morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-10-07
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-To, Maine

To: Piazza Rock Lean-To; Maine
Miles today: 11.2

Did not sleep well at all last night. Now, Im not complaining because if you stay in a shelter: then you have to accept what goes on there or move on. Keav, Freddy, and Al slept in the shelter. All three are serious snorers. I actually put toilet paper in my ears to get to sleep. It is all right fellas. I appreciated the company. Anyways, it meant that I did not wake up until very late. It was in the afternoon sometime. I noticed that the "Indian Summer" had now passed into fall. It was a chilly day with considerable wind; but, sunny. The rain had moved through last night. As I was leaving the shelter; I met 2 guys from Maine. One guy let me have it about trying to get to Kathadin. He said that I needed to get a ride up there and come back south. He said that they close it down and Ill never make it. Now as my Father would tell ya; along with my ex wife; and several former bosses: "I dont listen!" The bane of my existence is that I will do it the way I want to. And that even includes when nearly everyone is telling me something to the contrary of what I believe. I just think that I am smarter than everyone else or I feel that I am "special". Kind of like a little kid that thinks that he will never die. Only other people die. And if there is a 100 to 1 chance that things might go my way; and everyone is screaming stop; or even telling me to stop, lovingly; I will "Keep slammin' my private part in the door."(as retired Major William "Rhap Daddy" Chapman{Vietnam Vet} used to say to me). I used to have this arguement with my treatment teams: They would say to me: "Mr Stewart, we think that he deserves to graduate. Even though he has not met his goal. He is really trying!" I would really get this from the Special Education team members who thought that an A grade bestowed upon on a young man; has the same cognitive effect/affect as an A earned. So, I would say, "The boy knows that he has not earned to graduate; what are we teaching? No, he has to earn it!" I kind of feel like this now. I can get a ride to Kathadin. Do it Zero, you are really trying. I know Im trying; but, I would not have earned it and I would be a "Flip-Flopper". That is just not my hike. I might regret this decision later; but, oh well, "ive got my pants down, give me the door!" So, I move on past these two guys and move pretty fast over some flat terrain and met the Guys from Boston, who are camping at The Little Swift River Pond Campsite. They had a fire going and I dried my sweaty clothes and ate some of their food and got going. It was dark when I got to Maine 4 and the clouds were moving in. I hiked up to The Piazza Rock Lean-To and had some trouble finding the shelter in the dark. After being there 20 minutes; it began to rain hard. That meant no night hike over SaddleBack Mtn.
Date: 2007-10-08
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To; Maine

To: Piazza Rock Lean-To; Maine
Miles today: 0.0

Well, with taking a zero here: meant that I was definetly not going to make it to BSP before it closes. It was raining and Saddleback is a very exposed above treeline mountain. I cant tell you the negative thoughts going through my mind. I just dont have the commitment to hiking; to hike through the rain; and then get into camp and have everything wet. I know, it is a "cop out"; but, I am just not into that type of suffering. Some hikers dont mind it; but, I do. I also ran out of stove fuel here; but, two teachers from a local hiking club gave me quite a bit of food that did not require cooking. These ladies do not know it; but, they helped me tremendously in my effort to get to Stratton, Maine. As I laid here: I thought of a slogan that I had heard from several Female thru hikers(now Im not pickin' on Female thru hikers, it is just they that have mentioned this slogan). "What happens on the trail; stays on the trail." OK, now first of all: that slogan comes from The Las Vegas Tourist Bureau(Sin City), "what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas." Do we really want to use a commercial as one of our slogans on the trail? How about, "what we hear on commercials, we leave off of the trail?" Lets be original and be honest: "I want to do things out here that I would not do at home; so, what I do, I want it to stay out here and not follow me home." That is much more intimate. Now, I am not against anyone coming out on the trail and living it up; "hike your own hike", right. Just do not think that what you do out here will not follow you. We are not living in a fantasy world or in a parallel universe. It is not just us thru hikers. There are the people that live along the trail; register readers; journal readers; section hikers; day hikers; etc that love the "trail drama". A Hostel owner was telling me about a certain someone that hiked over 5 years ago that was living out their porn star dreams all along the trail and what was funny or sad; was that I had heard about this person about ten times. Now, Im not preaching; but, My NaNa used to say, "Jesus is always watching." And I know many of us laugh at such sayings; so, ill say from experience: I always remember the things that I have done and I am sure that as I get "preachy" here; maybe, some unflattering things may come to light about myself; but, that is just how it is. I should have thought about what I did then. Just to give an equal slam on male thru hikers, Ive heard, "I can do what I want, I am in a different zip code!"
Date: 2007-10-09
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To; Maine

