morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-09-08
From: Polly wog Stream 

To: Abol Stream
Miles today: 18.1

Well, although the mileage was very long today, the terrain was very easy, so I finished at an early hour. We started hiking at 5:30 AM, in the dark of pre-dawn, by the light of our headlamps. I got a very pleasant surprise today. I was walking along when a person walking towards me called out "hello, Marshmellow!" To my utter astonishment, it was an old hiking friend named Charles (Lucky Man is his trail name.) Charles was on his second day of a 2-3 month hike that will hopefully take him from Katadhin to Harpers Ferry. Because it was only day two of his hike, Charles was wearing clothes that were both clean and new. He also had no body odor. He deffinitely did NOT look(or smell) like a long distance hiker. Charles had been following my blog and by also talking with other hikers who knew me, he knew that our paths would cross that day. Charles asked many people that day if they knew Marshmellow, and if so, did they know where Marshmellow was on the trail. Some of the people he asked were my hiking buddies, and they treated him with caution and wariness. My hiking buddies know I have a blog, and here comes this total stranger with clean, new clothes (and no body odor) asking questions about Marshmellow, and they figured he might be some kind of deranged fan out to get me. Charles has talked for years of selling his house and possessions, and moving out west to indulge in his number one passion in life, which is long distance hiking Well, that is no longer just a dream, as that is what he has done. Charles is never completely happy unless he is hiking. Had my friends had a long chat with Charles, they would have discovered that Charles is a kindred spiit, with some very impressive hiking credentials. Later that nite, when we were all in camp, my hiking buddies told me of their very brief meeting with Charles, and to my astonishment, I discovered they uniformly seemed to have a low opinion of him. I wondered why that was. My conclusion, which may or may not be correct, is that it was a form of reverse snobbery. Here is a fellow with clean, fresh, new clothes, and he doesn't even smell bad, and he has the nerve to call himself a long distance hiker??? If time had permitted, and they had a half hour chat with Charles, they would have discovered a friend and kindred spirit.
Date: 2016-09-09
From: Abol Stream

To: Katadhin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.2

Today, we began hiking at 5:30 AM, in the dark by the light of our headlamps to hike 9.2 miles of very easy terrain. We did this because two hikers in our group are going to summit Katadhin Mt, today, and as it is one of the toughest days of the entire AT, they need as much time as possible.(Tomorrow, the rest of us will summit Katadhin.) I have a very sad story to tell today about a 66 year old woman whose trail name was Inchworm who died a very tragic death on the AT in 2013. Several thousand people hike all or part of the AT every year and as a result, there is a well founded fear that the AT will become overused. To prevent this, the AT authorities stress a program called "Leave No Trace." This policy states that hikers need to minimize their impact on the AT so that future hikers can also enjoy an unspoiled wilderness.This means leaving no litter, and packing out whatever you pack in. A privy is provided at every shelter, but sometimes "nature calls" when a person is not close to a privy. When this happens, the "Leave No Trace" people advise that the person go a minimum of 200 feet off the trail, dig a 6 inch hole, and do what they need to do. Inch worm went a great deal off the trail for a bathroom visit, and then couldn't find her way back to the trail. She was lost in one of the wildest parts of Maine. The largest search in the history of that part of the state was organized, unsuccessfully. Inch worm climbed to a high mountaintop, and stayed there. Supposedly, on a few occasions, seachers came within 100 yards of Inchworm without discovering her. Inchworm was 10 minutes away from a path that turned into a road that led to civilization. Her body was not discovered for a few years. They then discovered, by writings in her journal that she had survived for at least 26 days after she got lost.
Date: 2016-09-10
From: Katadhin Stream Campground

