morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-25
From: Katahdin Stream Campground (Baxter State Park ME)

To: Baxter Peak Northern Terminus of the AT (ME)
Miles today: 5.1

Day 168: Baxter PeakAfter sleeping more than we thought we would, we broke camp one last time in the dark. Alison and Beth arrived at 5:30 and we hurriedly had breakfast while huddled around the picnic table under the small campsite shelter. (we'd stored our food in Alison's car, so for one night did not have to worry about bears, mice, chipmunks or squirrels.) Then keeping only snacks and several layers of clothes, we stuffed all our other camping gear in Alison's car and stepped on the trail right at sunrise. With Beth joining us, we walked four abreast (now there's an AT rarity!) to the register box for the Hunt Trail, our final section of the Appalachian Trail. The ascent began very gradually until at 1.1 mile we reached a sign saying "last privy on the AT," yet another indication our 2,000+ mile journey was coming to an end! After that, while we enjoyed the walk beside Katahdin Stream and Falls, the trail got steeper and steeper as we began a 3,000' elevation gain in just 2.3 miles.We'd heard the route below the tablelands was tough, but still had underestimated just how difficult it would be! Several places demanded a full body workout, with our body weights hanging precariously on a small metal prong as the only way to pull ourselves up. As a number of young machos passed, they didn't need to resort to such tactics, but we found ourselves having to use arm-holds to help pull each other up some of the taller rock surfaces. Plus the more exposed the rock, the stronger the wind...Finally we crested the tablelands and N discovered his favorite section of the AT: The tableland was magnificent. All of the challenges of the trail were behind us, the next mile was flat, and the views in every direction were spectacular. We both had emotional moments bringing tears to our eyes, N as he was walking past Thoreau Spring and started singing to himself the summiting song we'd joked about for weeks; and X at the very end when she rushed forward to touch the sign! The summit was quite crowded with everyone taking turns to get pictures with the terminus sign. Someone suggested a group picture of thru hikers, and three section hikers obliged, working their way through a pile of three dozen various cameras and iPhones. There was even a successful marriage proposal (he had brought the lump of gold he will have melted down to fashion the ring all the way from Georgia!)After about 45 minutes, the combination of wind and some gathering clouds convinced us it was time to start the long climb back down. We hope other adventures lie ahead, but after 37 years of talking and planning, our once in a lifetime Appalachian Trail hike is complete.
Date: 2012-09-26
To: An Important Earlier Message From The Troverts
Miles today: 0.0

We are deep in the Maine woods, without cell service and therefore unable to update our journal. So this is a good time to say a word about ANCA, the Association of Nature Center Administrators. Many folks of our generation have an affinity with nature and a strong outdoor ethic instilled in us at an early age. However, today many kids suffer from "nature deficit disorder" because they spend so little time in the out-of-doors. If they grow up with no knowledge, appreciation or passion for the natural world, who will be the constituency of supporters for special places like our national parks in general, and the Appalachian Trail in particular? Nature Centers are one place where kids today can get that crucial introduction to the great outdoors, and begin to develop a life long love of the natural world. In these tight budget times, many nature centers are having a tough time just keeping the doors open. As the professional organization for the folks responsible for keeping nature and environmental learning centers operating, ANCA promotes best leadership and management practices, both for veteran center directors and folks just coming into the field. ANCA serves as a network to offer its members a ready source of help or just a shoulder to cry on. We believe ANCA does important work. Before we started our hike, we offered $2,184 of our own savings (one dollar for each mile of the AT, whether we finished or not) as a challenge grant to help the organization do more. The ANCA board accepted our challenge, agreeing to raise the matching funds on a two for one basis, since two of us were walking. We have mentioned several times how much our readership has meant to us on our hike north. Your interest and support have been a big help on the days when we needed a lift (and trust us, there have been a few!). Now, just this once, we'd like to ask for something in return. For those of you who have visited this site a few times, and gotten at least $10 worth of enjoyment out of our blog, we'd like to ask you to pull out your checkbooks and send a ten dollar donation marked "Trovert Challenge" to:Jen Levy, Executive DirectorAssociation of Nature Center Administrators,P.O. Box 464, Logan, UT 84323 (Yes, this is the same Jen Levy whose parents were so helpful in nursing N back to health so many days ago in Connecticut...)We apologize for inserting this crass commercial message in the middle of the 100-mile Wilderness, but saving the world is important work, and ANCA needs your help to do it. Much thanks, X and N
Date: 2012-09-26
To: Between summits, the Gang of Four Reunite
Miles today: 0.0