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 8.9

Woke up early; but, it took me a very long time to get going w/o stove fuel. that meant cold coffee. Man, it is yucky; but, it does the trick. I did finally get going and was mving pretty good up the side of Saddlback Mtn. About 1/2 way up. I had to put on a winter cap and my rain gear; just because the wind was blowing so hard. It was definetly fall now. I had several flashbacks to my days hiking back in January and I sure did not want to do that kind of camping again. On the top of the mountain, I saw her....Kathadin! Ok, I can go home now; just kidding. This is an absolutely beautiful Mtn. Giant valleys on either side; with foliage in peak colors; sunshine reflecting off of the many ponds; and a ski lodge down in the western valley. It was 4-5 miles of 360 degree views. Honestly, I had not ever heard of any of these mountains over the last few weeks; but, each one was just as beautiful as the next. People used to ask me, "what is your favorite part of the trail?" I used to say the Smokies, Roan Mtn, or Max Patch. My answer now will be, "From Glencliff, NH; all the way through Maine. What a lovely state!" With that said. I still cussed something terrible when they took me straight down Saddleback, climbing; then right back up The Horn; Then torture down and over to Little Saddleback. I just cant do many miles with these descents. If I could just take 5 days off. I just dont have the time anymore. Im running on "fumes" now, everyday. I have no intention of ever doing another through hike; but, if I did, I would go southbound, after the bugs have settled down. I would love to take some time through here. Take time to swim and climb. Take several months to get to Glencliff. As I got close to The Poplar ridge Shelter; I noticed another storm was moving in. I got to the shelter in time to build a giant fire. It was nice to dry everything out and eat some hot food. There were alot of old pines that I through on the fire; oh what a "rager". The rain started in about two hours and put the fire out.
Date: 2007-10-11
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-To, Maine

To: Spaulding Mtn Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 8.0

It really rained last night and it still looked like rain; but, it was only drizzling ever so lightly. I had to hike this day because I was running out of food and I was having to eat it cold. Actually, instant mashed potatoes are not that bad. Some of the flavor granuals do not totally liquify; so, it is a little crunchy. This shelter has what is called a "baseball bat" floor. It is made of baseball bat sized logs that have the bark striped and they are kind of uncomfortable with the knots jutting into my hips and shoulders. All shelters in Maine, once had this design. This is the only one I saw. In the old days, hikers would cut up pine boughs and lay them down for bedding. With so much laying around and months of hiking; with The Whites and southern Maine as an extra "kicker"; my shoulders, knees, and hips hurt most of the time. The "baseball bats" did not help much. Actually, I wake up about every 30 minutes to an hour with both of my hands asleep. I have to change sleeping position and shake my hands to get the tingling to stop. Quite frankly, it has me worn out. Anyway, I got going out into the misty fog. I followed Poplar Ridge for sometime. It was the usual up and downs along the ridge with 10-15 feet rock faces that call for alot of concentration. The ridge did get easier after a mile and a half. It was a nice walk down to Orbetron Stream. I got there and ate a good cold meal and again was reminded why I am hiking. The stream was crashing by and the leaves were in peak colors. There was a big wind that started up and came blowing down the stream. I looked up and saw a big black cloud coming my way. I got going and thinking that the clearing that I was hoping for was not going to happen. I think that I was getting some sort of seasonal affective disorder. I was having a hard time being positive. I have not talked to anyone in 3 days and I was beginning to have those circular thought patterns that happen when there is not another person around to change the subject. I then did the 3 mile, 1700 foot climb up and over Lone Mtn. Again, I climbed it witout stopping. At the top, it was a nice gradual descent over to Spaulding Mtn Lean-To. I got in and it began to rain very hard. It took me a long time to warm up with no hot liquids or food. I also had to stuff all of my dirty clothing into the "chinks" between the logs that made the walls of the shelters. For some reason the Maine Appalachian Trail Club leaves these big gaps in the logs. The wind and rain; just pours in. They really dont want anyone out here in bad weather. I know, it is my own fault for giving up my tent. It rained very hard through the night. There were thunderstorms with plenty of lightening. I was surprised by this; being this far north and this late in the year. The wind and rain got so bad; that I had to wrap my emergency blanket around my down bag to keep it from getting too wet. The outside of the bag was getting damp; but, near my body was nice and dry and warm.
Date: 2007-10-13
From: Stratton Motel Bunkhouse, Maine

