morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: clear sky

Start: ~8:30End: ~5Daily: 22.3   Total mileage: 960   Weather: Another perfect day ~70 and sunnyShenandoah National Park was full of tourists and bear! Memorial Day was rough and I did not feel like being around anyone, but I was stuck in a crowded national park. My dad really helped out a lot this week and allowed us to quickly get through the park. We spent nights 69 and 70 in a cabin in the Skyland Resort, which was very nice. I ended up seeing a dozen black bear, a turkey, a toad, and several deer in the park. Bear in the SNP seem almost tame, which is very dangerous and annoying because they will not move away from the trail. This can be very time consuming when you have to wait 20 mins per bear and see multiple bear a day. It was still cool seeing so many bear; especially the cubs. The most alarming part was when 19, a day hiker, and I walked up on a Bear with two cubs. One cub was about 25yds off of the trail, the mother was approximately 30yds off the trail, and the other cub was around 35yds from the trail. The three of us immediately began to slowly back up and talk softly as to not startle the bear. The bear once they were aware of out presence did not seem to care, and the mother did not seemed worried about us being near her cubs. Shortly after backing up I noticed a couple day hikers coming southbound. I warned them of the mother and cubs and they just continued to walk on the trail past the bear. Crazy day hikers were 25yards or less away from a cub with the mother bear near by. The mother did not make any attempt to warn the hikers or show any aggressive behavior; what a bad mother! I also saw a peregrine falcon in the park near their roped off peregrine falcon protection area.
Date: 2014-08-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Itinerary: Austin - Chicago, transfer flights, Chicago to Bangor, bus from Bangor to Medway, then shuttle to Millinocket.The first flight went well - by not choosing a seat when I booked the ticket online, I ended up in business class for free. I had intentionally chose a flight with a longer layover that also had some time to spare in Bangor (4:30pm arrival, bus left at 6:30pm). However, when I arrived in Chicago, the connecting flight was delayed 52 min. That time came and went and we still hadn't boarded. Once we were finally on the plane, they announced we'd be delayed even further because lightning was preventing them from loading bags and fueling the jet. I kept checking my watch and it wasn't looking good. I called around for backup transportation options out of Bangor in case I missed the bus, and there weren't any. Finally, we taxied, and I thought my luck had changed. Well, so did the winds. We now had to switch runways and took a leisurely taxi tour of Chicago O'Hare and waited in line for takeoff. As we got towards Bangor, I kept checking my watch some more, and figured there would be no way we'd land in time.At 6:14pm we were still airborne and the bus terminal was 0.9 mi from the terminal departing at 6:30pm. We landed, took the first taxiway, and pulled into the terminal. I sprinted off the plane and down to the curb. It was 6:20pm. I looked both ways and saw a construction worker carrying the "Taxi" sign away....great...My phone locked up and I couldn't call a taxi or the bus station. While I tried to reset it, a taxi arrived, but he said he was there to pick someone up. I looked at my watch and it was 6:22....I knew I could run a 7 minute mile, perhaps 8 min with all my gear. Just before I was about to sprint to the bus station, the taxi driver came back out of the terminal with his passenger. And then I had a great idea: I asked the passenger if he would mind splitting the cab, and he agreed. I arrived at the bus station at exactly 6:30pm, and ironically, the bus didn't actually leave for 15 more minutes
Date: 2014-08-02
From: Roaring Brook

To: Daicey Pond
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up early and had breakfast at a local cafe. Took the shuttle into Baxter State Park to the Katahdin Stream Campground. Thru-hikers have the option to borrow day packs from the ranger station instead of carrying a full pack up Katahdin. I chose to use my own pack, but took out my overnight gear (like sleeping bag, stove, etc). I left most of my stuff in the trash bag I use to line/waterproof my bag and just took the essentials.I had arranged with the shuttle driver to then get a ride over to the east side and hike up and across Knife Edge - supposed to be a good view and a nice challenge. The Appalachian Trail starts at the top, so any ascent is acceptable. The planning worked out well, I started hiking at 8:30 and finished around 4:30, with plenty of time at the top. The climb was longer than I thought, the map I used to plan said it was 4 miles up, but the sign at the bottom said 5.5. It didn't matter as that doesn't cound toward the trail mileage only 7.5 of the 13 I would hike that day would be on the Appalachian Trail. It was sunny on the way up, but there was a cloud deck moving in from the south east. It held off just long enough to reach the summit and the clouds started to spill over the edge of the mountain in little puffs, then swirl around in the wind. Neat to watch.I refilled my water bottles at the spring on the way down and caught a light sprinkle of rain before reaching the bottom. Park rules require all camping be done at designated spots by reservation only and there was only 1 spot left along the trail when I called over a month and a half ago. It was a small cabin at the Daicey Pond Campground so I needed to hike about 3 more miles after collecting the rest of my gear.It rained pretty hard for about 20 min before I got to my cabin. I waited for it to stop and made dinner with my camp stove. I use a home-made device fashioned from a beer can and a soda can that runs on denatured alcohol. My steel cup is my only dish and I tried adding an aluminum foil lid while it was on the stove, but the flame was so hot it started to melt the aluminum. I took it off quickly enough and there was no notable damage.I wasn't sure if any critters would get into my food while I slept, so I listened carefully after I went to bed, and in less than a minute, I heard mice running around starting to chew on ziplock bags. I got up and shined my flashlight at them, and what they say is true: the critters are as afraid of you as you are of them. Unfortunately neither of us was scared, so I had to chase them away. I hung my food bag from a rafter and thought I had solved the problem. To ensure a good nights rest though, I kept my earplugs next to the bed with my flashlight. I woke up during the night to the sound of mice chewing on plastic and found one of them had tried to get at my earplugs! I guess it was the traces of earwax he was after? Oh well. Overall, it was a very comfortable stay.
Date: 2014-08-03
From: Daicey Pond

