morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-09-19
From: Stealth Site at Carabassett River

To: ME Rte. 27
Miles today: 8.4

Hit the trail at a reasonable time and started the long, rather steep 2,100' climb up South Crocker Mountain and North Crocker Mountain with what is now becoming normal¢rock walls and boulders. Ideal hiking weather¢partly cloudy and in the sixties. After the long climb, then had a 2,800' descent that seemed to go on forever. Finally made it to the road along with Cody, Stickwalker and Belle, and we call got a hitch for the 5 miles into Stratton.I immediately head for the soda machine and here comes Wild Poodle coming up the street. She had shuttled here from Andover leaving Cahoda in the good care of Ilene and David of the Pine Ellis Hostel. Poodle and I shared a motel room right in town. Puma, Forest, Timone and Chef were there. Turns out Chef took a fall and broke his wrist two days after Cahoda did. He's wearing a brace and plans to continue hiking.Did laundry, bought a few trail treats at the grocery store and went to the White Wolf Inn for prime rib dinner. A hot shower, clean sheets, PILLOWS (!!!), and a full belly had this hiker in dreamland early.Woke up in the middle of the night and stepped outside to stargaze for a bit. I noticed a vehicle with its motor running sitting between two buildings across the main street which seemed odd at this time in such a small town. A few minutes later a semi-truck went by on the road and the vehicle pulled out. It was a Border Patrol officer. I remembered then that there had been a Border Patrol guy back at Bemis Mountain when the rescue people were mobilized for Cahoda. I looked at my map when I went back into my room. I hadn't realized we were so close to Quebec, Canada, ergo the BP presence.
Date: 2010-09-20
From: ME Rte. 27

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

Woke up early, bought a breakfast sandwich and coffee at the general store, picked up my mail drop at the post office and was in time for our shuttle back to the trail. Wild Poodle and I had boots on trail by 9:30. Today's hike started out with 2 miles of flat terrain and we smoked it! Then we started a 1700' climb which was long but not hard¢most of which had wonderful stone steps. (Thank you, trail maintainers.) We walked by a beaver dam at Horns Pond. A sharp 500' climb had us on South Horn. Another 300' climb, taking us above tree line, had us on West Bigelow. It was clear but cold and we both had to put on another layer. As usual, wind was our constant companion. We think we saw Katahdin in the distance, but weren't sure. We then had a very steep descent before the boulder and talus climb up Avery Peak, the last 4000' mountain before we hit Katahdin. We both were hiking strong and were exhilarated at our ability to take these challenging peaks in stride. There was a small, very old, stone hut on the summit of Avery. It was closed up. Don't know who may have used it in the past but it may have been the living quarters for a fire watch ranger; however, if so, the fire tower is long gone. Although chilled and buffeted by the wind we had to pause and take in the phenomenal views.Everything is steep in Maine and the sharp 1900' descent was no exception. There were huge house sized boulders everywhere. The glacier gods must have had a field day dumping them helter-skelter across the landscape. I remember that 450' cliff face I had to climb upon entering New York and the tough boulder scramble up Kinsman. Compared to what we've dealt with since hitting the Whites, I realize the Trail south of New Hampshire had only been "training" us for this extreme terrain. I don't think I could have done a southbound thru-hike with having to deal with all this right from the get-go.On the way down we passed a 2,000 mile marker. It had both of us grinning like fools when we saw it. Met Otis, a ridge runner, who was heading south. I last met him in North Carolina and he remembered me.The forest in Maine ever fascinates. Lush moss, lichens, and huge brightly colored mushrooms abound. Although not an old growth forest, you still get a primitive sense that it has been here looking much the same way for a long, long time.We finally made it to the Notch and took the .3 mile blue blaze trail to the campsite skirting the ever present giant boulders and even had to duck down and walk underneath one to get to our destination. Another northbound hiker, Windigo, was there and we all tented.We are on track to summit Katahdin on 10/4 but I am still concerned that we have to push miles each day and don't have any leeway for delays or taking a zero. But I am locked into this date now as my daughter bought airline tickets to meet me at Baxter on 10/4, and for our flights home on 10/5. All in all, it was a most excellent day! We hiked strong, cut the Bigelows down to size and made it to our campsite before dark, although just barely.
Date: 2010-09-21
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