To: Horns Pond Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

"Indo" allowed "Lentil" and I till around 2pm to get our packs together, do laundry, and partially dry out. I did not have time to update my trail journals or even e-mail anyone. I just read alot of positive feedback on my guestpage, along with being called a "Pompous Ass". It amazes me how much emotion that a simple trail journal can create. Oh well, I have always been a lightening rod for controversy. If I still write the book: there will be a long section on trail journals and its effect on this hike; both, positive and negative. "Indo" dropped us off where Maine 27 intersects with the trail. She gave us the forecast: snow in the mountains overnight and we were soon to go over "Maine's 2nd mountain", Bigelow Mtn. We got going and right away; I knew that Lentil was different. I consider myself to be an eccentric free spitited guy. I am nothing compared to this guy. As we walked; he would climb up a tree; then he would stop and talk to a Red Squirrel(these squirrels are nearly tame and will "chatter" with you); then he would stop and pick up an especially pretty leaf and put it in his backpack. I dont think he was "on" anything. He was just a very different person. He said that he lives in a snow cave in the winter near Crested Butte, Colorado. He is a ski guide in Winter and a Kayak guide in the summer. Another small world moment: he has spent alot of time down on the Ocoee River in southern TN. We did finally get to The Horns Pond Lean-TO after stopping at every blue blazed viewpoint. He said that he stops at everyone; kind of like, "Shadow & NumbToe" did when I hiked with them. These little stops were beautiful; but, were freezing my butt off. I told him that I needed to get to the shelter and get in my sleeping bag. When we got to the shelter; there was a caretaker. It was his last day and said that he had been expecting me. There were about 8 other campers at the 2 shelters. That was too many people for Lentil. We thru hikers always get alot of questions; and believe it or not, not all thru hikers are as receptive as "ole Zero" in all of his pomposity. He went and slept back at a campsite behind the shelters. There were several local trail maintainers that gave me a long lecture on trail ethics and about lentil camping along the trail. I ensured them that lentil was very conscientious and told them that he even carried out alot of other peoples trash. Embarrassingly, he even carried out the broken hiking pole that I threw to the side of the trail in disgust. I aplogized to him for this. Indo gave me two ski poles for the rest of my trip. I went to sleep fairly quickly as it started sleeting; very heavily at times. I knew tomorrow was going to be an all an all star climb.
Date: 2007-10-14
From: Horns Pond Lean-To, Maine

