morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-09-06
From: Madison hut

To: Pinkham Notch stealh camp
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: fog

Awoke at 6 to clear out of the dining hall. Had leftover pancakes and cream-of-wheat for breakfast. My work for this stay was to scrape years of baked-on grime off the baking pans with a putty knife. Practically futile, but whatever. Left the hut at 11, and climbed Mt. Madison, the over more felsenmeer. Also found out that the carbide tips on my trekking poles were gone, so I'll have to seek a repair at the next outfitters. The Whites are hard on the feet, knees, and gear. Right after we gort to Pinkham Notch it started to rain also. We decided not to climb the next peak in the rain (remains of Hannah?), so Mas found a stealth camp spot whrere RockLocks, WheelDog, LeftFielt, and I could all fit, and we hung out in the hiker room at the visitors center until it closed then went out to the tents in the dark. It rained for about 6 hours.
Date: 2008-09-07
From: Pinkham Notch stealth camp

To: Carter's Notch hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: fog

Continuing the short miles of hut-hopping that we've been enjoying lately, we progressed only as far a Carter's Notch hut today. We all got out of our stealth camp spot in Pinkham Notch at 6am to get to the All-You-Can-Eat breakfast at the dining hall in the Visitor's Center. We all ate a huge amount of food. Also, Dr Barry Rock a Forest Health professor from UNH sat with us, and it turns out that he knows Ed Barnard. I asked him to send Ed an email to let him know that we'd crossed paths. Small world. We went pack to the hiker room to digest for awhile, ad Mas found out that his stove was stolen from the hiker room that morning. It was in a plastic bag, not his backpack, but very disappointing. Reminded us that we all face that possibility though we've tended to become quite trusting of strangers. We tried to make him an alcohol stove out of soda cans, but it will need some refinement. We finally started hiking at noon. Climbed up the Wildcat peaks. Just before Carter Notch hut I saw a marten. Also known as a sable, it's a member of the weasel family. Beautiful brown fur, very cool. Just happened to catch it out of the corner of my eye, then got to watch it for about 30 seconds before it ran into the underbrush. Got to the hut, and we decided that since a cold wind was blowing and this was the last of the huts, that we'd do one more work for stay. Anotehr very cool croo. They ended up letting 8 of us do work for stay, and we got to sleep inthe empty bunkhouse instead of on the dining hall floor. Saw a female blackpoll warbler today too. The Whites have been grreat in so many ways.
Date: 2008-09-08
From: Carter's Notch hut

To: Rattle River shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: fog

Slept really well in the bunkhouse. Got up for breakfast, and then headed out. Climber South, Middle, and North Carter Mtns, and Carter Dome today. While sitting on a rock at lunchtime, three gray jays flew up to beg for food. One actually landed on Mas's toe. This is the boreal jay species. very pretty. The last climb of the day was Mt. Moriah. Met Papa Sarge onthe way down. Stopped for the night at the Rattle River shelter, the first free shelter in the Whites, and planned to head in to Gorham tomorrow morning since it was supposed to be bad rainy weather allday tomorrow. Shared the shelter with what may be the last 3 southbounders. Gorham tomorrow!
Date: 2008-09-12
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Full Goose shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Happy Birthday to me. Today I turned 36 years old. In some bit of birthday significance, I also entered the last state on this journey today: Maine. It's very exciting to know that I've reached this 14th state. One of the other hikers showed me the elevation profile for the day, and there are some steep climbs ahead. The first 60-100 miles of Maine are supposed to be the most challenging onthe trail. Harder (or at least slower) than even the White Mountains. I called Shelly to set the details for her visit in Andover on the 14th. I'm very excited to see her and thankful that she wanted to come up to Maine to visit me. Had a good morning hike, and stopped for a snack at the Gentian Pond shelter, and after that crossed the state line into Maine. The sign at the state line said Maine: The way life should be. Of course it started raining pretty early in the day too. As a result of the rain, and the steep terrain, I fell 4 times today. One ws pretty hard, and painful enough that I sat there for a little while to regain my sense of humor. Made it to Full Goose shelter at 6:45. It was already getting dark due to the season, latitude, and stormy skies. Met 2 more southbounders, and apparenthly there are more to come. Also met some flip-floppers. In addition to the entry into Maine, the birthday highlights were a Whoopie pie birthday cake from Mas, and a birthday serenade sung in a round from Pi and Preacher. A great day. What better setting to start a new year of life.
Date: 2008-09-13
From: Full Goose shelter

