morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-07-25
From:  Maine 27 Stratton, ME mile 188.2 

To: South Branch of Carrabassett River mile 196.6
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

After a delicious breakfast at the White Wolf Inn, motel owner shuttled us back to the trial. Along the way I noticed we passed Mugwump Road and the road sign reminded me that Mugwump was the pet name our friend Harold McSwain called his daughter Mara when she was a little girl. Thinking about the funny word as I hiked I think it is an American History/Political Science term that has something to do with a group accused of sitting on the fence on critical issues of the time. When I get internet service I need to look the term up to see whether I am having impressive recall or creating memories. Ate breakfast with Calum, Victoria, and a northbound hiker who will start law school at Columbia in New York City as soon as he climbs Katahdin. He and several other northbound through hikers talk about being sad that their grand hiking adventure is almost over and feeling a sense of loss already. I may become nostalgic about the hike when I get closer to the end, but for now instead of thinking I will miss hiking I think daily about how much I will enjoy the daily luxuries of hearth and home. Chances of rain will increase each of the next few days and the mountains tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be harder than the Crockers I climbed over today.   Although I was worried about today's climb, it went more easily than I expected. When I got to the Carrabassett River ford about 4:30 pm I was tempted to push on over Spaulding Mountain to the Spaulding Mountain Lean-To, but northbound hikers waned me that the climb was difficult and that there was no place to camp in the 5 1/2 miles between the River and the shelter; so I quit early and camped by the River. I will try to get up early, ford the river, and start the climb before it gets hot. My shoulders feel scabbed where my pack's shoulder straps rub them, but they are not hurting. I had a weird dream last night. I was on a big white horse lying bareback with no saddle along his back and neck. I wanted to sit up, straddle the horse, and ride him, but when I tried to sit up across his back I could not get my leg to slide down his side. My leg was either paralyzed or stuck to the horse's back. As I struggled unsuccessfully to make my leg move I finally strained so hard I woke myself up and discovered that I had been sleeping on my stomach trying to straddle a large flat mattress...put that in your Freudian pipe and smoke it.
Date: 2014-07-26
From: South Branch of Carrabassett River mile 196.6

To: Logging Road at Perham Stream mile 205.1
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up early and prepared to ford river I had camped beside. I had unzipped the legs of my pants and was wearing shorts and my creek shoes as I finished packing when I heard something I don't think I have ever heard before. Two ladies from the West Coast finishing the last 200 miles of their through hike walked into my camp area after crossing the river. One of them looked at me and said: "If you don't mind my saying so, you have beautiful legs". When I told Wired (Erin Saver) that my trail name was Ishmael, she explaiend that she had become friends with the Kallion family, the folks whose little girl, Cartwheel recited the prologue to Moby Dick to me in the shelter in the Smokies during a snow storm. They are still on the trail in either Massachusetts or Vermont and I should meet them in a few weeks. Erin has an audio of Cartwheel doing the recitation on her blog www.walkingwithwired.com. She explained how she and her hiking partner had borrowed a rowboat they found along the shore on a Maine lake and rowed to an island in honor of Cartwheel's recitation of the value of going to sea. This morning's rock climb was the most precarious one I have gone up since Katahdin. I am glad I did not try it last night. I continue to underestimate the difficulty of the Maine trails and cover less distance than I planned. Going only 8.4 miles today almost surely means it will take me four days to get to Rangeley instead of the three I was planning on. The morning ford was more difficult than I had anticipated. The distance was not far and the water was not high, but the river bottom was covered with large, very slick stones. I had difficulty finding patches of gravel between the stones where I could get a firm footing and where I did not run the risk of getting my foot caught between stones. I probably could have rockhopped across the river using a board laid on two boulders to cross the center stream, but after I dunked myself, I have been reluctant to trust my rockhopping balance. When I saw I would not make the next shelter I was aiming for I started asking northbound hikers about campsite options. In these steep rocky mountains there are not a lot of places where you can pitch a tent. The northbound hikers recommended my present location, in the middle of a logging road next to a stream and right on the trial...I do not have to worry about logging trucks coming down the road and running over me because the bridge over the stream is collapsed. I cannot see my shoulder blades where my pack straps have been rubbing without a mirror, but I thought the raw spots were getting better. Therefore I was surprised when I changed out of my hiking shirt its material was stuck to my shoulders
Date: 2014-07-27
From: Logging Road at Perham Stream mile 205.1

