morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-08-07
From: Stratton

To: East Flagstaff Road
Miles today: 17.2

Aug 07This morning started out with a cold drive tobthe trailhead. Hoss and I had the back of the pickup. We had lots of seat cushions and a sleeping bag. We layed right down and tried to get some more sleep. Shane was driving and at one point he brakes quickly and stops and starts to back up. Hoss looks at me and asks, what's up. I replied, probabky a moose. Sure enough a mom and her twin calves are right on the side of the road. Our first moose sighting. We saw another on the afternoon drive as well. Tonight is our last night at the Farmhouse Inn. Stacy and Shane have been amazing hosts. Tomorrow we head north with full packs. If all goes as planned, just 10 more days till we summit Katahdin.The forecast was once again 50% chance of thunderstorms. It was cloudy and cool all morning. On top of Bigalow Mountain it was very windy and cold. It was in the clouds all along the exposed ridge. I ended up putting on my jacket to stay warm, even though I was hiking. The trail continues to be roots, rocks and mud. Tough to drop miles. Today was our last big elevation gain till Katahdin, so hopefully we have some easy miles ahead.On our last peak, Hoss, DFI, Shroomer and I were just relaxing enjoying the Maine view when a loud thunder rolled through the sky. Oh yea, thunderstorms are forcast. We took off down the mountain, quite slowly because of the terrain. Part way down were more chantrelle mushrooms. I think we picked more today than yesterday. We again bought steaks to put under them. Even I am enjoying them. Today was another day filled with great conversation with Shroomer. About 5 miles from the end the rains started. Not hard at first, but then got quite hard. Overall we have done well avoiding rain, so I'm not complaining. Turns out the rains were quite local.We passed the 2,000 mile marker today finishing at 2,013.8. Pretty amazing. Lots more stories, but time for bed. We are leaving at 5am because we have a 20 mile walk to catch a 4pm ferry across the Kennebec. Good night.
Date: 2014-08-08
From: East Flagstaff Road

To: Caratunk
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

What a great day, one of the best on trail. We were up at 4:15 for a 5am departure. 10 of us plus Shane piled in his truck. We dropped 4 (Tandem, Buzz, Mio and ?) in Stratton, then continued on to east Flagstaff Road to our starting point. We saw 3 or 4 moose again this morning. The day was bright and sunny, our first in quite some time. It was cool with a refreshing breeze, felt like early fall in New England.   We had two early climbs that were very easy. The trail was relatively smooth for the first time in a couple hundred miles. We actually covered the first 6 miles in 2 hours. Felt great to be walking at a brisk pace again.About 10 miles in we came to a beautiful sandy beach on a typical Maine lake. It was only 10:30 so we were in great shape time wise so we all went swimming. Boy did that feel great. Very refreshing. We knew we had the Kennebec river to cross this afternoon. There is a ferry service (guy with a canoe) that runs from 2 till 4. We had a 20 mile walk to get there and did not want to miss our ride.Most of the AT is spent up on ridgelines. Today was mostly low along rivers and ponds. We saw 2 other hikers all day. At one point we walked along the dam of a lake. It was an interesting collection of rocks and boards. The outflow turned out to be a beautiful river that we followed for over 3 miles down to the Kennebec. Lots of rapids and small waterfalls. This last 3 miles was much tougher than we anticipated so it was nice to see the trees open up and look down on the Kennebec. A gentleman on the far shore hopped into his red Old Town canoe (just like one I used to have) and paddle over to get us. He could only take 2 at a time so Shroomer and Hoss went first, then DFI and I went on the second trip. Our guide has been the ferry service for the past 8 years. He estimates he has brought between 8,000 and 12,000 people across the river. He was a typical Mainer with the look, accent and stories, it was great. Super friendly guy.We had great weather all day. It is now 5:30 and a thunderstorm is rolling through the area. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice again, hope so. It's so much more pleasant walking in dry conditions.We have just 151 miles to go. Last night it really hit me just how close we are. I have avoided really discussing the end until now. Last night I was like a kid on Cristmas eve thinking about all that was coming. I am still frustrating Elizabeth since I do not know my summit date. She is flying to Maine with a friend and I cannot commit to where I will be when. If all goes well I should summit in 9 days. Physically I am feeling good. My feet are really tired but this past week of good sleep has been tremendous for me. Hopefully I am ready for this home stretch. No really big climbs till Katahdin, so that helps.
Date: 2014-08-09
From: Caratunk