To: Avery Peak Observation Cabin, Maine
Miles today: 3.1

I woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground and Bigelow Mtn covered in clouds. I was very excited about this climb. After, I made coffee for "Lentil" and I; we started our climb. Lentil still hiked the same way. He looked around at everything, dancing and spinning around. He reminded me of "The Spinners" at Grateful Dead shows. What a happy guy! It was good to have him with me or it was good to be following him. He has extensive winter mountaineering experience and we needed it. When we got to the treeline; the wind was around 60 miles an hour with blinding snow and a slippery walk. There was no ice climbing, though, whew. We came to a spot where we lost the trail and looked up and saw an AT cairn, way up in the snow and gray. He looked at me and said, "there is no way to go, but up!" And we went fof it. Ill admit it: I was scared. I did not know how long this treeless section was and all I could think about was my walk over Mt Madison in The Whites. I just followed him and stayed strong. It was not too bad. We even had to stop at times to keep from sweating. Again, this is something that I would not have been as cognizant of on my own. We found a place out of the wind behind West Peak. We then climbed down to Bigelow Col, Avery Memorial Campsite and cussed the MATC for having the cabin closed. We then climbed through the storm up towards Avery Peak. At the top, Lentil pointed up and said, "what the hell is that?" It looked like a stone tower. We went to the base of the structure. He climbed up and in. I then handed him our packs and we got in and out of the wind. We drank some Jim Beam and I fell asleep in my sleeping bag. He made about ten phone calls and then packed his stuff up and left. I just could not get the strength to go back into the storm and it was 3pm anyway. There would be some night hiking, if I went and I knew I definetly did not want to do that. I slept pretty good; except for the animal that stirred down in the bowels of the cabin, underneath the cabin. The wind also picked up and was pulling at the structure, moving it at times. I again felt bad about doing only 3.1 miles; even though it was through a "whitout".
Date: 2007-10-15
From: Avery Peak Observation Cabin, Maine

To: Little Bigelow Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up; not sure what to do. It was still snowing and the wind was still "a blowin'". I was also out of water which had to be addressed. The wind did let up around noon and some of the snow was melting into ice sicles. I knew that I had to get going to avoid this melting snow, freezing again, and then needing crampons to move. I packed my stuff up, said a prayer, and pondered how to climb out of this cabin. There were no steps, nor was there a ladder. So, I threw my pack out and descended fairly easily. I got going in the blowing snow. It was pretty cool. After about a half mile, the wind let up and the snow was not as deep. After a mile, there was no snow at all. I found a good spring and ate a good meal and drank alot of water and coffee. I then saw a couple of "Frenchies". I have seen them for the last few weeks as the trail is close to French Canada. When they saw all the clothes that I was wearing, their eyes got real big. They had alot of questions about what was going on on the mountain. They asked if they would need crampons. I told them not yet. They might be needed tomorrow morning. I like the French; but, their language just sounds so hauty. They looked a little concerned as we looked up at the top of the mountain and saw the clouds totally enveloping the peaks.I got going and had a fairly easy three mile, 1000 foot climb over several peaks along Little Bigelow Mtn. There was alot of clouds covering the distant peaks that I had crossed: SugarLoaf, Saddleback, etc. There was snow along the ski slopes on SugarLoaf. The wind was around 20-30 mph and I could see a rain shower down in the valley with the sunshine poking thru and reflecting off of the falling rain. It had me a little mesmerized; I came to and realized that I needed to move pretty fast down to The Little Bigelow Lean-To to avoid getting soaked.I got to the shelter and was quickly in my sleeping bag. Somewhere on Little Bigelow, I crossed the 2,000 mile mark: 175 to go! I felt good; but, mentally wanting to be in a nice warm bed. These "chinks" in these logs in the shelters were letting the wind chill me to the bone. My face was also beginning to rash due to the dirty shelters. If I had to do it again, I would have kept my tent or better yet: get a good storm worthy tent.
Date: 2007-10-16
From: Little Bigelow Lean-To, Maine

