morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-07-06
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Cranberry Stream
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: scattered clouds

This has probably been my favorite day so far. It was hotter than all heck again, and I was drenched in sweat by 8am, but the Bigelows were absolutely amazing!!! The climb up to Little Bigelow was easy going trail with a gentle incline, and the views from Avery Peak were again breathtaking. The beauty teamed with such a sense of accomplishment when you make it to the top really makes you forget about the heat, the exhaustion, the loneliness and the hunger. What a feeling to be out here. I am truly fortunate to be able to experience all this.However, the horseflies/mooseflies are pushing me near my breaking point. I must be quite a sight, since they make me scream and cuss all while chopping my hiking poles back and forth through the air. Pack and all, I even tried to outrun them, but you can¢t! Thankfully, I have not gotten rid of my bug net (something I didn¢t want to take, but my mother insisted!).I saw a beaver on one of the ponds today and thought if she could climb up 3200 feet then so could I! I stopped at a campsite near Cranberry Steam with SoggySocks (formally weatherman), Stump and Butter. Skittles didn¢t make it to where we were but stopped I think I Horns Pond. We should meet up with him in Stratton tomorrow. I ate two dinners tonight ¢ Bulgur Chili and Risotto with butternut squash and mushrooms.
Date: 2010-07-07
From: Cranberry Stream

To: Stratton
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I took a nearo (a day where you hike very little miles) into Stratton today and stayed at the hostel there for $20. There is a kitchen to use, movies to watch and bunk rooms. If it is hot, like it was today, I would NOT recommend staying here since there is no air conditioning. I wasn¢t originally going to stop in town, but didn¢t want to carry another nine days of food out of Monson so sent some ahead to the Post Office here in town. Stratton seems like a nice place, but we definitely received a ton of weird looks and don¢t feel all that welcomed ¢ supposedly there are protesters from EarthFirst (a radical environmental activist group) demonstrating against the Bigelow wind turbines and also logging in general. People must think we thru hikers are them! Good thing the woman from the hostel picked us up at the trail head or else I don¢t think we would have gotten a ride into town.
Date: 2010-07-08
From: Stratton

To: Spaulding Mnt Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

I really did not want to hike this morning ¢ I got little to no sleep the night before because it was so flipping hot in the hostel, and looking at the map Crocker and Spaulding Mnt did not look like fun climbs. Plus my pack was weighed down with six days of food. To my luck, the hike ended up being a bit easier than the Bigelows. I also hiked up the ski area Sugarloaf Mnt, Maine¢s second highest peak, but there was tons of cloudcover so no views.Sidenote: Skittles has eaten two pounds of cheese in three days. Welcome to the two pound challenge!
Date: 2010-07-09
From: Spaulding Mnt Lean-to

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: few clouds

Today was awesome! And it ever so slightly trumped the Bigelows. It was a real hard climb from Spaulding Mnt Lean-to up until Saddleback Jr. I was able to rockhop across Orbeton Stream. Then it was a nice ridge walk along the trail up the Horn (4,040feet) and then Saddleback (4,120feet). It was spectacular! And the clouds parted for beautiful views. I met a couple NOBOs today, and they said this section is like the White Mnts. everyday ¢ I am looking forward to getting into New Hampshire. The humidity is still killing me and it makes the air so thick, but the heat wave is finally starting to die down a bit. I hung out on top of Saddleback for awhile and read Ginsberg to the wind, ¢the soul is innocent and immortal it should never die ungodly in an armed madhouse¢.I tented at Piazza Rock Lean-to, where there was a very large and very annoying youth group. I am certain one of them stole my bear rope/clothes liner, I think his name was Avery. Tonight I ate a Lipton Broc/Cheddar rice meal with an added pouch of tuna.
Date: 2010-07-10
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up today to not only rain, but squeally kids, too! That is the wrong side of the bed for me! I immediately packed up my tent and ran up to the shelter. We waited for awhile to see if the rain would let up. It gave me time to use the fry pan I am still carrying, and I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I still had a little maple syrup and Stump had butter leftover from Stratton. It got to be 9:45 and the rain was still coming down, so we finally just had to take off. But I suppose these are the moments that separate thru hikers from the rest of the bunch - we must hike, no matter the weather or mood! The rain did stop a couple hours later, but it created some difficult terrain. Bog boards became even more slippery than usual and some just sank or floated in the wrong direction. And the mud pits were deep! At one point I banana peeled it and landed crab style onto two boards. It took every ounce of strength to stand up without falling prey to the mud. Just as I did Ants, who I thought was a day or two ahead, came up from behind and we hiked the rest of the way to the shelter (he left his cellphone in Stratton so had to backtrack). It¢s funny because we have said our goodbyes a few times now and we keep bumping into each other. I think it goes to show just how small the AT community is (esp. for southbounders) and even though we may travel hundreds of miles we still remain neighbors. I have a running list of things to send home when I get to Andover. My gaiters were at the top, but with today's mud and water I fell in love with them and I may never take them off. At least the weight will be on my feet and not my back! Soggy Socks and Butter stopped in Rangeley for resupply and SoggySocks carried a red velvet cake to share with us on his birthday. It made for a good day.The shelter was very full tonight with our group and two northbounders. Also, Boss Lady and Sherpa have caught up. We all went to bed early with the help of Tylenol PMs, but they gave me crazy Michael Jackson dreams all night. I woke at one point to the two northbounders talking about how we SOBO¢s sure do love our sleep.
Date: 2010-07-11
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

