morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-29
From: Long Falls Dam Road

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Forgot to mention that my hubby took me out to a fantastic dinner last night. Salmon, local potato puree, maple glazed roasted brussel sprouts. Just tasted so great. Slept so poorly. Had a lot on my mind. Adding more weight to my pack - stove, long pants, wool hat. Would I be able to carry it all. Stayed with my lighter sleeping bag. Hope the weather cooperates. Early start at 7:15 by skipping breakfast at the inn. Ate in the car and Side dropped me off at the trailhead and headed out for a 7.5 hour ride home. Sad for me. Wet trail this morning but 800 foot uphill so not so dangerous. Cool but humid at the beginning. West Carry Pond had whitecaps even though not that breezy out. Came 3.5 miles by 9:30 to West Carry Pond lean-to and zipped on by. I was hoping to make 13 miles today to Pierce Pond Lean-to. Long for me at this point but not a lot of climbing so I was hopeful. But again there were a lot of the usual obstacles that slow you down and also everything was so slick. There were lots of puncheons and two long boardwalks during the day. The boards get so slippery when wet. I avoided a slanted board because it looked dangerous and then slid on a rock and went flailing about but managed to stay upright. Geez, I was trying to be so careful. Walked around the end of East Carry Pond.Stopped at a stream 0.1 miles before the shelter and lugged two bags of water along with my pack. When I got to the camping area I was sure glad I had. The only water source was the pond which was down a steep bank. I pitched my tent up on the hill. Several others are here also. It was really breezy when I was setting up but now that it's almost dark it is quieting down. Guess I'll be warm tonight afterall. Today was definitely easier hiking compared to the Bigelows. Crashing early tonight. Only 4 miles to the Kennebec River crossing and the town of Caratunk where I'm spending the night and picking up my resupply box that Side drove over for me. When he was here he was driving all over creation to get things for me. He had to go home and rest. Ha.
Date: 2016-08-30
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk, Maine
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: few clouds

Very quiet at the shelter last night. I didn't go down to the lean-to but saw two folks down the hill and one camped on top like me. Had a great night's sleep. Up and on the trail at 7:15. Seems to be my normal time. Short 4 mile hike today. Walked along and crossed a number of streams. Got to the Kennebec River and waited for the canoe to come get me to cross. It's a dangerous crossing because anytime they can let water out upstream, the water can rise rapidly. A person died crossing years ago so the ATC funds a person to take you across in a canoe. Forgot to look for the white blaze in the bottom of the canoe. Darn. Missed a photo op. Had to walk about a quarter of a mile to get to a free phone to call for my ride to the Sterling Inn, my residence for the night. No cell phone coverage in these parts. Another lovely day. Called again and still no one came so I had to walk down. Made me a grumpy person. Got my supply box and sat on the porch sorting and eating lunch. Chatted with two hikers there and calmed down. Eventually decided to stay and checked in, showered, did laundry. The inn has all the amenities a hiker needs. Went out to dinner with two other hikers. Early to bed. Supposed to have some rain tomorrow. My next section to Monson is 36 miles.
Date: 2016-08-31
From: Caratunk, Maine