To: Baldplate shelter
Miles today: 12.0

Awoke to a cessation of rain. Hooray! Hiked through the famoous Mahousouc Notch. One of those [arts of the trail that you hear about from the beginning of the hike. A crevasse between two steep rock walls or cliffs, filled with huge boulders that you have to scramble over and under. It's supposed to be the most difficult mile of the trail, but really it was quite fun, like a big jungle gym. I just stowed my hiking poles on my pack and worked my way through. Took me an hour and 15 minutes. Good time. Stepped into a bog on top og Fuller Mtn, and sank up to my thigh. Oops. After Mahousouc Notch, I climbed Mahousouc Arm, a 2800 foot, steep climb. After a challenging day, and a bad fall taken by Mas (everyone reports more falls in Maine than anywhee else onthe trail), arrived at the shelter at 6:45.   Hiker Dave was already there, also beat up by the terrain in Maine.
Date: 2008-09-14
From: Baldplate shelter

To: Andover, ME, East B Hill Rd
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: moderate rain

Awoke early to ensure getting to Andover in time to meet Shelly. She flew up to Bangor yeasterday, met some friends for the night, and is driving to Andover tody to meet me by 1pm. It was raining from the beginning of the hike. Right out of the shelter it was a steep climb up West Baldplate Mtn. Then a ridge walk and climb up to East Baldplate. Going over East Baldplate was by far the most treacherous and extreme peak summit yet on the trail. The winds were easily 45mph, pelting rain, and an open, steep, rock face to climb. I ws crwaling over a good part of it. The wind was strong enough to blow you over, and the fog and rain so thick that visibility was fairly short. It was like walking around in a hurricane, but much colder and steeper. GOt over it though, and then eventually made it to East B Hill Rd. AT the rd, Spidey and No-Amp were sitting in No-Amp's Dad's van getting warmed up. We chatted for a while, then when they hiked off, No-Amps Dad gave us a ride into Andover. Met Shelly at the Pine Ellis hostel. It was just wonderful to see her. We hung out for the rest of the day, went to another town for groceries, pizza, and wine, took a walk and caught up on news. Tomorrow we'll hike a biut together, then I'll continue norht, and Shelly will finish a brief tour of Maine before heading south. It's great to see such a good friend. Also, got packages from PAtti and Dad, and a letter from Bud. Thanks to all of you and everyone sending me thoughts and notes of support. Getting close now!
Date: 2008-09-15
From: Andover, ME, East B Hill Rd

To: Hall Mtn lean-to
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Awoke after a surprisingly good sleep in the bunkhouse. Shelly and I walked to the post office to get my maildrops (thanks Dad, Patti and Bud), and I repacked my food bag. My foodbag became VERY HEAVY as a result. I was able to do a few updates on the trailjournals page, and then we identified a section of trail that Shelly and I could hike together. The sky was going back and forth between threatening rain and blustery but sort of clear. It was great to be out hiking with Shelly again. We spent a lot of time hiking together while I was preparing for this trip. We had a really nice section to hike, and the rain held off.   We finished the section and Shelly headed on to continue her tour of Maine. I headed north to the Hell Mtn Lean-to for the night. It was a chilly evening, but I felt really good for having spent time with a good friend.
Date: 2008-09-16
From: Hall Mtn Lean-to

To: Bemis Mtn LEan-to
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Awoke to blue skies on a chilly, but otherwise great day. THe pack is still very heavy, but I'm eating it down slowly. Moody Mtn was a steep climb, as was Blue Mtn. THe food weight inthe pack is a remined of why it's so much better to resupply for 4 days or less, instead of 5-6. Got to the shelter at 6pm, where Hiker Dave, Goose, and SnoPlow were already set up. While I was cleaning myself up, Water walked up! I hadn't seen him since Virginia, and he's now heading southbound after working his summer job. It was great to see him. He's got really good energy. HE informed me that Frumpy/Lactose was off the trail. Very surprising. Waters had also just seen a big bull moose right next to the trail. He walked me back to it and I was able to get within 15 feet, get some good photos, and watch it for a while. AWESOME!
Date: 2008-09-17
From: Bemis Lean-to

