morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-24
From: West Cornwall Road (Bearded Woods hostel)

To: Falls Village (Iron Bridge)
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I didn't get started on the Trail as early as hoped because I had to mail the results of my pack-reduction project. We went to 2 post offices before finding one (Cornwall Bridge) open before 9:00. So I got going about 9:00 rather than 7:00. When I got up to the top of the first mountain, I discovered a water bottle was missing -- must have left it in the vehicle from the hostel. I arranged with them to leave it at the Falls Village power plant for me to pick up in a couple of days. Bearded Woods Hostel not only is a nice place to stay, with plenty of great food, they have been very helpful in many other ways.My plan was to go as far as I could today, then get picked up by my friends Connie & Joe from the other end of Connecticut, who had offered me some time off for R&R. I had told them I could be at Falls Village by 2:00 or Salisbury by 5:30. When I got to Falls Village closer to 3:00, it was obvious they'd need to pick me up at Falls Village, or it would be very late. I had trouble getting phone reception, walking thru much of the town before getting a call thru from the library parking lot. Then, for various reasons, it appeared that the whole idea wasn't going to work out, so I went to get back on the Trail. First I had supper by the power plant (caf© wasn't open the first half of the week), then started across the iron bridge just before the "Great Falls" of the Housatonic. I turned on my phone to take a picture, & suddenly there was a little bit of phone service -- enough to find out that they'd changed their minds & Joe would be picking me up around 8:00.So back across town again to find a place to wait. Nothing in town was open except the expensive-looking Inn & the package store. I found a place out by Route 7 (not even a gas station, but there was a flashing yellow light) to wait (yes, I did explore a bit up & down each road). Sitting in the grass got uncomfortable because of bugs, & then it started to get cold. First time I've put on a jacket in two months. Joe arrived around 8:15 & we had a good ride back, including supper at a good Mexican restaurant. Connie had taken a nap & welcomed us with strawberry shortcake, as promised. Then to bed for a long sleep.
Date: 2003-10-04
From: Shaw's Boarding House, Monson

To: Moxie Bald Lean-To
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light rain

I fell asleep watching television and slept well all night. I was up at 5:30am for the six o¢clock breakfast in the Shaw¢s kitchen. The meal was another feast: eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, French toast, home fries, juice and coffee. You placed your order by stating how you liked your eggs prepared and how many of each item you wanted: ¢Scrambled, three please¢. I¢m very impressed with the Shaw¢s. They are nice, helpful people, the rooms are clean, comfortable and very cheap and the food is my idea of great hiker food. After eating I had lots of time to pack up, relax and pay my bill before I made one last trip to the Post Office to mail some things home and to the store for some toilet paper I forgot to put in my mail drop. Keith Jr. gave me a ride to the trail at 9:00.         It was expected to rain and the skies began clouding up early. I felt very strong today. The home cooked food helped but with a hundred miles behind me I¢m finally getting in shape. I have another four days before my next big mountains and by then I hope to feel even better. I had two fords today: the East and West Branches of the Piscataquis River. The East was like the West Branch of The Pleasant River, flat water, broad and only shin deep so I waded barefoot. It started raining while I sat on the south bank putting my shoes back on. I walked in light rain until lunch at the Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To. The second ford, the West Branch, was trickier- actually two fords because the trail crosses at the confluence of two streams. The first crossing was mid shin. Straight across the second stream was mid thigh according to every north bounder I¢d met today but I crossed at a shallow gravel bar near the point of the confluence and bushwhacked back to the trail. It soon started raining harder and the trail got very wet in places. I was soaked by the time I got to Moxie Bald Lean-To. I found one north bounder bundled up inside the lean-to: Indiana Ben. He hasn¢t seen a thru hiker in four days. I remember someone mentioning his name at dinner last night. Its good to have lots of extra room here, as it is raining hard and our wet gear is spread out in a pointless attempt to dry it out. Our only hope is for a strong wind to come in after this rain. Now I am well fed and comfortable in my sleeping bag listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the radio. I should try to find the Red Sox game (I wonder if it is raining in Boston?) and then brave the rain to go pee so I can go to sleep. There is one small leak in the roof, but it has only dripped once in the last two hours so I am not worried about getting wet tonight.
Date: 2013-07-27
From: Falls Village (Iron Bridge)