To: Bemis Mnt Lean-to
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a fairly easy day terrain-wise, but I couldn¢t help but move real slow. My legs were heavy bricks, and my neck has been stiff for some time now. We were planning on getting to Andover today, but ended up cutting the day in half. Soggy Socks has decided to leave the trail tomorrow, and I don¢t think any of us were quite ready for ¢Team Baby Face¢ to break up. It is always sad to see someone go, but you know that they know it is what they need to do. No sense in hiking if it ain¢t making you happy!
Date: 2010-07-12
From: Bemis Mnt Lean-to

To: South Arm Rd
Miles today: 8.7

Waking up and knowing you will soon be in a town makes for a really great morning. I moved with more pep in my step and daydreamed about food the entire way. I practically ran down Old Blue Mnt. Stump and I arranged for a pick up at South Arm Rd from Caretaker, the owner of the High5 Hostel. Everyone else stayed at Pine Ellis. Seems like there is small town drama going on between the two businesses, but I think each probably has their pros and cons. The town of Andover is small, but has a nice general store and ice cream shoppe (soft serve w/ jimmies x3). People just kept offering us rides everywhere, too, which was real nice.
Date: 2010-07-13
From: South Arm Rd

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We all had an early morning breakfast at the general store¢s diner and parted ways with Soggy Socks, for he is catching a plane to Georgia. In some ways, I am very jealous of him but I know there is more adventure in store for me. I also said goodbye again to Ants and Butter ¢ they slackpacked yesterday to East B Hill Rd, that I am also very jealous of since no one has said a good thing about Moody Mnt (it is very, very steep). Skittles hiked on yesterday to Hall Mnt Lean-to, so it was just me and Stump now. My group is now a pair, which we had all anticipated happening before the White Mnts so we (and the bubble of NOBOS we keep hearing about) wouldn¢t be competing for the AMC Hut work for stay.
Date: 2010-07-14
From: Frye Notch Lean-to