To: Pierce Pond Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

This morning was a little chilly. I'd say in the mid thirties. It was a clear day for the first time in 8 days. There has been some sort of precipatation for the last 8 nights and for 6 of those days. I have heard for weeks that once you get over The Bigelows, "It is all flat." With this in mind, I wanted to finally have a respectable mileage day for a thru hiker. The folks were not lying, for once. It was relatively flat once I got over roundtop mtn. Which was just a gradual climb. I took alot of pictures along the way. There were alot of colorful leaves, clear ponds with whitecapped waves from the high winds, and plenty of sunshine. I saw several canoes next to these ponds. Ive heard that fisherman in these areas leave boats at there favorite ponds and leave them there for the next time they visit. A local told me a story about how the state government wanted to put a tax on small water craft. He said that there was an uproar because most fisherman have several boats. One "old timer" had 72 boats spread out. The tax would have "broke" him. If I ever hike Maine again or let's say, when I do: I will have a small lightweight pole and a fishing license. I had to keep moving because of the high winds and mid 40 degree temperatures. This was especially the case at the edge of these large ponds. On West Carry Pond; it was difficult to walk. The wind must have been 40 mph as it moved across the water. I got to the West Carry Pond Shelter and ate fast and drank some of my elixir, coffee,. I read in the shelter register that "Osprey" had been here today and was going south. I wondered how I missed him. Could that be the Osprey that I met back in TN? No way. I wondered, though. I got going and had more of the same "easy" trail. It was so nice to hike on flat logging roads. I actually was moving again and had a chance of finishing. I hiked a couple of hours in the dark which was stunning with the crescent waxing moon against a clear sky. I was actually thinking of having a "monster day"! I wanted to try to catch "Lentil". I missed his crazy self. I had the crossing of the Kennebec River which was supposed to be 75 yards wide; deep; and had killed several wading hikers. It was always something. Lentil said that he was going to swim across. He said that using the ferry was for "Nancys". I did not know what that was; but, I was not sure if I wanted to be one. I had heard that "WhiteCrow" and "Worldide" had swam across. I heard this from "Swiss Miss-The Chocolato Bandito(sp?)" via e-mail. Anyway, I got to The Pierce Pond Shelter and set up for the night. The wind was blowing off the pond something fierce; but, i was able to get in a corner out of the wind. I could not sleep due to my coffee intake; anxiety due to being over 2000 miles; the Kennebec crossing; and thinking about playing NCAA Football on the X-Box 360. I was thinking about running a heavy option offense to get Vandy to the national championship.
Date: 2007-10-23
From: Carl A Newhall Lean-To, Maine

To: Carl A Newhall Lean-To, Maine
Miles today: 0.0

It rained most of the day and it was much colder and windier. I made the decision to not hike in it. With this decision: It meant that I would not make it to Kathadin in time to meet "YDG". It was a very difficult day. I could hike 78 miles in two days or I had to get to a phone in the middle of The 100 mile wilderness. It really messed with my mind. Ok, what is the best plan to get to get to a phone by dusk to tomorrow. I could hike up to White Cap Mtn and try to get cell phone reception. Probably not a good idea. Or I could hike forward and catch "Lentil" and use his phone; he was probably moving too fast to do this. Or I could hike to a very remote road called Kokadjo-B Pond rd; it was 16 miles away and would have to try to hitch around "dark 30" to get to a phone or hopefully find a cabin and knock on a door in the dark: not a good option. So, It looked like, I would have to walk southbound backwards towards Kathadin Ironworks Rd. It was 6 miles back. I could get there at a decent hour and maybe get a ride to a phone or maybe find a cabin. The problem was that this road was gated, from what I understood, and i did not know what that meant. The guidebook had an AMC lodging that was west 8 miles from The Hermitage and I could ask them for a phone call. There was also a vague reference to camping at Maine North Woods Campgrounds, "available in the area"?! If I could decipher what the hell that meant, maybe I could find a phone there. As you can see, this was quite a day of thinking. I know "Moon Man"(AT 2010) is going, "Why dont you just hike in the rain, soldier? Matter of fact that's a direct order!" I just wish I could have gathered the strength to do it. I just kept thinking about hiking into Stratton, Me a week ago and not being able to feel my hands and having to keep walking to stay warm and then getting into camp sopping wet.