To: Sages Ravine campground
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Back on the Trail with only one minor glitch. Joe drove me all the way across Connecticut, dropped me off at the power plant, & said he was going to use the rest room at the caf© in town. I hadn't gone far before I realized I'd left my camera in Joe's truck. I had no way to call him, so I ran almost a half mile back into town & found him at the caf© -- fortunately, he'd stopped for something to eat too!Finally ready to proceed on the Trail, I went up over a couple of mountains, with some nice views of the countryside till I got to Salisbury. There I stopped for a little bit to go into town to say "Hi!" to Maria McCabe, a lady who offers rooms for hikers. I'd stayed there in 2002 & again in 2004. She was taking a nap, so I left her a note.From there the Trail goes over some of its highest points in CT & MA, including another Bear Mtn! I remember doing this section 11 years ago in pouring rain, getting to the road to Salisbury, & going a couple of miles in the wrong direction before getting to Maria's. Part of the time I was "pursued" by a group of Yale freshmen on an orientation hike (Many Eastern colleges seem to do this -- builds group solidarity). I visited Brassie Brook lean-to (as they call the shelters in this area), where I had been eating lunch when at least 2 dozen Yale freshmen tried to cram into the shelter, being orientated to how to get out of the rain. They had been very respectful of my space, & even gave me some M&M gorp as I was leaving. Not so exciting this time: just one other hiker & lots of mosquitos.Next I went over Bear Mtn & down into Sages Ravine about dusk. Got my tent set up before it was too dark. It's nice that they have bear boxes at all the shelters & campgrounds here, so I didn't have the bother of trying to hang a bear bag. Lots of other campers, but they had them spread out nicely around a loop so it didn't feel crowded. There was a group just down the way from me, that didn't even respond when I greeted them on the way in; but it was interesting to hear them singing just before bedtime. At first it sounded like a Native American chant, then some other things that might have been Hebrew (seemed to contain Hallelujahs), ending with the Taize chant "Dona Nobis Pacem". I never found out for sure who they were.The rest days were nice, but it's been exhilarating to be back on the Trail. So much of my hike has seemed very different this time, but here was a section that felt the same as the last time I did it [2002].
Date: 2003-10-05
From: Moxie Bald Lean-To

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

I awoke this morning to sun and blue skies. I went down to the shore of Bald Mountain Pond early and took some pictures of fog on the water as the sun burned it away. The rocks at the waters edge were warm in the sun so I moved some of my wet things down to the lake to dry out while I cooked breakfast. It worked remarkable well despite the cool temperatures. Indiana Ben left about 7:30. I lingered till 9:30. Beautiful views from Moxie Bald Mountain first thing this morning. White Cap and Barren Mountain were easy to spot but a bank of heavy clouds hid Katahdin. Met TABA (There And Back Again) near the summit, one of only two north bounders I saw today. Moxie seemed to have had a small fire since I was last here in August 1999. There were lots of dead and blackened spruce trees. I had an unexpected ford at Baker Stream, an inlet to Moxie Pond. The stream had over flown its banks perhaps three hundred percent. It was a tricky rock hop and I still got my feet wet because I had to use a couple rocks that were submerged in a few inches of water. Nearby I spotted the old cable crossing the A.T. used to use to cross the inlet of Moxie Pond. There is a great picture from a 1987 National Geographic magazine of a hiker crossing the cable. Only the two old telephone poles remain. The five-mile climb to Pleasant Pond Mountain was tiring. Part way down the steep descent down to Pleasant Pond Lean-To I spotted a black cloud with sheets of rain approaching. Fifteen minutes later I felt the wind pick up so I stopped and put on a jacket and pack cover but when the storm hit it was hail and it only lasted five minutes. I rather have a little hail than a little rain. Tonight I¢m by myself in the lean-to. I¢ve enjoyed a quiet evening of eating, listening to the radio and reading an old Appalachian Trailway News I found in the privy.
Date: 2013-07-28
From: Sages Ravine campground

