morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-18
From: US-2 (Gorham, NH)

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

This morning we ordered a little breakfast in and took our time packing before leaving out of Gorham. After checking out of the room we did a little shopping and hitched a ride with some guy in a van. He we a bit sketchy but what can you expect from a guy picking up hitchhikers. We got out at the trailhead on US-2 around 12:30pm and crossed the railroad tracts to the Androscoggin River where the trail crossed on an old bridge next to a power plant. The trial climbed up to Mount Hayes and from this point for the next several miles was very over grown and not the most pleasant hike. The only nice part of this afternoons hike was the view of the Presidentials from Wocket Ledge. The rest of today¢s hike was kind of boring up until close to dark when we passed Moss pond where we all took it extra slow in hopes that we would see a moose. If there was ever an excellent spot to see a moose this was it, but not today. We reached Gentian Pond Shelter around 7:30pm and set up camp on the tent platforms on the hill behind the shelter. There was another group camping there tonight as well but they were not very social. Since dark was already upon us we eat dinner and talked about tomorrow¢s hike. We were pretty anxious about the next section because it crosses the 1,900-mile mark where we enter the Mahoosuc Notch. We had heard many stories about the longest mile on the trail and we were ready. So off to bed we went to rest up. Tonight at Gentian Pond: Shasta, H-Bomb, Baro, Jangles, and I
Date: 2006-08-21
From: ME-26 (Grafton Notch)

To: Hall Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 16.3

It was definitely nice sleeping inside the hostel last night because it poured mostly all night. The best part about the stay was all of our gear was dry, and I was able to take a hot shower before breakfast. With everything packed we went down for a real breakfast. Since the hostel is joined by a bed and breakfast there was an actual dinning room with fruit and muffins to choose from while they prepared our selected omelets. It was nice to have a full breakfast that didn't consist of pop tarts or oatmeal. We didn't have much time to waste after eating because our ride back to the trail was scheduled for 8:15am. Our ride back was by the same kid that took us into town last night but he had a different car. Last night it was a small Jeep that we crammed six hikers into so this morning he brought a van that had plenty of room in it. We got back to the trail and just as soon as we started hiking our feet got wet. The trail was flooded from all the rain and gave brief flashbacks of Pennsylvania during the big floods earlier this year. Our first summit today was on Baldpate Mountain and it was definitely bald. The top has a single rock face that extends several hundred feet above everything else and was quite an impressive climb. The only real problem was when we reached the summit it was so foggy that the visibility was only about a hundred feet. I bet from the top on a clear day you would have great views. While up there we also met a guy named Photo Op, but we later named him Dr. Seuss because he looked just like a Dr. Seuss character. He had really bush, white eyebrows and was extremely hyper for his age. The rest of the day was spent sloshing through mud and water with the only real excitement coming when we had to ford Ellis River. Just below the area that the trail crosses the river was a massive ravine that the water flows into. With all the rain that we have had in the past couple of days the water level was up so we had to cross a little upstream. If we would have crossed where the blazes were located and slipped, it would have been sure enough been our death to the bottom of the falls. Just after the falls we took a break at East B Hill Road where we met Earl for The Cabin Hostel. He had some water to top off our bottles and even a little Denatured Alcohol for us to use. We left the road and didn't stop until we got to our camping spot at Hill Mountain Lean-to. Here we set up camp, ate a quick dinner, and went straight to bed because it was getting cold end everyone shoes were soaking wet from the ford earlier.Tonight: Jane, H-bomb, Shasta, Baro, Sea Grass, Water Wings, and I.
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Hall Mountain Lean-To

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-To
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