To: Rangeley, ME, Riff Raffs Hostel
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Started the day well with an 8AM departure from the lean-to, but spent about an hour on the phone on top of the first peak talking with Dad and Chris. So, when I got hiking again, I was feeling like I'd lost some time (for a good reason though), but as often happens, it was for a good reason. I got down to the road, and the New Hapmshire boys, Snow Plow, Mas, and two guys with a Jeep were there. THe two guys were from the RIff Raffs Friendly hostel that we'd been seing signs for. They were picking up the New Hampshire boys and Snow Plow for a zero day at the hostel, and they had convinced Mas to let them slackpack us for 14 more miles and for us yto spend the night at their hostel. Thy also said we should resupply at Rangely and go to Caratunk for the next resupply, skipping our planned stop at Stratton. So, we gave them our tents, sleeping bags, extra food, etc, and left ourselves with the essentials for the rest of the 14 miles we'd need to cover today.   It turned out to be a very long day. The section we slackpacked was relatively level (no 4,00 foot peaks, but lots of smaller ups and downs). We passed 4 beautiful ponds, and decided it was hot enough to take a swim at Long Pond. My first and only swim in Maine I think. Got to the raod to Rangely at 6pm, and had a very hard time getting the supposedly easy hitch into town. In fact, it was getting dark and cold, and I was getting quite worried about having to walk 9 miles into town in the dark. I finally started sticking my thumb out when cars going the wrong direction were passing in hopes that one of them would take pity on us. And that actually worked. A white van passed going the opposite way, then turned around and came back for us. It was driven by a woman named Six Feet, a southbound hiker who had herniated a disc in her back, and was letting it heal while slacking packing in the area. She took us into Rangely, to the grocery store to get food for the section to Caratunk, and then to the Riff Raff hostel. After we had purchased the food, we mentioned our plan to SixFeet, and she said that there was actually nothing at all available in Caratunk..... THis was confusing and made me worried that I had bought extra food for no reason. Extra pack weight is not a good thing at this point. Anyway, SixFeet dropped us off at the hostel where we were able to get showers and sort food and eat dinner while watching Casino Royale with Voodoo and Twinkletoes. Most of the other hikers went to karaoke with the Riff Raff crew. Slept on the floor of the living room.
Date: 2008-09-18
From: Rangeley, ME, Riff Raff hostel

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Spent the morning at the Riff Raff hostel watching the karaoke crowd work through their hangovers. Some were suffering a bit. I'm glad for multiple reasons not to have participated in that bit of revelry: first of all, I did karaoke once with Vince and Donna, and it was a humiliating experience, and second of all, going to the bar and drinking and staying out late is too tiring now. At 10am, we woke up Superman, and he drove us to the trail. He admitted on the way that he had lied to us about being able to resupply in Caratunk, just to get us to go to the Riff Raff hostel. THis was NOT COOL! THe result was that we were going to have to carry food bags with 5 days of food. Very heavy, and at this point, brutqal on the back and knees. I was very frusterated about this, until......some more trail magic appeared. When we got dropped off at t the trailhead, Six Feet was still there and we chatted with her awhile. We happened to mention the heavy food bag and lie situation, and she volunteered to drive the extra days of food up to Stratton, and leave it in the hostel there for us to pick up. What a savior. It brought my pack weight down by 6 pounds. A major difference in the pack weight, the physical damage to my knees, and my happiness. She's now helped up at 3 significant times. We started off on the climb up Saddleback, and paused at the Piazza ROck Lean-to with SixFeet and Ellie (her dog) for lunch. Then the climb over Saddleback, The Horn, and Saddleback Jr. THis was like being back in the Whites. Lots of above-treeline, alpine areas, lots of steep, treacherous decesents. It took alot longer than we planned, and was a tough section. We got to the shelter pretty late. About 7pm. It was dark shortly after. THere were two section hikers there, a 75 year old woman who thru-hiked in 1998 with the trail name NTO (not-too-old), and and here hikifng partner. THey had gone over the same section we just did which was very impressive. Right before the shelter, I saw a bull moose just off the left side of the trail. It ran off into the woods when it heard me, but I got a clear view. That make 4 moose sightings now. Papa Sarge, Freckles, and Sprite were tenting at the shelter as well.
Date: 2008-09-19
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Carrabassett River stealth camp
Miles today: 13.1