With best intentions of starting out no later than 7:30, I overslept and we didn't get out of camp until a little after 8:00.The first order of business was an 800' climb up Little Bigelow Mountain. The climb was so worth it with numerous vistas and overlooks that simply takes your breath away with the beauty. Had a nice 2-mile ridge walk either on good trail or easy rock slabs and then a long 1,800' descent over 4 miles with only a few rock walls to pick our way down. We've become so used to these, though, that we're finally just taking them in stride.Stopped at the Little Bigelow Lean-to for water and went down to the stream to see "The Tubs" which are naturally formed deep pools in the stream between two cascades. If only the weather was warmer...Passed by West Carry Pond. Very dramatic view across it with the surroundin mountains and overcast sky. I thought that Maine was being quirky calling these big lakes "ponds", but not so. They're called ponds because of their shallow depth.Not so hard hiking in the afternoon and made it to the shelter just before 6:00. The daylight hours are definitely getting fewer so if you want to set up and eat dinner before dark, you have to be at your destination by 6. Certainly miss the extra three hours of daylight but only because I equate it with an additional 4 or 5 miles that we could be doing. However, with the difficult terrain up north, we're pretty darn tired by 6:00, so everything is as it should be.Wild Poodle sheltered and I set up my tent. Cody, Stickwalker and Belle The Wonder Dog arrived about 7:00. It's 8:15 and I'm having trouble staying awake, so goodnight. It was another good day of hiking.
Date: 2010-09-22
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Harrison Camps
Miles today: 10.4

After breaking camp, we passed a nice sand beach by Arnold Point which would have been tempting f the weather was warmer. Then crossed the Arnold Swamp on log planks, called puncheons, which in what is becoming typical Maine fashion, were missing some planks in the middle. It's like working your way through a maze trying to find rocks or logs to step on to avoid getting your feet wet. Sometimes the "missing" planks are merely under water so you test with your pole and if it's there and not too deep, you step on it. Sometimes the planks aren't attached to anything on one end so when you step on it, it sinks and the other end pops up like a see-saw. Such fun. My turn today to go ankle deep in the mud. My gaiters took the brunt of the muck but feet were definitely wet.For a change, we didn't have any significant elevation changes, but the trail didn't lend itself to speed. We rock hopped across a couple of streams and walked by lovely ponds. We had planned on stopping for the day at the Pierce Pond Lean-to but saw there was a private camp only a half mile past it where we could rent a cabin so continued on.Just before we got to the blue blaze trail leading to the camp, we crossed a dam which looked not too sturdy and not too safe with water from Pierce Pond rushing underneath it. We made it across and then took the blue blaze across an interesting bridge made of wooden pallets like they use when shipping freight.The owner wasn't there when we arrived at Harrison Camp so we lounged on the porch overlooking a stream and waterfall, signed up for breakfast the next morning, found the shower house with fresh towels laid out and took showers. When the owner came back, he put us in a lovely log cabin with two double beds and a bathroom. It had a wood burning stove but we chose not to light a fire even though the night would be cool as both Wild Poodle and I sleep better in cooler temps. Guess we've been out in the woods too long to forego the creature comfort of heat.Dune, East Wind and their driver, Bob, were also at the camp and invited us to dinner to celebrate the 2,000 mile mark. Before I left for dinner, my knee jerk reaction was to look for a place to hang my food. Then I realized I was in a 4-walled cabin with a door and that wasn't necessary but I hung it anyway just in case any aggressive Maine mice happened to be around.We had a lovely dinner cooked next to a roaring campfire, included wine and were serenaded by Bob on his guitar. He's a musician in his real life. What a delightful evening!
Date: 2010-09-23
From: Harrison Camps

