morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-22
From: Madison Hut

To: Pinkham Notch Camp
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: fog

Last night's decision to stay at the hut turned out to be a mistake and the result was a horrible worr-filled morning that I would rather not remember. The good news is that my mom and dad got my frantic message not to get on the gondola, albeit they were already up in the gondola at the time, and I found them right next to the trailhead at Pinkham Notch. After exclaiming how thin I was my mom ushered me into the visitor center for food, which I hadn't had time to have all day.On the way into Gorham we saw a hiker on the side of the road and I asked if we could pick her up. It turned out to be Granite who had gotten a little confused about the direction of the trail! The rest of the day was really relaxing and enjoyable. We watched movies, took a nap and went out for dinner - all inside activities since it was pouring outside. It was great to see my mom and dad, who treated us to everything by the way, and to catch up with what's going on in the outside world.
Date: 2006-07-23
From: Pinkham Notch Camp

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

I'll never get to Maine at this speed - maybe I can do a big day tomorrow. Dad dropped Granite back on the trail this morning since she was going to hike the 21 miles back to Gorham today. I, on the other hand, am not planning on stopping again until andover, so I took the morning to eat my last McGriddle of the trail and to resupply. Then mom, dad and I all headed back to the trail.I had been worried about the climb up Wildcat mountain, that's why I had suggested they take the gondola. My worries materialized about halfway up when we came to an exposed face and I could see my mom's legs buckle. She handled it like a trooper though, and pushed through her fear, and we eventually made it to the peak. I told her I bet she's never been so glad to see a ski lift in her life.It was sad to say goodbye but we all had to move on. I am so grateful they came out to visit although I wish it hadn't rained the whole time. The next visitor I should get should be Robert when I summit Katahdin - yeah!So it had taken a bit longer than I expected to get to the gondola and I realized I'd have to take another short day. I didn't mind too much although I'm a little anxious about falling a whole day behind everyon else. It's nice to be staying in a hut on such a damp day and I know it must have been the right decision because I got fed a gourmet meal (including dessert) by a bunch of boy scouts who even washed my dishes. Sweet!
Date: 2006-07-24
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: US2, Gorham
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: few clouds

I woke up early so that I could try to do the aforementioned 22 miles, or at least try. Even though I'm not a morning person and I tend to be grumpy in the morning I am almost always rewarded with nice weather, calm stillness and lovely scenery. It's hard to describe but this morning was no exception as I rock hopped between two yellow-lilly covered ponds nestled in the mountain valley. The walking was difficult once again and I realized my goal was a far stretch when it took me 5 hours to walk the first 7 miles.Icalled Granite to see where they were headed today and found out that they were taking a zero today at "The Barn" in Gorham. This was partly because Grizzly had tried to modify a Croc, had sliced his finger in the process and ended up in the emergency room getting stitches. And to think that just this morning I thought that I'd be the first one in the hospital as I was struggling to climb down a rock jumble.The mountains leveled out about 4 miles before the road, but my toes had received such a beating on the downhill climb that I had to resort to my Crocs. This slowed me down when I should have been flying. At the road I had to decide whether or not to go into town to the hostel. On one hand I'd get to meet up with my friends, on the other hand I'd be another day behind, I'd have to hitch and I'd have to stay in hostel (both of which I hate). But friends always win out in the end, so I found myself having another last meal at the Gorham McDonald's.
Date: 2006-07-25
From: US2, Gorham