To: East End of Rainbow Lake
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up to the sound of a mouse crawling in bed with me. Apparently he lived in the mattress I was sleeping on top of, right about ear-level. It was sunrise, so I got up and took a picture of the sun peeking up over the mountain top over the lake. I walked back to my cabin and looked at all my stuff laid out on the table, and my sleeping bag still warm...and went back to bed. I had a busy week finishing work, packing, and traveling. This was the first day in a long time I could just relax, so I went back to bed (it was 5 am) and got up at 7am. The hike went well - I had to ford two streams and everyone (the ranger and the shuttle driver) all said to take the high water bypass due to the recent rain. I wanted to at least look first. The first stream was not too deep - about mid-thigh, and the current wasn't bad. I grabbed a stick before I crossed to use to poke around to find secure footing. It worked well. The second stream had faster water and was deeper. The rocks were as slick as ice and if you fell, you'd end up in the lake. I got wet all the way up to my shorts, but since I went slow and careful, I had no trouble. I cleared the park boundary and came across the last bit of civilization (Abol Bridge) before the 100-mile wilderness. I stopped in their little store and found some candy I hadn't seen in years: Boston Baked Beans. I got them just for fun and started the 100 miles. The view from Rainbow Ledges was great and there were tons of blueberries. It was late in the afternoon, so I took my shoes off to let my feet rest and sat down in a blueberry patch and snacked for a good half hour. I asked some opposite direction hikers what they'd recommend for a campsite and was told Rainbow Lake would be a good destination and there was a trail maintenance crew already camped there so I couldn't miss it.Their advice was great, I walked around the lake a little away from the work crew and had my own little spot. It was closer to the water than you're supposed to camp, but since it was an established site, it was better to use it than carve out a new spot. It was picturesque. I used my tarp-shelter for the first time (not counting my backyard experiments) and it worked great.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: East End of Rainbow Lake

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Just as I broke camp and started walking, the rain started. It was light at first and my poncho (also my shelter) kept me dry. Then it started to pour. I figured I'd keep hiking rain or shine, but that turned out to be a bad decision. I was slightly sore from the last two days of hiking, but cold, wet pants made my legs feel worse. I had a great plan for the prevention of blisters: stop as soon as I felt a hot spot and tape it. By 10:30 am, I was soaked to the bone, feet included, and felt a hot spot. I stopped and got my tape out, but when I looked at my feet, I realized I had made a big mistake. I had 3 or 4 full blisters on each foot that I didn't even feel, plus the hot spot. I successfully prevented one blister, but the rest would slow me down for the next week. Due to alternating mud and hills, there weren't many good places to camp. I got to a lean-to about 6:00pm, so I decided to stay there. There were other hikers, some sleeping in the lean-to, and others tenting outside. I could chose to tent outside and it rained overnight - my poncho/tarp/shelter held up great.
Date: 2014-08-05
From: Wadleigh Stream Lean-To

