morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-10-07
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Harrison Camps
Miles today: 10.4

Again this day did not go as expected. We left camp around 8 AM hiking in crisp clear air. It warmed up quickly as we hiked along relatively level ground. When I say relatively level I just hiked over the Bigalows remember. We had ups and downs and lots of roots, rocks and mud. Or as Timex would say "roots, rocks, and rosion.My knees and ankle can take a bit of that but eventually they begin to yell back at me. We took a nice break after 10 AM to snack and take some layers of clothing off. I ended up in my tee shirt and hiking kilt. Shortly after the break we came to East Carry Pond and a beautiful sandy beach. We stopped again to see the Loons and enjoy the sun. Pokey said he felt like swimming. I told him he should do it then. He took off his long pants, (he wore shorts beneath) and boots and put on his sandles then headed for the water. In the mean time I removed all of my clothes and went for a brisk skinny dip into the pond. Pokey never did get more than knee deep. He was thrilled to see his first leech.We continued to hike over level trail but ran into many obstacles. We walked over bog bridges where Benedict Arnold tried to move his army to attack Quebec City in 1775. His attack failed because he lost so many men trying walk through this swampy area.We reached Pierce Pond Lean-to in late afternoon. The shelter faces the pond with a most amazing view. There was a pair of loons in the pond making loon calls and diving for their dinners. We spent an hour sitting by the pond before we decided to go to Harrison Camps and rent a cabin. He cabin includes breakfast tomorrow morning. It turns out that the family that owns the camps is from Gilford NH. And they work at Gunstock Ski area during the winter. I didn't realize that I had met them before. We cooked hiking food on the porch of our cabin. We have a fire going in the small woodstove. We took showers and played with the children and now are tired and ready for some sleep. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-08
From: Harrison Camps

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

What an incredible day. Temperatures in the 70's all day with blue sky and sunshine. It was actually hot when not under the trees.The Harrisons made us a great breakfast. 12 pancakes with various fruits. 3 eggs and 3 sausages. Pokey does not eat eggs or sausage so I ate his as well as my own. I also had a large glass of milk.The hike from Harrison Camps down to the Kennebec River was about 3.3 miles mostly down hill. But the footing was tough. Every rock and root was placed at odd angles to twist ankles and aggravate knees. We made it in a little under 2 hours. Steve Langley is back as the river ferry boat man. An awesome man. He drove us up the road to get extra supplies then back to the trailhead. The Kennebec is wide and subject to sudden changes in depth without warning from the power plant that controls the river's flow. It is very dangerous to attempt a ford so the ATC pays Steve to ferry hikers across the river. Our crossing was uneventful. Steve had me paddle at the bow while he took control from the stern. Steve told us that Kate and Burnie got up at 3:30 AM to get to the river ferry on the 5th. They did over 13 tough miles from 2 shelters back. He believes they then overnighted in Carutunk and headed out on the 6th. That puts them 2.5 days ahead of us.The 6 miles up to Pleasant Pond were easy. But the next 3 are suppose to be tough. We are saving them for tomorrow. We stopped for a break on our way. The colors in this area are just reaching peak.A flip flopper named Bramble came into the lean-to for the night. He is doing a charity hike for breast cancer in memory of his aunt who died during the spring. He saw Kate and Burnie yesterday and believes they were trying to do 15 miles into Monson. That means they are taking only 2 days for 36 miles. We are taking 4 days for the same distance. I am impressed with their drive. I hope they are having as much fun as Pokey and I. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-09
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Bald Mtn. Brook lean-to
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was very warm for October in Maine. We were up and packing by 6:30 and hiking shortly after 7 AM. Before we left Bramble told us a story about Flint stealing a backpack from Mr. Shaw. Both Pokey and I immediately reacted that this was not possible. This must be a rumor that got twisted out of all proportions.The hike up Pleasant Mountain was tedious but not difficult from a technical point of view. We climbed out of the fog that seemed to envelope the shelter area. When we reached the summit a sea of clouds was visible below us. It was very exciting to see summits poking through the clouds. Unfortunately we had to walk back down into the fog and clouds. Fog condensed on the trees and dripped on us like rain. The treadway was rough on our way down with rocks and roots making walking a cautious activity. The clouds and fog made the rich color of autumn leaves even more remarkable. Only the leaves on the ground and nearby trees were visible through the dense fog.We made good time getting to Bald Mtn Brook Lean-To by 3:00 PM. We decided not to continue another 4 miles to the next shelter because rain was predicted and we would have to pass over Moxie Bald Mtn. We would rather not walk at night in the rain. We have no idea how difficult this section is. Could be an easy hike that we could do in 2 hours or it could take us 4 hours. We have been a bit concerned by the sounds of gunshoots from farmers in the distance. Steve Langley gave us orange strips of plastic to hang on our packs. But it is still a bit unsettling to know that moose hunting season is underway and we see signs of moose almost constantly.Dinner has been eaten and it is dark at 6 PM. Each day is harder then the last with fewer daylight hours. It looks like we will summit in about 12 days.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-10
From: Bald Mtn. Brook lean-to