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

There's only one thing I want to stick out in my mind today, and that's the moment we found the Maine border, I threw down all my stuff and laid on the sweet, sweet ground. That and Granite and I saw a moose by Gentian Pond. I hope I got a good picture. I think Snake and I got a taste of what's to come in the Mahoosuc Notch after we crossed the border and found ourselves scrambling down rock faces. It didn't matter though, we've made it to our last state. Finally.
Date: 2006-07-26
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Even though we didn't go very far today, today was extremely difficult and exhausting. It probably didn't help that we were extremely tired to begin with, and this made our morning walk a little slower than usual. Granite, Doogie and Grizzly all caught up to us while we were having lunch at the Full Goose shelter and we waited for a quick thunderstorm to go by.All five of us entered the infamous Mahoosuc Notch together. We've been hearing about this place for weeks and the jumble of boulders that we had to climb over, under and through did not disappoint. It was scary and fun all at the same time, but as I started to climb up the next mountain I quickly realized how much energy I had spent. Granite was not feeling well so Snake and I tried helping her to the next shelter, and straight up the Mahoosuc Arm we climbed. We got in tonight literally seconds before it started to rain, which was really cool timing but which also disuaded me from swimming in the beautiful pond, the highest pond in Maine.
Date: 2006-07-27
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: East B Hill Rd.
Miles today: 14.9

When Snake's alarm went off this morning I prayed that he wouldn't hear it, but no such luck. Granite was still feeling dizzy so all three of us walked down to Grafton Notch together. Grizzly came down shortly after us and looked rather surprised to see a gigantic moose standing right behind us. To be honest, we were even more surprised, but I still had enough sense to get out my camera and snap a shot. Snake, as seems to be his habit, suggested that we quit early and slackpack 20 miles tomorrow, and I, as seems to be my habit, jumped all over it only to be disappointed when he changed his mind not five seconds later.The rest of the day was long, hard and tiring, just like all the recent days have been, but just like we had been told, Maine is proving to be beautiful. We got to the road at about 6:30 and waited for the shuttle I was hoting had gotten my voice mail message, but at 7:15 we decided they weren't coming and we tried to hitch. This sounds easier than it looked since we'd only seen one car in the entire time we;d been sitting there, but luckily the next car that came through stopped for us. The couple that picked us up was really nice and we found ourselves at the Andover Roadhouse Hostel in no time. We opened the door to find a very beautiful place, nicely maintained, that I knew I would enjoy staying in.
Date: 2006-07-28
From: East B Hill Rd.

To: South Arm Rd.
Miles today: 10.1

Happy birthday Robert! My hunger has seemingly escalated out of control as of recently and I'm pretty sure the diner across the street was close to out of food when I got done with it this morning. I picked up my Keen sandals at the Post Office which was a very exciting moment - new shoes!Snake had convinced me to do my first ever slackpack today, so I packed a little backpack with water and my rain gear before we got dropped back off at the trail. I'm not sure if it was the new shoes or the lighter pack, but I felt totally free and the hike was really enjoyable. Maybe too enjoyable because it reminded me of how life used to be when I lived in a house, went out for little excursions, and then went home again to a shower and a meal. I'm seriously considering slacking again tomorrow. Snake has created a monster.
Date: 2006-07-29
From: South Arm Rd.

To: ME17
Miles today: 13.3

When my alarm went off this morning I decided I was definately going to make this another slackpack day, but Snake decided to stick with his decision to stay out in the woods. I went ahead and resupplied in the morning so I could just rest and relax this evening. At the store I got thoroughly questioned by a couple of locals who were obviously regulars at the establishment. My favorite question was, "Did your daddy pay for this trip?"We were back on the trail by 9:00 and once again I really enjoyed the freedom of slackpacking. As an added bonus the weather was really beautiful. Shortly after Snake and I stopped for lunch Granite came running up behind us. I was really happy to see her so I could let her know about my plans for the day and hoorah! she decided to come back to the hostel with me.We rushed a little bit through the afternoon so we could get to the shuttle on time, and it was knind of a shame that we had to run by wild blueberries and Maine splendor but I hope to be getting more of both in the next two weeks. Two weeks!!!
Date: 2006-07-30
From: ME17

