morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-09-13
From: Rangely

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-To
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: light rain

Back on the trail at nine after eating things found in the hiker box for breakfast. Damp and overcast, we feared rain on the summits. Long but leisurely climb up Saddleback. Fell off a puncheon into a bog. Covered in mud. Met up with Orion shortly after breaking treeline, greeted by the beauty of the rocky tundra, sweet, tangy blueberries. Sat with Orion and Slayer, after she caught up with us, sharing the bottle of port I'd packed out of town, admiring the view¢¦grey flat wall of cloud to the right, the other side of the mountain allowing us a glimpse of the layered Maine mountains, bright green of the boglands, lakes shining as they caught the sun as it slipped between heavy-bottomed clouds.Finally, we got cold and hiked on, across the saddle, where I had to get water from a bog because I¢d run out. The sun came out and it got quite hot for a little while. Scurried up to the summit of Horn Mtn. where we stopped again, had a snack, broke out the bottle of port we¢d packed out of Rangely, passed it around between the three of us. Magnificent view back across the saddle to Saddleback¢s summit. Saw falcons, a strange bird that looked like a large sandpiper. Slightly tipsy, we began the slippery climb down off the mountain. Heard Oat¢s pipe playing, even though she was far behind us, the sound carried through the wet air. Got to Poplar Ridge Lean-To, where Bogey and Bacall were already settled. Took a long time because the wood was all soaked through, but eventually got a good blaze going. A bunch of other NOBO¢s arrived, the shelter was packed, tents everywhere. Slept uncomfortably on the shelter¢s baseball bat floor.
Date: 2008-09-14
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-To

To: Caribou Valley Rd.
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: broken clouds

Wet, wet, horrible morning, all day climbing up wet slippery rocks in the pouring rain. Creek fords, swollen waterfalls less hazardous than expected, though. Stopped after eight miles to huddle in a shelter, eat lunch. Finally got so cold that it hurt and had to start hiking to get my blood circulating again. Went over Sugarloaf Mtn, rain petering off into a cold mist. Trail was soaking wet, boots drenched. The trail ran across bare ridgeline for a ways where a rockslide had occurred, an alien landscape of rock, the rest of the world obliterated by mist, a flat, grey nothingness. the wind hitting us full on, chilling us. Had to climb down the rockslide, unforgiving slick coal grey rock. aspen trees a naked white against the dark sky, yellow leaves hanging wetly on their branches. Forded the Carabasset River on a bowing plank of wood, rushing white water, reaching Caribou Valley ¢road¢ soon after. Joel was supposed to meet us there, but we had to hike down a half mile or so because the rocky mess of a road had proved impassible. Glad to see Joel. It was a slow four miles¢ drive out to a paved road. Went in to Stratton, but there were no vacancies anywhere because of the rain. We ate dinner at the White Wolf Inn, huge burger loaded with sausage, bacon, mushrooms and veggies. Drove 40 minutes to Farmingham to check in to some little hotel for the night. Slept hardly at all, sweaty, the room stifling, humid.
Date: 2008-09-15
From: Caribou Valley Rd.

To: Cranberry Stream Campsite
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Fall in Maine. Feels like everything¢s coming to an end. I¢ve missed a whole growing season, walking the year through to its ruin. The wind has had a threatening note to it all day. Ferns are brown and dead, leaves beginning to stand out in a blaze of reds, apple-bright, and crisp yellows. Spent the morning in Farmingham, doing the usual chores of resupply and laundry. Ate breakfast in a truck stop diner, good food which sat poorly on my stomach. It¢s strange how out-of-place I feel out in public now¢¦.I¢m totally detached from that sort of world. It¢s harder and harder to relate to people off-trail. There¢s just so little common ground. Quaky and ill from not having slept. Joel dropped us off back at the trail so we could slackpack 8 12 miles. Chilly grey above the mountains contrasting against the warm, blue-skied valley. Terribly steep climb made us glad to be pack-less. We hiked quickly, even jogging in some places. The trail was perfectly flat after the two peaks we had to summit. Melancholy feeling about nearing the end. I am weary and looking forward to Katahdin, but I don not want to return to Ohio. I don¢t think I ever really dreamed that we¢d actually make it to Maine. Now we¢re so close. Joel stuffed us full of junk food before heading home. We waited out a brief rain shower before hiking out, our packs laden with food. It was a flat two miles to Cranberry Stream Campsite, where we pitched our tarps and enjoyed a quiet evening by ourselves. Huge mossy boulders with ferns growing on top, a massive wasp¢s nest, dying paper birch festooned with preposterous bolls. My chafing¢s finally healing, although my toe still seems infected. Chilly night, windy. Awoke sometime late to the eerily beautiful pale light of the moon that had broken through the clouds. Seems the weather¢s finally broken.
Date: 2008-09-16
From: Cranberry Stream Campsite

