morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-09-20
From: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-To

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 17.9

My body kept scooting towards the shelter edge in the middle of the night. The boards in the shelter were at an angle and the blood rushed to my head. I still slept ok in that position. I heard someone rummaging through the food sacks at 6 am. It was Spot! I hadn't seen him since Bear mountain in New York. He was still going strong on his thru hike at 68 years old. We talked about the upcoming 100 mile wilderness and the possibility to resupply in it. He was happy to see me still trekking on the trail. I had some more coffee and poptarts for breakfast. Plenty of sugar for my 18 mile day. I packed up and headed out around 9 am.The elevation profile today looked flat but I knew that was deceiving. The trail followed the Piscataquis river for miles. It would follow the river then go up 200 feet then back to the river over and over. It felt like a mini rollercoaster. At one point I had to ford the river but luckily the rivers had been low enough that I could rock hop across. I did manage to toe dip my shoes in though. With a wet shoe I stopped at the next shelter to eat lunch. Spot was there setting up his tent. He said that if they did move the northern terminus from Katahdin then the trail should end in obscurity. Maybe like a dirt road or a dead end. Springer mountain wasn't that grand and the trail would be more about the journey rather than the goal. I ate lunch then pushed on another 9 miles. There was another river ford but I managed not to get my shoes wet. At a road crossing a a truck slowed down and stopped. His name was Richard and he talked to me for awhile about the state of Maine. He told me that the state was ran by a bunch of Republicans that controlled everything. He mentioned that a family started living in the Maine woods and people in the area thought they were crazy. They decided to hike the Appalachian trail south then ended up in the jungles in Hawaii. The time was getting late and I needed to move on before it got dark. The remaining 5 miles was a climb up to the road to Monson, ME. At the trailhead Bear Claw and her family were there. I was happy to see them. They shared some food with me and drove me into town. I was thankful for the ride. At the Lakeshore hostel I ran into Sunnyside and Bullet. I asked them if they wanted to form a tramily since everyone had pushed ahead. At the bar I ordered pot roast. It really hit the spot.  In the bunkhouse I ran into Magic who had just resupplied. He was leaving tomorrow for the 100 mile wilderness. He was going into Chicago after he summits Katahdin. I gave him some recommendations for places to go in that city. We talked until 10 pm then it was time for bed.Tonight I'm thinking about the end game.
Date: 2018-09-21
From: Monson, ME

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

When I woke up in the hostel it was grey and rainy out. I thought today would be a great day for a zero. I really didn't want to hike in the cold rain. The forecast said the next day would be sunny so I decided to wait. Magic had packed up his bag and was ready to get back on trail. His pack weighed 44 pounds with all the food. I wasn't ready for carrying that weight. I sat around and a few hikers gave me some of their leftover food. I stopped at the general store and picked up a breakfast sandwich and coffee. An older man with a walking stick with a silver fox tail began talking to me. He was an ambassador for the moosehead lodge in the area and had lived in Maine all his life. We talked about the Maine hermit for awhile but he said he could only go a week without seeing someone. Thumper stopped by and was on his way out on the trail. He was going to hike out in the rain.  I went back to the hostel to relax. I put on the movie the mask on VHS and watched the rain come down outside. It was coming down harder and harder. I was glad that I took a zero today. Around 4 pm I headed downstairs to the bar and got the fish fry. The bar filled up with hikers and locals. It was so crammed that they sat an older couple at my table. They had lived in the area for over 30 years. They also talked about how conservative the county was. Monson used to be mined for slate but the mines had run dry. There were a few other industries but that had all closed down. It was harder for the younger generation to live in the town since there wasn't work. They talked about how bad the black flies, mosquitos, and noseeums were in June and July. There used to be a large bat population that ate them but most had been killed of by the white nose disease. The bug population had gotten worse since then. The older gentleman talked about getting a permit to hut moose.  He had won the lottery this year for one. I couldn't imagine how much meat that would bring in. Sunnyside, Bullet, and Blaze showed up. They were getting dinner and drinks. The bar was super crowded at this point. Sunnyside and Bullet were going to head out tomorrow and planned on doing 15 miles the first day. It seemed like a lot with all that food but I was up for the challenge. Rebel Yell walked into the bar who I hadn't seen since Hanover, NH. He was still in good spirits after hiking 22 miles in the rain today.  I headed over to Shaw's to hang out with my hiker buds. We went over to the cottage and watched Wayne's World on VHS. It was a pretty chill night. I hung out until 9 pm then headed back to my hostel for bed.Tonight I'm warm and tomorrow it's going to be cold.
Date: 2018-09-22
From: Monson, ME

