morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Bald Mountain Pond 

To: Moxie Pond Inlet
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

This turned out to be a short day. We went over Moxie Bald and it was great so we spent a bit of time sitting up there looking at the views (you could see Mt Katahdin behind and the Bigelows in front) and picking wild blueberries. Although they are very sweet we thought the blueberries were not really worth the effort since you have to pick so many just to get a taste. Maybe they grow more prolifically in other places. Looking towards the BigelowsThen down to Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to for lunch. We had to decide whether to cross the next bald or stop for the day, and it ended up as a stop for the day since there was no water source till the next lean-to - a distance of 8.7 miles and too far at that time of day. So the next challenge was to find a campsite - very hard in that country but Dave went scouting in the wilderness and came up with a perfect site on the top of a promontory overlooking a lake. There was a well-placed rock just at the water's edge and Dave slid down into the water before he realized that he couldn't get himself back out again without help. So it ended up with me getting in too, then pushing him out and him pulling me out! There were a few houses about and a road with a bit of traffic but no-one bothered us. Bonnie would not have found us there but it seems she is still back there on the trail somewhere. We had our first freeze-dried dinner courtesy of someone who left a whole lot of them at Shaw's in Monson. It was chicken with mashed potato, beans and sweet corn. I added more potato since the whole meal seemed pretty small to us and it needed the extra but otherwise was pretty good and a good change. Wonder what they cost. I added plenty of butter as well to beef up the calories. Breakfast is currently instant oatmeal with lots of coconut, skim milk powder and raisins. We've had a brainwave - at the next supermarket we will check out baby formula. This will probably have a higher fat content and will certainly have all the vitamins etc that babies are meant to need. It just might be the answer to non-fat milk powder.Moxie Pond photo by Eden Express - Meredith Minear
Date: 2007-08-12
From:  Caratunk

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a slow start from Caratunk due to the ferryman not starting till 9am. Ordinarily we would have been walking for two hours by then. However, we eventually got away and did 14 miles to West Carry Pond Lean-to which we reached at about 5pm. We disturbed 2 moose in a swamp on the way. One was not far from us and had a terrific panic to get to safety so our photos are all of splashing water. We didn't actually see the other but it made a lot of noise too. The swamp crossing was interesting with logs nailed to other logs in a line, just floating on the water. They sank as you stepped onto them but not quite far enough to land you in the drink. I would not have wanted to fall in as the swamp was pretty murky looking. It was quite a construction of logs all fastened together. Later on we found a nice sandy beach with good swimming and since it was very hot we spent a bit of time there. There was an intriguing side trip just before arriving at the West Carry Pond Lean-to called Arnold Point. It was a narrow spit stretching out into the lake with gnarled trees growing at funny angles. We dropped our packs and walked out on it for quite a way. The shelter was quite busy with at least 6 NOBOs (northbounders) and a couple of others as well. We pitched our tent and a good thing too as I could hear snoring during the night. There was a light rain during the night - just enough to wet the tent fly.Boardwalk across Arnold SwampArnold Point (photo by Patrick Deaner ¢ The Sole Brother)
Date: 2007-08-13
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

We left at 7:00am for the Safford Notch campsite between the two Bigelow Mountains. There are more NOBOs coming through now and apparently we will pass the main group of them in about 2 weeks. These are just the vanguard. No-one seems to know how many to expect but the services all along the trail are gearing up for them. View of Flagstaff Lake from Little BigelowWe were crossing a road when we met one who said his trailname was Widowmaker - this was due to his having been nearly killed by a falling tree early in his hike. We happened to be in the middle of the road when we met him and he pointed out a painted mark on the road saying 2000. Turned out this is the 2000 mile mark for the NOBOs - they've got 175 mile to go. Didn't mean too much to us, of course, at least we didn't feel too excited about it. We've got 2000 miles to go! There was a deer on the side of the trail, disappearing off into the bush. We got to Little Bigelow Shelter for lunch, then on to Safford Notch. Little Bigelow was really tiring, being up and down, up and down, all along the top and by the time we reached the campsite I felt really tired. We were quite early so had a good rest that afternoon. The site was reasonably good with water just off the side down about 20 meters. We had a wooden platform to put our stuff on and I sat in my chair playing with the local chipmunk who was especially bold. He sat on my foot for a while but was pretty angry at not getting anything to eat. Several others showed up towards the end of the day and camped a bit along from us, which was lucky since they were a group of young men and made a lot of noise that night. It was the last night of their short section hike so they were celebrating. Climbing was 1099m (down 825m)in temps of 20-27C.)West Carry Pond at Dusk (photo by Bill Cooke ¢ CookerHiker)Sign at West peak. Little Bigelow is in the background ¢ photo by Woodbadge
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Safford Notch Campsite, ME

