morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-25
From: Frye Notch Shelter

To: Andover Road House
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: broken clouds

Well, more like 9.5, given the 5 freaking mile road walk we had to make. Wasn't feeling the love from the locals as the sped past our outstretched thumbs. We sat on the road for about an hour, only three cars passed. Started walking, still thumbing. We got a nod, wave, or thumbs up from everyone who drove past, wtf? If you're not going to stop, I'd prefer you do the straight ahead stare and ignore me. A thumbs up from a passing motorist is pretty much an extended middle finger if you ask me. Got within three miles of Andover, close enough to get cell reception. Sometimes these modern conveniences are handy. Had voice mails from Hitech and DZ. They were at the Roadhouse, not the Cabin as originally planned (afternote - a few weeks later we heard through the grapevine that we had been "blacklisted" for want of a better term from the Cabin by another hiker, in a fit of selfishness. Hmmmm, I guess you showed your true colors baby, but I digress) As it turns out, the Roadhouse was the place to stay. Chris the Innkeeper came out to the road to get us, thanks Chris! We were at the trailhead at 10:15, got to the Roadhouse at 2:30. Sucky, but the day certainly improved. Gorged on cheeseburgers as soon as we got to town. Hitech and DZ had got a ride to the neighboring town with Chris and bought resupply for all of us. I'd hands down recommend the Roadhouse over the Cabin, in light of how we were treated by both places. PEACE
Date: 2006-09-26
From: Andover Road House

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

Last night, after the Daily Show (Yeah for "Fake News") and the Colbert Report I hopped on the high speed connection and checked jobs at Monster.com. Smells like civilization. The end of the journey has been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately. Frest start, new beginnings, but where, what? Looking at manager gigs at big box stores, ugh. Unfortunately, our capatialist runs on money, not peace and love. Today we paid to get a ride out of town. Didn't need to add an eight mile road walk to the days hike. Got to camp around 5:00pm, got set up and then enjoyed a nice little thru hiker fire. We (of course, it's PC&J, Hitech, DZ and Pacer) passed around the Makers Mark, bullshitted for a while and stared at the stars. Sometimes the trail is a blur, but this night will stand out as a very special time. Couple of thoughts today from my hike - The brightly coloured leaves shine like a kaliedascope through my tears. My body is ready for this to be over, but not my heart and mind. PEACE
Date: 2006-09-27
From: South Arm Road

To: Some Old Roadbed
Miles today: 12.5

Brrrr. Thirty degrees when I woke up this morning. Nothing like a layer of frost covering everything to get you started in the morning. Where's my coffee, dammit? Tough going in Maine, it's beating me down. Pro caught up with us today, yeah! Hadn't seen him for weeks. He knew we were, from our shelter register entries. He had been hiking 20+ milers for a few days to catch us, oh to be young again. We got to an old railroad bed and decided to camp. The four of us have been dubbed Team Bionic, since 75% of us wear knee braces. The Pro from Dover was still with us, he's an honorary member. We had a nice fire after dinner. As we were sitting around b.s.ing, I knew that I had to bring up the F word (flip). It wasn't easy, cause I figured I knew what the outcome was going to be. So, I began the discussion. I told the guys that I was pretty tired and the fun was all but disappearing from hiking. I was concerned that I was going to be out of gas for the Hundred Mile and Katahdin. We went around the circle, each of us sharing our feelings and thoughts on the subject. After a very frank and honest discussion, covering all the options we could think of, we broke for the evening, agreeing we'd each sleep on it and resume the discussion in the morning. PEACE
Date: 2006-09-28
From: Some Old Roadbed