To: Popular Ridge Lean-To mile 209.7
Miles today: 4.6

I had hoped to make the full 15.3 miles into Rangeley today. I made it to the Popular ridge Shelter by noon, but as I arrived the predicted rain started to fall and soon turned into a heavy downpour. Although I had not quite covered five miles, I decided to stay dry, spend the night, and hope the rain holds off tomorrow at least until I get off the exposed ridges. All the northbound hikers I met told me that they had rock hopped Oberton Stream and I had planned to do the same to avoid spending time on a long mileage day changing shoes, but when I got there the East Pennsylvania Boy Scout group I ad seen off and on over the last several days had switched to northbound for a section and was drying out after one of their leaders had slipped on his rock hop and dunked his boots. I changed my mind and put on my creek shoes to ford the stream. It was and easy and refreshing crossing.                                                                                                                                                                                             Earl and ?, two brothers from Virginia Tech were with me in the shelter along with Warrior, a female engineer who works for the state doing trail construction and maintenance all over Maine.   Although none of my gear got soaked, the rain and high humidity makes everything feel clammy and makes it easy to get cold. So far between my puffy and sleeping bag I have not become seriously uncomfortable although my fingers and toes maintain their normal state of numbness. This is an older shelter with a floor made of poles instead of boards. In the shelter journal hikers complain of the discomfort of having to sleep on baseball bats. Fortunately my air mattress smooths out the lumps so I should sleep OK.      Through the afternoon the weather cycled between periods when the sun came out and tempted me to hike on and new showers. I stayed in the shelter and cooked supper early with the hope of getting moving at daybreak in the morning. Arriving on Monday I should not have trouble getting a room in Rangeley although one northbound hiker told me there was a chainsaw festival and competition there this weekend.
Date: 2014-07-29
From: Maine 4, Rangeley, Maine mile 220.410.7 miles 

To: Maine Highway 4, Rangeley, Maine mile 220.4 
Miles today: 0.0

When I called Sue at North Country B&B for a room my phone oonnection was weak and she did not hear my request for two nights. She had all her rooms booked for today; so I had to move. I went to the less well managed Rangeley Lakes B&B across the street. Its main problem is that it does not have WiFi. I scheduled to slackpck 13.2 miles between Maine 14 and Maine 4 tomorrow; so I will be in Rangeley for a third night. Unfortunately the 13.2 miles do not include any of the upcoming high peaks. Unless I do additional slack packing from Andover, I will have to climb all of them with a full pack. Although I may be able to reach the first access road to Andover withing one day, I purchased and packed food for three days in case I move more slowly than I want or in case I cannot readily get a ride there from the first road. The accommodations of the more expensive B&B are nicer than the hostels, but I miss the camaraderie of the other hikers. The only other guest at the B&B this morning was a nurse practitioner from Massachusetts. I asked here what the distinction was between a nurse practitioner and a physician's assistant. She replied with derision that the only substantive differences were that nurse practitioners started their careers as nurses and that physicians assistants get paid more...especially in Florida. I got most of the items on my town to do list completed. I did not get a haircut because every hair place in town was either closed or booked and I did not get any of this journal transcribed for posting. I bought a ticket for a Celtic Music Concert here tonight and told the Arts Center Volunteer my Goat Raffle Fund Raiser Story. she told me about a successful fund-raiser they had used: A Gold Rush. They encouraged their patrons to search their jewelry boxes for single ear rings and other old pieces of jewelry they never use. The resulting donations included enough gold to raise a respectable payment from a gold and jewelry merchant. Music was a Celtic group, Annalivia. A husband and wife team on guitar and mandolin with a very talented fiddler who could almost make her violin speak. Show was a pleasant break. I sat with Lauren and Sue, the B&B owners I stayed with last night.
Date: 2014-07-31
From: Maine Highway 4, Rangeley, Maine mile 220.4

To: Maine Highway 4, Rangeley, Maine mile 220.4
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Weather prediction moved up to 70% chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. I was intimidated by the prospects of going back into the mountains in a storm; so I delayed my shuttle for a day and went back to the North Country B&B. I planned to spend the day transcribing my handwritten journal and posting it on line, but the Rangeley Library was closed down to prepare for their fund raising gala tonight. Lauren told me he may be able to give me access to a computer at the B&B.   I met Rocket Man at the B&B. He is a retired NASA employee out of Virginia who was through hiking with his wife when a tick bite gave him Lyme's disease. He got the bug even though his clothes and gear were all treated with permithrin and he and his wife checked each other for ticks each night. The disease produced a fast acting, all over paralysis that felt like rheumatism in every joint. Medication brought recovery, but the disease zapped his energy and his physician told him it would take a month for his stamina to return. He is providing sag wagon support to his wife who is completing the trail and is now hiking with her every other day. His story scares me. I had hoped the long pants and shirt I wear and the chemical treatment of my clothes would give me protection since I don not have anyone to help with a nightly tick check. Apparently the bugs are so small that they are impossible to feel and very hard to see when they imbed themselves in you. Lauren gave me use of an old laptop. I purchased an antivirus program and installed it on the machine to get it to work. I was able to access our Office 375 subscription and Trail Journal website to start transcribing and posting my handwritten journal, but the process was horribly slow because of the limits of the computer and the on line connection. I worked at it until supper time and so far have only three days posted. I hope it goes better after supper. I really wanted to get caught up before I went to bed, but had to settle for getting all but five days posted. In addition to the expected family members and surprising number of other people have told me they are following my postings and I feel an obligation to my audience. My decision to take the zero day was validated. There was a terrible thunderstorm this afternoon that was scary from indoors. It would have been awful to be out in it to say nothing of being exposed on top of a mountain. I want to get the half-finished point of the trail and I would like to be past the White Mountains before considering seriously whether to quit the trail or finish, but I am fearful of being miles from any shelter in a downpour and lightening storm like this afternoon's.
Date: 2014-08-02
From: One mile north of South Arm road, Andover Me mile 