To:  The Summit Of Katadhin Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Our hike began at 5;30 AM, in the dark, with our headlamps on. We all had an enormous adrenaline rush, as today we had an incredibly tough climb to the top of Katadhin Mt. My day got off to a bad start, as I nearly lost my hiking pole down a steep slope when I paused to photogragh a beautiful waterfall. If I had been smart, I would have listened to my friend Charles advice, and left my hiking pole behind, as a hiking pole was worse than useless on an incredibly steep, 4000 foot elevation gain in 4 miles. What we did for a good portion of the hike was a hand over hand nearly vertical rock scramble. They say you will either love or hate the summit of Katadhin. I have a terrible fear of heights, and I was about as scared as I have ever been. Most of my hiking buddies LOVED the climb. The nearly vertical climb over the rocks is marked by white rectangular paint sprayings on the rocks which are called blazes. "You gotta be kidding me" was my constant thought as I scrambled up and up and up. About two miles from the summit, I got a very pleasant surprise. The nearly vertical ascent was over, and the rest of the climb was not tough or scary at all. One mile from the top is the last of the thousands of streams along the AT. It is called Thoreau Stream, in honor of Henry David Thoreau. Ironically, it was one of a very few streams that I absolutely would NOT drink from, as the water was very murky and swampy. One of my hiking buddies, who I guess is a romantic at heart, insisted on filtering and drinking the questionable water even though I offered him some of my water. I asked him if he felt philisophical after his drink, but he said he felt no such affect. I arrived at the summit at 10:00 AM. Myself and my friends stayed at the summit for half an hour, and then began our descent. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. It was 70 degrees, and there was not a cloud in the sky. We could see for miles in all directions. On the advice of Warren, we descended via a different trail called the Abol Trail. Ironically, the descent was less scary than the ascent. Myself and my hiking buddies descended very slowly and very carefully, often sliding down rocks on the seat of our pants. Usually, the rocks at the beginning of a descent are the scariest and most dangerous, and by the time you get down to tree level, it gets easier. Today it was the opposite. The incredibly steep loose dirt below tree line was very treacherous. Gene was the only one to actually fall, although all of us had many near falls. We arrived back at the parking lot at 2;30 PM. All I had eaten all day was a Danish pastry and a small bag of potato chips. We had dinner that night in an Italian Restaurant. I had chicken and broccoli Alfredo and a small salad. To my astonishment, I could not finish my meal, and afterwards, I had a horrible stomach ache, which I attributed to being scared out of my gord for most of the day.
Date: 2016-09-12
From: Grafton Notch, Maine

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today is a rest day for me. I have spent the entire day doing chores, and updating this blog. Every year, I do a 6 day hike around Lake Okeechobee in south Florida organized by a great guy named Roy. At last years hike, I met a man who has hiked the entire AT. He said his favorite state was Maine. I have not yet completed the entire AT, so perhaps I will see a more beautiful state, but I doubt any of the remaining states can top Maine, What has impressed me the most about Maine is the utter silence, quiet, and peace of the Maine woods, which can last for hours at a time. When I walk the AT, often the only sound I hear is my footsteps. When I stop walking, there is utter silence and peace. The other thing about Maine that has totally blown me away are the many very beautiful lakes, many of them utterly deserted, and filled with the beautiful callings of loons. My only disappointment with Maine is that I have not seen a single moose. However, as a consolation prize, yesterday evening, near dusk, as Ron and I drove down a two lane wooded Maine road, I saw what appeared to be a very large rock in the middle of the road. As we got closer, I noticed that the "rock" was moving. As we got closer still, I noticed that the "rock" was actually an alligator snapping turtle, the meanest, nastiest turtle I had ever seen. I wanted to move the turtle off the road so a car wouldn't hit it, but that alligator snapping turtle would have bitten my hand off!
Date: 2016-09-14
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff, NH