To: Stratton, ME - (188 miles)
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we went all the way to Stratton over Big Bigelow and past Horn Pond. It was a fairly big day with 1151m up and 1412m down in temps of 12-22C. The tops are a little out of the bush, so you get views. We, however, got mist as we were fairly early in the day but it was not a problem as we had been seeing Flagstaff Lake and Sugarloaf Mountain (ski resort) all the way along and it was the same view, just getting closer. David approaching West Peak.Sugarloaf skifield.There was a brisk wind on top and a bit chilly so \I was wearing my windbreaker. Right on top a small building loomed out of the mist. There was no entrance to it but it looked as if it might be accessible if there was a lot of snow, since what might have passed for a door was about 3 metres above the ground. It might have been an old fire lookout as there was a trail off to the side labelled "fire trail" and also a building labelled Caretaker. When we reached Horn Pond, we found the resident caretaker there in a tent-like palace. Guess what? Visiting him was Sandie (Bluebearee), who we had met at Abol Bridge! In fact she said they had been talking about us just as we arrived - no wonder my ears had been burning! So while we made ourselves a huge hot chocolate each we talked to them. Sandie said she had been involved in maintaining that log bridge over the swamp where we saw the moose, and that it took some commitment to get into the swamp and do what was needed to construct the bridge. (I wonder if it has leeches!) They also talked about the management of the privies. This involves digging out the contents and mixing it with leaf litter and other things to make compost. This work is all done by volunteers of whom there is a small army in Maine. Having crossed over some of the country they work in, I can appreciate the high level of commitment they must have. The maintenance of the trail is a huge amount of work in very hard conditions and probably involves a lot of travel as well.We had our second instance of "trail magic" on the way down to the road to Stratton. Trail magic is a strange Appalachian Trail phenomenon involving people with some connection to the trail (past hikers, have a partner on the trail, live near to it, etc.) leaving some gift for hikers. In our case, there was a chilly bin full of Coke and ice and a note saying help ourselves. Not that we're so fond of Coke, but hey! we're on the trail and you can't remember your usual likes and dislikes when in this situation. We thoroughly enjoyed a cold Coke each, thanks to whoever left this gift!Horn Pond from South Horn
Date: 2007-08-15
From: 1986 Miles from Springer

To: ZERO Day in Stratton
Miles today: 0.0

So here we are at Stratton. I thought I'd figured out how to do paragraph breaks in the Trailjournals format but checked back on last time's entry and no breaks! This is a very slow computer here at Stratton so I won't spend time trying to work it out. Will just add para breaks in here as always and see if they disappear on me again.It has been about three days travel from Caratunk with some reasonable climbs over the Bigelows. We are having a "zero" day here, which is as it seems, ie not walking today. A no miles day will, I hope, improve my feet which are feeling a little tired due to a lot of rock on the trail. Our last "zero" was in Monson a week ago and it is time for another. We also have to mail forward some food from here so needed a day to buy it, re-package it into plastic bags (get rid of all that commercial packaging) and mail it on. Also washing etc has to be done. Town stops are really busy and are only "rest days" in that you are doing other things than hiking. The Stratton Motel where we are staying is a good place with the general store right across the road, a nice motel room, a kitchen and lounge available for hikers, laundry facilities, and if you want to ring anywhere in the US the phone is free, and there are two lines. I am going to try again to ring home having missed my mother on both previous times I've rung. Hi Mum! Our next stop is Rangeley in 4 days time, but we are unlikely to have time or opportunity to update the journal. Next update is likely to be in Andover in a week when we are due another zero. The hard work is meant to start here so we will no doubt be very tired by the time we get there.Photo by BOO-BOO - Rebecca Sudduth
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Stratton

