morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-14
From: Stealth Camp on Wildcat Mtn

To: Carter Notch/19 Mile Brook Trail
Miles today: 3.9

Up at 6:00. Last night was very uncomfortable, particularly when I had to get up from a lying down position to a standing position. It was not any better this morning. It is now clear that I will not be able to hike through this back problem. (Incidentally, I strained a muscle on the inside of my right quad 10 days ago when I slipped on a wet rock. I could not climb with my right leg because of this. I wrapped it with an ace bandage, used knee warmers from Highlander, and did all climbing with my left leg for the next few days. It gradually got better and within 5 days I had regained all functionality of my right leg, just in time to attack the ¢Whites¢. This was an injury that I was able to hike through, like many earlier during the course of my AT hike. But clearly the back is not the same.) Highlander and I discussed the options. I elected to hike, with the aid of Vitamin I, the one mile to the Wildcat gondola which the AT passes and then reassess the situation. We packed, ate breakfast, and were hiking at 7:16 in 63 oF temperatures, fog, and no wind. It was slow going with some more steep climbs and descents sprinkled with some flat walks with a net elevation gain of 1000 feet to the peak of Wildcat E. We arrived at the gondola at 8:23 which was in the clouds. We found that it doesn¢t start running until 9:00 and we speculated that it may not even run then because no one would want to go up in the gondola since the mountain was completely cloud covered and there were no views. I felt well enough to hike on so that is what we did with our goal being Carter Notch, another 2.9 AT miles which includes going over the 4 peaks of Wildcat D, C, B, and A. It was slow going with some more steep climbs and descents sprinkled with some flat walks in the cols. It was topped off with a steep descent of 1000 feet from the peak of Wildcat A into Carter Notch and the 19 mile brook trail. We arrived there at 11:04, each had a candy bar, and then I decided to hike out and rest the back. So we left the AT and hiked the 3.6 miles out the 19 mile brook trail arriving at the Rt 16 trailhead at 12:54. Highlander hitched the 4 miles back to Pinkham Notch VC (an easy hitch) and returned with the truck at 1:10. We drove to Gorham, recovered my drop box from the Barn, gave two thru hikers a ride to the Rt 2 AT trail head, and had lunch. Then we drove back home to Massachusetts where I am again on medical leave. It is unclear how long it will take to heal back injury number two but I am hopeful there will still be time to get back on the AT.
Date: 2003-09-25
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today I decided to return to work.It has been 11 days since I left the Trail at Carter Notch in the Whites with my second back injury. My hope that it would recover fast has not materialized and, although it has improved some, it is still quite sore and my goal of returning no later than this Sunday can not be achieved. So today I decided to return to work next Monday and let the back heal at its own pace. Finishing the last 300 miles of my AT hike will have to wait until next year. I have made it 1859.4 miles, nearly all the way through the dreaded White Mountains, getting off at Carter Notch in the Wildcat/Carter Range. If my back heals enough this fall I plan to go back on a weekend and finish the remaining 15 miles of the Whites, reaching Gorham, NH, and reducing what remains to under 300 miles. It has been a great adventure for the last six months. I have met and hiked with many wonderful people ¢ the hikers, the trail magic givers, the hostel providers, the people in the towns I passed through, and the Trail maintainers. It is refreshing to live in an environment where everyone has the same basic goals and the same basic obstacles to overcome -- And where people are willing to help each other out to achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles. The AT is a very nice world.To my family, my work colleagues, my soccer colleagues, and the many friends I made on the Trail I want to thank them all for their encouragement, support, hiking guidance, and understanding while I was on my adventure the last six months. I want to particularly thank my Journal Transcriber (my daughter), my Journal Editor in Chief and Mail Drop Sender (my wife), and my Mentor, Highlander II, (my son). Their efforts have been tremendous, they made the hike and hike reporting go very smoothly, and they are very much appreciated. It has been a great experience being out on the Trail but I now look forward to getting back to the real world and renewing all my friendships there. Thanks to All again.
Date: 2004-06-08
To: 2004 Plan
Miles today: 0.0