To: Piazza Rock Shelter
Miles today: 15.7

When I woke, I found a couple of birthday cards had been slipped under my tent fly sometime in the middle of the night. Made me well up with a couple of tears. Hey, it's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to! One was from the guys, the other was from my good buddy Jackson. As we were packing up, we resumed our conversation from last night. Hitech was pressing on. Porkchop & Jackson were pressing on. The Pro was pressing on. I wasn't surprised by any of these decisions, I figured that's what was going to happen. Dangerzone was hitching into Rangely from the next road crossing, about a mile up the trail. I knew what I was going to do last night, hike today, and then hitch to Rangely from the next road crossing, 15 or so miles up. I'd then meet DZ and we'd hitch or shuttle up to Monson to rest our knees for a couple of days. The best part of our collective decisions was that we all wanted to reconnect in the Hundred Mile and summit Big K as a group. That definately was good news. Hey, all this way we've all said "Hike your own hike" and that's exactly what each of us is going to do. Five seperate decisions were made, none of them any more right or wrong than the next. The guys thanked me for bringing the subject up. Hey, it was the elephant in the room, how could we ignore it? I'm glad I brought it up. So many times in past relationships I've not confronted the issue at hand. As a result, things fester, issues are ignored, feelings are hurt, relationships fail. We left DZ at the first road and pressed on. For whatever reason, lifted spirits, easy trail, or birthday legs, I hiked like a freaking fiend today. Almost had me reconsidering my decision to skip up the trail, almost... When I got to the parking lot at ME4 there was a box marked "Happy Birthday". What's this? Another hiker birthday? Closer inspection revealed MY name on it. DZ had apparantly got to town, went to the store, and somehow brought the box out here before we made it to the road crossing. Sweet, more personalized Trail Magic. I popped the box open and lo and behold, a twelver of Labatts Blue, pack of hot dogs, buns and birthday cake. (and Jackson treats). Thanks man, too cool. We're having a party tonight! Piazza Rock shelter was an easy 1.8 miles further up. PC, Hitech and I split the booty and went up to the shelter. Upon arrival, we found stacked firewood and a cooking grill, perfect. The caretaker Chris, assisted us in building the fire. Grilled dogs and toasted buns, washed down with some Blue, mmmmm. Great place, great friends, great Birthday. The only thing that was missing was DZ. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND TO YOU.
Date: 2006-09-29
From: Piazza Rock Shelter

To: Shaws Lodging House
Miles today: 1.8

Well, I walked 1.8 and rode 100ish. I hiked south back to ME4 where I had found DZ's birthday box. He had included a note that he had arranged a ride for us up to Monson. Bob from Gull Pond Lodge provided the shuttle. He was very engaging and entertaining. It's a good thing we had a ride, since it pretty much rained all day long. The two and a half hour ride saved us five or six days of hiking. I'm happy with the decision I made to skip up. I really need the rest, mentally and physically. Over the last few weeks I've seen a bunch of hiker friends that have already flipped, they're all smiles. I need to smile again. Porkchop and Hitech were up at dawn and out early today. They'll have to hike sunup to sundown for the next week to stay on pace. I'm not ready for that. We had an awesome time last night. It was a very special and memorable birthday, one I'll never forget. Bob dropped us off at Shaw's Lodging, the famous trail hostel. DZ and I settled in our room and set about exploring Monson. There's actually not very much to Monson, so it didn't take long to find our way around. Wound up at the Lakeshore House for lunch. Really cool vibe there, Rebekah the proprietor was a hoot. As it turns out, Lakeshore had bunks available, so DZ and I scored a room for the next few days. Ran into Miss D, Cat and Cud at lunch time. Later on, Crescent City and El-Rod showed up. There were tons of other hikers there, not too many others that I knew real well. Crescent City remembered my birthday, she's such a sweetheart. We attended the Bluegrass Jam at the Monson General Store that evening. A bunch of local get together every friday night to play. Tonight there were eight or nine musicians, guitars, dobro, fiddle, banjo and mandolin. How totally Appalachia! ROCK ON
Date: 2006-09-30
From: Shaws Lodging House

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Feasted on the legendary Shaws breakfast today. Then DZ and I moved our stuff over to Lakeshore. Helped Rebekah clean up, she was thankful for the help. Did our chores, cleaning gear, drying tents and sleeping bags, laundry, etc. Took a ride over to town with Miss D, Cat and Cud to do some grocery shopping. Real low-key day. Felt really good to rest and relax. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-01
From: Lakeshore House