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

I knew the time would come when I would have to strap back on my heavy pack and head back to the woods, and today was that day. I overslept this morning and had a frantic bag packing moment ¢ I think it was the fastest I¢d ever packed ¢ before I found out that our shuttle time had been pushed back. Relaxed once again I laid back and took a nap. Something snapped inside me this morning and a feeling of relief, excitement, and extreme joy has replaced my recent melancholy. It continued with me on the music-filled car ride, over the trail and right into this shelter. I don¢t think anything is going to get me down between here and Katahdin. Mother Nature must have sensed my happiness because it was mirrored in the gorgeous weather, level walking, and incredible scenery. At lunchtime I told Granite I could hear the ocean and we turned to find a beautiful pond being blown onto a little sandy beach by the breeze. Someone had put two little tables there for us to eat at and we just sat there absorbing our surroundings. We eventually got up and left, but the rest of the walk was just as nice. We were going so fast we eventually caught up to Doogie and Grizzly just before the shelter. 15 miles in 7 hours ¢ that hasn¢t happened in a long, long time. The caretaker at the shelter took our pictures for an ast project he is working on which made shy ole me feel a little awkward, but this was still my favorite day on my epic journey ¢ at least so far.
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Spaulding Mtn. Lean-to
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: few clouds

Another month has come and gone out here on the trail, and in 5 more days I¢ll have been in the woods for 5 months. I¢m starting to really like these early (for me) finishing times. Tonight I got into the shelter at about 5:15! Not bad for a 17 mile day, it seems that as the terrain starts to level out and get less rocky my speed is coming back. It¢s nice to know that I¢m not just a broken down old thru-hiker. My good mood from yesterday definitely carried over to today, and I marveled at the far-reaching vistas from atop the treeless ridge of Saddleback Mountain. Granite appears to be feeling the same way I do, even after my incessant annoying question of, ¢Is that one Katahdin?¢. The only sad part of the day is the continued absence of Snake, who left us a note in the trail register pretty much saying that he was going to continue to do is own thing for a few days. I hope he¢s having a good time and that we catch up to him soon.
Date: 2006-08-01
From: Spaulding Mtn. Lean-to

To: Horns Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Waking up to rain on my tent is always a good way to convince me to sleep in, and today was no exception. Everyone else was stopping in Stratton to resupply, so they all left hours before my 10:00 start. I tried to take it slow since that usually maintains my good mood, and I had a rain free morning up until I sat down for lunch. This was the exact moment the clouds decided to open up and pour on my head. I ate as best I could, all huddled up in a ball under my rain jacket and, wouldn¢t you know it, as soon as I packed up it stopped raining. The biggest event of the day was an innocent fall that could have ended rather badly (but didn¢t). I slipped sideways while climbing up the Crocker mountains and somehow ended up landing face first onto the pointed sawed-off end of a tree stump. It slammed right into the soft part of my chin causing my jaw to snap shut and sending pain through my teeth and head. I stood up to shake myself off and check for injuries. The only one I could find was a circular cut on my chin which, as I was informed by a SOBO, was not bleeding. The day was pretty uneventful after this close call. I tried calling Robert when I reached the road that goes into Stratton, to no avail, before heading up the Horns. Wow! What a tricky climb! The last 3 miles took forever and I straggled into the shelter just before dark. I ate dinner with the remaining two members of the Maine Train as we watched a spectacular light show illuminate the distant mountains.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: East Flagstaff Rd.
Miles today: 11.6

The rain coerced all of us to sleep in this morning, and we weren¢t in too much of a hurry anyway since we had a short day in front of us. The climbs today were a little bit more tricky than I thought they would be. My cool color change glasses have been confused lately whenever I get to a treeless summit on a rainy day, and sure enough they got dark and foggy on the top of Bigelow so I had to take them off to ¢see¢. This slowed me down even more until I got back to lower ground. The rest of the day I pretty much hiked with Granite, who was so excited about finally getting from Georgia to her uncle¢s lodge that she nearly left all of us in the dust. Once we got to the road we had a bit of excitement trying to find her uncle¢s van, which he had told her he left in the gravel pit by the trailhead. We finally found the pit, and we found the van, but what we couldn¢t find were the keys. We searched the van from top to bottom and even called Granite¢s relatives for suggestions but they simply weren¢t there. I was getting a little worried because I definitely didn¢t have enough food to make it to the next town and this road was not hitchable. As a last resort Granite called the caretakers who were watching the lodge only to discover that we had been trying to break into the wrong van. Oops! It¢s a good thing those people hadn¢t left their keys around the car or my thru-hike might have turned into Grand Theft Auto. The caretaker came to pick us up in the correct van, and we headed to the lodge to clean up before running out to get something to eat. Running is an appropriate term here since we had to hurry to pick up Snake from the trailhead. I was in such a rush I just grabbed a wild assortment of food from the grocery store, and ended up with a bag of Doritos and a huge Gatorade to feed my growling belly. We hadn¢t seen Snake in a four days so I thought he would be happy to see us. Instead he just looked wet, miserable and a little angry. Poor guy, he¢d been standing in the rain for a long time and had convinced himself that we weren¢t coming. He cheered up after he was clean and dry and had had a chance to wind down, and he joined us our jovial culinary party in the kitchen.
Date: 2006-08-03
From: Claybrook Mountain Lodge