To: Just before Homes Road
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I started off down the ravine just after dawn, then up the Mtn. Actually, it's a series of Mtns., some of the highest in Ct. & Mass., involving some serious rocks. I wasn't meeting any hikers, but that didn't mean everything was quiet on the Mtn. I don't know who was making the sounds, but I started hearing music on a loud-speaker ¢ maybe it came from an outdoor church service.Soon I started hearing something rather different: sounded like dogs barking in unison. I don't know anyone who can get them to do that, so I was curious. Eventually I came out on an open cliff. Off to one side was some kind of martial arts group, chanting as they did their warm-up exercises. Since it was Sunday, I was thinking about church, but unable to go today. For a while, I toyed with the idea of trying to get down the Mtn. to Sheffield, where there is a church that has merged a Lutheran & an Episcopal congregation. That sounded very interesting, but I just wasn't moving fast enough. I've tried to make it to church every Sunday that I can while hiking, but some times it just doesn't work out.After some dry spots in the last few weeks of hiking, there seem to be lots of springs & streams now. Even tho the Mtns aren't all that high, the higher latitude brings changes, including lots of stunted trees: blackjack/post oaks, birch, red maple, short-leaf pine. And guess what? ¢ lots of Blueberries! I'm surprised I made as may miles as I did today, with all the stops to grab & eat berries.The last few miles to Jug End (after that, it gets flat for a while), I walked with a couple of ridgerunners, people who walk along the Trail checking on conditions & trying to help the hikers. They both were finishing a week, then having some time off. I had thought of cutting some over-hanging branches, but didn't want to spend the time; anyway, one of them pulled out a saw & took care of it. The next few miles cross a bunch of flat land. That means going thru marshy areas, along farm fields, and across several highways. One highway crossing has a monument to Shay's Rebellion; the next one has a place to get ice cream ¢ or so I thought (based on my memory, which isn't always so great on this hike). Anyhow, I wasted about an hour trying to find it ¢ must not be there anymore. Then I got cell service & talked with Susan for a while.All this meant that I wasn't going to get to Tom Leonard shelter tonight. So I found a place to camp after I got up a little higher (away from mosquitos) under a hemlock tree. Nothing much grows under big hemlocks, so it's easier to find a flat, open area big enough for a tent.Near the crossing of the Housatonic River, I saw some strange trail magic in a plastic bag, hanging from a post. It looked like some goodies, tho it might have just been empty boxes left by previous hikers. I didn't check it out very thoroly because the post was surrounded by poison ivy. I wondered if it was accidental (someone didn't know what it was) or intended as some kind of joke.
Date: 2003-10-06
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-To

To: Pierce Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: broken clouds

I got up at dawn this morning but still didn¢t start walking until 7:45. No problem, I was still in Caratunk by 9:45. I was being careful to get to the Kennebec River between 9:00 and 11:00 when the ferry operates. The old Caratunk Post Office in back of the Caratunk Store is now just the Caratunk Post Office. I must have missed that change when reading The Companion. I¢ll have to make it to Stratton without bagels. I did mail myself plenty of peanut butter so I¢ll have to try it on my Harvest Bars. I bought a stick of butter at the Caratunk House Hiker B & B. The owner was cooking a delicious looking breakfast for 4 north bounders and I was tempted to miss the ferry just to get some eggs and bacon. I had just finished telling my girlfriend over the phone that I was feeling tired, a bit blue and very tempted to stay in town to watch the Red Sox, A¢s baseball game on Television. Somehow I avoided the town vortex and hiked on. I was on the south bank of the Kennebec by 10:45, hiking towards Pierce Pond. I was in camp shortly after lunch. The Pierce Pond Lean-To is a great place to take an afternoon off on the trail. Tomorrow will be a longer but mostly flat day and I will get right up to the base of The Bigelow Range my first 4000 footers since Katahdin. I had a nice afternoon eating and reading. I met Footslogger around 2:00. He stopped for a break before pushing on to The Kennebec. He¢d arranged a special ferry that he needed to meet by 4:00 and he asked me how long I thought it would take to walk from Pierce Pond to the river. I said I thought he could make it easily and after he ate a snack he pushed on. Later a few friends of his joined me for the night: Chick Flick, Firefoot and Fickle.
Date: 2003-10-07
From: Pierce Pond Lean-To