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Moxie Bald Mtn offered us a grand view of Katahdin this morning. Views of area lakes and fall foliage were breath taking. Photos will never do it justice but we both tried. We made it easily to the summit by 8:30 AM. The AT maps of Maine are the best of all maps distributed by ATC. I especially like the back side of each map which includes detailed mileage, information about sites encountered along the trail and road maps of the area. A common complaint of thru hikers is that the maps do not show how many ups and downs are really going to be encountered. The profile maps of Maine are just as bad as the rest.Pokey and I looked at the profile map and saw a steady 21 mile down hill path from Moxie Bald Mountain to Monson. We decided we could do it. But the maps didn't tell us how tough the hike through Horseshoe Canyon would be. It took us only 45 minutes longer than we predicted but we were tired when we reached the lean-to and had seven more miles to hike before Monson. It was already 4:30 PM. Enough was enough. We both hate hiking at night with headlamps. The one hangup is tomorrow is the opening day of moose season in Maine. There are likely to be several hundred testosterone enriched men with guns wandering through the woods at sunrise thinking anything that moves is a moose. We had hoped to zero tomorrow and hoped the hunters would all go back to work on Tuesday.We found another register entry from Burnie and Katie indicating that they would not get into Monson on Oct 7th but would make it on the 8th. That means it would take them 3 days from Carutunk to Monson rather than 2 days. It will still take us three days. They also encouraged us to catch up so we could celebrate the end of our great adventure together. The only way that can happen is if they stop and wait for us.When we talked with Steve Langley two days ago he said he carried 1265 hikers across the Kennebec River so far this year. 545 were thru hikers. I don't know if he is only counting north bound thru hikers or both SOBO and NOBO. His last day of regular operation is tomorrow October 11th.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-11
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to