To: Claybrook Mountain Lodge
Miles today: 0.0

Scheduled zero days are awesome because I don¢t have to hike anywhere and I can lounge around in the morning. When we finally did get up Blistah, Granite and I made a rather sizable breakfast of French toast, hashbrowns, eggs, bacon and toast while dancing around to an oldies radio station. I felt extremely happy, and to top it off I finished breakfast with a nap. Actually, I had 2 naps today broken apart by a resupply/lunch trip into town and followed by the movie ¢Top Gun¢. It was after this laid-back day that the craziness began. Blistah and Rocket Man had planned on leaving tonight because they were meeting up with family tomorrow, and Granite wasn¢t feeling well, so I offered to drive. The first time we headed out we made it about a mile before we discovered that where we were going wasn¢t where they needed to get to. After realizing, with the aid of a map, that we had no idea where we were or where we were going, we turned back to ask for help. A half an hour later we were back on the road with instructions that included unnamed logging roads, a potentially drunk gatekeeper and a road walk. I wasn¢t too sure we would find the way. We only made one wrong turn before finding the gate with the friendly, yet definitely intoxicated, gatekeeper who, when we told him where we were going asked if we had a boat. When we pointed out that we obviously didn¢t he pulled out the old Maine adage, ¢Well, then you can¢t get there from here.¢ He, his wife, Blistah and Rocket Man pored over alternate routes on the map while I stood back feeling a little concerned. I suggested they come back with me a call their family from the lodge, but they decided that bushwhacking around Pierce Pond in the dark was a much better option. Being only a humble taxi driver I had no choice but to drop them off in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, with naught but the packs on their backs and lights on their heads. I still had to make it back to Granite¢s, and the ominous warning about a red Chevy truck with NH plates and a drunk driver given to me by the drunk gatekeeper only spiced up the ride. Thankfully I never saw the deviant, but I also never knew if I was going the right way until I was in the driveway. This combined with the low level of fuel, lack of other vehicles or street signs, and lack of cell phone reception made for a stressful hour-long drive. But boy do I have a story to tell the others. I hope Blistah and Rocket Man make it.
Date: 2006-08-05
From: Pierce Pond Shelter