To: Moxie Bald Shelter
Miles today: 18.8

Aug 09The Sterling Inn turned out to be a fun stop. Shroomer and I did grill you own burger for dinner. It was nice to relax on the covered patio as the rains poured down. Its been a while since we have had a totally dry day.It ended up rainbow quite a bit last night. This morning was completely foggy. While we were eating our breakfast the fog lifted leaving a mostly blue sky. The forecast is for mostly sunny all day. Shroomer and I caught the 7:30shutle back to the trail. The other 4 were all trying to figure out their plans. DFI and Cape want to slow down since their flights home are on the 21st. The morning trail was pretty good. We saw lits of sobos, but they were all flip floppers, meaning they started at Springer, walked north for a while then went to Katahdin and are now walking south to where they flipped from. Harpers Ferry is a common flip spot. One of the guys was Owl. He remembered meeting me in April. We met in the Smoky Mountains. A friend of his thru hiked last year and that is what inspired him to hike this year. Oh by the way, Owl is 80 years old. There were at least 8 flippers and only one new sobo. It is pretty late to be starting a southbound hike.Today we had two climbs, both about 1,600 vertical. When we were on the first one we could look across the valley 9 miles away and see the second one. It looked so far away. It is still amazing to me how much ground we cover every day just by walking. Sure enough a few hours later we were on top looking back at where we had come from. Even though today was Saturday we saw only a handful of day hikers. This area is fairly remote, only accessible by dirt roads. Forgot to mention we also saw Princess and Rocketman. They were at the Farmhouse Inn with us. They also plan to start the 100 mile wilderness on Monday.Talking with a sobo section hiker this afternoon he said we were the first nobos he saw today, but he saw lots yesterday. Maybe we are catching up to a bunch of people. Shroomer and I are the only two at this shelter. It is 7pm as I am writing this. We thought Hoss and DFI would be here, but not yet. There is no cell reception so this will be posted when we reach Monson on Sunday. Tomorrow is just under 18 miles. We are hoping for smooth trail as the profile is very flat. It would be great to have a relatively easy day. This shelter is right on a beautiful pond. We went swimming when we got here to clean off. It is a great evening weather wise as well.Just after 7 the crew started rolling in. Cape, Ryan, 6 Slash and Politician. Hoss and DFI are supposed to be on the way.
Date: 2014-08-10
From: Moxie Bald Shelter

To: Monson
Miles today: 17.9

Aug 10Last night was beautiful weather, clear with a bright moon over the lake. The local loons had a party as they were noisy all night long. Shroomer and I were in the shelter along with 6 Slash. The others tented. Shroomer and I were walking by 6 for the 18 miles to Monson. The trail was pretty good all day. We had 3 stream fordsm, all more serious than we have done. Two rivers were up to our knees. With the current and slippery rocks it was a bit tricky, but not too bad. The cold water feels good on the hot feet. I have flip flops which are not ideal. I wish I had crocs, which is what most people have. We saw a few people but not many. The sobo class has really slowed down. It is very late for them to be starting. There are a few section hikers out. I imagine the 100 wilderness will have more section hikers. Near the end of our day we were stopped for lunch and Ryan and Politician passed us. When I got to the road they were just getting a ride to town. Rebecca, the owner of the histel we are staying at, said she would be right back to get Shroomer, 6 Slash and I. Turns out they were right behind me. She was back in 15 minutes and brought us to town. We got our resupply done and sat on the back patio overlooking the lake and had dinner. There was live music this afternoon, a guy playing guitar. Great timing on our part.As we are finishing our dinner Hoss and DFI roll in and joined us. They are a couple of characters, fun to be around. Hoss has a box at the post office so Rebecca called her friend at home on a Sunday night to arange an early pickup tomorrow morning. Love the small towns.Tomorrow we start the 100 mile wilderness. Cell coverage will be very spotty. Not sure if I will be able to update this journal untill I get to the end. I will write daily entries as I go but they may all be posted next week. The plan is to summit Saturday is the weather is good all week. Elizabeth is flying in to Maine on the 15th, Friday. Tomorrow we will have a big breakfast then head north for the stretch run. Only 114 miles to go. The next 50 has a few ups and downs, then the last 50 of the wilderness should be pretty easy. Lets hope mother nature cooperates. Truth is we will walk in the rain, just enjoy it more if it is dry.Thanks for all the support this summer, it has been an amazing journey. Shroomer is going to hang out with us for a few days after we finish as we do a litle tour of Maine. We used to live in Greenville, which is just 15 miles north of where I am. We will be back through here next week so hopefully we will see some familiar faces.
Date: 2014-08-11
From: Monson