To: South Arm Road, Andover, Maine mile 246.8
Miles today: 1.0

At first light I ate a bagel for breakfast, packed my gear, sipped the last water from my bladder, and carefully hiked the last mile down to South Arm Road. It was a very steep descent with several rebar steps in the vertical rock faces. It took me 1 1/2 hours to cover the mile. I could not have made the descent last night in the dark without hurting myself. I could see a long stretch of the road from a lookout as I climbed down and there were no vehicles on it. I had no cell service, even the night before from the top of Old Blue Mountain, so I was worried about getting the 9 miles into Andover. Happily as soon as I reached the road a young lady in a pickup stopped and offered to carry me in the back of her truck. The ride was bumpy, but I could hardly believe my good fortune. Pine Ellis Lodging has been operated by Eileen serving hikers for 30 years. It is well worn but had all the essentials. By mid morning I was showered, clean, and had a milkshake for breakfast. Andover was crowded when I arrived at 8:00 am. The community was celebrating their annual Old Town Days. I wandered through the booth of handicrafts, visited the horse drawn hearse and license plate covered car at the historical society, watched the end of the parade with a local restorer's collection of World War II vehicles, and ate lunch at the Congregational Church fundraiser. I missed them, but the day's events included a hammer throw for the men and an iron skillet throw for the women. My new boots had arrived and fit fine. I shipped the old ones back to REI with a note of thanks. Unfortunately the Postal Service failed to deliver on its two day promise.   The maps and iPad May Louise had sent will not arrive until Monday. I arranged to slack pack a 10 mile section Sunday and return to Pine Ellis Lodging Sunday night. Ate and all you can eat pizza supper with a group of northbound hikers finishing the trail. One of them recognized me from my first week in Georgia. Unfortunately my weak memory for faces and names did not recognize him.
Date: 2014-08-04
From: South Arm Road, Andover, Maine mile 246.8 

To: South Arm Road, Andover, Maine mile 246.8 
Miles today: 0.0

I stayed in town to pick up package May Louise had sent me with new iPad and maps for New Hampshire and Vermont. I used the morning to finish transcribing my handwritten journal pages. When I asked the hostel manager for a notebook after I dunked and ruined my iPad, the only thing he had available was a cute little Harry Potter notebook; so I have been keeping my handwritten journal in it.   With everything now transcribed I sent the Potter notebook back home to May Louise along with the maps of sections I have already hiked. May Louise had found a nifty, lightweight waterproof case for the iPad and had gotten most of the content from my old one downloaded for me. I added the Conservancy and AWOL trail guides.I received a wonderful gift today. Catherine Morretta is the Manassas Park's Parks & Recreation Director. She is a good friend, a wonderful person, and the City's most effective Department Director. Just before I left the city she came down with a serious case of cancer. Over the last several months I have called her periodically, but have not gotten past an answering machine message. As a result I feared that her condition had continued to deteriorate. When I called today she answered. She has been through horrible illness and treatments, but she has gotten two months of good lab reports. She is back at work, regaining her strength, and optimistically looking forward to returning to her full life of serving others. Her good news left me glowing all day.With the New Hampshire & Vermont maps from May Louise in hand I planned a schedule to Gorham, NH which is 31 miles down the trail from Wednesday's slackpack. I hope to make it in three days, but the route includes some severe climbs and the infamous Mahoosuc Notch bolder field.
Date: 2014-08-05
From: South Arm Road, Andover, Maine mile 246.8 

To: East B Hill Road, Andover, ME mile 256.9
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Completed the slackpack I had intended to do Sunday, but hiked the correct direction this time.   The first half was all steep climbs and descents, but the afternoon was a long, gentle (by Maine standards) descent that got me to the road earlier than I had projected.I have been pleased with the number of fathers I have met on the rail hiking with their son or daughter. Met another pair today: Buzz and daughter Tandem.   A father-son team is at the hostel. He is a mid fifties retired auto parts manufacturing plant manager from Indiana. Son is hiking this summer before returning to Purdue for a graduate degree on engineering.   They pushed hard to complete the through hike during the son's summer vacation and almost made it, but dad injured his foot and had to stop hiking before they finished the last 250 miles. I shared breakfast with dad before he left and with Miss America, a flip flopping mortician's aide from Sevierville and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She gets here outdoor adventure blood honestly. Her mom was the first female backwoods ranger in the Smokies.
Date: 2014-08-06
From: East B Hill Road, Andover, ME mile 256.9

