told us some funny stories: He found his pack in a dumpster, his sleeping bag on the beach of Florida, and his groundcloth (a thin sheet) in the ocean. Well, as we were sleeping, I asked him where he was from and he told me that he has lived in 45 states. When I asked where he had just come from, he told me that he was recently released from prison for Aggrivated Assault!!! Oh! When I asked why he was hiking the trail, he told me that he'd heard that the hiker boxes had a lot of food and gear in them...in summary, he's hiking the trail to survive!!!
Date: 2008-03-01
From: Springer Mnt.

To: Cooper's Gap
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up this morning and made 1 pack of oatmeal and hit the trail by 8:40 am (my thermometer said it was 55*F). Oh! I learned a lesson the hard way: When it's muddy, don't wear your camp shoes outside of the shelter. Use your boots or you'll get mud all over the shelter and possibly your gear. So, when you're finished with all of your camp chores and ready to "hit the hay," then put on your crocs. As I was descending the Mountain, I passed Many Sleeps and another Ga ATC member as they were bringing some gear up to his tent. When I reached the Stover Creek Shelter, I saw some tall guy using the privy and waited my turn. Unfortunately, I didn't see DAD's signature in the register and decided to press on. About 1.1 miles short of the Hawk Mnt. Shelter, I ran into Chris and Lacey again. Oh! They told me that last night, some hiker named Loafy caught his foot on fire when his Whisperlite stove exploded. He didn't notice that the fuel, with flame, was on his foot even though they were frantically pointing at his foot! Soon we were passing the Hawk Mnt Shelter and I decided to stop in for another Hummus and Pita break around 12:15pm while Chris and Lacey pressed on. While there, I met the guy who was in the privy before me...his name is Stovie and he's from Ohio. He was not only taking a lunch break, but he was getting some water. He uses a Steripen...it looks kinda neat and seems like a fast way to purify your water. After this break, I began to feel sick. Some what like the way I felt yesterday, but today I felt more like I had to vomit. Soon I caught back up with Chris and Lacey at Horse Gap and convinced them to let me tag-along. Close to the summit of Sassafras Mnt, I begin to vomit like it's in season!! I am so glad that Chris and Lacey slowed their pace and waited with me while I was yakking! When we got to Cooper's Gap, I realized that I wouldn't be able to make the other 4 miles to the Gooch Mnt. Shelter. So, I just tented and hoped for the best. I hope that sleeping/vomiting will allow me feel alot better. Chris and Lacey pushed on...I hope I catch them again.
Date: 2008-03-02
From: Cooper's Gap

To: Wood's Hole Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

Woke up and hit the trail around 9:00 am. After 3.5 miles, I was at the Gooch Mnt. Shelter and ran into Homeless Dave sitting by the fire working on some bamboo flutes. While I was talking to the people there, they asked where I started from today. I told them Cooper's Gap and they asked if I were that Bad Hummus guy that they'd heard about. When I looked in the register to see if DAD had signed in, I decided to ask where Chris and Lacey were going and found out that they were gonna be at the Wood's Hole Shelter. By 1:00pm, I made it to Woody Gap and ate lunch with Rabbit, Brock, another old lady, 2 older men, and Rag Tagg--a friend of Homeless Dave. Similarly to the people at the shelter, this group asked if I were the Bad Hummus guy...well, as you can tell, this is how I got my Trail Name!!! They all left way before I did so I decided to call Pa and Briana. Eventually, I caught up with Chris and Lacey and they were so excited because they never thought they would see me again. After a butt whipping 15.5 mile day, we walked another 0.4 miles to the Wood's Hole Shelter. Tonight, we are joined by Loafy, Bag Lady, Todd, Riley (who had both done a 19.3 mile day), Chris, Lacey, Mangey Mo and River, and 4 Spring Breakers. The water source was 0.2 miles back down the trail...Seriously, why is everything so bleeding far? Oh well, it's 9:30 pm and time for bed!!!
Date: 2008-03-03
From: Wood's Hole Shelter

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We were planning another 15 mile days. So, Chris got up around 6:40 am. By 8:00 am, we were heading through the mist up towards Blood Mnt. I couldn't help but notice how Lord of the Rings-ish it looked!!! When we got to the shelter, it looked really eerie, and I felt great because I was on my way to Neel's Gap to buy some Cool Ranch Doritos. As we got close, a guy named Dr. Small Pot passed us. This guy's gear was so small that either he's an extreme ultra-lighter or he's day hiking.When I arrived at Neel's Gap, I greeted Rabbit, Mangey Mo and River, Todd, Riley, Stovie, some guy named Fester, Dr. Small Pot, and some other hikers. Well, I immediately ran in and bought 4 packs of Cool Ranch Doritos and a Powerade. Loafy and Bag Lady had decided to spend the night at the Walasi-Yi Hostel, but we had to keep on to beat the oncoming storm. In the course of our 10 miles together, Lacey and I sang the Oscar Meyer weiner song, some Fergie jams, and other random songs. I hustled to try and make it to the shelter before everyone got there because I didn't want to tent with the bad weather coming. At Hog Pen Gap, the water source was dry. So, two people, Ben and Erica, gave me 1L of water. Yaaa......Trail Magic!!!!!! When I pulled into the shelter, I noticed a VERY FULL HOUSE. As I was cooking dinner, I talked with Todd, Riley, and Fester. Alright, there were only 5 Thru-hikers there and 9 Spring Breakers...common courtesy would tell you to yield the shelter to the hikers. Seriously, storm or no storm, you have a large group of people...TENTAlright, Chris and Lacey rolled in around 7:40pm...way to go guys!!! Well, now they're both tenting in a one man tent while I sleep in my footprint and rainfly Big Agnes tent next to a TN guy named Kanati. He's from West TN and taught me another trail lesson: When you pitch your tent, make sure you pile a large amount of leaves under the footprint to soften the floor and stack the higher so that it creates a "bathtub" type floor to keep the rain out!!!I think I'm gonna have the rest of my tent mailed to me. This way, the spiders will stop coming in and better protect me if it rains!!!
Date: 2008-03-04
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Helendorf Inn...Helen, GA
Miles today: 9.4

