morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-01
From: campsite - 0.2 past Mahoosic Notch

To: Baldpate Leanto
Miles today: 9.6

September welcomed us with a challenge. The climb up Mahoosic Arm was steep. I fell twice and my right wrist has the scars to prove it. It is skinned and slightly swollen from so many impacts over the last few days. I also sustained minor scrapes on my left ankle, both knees and my rear end. But, these are simply battle scars -- proof of my toughness!I actually woke up last night with my arms aching. They are so tired from the Notch. It is hard to hold up both yourself and a pack.We ate a lot today to make up for missing dinner last night. The trail was pretty, but still challengin. We finally passed out of AMC territory (for which we are grateful). The fees were kindof excessive. At lunch today we noticed that some of the leaves are starting to change.It's so hard to believe we are in our final state. Three weeks from tomorrow is our anticipated Summit day.This is all the updating I could fit in during my allotted 30 min of computer use at the library.... the rest will come after Katahdin.... keep checking back.
Date: 2006-09-02
From: Baldpate Leanto

To: Pine Ellis Hostel ~ Andover, ME
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

I can¢t seem to stop falling. I don¢t know if I am just overly exhausted or if I am less careful recently, or what? But time after time I find myself sprawled on the ground. My wrists, knees and legs are beginning to look rather battered. This trail is slowly destroying me. Once today I dove forward on the trail, further skinning my wrist on pebbles and dirt. Another time I found myself tangled in ¢fragile alpine vegetation.¢ So now in addition to being a clutz I am a murderer of protected plantlife.Last night we were at Baldpate Shelter with Paul with Bunions and a trail crew. We retired early and were up and hiking by 7 AM. Quickly we climbed West and East Baldpate. It was surreal on top of these bald mountains. We were climbing up sheer rock faces with only haphazard cairns to mark our way. The wind was strong and we could literally see clouds and fog whizzing past us. The terrain and wind were what we imagine conditions on the moon to be like. I suspect those summits would have been amazing on a more clear day. Even today they were impressive.After the two balds the terrain became much less brutal. We made good time and even took a mini-detour to see a waterfall. We were lucky to reach the road to Andover at the same time as some section hikers we had spoken with briefly on the trail earlier in the afternoon. They gave us a ride into town which was lucky because the road was rather desolate otherwise.We ate lunch, resupplied and settled in at this hostel/B&B/house. There are a ton of hikers in town. Every place is overflowing. We haven¢t made a definitive decision about when we are leaving yet. We may decide to zero here instead of in the next town we had planned on because tomorrow is supposed to be really rainy anyway and this is a less expensive place to stay anyway. Our bodies are hurting so they are tempting a zero tomorrow.*** BREAKING NEWS ***In an unprecedented and completely unexpected turn of events Souleman used his first privy on the entire Appalachian Trail last night. He hiked 1910.1 miles before using his first outdoor bathroom. Inconceivable.In other big news we have passed the 1900 mile mark.
Date: 2006-09-03
From: Pine Ellis Hostel ~ Andover, ME

To: Pine Ellis Hostel ~ Andover, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

An entire day spent relaxing. We ate breakfast at the diner, watched tennis all day (saw Agassi¢s last match ever), ate dinner, played Clue with Lichen and Carbomb and slept hard. A perfect, pleasant rain-caused zero. It rained all day reassuring us that we made the right decision about time off.
Date: 2006-09-04
From: Andover, ME