To: US 201
Miles today: 3.6

The lumberjack breakfast at Harrison Camps was well worth it. Twelve good-sized pancakes, syrup, sausage, juice and coffee. My appetite has not abated; I cleaned my plate.Said our goodbyes to Dune, East Wind and Bob and hit the trail. Followed the Pierce Pond Stream almost all the way to where it met the notorious Kennebec River on a mostly downhill tread. The Kennebec is a big river with a dam a short distance upstream that releases water at unscheduled intervals which can significantly raise the level of the river and could potentially sweep an unsuspecting hiker downstream who might be fording it. So the AT provides a canoe to shuttle you across. There's even a white blaze on the floor of the canoe. We only had to wait a few minutes for the canoe shuttler to come across and get us. I paddled in front and he steered from the rear on the way back. Poodle enjoyed the ride.From the river, it's a short walk into Caratunk to the post office where we had mail drops to pick up. On the way we saw Freeman, a northbounder who did a flip-flop and is now heading south. There was quite a crowd of hikers at the post office. We teasingly call each other "hiker trash". We all loitered in front opening up our packages and making phone calls from the pay phone as there's no cell service here. One hiker found a wallet. It was Freeman's with all his credit cards, ID's and money in it. I told him we had seen Freeman heading south just five minutes ago, so he took off at a run to catch him. He came back awhile later and finally caught him just as he was getting out of the canoe on the other side of the river. He shouted across and Freeman came back and was extremely happy the guy chased him down. Wild Poodle and I had planned on heading right out of town and go another 6 miles or so but the draw of a shower and hot meal had us calling for a shuttle to the Northern Outdoors Resort. On the one hand, Katahdin is the overriding goal; on the other hand, I know this hike is fast coming to an end and I SO want to savor the short time we have left out here and not have the pressure of pushing miles to finish on our too tight timetable. We've been doing well with our planned daily mileage but we need the rest. Time to revise the hike plan again. So the shuttle pick-up truck arrived and we all piled in the cab or bed of the truck with the thought of beer and burgers causing us all to salivate with anticipation. Northern Outdoors did not disappoint.
Date: 2010-09-26
From: Bodfish Farm-Long Pond Road