To: Jo-Mary Road
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I thought my shoes might dry out a little overnight. They didn't and neither did my socks. Great. I was starting the day with painful blisters, wet feet, and sore legs. I stopped after about an hour in a nice sunny spot and laid out everything to dry. I continued to do that two more times that day. I found the secret to drying out is to find a nice hot rock in the sun (which is also where blueberries tend to grow). At one point my pants dried stiff in less than 15 minutes. I elected to pass an official campsite in favor of an unpublished one I heard about from other hikers. Someone told me their friends had camped near Jo-Mary Road and it worked out with the mileage I was going to cover. I should have thought twice though, because this was a popular location for food drops in the wilderness (several out-fitting services will stash resupply items there for hikers for a tidy fee). I didn't see anyone or any stuff and picked a site a little ways from the road. What I was worried about was with so much food in the area, critters might be a problem. I pitched my tarp next to a tree and noticed a squirrel running up and down it looking at me...another sign. Well, I strung up my food bag as usual in bear-proof fashion (from a branch unreachable by a bear in all directions). I went to sleep and the squirrel started getting curious. He kept creeping up on me while I slept and would run when I would twitch or roll over. At one point, he made it all the way up to my sleeping bag and patted me on the forehead. Not sure why - I think he was just too accustomed to people and knew they usually had food. I put on my bug net and hat and he didn't bother me for the rest of the night.
Date: 2014-08-06
From: Jo-Mary Road

To: Logan Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, that squirrel had a buddy and when I went to get my food bag in the morning, he was sitting on top of it having one of my granola bars for breakfast. I had kept it safe from bears, but apparently that squirrel could jump pretty well and had no fear of heights. Oh well. I lost 3 items to the squirrels, but I had so much extra, it really had no impact other than a nice hole in my bag. My legs were no longer sore, but my blisters were no fun. Near the end of the day I ran into an older hiker and stopped to talk for a minute. He was a section hiker - had started in 1954 when he was an 11-yr old Boy Scout and was looking to finish off the last few miles this trip, 60 years later. Quite interesting. I stopped at a lean-to for the night and tented nearby. There was a waterfall/brook for a water source and the water was crystal clear and ice cold - very refreshing.
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Logan Brook Lean-To

To: West Branch of the Pleasant River
Miles today: 12.7

I had climbed most of White Cap the day before on the way to the shelter and only had .3 miles to the top. When I reached the peak, a thick cloud deck was passed by so I was literally walking in the clouds. It just looked like fog, but you could see thicker puffs float by. It only lasted 15 minutes and I had sunshine for a while. The blisters (and now the more mountainous terrain) started to slow me down. I wanted to ford the next river that afternoon and camp past it - I really didn't want to camp short and have to get cold and wet first thing in the morning. There was no rope for this one, but it was shallow and not swift. It felt like putting an ice pack on my aching feet. I was hurrying a little though because 1/2 hour ago, a thunderstorm had started nearby. I could see the lightning, but it was far enough southwest that I didn't need to take cover. After the river, I set up camp quickly and it started to rain just as I was finishing dinner. I got under my shelter and it rained hard. I got a few splashes from the raindrops on the hard ground around the edges of the shelter, so next time I will need to lower my tarp edges to the ground if I'm expecting rain. I stayed dry and slept well.
Date: 2014-08-08
From: West Branch of the Pleasant River

To: Cloud Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Lots of mountains today. Chairback Mtn has a decent rock scramble to crawl over near the top. Next was Third Mountain (guess they ran out of names) and shortly after, 3 1/2 Mtn. Just shy of the summit of 3 1/2, a lightning storm started and it was close. I got wet - feet too - and stood and waited 30 minutes for the lightning to stop before hiking out above the treeline. Everything was soaked. My moisture wicking pants meant that water was wicked up under my poncho and I got wet all over. Oh well. It was mountainous and rocky and there was no good place to camp. I pushed on to the next shelter which meant climbing Fourth Mtn in a downpour. I got to the next lean-to at 7pm and saw a moose on the way. He was swimming in Cloud Pond, not far from the shelter. I dried off and decided not to tent outside. I hung everything up to dry and spent my first night in the shelter. There were 4 other guys - 1 I had run into before and 3 northbounders. All very nice. I thought mice might be a problem, because shelters are notorious for them, but I slept fine.
Date: 2014-08-09
From: Cloud Pond Lean-To

To: Bed of Moss in the Woods
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Blisters were really slowing me down and I had all wet gear in the morning too. I stopped several times to dry out my things on hot rocks in the sun. It worked - my shoes were dry by early afternoon, but it took a lot of time away from hiking. Also, I ran into a group of people that were inviting hikers out to their cabin for a cookout. I had heard about "Trail Magic" from other hikers - its the term for when people do random nice things for hikers, like bake cookies. They explained that their brother had been a thru-hiker and used to host cookouts for hikers every summer and he passed away this year, so they were continuing the tradition. When I passed them, they were hiking up the mountain that overlooked their 1920's family cabin to go spread his ashes. They gave me directions and I followed the signs they had posted. It was about 1/4 mile off trail and 4 other hikers arrived just behind me. They had a full barbecue as well as cold beer and soda. They were planning a bonfire that night, but I didn't stay that long. We offered to help out, but all they asked is for us to pass along the work to other hikers. Very nice folks. I moved on and figured this would be my last night in the wilderness before Monson, so I wanted to try sleeping in a bed of moss. I had walked over enough mossy areas to know they were incredibly soft and not as soggy as I expected. Up until this point, I had always used sites that were established in some way, even if unofficial, someone had camped there before. I wanted to pick my own tonight. I forded the last river and started looking for a spot. About a mile or two later, I found the perfect place. I set up and had the best night's sleep to date. So soft and comfortable. I will need to do that more often.
Date: 2014-08-10
From: Bed of Moss in the Woods