To: Little Bigelow Lean-To
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a simple hiking day. It was also a good day. Yesterday¢s mostly cloudy skies were gone and this morning it was clear and sunny. Because I¢ve been feeling tired for a couple days I was apprehensive about my plan to hike 17 miles today. I am also concerned about a wound on my left foot. Saturday night I removed a three-inch strip of skin from the top of my foot when I pulled off some athletic tape. It has become sore in the last couple days. It feels better tonight although I¢m sure it still needs a good cleaning.    My fears of extra miles today proved unwarranted, I started slow and felt myself getting stronger all morning. I was having lunch at the ten-mile mark (West Carry Pond Lean-To) by noon. I met north bounder Joe Hiker and we talked trail and traded some info. I guess I can expect today to be the last of the easy trail. As I left the lean-to I met ten more hikers arriving. Just after lunch I met ¢03 thru hiker Spinning Jenny, a hiker from 1999 who ended her hike that year in North Woodstock New Hampshire, my hometown. It was November and that is as far as the weather would let her go. I¢m pretty sure we met in 1999 somewhere in the Smokies. She is happy to be back on the A.T. and to be completing a thru hike. All the hikers I met today were excited and anxious about finishing. Everyone I meet now will reach Katahdin after Baxter State Park closes on October 15th.    The afternoon hike went by quickly. I didn¢t see anyone the rest of the day. I got to Little Bigelow Lean-To at 3:50 with plenty of time for chores and relaxing before the sun went down. I¢m here alone and as it is getting dark (6:40) I don¢t expect anyone else to arrive. I received some good news from the radio weatherman earlier: Indian summer tomorrow and Thursday. Valley temperatures could be in the 70¢s. It sounds like a perfect day to traverse the Bigelow Range.
Date: 2013-07-30
From: Camping on a Mtn

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I had hoped to go at least as far as October Mtn. today, but I kept hearing hikers talking about Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It's a half mile off the Trail, so I didn't stop there last time. But if this is my last time, I want to visit as many as possible of the iconic places along the trail, so I decided to take the extra time. The Trail was fairly easy today, with moderate ups & downs. I walked for a while with an older [60s] hiker who had camped just behind me along the AT & was going about the same speed as I. He was not going to stop at Upper Goose Pond, so we split at the side trail. All the other NOBOs who passed me were heading for the cabin. I stopped for lunch at Shaker Campsite, a pleasant place with some bugs. Way back, this was the site of a Shaker village, a self-sufficient community, peaceful but ostracized by neighbors. Upper Goose Pond cabin is a large building at the West end of a long pond. There were 12-15 hikers staying there or camping nearby, mostly NOBOs but some SOBOs. One big attraction is the blueberry pancakes the caretakers serve each morning. But there are also opportunities for swimming, canoeing, & just loafing. I paddled a canoe down to the far end of the pond & then found it was much more difficult to paddle back against the wind. What made it even more difficult was heading directly into the setting sun ¢ I had to keep "tacking" so that I could even see where I was going. It was good to get some upper-body exercise; hiking is so focussed on the legs. I couldn't get a picture of it, but one curious thing that happened on the way down the lake was that my movement on the lake made it appear that the trees high up on the hills appeared to be moving backwards compared to the trees closer to the lake. A weird feeling.One problem with staying at a place with no electricity (They use propane) is that I can't re-charge my iPhone. That means taking fewer pictures & hoping that I'll have enough power to call or text when I need to.I haven't spent an evening with so many hikers for a while, so it was interesting listening to the others talk.
Date: 2003-10-08
From: Little Bigelow Lean-To