To: Stealth Site on Columbus Mountain
Miles today: 11.2

Had another 1-2-3 breakfast at Shaw's and Wild Poodle and I took the early shuttle to Bodfish Farm Road where we had started our southbound slack yesterday to continue north from there into the 100-Mile Wilderness. Poodle had shredded the backside of her pants yesterday scooting across the log over Little Wilson Stream. One of the guys "innocently" offered to help her with a duct tape repair. Wish I'd had the presence of mind to capture his face while he made the repairs while Poodle was wearing the pants. Good-natured laughter is a nice way to start the morning.Our packs were heavy with 6 days of food, a fresh sandwich for today's lunch, and some extra fuel. Another overcast, cool day which actually is nice for hiking so long as it doesn't rain. Right at the start we hit Long Pond Stream but were able to rock hop across it and keep our feet dry. Then we had a long, long 1,500' climb up Barren Mountain. As we climbed, we could see the fog pouring down, feather-light liquid in stasis, from over the jagged mountain. Slow and silent it cloaked the trees, slipped between them and flowed toward us. We climbed Barren Slide¢no view. We crossed the Barren Ledges¢no view. Ditto when we summited Barren Mountain. Although we were excited to be in the Wilderness, it was a rather subdued day. The trail was typical Maine with an added feature of having lots of standing water between rock walls that was impossible to get around, so the feet got wet. Steep but not too hard ups and downs all day. We climbed Fourth Mountain; then Third Mountain, when daylight started to wane.We were halfway up Columbus Mountain wanting to camp at the lean-to about 2 miles ahead but it was getting dark and we didn't want to negotiate yet another series of rock walls and boulder fields by headlamp. Somehow Wild Poodle spotted a small flat area on the side of the mountain in thick woods about 25' off the trail. The stealth site accommodated both our tents, but just barely. Had dinner and hung our food. I was a little discouraged that we now had 2 miles to make up to keep to our hike plan, but chose not to stress over it and fell asleep quickly.
Date: 2010-09-29
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Rained off and on through the night but stopped by morning with the promise of better weather. We had an ambitious day planned still trying to make up a few miles that we are short on our hike plan. The terrain ahead, at least on paper, looks to be conducive to making the miles with only the 1400' climb up Little Boardman Mountain this morning and then relatively flat terrain after that.We had summer-like temperatures with humidity but after all the cold and rain, it was welcome. We hiked off and on all day with Peru and Radar and were all planning to camp at the Antlers Campsite tonight. We were able to rock hop, with care, across the East Branch of the Pleasant River. After a not too hard climb up and down Boardman Mountain, the trail was flat and cushy with pine needles. What a treat for the feet! Six miles into the day, we stopped at the sand beach at Crawford Pond for first lunch with Peru. As we were packing up, we noticed something in the water way across the lake. At first we thought it was a rock, but then we noticed it was slowly moving. A moose? It was too far away to discern but we stayed and watched. Eventually we realized it was a fisherman in his boat slowly trolling. Stopped at Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to for water and a snack. Lovely setting with the lean-to overlooking the falls. Twelve miles into our day, we stopped for second lunch at Jo-Mary Road where Wild Poodle saw a couple hikers she met in Virginia. So goes the ebb and flow of the trail. They chatted for awhile on the narrow wood bridge going over Cooper Brook but had to quickly get to the shoulder of the road when a loaded lumber truck came roaring by. Really not used to things moving faster than two miles an hour! I think we've been in the woods too long. We hiked on. The fall colors are glorious with red and yellow leaves sprinkling the forest floor. We were doing a 16-mile day and I thought we would have reached our planned campsite by 5:00, but we didn't. The legs were tired and I needed more fuel, so we stopped for a 15-minute snack break. Turns out when we got moving again, the campground was a mere 250 yards ahead. Why do I always do that¢stop just short of where we're heading? Thought I had already learned that lesson, but I guess not.Peru and Radar were already there and set up. We chose a lovely site nearby overlooking the lake. Rocks had been piled up out into the lake so we could walk out 35 feet to get our water away from the shoreline. As we sat eating dinner in the dim light of dusk, the loons serenaded us. Beautiful spot.Our big miles today puts us just under 52 miles to the Big K with 5 days left to do it. That is very doable so at last I've stopped worrying about our timetable. As journey's end is approaching though, my emotional barometer is all over the board. I'm starting to get the sense of doing things for the last time, just like I did during the few days before I left for Springer. It's making me hyper-aware of everything around me. I just want to inhale the beauty and make it part of my being.
Date: 2010-10-01
From: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: heavy intensity rain

The rain eased up by morning but it was still overcast and threatening more precipitation through the day. The watch words for today were MUD and WATER. What a sloppy, messy day. Walked through many low lying areas with mud and water. Walked on sections of trail that wer choked with mud and water. Crossed bogs on puncheons that were covered with mud and water. Not a prayer for keeping dry feet today. Had intermittent drizzle and light rain all day.Had a not too hard 800' climb up Nesuntabunt Mountain but were in the clouds so couldn't see the promised view of Katahdin.Crossed a couple of streams with high water but found logs had been placed across so were able to walk across on the logs rather than in the water. Found out when we caught up with Peru and Radar at lunchtime that Radar was our intrepid bridge engineer and was the one who had put those logs in place.Then just when I was really getting aggravated at our slow progress through all this mud and water, the trail decided to throw in some boulder fields to make our hike more interesting. I'm surprised I didn't take a fall today with all the slippery rocks and ever present slippery tree roots, but somehow managed to stay upright through the day.We hiked with Peru and Radar in the afternoon and collectively decided to stop early and stay at the next lean-to to get out of the rain rather than pushing on another 4 miles to a campsite. So we're going to have to make up those 4 miles in the next two days. Not a big deal.All four of us took a side trail to see the Pollywog Gorge. The overview had us on the side of a small mountain overlooking a beautiful whitewater river with a wall of autumn foliage on the other cliff face. When we were ready to leave, I told the others to go on ahead; that I'd meet them at the lean-to in a few hours. I needed some alone time to let the melancholy of the fast approaching trail's end wash over me. I gave over to my senses and just soaked in the visual display of color, watched the fog dance through the gorge, listened to the rush of the whitewater, felt rivulets of cool rain wash down my face, smelled the earthy odor of the rain-soaked forest and clean tang of pine trees, and felt both shattering joy and overwhelming sadness. I sat there for about an hour saying my private goodbyes to Maine and to the Trail.I finally reined in all this emotion and made my way to the lean-to. The four or us had it to ourselves tonight. It stands right in front of the Rainbow Stream which is running high and fast. We can see that the trail takes us across a couple little, rather shaky-looking, logs spanning the stream. If the rain continues through the night, we're hoping the logs won't be washed away and give us a tough ford in the morning.
Date: 2010-10-05
To: Post Hike #1-FUBAR Flights Home
Miles today: 0.0