To: Wilson Valley Lean-To
Miles today: 10.4

This morning I got up early to head over to Shaw's lodging for breakfast. At Shaw's I sat down with Spot, his friend Dave, Opie, and a few other hikers. They had just started serving breakfast. It was 3 eggs, hash browns, bacon, and all the blueberry pancakes you can eat. We talked about the upcoming 100 mile wilderness. I was planning on carrying all my food through it.   Rebel Yell sat next to me. He talked about his home back in South Carolina. It had been flooded by the last hurricane. Luckily he had insurance to cover the expenses. The hostel's dog came up to us and started begging for food. She had bright blue eyes and reminded me of Theo. I finished my breakfast then headed back over to the hostel. I started packing up my stuff. I had two food bags for the 100 mile. When my pack was together it weighed 45 pounds which was the most my pack has ever weighed. I didn't look forward to carrying it. The hostel offered a ride back to the trailhead.Back at the trailhead my pack weighed like a boulder. It was really heavy to carry. Once it was on my back though I could carry it. I felt the weight shift around in the pack as I hiked. I hadn't even hit the hard the climbs in the 100 mile wilderness yet. The rocks had changed in this area to slate. They were slicker than the previous rocks. With a heavy pack I went slow over the roots and rocks since it felt easier to fall. I came to the first shelter and left a journal entry for Maga. It contained the lyrics to the Whitesnake song Here I Go Again. I pushed on another 6 miles and came to Big Wilson Stream. There were no rocks to hop across and I had to ford the river. The water came up to my knees as I walked across. The rocks in the water were covered in green slime and were really slick. I made it across without falling in. On the other side it was a mile to the shelter.  At the shelter there were about 7 or 8 people camping out back. The shelter had a couple people in it. The tenting spots were not great and I took one that had a couple roots and rocks. I setup then ate my dinner next to the shelter. The one hiker was a massage therapist. She had to keep that on the DL since people would always ask her for massages. I ate a pasta dinner and made some tea. The sun went down and it instantly got cold. It's supposed to be in the 30s tonight. I walked back down to my tent and went to bed.Tonight it's going to be freezing.
Date: 2018-09-23
From: Wilson Valley Lean-To

To: West Chairback Pond Camps
Miles today: 13.9

This morning was really cold. It felt like it was freezing out. I really didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag, but I eventually managed. Maverick and Steady were awake at the shelter. I joined them and made breakfast. Maverick also didn't want to get out of his sleeping bag. I made coffee and oatmeal. The oatmeal bag warmed my hands as I ate out of it. I was pretty lazy and didn't get out of camp until 10 am.  My pack was still really heavy from all the food I had been carrying. I packed some food at the bottom of my pack to even out the weight. I hiked up Barren mountain and it was a struggle up the 2000 foot elevation climb. I had to readjust my shoulder straps to keep them from digging into my shoulders. I got to the first shelter and took a snack break then headed up the mountain. On the way up I ran into some jars with trail magic! There were candy bars, chips, and first aid supplies. I was surprised to see trail magic this deep in the woods. I kept pushing up the mountain. There was some rocky parts but the terrain wasn't awful. At the top I met a day hiker who worked a summer job in Greenville, ME. She lived in her parent's cabin in the area but wasn't sticking around for winter. She had been climbing mountains in the region and had explored most of them. She was planning on working at a ski resort in Colorado when she leaves Maine. On the way home to Georgia she is going to stop in Akron Ohio, my home town, to visit her family. She was really excited to eat Swensons there. It was a local burger joint in Akron. I ate my lunch then pushed on.The remaining terrain was steep downhills with rocks. It never seemed to flatten out. It started getting dark and I decided to stay at a stealth site instead of the shelter. When I arrived at the stream with the campsite someone had already taken the main spot. There was a little spot next to the stream where I managed to setup my tent. It hardly fit. I ate an enchilada stew for dinner then jumped into the sleeping bag.Tonight I wish it got warmer.
Date: 2018-09-24
From: West Chairback Pond Camps