I have been working hard since I left the Trail in Carter Notch last September to get my back healed to the point where I could continue my hike and, hopefully, finish. It has been a long journey.   X-rays, physical therapy, exercises and for the last 4 months yoga. In addition I have been training on Sat and Sun hikes of two to five hours with 1000 to 4000 ft of elevation and a full backpack. My packweight (without food and water) has been reduced by about 3 pounds (from 16 lbs to 13 lbs). For this I again have Highlander to thank for researching and finding a backpack (Golite) that only weighs 30 oz vs the 53 oz of last year's pack. Also I am carrying a 40 deg sleeping bag instead of the 30 deg bag last year reducing the bag weight from 32 oz to 16 oz. With 2 liters of water and 5 days of food I expect to be under 30 pounds.Last weekend I did my final tuneup hikes. On Saturday I hiked Mt Monadnock for about 7 hrs, going up the Spellman trail which is Monadnock's steepest trail and then hiking around the summit area on the multitude of trails that mountain provides. It was a great tuneup hike and great day for hiking. On Sunday I did Mt Watatic and the Wapack path for about 5 hours. I am now ready to return to the AT this Saturday. Highlander will take me to the nineteen mile brook trail head on Rt 16 in the White Mountains. I will hike this trail 3.5 miles in to Carter Notch to return to the AT where I left it last September. Then I will be back on the Trail heading north, planning to stay at the Imp Campsite Sat night.   Highlander will drive the truck to Gorham and hike south on the Trail to spend the night with me.   We both will hike north to Gorham on Sunday where he will pick up the truck and head home while I continue northward on the AT. That is the plan.
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Carter Notch/19 Mile Brook Trail

To: Stealth Camp 0.3 miles past Imp Campsite
Miles today: 7.6

Up at 5:30. I packed and left home by 6:30 am, had a Burger King breakfast in Gorham, NH, drove to 19 Mile Brook Trailhead and was hiking by 10 am in clear skies and 55 o temperatures. I made the 3.5 miles to Carter Notch and rejoined the AT at 12:00 where I left last September. It was nice to be back on the AT. I stopped by Carter Hut, signed the register, and then started hiking up the trail to Carter Dome. The realization came back very quickly how steep some of the trails in the White Mountains really are. I was glad I had done the training I had done. I hiked up and down the four peaks of the Carter Mountains, meeting Highlander II after Middle Carter. Hiking down from North Carter was very steep and demanding - I am glad that is behind me. When we reached the trail to the Imp Shelter/campsite and saw it was a 0.5 mile hike to it, we decided to hike on and stealth camp outside the 14 mile buffer zone where there is no camping. We hiked 0.3 miles beyond and are stealth camping there. On the way here, we could hear the plaintive call of the white throated sparrow. During dinner we were serenaded by the harmonic song of the Hermit Thrush. 7.6 Trail miles today plus the 3.5 miles of hiking in via the 19 Mile Brook Trail gives 11.1 miles the first day out.   I also learned how to use my altimeter logging capabilities so I can report a total ascent of 4830 ft, a total descent of 3090 ft, and a duration of 8 h, 17 min. It was a great hiking day; the temp stayed around 55 all day, with some wind at times, a clear sky, and NO bugs. At the top of Carter Dome, it was so calm and quiet that when I stopped I could hear only my heart beating. I felt as if I were one with nature.
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Stealth Camp 0.3 miles past Imp Campsite

To: Stealth Camp by Mt. Hayes
Miles today: 11.4

The tent temp was 50 o last night but the outside temperature was shivering cold. My new 40 o sleeping bag worked fine. It is a nice bag. Highlander II and I were up at 6 am and hiking before 7:00. It was cool and sunny with a slight wind. We made it the 7.7 miles to US Rt 2 just outside Gorham just before noon. While I hiked a mile road walk to the trail head to Mt. Hayes, Highlander II went to town and returned with two ice cold 20 oz Cokes. It was a nice treat. Both of us then went into town to get a bite to eat and to resupply my backpack for the next 5 days. We returned to the trailhead at 2:00 where Highlander II joined me in hiking the 2.9 miles and 1800 ft elevation to just beyond Mt. Hayes vista where I selected a stealth camp site for the night. The hike up was hot with temps in the low 80s and I was feeling the fatigue of another 11+ mile day. The hiking this afternoon was essentially another Mt. Monadnock hike after the 8 hr of morning hiking. Good thing I did the training prior to my return yesterday. Highlander II headed back down the trail at about 4:00. I set up my tent and it was buggy so I took my dinner back to Mt. Hayes and prepared and ate it there where there was a slight breeze and only a few black flies. I finished eating, returned to the camp site, and crawled into the tent to get away from the black flies, wood flies, and mosquitoes. I then spent some time hunting down and killing the black flies that had snuck into the tent. The black flies that land on the tent fly sound like rain. The tent temp has fallen from 79 degrees at 5:30 to 70 degrees now at 7:10. I did 11.4 AT miles today and crossed into the less than 300 miles-to-go region (294.2 miles). I had 3120 ft ascent and 3820 ft descent. Start-to-finish was 8 h 52 min (including 2 h in Gorham.)
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Stealth Camp by Mt. Hayes