It's off to another cool morning with wet socks and shoes. Yesterday while fording Ellis River our shoes got soaked and it has been raining so much over the past few days the trail has also kept them soaked. Not helping matters any is the cool night temperatures here in Maine. The past couple of nights it has been in the low 50's to the high 40's and really damp. These cool temperatures don't help putting on the wet sock issue in the mornings at all. Trying to coach your feet to go into a cold, wet, smelly sock can be a challenge. If the trail were comfortable and easy though everyone would hike it. With wet shoes we ended up hiking out of camp around 9:15am to another enjoyable day. We ended up having two really steep climbs today due to the New England section of the trail not believing in switchbacks. To help matters out a little the trail crews have drilled and epoxied rebar steps into the sides of the rock faces that the trail crosses. They sometimes extend as far as 8 to 10 steps and include a hand railing. Without them the trail would still be possible but would be a true scramble up and down. On one of these sections we ran into the couple from South Africa (Spindle Shanks and Slow Coach) that we camped with the first night I met Shasta and H-Bomb just past Franklin, NC. They were still going strong and had decided to do a flip-flop from Harpers Ferry, WV. After talking and catching up on trail gossip for a few minutes we moved on toward Old Blue. It was our highest climb for the day up to 3600' but made way for an almost all down hill afternoon into Bemis Mountain Shelter for the evening. Just before the Shelter Shasta and I scored the huge blueberry patch that Photo Op had told us about yesterday. We spent over 45 minutes picking and eating wild Maine blueberries by the handful. After nearly getting a bellyache we stopped and moved on to the shelter. Went we got there we picked out a nice cozy site for our little tent city that we have created and went down to the shelter to cook dinner. There was already a section hiker there that had taken a zero day that really liked to talk. Baro named her Mrs. Ruby because of her gem interest and career selling them. She must have been really lonely because she talked the entire time we were there. Just after eating we warmed a little water for hot chocolate and I got a fire going to dry out socks. Although the shoes would still be wet in the morning I would have dry socks to put on for once. As darkness neared and the temperatures started to drop we made our way back up to our tents for the night. Tonight Jane, Shasta, H-Bomb, Baro, Mrs. Ruby, and I. (at some point Wild Bill showed up for the night)
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-To

To: ME-4 (Rangeley, ME)
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a much nicer morning this morning compares to the past couple. Even though it was a little cool out it was sunny for once. This encouraged us to move around a little earlier that the previous morning. Our attempt today is to knock our just under 18 miles and make it into Rangeley, ME tonight. Starting off the day was great Shasta and I stopped for a few pictures of the skyline with mountains and multiple ponds in the foreground. When we came out on ME17 we took a quick break on the side of the road because of the great views of one of the ponds below. When I saw pond or ponds that is what the locals call large bodies of way that we in the south normally refer to as lakes. We ended up passing half a dozen or more of them today that the trail skirts around with many more off in the distance. For the most part we all stayed scattered out today especially this afternoon because we all pushed the last nine miles without a break. Shasta was trying to make it to the post office before it closed and the rest of us were just strung out behind her. When I reached ME4 she had already gotten a ride into town so I waited on H-bomb, Jane, and Baro to hitch into town. Not long after out attempt a guy picked us up and gave us a ride to the post office in Rangeley to meet Shasta. The town is primarily a small vacation town and is located right on one of the many ponds of the state. We were all starving so we grabbed a meal at the Park side Restaurant that overlooked the pond and gave us a good preview of what was to be the sunset of the day. One of the couples that we talked to before being seated bought us a round of drinks to go with our dinner so that was a nice treat of trail magic. When we got finished eating we gave Bob the owner of The Gull Pond Lodge a call and he picked us up for a nights stay at his place. He runs a hostel for thru hikers on Gull Pond and is a supper nice individual. He has converted his house into a lodge with bunkrooms upstairs and all other needs downstairs. Since it was dark when we got there we went straight in and showered up all while watching a little TV and eating snacks. Ice cream and cookies can make any house fill like home. So one by one after snacking, showering, and watching some TV we disappeared for the night.Tonight: Shasta, H-Bomb, Jane, Baro, Jelly Bean, Sandman, Ireland, Bob his twodogs Marcus & Windy, and I.
Date: 2006-08-24
From: ME-4 (Rangeley, ME)

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-To
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