To: White Brook Trail Stealth Site
Miles today: 16.5

This morning was hard to get out of my sleeping bag since it was so cold out. It got close to freezing but my water didn't freeze. I got up and made oatmeal and coffee for breakfast to warm myself up. I packed up and wore my warm clothes when I started hiking. It took me awhile for my body to warm up. Even with a few climbs it was way too cold. I stopped at the chair back shelter and ran into Spitfire. She was waiting on Baby Bird, Jams, and Frolic since she started with them. She didn't want to leave her sleeping bag either.  I was looking to doing 18 miles today and pushed on.The climb down the chair backs was steep. There was a rock slide to traverse. It took me awhile to get down the mountain. At the bottom it was pretty much flat for a few miles until I got to Pleasant river. I didn't see a way across without getting my shoes wet. I changed into my Crocs and forded the river. I was warm before I crossed but the water made me cold again.  After the river it was 5 miles to the shelter before the white mountain range. I filled up my water at the shelter then headed up into the range. My pack was extra heavy with the water and all the food. I wore my fleece sweeter at the beginning but soon removed it when I started sweating. I gave Theresa a call for her birthday. She had gotten my flowers and my email. I was glad she enjoyed my present. I wish I could have been with her for her birthday. Me coming home will be her birthday present.  I pushed up over two mountains then found a stealth spot 2.5 miles from the shelter. It was 6:30 pm and I didn't want to night hike. As I was setting up Rebel Yell passed by. He had been doing longer mile days and had caught up to me. He pushed to the next shelter and I continued setting up. I made tea and chili for dinner. The warm cup and pot kept my hands from freezing. The forest was really quiet and I thought something was watching me.  Tonight the forest is too quiet.
Date: 2018-09-25
From: White Brook Trail Stealth Site

To: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to
Miles today: 14.0

This morning I could hear the wind howling outside my tent. It had picked up overnight as the rain front was coming in. It was still freezing at the gap where I stayed though. I got up around 6 am and got my food hang back down. I ate some peanut butter and tortillas for breakfast. I wanted to get an early start and didn't want to cook anything. I tried to pack up as much as I could in my tent to try to keep warm. I headed out at 7 am. The trail up white cap mountain was not so bad except my hands were freezing with all the cold wind. I got to the top and was almost taken off my feet. It felt like the wind was blowing 50 mph. It was clear though and I could see for miles. The sky was golden with lakes dotting the landscape. Cloud oceans took their place in the distance. I almost got blown over while trying to take a picture. On the other side I could see Katahdin! It seemed like the mountain was so close but I still had another 70 miles to go. The mountain range seemed to stand alone in the middle of forest. I hiked down to the shelter to grab water. It was still really windy at the shelter and I rushed to grab water. I hiked out of there pretty quick. Down the rest of the mountain was pretty gradual and didn't seem to hard. It was flat for a little while then I came to Little Broadman mountain. The climb wasn't that difficult. At the top I could see the storm clouds rolling in and had to book it to the next shelter. The trail got really flat and I enjoyed the change of pace. At one section I ran into a group of trail maintainers. They were replacing the bog boards. They had to haul all the wood until the forest. They gave me an apple and I was on my way.At the shelter Rebel Yell was hanging out. He said he couldn't get wet since he had only one pair of clothes. He was stopping early because of the rain. A few other hikers showed and wanted to use the shelter. They had hiked a considerable distance before the white cap range. I built a fire since I hadn't had one in a little while. I was also at the shelter at 2 pm and really wanted to eat. The fire was built before most of the rain. We talked about the end of the trail and what we would be doing afterwards. It's hard to imagine that it's almost over but I feel that I'm ready for it to end. I cooked up some chili and rice for dinner. Then got cozy into bed.Tonight I'm listening to Cooper Brook Falls as rain hits the tin roof.
Date: 2018-09-26
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 14.0

It rained all last night but luckily the rain had stopped in the morning. A hiker talked about playing Mario party 64 in the shelter.  If we did, no one would make it anywhere that day. As usual I was the last one to leave the shelter but I did love having it to myself. The shelter had a beautiful waterfall in front of it. I ate my oatmeal and drank some coffee. I had to do some pack maintenance. I left the shelter around 9 am.  The trek was pretty flat the 15 miles I was going to hike today. There were a couple hills but nothing much. I was planning on stopping at the shelter. After hiking for an hour I decide to stay at White House Landing. At Jo Mary road I had service to message Bill and Linda to book a reservation. They said I needed to be there before 5 pm for dinner. It was 11 am and I still needed to go 10 miles but it was an easy hike. I met a hiker there named Overhill who had been having knee issues. I let him use my phone so he could call a shuttle from Millinocket to pick him up. I pushed onto the next shelter. A hiker named Traveler was there who had been feeling sick. He was hoping to get a ride into town from White House Landing. We hiked on to the dock where you could get a boat ride to the hostel. I texted Bill and explained the situation with Traveler. He said Traveler couldn't stay there because the hostel was at capacity but knew someone in town who shuttled. Bill showed up in a motor boat and taxied us across the lake. We zoomed around large boulders in the water and it felt great to be flying across the water.  At White House Landing, it was a hostel that was off the grid. Everything was ran on propane. Even the lighting used propane. On the front porch I ran into the Snooze Crew which was Reggie, Charms, and Sticks. They had gotten in a few hours earlier. Dinner started at 5 pm and I quickly hand washed my hiking clothes and took a shower. At dinner Bill and Linda cooked pizza and hamburgers. It was a little pricey but I got a hamburger and a Budweiser. It was better than the food I had been eating over the past 5 days. We learned that a hiker named Gandalf had a reservation in Baxter state park for Saturday that he wasn't going to use. We all jumped on that instead of trying to fight for space in The Birches. It was a nice little trail magic. We watched as the storm rolled in over the lake. The wind picked up and the gas lighting flickered with each gust. It created an eerie atmosphere. After dinner I handed my phone over to Linda to charge overnight. The Snooze Crew and I went to the dock to hang out on the water. There was a warm breeze and the rain hadn't started yet. At 7:30 pm we went back to the bunk house and played Egyptian rat screw. I was super tired and didn't last long. It was time for bed.Tonight I'm sheltered from the rain.
Date: 2018-09-27
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 15.6