To: Stratton
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

This morning I woke very suddenly. I opened my eyes, sat up immediately and when I realized it was already warm I got up and started breaking camp. It was 6:15am and still dark. By 7:45 I was hiking. The views from Little Bigelow Mountain were gorgeous. The skies were clear and Avery Peak and the Carrabassett Valley were dressed in peak fall colors. It looked perfect in the early morning light. I ate lunch on the leeward side of the old fire tower on the very windy Avery Peak. I had the place to myself. I only saw five hikers all day (no thru hikers). There isn¢t a lot to write about but it was a perfect day for hiking. I got to Route 27 just after 4:00 and quickly got a ride. My driver was a nice woman who works in administration at nearby Sugarloaf Ski Area. She plans to thru hike The Appalachian Trail someday, perhaps with her children. I was late to the Post Office but the Postmaster still let me in and got me my mail drop. It seems that all Maine Post Offices have shortened their hours by opening late and closing early. I¢ve been lucky twice to get friendly Post Masters when I¢ve gotten in late. I had a hard time finding a room in Stratton. All I wanted tonight was a soft bed and a television to watch the Red Sox & Yankees play in game one of the American League Championship Series. I¢d been thinking about it since Monday night when the Sox beat the A¢s in the first series. Apparently the road north of Stratton is under construction and during the week most of the rooms in town are filled with road workers. Until I learned this I couldn¢t understand why it was so hard to find a room on Wednesday but not on a Saturday, which is when some hikers I talked to on Monday were here last week. I finally found a vacancy sign at the Diamond Corners B&B but I couldn¢t find anyone to check me in. I waited on the porch but had no idea when to expect help. When it got late I began packing up my food expecting to head back to the trail. At 5:30 a young woman, the owner¢s daughter, came home and checked me in. I was extremely relieved to get the last and most expensive room in the house. I told myself, ¢live it up, you¢re on a paid vacation.¢ I took care of some chores in town first, took a shower and then had a steak, salad and beer at one the hotels in town. After dinner I knew the game was starting but called home on a payphone to talk to my girlfriend. We talked a while as the 2nd and 3rd innings played. I knew she¢d be watching too, after all she is the bigger Sox fan. Eventually I went back to my room and tuned in on my 13 inch T.V. The room is furnished with two twin beds both with feather top mattresses, thick quilts and fluffy pillows; the space is rounded out with two small comfortable chairs and some big old wooden dressers with lots of country knick-knacks. It is a typical New England farmhouse B& B. It was luxurious by and standard I aspire to. I stayed up until midnight watching the game. The Red Sox won!
Date: 2013-07-31
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Kay Wood shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Breakfast at 7:00 means not getting an early start on the trail, but the pancakes & the fellowship were good.Of course, everyone headed North passed me during the course of the day, some [Zen Master & his group] more than once. After a little climb up Becket Mtn., the Trail was quite level today. Seemed like I should have been able to go farther, at least to Dalton, but I can't escape the feeling that I'm just slowing down. The first half of the hike, I could count on 2 mph, more recently on at least 1.8. Now I seem to be down to 1.5, even on some pretty nice trail!This was the day for another AT icon. The "Cookie Lady" lives just off the Trail on Washington Mtn Road, which isn't labeled that way on the map program I had on my phone. So I wasted a bit of time exploring another road first. When I got there, I found a group of hikers just leaving. I got 3 chocolate chip cookies & bought a can of Coke. Marilyn & her husband have been helping hikers here for many years. Nice place to stop & rest, but the days are getting shorter, & I must move on.6 more miles to Kay Wood shelter. It was getting dark a bit before that, so I got to walk in the dark for a mile or two. I'm quite proud of my night-vision, so I don't like to turn on a head-lamp till I absolutely have to. I can follow the trail & keep from tripping on things, but that focus downward means not always seeing signs up in the trees; so I walked past the shelter side-trail (which was better-marked for SOBOs than NOBOs). When I started getting close to Grange Hall Road, I remembered that it is AFTER the shelter, not before it, so I had to swallow my pride, turn around, & go back 0.3 mile (WITH my head-lamp!). There were 3 people in the shelter, with plenty of space for me. Like a few other shelters up here, it had a write-up about who Kay Wood was: a long time hiker & trail maintainer, about whom I had already learned some things from the Cookie Lady (a slightly younger contemporary, who had hiked with her).