To: Campsite just past Moxie Pond
Miles today: 12.0

I heard rain for quite a while last night. Fifty percent chance of rain for tomorrow and tomorrow night. Ick. Breakfast at 6:30. Yogurt, bowl of cereal, blueberry muffin, juice and coffee. A little slow getting out of the inn today. Got a ride to the trailhead and got on the trail at 8:00. I had slept poorly worrying about this and that (the weight of my pack, maybe I should have sent my stove home to save weight). Brace yourself, old girl. At least tomorrow there will be one less day of food in the pack. I was in a very good frame of mind by the time I started hiking. The first 6 miles was a climb I could handle. The slope wasn't too steep. I crossed several gravel roads. Stopped off at Pleasant Pond lean-to looking for the privy which wasn't easy to find. It had a notice (brown alert) that it was closed until a new one is built in 2018. Great. I don't think I can wait that long. Then there was a steep climb to Pleasant Pond Mountain (didn't think it was all that pleasant). There were several false rocky top summits. Very nice views. I had sweated up a storm so I got chilly on the way down and had to put on my rain jacket. After a bigger number of false rocky top de-summits, got too hot and had to take off the jacket. Stopped and had lunch on a log. It was a long climb down and things (rocks, roots, rock slabs) were still a little wet from last night's rain. As I inched down one side of a rock slab another hiker came down the other side and slid, followed by his fellow hiker whose hand he grabbed but she slid off also. Young - so just headed on their way. If that had been me I would have been in traction. Had a rock crossing across a wide stream. Side knows this is dangerous for me but I managed to not get wet.   Firestarter and her Father (first day out joining her for a few days) came along as I was getting water from the pond and mentioned that there was supposed to be water ahead at a stream 0.2 mile ahead but my app said it was dry. She jaunted up the trail to check (oh to be young) but it was dry. She scoped out a couple of stealth sites for us to camp. Set up the tent quickly because it was starting to sprinkle. Hung the bear bag, filtered water and cooked up my dinner but it started to rain before I was done so I had to grab everything and get it under the vestibule . Spaghetti and meatballs in the tent. Short rain. Good night, I'm pooped.
Date: 2016-09-01
From: Campsite just past Moxie Pond

To: Campsite at West Branch of Piscataquis River
Miles today: 12.8

Ended up being a long while of thunder and lightning last night. Ended about 10:00. So although it wasn't particularly threatening, it was noisy enough to hinder sleeping. In the morning had to shammy the tent to remove some of the water so it wasn't so heavy. In one of the recent days I tore a hole in the butt of my shorts. Good thing everybody is looking down all the time. I have pants but it's too hot to wear them. Climbing Moxie Bald Mt today, 1650 feet up. Crossed paths with Firestarter and Father several times during the day. The top of the bald had medium-sized pines around the outside edges but the flat interior was all low shrubs and white stick trees a couple feet high, mixed in with rock slabs. Nice views and then back down. I knew I wasn't going to make 15 miles to the next shelter so stopped at the west branch of the Piscataquis River and set up camp. Another hiker was there. Easy to get water to filter. Ran a little late as I finished around camp. It was getting dark when I went to hang my food where I had thrown the bear bag. As I pulled it up - snap- down came everything. Great. So much fun to throw the bear bag in the dark with your headlamp on. All the trees have miniscule little short branches. Had to resort to a broken tree trunk with the top part leaning on another tree. Not the best but it had to do.
Date: 2016-09-02
From: Campsite at West Branch of Piscataquis River