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: light rain

It rained and thundered all night to early morning so of course we got a late start leaving the shelter. I really thought I was going to die coming down Baldpate ¢ the slabs of rock are covered in lichen and when it gets wet it is the slickest thing. I fell hard numerous times and cussed more times than I would like to admit. I thought Stump was ahead of me the entire day, but thought it odd I didn¢t catch up to him (he tends to take more breaks than I do, but is 10x faster). After an extremely steep and loooong climb up Grafton Notch I took a little break at Speck Pond, the highest body of water in Maine. It is a beautiful spot and has some of the softest looking moss around. I thought for sure Stump would have waited for me here, the final stopping point before the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, which we had talked about being battle buddies for. But no sign of him. I know we are all suppose to hike our own hike, but I have to admit I was feeling bummed he had ditched me. I didn¢t want to stay at Speck Pond because there is a fee if you do, plus there was a million flies buzzing inside the shelter and it kinda grossed me out, so I kept moving and made my way down into the notch. This was so challenging! There are parts of the trail here where it is just steep sheets of rock, with nothing to grab onto and all you can do is butt slide - which is a little difficult with an external frame pack. I was almost to the bottom when it started to rain so I decided I would find a spot to pitch my tent as soon as it flattened out. But then Stump raced up from behind. I was so happy I hadn¢t been ¢ditched¢ and that I didn¢t have to do ¢the hardest mile on the AT¢ all by my lonesome. Turns out a kid fell and was hurt pretty bad so Stump helped out.It took us 1.5 hours to conquer the Notch. I haven¢t quite hit 300 miles on this trail yet, but I can rightfully say there are harder parts than this. We had a blast! It was fun bouldering over and under rocks and climbing on treetops, and it felt good to do something a little different. We met up with Crazy Talk and Chipmunk down there and they seemed to be having a good time, too. So it wasn¢t just us! There was still some snow and ice in some of the crevices, which made it real chilly with the rain. The most difficult part for me was the steep climb out of the notch. That was agonizing.Just before we reached Full Goose shelter we met up with Skittles. He had hiked through the Mahoosuc Notch himself with a broken waist strap and I am amazed he made it out alive! I think today he earned his title Skittles the Great. We arrived at the shelter just before 8:00pm, all of us exhausted. This shelter is huge and with only five of us there was plenty of space for us to hang our wet clothes and packs.Holy holy holy! tomorrow we will be out of Maine!
Date: 2010-07-15
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

It was incredibly hard to get out of my sleeping bag this morning ¢ I¢m blaming it on the difficulty of yesterday¢s hike and not on my laziness ? Ended up eating my breakfast in bed. Somehow not as luxurious as it sounds! Goose Eye Mtn and Mt Carlo were both spectacular, and there were amazing views from each. All of Maine to the north and NH just miles away. While just a drop in the bucket, it truly gave me a sense of accomplishment. Me, Stump and Skittles all stopped at Carlo Col Shelter to get water, eat a snack and take a mid-afternoon nap. Kinda wish I had taken a better look at where this shelter was located ¢ a long .3 off the trail and a semi steep climb back up. I¢m not really digging the minimal signage in AMC territory (the MATC had a sign placed on each mnt top). I keep thinking I¢m at the summit, but trudge a little further and always another peak. I didn¢t see the moose bones that are hidden in Mahoosuc Notch but did find a big pile just south of Mt. Success. I stood there and poked at them for awhile. Stump pushed on to Gorham while Skittles, Crazy Talk, Chipmunk and I stopped at Gentian Pond Shelter (FYI ¢ get water on the way in). There was an older couple section hiking there and also a large youth group (my fav ¢ although, these boys weren¢t too obnoxious). I set up my tent even though it was starting to rain, it continued heavily throughout the night.   I cooked up a large portion of Quinoa w/veggies and mushrooms for supper.
Date: 2010-07-16
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Rattle River
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: broken clouds