To: Carlos Col Tent Site
Miles today: 13.3

Up at 5:00 with a tent temperature of 59 o F; hiking at 6:05 am. At 6:15 am I came across two hikers in sleeping bags on a bald rock sleeping under the stars. At 9:30 I passed a group of ex Boy Scout hikers. They were at the parking lot yesterday before we went into Gorham. Highlander II said I would pass them ¢ he was right. It was cloudy and around noon it started to shower off and on. By 3:00 it cleared up. I tried my cell phone from the summit of Mt. Success. I called and welcomed my secretary back to work after 4 weeks out. I tried to call home and kept getting kicked off. I noticed the battery was down ¢ must use up power really fast up here. The down hills were treacherous today, particularly the ¢cliff¢ just before the shelter. Highlander II warned me and it was everything he said it would be and more¢¦ but I made it as many others have done before. I arrived at the shelter/tent sites at 6:00 pm, pitched my tent, and ate dinner. This day was a tiring 4890 ft ascent, 4420 ft descent, with a duration of 11 h 41 min for 13.3 miles. They were hard miles. These days have been very nice for flowers. Today I saw carpets of bunchberries in bloom and a number of pink lady slippers (the New England orchid). I even saw a pair of white lady slippers today. It is 8:07 pm ¢ I am still alone at the tent site, and it is time to turn in.
Date: 2004-06-15
From: Carlos Col Tent Site

To: Speck Pond Campsite
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: broken clouds

Woke at 5:00 am and lay in the sleeping bag a little until I heard raindrops on the tent. Then I quickly packed up and went to the shelter to eat. Highlander II¢s technique for stowing the tent in the rain works well. I filled up my water bottles at the spring and started hiking. The trails up and down the Goose Mountains were steep and slippery. I had to take great care to avoid falling. There were high winds, fog (clouds), and rain when I crossed the summits. I had to walk crouched over to avoid getting blown over. The rain drops stung when they hit and my glasses fogged up. I was glad to get off those mountain peaks. The afternoon was even more of a struggle. I did the 1.1 mile Mahoosic Notch ¢ it took me nearly 3 hours to get through it. There was still snow and ice in the Notch and when the breeze blew it was like being near an air conditioner. That part of the Notch was cool. The Notch is a whole bunch of huge boulders that the Trail goes over, around, under, and through. A lot of it was two hand climbing; my poles were useless and just hung from my wrists by their straps. The trail went through one squeeze and three caves. I had to take off my backpack and sent it through separately in three instances. In two of the cases I had to crawl through on my stomach. Today I passed the 1900 mile mark. My ascent was 4330 ft, descent was 4022 ft, 7 laps and duration was 12 h 45 min for a total of only 9.5 miles. It was a very hard day. It is 9:30 pm and I will be lulled to sleep tonight by the spring peepers of Speck Pond.
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Frye Notch Shelter
Miles today: 10.4

It rained last night. I woke and heard the rain on the tent ¢ got up and brought the clothes ¢drying¢ on the line into the tent. This morning was cloudy and cool. I started hiking at 6:45 am (it gets a little later each morning) going up Speck Mountain in the clouds, on wet rocks, and with the wind blowing hard. During the morning the clouds dissipated, the sky became clear, and the wind moderated. The temperature rose from 45 o F when I started to a high of 65 o F during the day. It was great hiking weather all day long except at the start. The three inches on the tip end of one of my hiking staffs broke off today ¢ obviously a weak part of the design. Good thing it didn¢t break when I really needed it. I met my first two Thru Hikers (SOBOs) today ¢ Neil and Brian. Neil started on May 19th and Brian started on May 21st. Neither has a trail name yet. I also met Chuck from Manchester, NH (Retired Raytheon) who was doing number 71 in the New England 100 Tallest (today was E. Baldpate Mtn.) I arrived at the Frye Notch Shelter at 5:00 pm. There is still no one else here. I wanted to tent to avoid bugs but the only reasonable tent sites were in the middle of the trail so I opted to stay in the shelter. There are some mosquitoes buzzing now. Hopefully it will cool off some more and they will leave. My ascent today was 4130 ft, descent was 4900 ft, did 3 laps, and hiked for a duration of 10 hours 15 in. It was another tiring day. I plan to go into Andover tomorrow to resupply and will probably stay the night. It is now 7:45 pm and time to turn off the lights and battle the mosquitoes.
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Frye Notch Shelter