Awoke to a COLD morning (mid 30's) in the shelter. NTO (not-too-old) and her friend were already gone. I must say again, WOW, NTO is 75 years old and hiking big sections of southern Maine, the hardest part of the AT. What an inspiration! It took awhile to get going with the cold and slowness it brings. Started the day hiking with my long underwear under my skirt and a longsleeve shirt over my regular hiking shirt. My fingers were cold and my toes were like little frozen blocks. BUt, with a bit of climbing, everything got warmed up. I was able to take the extra layers off at about 10:30. At 1pm it was lunch time at the Spaulding Mtn Lean-to. THere was a big group there: Spidey, No-amp, Keychain, Zen, Freckles, Sprite, Cookie Monster, Mas, Tailgate, Papa Sarge, and I all celebrated the fact that we now have less than 200 miles to go! WHat a milestone. Both physically and psychologically. MOst of us went a few miles more, and found a great campsite near the Carrabasset River. Fall colors on the river's edge, the sound of flowing water, and a campfire with the hiking family. Each day now brings us so much closer to the end of this journey. We can all really feel its imminence. This night was not nearly as cold as last night. WHew.
Date: 2008-09-20
From: Carrabassett River stealth camp

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

Awoke after a good night by the river. Everyone packed up to head in to Stratton for a night in the hostel and the resupply for the trip to Monson. There were two climbs up the Crocker Mtns. Both were not bad, but a bit long. After the Crockers, it was a long climb down to the road to Stratton. Got a hitch with the first truck that went by. The hostel in Stratton is really nice, big living room, beds upstairs, two showers, internet, etc. Will head out tomorrow over the Bigelow Mtns. THese are the last big climbs of the hike. There will be some smaller peaks, but they are comparatively short.
Date: 2008-09-27
From: Monson, ME

To: The 100 Mile Wilderness
Miles today: 0.0

I walked into Monson,ME yesterday around lunch time. The rumors of bad weather have now been confirmed. Tropical Storm Kyle is bearing down on either Maine or Nova Scotia. It rained all night lasst night. The weather prediction for today and tonight is more rain, andthen heavy rain on Sunday and rain of Monday. Maybe a clearing on Tuesday,but then more rain on Wednesday, and Thursday. The 100 mile Wilderness will be WET, WET, WET! The stream fords will be higher and we'll all be slogging through mud which will slow everyone down.   The debate along the trail tto Monson was "How many days food is the right amount for the 100 mile Wilderness?" It was seeming like 6 or 6.5. Now it seems like 7-8. Too heavy to carry at once though. There is a place to buy some verypricey food items in themiddle of the Wilderness, at a hunt/fish camp called Whitehouse Landing. Quite a few hikers are holing up in Monson for a few days to try to avoid the rain. It would just be toomany days to waitit out though. ANyway, enough of that. We northbounders have been so generally lucky with regards to weather, whats a small thing like a hurricane hitting ME in the last week of the hike......? I'm hoping to summit Katahdin on either the 3rd or 4th. Could possibly be the 5th now. There are about 25 other hikers in the loose pack shooting for the same timeline. Dad will be coming to pick me up at the end. ON to the slog. I'll let everyone know how it goes. Wish me luck.
Date: 2008-10-06
From: Limbo