I managed to get up super early this morning, skipped breakfast and was the first on the trail. I haven¢t been the first hiker in quite awhile, and I forgot how bad the spiderwebs get. It was nice hiking around Moss Pond and Dream Lake so early in the day. Mist hung to the top of the water and birds were just starting to chirp. I met a NOBO who had set up his hammock somewhere in there and told me Trident Cole Tent site was jam packed the night before. Glad I didn¢t press on and decided to stay at Gentian. Along my way into Gorham I met a few more northbounders, Cpt. Bly and Plans Too Much (two old military veterans), who gave me wise advise on the White Mnts. Plans Too Much is also a trail angel around the Rutland, VT area so he passed along his cell phone number. People are just way too kind, helpful and trustworthy on the AT! This journey has certainly helped restore my faith in humanity; I had about given up on the human race as a whole. I decided I would try to hitch the 1.8miles into Gorham. Needless to say it was a complete failure, and I may just stick to walking. The guy brought me nearly ten miles in the wrong direction, but didn¢t know something was up until I saw signs for Maine! The last thing I wanted to be seeing now that I was finally in New Hampshire. It is times like this that I wish I had invested the money in a trail guide book! That¢s what I get for being cheap. So, I had to hitchhike back to Gorham. I probably walked a mile until I got picked up by two old guys with a dog and a cooler of beer. There were nice and offered me a shower and a place to stay, but I only planned on resupplying in town and then head back to the trail so they dropped me off at the post office.Stump was hanging out on the lawn and Butter and Ants soon came by, too. I know Butter really wanted to be in Gorham with Skittles and the first McDonalds we hit on the trail. I sorted through my mail drop and decided to carry nine days worth of food ¢ I guess a lot to bring into the Whites. But as a vegetarian I wanted to be double sure I had my meals taken care of and am not sure what kind of food will be at the huts. I did a load of laundry, hung out with the gang, ate some pizza and then headed back to the trail (no shower, tho).On the way up to Rattle River shelter I saw a moose standing in the middle of the trail. We looked at each other for a little bit and then she bounded back into the woods. I heard plenty in Maine, but this was the first one I actually saw! I stopped at Rattle River for the night. I set up my tent a ways from the shelter. Among the group of people, I caught up with southbounder Super Guide. I had been reading his entries since day one and it was cool to finally meet him! He seemed nice and shared a brownie
Date: 2010-07-17
From: Rattle River

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

A good friend of mine and her three dogs came up to Rattle River in the morning to do a day hike with me. It was great to have familiar company. She¢s doing the NH peaks above 4000 and was able to check off Mt Moriah today. We hiked much slower than what I¢ve been doing, but it was a much needed change of pace. Some days I get so concerned with mileage, so it was good to step back and remember the trail isn¢t going anywhere. And that I¢m on my schedule and no one else¢s.I arrived at Imp shelter fairly early, but still felt like taking my time so I decided to stay put till morning. It¢s a real nice shelter, with two floors. There¢s also a super view of the mountain range I¢m about to conquer! There I hung out with another new SOBO from Maine, Stargazer, who was unfortunately resting a bum foot. I¢m glad I got there early because the place eventually filled up ¢ so much that there was no room for food bags in the bear boxes. It was mostly people out for the weekend and a couple large groups. I briefly met some other southbounders who had been ahead of me ¢ Black Eagle and Can¢t Stop. I went to bed real early, mostly because I was bored and soooo hungry; although I ate two meals, Quinoa with spinach Dal and Risotto with mushrooms and pureed squash. I intend to get up wicked early tomorrow.
Date: 2010-07-18
From: Imp Shelter

To: Osgod Tentsiite
Miles today: 17.9

As planned, I woke up very early and was on the trail by 5:45am, which surprised me because there was a very rowdy/loud crew at Imp last night. There was also the most magnificent lighting and thunder storm. North Carter Mtn is a pretty steep climb up but in all not that bad, and I sped right along. I did the other two Carters, and then met back up with Stump who ended up stealth camping around Zeta Pass. There was a heavy cloud over Carter Dome but no where else so we ended up getting some good views. We were hoping to get some leftover breakfast at Carter Notch hut but there was only one piece of bread, which was split three ways. So I was forced to buy three chocolate bars.Wildcat was a nice hike up, with little foot traffic. However, up at the top it got weird. It was a Sunday so everyone and their mother was there. It¢s real *easy* access with the gondola. People in clean, normal clothing. People with oxygen tanks. Babies. Everyone staring like you¢re some freak that just emerged out of the woods. Needless to say, I stayed not even five minutes. The steep climb down Pinkham Notch killed my knees and wished I had hung out at the top a bit longer so my knees and legs could have rested. I met back up with Stump at the visitor¢s center and ate two tasty sandwiches. There is also a scale outside so I was able to weigh my pack ¢ 34#!!! I think the lightest it has been yet. In Andover I mailed my thermal bottoms, my fry pan and some other misc items ahead to Hanover. Stump hiked with me to Osgood Tent site then took off to catch a magical sunrise on Mt Washington ¢ probably a crazy move on his part, but I admit I was jealous that I didn¢t have the strength left in me to press on. I was on the go for nearly twelve hours today! I was surprisingly the only one at Osgood. I haven¢t had a night to myself in quite some time now.
Date: 2010-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The planets, the moons and the stars of the universe are in perfect alignment, I am able to go to Springer Mountain and start a hike on the Appalachian Trail hike this year. Ideally, I would like to say that this is going to be a thru-hike, however realistically I will probably be getting off the trail at Harpers Ferry and re-enter the real world. Hopefully, during my hike I can figure out how to make it all the way to Katahdin as a thru-hike.Thanks for stopping by, while on the trail I anticipate that I will be updating my journal every 3 ¢ 5 days when I make it into town to resupply so please continue stopping by and checking out the progress of my hike. Feel free to sign my guestbook and say hi.
Date: 2010-03-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

