morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-17
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Mizpah Springs Hut
Miles today: 9.3

I had originally planned on doing 14 miles to Lake of the Clouds Hut, but the difficult terrain today brought that plan crashing down. Just as well, I suppose.The first three miles of the day down to Crawford Notch were easy. Squish and Rockhound had gotten up early today to meet Paul, a friend of Squish's family who will be hiking with them for a few days to Pinkham Notch. I caught up with them and met Paul at the Notch, then they went on while I took a quick break to empty the gravel out of my shoes and have a snack.Coming out of Crawford Notch, the trail quickly became steep and rocky. We did more rock climbing today than I remember doing in a long time-- every fifty feet there seemed to be another cliff face to negotiate.There were definitely some excellent views today, though. The trail ran up Webster Mountain, and to our left was a series of cliffs, over which we could see down into Crawford Notch, and then across and behind us we had a great view of the Southern Whites. We also got some great views of clouds formations ahead of us: clouds seemed to fill the valley in front of us, but they only descended as far as eye level-- it was quite spectacular.So, between the hard terrain and the views, it took me about 5 hours to do the final 6 and a half miles to Mizpah Springs Hut. Squish, Paul and Rockhound were already there. They're going to stay here and do work-for-stay (all thru-hikers can do work-for-stay at the huts, but officially only 2 thru-hikers per hut on any given night, through crews frequently bend the rules and take more.)Skyline and Sundance, who are half a day ahead of me, wrote in the register here that they are headed to Lakes of the Clouds with ten other thru-hikers-- way too many for my tastes. So I decide to stay here-- there's room for one more work-for-stay, and I take it.I spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and reading. My feet, my knees, and my entire body needed a short day like today.
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Gorham, NH (via Pinkham Notch)

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: mist

I take a relaxing morning in Gorham, sleeping in, eating breakfast, then visiting an outfitting shop to replace my Superfeet insoles (they've been with me since Rainbow Springs, NC-- over 1700 miles!), and after that I spend a long time on the Internet at the library. I have lunch in town, and after that, at about 1 pm, I start walking down NH16 toward Pinkham Notch with my thumb out.The tourists who make up the large majority of traffic here are not interested in picking up hikers, and I try for over an hour to get a ride, unsuccessfully. The low point comes when a car slows down, and the guy in the passenger seat smiles and takes my picture! As the car moves past me, I lower my thumb and raise a different finger, while thinking extremely hostile thoughts about him and, at this point, about tourists in general. It was a huge mistake to rely on the generosity of strangers, I think to myself as I continue trudging down the road.Pinkham Notch is 11 miles from Gorham-- hence the need for a hitch. I'm beginning to seriously doubt whether or not I can get one, and so when I see a ranger station not far away, I decide to bail out when I get there. Maybe I can call a taxi or something from there, or ask for advice from the ranger. Once last batch of cars passes me as I near the ranger station, and I stick my thumb out in one last futile attempt to get a ride.But wait! The second-to-last car in the bunch is pulling over! It's an AMC car, and the driver is on his way back to Pinkham Notch. With much relief, I accept his offer of a ride.The hitchhike has frazzled me, mentally and physically, and I take a long break at Pinkham Notch before finally starting up the trail at about 3. I only have 6 miles to go, so I figure this will be plenty of time.As it turns out, the 6 miles takes 5 hours to hike. It's an extremely difficult section of trail-- it's very steep except for certain areas along a ridge, and there is a lot of rock scrambling. The sections of the trail that aren't rock are under an inch of muddy water.When I finally reach the hut, I see in the register that Squish, Rockhound, Skyline, and Sundance were all here this afternoon, but went on. So this puts me a half-day behind most of the group, and a full day behind Condor. I hate being behind everyone-- it doesn't do wonders for my morale, which has been pretty low since yesterday. Going into Gorham helped, but the hitchhike back out was draining.There are a lot of large groups at the hut here, hanging out late-- means I'm not going to get to bed early, either.
Date: 2004-07-21
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH (via US2)
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: mist