To: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a somewhat restless night. My air mattress wasn't just right and my tent was a little sloped. Just couldn't get comfy. So it was easy to get up and going. It was a little colder so I moved right along at camp. Breakfast was 3 different types of bars. Found these new cheesecake ones that taste pretty good on the trail. Ready and going at 7:10. Crossed the river on stones and began what looked like an easier day. Ha. Maine has no easy days. The terrain looked pretty flat at the beginning but the trail had so many PUDS (pointless ups and downs). Down to the River, up the hill, down to the river, up the hill. Geez. Three miles in at the turnoff to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to, I ran into a couple Crasher and Rocky. Realized they had started the trail 2 days after us in 2013 and we had met them then. Small world, I say. At 5.3 miles got to the east branch of the Piscataquis River. Switched to my crocs and waded across. It was up to the bottom of my kneecap but the current was not strong so it was easy. Freezing water but felt good on the feet. There was a rope strung across but I didn't need it. Crossed quite a few dirt roads today. Ran into Lacy, the ridge runner and chatted a bit. She was going along the trail removing fire rings that people had created. The last third of the trail was a climb that didn't look like bad elevation but I was really dragging. I just wanted to get to the road and call for my ride, but seemed like I'd never get there. At the parking lot I ran into Peppermint (of the Doyle gang) again. She gave me a big hug. She must have hiked south and would now jump way ahead. My ride came so I had to race off. Came to Shaw's Lodging, picked a private room in a separate building because I really need to be able to sleep and rest when I want. I can go out and hang with others if I want. Ran into Garnet Turtle and Humdinger who I met recently at Sterling Inn. Took a shower right away. Spent at least half an hour trying to comb out my hair. Big mistake not bringing my tiny bottle of Pantene. The combined shampoo/conditioner just doesn't work for my hair. AJ, who picked me up at the trailhead, brought me a foot bath with hot Epsom salt water and I soaked my poor feet a good long while. Did laundry. Talked to Poet, one of the hosts, and will meet tomorrow to talk about options for the 100-mile wilderness. The folks who work here are all so kind. Went down to Lakeshore House to meet other hikers for dinner. Took forever to get our food. Felt dazed like my head might hit the table at any moment. Food was delicious. Drank 3 very large glasses of water trying to catch up for not having had enough to drink today. Called Side to catch up with life at home. Nice to have a chance to talk to him for a bit. Couldn't wait to climb into my bed. Got that? Bed. Ahhhh.
Date: 2016-09-03
From: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging

To: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging
Miles today: 0.0

Slept well in my big double bed. Very quiet because I'm in a separate house from most everybody else. Somehow the day disappeared without me even getting to take a nap. Went down for a fabulous breakfast. Somehow they feed up all the hikers in a big hurry. Bacon, 3 eggs as you like them, fantastic home fries, coffee, oj, and blueberry pancakes which I was always too full to even eat. Got my mail drop and had to incorporate all that stuff into my pack. Lunch down at the bakery. Had a chicken salad sandwich with chopped up dried cranberries. It was so delicious. Also a mint chocolate chip milkshake made with Gifford's homemade ice cream. Oh my goodness. I was supposed to meet with Poet at 10:00 to make plans for the wilderness. Then he wasn't available until 2:00. Then he wasn't available until later. Finally hours later Hippie Chick helped Garnet Turtle and me plan out the next days. So as always a hectic zero day with little rest.
Date: 2016-09-04
From: Otter Pond Parking

To: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging
Miles today: 15.3

Slept so wonderfully. Been a while since I slept that good. Went up to breakfast at 6:45. Filled my belly. Hiking today with Garnet Turtle, a hiker my age. By the time we took the back roads to the beginning spot of our hike and hiked up 0.8 miles to get to the trail, it was 9:15. Late start. Maybe breakfast wasn't a good idea.   Talked with a few hikers we passed and then decided no more time for that with our long hike. Then we passed a sign for trail magic in memory of Yogi Bear 1/8 a mile down a side road. Felt we should stop in support. A father doing trail magic to honor his 47 year old son who used to do a lot of trail magic himself but died. He has a small cabin there with a beautiful view up to the mountains. We only stayed long enough to drink a soda and talk a few minutes. Since we were doing a southbound slackpack today, we kept passing hikers from Shaw's. Tried to just say hi, tell them there was trail magic ahead and keep going. At Big Wilson Stream we had to don the crocs to cross. Not a bad ford. By that time we realized we were really going to have to zip to make it out before dark. Stopped for a 10 minute lunch, stopped once to filter water and that was about it. This darn Maine does not have nice hiking trails. This was a test to see if we might be able to hike together through the wilderness but I was sure a drain on Garnet Turtle who's been on the trail longer and in addition is a runner. Maine just has so little nice trail that it is brutal. We pushed. I gasped. We pushed. I gasped. You get the idea. Managed to make it out of the woods just before dark. Not sure what the next plan will be. Glad to have gotten 15 miles out of the way but think tomorrow is going to be a zero day. The next 15 mile section we were considering doing is even worse. Back to the drawing board to plan. Sleeping in tomorrow.
Date: 2016-09-05
From: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging

To: Maine 15, Munson - Shaw's Lodging
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Happy Labor Day!!Slept in today until 7:30. Very nice. Slept really well again. Today is a rest day. Walked down to the bakery with Garnet Turtle and GPS. Had the special - a cheese sauce with sliced hard boiled eggs and chunks of ham over toasted homemade oat bread. Also got a raspberry muffin but I was too full so it was my lunch. Had to move out of my single room and into the bunkroom with 6 others. It's a spacious room and there are no bunk beds so it's nice. The place is packed tonight because of the holiday. Spent a couple hours today with Garnet Turtle replanning the rest of the hike. Needed to make the necessary arrangements for rides and food drops. Needed to let Side know so he could make arrangements for when he comes up at the end. Then I had to get my food separated out for each of the segments. Might have been more exhausting than hiking. I wanted to get down for a Gifford's milkshake but ran out of time. They had a picnic here tonight with red Maine hotdogs, corn on the grill, watermelon and big cookies. Nice treat. Spent time this evening getting my slackpack ready for tomorrow. Doing a much lighter hike. 9:00. Must get to bed.
Date: 2016-09-06
From: Third Mountain Trail mile 2097.5

To: Otter Pond Parking mile 2090
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail start:Third Mountain Trail, mile 2097.5 to Otter Pond parking, mile 2090.Had a rough night sleeping again due to sore feet, knees, legs. Tonight I have to remember the ibuprofen. Up early because the place was packed last night. 35 total. And a lot of them wanted breakfast. We had an early shuttle so needed to be one of the first fed. We ran a little late with breakfast because of the crowd so a little late on the shuttle too. Had to stop and pay at a gate to let us in to our destination. Still got on the trail about 9:00. We had to hike in 1.4 miles on Third Mountain Trail to get to the trail (no, that doesn't count). Climbed Mount Three and a Half. Fourth Mountain was higher. Dropped down to Fourth Mountain Bog and walked across a lot of boards thankfully. Climbed 700 feet up Barren Mountain where there were remains of a fire tower. Ran into about 15 hikers during the day all coming north and I've got to say from the looks of most of them I'm glad I was slackpacking. One gentleman was new to hiking and carrying a 55 pound pack through the wilderness. Cringe. Had to be down at 4:00 for our shuttle so started down the 1600 foot descent. Parts of the trail today were half decent. Had a beautiful view when we got down to Barren Ledges. Realized we were going to be a little late for our shuttle so called from on top to warn that we'd be down at 4:15 since there is no cell service at the bottom. Had some rocky spots coming down. Got to the end of our hike having to hike 0.8 miles down a side trail to our pickup point. By almost 5:00 our ride still hadn't come. At this point we had no water and were getting a bit antsy. Turned on the phone and was amazed to have enough service to put in another call and we were picked up shortly after. Back for the usual shower, laundry, race to dinner. Then we had to pack up our backpacks which will be delivered to us at the end of tomorrow's slackpack and a bucket of food that will be delivered to us in the wilderness on Saturday. Settled up my bill here. Yikes, I was here for a long time.
Date: 2016-09-07
From: Third Mountain Trail

To:  Campsite Near West Branch Pleasant River
Miles today: 7.5

Another early rise at Shaw's. We had arranged a 7:30 shuttle to the trail again so up for coffee and breakfast. Gary took us to the trail again. He's such a nice guy - another one of the amazing Shaw team. We had to hike up 1.4 miles to get to the trail again. Now there's a waste of feet. The Crow rode out with us and hike tagged with us. We hiked Monument Cliff, then Columbus Mountain and finally Chairback Mountain. Had two lovely sections of rerouted trail that was soft and springy on the feet. Welcome relief for sure. We hiked down a long steep section of gigantic rocks. Sketchy. Had lunch on top of Chairback and then hurried on down to Katahdin Ironworks Road where our full packs were being delivered at 3:00. Made it down 20 minutes early and found some trail magic done by a young lady who had just finished the trail and her father. Had a yoohoo from her and then Poet also brought us a drink when he dropped off our packs. Hiked down another 0.3 miles to a campsite just before the river. Camped with The Crow , Furlough and 2 others. Hiked a total of 7 miles.
Date: 2016-09-08
From:  Campsite Near West Branch Pleasant River