To: Little Bigelow Lean-To
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Wind howled ferociously all night, blew away the clouds. Woke late to eerie moonpale illumination streaming through the trees. Slept warm. Out of camp early, climbing immediately, damp pine forests, pillows of moss, huge boulders with secret caves and hollows beneath, red earth, dying ferns. Uphill forever, finally reaching a viewpoint near a huge, jutting finger-like rock.   Looking across the col at Horn Pond and the forked mountain beyond. Lilies floating in the sky-reflecting water, massive rocks walling in the water. The trail dipped down a rocky slope into the col before beginning the climb up Horn Mtn. Painful ascent, breaking out of the trees for a moment to look out to the improbable spire of Bigelow before plummeting downwards again, running a swagged ridgeline before ascending the mountain. The climb wasn¢t that bad, but tiring, as we¢d already climbed two other large peaks. Orion and Oats were on the summit, a jumble of lichen-painted rocks, beautiful in their starkness, Avery peak looming just opposite. We took a long lunch break to admire the beauty, Flagstaff lake a puzzle of blue below, the Horns dwarfed behind us, Sugarloaf a mess of ski runs in the distance. Ate an ill-advised tin of oysters, and was burping them up all afternoon. Finally hiked on, a steep descent into the col, an easy quarter mile to the summit of Avery, windswept, blanketed with lingonberries and lowbush blueberries. Reluctant to leave the world above treeline, but headed down, racing the evening sun, painful descent followed by an easy climb up Little Bigelow that seemed to last forever, with one false summit after another. Blueberries and lake views in the late evening light. Washed in ¢the Tubs,¢ too cold to swim in the perfectly carved stream bed. Feeling a bit ill. Slept soon after eating dinner, cold, cold night. We¢ve now hiked 2000 miles. Can¢t get my head around that fact.
Date: 2008-09-28
From: Bangor, ME

To: Eastport, ME
Miles today: 0.0

Didn¢t get moving until around noon, when we went to Dicehart¢s truckstop diner for breakfast¢¦heaping portions of biscuits and gravy, too much coffee. Said goodbye to Pat, then headed North to Eastport, grey day, spitting rain, four hour drive to Joel¢s mother¢s property, a bunch of cabins on the edge of a steel grey lake. We took over one of the cabins, rushing about moving in our belongings, starting a fire in the fireplace, beginning preparations for a dinner of steak and potatoes. It was a wonderful, relaxed evening filled with dead cow and beer and wine.
Date: 2008-03-24
To: First and Last Entry Before Starting
Miles today: 0.0