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: broken clouds

Sue, from the Stratton Motel, took us to the trailhead at around 7am. We had a half day since the terrain and campsites lent themselves to it and it didn't make sense to go on even though it felt funny to stop at noon. We had gone over north and south Crocker. Still, it was 1038 meters of climbing so the up-muscles had really done their thing at that point (688m down). We set up the tent in a good site beside the trail near a stream in Crocker Cirque campsite. Dave got the fly ("tarp" in American) up as well and sure enough, it started to rain at just before 4pm. We are well organized under the fly with Dave doing running repairs to his pack and I'm about to put on some tea. We saw 9 NOBOs on the trail today. Later: At about 4:30, 10 young boys from Quebec came along planning to camp at this same site - luckily there were tent sites a little further along and they went there. Then a woman (Hillbiffy) came along and stopped to talk to us for a while before heading off in the same direction. Then another person arrived so it will be a busy campsite tonight. We were lucky to find such a good site and be set up before the crowds arrived. 2 more arrived while we were eating dinner. I wonder if this is the most we will see in a day - they keep warning us about the bulk of NOBOs all expected to come through in a group. Dinner was mashed potato, parmesan, coriander flakes, coconut and chicken (you can buy pre-cooked chicken breast in a packet - quite good in small amounts, but heavy as it is not dried). Not bad! I added olive oil to Dave's for calories. Then we had another round of hot chocolate which is becoming a bit of a staple. And yes, we found baby formula with a decent fat content at the general store in Stratton so we bought all they had. It gives the hot chocolate a much-needed boost and also adds a lot to breakfast.It is raining now and we are very comfy under the fly with the tent set up also under the fly. No cooking in the rain for us!Looking down on the Crocker Cirque pond and tentsite photo by Old Corpus - Pete Hoffman
Date: 2007-08-18
From: Orbeton Stream, ME

To: Rangeley, ME (Gull Pond Hostel)
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

Lake Rangeley photo by Lonesome Dove - Sheila Spitzak Today was the most climbing we had done in a day. Just coming down the trail to the road to Rangeley, the altimeter read 1499 meters. We thought we can't have that, it has to go to 1500 before hitting the road, so Dave tried raising it above his head - no result! It is smarter than that! It ended up at 1528m of climbing for the day, with 1578m downhill.We went over Saddleback Mountain in the worst weather we have had so far on the trip. It was windy and cold with spots of rain and Saddleback is out of the bushline to a large extent (though with bushy spots along the way). We got views from time to time but were mostly focussed on getting down the other side as it was a bit like being on tops at home when the weather is dodgy. We met one or two people on the way and asked if these were seriously bad conditions or merely a bit unpleasant. They thought the conditions were pretty bad and later on we heard others had thought so too. We found the wind strong enough to throw us off balance here and there but could walk quite easily. I am sure things can get a lot worse here, it's just that the people we spoke to have not been out in anything worse than that. Remember the Ruahines, Colin, Ken and Neil?? You guys made it to the hut in that wind long before I did! We met quite a few groups who were going up the other side - I don't think any of them got out of the bushline though. It was the weekend so people were out and about. Popular Ridge lean-toWe were picked up (hitchhiking) pretty soon after we got down to the road by a very nice couple who took us to the supermarket just out of Rangeley. After doing our shopping there we rang the proprietor of Gull Pond Hostel (Bob) who came and picked us up and took us to his place. It is his home and he makes it his business to look after hikers. I don't imagine there would be any profit in it - he does it because he enjoys it. He has been building his home for quite a few years and it is still in construction like most of the places we've seen but is very serviceable and comfortable. We were given a nice room overlooking the lake. He has all the facilities you would want except internet. Alas computers are not his thing. He drove us into town the next day to look around. Rangeley is a most attractive small town on a lovely lake, one of the most picturesque we have seen.
Date: 2007-08-19
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Little Swift River Pond, ME
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After looking around Rangeley during the morning we were back on the trail at about 12.30, heading for Little Swift River Pond campsite. There were three canoes with paddles and lifejackets (who would have carried these in??) so we went for a paddle on the pond. On the other side of the pond, which we reached in about 2 minutes, there was a large grey heron picking about in the weeds. He/she was most put out by our presence and flew along the shore a bit so we thought we'd better go back and mind our business. So that was it for canoeing but it was fun for a change. The campsite was a good one and a nice fine night was good, too. We climbed 430m today (149m down). 12 miles to go tomorrow onto Maine Map number 7 - the last one in Maine - and Bemis Mountain lean-to.Red Alert! There is a family of voles (look like tailless mice) living under a nearby rock. All food gets put away into the bear-bags! Dave is perfecting the campsite, digging drainage ditches even though no rain looms, tightening tent stays etc. He loves it!
Date: 2007-08-20
From: Little Swift River Pond, ME