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

It seems that somehow the early Georgia crowds are now all packed into Maine. We expected to get to Maine and be relatively isolated. In fact, I think we were actually looking forward to the relative isolation. But instead we find ourselves in the middle of throngs of thru-hikers. Today alone we have seen 13 thru-hikers. We are camped with seven others. This is rather reminiscent of the early tenting areas near shelters in Georgia when sites were packed to the maximum. Everyone is nice and it¢s nice to put faces with names we have heard or read in registers. Still, Maine has not been what we anticipated.One of the hikers we met today is named Model-T. He wrote ¢Walking on the Happy Side of Misery¢ which was one of the first AT books that I read in preparation for my hike last year. It was really neat to meet the author of a book I¢ve read. This is his fourth thru-hike. He told me that he has a new book out about the Legends on the AT. We will have to pick that one up.The trail was extremely muddy today. I didn¢t fall at all though so I guess the extra rest in Andover may have rejuvenated me a little. The terrain wasn¢t too bad and we went much more quickly that we have been going since the Whites which was encouraging. Supposedly after tomorrow the trail gets a little easier. We¢ll see.
Date: 2006-09-05
From: South Arm Road

To: Bemis Stream
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I must express awe at the number of people who are slackpacking recently. It seems that as many people on any given section have been slacking as not. I¢ll readily admit that slack-packing is unquestionably less taxing on one¢s body. It is probably a faster way to travel as well. And I have no qualms with anyone who chooses to slackpack. But personally I would feel like I was cheating if I slackpacked. I made it my goal to hike north from GA to ME passing every single white blaze while wearing my pack on my back. So far I have been able to abide by my self-inflicted guidelines. This is a challenge occasionally because so many of my fellow hikers are slackpacking day after day. It is hard to watch them pull ahead because they can do more miles without packs. But I think the hardest part is watching other hikers hike south as I am trudging north. Some do this because going south on certain sections is less difficult. Although I am sometimes jealous of their faster pace, I remind myself that in only a few more weeks I will be able to stand on top of Katahdin knowing that I stuck to my principles the entire way. That is what is important for each person ¢ hiking the trail the way that seems right to him. Every step of the way I will have hiked north past whatever the white blazes placed in front of me while hauling all the gear I needed on my back. Many others will summit Katahdin this year but I believe there will be few who have chosen to be purist. No method of hiking is superior and I don¢t think my decision is any more respectable. I will just be proud to have stuck to my principles.Anyway, I¢ll get off my soap box¢¦. Today was a good day. The mileage is still slow. We hear it gets easier tomorrow. We went over Old Blue and the Bemis Range today. There were some spectacular views.We saw Mom and Windtalker again today which was enjoyable. Also we heard that Lichen and Carbomb had to slow down because she hurt her knee. While we are sad that she is injured, we are excited at the prospect of seeing them again.I can tell that our hike is nearing the end. Slowly our gear is breaking down. The stuff sack for our tent got a large hole in it this morning. The hood to my pack has a few rips. So does my food bag. My poles are all banged up and my boots have holes in them. Our tent has a hole in the mesh, Souleman¢s pack is ripped ¢¦ it¢s definitely time to be done.
Date: 2006-09-06
From: Bemis Stream

To: Gull Pond Lodge ~ Rangely, ME
Miles today: 13.9

Today will stand apart from all the others in our memories. Today we saw our first moose. It was a female and she was HUGE. We heard rustling in the trees to the left of the trail. I expected it to be another chipmunk or squirrel, but when I saw a dark blur taller than me I knew it was a moose. I could only see her body through the trees. But Souleman could see her whole head since he was tall enough to see over the trees. He picked me up and I could see her whole head ¢ it was huge. Her ears alone were easily three times as big as my hand. She was the size of an elephant but she stretched her neck to get leaves like a giraffe. It was incredible to see a real live moose.It has been horrendously muddy. Much of the trail is thick, oozey mud. We have to hop from rock to branch to log in an effort to keep our feet remotely dry. Even with the slippery terrain I managed to remain on my feet all day. Yay!Today¢s other exciting news was that we were able to do 2 miles/hour almost all day. We did 13.9 miles by 4:00. We just missed the post office which closed at some strange hour. The post office doesn¢t open tomorrow until 9:30 AM. What kind of hours are those? Grrr! At least we can sleep in a little. But I guess we won¢t be able to make as many miles as we had hoped.I love southern Maine. Everyone we have met is so incredibly friendly. The towns are little and quaint. The houses are mostly log cabins and are far apart with lots of wooded land between them. We can totally see ourselves living in Maine. Maybe a cabin on a lake? That would be incredible.
Date: 2006-09-07
From: Gull Pond Lodge ~ Rangely, ME