We had an early afternoon flight to Chicago from Bangor, changing planes at LaGuardia Field in New York. Started packing after breakfast in town (and signing the ceiling tile¢hiker tradition). Threw out my way too large and very dirty hiking clothes, my decrepit boots with about 1200 miles on them and two pairs of threadbare and permanently stinkified socks. I wore a nice Bebe Sport sweatsuit that Legs had brought and my Crocs. Then Legs and I drove to Bangor and turned in the rental car only to find out our flight was delayed 3-4 hours. So we hung around outside at the airport enjoying the balmy autumn weather. As we were sitting there, I saw a guy come out of the hotel across the street about 500 feet away. Though he was too far away to identify, I knew he was a hiker just by the way he walked and the noticeable lack of body fat. So I walked over. It was A.D. We chatted for a bit both still grinning from the afterglow of our Katahdin summit. Legs went in the hotel to use their internet and I wandered back to lounging around at the terminal. After awhile I went inside to check the status of our flight. They had shortened the delay and were calling for final boarding. Oh crap! There's not a lot of flights out of Bangor and we certainly didn't want to miss it. I ran over to the hotel, got Legs, went back to the terminal, flew through security and literally ran for the gate. We just made it. Out of breath, we found our seats as they closed the door and started taxiing for take-off.   After seven months of having a simple itinerary of merely walking all day and stopping when it starts to get dark, I could feel the blood pressure spike as we now had to worry about whether we'd make our connection in New York. The good news was that our connecting flight was also delayed. The bad news was that we only had 40 minutes to change planes and it was flying out of a different terminal. After disembarking, we quickly made our way to curbside to catch the shuttle bus. Five minutes passed. No bus. Ten minutes. No bus. Legs and I grabbed a cab and paid $10 to go a half mile. Security looked at our tickets, told us we were the farthest gate (of course), and that we'd probably not make it as they had already called final boarding.   So for a second time, we were at a dead run through the terminal. As I entered the jetway, I saw they were starting to close the door and shouted to hold it. They did. Let's see, now. What can I worry about next? Oh, yeah¢we're going to get into Chicago about 11:30 at night rather than early evening. Not a good time to call a friend to pick us up at the airport, and if we take a cab, it will cost about $60. Finally thought of someone I could call who worked second shift and would be getting off of work about the time we were landing, so all turned out okay.I was more exhausted when my head finally hit my pillow tonight than I had been any day hiking the trail.   Welcome back to the stresses of civilization!
Date: 2010-02-07
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a great start to my journey. After signing in at Amicalola Falls, we drove up to Springer Mountain where the trail begins. I'm sure it was a very tough goodbye for Jesse and his girlfriend Makaylie considering the lenth of time we will be away, but it was nice of her and her friends to drive us up there. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to begin the hike, and it was a fairly easy walk to the Hawk Mountain Shelter where we are staying tonight. We met another thru hiker from Virginia named Bobby. It's nice to see somoene else on the trail this early. Overall, today was a great way to begin this trip and I can't wait to get up and head a little further north tomorrow.