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I had picked up a book in Rangeley so was a bit lazy about the journal at this point. I have to get more disciplined. One problem is we wonder who could be bothered to read it? Maybe a few of our friends and family at home. And maybe we will read it later after the whole adventure is over. I wished we had kept better notes when we were on the Bibbulmun. All we did from there was send a few emails.Today we headed for Bemis Mountain Lean-to, past Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to and various other ponds. Maine is full of ponds and we will really miss them further south (although it is likely that they encourage the insects).It was a pretty easy day till the climb up to Bemis at the end of the day. Climbing up BemisClimbing was 1329m (1086m down) and I was not particularly tired so I must be getting fitter. The best view all day was from the road (Hwy 17) which we crossed just before lunch time. We met a couple of people today - funny, we are being asked about Te Araroa quite a bit. Te Araroa is the track currently under construction that will run from the northern tip of New Zealand to the southern tip. People seem to know about it even though it is not complete yet. Everyone we speak to says they want to go to NZ, but then there is a surprising number who mention they want to do Te Araroa. If this track is ever completed (target is 2009 I believe)I think it will be extremely popular. Today we saw grouse. They have a nasty habit of lying low until you almost step on them then exploding from the undergrowth right at your feet in a shower of feathers and outraged clucking (grousing??). Dave has lots of pictures of grouse now. Grouse photo by Sneakertramp and Hangman - Bruce and Perry Little Swift River Pond photo by Ponderer - Alan ShorbAda River Valley from Ada Flat of Te Araroa Track (photo by Eric Martinot)Lake Constance from Waiau Pass of Te Araroa Track (photo by Eric Martinot)
Date: 2007-08-21
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to, ME