Alright...I think I'm only gonna have one "prep" entry. I don't really like those journals where they start writing about their journey like 2 years before it. I'm always like, come on, get to the hike, we get it. So the next entry will either be to say I'm heading down to Georgia or that I'm already on the trail.I've sold my car, got rid of my phone, canceled my climbing gym membership, and I'm at the point where I don't really own much, nor do I want to own much...this is kindof an experiment in minimalism, life philosophy, and adventure. It seems the more time goes on, the more I realize we don't really need things. It's funny that in these supposedly enlightened times, we still don't recognize the basic madness that the accumulation of things doesn't lead to a greater quality of life.Thanks to everyone who came out the last party - I know some people didn't make it because of my lack of a phone, I suppose that's one of the downsides of being suddenly inaccessible. I didn't really think about the fact that it was going to be the last time I saw most of you, and it really hit home that night.So it's sortof settling in now...I'm going for it. This Saturday, March 29th, I'm heading down to Georgia. The train doesn't get there until the 30th at 7:00am. I'll start making my way over the approach trail at that time. I had the idea of reserving a shuttle from Gainesville to Amicalola State Park, where the trail begins, but I think I'm just gonna start my hitchhiking right off the bat, even though I've heard it can take a little while to accomplish this. I have quite a bit of money saved in the bank, and the only way I'm going to keep it over the next year is to do everything as cheaply as is humanly possible. We'll see how my luck fares.For those of you who don't know, the plan after the trail is to travel in Asia starting in India, then to make my way to South Korea where I'll be working for about 6 months. The whole trip, including the trail, will be about a year and a half.There's a strange feeling settling in now, before the trail, where I'm not really doing anything, and I've gotten rid of a lot of my stuff, and I've said goodbye to my friends...a kind of excited feeling of loneliness that's good and bad at the same time...I'm just embracing it because I know it will be nothing but amplified at certain times along the trail.The best preparation is knowing that nothing can prepare me for what lies ahead.Thanks to everyone who encourages me, my friends and family, and all you climbers, high school friends, and co-workers. Feel free to sign my guestbook by clicking "Sign" on the left. Hopefully you'll all be walking alongside me with this thing.-AndrewBones
Date: 2008-03-30
From: Amicalola State Park

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow - my first day...Mike Brown picked me up from the train station and we had a really good time at breakfast catching up. He drove me to Amicalola and took pictures of me before I started. I was so excited I climbed the stone arch and stood on top of it. It was really weird taking the first step - I was so psyched. I was going really fast and passing everyone but I got really hungry and ran out of energy. But I didn't let myself eat until the top of Springer Mountain, where I rabidly consumed cookies, pistachios, and beef jerky. It was really foggy and a bit rainy. It was really cold on Springer - like 35 degrees. I met a lot of thru-hikers today - Lexi and Joel (from Maine), Doxie and Adam, Jim and Liz, Streak, and Greg. Like I said I outpaced everyone but I exhausted myself from not eating and then took a long time to eat, so we all ended up at Stover Creek shelter, wgere we are right now. It's a nice new sghelter and we're on the 2nd floor. I hiked with Jim and Liz today, mostly. Also, had my first "trail magic" in the form of "Hugs" drinks and cookies from Mountain Squid.
Date: 2008-03-31
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I got up and on the trail before anyone else. I didn't feel sore and the trail was flat, so I was making awesome time. I took too much time getting water at Hawk Mtn shelter and by the time I got back, Streak had passed me and Greg was just coming in for water. I caught Streak but couldn't keep up with him - he's 19 and really pounds up hills. Although pushing too hard was what caused him to get off the trail on his 2006 southbound thru. He got 500 miles in and quit from a hip injury from not listening to his body. He's a nice guy though. I actually passed him again because he decided not to stay in the Gooch Gap shelter tonight (where I am). Apparently Hawk Mtn shelter was horrible last night and he thought most of the people there would be at Gooch. Apparently it was packed with about 30 people, several of whom got off the trail. I met two o the people getting off - "Can-Do" (ironically) and one other guy. I tried to convince them to stay but they were pretty set and wanted a homecooked meal and bed. It's too bad - they must have spent a long time preparing, only to quit after their first day. It appears Streak's fears were unfounded - at least for now...there's only 5 others here (also, Lexi and Joel are in a tent) - Derek, Burass, Greg, Hokewa, and Ohm. Ohm pronounces his name "Ohm," like the chant but he says it's short for Old Hairy Man. However, he acknowledges the Buddhist connection too.So I think I won't push it so hard anymore...Streak gave me some sane advice today:1. The first week (or two), do only 10-12 miles per day (which has been plenty).2. For the first hour, force yourself to walk slower to warm up - then stretch.Because right now I'm wearing myself out after 5 miles or so, then getting to the shelter before everyone else, exhausted, then havnig everyone show up to the same shelter anyway.I'm figuring out how to do things more efficiently now - after it took me so long to get water at Hawk Mtn I resolved to put my SteriPen (UV-light filter) in my pants pocket. I also took snacks out and put them in my pockets and hip belt pockets on my pack. I guess the goal is to not have to open my pack all day because that takes a lot of time out.Streak gave me some other good advice - roll my ukelele up in my sleeping pad and put it all on top of my bag. This works much better than putting them next to each other, as I had been doing.Weather had been a little less rainy and a little less cold, but still foggy and rainy.
Date: 2008-04-01
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Hole Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: light rain