To: Andover Guest House/East B. Hill Rd.
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

Up around 5:00 am to a beautiful sunrise with the first rays of the day streaming into the shelter and painting the wall with streaks of orange-red light. I took some pictures but I¢m sure they will not do the scene justice. I was alone in the shelter last night and had to put Repel on to deter the pesky mosquitoes. The buzzing of mosquitoes does not lull me to sleep! It did get colder and the bugs went away. At 1:00 am it was 52 o F. I was hiking at 6:25 am and headed to East B. Hill Road to be picked up by the Andover Guest house between 11:00 and noon. I decided to call for a pickup because the bridge on the road is closed while it is being rebuilt. Hence, there is no traffic on the road and no possibility of hitching. As it was, I arrived at the road at 9:15 and just waited for my appointed pick up time of 12:00. I tried the cell phone but, as expected, no coverage ¢ so I was stuck waiting and practicing catching mosquitoes in the air with my hands. If done right, you catch them, squeeze, and ¢ voila - one more dead mosquito. It was such a peaceful road with pretty white clouds hanging in the blue sky that I had to take another picture. I also did some of my recently learned yoga to pass the time. At 10:30 am the first car went by. I hung out my thumb, and it stopped. It was the break lady from the bridge construction and she was driving around to the other side of the bridge to give the workers on that side a break. Her passenger-side door did not work so I had to crawl across the driver¢s seat with my pack. After Mahoosic Notch, it was a piece of cake. She drove me the 8 miles to the Andover Guest House and I cancelled the pickup and rented a single room for $30 and had the innkeeper Sandra do my laundry for $4. I had planned to hitch back out today but feel obligated to stay if I am going to use their shuttle service. Today¢s totals: ascent 960 ft, descent 1770 ft, 1 lap, 2 h 57 min, and 4.5 mi.
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Andover Guest House/East B. Hill Rd.

To: Stealth Camp 2300 ft up Old Blue
Miles today: 10.7

Up at 5:00 am. I got breakfast at 6:00 in the restaurant next door and then got the shuttle (driven by innkeeper Sandra) to the trailhead at 7 am and started hiking at 7:25 in cool temps, approx. 60 oF, and overcast skies. It was pleasant hiking in the morning. I went up and down Wyman Mountain, up and down Moody Mountain, and halfway up Blue Mountain, arriving at 4 pm. I set up the tent about 25 yards into the woods and cooked dinner fighting off the black flies. I had to break down and put on the Repel. It helped, but some of the nasty critters still bit me and even managed to get into some covered places like socks and underwear. I ate as quickly as possible and am now in my tent, my own personal bug-free environment. I saw a moose today. I was hiking along and heard a twig snap. I stopped, looked, and 20 yards to my left, saw the moose. I looked at it. It looked at me. Then it turned and walked away. In a few seconds it had melted into the woods and was no longer visible ¢ no time for a picture. I have seen no other hikers on the Trail today. Tonight I expect Highlander II to join me for the weekend. I left reflective line and my yellow kerchief across the trail. Hopefully he will see it when he gets here. There is no way he could see my tent from the trail, especially after dark. I also saw a number of pink and white lady slippers today. There were many white ones. I had never heard of white lady slippers before. Today¢s totals: 4240 ft ascent, 3420 ft descent, 3 laps, 8 h 54 min duration, and 10.7 miles. It is 7:05 pm, 70 oF and there is a moderate wind blowing. I await the arrival of Highlander II but may drift off to sleep before he gets here.
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Stealth Camp 2300 ft up Old Blue