To: Hall Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 12.8

We met Nick today. He was staying in the Bemis Mountain lean-to and tagged along with us when we left. He is 21, from Tennessee, and much fitter and faster than us, needless to say. However, we were riveting conversation for him so he stuck to us the whole morning and we really enjoyed his company. He had decided to do the trail and a week later he was on the trail! He had never hiked before and had a walking style that proved it, but youth and fitness sorts out all problems and he will get there. He hopes to get done by Thanksgiving - we will still be trudging along reflecting on the advantages of youth. He went off at lunchtime when we were at South Arm Road having our usual lunchtime stop. We didn't think to see him again.Nick and Susan on Old Blue MtnWe climbed up to Hall Mountain lean-to where we'd decided to stop after a big day of 1504m climbing and 1548m down. I went looking for a water source and saw someone sitting on the trail - it turned out to be Nick, who had got himself turned around and come a long way back north! He was gob-smacked to see me, must have thought we'd suddenly really got fast, or he'd been a lot slower than he thought. Once the truth sank in, he sat there for about 20 minutes wondering how it happened before he gave up for the day and spent the night in the lean-to with us. We consoled him with stories about very experienced people (including us) who have gotten themselves turned around. We were joined later by a German woman who was wondering how to tell her husband (who was back in Germany) that she wanted to do the AT southbound next year after doing it northbound this year. Hmm. She was a great talker. None of us got a word in edgeways! Off to Andover tomorrow and a zero day.Some statistics to date:Katahdin - Monson 190 kms Average height climbed = 647 m/day. Range = 213 - 1436 m/dayAverage temperature 26 max, 18 min. Range = 32 - 12 degCMonson - Stratton 104 kms Average height climbed = 840 m/day. Range = 642 - 1151 m/dayAverage temperature 26 max, 16 min. Range = 29 - 12Stratton - Andover 110 kms Average height climbed = 930 m/day. Range = 309 - 1528 m/dayAverage temperature 23 max, 11 min. Range = 25 ¢ 8View from Bemis Mountain photo by Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack)- Dick Gase View from Bemis Mountain photo by Cookerhiker - Bill Cooke
Date: 2007-08-22
From: Hall Mountain Lean-to

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We got away at 7am for Andover with 6 miles to go. It was a short comparatively easy day with 309m up and 655m down. Easy because short! We are in the hardest part of Maine at present with a lot of rock steps and steep high climbs and descents. We discovered that a lot of people hike this part of the trail without their packs - called "slackpacking". They arrange with a local, usually one of the hostel owners, to stay at a hostel for 2-3 nights then get themselves ferried to a point on the trail where the AT crosses a road from which they hike to another point, get picked up again and taken back to the same hostel to spend the night. It is probably a really good idea, especially in this area since there is so much scrambling up and down large rock steps. We haven't got the idea yet so we are going to just continue on as normal - this involves starting at one end of the trail and carrying our packs till we eventually get to the other end! Maybe further down the line we will get the idea. We are staying at Pine Ellis Hostel. All of the rest of the day was taken up with laundry etc and talking to NOBOs, several of whom were staying there too. We met a group of about 4, "about" 4 as we couldn't work out how many there were. They were in trouble and at least one of them was thinking about abandoning the group. I think the pressures on very different people who try hiking together can be pretty intense. We heard later that the group did break up but when we saw them they were trying to make compromises. One member was an Australian woman by the trail name of Aussie (naturally). We saw so few non-Americans that each one was notable, especially Aussies as they are our neighbours downunder.Near Hall Mountain Lean-to
Date: 2007-08-23
From: Andover

To: Zero day in Andover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Andover is a great little town with a large central square on which everything you want is situated. We spent a bit of time in the library doing email and updating the journal. We also spent a lot of time in the diner where most of the thru-hikers seemed to congregate. We met a young man whose trail name I have forgotten (I might find a picture of him sometime and will add in the name if I do). He was only too eager to share his thoughts on what we were about to experience, and like so many others he was full of the difficulties of Southern Maine, especially Mahoosuc Notch. He obviously got a big thrill out of having to climb over a dead moose which had met its end in one of the rocky caverns of Mahoosuc Notch. In fact we had already heard about this dead moose so many times that we wondered if encountering and smelling a dead animal was a particularly rare event in the lives of the people we are meeting. Having been raised on a farm in New Zealand I didn't expect to turn a hair when faced with the dead moose, but it was a BIG EVENT for many people we met. There was another memorable person at the diner - a woman of about my age! She was a chiropractor (if I remember right). (I was tempted but resisted mentioning my back problems which were on the mend anyway.) She said she had taken about 2 1/2 hours to traverse Mahoosuc Notch so we felt we might have a benchmark for ourselves.ZERO day in Andover. AT Map ¢ Katahdin to Andover, ME Downtown Andover photo by Slow Walker - John Barrett