We wake up in the master suite of the Big Moose Inn, about eight miles from Abol Bridge, and join our Base Camp Manager Ashley and her husband Clint on the sun porch for a blueberry pancake breakfast. Concerned that the present stinky condition of our hiking clothes will trigger a TSA alarm in the baggage area at the Manchester NH airport on Friday morning, we decide the first order of business is to get to a laundromat in Millinocket. While waiting for our clothes to wash, we head to the McDonald's parking lot for free wifi, and a chance to update our journal for the past several days. With a heavy rain falling, we thank our lucky stars our day to summit Mighty Katahdin was not one day later.While driving back to the Laundromat, we discover Millinocket is Verizon cell phone users heaven, as we have five bars and 3G, just as a text message comes in from Castaway up on the Rainbow Ledges! We successfully call him and learn he intends to stop at Abol Bridge tonight. We make plans to pick him up for dinner at 5:00pm.We tour Millinocket and see several other hikers in town, including Flintstone and Mr. & Mrs. Spiceman, then with our support team, join Kleenex and her support team for lunch at the famed Appalachian Trail Cafe (her friend Beth is in good spirits, but admits to needing three crowbars to help pry herself out of bed this morning after her herculean cold-turkey effort climbing the Mighty K yesterday!). While waiting for our food, we add our names to the other 2012 thru hikers on one of the cafe's ceiling tiles, another AT tradition completed... Before leaving, Kleenex and crew agree to meet us at the Big Moose Inn for dinner.We spend the rest of the afternoon in an unsuccessful ride looking for moose (but mostly dodging big log trucks) along the Golden Road. We happen to be at Abol Bridge when Castaway arrives and can hand him a cold soda (perhaps his last Trail Magic of the hike?). We tell him we'll be back in two hours and head off to continue our moose quest. We're more successful dispensing trail magic than seeing moose, running into (among others) Perch and Joe Fore, neither seen by us in a good while. We wish them luck on their summits. At dinner we learn Castaway took two zero days at White House Landing (where he was well treated) to rest his ailing right foot. He then came to the Rainbow Stream shelter yesterday, the Abol Bridge campground today, and though experiencing some foot discomfort, plans to hike the final ten miles to KSC on Thursday, and climb Mighty Katahdin on Friday. With rain next predicted for Saturday through Monday, it looks like he will be in a good weather window to complete his hike. It's another melancholy parting as the Gang of Four says "goodbye" one final time, and we have Castaway back at Abol Bridge just after hiker midnight. We'll be on proverbial pins and needles until we get his summit report. For our hike can not be officially over until the whole Gang has finished...
Date: 2012-09-28
To: Congratulations Castaway!
Miles today: 0.0

We received this text from Castaway this morning:Made it!!! 9:20 am. Beautiful day!Then early this evening, just before we got home:I just got back from the Appalachian Trail Cafe (Millinocket). AYCE (All You Can Eat) fish fry. Beautiful day on the mountain. Met a lot of people I knew. About 20 thruhikers sunmited today.We're so proud and happy at the 100% completion rate for the Gang of Four! Being with both Kleenex and Castaway for the final month made the conclusion of our hike so much more enjoyable than it would have been just by ourselves. In fact, now to think about it, we'd hike with either of them, any time, any place... Well, surely any place, but you'd better give us at least a week first to recover from this last one.
Date: 2012-09-29
To: Home, and the first day of the rest of our lives..
Miles today: 0.0

We got home right at sunset on Friday to find our neighbor Susan had left us dinner and food for breakfast as well. What an unexpected treat!For so many months our lives have been so simple, with all our major decisions involving food, shelter, and - whenever possible - clean, dry clothing. We naively thought our lives post-hike would stay that simple. We would make a few life style changes and, by concentrating on that handful of items, things would be great. We didn't take into account how many distractions of the "real world" would come crashing in on us so quickly. Take the mail for instance. Our Base Camp Manager had done a great job of going through and paying the bills, and sorting out things that looked important to share with us by email. But that left a 21¢ stack of junk mail and advertisements for us to deal with (honestly, X was surprised it wasn¢t taller, and N had predicted it would be over three feet!). After five and a half months of carrying everything essential on our backs, here was Corporate America killing untold number of trees to produce these slick catalogues to convince us we need more and more ¢stuff.¢ We should be able to resist the temptation, but it¢s still going to take a bit of time to wade through this pile to make sure there¢s nothing important in all this junk¢¦N had thought how nice it would be to spend an hour or two every afternoon sitting reading on the side porch. Doesn¢t look like that¢s going to start today¢¦
Date: 2012-09-30
To: Homecoming at St. PaulÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs
Miles today: 0.0