To: Monson ME
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

At four AM I awoke to the sounds of vehicles moving not too far away. I knew today was the start of moose season and hunters are allowed to pursue game 1/2 hour before dawn until 1/2 hour after dusk. The sounds of vehicles was almost continuous. I could picture hundreds of hunters lining up along woods roads and logging roads prepared to let the bullets fly at 6 AM. I suggested to Pokey that we sleep late to make sure there was enough daylight when we began our hike for the day that we would not be mistaken for a moose. At 7 AM the sounds changed to that of chippers and saws. The noise I heard was of loggers moving equipment for an early start at a hard dangerous job.The hike to Monson was not hard. Some mud and rocks, a few roots and a beautiful walk through the Horseshoe Canyon beside the Piscataquis River. Yesterday we had to take our shoes off to cross the west branch. Today we had to do the same to ford the east branch. Pokey hates to cross rivers and streams. He hunts for ways to cross without getting wet. Yesterday his efforts ended with wet shoes and wet sandals. Today he just took off his boots and grumbled as he walked through the water.We reached the banks of Lake Hebron about noon where we decided to have a lunch break. Despite the cold wind we were quite warm from the sun reflecting off the lake. Pokey talked about going in the lake but neither of us would do it. There were morganser ducks swimming and fishing nearby. We spent over an hour before continuing our trip into town. I didn't remember until we were leaving the lake that today is a holiday, Monday of Columbus day weekend. Pokey will not be able to get his mail drop until tomorrow. The forecast is for stormy weather tomorrow. Maybe a zero day is in order. We have not taken a day off in over a month.The Shaws are amazing hosts of their hiker hostel. They were having a family dinner today but included us in their plans. Poptart showed up from Abol Bridge where he is the ridge runner. He is encouraging us to keep our hike northbound as planned. Two hikers showed up just before dinner. Would you believe it is Flyin Brian and his fianc© Silver Girl? She broke her foot in Virginia and they got off the trail for 12 weeks while it healed. They have still caught up with us. They did 21 miles today. We talked at dinner with them about Brian's triple crown. After dinner we talked with Mr. Shaw about his 30+ years of operation. A movie on DVD,"The Butterfly Effect" kept us occupied for awhile and then we talked with Poptart until 1 AM. Time for some sleep. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-12
From: Monson ME

To: Monson ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke at 4:00 AM this morning to rain and heavy winds. Yahoo! A zero day. A huge breakfast at 7:00 AM was followed by a long gab session with Poptart. I went through my pack and mail drops trying to lighten my load by sending things I will not likely need again back to Crystal Lake via USPS. Watched some TV during the day and generally relaxed. The meals at Shaw's are huge so I am putting a little beef on for the last push on this great adventure. We are hoping to finish between October 22nd and October 25th depending on the weather. That means we will have to arrange a shuttle when we get to Abol Bridge into and out of Baxter State Park from Millinocket a couple of times.We hope to watch the Red Sox vs Yankees first playoff game of the league championship. We will most likely miss the rest of post season play. It will take us 8 to 10 days to get through the Hundred Mile Wilderness.It dawned on me today that I have actually hiked the entire AT since I hiked from Monson to Katahdin with John Salcius four years ago. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-13
From: Monson ME

To: Willson Valley Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

The sun came out today with not a cloud in the sky. After a huge Shaw's breakfast Mr. Shaw drove Pokey and me back to the trail. We hiked by numerous lakes. The trail in this part of the Hundred Mile Wilderness is never flat, always going up hill or down hill. We stopped at Leeman Brook Lean-to to check the register for signs of Kate and Burnie. No entries from them. Little Wilson Falls were beautiful with 60 foot drop. We found rocks to make our ford on the Little Wilson Stream a dry event. Some mud on the trail caused a little trouble for me. I tried to use rocks and roots to keep out of the mud. At one point I stepped with my right foot - the one that I sprained - between what looked like 2 roots with some freshly fallen leaves. My foot kept going down until my right knee was almost in the black mud. It was a major struggle pulling my leg out without leaving my shoe in the deep mud pit. My right leg looked like I was wearing one very black stocking. We stopped at a pond to wash off the mud before continuing on our way up and over the next ridge. A while later we had to remove our shoes to ford the Big Wilson Stream.It was past sunset 5:45 PM when we finally reached Wilson Valley Lean-to. While we set up sleeping bags and prepared our dinners we discovered an entry in the register from Burnie. Apparently Katie fell while trying to cross the stream and was floating down stream when Burnie waded in to rescue her. They both got pretty wet but are OK. They are now 4.5 days ahead of us. I wish they would stop and let us catch up. I just cannot hike at their rate. I'm hoping I can find the Red Sox/Yankees game on my radio tonight.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-14
From: Willson Valley Lean-to