To: Limbo
Miles today: 0.0

Well, well, well. All of you who thought I was finished on Saturday, or maybe Sunday, or maybe today.......WRONG! I got to the base of Mt. Katahdin on Friday, ready and excited to climb to the summit and finish this journey on Saturday. Snackies, T-Bone, Mas, Tailgate, Wildflowers, and I hiked to Baxter State Park, went to the store at Abol Bridge and bought celebration food and drinks, and went to the thru-hiker campsite at the Birches. We met Chipmunk, Bigglesworth, and the Jersey Girl, who had just come down off the mountain after summiting. When they started their summit, it was a Class 2 day (weather is not great, but trails are open for hiking), and when they were half way up it was downgraded to a Class 4 day (which means that the weather is too dangerous at the peak for hikers to go up, and the mountain is closed by the state park authority). That group was allowed to finish their summit hike since they were past the point of no return, but no-one else was allowed up. Since then (Friday) the mountain has been closed with snow on the peak and ice on the rocks on the trail and peak areas. I have been waiting since then to climb Mt. Katahdin and finish the last 5.2 miles of the hike. Each day of waiting (this is now my third day of waiting), more hikers have gotten into town (Millinocket). We are all stuck here in this small, dying town (the Great Northern paper mill closed a few years ago and the town has been dying since). We are hoping to be allowed to summit tomorrow. But we were hoping to summit yesterday, and the day before (and the day before), as well. By tomorrow, there will be about 40-50 hikers in town, stuck in limbo. I really didn't think that this would happen to me. I planned to summit on the 4th, which is well before the October 15th cut-off for camping inside Baxter state park (and the date that is generally considered the last day by which you have a reasonable chance of summiting. Dad had driven up to pick me up after the summit climb, and he is stuck here in town too, WAITING, WAITING. Even the bowling alley is closed, no museums available (except the antique snowmobile museum), no movie theatre, no historic district, just a lot of depressed and frustrated hikers. Keep your fingers crossed that we might get the go-ahead to climb tomorrow.
Date: 2008-10-07
From: Limbo

To: Mt Katahdin tomorrow
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

The crowd of thru-hikers trapped in Millinocket (around 35 people) has been given a reprieve! The mountain will be open tomorrow, and we will all be allowed to summit!   Yes! Yes! Yes! Our happiness exceeds description. Sadly, Snap, Snack, Savannah, Mosey, Voodoo, Twinkletoes, and the Germans have already left town. They simply didn't have the leeway to wait indefinitely. However, Tailgate, Mas, Freckles, Papa Sarge, Sprite, Willow, Long way tru, Geoff, Wildflowers, Snackies, T-Bone, Cookie Monster, Spidey, No-Amp, White Lightning, MotorButt, Chuck, Naked Time, Hare, Castaway, Kickit, Thinker, KeyChain, Zen, Homeward Bound, Hammer, Flip, FLop, and several others I've not met before will go up. Hooray! Thanks to everyone sending positive energy our way!
Date: 2008-01-20
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up this morning anticipating snow and all we got was a wintry mix....darn....I really wanted some pretty, white snow...oh well..maybe next time. I am continuing to fine tune my plans for the hike. I am really fortunate to have a transcriber now!!! Yea!!!! My sister-in-law TJ has agreed to this responsibility....thank you...thank you! I don't think this will be much trouble for her as I plan to email from the trail and have her upload to my journal...hopefully this will all go smoothly. I may go visit her (and my brother and their children) in Feb so that we can try a few things on this website together. I hope this arrangement will give me a little more free time in trail towns and keep things updated better.In lieu of the weather I decided to go to the mall to walk a few rounds...I ended up walking 8 which is over 7 miles. Our mall is .9 around so.....I walked right at 7 miles. Of course in this climate controlled and flat environment there is not much comparison to the trail but....I have to get exercise whereever I can! Came home and did some upper body with weights...hopefully I will be in decent physical condition when I begin but as everyone knows...those Georgia hills will start whipping you in shape quickly!Hopefully my new trail companion book will arrive in the mail today...I want to get a few more maildrop addresses and tentative planning finished this week.OK...off to get busy.See you soon in Georgia!Bluebelle
Date: 2008-01-29
From: Home

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It is amazing to me how often our 'plans' seem to change in this life. I have been busy anticipating soooo many things that I hope to do this year and each day....the more I contact people or read or email....more opportunities arise as well as some seem to evaporate. I guess one could learn a lot about flexibility and acceptance while making this journey.The anticipation is building! I am wondering who will be on the trail around the end of March. I see alot of posts beginning a little earlier but not so many around my start date. Would like to hear from more people starting about the same time. It is really fun to look for each other up and down the trail.Unfortunately I have discovered a break in the sole of my boots...now I need to buy another pair. I have some Lowa's I can wear but would like to have a second pair in the wings if possible. I know there are outfitters up and down the trail but I would like to know I don't have to take the time to try to find a boot along the way. What is everybody wearing these days? Also I am looking for some new...lightweight gaitors...low ones...brands??? It looks like we are heading to the smokies this weekend to visit friends. I don't know if we will hike...this is a pretty quick trip....but...I will have trouble being around the mountains and not getting out on a trail....I might have to get up really early and get a quick hike in somewhere.OK...much to do today around the house.Looking forward to hearing from all of you.