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

Extremely tired, so tonight I¢ll bullet:¢¢        Didn¢t leave town til noon¢¢        Went over Saddleback Couldn¢t see Washington of Katahdin¢¢        Heard another moose (no sighting)¢¢        Saw sunset on Junior Saddleback¢¢        Last 12 mile in dark¢¢        Slept poorly last night¢¢        Everything wrong at breakfastI¢m tired tonight and sore. I banged my knee hard today (right before the end of the day as I was cockily thinking about how I¢d remained on my feet all day) ¢ got the message, God.We are so near the end now. Souleman is being so encouraging. He is very affirming and praising of my accomplishments every day. I could learn a few things from his positive encouraging behavior. I have so little energy out here, but that is not an excuse. I need to try harder.
Date: 2006-09-08
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: few clouds

LESS THAN 200 MILES TO GO!! And since we define our hike by Wingfoot¢s book, that is less than four handbook pages. We are so close to the Hundred Mile Wilderness which is essentially the victory lap. I have dreamed about the Hundred Mile Wilderness since I first decided I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. It is the most remote section of the trail. I¢m excited to tackle that section.We got a pretty early start this morning ¢ especially considering our late arrival last night. Quickly we caught up with Lichen and Carbomb whom we hiked with the rest of the day. The four of us seem to get along quite well. The boys are exited to watch football together tomorrow in town. I¢m hoping Lichen and I can find some other form of entertainment. The hike was pleasant today ¢ nothing too hard. We actually averaged close to 2 miles/hour again. There weren¢t really any views today, but the weather was perfect and the trail was totally manageable. There seemed to be a lot less mud too.Tomorrow we have to try to get to Stratton post office before 11:30. It is 7 12 miles and there are two huge mountains in-between. We¢ll see.My body is completely anti-grunge lately. It is revolting against the lack of showers and the excessive sweating.   I have more sore spots on my body than I care to count. My feet are essentially rotting again too. Sigh. Soon enough I can stop abusing myself. Even though I am putting my body through torture, I wouldn¢t trade this experience for anything.Today at a large river crossing there was a 2x4 laid across these two massive boulders about eight feet off the water that we had to walk across. It wasn¢t secured or anchored in any way. Lichen was first in line and she just walked right across it. I did the same before I had time to think about how dangerous this probably was. It¢s amazing the dangerous climbs and crossings that we have unquestioningly trudged across simply because the blazes told us to do so.
Date: 2006-09-09
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: White Wolf Inn ~ Stratton, ME
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

We hit the trail early and pushed hard over South and North Crocker Mountains. The climbs were consistent and relatively challenging. After those mountains we pushed hard because we had to make the post office to get our mail drop in time. Eventually I recommended that Souleman go ahead because I was afraid I couldn¢t get to the road quickly enough. So he hurried ahead. It took us a couple tries to separate. First we realized that he had all the water. Then we realized that I had the Wingfoot book and he didn¢t know which way to hitch into town. It turns out that all of our worrying and strategizing was for nothing because when I got to the road he was still trying to get a ride. I had hiked really quickly because I was afraid to hitch by myself. It is amazing what speed a little fear can put into your step. Quickly a truck pulled over and said he would do his best to get us to the post office on time. He was the owner of a bar/restaurant in town and said that we should come check out his band that night. When he pulled over to the curb I left Souleman to gather our gear from the cab and I ran into the post office. It was 11:26 when I ran in the door and I was extremely happy to have made it in time to collect our mail drop.We checked in to the White Wolf Inn, did laundry, showered and ended up at dinner with a huge group of hikers. The service was awful, the food mediocre, but the company was fun. It reminded me of the restaurant in Damascus, VA where we had about 20 hikers crowded around one small table in the bar. Then after dinner the guys (Souleman, Burner and Carbomb) watched football and the girls (Fung-Shui, Lichen, 42, She-Bear, Pinata, Lightweight and others) alternated between the game with the guys and other random shows in other rooms. Late that night Souleman and I went across the street to the bar to check out the band. The music was pretty good and the people-watching was excellent entertainment. The bar was full of an eclectic mix of people. It was perfectly Maine. We danced a little and soaked in the scenery.
Date: 2006-09-10
From: White Wolf Inn ~ Stratton, ME