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite
Miles today: 7.4

When I woke up I was dreaming I was taking a bite of a chocolate cupcake. Geez. Food, family and home are always on the mind out here. I was the first one in camp to start moving but of course not the first out. Garnet Turtle had a mouse or red squirrel attack her food bag in the tree so she had to deal with that. Gross. Walked down to the blue-blazed trail that we heard led to a privy in the parking lot on KI Road. A well-timed privy. Priceless. I know you're thinking - hey I thought you were in the wilderness - what's with all the roads. Some of the roads are logging roads or privately owned so you have to pay to use them. Keep in mind - there are no stores for resupply and not many cars on these dirt roads so that leaves you out in the wild. A number of folks are carrying all their food for the 100-mile wilderness. If I was doing that, you'd find me along the trail somewhere. My pack weighs a ton with just 3 days of foods. Today we were planning to stay at a campsite with essentially no water so had to lug it up 1.8 miles. This body was tired at the top. After leaving this morning, we had to cross the West Branch of the Pleasant River. I chose to switch to crocs and walk through the water rather than slip off one of the rocks that were too far apart and too wet and mossy for these short legs. The cold water felt wonderful on the feet and the water didn't come much above ankle depth. The Crow decided to take the rocks and slipped off one dipping his boot in the water. That would have been me if I tried. Passed the turnoff to Gulf Hagas Trail which leads to a gorge with beautiful waterfalls (the Niagara Falls of Maine). Didn't have time or energy for that 5.2 mile loop. Kept climbing 2000 feet in total with one stop at a shelter for lunch and to filter water. then continued to the top of Gulf Hagas Mountain. Sent a couple of quick texts to Side to let him know all was okay. Got a lovely email from Jillian and Robert, my grandchildren. Made me tear up. They are back in school now. Oh gosh, it's fall. Better hike faster. Had some sprinkles today but not bad. When we got to Sydney Tappan Campsite after a 7 mile total, we found The Crow already set up. Got to spend a little time chatting around the non-burning campfire. Saw gigantic moose prints in the mud not far from our tents. Hope it has moved on. Mountain House beef stroganoff and a Hershey bar made a nice dinner plus The Crow gave me a little coffee to warm up. The sun never came out today so made for good hiking but I was sweating so much from the big climb that I froze when we stopped. Tomorrow we have a 9 mile hike across West Peak, Hay Mountain and White Cap Mountain. Will be quite a rocky climb. Then we drop down 2400 feet to the shelter for tomorrow night. This will be the last really big climb until Katahdin at the end. Looking forward to the flat trail that comes in the second half of the wilderness. Just 3 in camp tonight.
Date: 2016-09-09
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It rained some during the night. Yours truly had her clothes hanging on the line. Not sure if they were any wetter after the rain than after hiking. It was my turn to have my food bag attacked in the tree. I think it's these darn red squirrels. Fortunately he only got into my garbage bag but now I have a hole in my food bag. I'm not happy. The Crow gave me a technique to try using a plastic bag above the food bag on the line. We'll see if it works. Out of camp at 8 o'clock.First climb was a steep 700 foot climb up to West Peak. As always the ups are hard for me. Then we had a swoop down and up to Hay Mountain. Then back down and finally up to White Cap Mountain. All in all I did okay. We were able to see Katahdin from a viewpoint. Put in a call to Side to let him know all is ok. The rest of the day was all downhill. Stopped at Logan Brook lean-to for water and lunch. 7 folks there with us. Continued on down to East Branch lean-to. Set up camp near Old Crow. Nice to see him again.