To: Grafton Notch, Maine 26 mile 267.2
Miles today: 10.3

I have now hiked half the trail. I am proud of the accomplishment, but dismayed by the thought that to finish the whole trail I have to walk as far as I have already walked over the last 4 12 months. The thought that once I get through the White Mountains in New Hampshire I will have hiked all of the hardest parts of the trail is some consolation.Today's hike was not easy. A long six mile uphill climb ended with two granite knobs. The granite surface was rough and pretty grippy when dry, but it misted and sprinkled through much of the day. I had to test every step to see if my foot would slip. I only took a few falls, but they were enough to make me distrustful of all sloped wet rocks. I spent an irritating half hour on top of the West Knob trying to get my AT&T phone to connect a call to the hostel so I could confirm a pickup time. After two dozen dropped calls my phone finally connected The climb down was steep, but there was a total of perhaps a half mile of hand laid stone steps down the mountainside that made the descent relatively easy. I marveled at all the ma hours if work invested in the construction of those steps.
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Grafton Notch, Maine 26 mile 267.2

To: Grafton Notch, Maine 26 mile 267.2
Miles today: 0.0

I was scheduled for the 7:00 am shuttle back to the trail this morning to head for Gorham, NH and the White Mountains. The day's route included a steep climb over Mahoosuc Arm and the boulder scramble through Mahoosuc Notch which is reputed to be the hardest mile on the whole trail. The weather prediction of 70% chance of rain intimidated me; so I cancelled my shuttle and spent the day at the Pine Ellis Lodging in Andover, Maine. I used the time to lay out a schedule and make reservations to stay at the AMC Huts through the White Mountains. I was able to get reservations for all but two nights of my hike through the Whites Mountains Presidential Range. The huts are expensive for a bed and meal with no laundry or shower. But having the reservations makes me much more comfortable heading into those high ranges alone. I found myself sleeping next to Hot Sauce and Purple Turtle, the middle aged, just married couple from Memphis who are hiking the trail for their honeymoon that I first met in a cold,snowy shelter in North Carolina. They too have flip flopped after covering many more miles than I have, but they will not be able to finish because Hot Sauce has to return to a teaching g job in conjunction with his PhD program I earthquake science. Delightful folks whose relationship has only been strengthened by the shared hardships of the trail. I had breakfast with an Australian from Tasmania who came to the US just to hike the Appalachian Trail and who recommended a hike across Tasmania when we come to visit Australia.
Date: 2014-08-08
From: Grafton Notch, Maine 26 mile 267.2

To: Mahoosuc Notch north end at Bull Branch Campsite 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mahoosuc Notch is a narrow "V" between two steep mountains that have been dropping gigantic boulders into the. Valley for eons. The trail goes through the middle of the resulting pile of rubble climbing over and under the boulders. Healthy young hikers take two hours to get through the one mile notch. I had told myself that if I could get over the mountain that lies between the Notch and Maine 26, through the Notch and to the shelter one mile up the other side then I should be able to handle anything the trail has left to throw at me.I failed the test I set for myself. The climb was steep and hard, but it offered good footing and I moved up it at a steady one mile per hour clip, as I approached the top I came to, slick, steeply sloped granite that offered a chance for my foot to slip with every step. The trail down was a long, steep boulder scramble that slowed my pace so much that I did not reach the beginning of the notch until 4:30. I had started at 6:30 and taken only brief rest breaks. It took me 10 hours to hike 7 miles. Disappointed I let wisdom override ego and set up camp at a rustic site just before the Notch. While I was eating supper Peaches and Cream, a southbound couple I had met before arrived at the camp after having completed a much longer section than the seven miles I walked today. They volunteered to go with me tomorrow so I will not have to do the Notch alone.Although I am tired and my joints can feel the strain of the hundreds of steps today where I had to reach far below me for the next foothold and land with a jolt, I am not exhausted and don't have any serious pains. To my surprise my shoulder sores are not hurting. I put on dressings out if my first aid kit before I left this morning. Since they had stayed in place I decided not to remove them this evening. As I began to make my way down the slick granite at the crest of Old Spec Mountain a large group of teenagers on an Outward Bound trek struggled up the trail. As we shared information on what to expect ahead I mentioned my age. One of the leaders was so impressed she immediately offered "My mother is 71. Want a girlfriend?"