Today was interesting - I got up late because I couldn't sleep last night after getting some early sleep in the shelter. Plus there were some really loud snorers...even though I had my earplugs in. It's ok though cause everyone got a late start, and I just got up with everyoen else. I'm out of breakfast food so I cooked up half a dinner for breakfast. I had a rough start - I came back once to check if I had left anything, then I hiked up the trail suddenly had to urgently go to the bathroom. This was good because I hadn't gone the whole trip. I don't have any toilet paper, but wet leaves worked better in my opinion. Then I hiked on a nd realized something - I *had* left something at the shelter - my water bottle. So I walked the 0.5 miles back to the shelter and got it. So I didn't reallt get on the trail until about 9:30am. But I was far from the last person to go. It had rained all night and when we got up it was still foggy and rainy (it had not yet cleared from this on the entire trip). I was telling myself to go slower today, my legs were still store from yesterday and it was obvious I needed to be taking it easier and getting to the shelter later. A couple hours into the hike I got to a nice overlook spot and rested there a bit (before this I was hiking w/PonyBoy but he moved on) and stretched and drank and ate. I also used my tripod to take a couple pictures of myself (first time using the tripod - weighs only 2 oz). Doxie and Adam passed me while I was there, and miraculously, *the sun came out*. It was crazy - the fog burned up and all of a sudden the foggy overlook was a *view*. Then the temperatutre jumped and we were all in t-shirts. I actually got sunburned. The weather is so tempermental in the mountains. I hiked past, and was passed by, Ohm, many times today. That man is the picture of consistency. He gets the same miles done as me. He looks about 50-100 lbs overweight (sorry Ohm if you're reading this). He just goes slow and doesn't stop. I was resting and talking to people all day after having passed Ohm...each time he would catch up and I would have to hike behind him again. We were playing the tortoise and the hare all day. It's funny. I also followed the wrong trail for about 0.4 miles today after I saw Streak (his hip is hurting him, so he stopped early) - that made me mad. Lexi and Joel stopped early because she has badly hurt her knee. Hope she's alright. She said she won't let it stop her so she had the right attitude. Today felt *long*...the resting helped to ease into the miles but I still ended up really sore and tired at the end of the day. I'll be alright...I'm just waiting to get my hiker legs. Woddy Gap is a small shelter, I'm tenting for the first time tonight. We had made a fire (I played for everyone for the first time with the ukulele, that was good) and it started raining. So we all headed for the tents. Luckily I had already hung my food so I just got in right away. Neel's Gap tomorrow, a major milestone...everyone's excited for that. We lost another thru-hiker today - Harry got off the trail.
Date: 2008-04-02
From: Woody Hole Shelter

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

I ams so sore, sunburned, and tired. What a huge day...woke up to hiking with AMAZING views, with fog filling the valleys...looked like a white lake with mountains poking out of it. Went to Neel's Gap - that was actually fairly uneventful. There was a christian group giving out free hamburgers - those were really good (I had 3). Then I bought some food, but I forgot to buy a windscreen and one other thing I wanted but I forgot what it is now. I also should have bought sunscreen because I got burned yesterday but I got absolutely baked today. Luckily some section hikers camping across from me gave me some for tomorrow. My neck and my arms really got it. After Neel's Gap I was feeling really strong (I found good posture improves energy for hiking) and really took off down the trail. I ran out of water and made the decision to go 4.5 more miles without water. Fortunately, turns out there was a water source after all, but I can't believe I was gonna do that. I pushed all the way to Low Gap shelter - 15 miles. I completely hit a wall after about 12 and I'm really sore now. Not sure how many miles I'll do tomorrow. Today feels like it had so many parts...the highest highs and the lowest lows. I am still committed, still want to keep moving. Today I met Sarah and Johnny (section hikers), Tarpinator, Sweat Hog (interested in my uke), and You Go Girl (who was having trouble when I passed her but who made it here to Low Gap shelter anyway).So much for my low mileage day...(Oh, also want to add that I got to talk to my Dad today on a payphone at Neel's Gap).
Date: 2008-04-03
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Urgh...morale is low among the troops right now...horrible, depressing weather. Bitter cold, wind, fog, and drippy rain. Everyone is talking about going into town and taking the day off. Some are headed for Hiawasee, others for the closer Helen. Today was my long awaited low mileage day. I only did 7.2 - walked from Low Gap shelter to Blue Mountain shelter. Meant to just stay for lunch but decided to take a nap in the shelter, fell asleep for about 4 hours, then decided to stay and setup my tent. I needed this. So do all the others that pushed on...I think they're going too hard. PonyBoy, You Go Girl, and Spam/Juggernaut are in the shelter and I'm in my tent. PonyBoy wants to split a room in Helen tomorrow (only 2 miles away). I'm tempted but I don't know if I'm ready to get off the trail yet, despite the weather. It is certainly depressing.
Date: 2008-04-04
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawasee
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: light rain