To: Shaw's in Monson, ME
Miles today: 8.5

Only a half day of hiking - reached the road, Maine 15, at the same time as two other hikers who had already called for a shuttle. Perfect timing. I rode in and went to the hostel. I needed to let my blisters recover so I planned on taking a full day off tomorrow. That meant two nights in the hostel and my first shower since Millinocket. I had cleaned up a little on the trail, but I hadn't washed my hair and, well, you can imagine. I didn't smell as bad as I thought I would at this point, probably because I had gotten wet a few times and cleaned up a bit here and there. The hostel was nice, but the town was tiny. The resupply/bakery shop sold Epsom salt by the cup which was great for soaking my feet. The hostel also had a computer for hikers to use, which is how I'm typing up all there journal posts.
Date: 2014-08-11
From: Shaw's in Monson, ME

To: Shaw's in Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0

My first zero day. I'm sure there will be more, but it was nice to take the day off. I went shopping at the bakery/hiker supply and went to the library for most of the afternoon. No restaurants are open here on Monday nights, so one of the other guys at the hostel had a car and we drove out to Greenville for dinner. My blisters got a little better and I picked up lots of medical supplies and bandages. I didn't need to get any more food - still have plenty to get to Caratunk where I will pick up one of the packages I prepped before the trip. I hike out in the morning and probably won't see another computer until Rangeley.
Date: 2014-08-12
From: Shaw's in Monson, ME

To: Moxie-Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: moderate rain

Got breakfast and a new pair of socks at the bakery in the morning. They have a separate room with hiking gear and supplies adjoining the dining area - very convenient and the best selection in town (the other option is the gas station). The socks came highly recommended by other hikers - made in Vermont with a lifetime guarantee that if you ever wear them out, they will replace them for free. They cost about twice normal hiking socks, but several people have told me they hiked the whole trail with two pairs of these socks (with a free replacement or two). I got new moleskin and have my blisters taped up real well and it was a much more comfortable hike - made good miles today too. I was doing so well, I hiked past the point I intended to stop, but I came to a river that I would have to ford (walk thru the water, no bridge or rock hopping) that wasn't listed in my book. There were also several road crossings that weren't listed. I'm thinking about switching books and using the guide most other people do.The lean-to was in a picturesque spot. There was a group of Boy Scouts camping there and several thru hikers. There were plenty of tent spots around the shelter and I got one right down by the pond. The loons were calling all night - really pleasant.
Date: 2014-08-13
From: Moxie-Bald Lean-to

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: few clouds

Climbed two mountains today - neither were terribly challenging, but it was windy on top. The walk between them was nice and easy. It was overcast all day and it sprinkled for a bit as I hiked up the second mountain. I noticed there weren't as many streams as usual across the trail and asked an opposite direction hiker where the next water source was - and he had the same question for me. Neither of us could remember a recent source which meant there was about a 6 mile stretch that was dry. Well, it wasn't completely dry - there was a nice size deep stagnant puddle at the base of a pine tree and an algae-covered bog. With my water treatment kit, both would have been perfectly safe to drink from, but I had enough water to hike thru to the next shelter and did. When I arrived at the shelter, I was only planning on refilling water and taking a short break (from 2:30-3:00pm). However, it started to drizzle and I remembered the forecast called for heavy rain starting late afternoon thru the night and next day. One other guy had already decided to stay for the night. He had forgotten his cooking pot and was hoping that I would stay so he could borrow mine. It was chilly and the rain was only getting worse, so I decided to call it an early day. I chatted with the other guy and while we took turns cooking dinner, 5 other hikers showed up. Among them were to Canadians I had met in Monson - they were section hiking northbound and had stayed there before getting shuttled to the start point. They were a funny pair - they joked that when they planned their trip they didn't realize how much longer miles were than kilometers. In the end, 6 of us squished in the shelter like sardines and one guy slept in his hammock outside. It poured all night and there was thunder/lightning as well. It was still raining in the morning. Normally someone is up by dawn, but we all slept in because of the rain - probably the laziest bunch of hikers on the trail. I was the second one out at 8:30am and it was only drizzling lightly.