To: White Wolf Inn ~ Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Score! We talked Carbomb and Lichen AND Burner and Fung-Shui into zeroing with us. We all had a lazy day of TV watching. Carbomb and Lichen were in and out of our room all day. We went to dinner with all of them and Too Much and Enough. It was nice to finally meet them. We enjoyed spending time with everyone all day.
Date: 2006-09-11
From: White Wolf Inn ~ Stratton, ME

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

Currently I'm thinking of the song lyrics: ¢Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?¢I know exactly where I was on 9/11/01. It was my first day of classes at Furman. This morning there were all sorts of special shows on TV commemorating 9/11. We flipped through them as we packed. We ate breakfast with Carbomb and Lichen and then the four of us hitched back to the woods. We all hiked together all day today. The trail was nice ¢ though somewhat slow-going today. We had great views off Bigelo Range including our first official view of KATAHDIN!! The end (quite literally) is in sight!It was fun to hike with other people today. There was a lot of silly conversation. It sounds like the four of us are going to try to coordinate our mileage for the rest of the trip. That will be a lot of fun. It will be incredible to spend more time together and then summit as a group.
Date: 2006-09-12
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: Sandy Stream Road
Miles today: 14.8

Highlights only tonight:¢¢        We hiked all day with Lichen and Carbomb¢¢        We passed the 2,000 mile mark (three times)¢¢        Making up lyrics to ¢Santa Claus is Coming to Town¢ about Wingfoot¢¢        Missing huge trail magic by 5 minutes¢¢        Talking about how you never know when it is the last time you will see someone on the trail. Saying we might not see Fung Shui and Burner again and then them catching us only minutes later.¢¢        Camping on the side of the road only inches away from tire tracks¢¢        Having trouble with the bear bag hanging¢¢        Flat trail finally!!¢¢        Souleman¢s hiking stick being dropped over and over.¢¢        Seeing a white owl up close.
Date: 2006-09-13
From: Sandy Stream Road

To: Pleasant Pond Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

This trail is rapidly reaching its end. We have fewer and fewer milestones left. Today we took the ¢ferry¢ across the Kennebec River. It is a canoe that a man operates during certain hours each day to transport hikers to the other side. That is actually the official route. The canoe has a white blaze on the bottom. The waters rose as we waited for our turn after FungShui and Burner. Souleman expertly helped the man paddle us across and we were soon on the other side waiting for Lichen and Carbomb.The trail was really nice before the ferry but after it went steadily up and was rocky and root covered. Compared to what we have been hiking lately it was wonderful though. We hiked the 7 miles really quickly even with the uneven terrain. We just made it in to the shelter without headlamps even though we didn¢t leave the store (where we snacked/resupplied) after the ferry until 4:45 and it gets dark around 7:15 now.This morning there was a ¢bridge¢ over a river made out of a split tree. It was wobbly and long enough to be scary. My legs actually shook as I went over the bridge because I was nervous. I inched across the bridge very slowly with my heart pounding.
Date: 2006-09-14
From: Pleasant Pond Shelter