To: NH25A/Wentworth, NH
Miles today: 9.8

Today was my last day of slackpacking. Hikers Welcome Hostel shuttled me 9.8 miles south, and I walked back to the hostel. Tomorrow, for the first time since August 5, I will have a full pack. It has been fun slack packing with the same people for a month, and I will miss them and the good times we had. Also, I am betting that for the first few days, my fully loaded pack will feel like it weighs a thousand pounds. The biggest disadvantage to Warren Doyle's hike was that as the slowest hiker, I always felt pressured to finish the day's hike as quickly as possible. As a solo hiker today, I felt no such pressure, and that was a good feeling. I went thru my pack today and sent home everything I felt I no longer need. I think I lightened my pack by 5 pounds. The other big change is that for the remainder of my hike, I will be hiking south, hoping to complete the hike before cold weather forces me off the trail.I have about 430 miles left to do. Most hikers end their hikes at one of two interesting places, either Mt. Katadhin or Springer Mt. Because I flip-floped, I have summited both of these mo untains. My hike will end in the parking lot of (drum roll, please) Wits End Taverne in Unionville, NY. I kid you not. I don't even need to conquer a gentle rise to get to it. At this point, there are very few landmarks left for me to see. The largest oak tree on the AT is in NY, so at least I have that to look forward to.
Date: 2016-09-15
From: NH25A/Wentworth, NH

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiking with Warren Doyle spoiled me. I got very used to hiking with just a day pack. When I finished Warrens hike, I went through all of my gear and mailed home everything I didnt need. As a result, I thought my pack weight would be greatly reduced. However, when I weighed my pack, I got a nasty surprise. With three days of food, my pack weighed 40 pounds. After having just a day pack for a month, 40 pounds felt like a TON. The other nasty surprise I got was that for the first time in 6 months, animals ate part of my food. Every nite I put all of my food into a special bag and hang it from a tree. The irony is that animals did not get my food when I was in the woods. Nope, they got it when I slept indoors in a hiker hostel. The first nite I was there and lying on my bunk, I heard the scurrying of little feet, so I knew there was a rodent problem. The next morning I discovered that my food had been attacked by health conscious mice.I had some regular tortillas and some whole grain tortillas. Only the whole grain tortillas were partially eaten. I thought that was the only food the mice gotten to, but a few days later I got a nasty surprise. I had a package of M&M candies, and I noticed that several pieces of candy were loose in my food bag, so I munched happily on them. Then I discovered that mice had chewed two holes in the candy package. I threw the rest of the candies away, and I did not get sick as a result of sharing my candy treat with mice. It was a bad luck day for me all day long. I did not get started hiking until 10:00AM, a very late start for me. I was struggling up Cube Mt. with my 40 pound pack. As a result of my late start, I planned to hike only ten miles, but alas, I fell far short of even that modest goal. A hiker I had met the previous day warned me that the summit of Cube Mt. looked like an angry giant had thrown giant boulders in every direction. To make matters worse, a freezing and hard rain began to fall, making those giant boulders even more treacherous to cross.I was completely soaked and very cold, so at 2:00 PM, I called it quits for the day at Hexacuba Shelter. It was my shortest day on the trail, and I felt very frustrated.
Date: 2016-09-16
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Trapper John Shelter.
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

It was six months ago that I started my hike on the AT. I have a little more than 400 miles left to hike, and for the first time, I am thinking in terms of getting close to the end of this hike. I have hiked nearly 1800 miles. Well, as bad as my day was yesterday, it was a Sunday picnic compared to some other poor fellow. He was coming into the Spruce Moose Shelter when he angered a nest of yellow jacket hornets. He got stung 40 times. OUCH!
Date: 2016-09-17
From: Trapper John Shelter.

To: Velvet Rocks Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

I heard some sad news today. Dr. Bill Ackerly, an 87 year old retired psychitrist who for years invited AT hikers to his home for free ice cream, and long chats passed away. During their visit, Bill would invite his victims, I mean guests to join him in a friendly game of croquet, and this elderly gentleman would then proceed to beat the pants off them. Very few hikers were able to beat DR. Bill in a game of croquet. I don't know, maybe he slipped something into that free ice cream. Today I passed a young lady who was hiking the AT barefoot. Several years ago, there were two sisters who hiked the entire AT barefoot. They were called the Barefoot sisters. (There is some dispute as to whether they hiked every single mile barefoot) When they reached the end of their hike in Maine, they decided to turn around and repeat the entire hike in reverse back to Georgia. When you hike over 2000 miles with a person, no matter how pleasant that person is, tensions are going to build up. Each sister noticed certain characteristics about her sibling that irked her, but she kept quiet, because the hike was supposed to end in Maine. However, when Maine turned out merely to be the half way point, those long simmering frustrations each sibling had boiled to the surface. The girls have written two books, each book telling of one half of their hike. I have not read those books, but I am told they make for interesting reading.
Date: 2016-09-19
From: Hanovdf,