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day off for Rebekah and Jeff today, they're closed Sunday and Monday. The place cleared yesterday, all the hikers that were here hit the trail. Did some cleaning and answered phones. "Good afternoon, Lakeshore House". At one point Rebekah herself called in and started laughing, geez Pacer, you sound so proprietorish (is that a word?). Compost came in, he summited the day before. He had that summit smile. A look of total completion. His mom came to Maine to pick him up. I met Compost at Trail Days, we decided we'd done breakfast together one day. He said, oh yeah, you're the guy in the picture that I couldn't remember! ha ha. Watched a couple movies that evening. DZ got pretty crazy drunk and was howling at the moon. Funny as shit. Today was his day to get rocked, as I had taken my turn yesterday. (I forgot to mention that, didn't I?) PEACE
Date: 2006-10-02
From: Lakeshore House

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Mr Zero, Mr Zero.....Settling into Monson quite well. Going to have to get hiking again pretty soon though. Rebekah left us in charge of the House again today. Pretty quiet though. I watched "V for Vendetta" I quite enjoyed it, seemed to be a modern day parable about the damn near totalitarian regime we're faced with. (yes, our current administration, wtf happened to democracy?) Righty, Lefty and Buoy came in today, they had just summited. Again, more of those summit smile. We shared hiking stories and had a lot of fun. Hiking tomorrow. WHATS SO FUNNY ABOUT PEACE LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING?
Date: 2006-10-03
From: Lakeshore House

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

Hey, slackpackers, this is hiking!? We had Buddy, chauffeur extraordinaire, shuttle us up to Long Pond Stream and then hiked south back to Monson. It was weird with only a 6 pound load on my back, mostly water and snickers bars. Took a mile or so to learn to walk again. I haven't done any slacking since way back at Miss Janets in TN. Downside of todays hike was the three fords we had to do. First one was right out of the gate, Long Pond Stream. Have I ever mentioned that I don't know how to swim? Thought not. I knew going into my AT hike I'd have to ford some streams. Wasn't real thrilled about it, but hey, it's part of the hike. I watched DZ go across. It took me another thirty minutes or so to get up the nerve to wade across. Out of my boots, into my Teva's, roll up my leggings and plunge in. Damn the water was coooooolddddd. Thigh deep with nothing but slippery rocks under the swift running water. Not my favorite part of the day. Not much has scared my on this journey, not climbing rocks, not storms, not animals, etc. Water, yep, scared shitless. Oh well, one down, two to go. Next ford was at Big Wilson Stream. This one was just over the knee deep, but the stream was about sixty feet wide. Fuck I hate this. Last one was Little Wilson. Third one was the charm, shallow and narrow. I read in shelter registers about a southbounders experience back in June. Chest high water, having to string saftey lines across the stream, losing equipment in the running water. If I would have had that to deal with, I'm not sure I could have done it, truthfully. I'm glad that it was only what it was. Got to the road just after it turned dark and Buddy took us back to Lakeshore. Did I mention we're staying at Lakeshore House? TEACH YOUR KIDS TO SWIM.
Date: 2006-10-04
From: Lakeshore House