To: Stealth Camp 0.1 mi North of ME17
Miles today: 12.8

Highlander II arrived at 7:40 pm last night. He easily saw my signs. We traded hiking stories while he cooked and ate his dinner. He brought me a cold Coke ¢ thanks! The bugs were bad outside the tent, so we both retired to out tents for the night. It rained hard from about 3:30-4:30 am but had stopped by the time we packed up. Highlander II gave me some of his water for my next 8 miles north and then he hiked to the summit (at his pace), turned around, and hiked back to his car at the road crossing. He drove to the next road crossing and hiked back to meet me. I hiked over Old Blue and the Bemis Peaks, meeting Highlander II at the Bemis Mountain Lean-to where we ate lunch. We hiked to the road crossing (ME 17) arriving there at 4:30. We then headed into Rangeley for a dinner of pizza. We came back to the trailhead, hiked in a bit, and set up stealth camp. Highlander II headed back home at 7:45 pm. My tent was still drenched from last night¢s rain and is now drying out in a moderate to heavy breeze. I am sitting on a log outside writing this journal. Today was difficult hiking at times. It rained off and on so there was water on the trails and both the rocks and roots were wet and slippery. I slipped coming down a wet rock and rolled down the slanted rock. It feels like I bruised my left ribs. I plan to hike tomorrow and see how I do ¢ I am optimistic. It stopped raining at about 4:30 pm and is partly clear. The breeze is chilly and I need to get my stuff into the tent and me into my sleeping bag. I just saw and heard an 8¢ diameter tree fall down in the wind about 30 ft to my left. Thankfully, it does not look like anything is ready to fall near my tent. Totals: ascent 3840 ft, descent 3720 ft, 3 laps, duration 10 h, 8 min, 12.8 miles.
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Stealth Camp 0.1 mi North of ME17

To: ME4 Trailhead/Rangeley
Miles today: 13.0

It was cold last night, getting down to 45 oF in the tent. I had to put on my rain gear to stay warm in my 40 oF sleeping bag. I started hiking at 7:15 am under clear, breezy skies. Yesterday we met two SOBO thru-hikers, ¢.com¢ and ¢Bob.¢ Today I met four more: ¢#*$&es in the Wind,¢ ¢Smokey Bear,¢ ¢Neil,¢ and ?. They are all carrying very heavy packs. This afternoon I also met A (Alte) K (Kocka) Walker and ¢Mi-shug-a-na¢ (means ¢crazy¢ in Yiddish). AK Walker is 77 and Mishugana is 75. They are out from Illinois on their annual AT section hike. Today was a relatively easy hike with no major peaks or notches. I had lunch with Brad Viles who is a writer for the Bangor Newspaper. He writes a column about hiking in Maine. He was preparing to go fly fishing on Little Swift River Pond. There were two beat up canoes there for use by the public. Bob had brought duct tape with him to try to stem the leaks. He gave me one of his sardines packed in olive oil on a cracker. It was very good. I reached ME 4 at 4:15 pm and decided to go into town to rest my sore chest and the blisters that were forming on my left foot. AK Walker and Mishugana gave me a ride in after 15 min of trying to hitch were unsuccessful. We are all staying at the same place and plan to go to dinner together. Stats for today: ascent 2320 ft, descent 3130 ft, 4 laps, 8 hr 45 min, and 13.0 miles. It is time for dinner and time to close.
Date: 2004-06-21
From: ME4 Trailhead/Rangeley

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

Last night at dinner with AK Walker and Mishugana, I noticed I am getting my hiker appetite back ¢ at least for town food. I slept in until 7 am this morning and then joined Mishugana and AK Walker for breakfast in town. We enjoyed trading stories about family and hiking exploits. They are very nice people; I hope I still can be hiking at their age. After breakfast, I packed up and they took me back to the trail head. They were my Trail Angels. I started hiking at 10:40 am under sunny skies in cool temperatures with a moderate breeze. Today I climbed Saddleback, The Horn, and Saddleback Jr., arriving at the Poplar Ridge Shelter at 7:05 pm. Today on the Trail, I met SOBOs ¢Tapeworm,¢ ¢Gnome Sherpa,¢ and ¢Flair.¢ In the shelter I met ¢Sweet Fish,¢ ¢Sharon,¢ ¢Rally,¢ and ¢Boot.¢ Rally had heard of Trog from Rocky who had hiked last year. We shared tips with each other about what to expect ahead. Just thru-hikers helping thru-hikers, although to be precise, I am a section hiker now. Earlier in the day, AK Walker and I were commenting on how great Maine was. He called it ¢rugged beauty.¢ He is so right. For today: ascent 4080 ft, descent 2830 ft, 3 laps, duration 8 hr 37 min, 10.7 miles. It seemed like a long day. It is now 9:36 pm and I can hear the trickle of the stream 3 ft away from my tent. It will lull me to sleep tonight.