After and nice refreshing sleep at Bob's place I awoke to another wonderful day. After getting out of bed I found my way downstairs to a little breakfast. Included as part of the stay Bob puts out a buffet of sorts with all types of breakfast items. From waffles, cold cereal, juice to hot coffee it starts the day off just right. We all ended up sitting around eating while catching a little more TV before leaving out for the trail. Since there were a few others that wanted to leave for the trail before us we stayed at the house while Bob ran a quick shuttle to the trailhead. Not long after he returned we were ready to go. On the way through town we stopped at the post office to pick up Shasta and H-Bomb¢s mail drop. It was closed yesterday when we made it into town. After the short stop we continued on to the trail. We got to the trailhead around 12:00pm and after a quick group picture with Bob we started heading north yet again. Shortly after starting we stopped at the Piazza Rock formation and caves to play around for a while. At this location there is also another interesting item located in the campsite. The privy isn't like most other privies on the trail because instead of one seat it has two. It also come complete with a board game built in between the two seats. Cleaver idea however I am not much of one for hanging around in there any longer than necessary. From here we started our climb up Saddleback Mountain. It is another 4,000 footer here in New England, but it has great significance for us AT hikers. From the top you can see Mount Washington roughly 115 miles to the south but even more impressive is Mount Katahdin our northern terminus at over 200 miles to the north. This doesn't even start to explain the rest of the views that can be seen from the top. The only real problem is since it is above the tree line it is once again windy and cold. From here to tonight¢s shelter at Poplar Ridge I didn't stop. Off in the distance was a rain shower headed our way and I didn't want to get caught in it if at all possible. Lucky us and very thankfully we made it to the shelter and stayed dry. Baro and I ended up camping just before the shelter in a small space big enough for all of our tents, but the girls had better plans and wanted to stay beside the shelter. Hopefully there will be a really loud snorer in the shelter that will keep them up all night since they were too good for us. The best part of the deal was it gave Baro and I a chance to talk about the three of them without them hearing. After setting up camp we walked up to the shelter and had dinner with everyone before heading to bed to get warm. Last night it was in the mid 40's and tonight feels just as cool if not colder.Tonight: Baro, Jane, H-Bomb, Shasta, Jelly Bean, Sandman, Ireland, 3 French guys and I.
Date: 2006-08-26
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: ME-27 (Stratton, ME)
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we woke up and started hiking around 7:00am. On the way out of the campsite we passed the college kids that had stayed in the site last night and there were all snuggled as close to one another as they could get. There was a light frost on the ground this morning and they had all slept out on a platform under a tarp. They must have been freezing. We hit the trail early and were first faced with a climb up the rocky face of Crocker Mountain. The trail was pretty steep but gave good views of the rising sun. On the descend down the other side I stepped on a log in the middle of the trail and inside was a hornets nest. We had gotten word of this but there was no marking of its exact location so I found the log and poor Shasta found the hornets. I back tracked through the woods to the side and placed a sign warning the group behind us. Around 10:30 am Shasta and I crossed the power line and came out onto ME27. We planned to go into the town of Stratton about 5 miles away so as soon as we emerged we started trying to hitch a ride. Shortly after standing there a Jeep pulled up and Don gave us a ride to the post office. Come to find out Don is the caretaker of Stratton Motel and offered us a place to stay tonight. We told him it sounded good and that we had a few others behind us that would be up for a stay as well and needed a ride into town. They were shortly behind us and by now were standing on the roadside looking for a lift. After checking out mail Don pulled up with H-Bomb, Jangles, and Baro putting all five of us back together. We walked down to the Stratton Motel and checked in for the night. The Motel isn¢t much but Don offered us the apartment that was attached which had a kitchen, Bathroom, Internet, TV, radio, and gas grill. We took showers and washed cloths for the better part of the day while resting and checking our email for the rest. Later in the afternoon we resupplied at the small local grocery store in town and while there bought food to grill out. We pooled all of these ingredients and made steak kabobs, veggie-kabobs, grilled corn, and grilled chicken for a monstrous feast. After that we were pretty much useless and spent the afternoon hanging out with wall the other hikers in town for the night and playing with don¢s pups Goober and Nacho.Tonight in Stratton: Baro, Jangles, H-Bomb, Shasta, Jelly Bean, Black Foot, Sandman, Irish, myself and a few other hikers.
Date: 2006-08-30
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-To

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night I hung out most of my gear hoping it would dry over night, but Mother Nature granted us with a heavy dew making things even more soggy this morning. I packed up everything the best I could trying to keep what little gear that I did have dry. The Jersey Boys helped feed the fire down at the shelter as Sandman directed them on what to do. So the rest of us enjoyed a little warmth before leaving out of the shelter for another day on the trail. After a couple of hours of hiking I came to a dirt road and just to the other side was Moxie Pond. The white blazes turned to the right and followed the dirt road just a brief distance under some power lines and back into a wooded area. As the trail entered the woods there was a small pier at the edge of the pond and by then I had caught up with a few of the gang. We decided to take a break for a while which lead into a short swim across the pond and back. Not really sure if the water temperature warms up in these ponds because we are in August and they are still very cold. After the swim we made a short rock hop across Baker Stream and started the ascend up to Moxie Bald. Just before the bald the trail turned from dirt to rock and from this point to the top was noting but smooth rock walking. The summit of Moxie Bald at 2,629¢ yielded a great view of Mount Katahdin still some 135 trail miles away. This view was a good photo opportunity because the skies were clear and someone had draped the summit sign with prayer flags. We all joked around about the 135 remaining miles then quickly headed north. Our afternoon hike was really nice as we made our way toward Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To. The trail followed the riverbanks of the Piscataquis River and as we made our way through the canyon the sun stated getting low in the sky. This turned some of the fall colors in the trees to a nice glow lending way for some nice pictures. When we arrived at the campsite the lean-to was really crowded with a group of college kids that were out for a few days on the trail. Our group decided to settle down just behind the shelter on a somewhat unlevel campsite. This area had only a few open spots for tents so Jane and I shared a tent right next to H-bomb and Shasta. Since Baro is sporting the hammock he had plenty of choices for the night. The only real problem with this site was the water source was way down in the canyon and not very accessible. Tonight at Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To: Jangles, Jelly Bean, Shasta, H-Bomb, Baro, The Jersey Boys, a ton of college kids, and I
Date: 2006-09-08
From: The Birtches Campsite (Baxter State Park)