In one week I leave for Georgia to start my hike. I can¢t believe that I organized this hike in under 4 weeks. I now understand why some people spend several months planning their hike. With my time so short to sort out all of the logistics of the hike, I hope I am not forgetting any details. The good news is that I am not a backpacking novice. I have hike over 400 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, so I was able to use this experience to make my planning easier. I only had to purchase a couple of pieces of new gear, which again saved a lot of time.I am going to start out easy the first week or so, hiking just 8 ¢ 10 miles a day. After the first 7 ¢ 10 day when I get into the rhythm of the hike I will increase my mileage to 15-18 miles a day. For the majority of the hike, I am just going to play each day by ear and not worry about my schedule. I want to be able to enjoy my hike and not be worry about deadlines or daily mileage.   For the most part, I decided not use mail drops in order to save planning time. I will purchase my supplies in town. Hopefully, the towns will have a good selection of food, so I don¢t end up eating Ramen Noodles for every meal. I do have a couple of mail drops scheduled to obtain my mail (bills) and summer gear. Since, I am not planning on stopping at Post Offices, if you send me anything please let me know well in advance so I can plan to stop at the Post Office. All mail will be most welcome to help break up the monotonous of the trail.I am ready to go.
Date: 2010-03-23
To: Georgia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I leave for the airport in a few minutes, ready or not. What a hectic couple of days. At this point in time, if there is something I forgot to take care of, it isn¢t going to get completed. I hope I made the right decisions about my gear. For me, I am a bit on the heavy side. My pack weights approximately 34 pounds. Normally on weekend trips, I carry around 20-25 lbs. I am carrying a couple of items that might be considered luxury items (extra coat, tarp) and probably to much food, but until into the rhythm of the hike and out of the cold weather I am more comfortable being a bit on the heavy side. Safety is important. I don¢t want to get myself in a situation where I get totally soaked and risk hyperthermia or get stuck at a shelter due to bad weather and run out of food. Tonight I will be at The Hiker Hotel in Georgia. Tomorrow on the trail. Had no issues flying to Atlanta. My backpack made it with no issues. Took the local train from the airport north to the last stop. Walked around a couple of minutes then spotted a couple of hikers just lounging around waiting for the shuttle. I joined them. It felt a bit strange to just be laying around a parking lot, but I am sure that this will become common for me. At the hostel, met a few other hikers that will also be starting tomorrow and a couple of hikers that has been out for a couple of days. They made it to the first road crossing and came back to the hostel for a hot shower, a soft bed, a full meal and to resupple before heading out again. I have to decide whether I am starting at the Forest Service Road 0.9 miles South of Springer Mountain or if I am going to hike the approach trail. I guess most people have made this decision before arriving in GA.
Date: 2010-03-24
From: The Hiker Hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I made it to Georgia. Spent the night at The Hiker Hostel. A great place to stay. Today we will get dropped off at the state park to do the approach trail (Blue Blaze) to Springer Mountain. A 8.5 mile day that doesn't count to my goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Tonight I will be camping on Springer Mountain; tomorrow my first day on the Appalachian Trail following White Blazes North. In 3-4 days, I will at Neels Gap and my next chance to use a computer. For all that is planning on hiking the Appalachian Trail NOBO, The Hiker Hostel is the way to go. They pick up in Atlanta, shuttle to the trail and best of all, they serve a great breakfast. They will even pick up hikers at the first road crossing for a rest day and resupply.