Back in July, in honor of N¢s birthday, our amazing neighbor Susan used firs and ferns (and maybe an occasional pine cone) representing the Appalachian Trail to decorate the altar at St. Paul¢s Episcopal Church. Today the firs and ferns returned to the altar to celebrate our safe and successful completion of an AT thru hike. Combined with a welcome home card we¢d found on our kitchen table, it made for an emotional homecoming. One day is much like another on the trail, but we always kept track of the time for St. Paul¢s Sunday service, and were supported knowing we were always included in the weekly prayers¢¦ We were also blown away by the church¢s Trovert bulletin board, and its 70 progress pins from Springer to Mighty Katahdin. We always felt we were not alone out there!
Date: 2012-10-01
To: Weight! Weight! Don't tell me!
Miles today: 0.0

Or ¢Let me get on the scale and see for myself!¢Well, the results are in. When we left home on April 10th, N weighed 179.8 pounds and X weighed 162.7 pounds. Now, after eating not nearly enough in the 100 Mile Wilderness, eating way too much in Millinocket and on the way back to Mississippi, and trying to be a little more careful since we¢ve been home, this morning we tipped the scales at 147.1 and 134.7, respectively. That¢s 60.7 pounds between us, and certainly the most tangible benefit of our thru hike. The trick will be how to keep all that extra weight off. Living in the most obese state in the union certainly doesn¢t help as we now tend to stick out in a crowd (or more accurately now tend to get lost in a crowd!), and have already heard numerous comments saying we look like we¢ve been relocated from some refugee camp. And in fact our target weights could probably stand to be two or three pounds higher than our current actual. We¢ve started by switching to skim milk and banning chocolate from the house, but we know this will be a tough lifestyle change for us. Especially as we don¢t do moderation very well. It¢s going to have to be all or nothing.Take, for example, N and sodas. On the trail it was amazing the boost of energy he could get from an early morning fix of caffeine and sugar with a cold Mello Yello. Not to mention a trail magic Coke, which always seem to propel him to the head of the hiking group. But to attempt to now limit him to one a week, or one every other day or so, would be doomed to failure. So on top of Katahdin, he had his ceremonial ¢last soda ever,¢ and has sworn off them for life. We¢ll post the picture here so his declaration is on record.Our ten day period of post-hike R&R is almost over, and we should be recovered enough to get back to some regular exercise next Monday. Wish us luck. Our new weights are a gift and we don¢t want to squander them¢¦
Date: 2012-10-02
To: What was it like to finish the hike?
Miles today: 0.0

For the folks who have asked us this question, we have added our first attempt at an AT video, recorded at the exact moment we signed back in at the Hunt Trail register at the base of Mighty Katahdin.You can use the Trail Journals video button to the left,or go directly to the YouTube link.WARNING: This is without a doubt the most off-key thing we have ever posted. We should have let Kleenex handle this by herself, as she is really good...
Date: 2012-10-03
To: Another pre-planning AT hiking question:
Miles today: 0.0

¢I¢m thinking about a future AT thru hike. How can I decide if I really want to try this or not?¢We found our 100 mile shakedown hike last fall from NOC back south to Woody Gap extremely helpful in testing not only our gear, but our interest and resolve for the whole 2000 plus mile hike. However, after walking the whole trail, our recommendation would be to use a different section - the 100 Mile Wilderness going southbound from Abol Bridge to Monson to help make such a determination. First off, although it¢s not a hundred miles or a true wilderness, there¢s the mystique of that name. Why if someone could handle a 100 mile wilderness, we guess they could handle about anything! (Plus you¢d be able to wear a ¢I survived the 100 Mile Wilderness¢ t-shirt when you start your thru hike at Springer. That ought to impress all of the other newbies¢¦)Secondly, this hike would be long enough to at least give you a chance to think about devoting a whole half a year of your life to such a project. The AT is a BIG time commitment! Thirdly, this stretch gives you a good sampling of about everything you¢d encounter over the entire trail. You¢d start out with some very flat terrain, but with enough rocks, roots, bog bridges, and mud so that even during sunny weather, you¢d have a taste of the AT as a wet experience. You¢d get good practice with the logistics of re-supply versus carrying 25 pounds of food. You¢d have several nice views such as looking back at the Mighty Katahdin from Rainbow Ledges or Nesuntabunt Mountain. Then, after you¢ve had a few days to get acclimated to daily hiking, White Cap and Chairback Mountains would be good introductions to some of the huge climbs that inherently go with a thru hike. Not to mention, you¢d do more stream fording on this stretch than on the rest of the trail put together. Our guess is by the time you hitch into Monson craving a hot shower and fresh vegetables, you¢ll know whether or not a thru hike is your cup of tea. Just make sure you¢re not conducting this test during black fly season. We think that might be adding too much to the mix.And getting back to the original question, as Yoda says, ¢Do or do not. There is no try¢¦¢
Date: 2012-10-06
To: An early answer to the question ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂSo, whatÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs next?ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
Miles today: 0.0