To: Mt. Katahdin (Baxter Peak)
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

Oh, what a feeling! After 160 days and 2,176 miles I have summited Mt. Katahdin in Maine and fulfilled the dream of a thru hike on the Appalachian Trail. To make things even better I finished with a group of friends that I met back in April on the trail and we were able to stay together for most of the hike including the big summit. Even though we are all split up now it is a family that I will never forget. I have tons of stories about them and the trail that I can¢t wait to share.Mom and Dad met us in Baxter State Park for the finish and we drove down the coast on our way back home. After the long hike and drive back I am safely at home but completely exhausted. It is a huge change being back in a bed at night and not sleeping on an inflatable 1¢ mattress. It is also nice not having to put a tent up nightly or pump every ounce of water before drinking. It sounds like I am glad to be done but I already miss the trail a lot. Now that I am home I have a lot of catching up to do. Many of you have tried to reach me and I have done an awful job of returning the favor. I will go ahead and apologize now. Sometimes it wasn¢t the easiest thing to do on the trail but the messages were encouragement for me to keep going north when I received them. I also plan to work on the web site a lot in the near future.So, I can¢t say it enough. Thanks for all the support and love while out on the trail. Mouse.
Date: 2006-03-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I know, the trail is nowhere near the Ocean. I just like this picture and I don't have any available of me in hiking gear. Most of my hikes were in the army anyway. I'm still in Tikrit. I won't get out of here till the 12th of April. It's not easy gearing up for the AT from 9000 miles away.    Other than a mortar attack that sent us to bunkers last night, there is no new news and not much I can do but wait.    I'm ready to do some walking.
Date: 2006-03-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I got an e-mail today from somebody I never met, wishing me luck on the trail. I'm about 3 weeks and 9000 miles away from my first steps at Springer Mountain and I'm already getting encouragement from unexpected places. I really have a feeling that I'm going to make a lot of new friends over the next 6 months.    I don't have any hiking news, but I thought a short story about an experience here in Tikrit might at least be interesting.    I am working on a water purification site to finish out my contract. A few months back I wrote this e-mail to some friends.....15 Dec. 2005   Well,   We all see wierd things from time to time but we don't get to participate often. I was working with the "wookie" a few days ago and he was doing a patch on a 50,000 gallon collapsible bag. I was standing next to him watching him do the patch on a "pin hole" The bag is 30 feet wide, 80 feet long and , 5.5 feet high. That comes to a little over 200 tons of water. It is the equivalent of a 3 car garage filled to the ceiling with water. If released all at the same time from the 30 foot end, the water will create a wave that will go 50 yards. The wave is able to carry a grown man about my size for thirty five yards before depositing him in a muddy ragged heap in the middle of a stone filled field. It hurts too. I actually managed to do a little body surfing for the last few yards. The wookie (sorry fuzzbag)managed to jump clear.    I am probably the only person in history to have bodysurfed in tikrit.                                                                                     Later dude,                                                                                          Bill,   That was from last December and it just goes to show you that anybody can have a good time when when things don't go like you expect.    Looking forward to the trail. Thanks for the e-mails.
Date: 2006-03-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Still doing time in the desert. 13 days till I fly, 21 till I hike.   I am happy to say that I've got a transcriptionist for my journal. I'm very happy to say that she is a 2004 through hiker that finished the trail and summited Kathadin on a class 3 day. Stephanie "Butterfingers" Micucci will betranslating my chickenscratch into legible words and editing my four letter grouching into words like gosh, darn and sonofabiscuit. Anything unprintable will be symbolized by a series of random .. $*@>>.!@& symbols. I know Stphanie will be tireless and dilligent in her efforts to prevent me from making a genuine jackass of myself for everyone to read.    Meanwhile, back at the ranch...   My outfitter got my equipment issues worked out and when I land in Texas I will have about 8000 pounds of equipment to put into my new lightweight backpack.    I heard the Russian Disco plane did a belly landing near Kirkuk and will not be available for my flight to Bagdad. I'll be on a "normal" flight. Very disappointing.   Rumor has it that the local insurgency commitee is planning a surprise going away party for me. .   I can do without the last one.