OK - this entry isn't out of my journal because I'm in the town of Hiawasee right now at a library computer. I just typed in all my paper journals entries - that took a while. Make sure you use the dropdown menu at the top left to check out all my earlier entries.Last night was horrible. It is so wet and cold and foggy. I am an interesting combination of misery right now - cold, wet, sore, tired, and (of all things) - badly sunburned. We made the decision to hike only 2 miles out of Blue Mountain shelter to Unicoi Gap (where there's a road) and hitchhike into the trail town of Hiawassee. It was a really good decision. This is a good place to rest, resupply on food, enter our entries into our online journals, go to restaurants. After this we're going to an all you can eat Chinese buffett. PonyBoy is on the computer to the left of me right now.We hitchhiked in from Unicoi gap and got a ride with a woman named Jennifer...we rode in the back of her pickup truck for the 11 miles into town. It was a lot of fun. It was me, PonyBoy, and Babu Simba. PonyBoy is 27 and from Golden, Colorado (hence, "Stay Golden PonyBoy!" from The Outsiders). Babu Simba is 70 and will probably live to 100. He climbed Kilimanjaro and was given the name Babu Simba ("Old Lion") by the sherpas there. I've taken the trail name Bones, which was my old camp name given to me when I was 11. Your trail name is your identity out there.We're staying in the Hiawassee Inn with a bunch of other hikers. The owner is *really* nice and completely caters to hikers.I wish I could upload pictures but I forgot my camera cable...I'm getting it later on and I'll upload them then, but none for now.I feel like there's a lot I'm leaving out, but that's all I can think of for now...
Date: 2008-04-05
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: moderate rain

Water, water, water...everything is wet again. I'll have to remind myself to setup my tent when it's light out...not sure if I picked a good spot or not and it was a bit of a pain setting up in the dark. I knew I was supposed to tent, even though the shelter seemed a good option with only one person in it...just as I was leaving, three highschool aged section hikers stormed in with a husky and started making noise...I can still hear them crashing around in there. I'm just outside Deep Gap shelter. I thought there was noone here at first, when I arrived around 5:00pm, but Ref was on the top floor. I wasn't sure what to make of him at first but he's the kindof guy you have to talk to for a while to get to know. He's a good guy, a PA state trooper for 26 years. He's a boyscout guy and actually knows the name of a guy I used to work with at Jefferson who was involved with the boyscouts. Today was supposed to be low miles but I ended up doing 13. PonyBoy and I hitched in with a really crazy southern guy ("I can't own a gun anymore...the gov'ment took my rights away..."). Then we hiked about 5 miles from Unicoi gap to Tray Mtn and had free hamburgers from the boyscouts who had setup camp there...I told PonyBoy I'd meet him at Addis Gap (he wanted to stay longer at Tray), but then I took off and was feeling good enough to make it to Deep Gap. I should have left him a note, hope he doesn't care. I think today was the most in-shape I have felt on the whole trip. 13 miles seemed pretty easy but after in the rain I was ready to stop. 13 is still a lot and my legs were definitely feeling it, but not as much as before. (Note: I just figured out how to pee outside my tent without getting out of my sleeping bag...awesome). I bought instant coffee at the grocery store in Hiawassee and now I'm peeing like crazy.Weather channel says sun tomorrow...we're all ready for it...tent is dripping INSIDE from consensation...