To: Cloud Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

More slacking. An overnighter this time. Carried sleeping pad and bag, stove, one days dinner and some clothes. Slowly working up to a full pack again. Knees are a bit tender even after yesterdays light load. It sure is nice carrying 20lbs. When I do the PCT, I'm going to have to go superlight, for sure. Got off to a late (11:00am) start and worked our way south again. Lots of roots rocks and mud. DZ and I wound up night hiking, in the fog, to the Cloud Pond Lean-to. Arrived around 7:30 to find two spots open spots in the shelter. Thats the downside of not carrying a tent. Had the shelter been full, we'd been screwed. Nighthikings a lot of fun, but in the fog? I could barely see my feet with my headlamp. Rickles was at the shelter, I met him once, way back in Pearisburg PA. So funny how people come and go along the trail. You just never know who will show up where. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-05
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Lakeshore House? Again? Yep. Like a bad penny we just keep turning up. Four miles is a respectable day, isn't it? Hung out on Barren Mountain for a while until we had to get moving to meet Buddy at 11:00. Back into town around noon, to find PC&J, Hitech and Mash. I'd left voice mails for Hitech, telling them to stay at Lakeshore House, but by the time he'd retrieved them, they had already checked into Shaw's. Now, I'm not trying to steer business away from Shaws, I'm just trying to direct my friends to the coolest hostel in Monson. When we got to Lakeshore, we found a sign Rebekah had written "We have rooms, Pacer and Dangerzone will help". How totally fun. She's a riot. Had dinner with PC and Hitech. After they had left and Rebekah closed the resturant/bar, she told me the tape in her cash register had jammed. Well, I've got some experience with that kinda stuff, so I jumped in to help. Had to take a few parts out, and talk to the cash register serviceman on the phone a couple of times, but I got it sorted out. Mind you, this is going on around 10:30 at night. Got myself a new trailname "Toolbox", trust me, there's an off color joke in there. Mike and Kim from the BBQ joint were in the bar, so they, Rebekah, DZ and myself hung around and had a few cocktails. I played bartender, and poured Rebekah the first drink she'd been served in her own bar. Had a really fun time tonight. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-06
From: Lakeshore House

To: Lakeshore House
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

AAAArrggghhh, I can't get out of Monson!! Actually I'm having too good a time to leave. Today was the last zero of the hike, I promise, no really, I mean it.I've done my part to pump up the Monson economy. Physically I'm feeling pretty good. The rest and the slackpacks have been just what I need. Rebekah and Jeff at the House have been fantastic hosts. They've got what it takes to make their operation ROCK. Last night we made friends with Mike and Kim from Spring Creek BBQ. I was tending bar after hours for them I can't recommend either of these establisments highly enough. For breakfast we chowed on Mike's homemade corn beef hash with a side of homemade sausage. I have never had such a good breakfast. For dinner I had a porkchop as big as my head with a side of sweet corn and Kim's homemade coleslaw. I'm eating waaaaay too good to go back to Lipton and tuna again.... It's friday night, that means Bluegrass at Tim's General Store again. I really dig the small town vibe here. I'm definately going to miss it when I return to the fast paced world. Mike said something tonight that really resonated with me. A few days ago, Rebekah mentioned that she (and others that move here) are "from away" and will always be, regardless of how long they are here or stay. Tonight after dinner I said something to the effect that I'd like to be in a place like this, but I'd always feel like I was "from away". Mike simply said, well, that's all a factor of how you feel about yourself. True words friend. I'll keep that with me forever. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-07
From: Lakeshore House

To: Carl Newhall Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

Plus the few we hiked along the Gulf Hagas Trail. Gulf Hagas is a registered national landmark. My guidebook says it's billed as the grand canyon of the east! It's a 500 foot deep gorge with five major waterfalls along the way. Simply amazing scenery. Mash came with DZ and I. Buddy shuttled us back out to our starting point late this morning. It was a crystal clear day. We're back out on the trail for good, no more trips back to Monson. (awwww) Since we weren't going to walk any brutal miles, there was plenty of time for breaks along the way. Got to the shelter around 5:00, settled in and built a nice fire. Went to bed around 7:30, which seems to be about right for hiker bedtime this time of year. About 9:30 that night we were woken by some dudes stumbling in shining their headlamps in our faces. And they weren't quiet about it at all. to be continued.......
Date: 2006-10-08
From: Carl Newhall Shelter

To: East Branch Lean To
Miles today: 10.6

Had my first view of Katahdin today. DZ and I climbed up White Cap and took a short break. As we rounded the corner of the mountain, Katahdin popped into view. Breathtaking. It juts right out of the ground in the middle of nowhere. It was a beautifully clear day, made for hiking.
Date: 2006-10-09
From: East Branch Lean TO