To: Cloud Pond Lean To
Miles today: 17.9

Aug 11I had trouble getting to sleep again last night. Just excited about entering the 100 mile wilderness and the completion of the amazing journey. These last couple weeks have been so much fun with the hiker community. From southern Vermont to Gorham, NH I basically hiked alone. Since then I hooked up with Shroomer and really enjoyed his company. Hoss and DFI have also been with us for most of the time, two great young men. We have also been around lots of other fun personalities. Today Birdman walked with us all day and is at the shelter with us. 6 Slash is also here with us. Tenting is Ryan and Politician. We were all at the Lakeshore hostel last night. Hoss, DFI and Cape all stayed back today.We had a great breakfast at Pete's Place then got a ride up to the trailhead. By 7:30 we were walking north again. The trail started out with no big climbs, but it was a constant up and down. We passed a group of boys with 2 adults, not sure what they were doing. We then passed Rocketman and Princess. Her brother, Machine, and another thru hiker were with them. We had three river fords today. I would not want to be an early sobo crossing these rivers in June when the water is higher and colder.Late morning a thunderstorm rolled through. It poured for a bit and the sky was very noisy for quite some time. We just kept marching on. After the skies cleared and it was a beautiful afternoon. Even though the rains stopped the rocks were wet causing us to have to slow down. The trail was also very wet. The big deal today was crossing the 100 mile to go mark. As of right now we have 95.4 miles to go. Initially we were thinking of trying to summit on Saturday. Now we are thinking Sunday makes more sense. This terrain is not easy and we are tired so having a more relaxing finish sounds good. am finally back in civilization so will be catching up with daily entries. Today is actually the 16th and I did summit Katahdin this morning at 9am.
Date: 2014-08-12
From: Cloud Pond Lean To

To: Logan Brook Lean to
Miles today: 24.0

Aug 12After yesterday's storms the sky cleared leaving a beautiful night. The clear skies stayed with us all day. I awoke about 4am with the moon shining in my eyes. I was afraid I would have trouble falling asleep again, but no worries. I slept til 6, probably a record for me. Usually in a shelter or tent I am hiking by 6. Today I got going at 6:30. We had a .4 mile walk just to get back to the trail. The first 6 miles was brutal with wet rocks, mud and steep terrain. We had agreed to do just 17 and tackle White Cap mountain tomorrow. We saw a few day hikers and they were teling us tomorrow was a wash out day. They explained it was 100% chance of rain all day. We started rethinking our goal. The trail also turned into good walking so the miles started dropping more quickly. It would be great to get over the mountain today in good weather. We picked up our pace and kept moving. We reached the shelter at about 3 and agreed to push on the last 7 miles. This section of trail turned out to be the best trail since Massachusetts. Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine take the wilderness footpath literally.The trail allowed us to average 2.5 mph up and over 3 sub peaks then the main peak. All six of us came to this shelter, Politician, Ryan, Six Slash, Birdman, Shroomer and I. There are 4 others here at the shelter. We did see a couple section hikers, but the trail has been pretty quiet with thru hikers. A sobo told us there is a bubble a couple days ahead of us.Our goal is to summit Saturday or Sunday, still not sure which. We only have about 70 miles to go and all easy terrain except the hike up Katahdin.
Date: 2014-08-13
From: Logan Brook Lean to