It used to be that 15 miles wasn't a big deal; in fact, it used to be that a 15-mile day was a downright easy day. But not anymore-- I am seriously questioning the wisdom of trying to do 15 miles today. But there are shelters at the 8- and 13-mile marks, so if necessary I can bail out early.It's a killer day right from the beginning, where a steep uphill awaits that immediately climbs 1600 vertical feet to a mountain called Carter Dome. The view from the top is excellent, though-- I can see all the way across the Southern Presidentials to Mt. Washington.At that, the day got easier, although in the middle of the day we did have a 1,000-foot descent that went virtually right down a cliff. I found myself having to throw my hiking poles down twenty or thirty feet at a time, then scrambling down the cliff side. There are no switchbacks or anything like that up here-- the trails will go directly up and down every mountain and ridge, regardless of how steep, rocky, and otherwise impassable it is.The nicest treat came late in the day, when I reached a 4-mile stretch of gradual downhill walking on a nice dirt path. I had originally hoped to get to the road by 7, but thanks to this unexpectedly easy stretch I was at the road by 5:30.About 2 miles before the road I was also able to catch up with Skyline and Sundance, who had taken a long break earlier in the day to go swimming. So together, we headed down to the road and stuck our thumbs out. After about twenty minutes, we got a ride in the back of a pickup truck.We had heard good things about a hostel in town called "The Barn", so we decided to stay there instead of the Hiker's Paradise this time. Squish and Rockhound were already there, and we all went to dinner at a local pizza joint, then returned to the hostel and hung out (I saw the movie "Casablanca" for the first time).
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Gorham, NH (via US2)

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

I knew I wasn't going to have a full day of hiking-- my original plan had been to go grocery shopping, then go back to the library, check out the local bookstore, and get back on the trail in the early afternoon to do 7 miles out to a tentsite. Instead, I went grocery shopping, then upon returning to the hostel found that the owner was going to do a shuttle back to the trail, so I hung around and waited. (If there is one thing this trip has taught me, it's that I hate having to hitch-hike).So Skyline, Sundance and I were back on the trail by about 11:30. The trail was difficult, but not overly so, and we made 11 miles in about 7 hours-- not too bad, especially since the day was extremely hot and humid, and my energy level was pretty low.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: haze

Holy crap, today was hard. Our original plan had been to do 15 miles-- well, forget it. It took a good eight hours to make it as far as we did, over rocks and rocks and more rocks. The sheer rock faces were the hardest, and we frequently found ourselves getting on our butts and sliding down, or skirting the edge of the trail in order to cling to trees for support. Physically and mentally, the day was extremely taxing; it takes a lot out of you when you have to travel long stretches in which you have to carefully place every footstep in order to avoid injury. It would have been very easy to get injured today-- we're lucky we didn't.The humidity (and later, the rain) didn't help matters. It soaked us and further diminished our energy, so by the time we reached Full Goose Shelter at 4 pm we were beat. On top of that, the next five miles contain possibly the worst terrain on the entire trail (Mahoosuc Notch, a mile and a half from here, is well-known as being the hardest single mile on the trail). So we called it quits-- a smart move, considering that it wasn't long before the rain began to pour. I feel sorry for Squish and Rockhound-- Squish is on a deadline to be in the town of Rangeley in four days, so they pushed on through Mahoosuc Notch.Still, today wasn't all bad. About noon, we crossed our final state line-- we're now in Maine, the fourteenth and final state I'll have to cross through on this crazy endeavour.Still, though, the first hundred miles in Maine are, by all accouts, just as hard as the Whites, so I may be moving pretty slow. It sucks, though, to be slowed down this close to the end. Oh, well-- I'll get through it.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Baldpate Lean-to

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept later than usual this morning-- short day today anyway, and yesterday was a long day, so why not. The only major mountain of the day is Baldpate, and the climb up is tough, but not overly so, and the views from the top are spectacular. There's a cloud ceiling today, but it's high, and there's very little haze, so I can see farther than I've been able to in a long time.The climb down Baldpate, on the other hand, was positively hellacious. We descended at a very steep angle down a sheer rock face that was frequently wet-- it made for some very nervous walking. But finally, I got down, and after that it was easy walking for the final few miles to East B Hill Road, which is the road that leads into Andover.It's a quiet road, so I was a little worried about hitching. After a couple minutes of standing there waiting, I finally see two cars coming. I stick out my thumb, and lo and behold the second car pulls over! That's definitely the fastest I've ever gotten a hitch.So I get into Andover, which is a very little town-- I could throw a baseball the length of the main downtown strip. There are a couple restaurants, a general store, and the Andover Guest House, which is where I'll be staying. The lady is a little quirky but nice, and I run into Doc and Wounded Knee there-- they're a married couple hiking from Gorham to Katahdin to finish a thru-hike they started in 2002. I spend a relaxing afternoon eating and watching movies: we watch Hook, Addams Family Values, and The Hunt for Red October. I get to bed late, of course, but oh well.
Date: 2004-07-26
From: Andover, ME