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 1.0

Due to my extremely limited computer skills, this journal is now two days ahead of the actual date. Today is September 17. Today the AT passed thru the town of Hanover, NH, which is the home of Dartmouth University, an Ivy League college. When I was in college I read a novel by Ayn Rand called Atlas Shrugged. One of the characters of that novel was a shadowy super hero named John Galt. Not much was known about this superhero, so the question everyone was asking was"Who is John Galt?" Well, I didn't know it, but Dartmouth University also has a super hero. His name is Fred Glickman. Everywhere you go on campus, there are HUGE banners and signs asking: "Who is Fred Glickman?" Well, I did a little research and it turns out that Fred Glickman is an actual Dartmouth alumni who graduated in the 1960's. He is now a practicing attorney in Miami who heroically rescues clients from legal pitfalls. Every super hero has a super hero costume, and Fred is no exception. When he does his heroic legal manuevers, Fred is decked out in bicycling shorts and a bicycling jersey. Just as Batman has a side kick named Robin, Fred has a sidekick named Around The World Bill (ATWB) Not much is known about ATWB, except for the fact that he is an affable but eccentric fellow who is prone to taking long walks. For those of you scratching your heads about this inside joke, Fred Glickman is a friend of mine from my bicycle club (Everglades Bicycle Club.) Fred is a Dartmouth alumni, and Around The World Bill is the nickname that members of my bike club gave to me after my year long around the world bicycle trip.
Date: 2016-09-20
From: Hanover, NH

To: Thistle Hill shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: fog

When a hiker reaches a town, especially a town with lots of creature comforts and the choice is between slinging a heavy pack on your shoulders and struggling up and down endless very steep climbs and descents, or spending a day in town relaxing, well, it's easy to get seduced. So when I got to Hanover, home of Dartmouth College, and LOTS and LOTS of creature comforts, I grit my teeth and vowed that I would be a good lad and just buy more food and then hit the trail again. Then i found out that there was an Indian restaurant in town (and I LOVE Indian food) Then I discovered that there was a movie in town directed by my favorite directer (Oliver Stone) about Edward Snowden ( a man I greatly admire). Well let's just say I got seduced. So there I was just about as happy as I could be because I found a lamb dish with mushrooms (my two favorite foods) and I was about to see a very good movie. What could possibly go wrong? Well two things very quickly went wrong. First I told the waiter I wanted my food to be only mildly spicy. She interpreted this to mean that I wanted NO spice WHATSOEVER. My friend (Rabbit) so named because he is a very fast hiker who was having dinner with me told the waiter he wanted his food very very spicy. She gladly complied. Halfway thru the meal I noticed that Rabbits bald head was bathed in sweat. Then I got another piece of bad luck. While chewing on a piece of lamb I tore loose a crown ( fake tooth) in my mouth. Yes the movie was as good as I thought it would be but my bad luck was not get finished. I was stealth camping in the woods at the edge of town but I returned to the woods after dark and I forgot to bring a flashlight with me. The woods are INCREDIBLY dark at night.I was unable to find my tent. Fortunately my friend Rabbit was camped nearby and I woke him up to borrow his flashlight. I had bought Rabbit breakfast that morning so he owed me a favor and he was very gracious when I woke him up
Date: 2016-09-21
From: Thistle Hill shelter