Kleenex and her sister Alison stopped in for a brief visit on their way back home to South Dakota from the AT. Lots going on in Corinth this weekend to choose from, including the ¢Hog Wild¢ festival, the Green Market (featuring local crafts and produce), and lingering excitement from this week¢s Civil War Sesquicentennial, but the girls thought they¢d start off with the 4th annual ¢Austin¢s Shoes Run With Rotary 5K¢ race. Being good hosts, the Troverts agreed to join them, and when the dust settled, after a chilly 3.1 mile foot tour of downtown Corinth, The Gang had walked away with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place (!), albeit in three different age groups ¢¦N and Kleenex were particularly surprised to do so well after a six month hiatus from doing any running at all. Apparently a 2,184 mile hike is an extremely good conditioning program for all kinds of activities.We celebrated this evening with a mess of fried catfish and hushpuppies at Hagy¢s Catfish Hotel, one of the country¢s Top Ten catfish restaurants, located right on the bank of the Tennessee River¢¦
Date: 2012-10-07
To: Recap of the 100 Mile Wilderness: Day 1 (Tues.)
Miles today: 0.0

X¢s brother Bob writes from Africa to remind us we have yet to expand on the brief accounts and limited pictures we posted from the 100 Mile Wilderness, due to the lack of cell phone coverage at the time. Point well taken, which we will now attempt to rectify¢¦ We¢d heard so much talk about the 100 Mile Wilderness that we had envisioned it as being something fundamentally different from what we¢d seen before. Maybe more boggy than what we¢d seen? Maybe long stretches walking with our shoes underwater? But pretty much we found the 100 mile wilderness to be no different than other sections of the trail in Maine. Certainly we were surprised in the first day or two to pass several large groups of southbound section hikers doing the Wilderness as a separate entity.As we noted at the time, we left Monson on the 18th with a forecast for heavy rain in the afternoon and evening. As we had had some issues with a leaking tent in the last heavy rain, N was especially anxious to find a shelter for the night. Based on our performance over the last few days, the squiggly line that was the day¢s elevation profile, and with our late start, the necessary 15.1 miles sounded very daunting.The overcast, foggy weather in which we began seemed to indicate the weather forecast would be accurate, but it also prevented several otherwise photo opportunities from being a distraction in the early going. Then around Thompson Brook and Big Wilson Stream, for about a mile the trail was as flat and smooth as anything we¢d seen since Springer. What an unexpected treat! And the anticipated fords at Little and Big Wilson Streams and Wilbur Brook were much easier than they would have been 24 hours later, post rain. We arrived at Long Pond Stream Lean-to with just enough time to spare before sunset Arriving at the shelter (Long Pond Stream Lean-to), we found Spiceman and GipC Girl had stopped short of their intended campsite after running into Funnybone and getting a weather update. They had met Funnybone south of the shelter (he was back on the trail after a brief respite at home, and now doing a flip flop, fresh from his summiting of Katahdin), and he¢d decided to backtrack as well. Six people in this small shelter would have been quite cozy, but we managed to squeeze in seven friendly hikers. Poor Blue Sky arrived just at dark and hurriedly had to set up his tent as the rain was setting in. He survived the very wet night, but not without some moisture issues.
Date: 2012-10-08
To: Recap of the 100 Mile Wilderness: Day 2 (Wed.)
Miles today: 0.0

We had had big plans to cover a lot of miles on the 19th, and pick up our food re-supply. However, if there was ever a case of having to ¢take what the trail gives you,¢ and nothing more, this was it. While thankful we did not have to pack up a lot of wet gear before heading out, we immediately encountered the AT disguised as a water course. Most of the trail was a flowing stream, except where it was steep. There it became a waterfall.With our shoes immediately soaked, we quickly gave up trying to avoid the large puddles, and in fact chose them for footplants, as they seemed to provide the best traction compared to the wet roots and slippery rocks. With the wind, we had a chilly miserable morning; and we didn¢t linger on either the Barren Ledges or the top of Barren Mountain.The sky cleared by early afternoon, but even with the sun out, standing out in the wind proved to be very cold. Our only hope was the wind would help speed the drying process on the rocky sections ahead of us. By the time we reached the Chairback Gap Lean-to, we were ready to call it a day. The shelter had been quite full the previous evening, and many folks had lingered there until midday (including the Charon¢s, who we continued to trail by a day), waiting to give the West Branch of the Pleasant River, four miles distant, time to recede before they tried to ford it. However, by the time we arrived, only Mad Hat remained from the previous night¢s group, he being in no particular hurry and having decided to take a zero. We concluded taking a zero in a shelter alone did not tend to leave one in a good mood¢¦We knew the name (Chairback Gap) of this shelter well as the location where Rusty Bumper had broken his leg in 2011. The trail north from the shelter, which also served as the path downhill to the water source (which we found flowing, we might add, with gusto!), was extremely steep and treacherous. It was easy to see how a fall here could have dire consequences, and we were particularly careful while both descending and ascending.