To: Black Brook
Miles today: 10.1

I manage to sleep in despite the best efforts of the construction workers next door, who begin working at 6:30. Argh! Why do hostels always seem to be located next to construction sites?At about 9 Doc, Wounded Knee and I get a shuttle back to the trail. The weather is beautiful today-- sunny, but not too hot or humid; the sort of day which we haven't seen for a few weeks now, and certainly not since the beginning of the Whites.So I walk pretty slowly, even though the walking is easy, enjoying the day. I stop for a long lunch break, at which point Skyline and Sundance catch up to me. They spent last night at another hostel a few miles outside of Andover called The Cabin.The only difficult walking of the day is across Sawyer Notch, where the trail drops quickly over a thousand feet, crosses a stream, then shoots back up to the top of another mountain. Doc, Wounded Knee and I stop for the day a couple miles later at a place called Black Brook, but Skyline and Sundance push on.Oh, and in the News of the Stupid, I broke my glasses today. I set them down, then forget where they were and stepped on them, breaking one of the screws that held the lens in. Maybe there'll be an optometrist in the next town... if not, I'll have to get my spare glasses mailed to me. My vision isn't too bad without my glasses-- I can see the trail fine, but the scenic vistas will be a little blurry. Definitely not my smartest move ever there.
Date: 2004-07-27
From: Black Brook

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow-- it's been a while since I was able to do this many miles. Not that the miles was particular easy; the day began with a 2200 foot climb over Old Blue, and there were a lot of ups and downs throughout the rest of the day. Still, I made good time, and had done 17 miles before 7 pm, despite taking a nice long lunch break about 1:30.Caught up to Skyline and Sundance at the shelter, who had done an extra four miles past Black Brook yesterday. I left Doc and Wounded Knee behind, though-- they didn't want to do 17 miles, not that I blame them for that.Short entry today... not much else to say.
Date: 2004-07-28
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained most of the night last night, but luckily it had cleared up by the time we woke up this morning.It was a fairly easy hike into Rangeley-- no major mountains, but a lot of mud. There has been a lot of mud all the way through New Hampshire and Maine, but in Maine things have gotten particularly interesting. The standard way for a trail crew to deal with a muddy section of trail is to put in bog boards-- basically just wood planks for hikers to walk on. But in Maine, the bog boards are very sporadic; they begin and end randomly, sometimes leaving fifty feet of ankle-deep mud for hikers to somehow cross, generally by walking through vegetation on the side of the trail or by leaping precariously from rock to rock.Nowhere to repair my glasses in Rangeley, so I call my Dad and ask him to mail my glasses to Caratunk, 70 miles down the trail. Skyline, Sundance and I decide to spend the night at Gull Pond Lodge, a little place about two miles out of town. Bob, the owner, is quite nice, and after dinner he picks us up in town. A nice, restful day today.
Date: 2004-07-29
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

Bob fed us a nice continental breakfast before shuttling us all back out to the trailhead at about 9:30. The first couple of miles were pretty easy, until we reached Saddleback. Saddleback is a ridge consisting of three 3,800-foot peaks: Saddleback Mountain, The Horn, and Saddleback Junior. The best part of Saddleback is the stretch from Saddleback Mountain to the Horn, which is part of a three-mile stretch that is almost entirely above the treeline. Despite some cumulus clouds gathering overhead, we got excellent views off both sides of the ridge-- we could see across Rangeley Lake (which is actually several miles long), and we could see mountains well into the distance.Skyline, Sundance and I stopped for lunch in a little rocky area surrounded by some of the very short trees which manage to grow up here (they're actually called "krummholz", which is German for "crooked wood"). It was sheltered from the wind, too, which was nice-- the wind is quite strong up here. After we got over Saddleback Mountain, the hiking got difficult. We descended down a difficult rocky stretch, then shot back up to the top of the Horn. Then we did the same thing getting to Saddleback Junior, from which got an excellent view of some of the mountains we'll be going over in the next couple of days-- wow, they look rugged from here.We reached the campsite at about quarter 'til 5 and found it almost totally full, thanks to an AMC-sponsored trip that has taken up virtually every tentsite. There are still three spaces in the shelter, though, so we decide to take those.One of the other people in the shelter is a southbound section hiker named Chainsaw; turns out he's a trail maintainer in Southwest Virginia. We spend several minutes griping together about the condition of the trail up here-- the poor water drainage, lack of switchbacks, poorly built steps, etc. etc. It's good to know I'm not being totally irrational when I complain about the trail up here (although, in all fairness, the population up here is much sparser, especially considering the amount of the trail to maintain).Oh, one other interesting thing about this shelter is that the sleeping platform, usually made of flat wood planks, is in this case made of rounded wood logs about one to two inches in diameter-- it's like sleeping on baseball bats. Should be interesting to see how well I sleep tonight.
Date: 2004-07-30
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