I forgot to enter this yesterday, but I've found my biggest enemy on the trail--it's most dangerous at the end of a long day--Trail Mirages! That's right...after a long, hard day, you begin to imagine that every tree or rock is a shelter/water source. So, you hustle over there only to be disappointed. This sounds funny, but it can destroy you mentally--If you can't tell, this has happened to me! I was awaken at 4:00am to the sound of rain beating down on my tent. I check it out to make sure everything was still dry and then went back to bed. It wasn't until 6:30am, however, that I noticed my hand sitting in a pool of water. Well, with a down sleeping bag, I had to quickly act so that this wouldn't be a problem. After draining the water, I laid in my tent and listened to the sweet sound of the rain hitting the rainfly and watched Kanati pack up to leave.I tried to wait out the rain, but I didn't want to hang out until 1pm. So, I packed up my stuff and told Chris and Lacey good bye, I was planning to go to Blue Mnt. Shelter and drying off before pushing on to Tray Mnt. Shelter. As I walked throught the mini boulder field before the shelter, I realized that my rain gear, including my pack cover,does a much better job of absorbing the rain than it does repelling it. With this in mind, I decided to hitch into Helen, GA (The Gatlinburg of GA) and let my stuff dry off because the temp. was supposed to drop. Well, I thought it was going to be a lonely trip there, but Riley had the same idea and we both stood at the road with our thumbs out. Luckily, some "Good Ole Boy" and his uncle picked us up and gave us a ride to the Helendorf Inn. Hey...you can't beat a $24 room for two, eh? Well, our stuff is drying and the hiker funk in the room smells ferocious!!!
Date: 2008-03-05
From: Helendorf Inn...Helen, GA

To: Cloud 9 Hostel
Miles today: 16.1

The alarm went off at around 5:30am and man did I just want to go back to bed, but I knew Riley and I would have a rough time getting a hitch back to the trail. It took us about 1.5 hours to get a hitch to Unicoi Gap, but luckily some guy picked us up on his way to work. By 8:05am, we were on the trail. Riley had told me of his plans to push a 25 mile day to the state line so I just let him start infront of me. The most amazing thing happened as I was climbing Tray Mountain. A nice cloud of snow/frost was blowing as I walked and I felt as if I were in some cool episode of Lord of the Rings (leave me alone...you get bored some times and think of the most random things)!! When I finally reached the peak of the mountain, the view was phenomenal. I not only saw tons of mountains in the distance, but I could see the snow clouds passing over some of them and dumping its precipitation. Feeling slightly hungry, I pushed on to the shelter and ate an early lunch...no hummus of course! Soon, I ran into Kanati and noticed all of his stuff was spread along the trail. I thought something was wrong and quickly approached him. Well, nothing was wrong...he was just drying off his gear!After some discussion with Kanati, I decided to stay at Cloud 9 Hiker Hostel for the night. My original plan was to pick up my maildrop and then push on another 5 miles to get back on schedule, but Kanati convinced me that 20 miles for the fifth day on the trail was a little too much--I really appreciate how he puts some common sense into me!! Well, before climbing up Kelly's Knob, we met at Addis Gap and took a break before the 972 ft of elevation gain in 1.1 miles. Kanati got to the Road before me, called the hostel and got a pick up. Just as I got there, a mini-cooper pulled up and a lady opened the window and asked me if I needed a ride to Cloud 9. As it turns out, Kanati told them I would be there and they sent a shuttle after me. When I got to the hostel, I got my maildrop, bathed, and washed my clothes. After all that fun stuff, I met Crutch--a trail legend in his own rights--and he took Kanati and me to eat and shop. Well, we went to The Boathouse and Kanati treated us to chicken wings and a chicken sandwich with fries and 2 beers!!! Thanks a lot Kanati!!!!! While there, we talked about all sorts of things from crazy things Crutch has seen on the trail all the way to Kanati's Childhood. When we returned to the hostel, I met the rest of my Hostel-mates: Catfish, "Foster's," Trailfoot (Who's gonna try and hike the trail in 100 days), and Stovie. Honestly, I never thought I would see Stovie again. That guy's stride is equivalent to 3 of mine. After sharing some more stories and watching some TV, we all hit the hay!!