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: few clouds

Well, readers, I have a small confession to make. I knew when I started this hike that a day would come when I wanted this hike to be over with. Well, it seems that day has finally arrived. I am still having fun, but I will not be sad when the hike is finished.There was a little bit of a letdown for me when I finished with Warren Doyles hike, and instead of hiking with a group of people, I was again hiking alone, but there was the excitement of finishing up the incredibly tough state of NH and getting into Vermont. Well, I have done that ( crossed over into Vermont) where I got an unpleasant surprise. Vermont while much easier than NH, it (Vermont) is still INCREDIBLY tough. The climbs and descents are VERY steep and frequent and the trail is very rooty and rocky and slow going. Yesterday, it took me 11 hours to hike 15 miles. Little things that shouldn't bother me are starting to bother me.My tent has two zippered doors on it. Both of them are broken. I am getting very tired of struggling up and down very steep endless hills. Fortunately, in 100 miles, I cross over into Massachusetts where there is less climbing. Yesterday I woke up to a hard rain. I shut off my alarm clock and went back to sleeo. That was both a good and bad idea. On the bright side when I woke up again at 7:00 AM the rain had stopped. On the bad side by the time I reached camp it was dusk and I cooked and ate dinner in the dark. Ok, readers, now that I have cried on your shoulders (hopefully I have not bummed you out) let me tell you about a bright event. I crossed over the Conneticut River and into the quaint and charming Vermont hamlet of Norwich. There at the gas station was a 1941 Cadillac. The car was 75 years old. The car looked like it had been sitting on a showroom floor for 75 years, where it was polished every day for 75 years. That car GLEAMED. It's owners looked to be older than the car. The old man VERY slowly, carefully, and lovingly wiped down the car after gassing it up. I waited patiently to take pictures as the man moved very very slowly. He was a jack rabbit compared to his wife
Date: 2016-09-22
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Rutland, Vt
Miles today: 4.0

I only hiked four miles today, yet I climbed a thousand feet. Today I crossed onto Vermonts other famous hiking trail, The Long Trail. For quite a ways, the Long Trail and the AT are one and the same. Tomorrow, a dentist will cement my crown back into place. After I shut off my alarm clock and went back to sleep until 7:00 AM two days ago, I made a vow that from now on when my alarm goes off at 5:30AM, I would get up. That vow lasted just one day. When I awoke this morning it was light out and 7:00 AM. Somehow, during the nite, my alarm clock battery got barred loose. Rats! There is a very famous hotel/restaurant just half a mile off the AT that another hiker had warned me NOT to miss. I took his advice and had lunch there. It is called the Inn at the Long Trail. It is very rustic and charming.There is an Irish pub there that is SO Irish, you would swear you were in Ireland. Ok, now on to a humorous story. My wife, Ginny had been taking yoga classes for many years. Occasionally it happens that a class is composed of only women. When that happens, the topics of conversation are VASTLY different from topics of conversation when one or more men are in the class. The other nite I arrived at a shelter. and when I got close to the shelter, I could hear half a dozen women chatting happily among themselves. Have any of you ever owned a pet parakeet? The bird will be chirping merrily away, but when you throw a towel over the parakeets cage at dusk, you get complete silince. When I walked into the women only shelter, it was as if someone had thrown a blanket over the parakeet cage. I felt like the Grinch who stole Christmas. The next morning at breakfast when I told the story of my errant tooth crown one of the ladies said she was a dental hygenist, and incredibly she had a tube of tooth cement that she offered to let me use for a do it yourself repair job. I got a mental picture of the poor dentist cussing me out as he fixed my botched repair job and declined her generous offer.I have one more funny story. Today, in the middle of the forest, I had a DESPERATE need to use the bathroom. I got out my trowel and frantically began to dig a hole. The hole is supposed to be a minimum of six inches deep. To my horror, although my need was extremely urgent, I got a very large rock very early into my frantic dig. In desperation, I reached in with my hands and extracted a HUGE rock. I had dug by FAR the best cat hole I had ever dug during my entire AT hike. I kid you not, I was actually proud of my construction project. Then I got another big surprise. Although my underwear was still pristine, my need to use the restroom had passed. False alarm. I was actually disappointed that my work of art would go unused. Sometimes on the AT you have to have a sense of humor, because some truly strange things happen.