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

I got a decent night's sleep on the baseball bats, though it's not something I'd want to do every night.The walking today is pretty easy, and for the first time in a long time I've done eight miles before noon. Ah, it feels good to do 2 miles an hour again! At lunch, I take advantage of the sunny day to dry out my tent, which is still wet from a rainy night the last time I used it.The walking in the afternoon is a little harder, and it includes a steep, thousand-foot rocky descent that really takes a lot of energy out of me. At the bottom is a small creek, and I sit down there for a good half-hour and rest, just watching the water flowing by.It's only 5:30 when I reach Crocker Cirque Campsite, but I decide to call it a night-- if I go any further, I'll have to stealth camp somewhere. Skyline and Sundance have gone ahead to get closer to the town of Stratton-- it's seven miles from Crocker Cirque, and they have to be in town before the post office closes at 11:30.There's only one other person here tonight, a northbound section hiker named Wyl. it's an early night tonight-- I'm asleep by 8.
Date: 2004-07-31
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: Avery Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I want to get into the town of Stratton early today, so I have plenty of time to re-supply and then get back out on the trail. So I take advantage of my early night last night, and get up early-- I'm up at 6, and walking at shortly after 7. The Crocker Mountains stand between the campsite and Stratton, but to my surprise they aren't that hard, and by 10:30 I am standing at the road to Stratton with my thumb out.And what luck! The very first car I see pulls over. The driver is a lady with a thick accent I can't place, and as a result I can only understand about every third word she says.Nevertheless, it's a ride, and she drops me off in the center of Stratton, such as it is. The town is eerily quiet this Saturday morning-- not that there's much here. A couple little stores, two motels, and a diner. I re-supply at a small food mart, and upon leaving the store I see Skyline and Sundance, who got into town a couple hours ago and are just making a couple quick phone calls before heading back to the trail. Skyline informs me that there's a library a quarter-mile away, so I of course I head over there to use the Internet. After that, I grab a bite to eat, and then I too head back to the trail.Takes me about twenty minutes to get a hitch, then a guy with a pickup truck lets me ride in the back out to the trail. Once I'm back on the trail, I almost immediately enter the Bigelow Preserve. This area is home to the last major mountains I will cross before Katahdin-- two 4,000-foot peaks and a couple of 3,000-footers as well.The first shelter is about five miles in, and I reach it about 5 pm. I briefly consider staying, but there's a campsite two or three more miles down the trail, and that would turn tomorrow from a seventeen-mile day into a fifteen-mile day. I decide to push on.It was a decision of dubious wisdom-- there are two major peaks in those two miles, both of which involve steep, rocky climbs and descents. On top of that, rain clouds are moving in; it's definitely gonna rain soon. But luckily, the rain holds off until I make it to the campsite. There's no shelter, and the tent platforms here have no hooks to tie or stake a rope to, but with a great deal of improvisation I manage to set my tent up. Just as I finish, it begins to rain.I cook and eat under the vestibule in the tent, and go to sleep just as the wind and rain begin to really pick up. It could be a long night tonight.
Date: 2004-08-01
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

It rained all night, and it is still sprinkling on and off as I wake up and take my time eating breakfast and packing up in my tent.This morning, I go over Avery Peak, which is my last 4,000+ foot mountain until Katahdin. No vistas up here, though-- it's all fogged in. Then, as I'm standing there talking with a section hiker, a strong gust of wind blows my hat off my head and well off the trail into a dense cluster of alpine vegetation. I can't even see it anymore-- it's gone. It's been with me since Port Clinton, PA (800 miles!), and has stayed on my head over many a windy mountaintop, but not this time. Oh, well... I try to find it, but no luck. I could look harder, but I don't want to trample the vegetation up here, so I head on down the trail. On the way down, the clouds do part briefly, and for a moment I get a view of a massive lake down in the valley, but just a few seconds later the clouds have rolled in again.It rains on and off for the next hour, until finally the rain stops for good. In the afternoon, I stop in briefly at Little Bigelow Lean-to to check the register. Skyline and Sundance have been ahead of me since yesterday morning; they camped ahead of me, and will probably be ahead of me tonight as well. Squish, Rockhound and Condor are a full day ahead of me, as they have been pretty much since the beginning of Maine. So for now, it's just me out here-- normally I don't mind hiking alone, but with the end of the trail less than two weeks ahead of me, I feel like I should be pushing hard to catch up with them. But for myself, I would like to hike a more relaxed hike these last few days-- it's an annoying dilemma. Maybe if they take a zero day in Monson, a few days away, I'll catch them there.The good news is that the trail is pretty flat for the next fifty miles now, from the end of the Bigelow Preserve to Monson, which marks the beginning of the hundred-mile wilderness and is the last trail town we'll pass through.I stop for the night just before 6, at a lean-to near a nice-looking pond. I briefly consider swimming, but it's not very hot out right now and anyway, I'd rather just eat, journal and get to bed early tonight. Hopefully tonight will be more relaxing than last night.