To: Cloud Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: broken clouds

We got an early start heading up and on toward the Chairback Range. We crossed 3 good sized streams without taking off our shoes. About one hour into our hike a southbound hiker approached us. Underhill is a northbound thru hiker who is slacking south today for 14 miles. His girlfriend is driving him to and from the trail. At Long Pond Stream Lean-to we stopped for lunch and a break. Just as we were about to leave a middle school group dropped in from a day hike to Barren Mountain. They brought "Junior" the 11th person to finish a thru hike this year, with them to discuss trail life. We talked and answered a few questions then continued up toward the summit of Barren Mtn where we got some fabulous views. And where I was able to get cell phone service to call my wife Sue. We discussed plans for getting picked up in Millinocket by her when the hike is finally over.Another 50 minutes got us to Cloud Pond Lean-to where we discovered Marzapan and County already finished their dinners. They left Monson today. I could not see how they got by us and hiked so far in one day knowing they are late sleepers. They explained that they got a ride to a woods road that cut of more than 12 miles. The weatherman says rain tonight and wind tomorrow. Hope he is wrong.   Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-15
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

We talked awhile last night with Marzipan and County about trail experiences. It has been many nights since we shared a shelter with other hikers.Woke up to light rain this morning and to heavy fog. Pokey and I tried to make as little noise as possible so we would not disturb our shelter mates who we know have a reputation for sleeping quite late. We were on the trail about 7:45 AM. I know that seems late in comparison to the early morning departures we made earlier in the hike but the sun does not come up until almost 7 AM. The trail again was rougher than we expected. There were no views because of the clouds. The footing was treacherous because of wet rocks, roots, and leaves on the trail. There were some blow downs that caused some problems. At one point there was a downed pine tree across the trail on a very steep grade. I removed my pack to slide under the tree. Then retrieved my pack by pulling it under the tree. Pokey squeezed under the tree with his pack on. He wiggled and groaned and squeezed and shook his way under the tree. He made it but it took about three times as long as it would if he had taken his pack off.We reached Stairback Gap around 2 PM. We have not been doing more than 1.5 miles per hour and the next shelter is 10 more miles ahead. We are cold and wet and hungry. So despite short miles we will stop here for the night. The weatherman has predicted thundershowers, rain and strong winds with gusts in the 60 mph range tonight and tomorrow. We may have to stay here longer than one night.Kate and Burnie left entries here on 10/10. That means they are at least 5.5 days ahead of us. The rain on 10/12 when we zeroed in Monson likely slowed them a little. I suspect they made it to Abol Bridge today or yesterday but the rain today would have been awful for a summit and the high winds tomorrow will likely close Katahdin for the day. I hope they are safe and have a wonderful summit and last day on the trail. I wish we could be with them.I am in my sleeping back and have been eating constantly since we arrived. Lunch slowly gave way to dinner. Now it is dark 6:45 and time for some radio and sleep.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-16
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