I was awoken last night by someone hacking and coughing at midnight. It sounded like they were getting sick. They kept me up for a little while but then I went back to sleep. I had to wake up early this morning since breakfast was at 7:15 am. I packed up my stuff and headed to the main house for coffee, eggs, bacon, English muffins, and ayce pancakes. The rain clouds had cleared overnight and we were left with blue skies overlooking a blue lake. It was definitely a magical place. After breakfast, Bill shuttled us across the lake back to the trail.  We had another 15 miles to do today until the shelter. It was pretty flat except one 700 foot climb. The trail did have the usual Maine ruggedness, but it wasn't that hard. I did slip a few times on roots. We came to a beach that had mountains on either side. The trees had been changing to yellows and reds. Fall was well on its way. We stared out at the view for a little while then moved on. At the top of the 700 foot climb we could see Katahdin in the distance. Even though it was 16 miles away we still had over 30 trail miles left. The 100 mile wilderness doesn't go in a straight line to Katahdin but in an S shape. Sometimes you're even going south on a trail. We stopped at a shelter to eat lunch. Reggie, Sticks, and Charms all had leftover pizza to eat. I wished I got pizza last night to pack out. I just had some lousy tortillas and peanut butter. It was another 8 miles to the next shelter. On the way we found several canoes tied up near a lake but there wasn't any oars. Sadly we pushed on.  At the Rainbow Stream Shelter Charms gathered wood to build a fire. I helped collect wood from across the stream. The shelter sat right in front of a wide stream with a good water source. I setup my tent then headed back down to the shelter to cook dinner. Charms got the fire going and everyone showed up to eat around it. There were several hikers there who stayed at White House Landing the night before. We all ate our dinners watching cowboy TV. Reggie talked about seeing everyone's posts about summiting. We were very close to doing the same thing ourselves. The shelter log book was filled with hiker's last thoughts about ending the hike. Some were ready for it to end others were not. At the beginning of the hike it never seemed that anyone put any real thought into the shelter log entries. Now at the end everything was coming out. I finished my dinner and hung out by the for a bit. Charms built the fire larger then snuck into his sleeping bag for the night. It was time.Tonight I'm thinking about how close we are to ending this adventure.
Date: 2018-09-28
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-To

To: Abol Pines Campsite
Miles today: 14.9

When I woke up it was cool again. The air chilled overnight. I packed up my tent and walked down to the shelter to make breakfast. Charms was still sleeping in his sleeping bag. I boiled water for my oatmeal and coffee. Another hiker came down with a bundle of sticks to start a morning fire. I was all for it. We hung out around the fire until 9 am then headed out. It was another easy 15 miles to Abol bridge with flat in between. We stopped at a pond for lunch and watched a prop plane fly over the lake. The plane could land on water. We went another six miles to rainbow cliffs and saw Katahdin up closer. I texted Theresa that I was still alive. She appreciated it. I hiked another 6 miles to the golden road. It was a dirt road with gravel. While walking over the bridge I got an amazing view of Katahdin with the trees and the river. There was a convenience store and restaurant. They also ran the campsite behind it. I paid for a camping spot with Charm's dad. It included free breakfast. Charm's dad Jim rolled into the campsite while we were all setting up. He was retired and used to be a car salesman. Good wood and Toasty showed up. They had just summited today and were super stoked. They were excited for us to summit on Sunday and said it was an amazing experience for them. We all got dinner at the restaurant. It was the last night the restaurant was open for the season. I got a steak and cheese sandwich with homemade potato salad with a large Baxter IPA.  Back at the campsite a number of thru hikers showed up to hang out. We built a fire since the temperature was dropping. A older man talked about what it takes to be a thru hiker. We all understood exactly what he meant. We all drank beers and partied late (9:45 pm) is late for hikers. We were a bit rowdy and were asked to quiet down. I was a bit sleepy myself and decided to go to bed.Tonight I'm 15 miles away from the summit of Katahdin.