To: Bald Mtn. Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: few clouds

Last night the peacefulness of the pond disappeared and was replaced by horrible, tiny, biting no-see-ums. At first I tried to brave it out in my sleeping bag, and I even tried to write in my journal. They attacked me viciously, biting my hands and face before I finally gave up, put my journal away and set up my tent in the shelter. The only one who toughed it out was Snake, who said they bit the only uncovered part of his face all night long. I¢m glad I set up my tent. We took our time again this morning, but we knew we had to make it to the Kennecebec River by 11:00 or else we¢d have to wait 3 hours for the ferryman to return. Grizzly and Doogie, on the other hand, woke up before it was even light out so that they could beat the ferryman to the river in order to live out Grizzly¢s lifelong dream of fording the dangerous river. While Snake and I were packing up there was a sudden splash, and a call of, ¢Aaarrrggg! J¢ai tomb© en l¢eau!¢ which translates to, ¢Aaarrrggg! I¢ve fallen in the water!¢ This was followed by an eruption of laughter from this poor boy¢s French-Canadian compatriots, which was so loud it covered up his explanation of what had happened. Snake took a little too long to get ready this morning, and we found ourselves sprinting to the river to make the ferry. We made really good time, and arrived 15 minutes before our deadline. The Kennecebec is another one of those landmarks that we¢ve heard about since the very beginning. The water is controlled by a hydroelectric dam that sporadically and drastically changes its level. Hikers used to have to ford the river until someone drowned, and the ATC decided that the official route would be via a canoe, aka the ferry. The river was really high today, in fact it was so high that we were told that Grizzly and Doogie ended up swimming across without their packs only to freeze on the other side waiting for the ferryman so they could go back across and get their packs. We, on the other hand, are not that foolish. Snake picked up the orange flag on our side and waved it to signal Jake the ferryman to come pick us up. After donning life vests and signing waivers Jake and I rowed us back to the other shore. And oh my gosh, how great did it feel to finally be across the Kennebec. We celebrated this feeling with cheeseburgers and ice cream at a little shack down the road called Moose Crossing, and everything even seemed to taste better on this side of the river. As always, we eventually had to hike somewhere, but we were in such a good mood that the hike was good and relaxed. That is until we had to ford a pond, with slippery rocks, that I didn¢t care for much. It took a while, and even though I threatened to turn around and go back to Georgia, I made it across this one too. One less river to cross, I guess.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: Bald Mtn. Brook Lean-to

To: ME15, Monson
Miles today: 22.0

Monson. Gateway to the 100 mile wilderness. Our last town on the trail. This is where I find myself tonight, and this, I feel, is the beginning of the end. We started out early today because we had a long way to hike and we wanted to get into town at a respectable hour. We only had one mountain to climb, Moxie Bald, and we got this out of the way right away. At the top we played the usual game of Where¢s Katahdin, we jumped over the deceptive mud hole we¢d been warned about and then took a blueberry break. Doogie and Grizzly passed us while we were breaking, but we saw them again shortly as we began the rocky descent, and then again when we forded a stream. The four of us walked together playing a game of Would you Rather until we reached the west branch of the Piscataquis River. We had been warned about this too, and it looked as deep and as rapid as had been described. Snake and I watched Doogie and Grizzly fight the current and water up to their waists, and then we decided to sit and have lunch before attempting it ourselves. River fording scares me (I¢ve fallen in on a previous trip) and so I sat and ate trying to ignore the gushing water next to me. Finally, I plucked up some courage and steeped on in. As I was slowly making my way across what seemed to be the most shallow part Snake discovered that the trail actually continued across an island in the middle, and once we got up onto it we realized that the water was less deep and rapid on the other side. In the end I was able to keep my shorts dry. We haven¢t really walked huge miles recently and we started to get very fatigued by late afternoon. I was starting to have my doubts that we would make it into Monson, but sure enough we were able to struggle up to the road. We were picked up by a young couple in a Jeep Wrangler. Now Jeeps seem like very fun cars for young people, but I discovered that they are somewhat impractical for carrying passengers with baggage, especially with the top off. I didn¢t hear a word the people said to me, and when we got out I realized that my dear orange plastic shovel, which I had named Mickey, had flown out of the car on the way over. A very dramatic end to his adventure. When we got to Shaw¢s we found a wonderful place to stay, along with Doogie, Grizzly, and yay! ¢ Granite! Granite was feeling much better, and who couldn¢t with fluffy towels, clean bathrooms, and awesome bed linens. I¢ve spent so much time in dirty hostels along this trip that a 5 star hotel couldn¢t have made me happier. Monson is a cute little town, but sadly the only place to eat on a Sunday night is the gas station, so that was my first item of business. I did some serious damage there and ended up spending about $30 on my dinner which included a large calzone (basically a large pizza folded in half), chips, chocolate cake and 4 different beverages. I wasn¢t quite able to finish the pizza or chips¢¦