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

One of the best days on the AT. Had some nice easy trail today, really able to make good time. Skies were clear, temps were moderate, and color was all around. Spent lunchtime at the beautiful Cooper Falls Lean To. I still seem to lunch at the great shelters and sleep at the shitty ones. I've learned I'm not the only one who does so. Seems to afflict quite a few hikers. I guess that's one of the things I could do better the second hike, shelter picking. We ran into Jim, a local out for a couple day trip at Cooper Falls. DZ and Jim left the shelter a bit before I did. I caught them sitting on the side of the trail a bit later. They asked if I wanted to take a quick break, I said I'd take mine at the road crossing. As it turns out, the road was only about another mile. Jim and DZ showed up shortly thereafter. Jim pulls a cooler from his truck, with homemade carrot cake, roasted chicken, potato chips and vodka. Magic in the 100 mile! I dug into the chicken with a vengance. Not often I've got real meat out here. Stoker happened along, then we were graced with the lovely Commando, who's headed south. We hung out for a bit, then as we were packing up, who should drive by? Buddy of course. We chatted for a moment then headed out. Got to Antlers around 4:00pm to find PC & J sitting at the firepit, checking the view across the pond. We were surrounded by pine trees. Antlers was definately one of my favorite campsites on the trail. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-10
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: broken clouds

Last night at Antlers was incredibly awesome. We were treated to a specatular moonrise across the pond. We had a great fire. This morning Porkchop called us early to catch the sunrise. What a view. Truly a special place. We did our first 11 miles by 12:30 to meet Buddy with our food drop. The food drop was the final piece of our "take it easy on the knees" strategy. DZ and I never had to carry more than four days food across this 115 miles. After loading and shouldering my pack, I realized just how tired I am. I've been planning on finishing Maine before I go home, but I can't stomach the thought of filling up pack again and hiking more. I stopped by the sand beach for a while and skipped stones across the water. Sat and contemplated the end of the hike for a while. I was feeling pretty emotional when I struck out for the shelter. It was Mash, PC & J, DZ and myself. At one point I burst into tears sitting by the fire. DZ was the only one to notice, he checked to see if I was ok. Ok as I can be I suppose. It turned out to be another nice night, another nice fire. Only a few more days, then we're done. With this. PEACE
Date: 2006-10-11
From: Wadleigh Stream Lean-to

To: Hurd Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, this is when it all started to break bad. It was early morning when I woke and realized that I better not fart inside my sleeping bag. A quick run to the privy (which of course was located as far away as any recently visited privy had been) confirmed my suspicion. Splat! Oh no, not this. The morning found me physically weak and making frequent visits back and forth to the privy. This can't be happening, I'm almost to Katahdin! We had a tough day scheduled. Big climb right out of the box. I was shaken. I had no energy. I had to duck into the woods every hour or so. DZ hiked with me. We slogged through miles of mud. Every hour or so, duck behind a rock or trees. I couldn't eat, I didn't feel like eating, and I had very little energy to walk. We'd hike for an hour or so, then I'd have to sit for twenty minutes until I had enough energy to move again. At one point DZ got out a bit ahead of me. As I was hiking along, I spotted a perfect tent spot. Damn you DZ, why couldn't you stop here and wait for me? Another half mile found him sitting by a stream. So, why didn't you stop back there? Well, you'd be wanting to set up camp, wouldn't ya? Duh!! I rested, got water, and then we kept moving. It was supposed to rain tonight, DZ was right about moving on. As we got to Rainbow Ledges, it began to mist along with a cold wind. Perfect. How much further? Only a little bit more he tells me. Bullshit, I've been fed only a little bit more for the last six miles, at least. Coming down from the ledges, dusk arrived, with about three more miles to go. Headlamps on! What a wonderful day to be sick, nineteen miles, climbs first and last thing and now night hiking in the rain and cold. We arrived around 8:00pm. It was a good thing there was a fire at Hurd Brook, else we'd might not found it in the dark. Porkchop was glad to see us, he had written us off for the night, figuring I'd be camping alongside the trail somewhere. I told them DZ had done a great job motivating me to get to the shelter. I found my way to the privy, emptied myself once again and went back to settle in. I had no appetite, so I crawled in my sleeping bag and went to sleep. It began raining really hard somewhere in the middle of the night. I'd been popping Immodium most of the day, and prayed it would get me through until morning. Almost. I awoke just before sun-up with an extremely queasy stomach. Hmm, this is new, ugh, spew..... Great, now it's splattering out of both ends. Let's get to Katahdin. PEACE