We didn't expect to zero at a shelter but heavy rains and strong winds kept us from leaving this morning. The high water in the brook made crossing dangerous and suggested that the West Branch of the Pleasant River would be strong. Plus we were likely too late to make it to the next shelter in daylight and possible rain showers made tarping/hammocking an unpleasant prospect. We just sat it out. Listened to NPR and ate. The one problem is I don't have extra food for staying out here more than 6 days before White House Landing. Pokey has extra food so we are safe, but it was not smart on my part to bring a little extra. When I did this section with John Salcius it took us 9 days. We did not have White House Landing. I figured it would take us only 7 days as strong thru hikers to do all of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. I didn't plan on injuries but should have considered the weather. Next few days look better with clouds and highs in the 50's. Maybe we can begin to make better time after White Cap Mountain. The terrain will be much flatter.We expected County and Marzipan to show up last night but they didn't. As of 3 PM today they still have not arrived. Of course they are dealing with the same weather we are encountering. One thing is for certain, we are getting plenty of sleep. And the zero and low miles are keeping my knees from complaining.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-17
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Rain, rain, rain!!! After Prairie Home Companion last night we tuned into the Red Sox Yankee game. It was so depressing that I turned my radio off when the Sox were losing 6 to 17. I don't know how the game ended. I awoke around 5 AM to what sounded like thunder in the distance. Then the rain began. It was depressing. I wanted to be home. I scrunched up into my sleeping bag and tried to block out the sound of the rain. I managed to take a pee around 6 AM then got some more sleep. The rain finally stopped around 8 so we hurried to eat some breakfast and break camp. It was extremely foggy and condensation on the trees fell like rain. We hiked up to the summit of Chairback Mtn to discover sunshine. Our dispositions changed instantly. Everything looked beautiful. Golden hues of fall foliage could be seen for miles. The trail was covered with water and mud so our shoes and socks are soaking wet. I have no dry socks left. We reached the Pleasant River Road to find Knuckles - Underhills girl friend - waiting for her slacking partner. She opened the back of her truck and started handing us sodas and Little Debbies. She gave me a Mac-N-Cheese dinner when I mentioned being low on food after our unplanned zero yesterday.   She is a real cutie that brighten both of our days. She mentioned that Micky and Mallory and the rest of that gang planned to summit K today, 10/17. I read in the register that Flyin Brian and Silver Girl will summit today. I suspect that Kate and Burnie will be there for a summit today, also.We had to remove our shoes and socks and some other clothing to ford the West Branch of the Pleasant River which was about knee deep with pretty strong currents. The water was bone numbing cold. But we made it safely to the opposite shore. Three more hours of walking got us to Carl A Newhall Lean-to just as it started to rain hard again. I was out of water and didn't want to get wet walking down to the stream so I put my cook pan out under the water running off the roof to collect enough for cooking tortilini for dinner. It is very cold. Time to curl up in my bag for some sleep.   Woke up to discover a mouse on top of my sleeping bag while I am in it. He/she has gnawed a small hole to pull the down out for nesting material. It is one smart bugger. But this makes it hard for me to sleep. I caught one a few minutes ago with my hand and flung him out of the shelter as hard and far as I could hoping to do a little bodily injury. Hope he doesn't have a lawyer.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-18
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 10.8

After battling mice all night I was not eager to get up early even though a beautiful sunrise promised a great day of hiking. Pokey was anxious to do some miles so I reluctantly got up, had breakfast and packed up to leave. We were hiking before 8 AM. We started the day with a long steep climb up Mt Hagas. As we climbed Pokey asked if we saw snow on top of the ridge. I said it couldn't be. Must be birch trees or rime ice. I seem to be always contrary to things Pokey says. I was really surprised to discover that the trees near the top were indeed coated in a light dusting of snow. There were two more peaks to follow each a little higher than Mt Hagas and each was colder and covered with more snow. Finally we summated White Cap Mtn which had more snow but was in the sun when we reached the cold peak. After a little snack we hiked north and around the corner where it is possible to get a good view of Katahdin. Today that mountain was totally in the clouds.We made pretty good time hiking down the steep north side of White Cap. We took a lunch break at Logan Brook Lean-to. It started to snow and rain while we were at shelter but didn't last long.We crossed a road where we expected to see Knuckles again but she was not there. The trail got pretty flat for awhile.   Ran into a south bound couple, Miss Daisey and ATK, who summated on October 11th after flipping from Rangely. They knew our names from hikers ahead of us. We made it to Eat Branch Lean-to before 4:30. It is very cold. After a Mac-n-cheese dinner we are in our sleeping bags trying to keep warm. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-10-19
To: Note From Home
Miles today: 0.0

Hi everybody! I know there haven't been any entries lately since Gabby and Pokey have been in the Hundred Mile Wilderness for the last several days. I just wanted to let you know that all is well and the plan is that I will slack them thru Baxter State Park on Sunday the 24th, they'll summit Katahdin on Monday (if mother nature complies) and we'll head back here Tuesday.I want to thank all of you for your support of both hikers. They have accomplished a monumental feat and couldn't have done it without everyone's prayers and notes of encouragement.Thanks to you all...Sue