To: Woods Road
Miles today: 14.6

I think I actually saw a leaf changing color today. It was green with a splash of red spreading out over it. I felt like if I stood there for a few minutes the whole leaf would be vibrant red. It is neat to be such a part of the changing seasons. We can¢t help but notice every change out here. The air is more crisp, the leaves are turning and the ground has even had frost a few mornings. The other morning when we were packed and ready to start hiking it was only 38 degrees.When we woke up this morning it was raining ¢ as it had been most of the night. I was really grateful to be dry inside the shelter. Everyone really squeezed last night to make room for us in the shelter which I really appreciated. No one wants to be forced to tent in the rain. Surprisingly the crowded shelter wasn¢t too uncomfortable and I slept well. I did have to get up once in the night to go to the bathroom. I can¢t seem to stop that routine lately. Maybe it is the hot chocolate at dinner? At least in only 10 more trail days I can just get up and walk on my carpeted bedroom floor to the bathroom where I can turn on the light and then afterward flush the toilet. That is much preferred to having to wiggle out of a mummy sleeping bag, unzip a tent, find my headlamp and TP, tiptoe around other hikers in the shelter, walk away into the trees to find a spot ¢¦ Anyway, I thought it might rain all day but I was happy to be wrong. It was overcast but never really rained more than a few drops. We have been incredibly lucky with the weather. I know rain in important, but with the temperatures dropping it can sure make for some miserable hiking. Plus rain makes all the leaves fall before they have a chance to change color which takes away from the beauty of fall.We have been hiking with Lichen and Carbomb and FungShui and Burner lately. We seem to be on the same schedule. It is nice to have a little group. I would enjoy summiting with everyone. We redid our math tonight and it looks like we might summit on the 24th.Tomorrow we walk into the last trail town. After that we just have the Hundred Mile Wilderness and Katahdin. How did it get to be so close to the end? Although I am tired and ready to be done hiking, I am sad for this chapter in life to end. We need to come up with a new goal to work toward once we complete this one.
Date: 2006-09-15
From: Woods Road

To: Shaw's Hostel ~ Monson, ME
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Today I feel very loved. We had FOUR packages and two letters at the Post Office in Monson. So many people have sent us stuff along the way and supported our trip. We are really lucky to have so many people who care about us. Lark, Nicole, Barbie, Betsy, Giggles, Brenda and my Mom all sent us something. We barely made it in time for the Post Office. We had to 16 12 miles today and make it to town before 4:00. We got to the road at 3:45 and stuck out our thumbs. Luckily the first car picked us up.The hike today can best be described as ¢bleh.¢ A southbounder had told us that he last ten miles would be ¢smooth and easy.¢ This was decidedly not the case. Of course this gave the northbounders more fodder for playfully picking on southbounders (¢they can¢t even recognize a smooth trail¢¦¢). We cursed southbounders and the trail the whole way into Monson. We talked a lot today so the day passed quickly. We actually had to ford a river for the first time today. It wasn¢t very deep, but the rocks that stuck up were too far apart to try rock-hopping.   My feet were taped so the tape got all wet which further irritated my already painful feet. Now I have finally used my crocs to ford!So now we are in Monson ¢ the last trail town. I can¢t believe we are already here. In a week and a half we will officially be done. We are staying at Shaw¢s and sharing a room with Lichen and Carbomb. We better enjoy this town stop because then it is off into the Hundred Mile Wilderness.
Date: 2006-09-16
From: Shaw's -- Monson, ME

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I was literally awake all night last night. I was having terrible stomach pains. It was completely miserable. I was afraid I was keeping everyone in the room awake too. I must have gone to the bathroom more than ten times during the night. I had awful diarrhea. Luckily today is a zero day anyway so I can recover. Hopefully it is nothing serious. We were supposed to go to a hiker feed in Caratunk today but I am simply not feeling up to it. It is a bummer to miss it, but I have to recover so that we can finish this trail strong.We watched TV and relaxed most of the day. I tried to eat some bland foods but they didn¢t stay with me long. This is so uncomfortable.   It is awful to be sick away from home. The bathrooms here are shared among many guests so you never know if you will be able to get in one right away. The doors in this house are old and thin so noises are not private. It is an awkward place to be ill, though everyone is being kind as possible.