To: View Entry
Miles today: 23.2

Aug 13The morning started with us in the clouds. The promised rain was delayed till afternoon according to the weather forecast. Being in the clouds there was a lot of water dripping from the trees. The plan for the day was a little over 23 miles to another shelter. Shroomer and I were out about 6am to get as far as possible before the rain started. As we dropped down off White Cap mountain we got below the clouds and everything was nice and dry. We then had about a 1,000 foot climb followed by a gradual drop, then really great trail. We made great time completing 15 miles to Jo-Mary Road by noon. We had a food drop there so we had quite a feast. There was also marginal cel coverage so I was able to call Elizabeth. We still aren't sure if we are going for a Saturday or Sunday summit. After our feast we had 8 more miles to our shelter. There was still no rain faling so we were ready to move. I did the first 6 miles in well under 2 hours and Shroomer left me in the dust. He was cruising. I got to the shelter by 3:30, finishing a 23.1 mile day. Feels good to be dropping the miles again. The whole gang from last night also came here. There are few new faces as well. It is 4:30 as I write this and the rain has started. The forecast is for an inch of rain. If we get lucky it will be a night rain and stop for tomorrow. We shall see. There is so much to write about, but it seems like every evening I get tired and forget many sides stories. When I get home I promise to write a full recap as well as a thorough gear review. There are several things gear wise that I would do differently.
Date: 2014-08-14
To: Rainbow Stream Lean to
Miles today: 18.2

Aug 14It poured all night, and hard at times. When we woke up we decided to see what the weather was going to do. It was still raining, but at 7:30 decided we should just go for it. By 8 we were walking north again. Didn't take long to get soaked. Three miles in we had our first river ford. We were nervous the rains would have the water at a dangerous level. I was confident we would be OK. My theory was the overall grade in this area is quite flat so the ground would absorb the moisture. There are also lots of ponds, lakes and streams so plenty of places for the water to go. Sure enough we were fine. Since our shoes were already soaked we just walked through the stream without taking our shoes off. We made good time even though everything was slippery. Birdman was walking with Shroomer and I. One advantage to having soaked shoes is that we just walked right through the wet areas. Normally your feet are dry so you try and keep them that way. There are lots of wet muddy section of trail here in Maine. This 100 mile wilderness has been outstanding. Today it seemed like half the day we were on a river or lake. Twice we walked a stretch of beach along a lake. The rivers were really rumbling today with all the rain. There were some great falls as well. We arrived at Rainbow Stream lean to at 3:30. We discussed moving on and tenting but since it was still raining we stayed put. That leaves us a 25 mile day tomorrow. We are currently 30.1 miles from Katahdin. Fourteen miles from here is Abol bridge. There is a store and restaurant there. Our plan is to hit that up for lunch, then hike the remaing 11 to the campground at the base of Katahdin.Tonight at the shelter is Shroomer, Birdman and I, as well as Sabertooth and Chops. Birdman has been with us since Monson. He is also mid 50s and fits in great with us. This will complete a section hike of the AT for him. He is a college professor so he is on a very tight schedule to finish. This summer he will have complete his last 1,200 miles of trail. Sabertooth is also completing a hike he started a couple years ago. Chops Shroomer and I all started this spring. Politician, Ryan and Six Slash all moved on. We should see them tomorrow night at the Birches campground. It has been a fun group cruising through the wilderness. We miss Hoss and DFI. Hope they are doing well.Slim hurt his leg crossing the ridge on Mt Washington and had to take a week off. He is back going again. When I finish I hope to find him before we fly back to Phoenix. Bear Juice is another who is a bit behind. He had taken two weeks off when we were in Vermont. We used to live just north of Monson so we will be traveling through there next week. We hope to see some familiar faces when we pass through.
Date: 2014-08-15
From: Rainbow Stream Lean to

To: Birches
Miles today: 25.0

Aug 15Today started clear and sunny. A welcome day after all the wet weather we have had. We had a 25 mile day planned so we were out by 6. The trail was still very wet but fairly level so we were making god time. Chops walked with Shroomer for quite some time this morning. I caught them mid morning. About 8 miles in we came to an overlook. There was cell reception so I sent a text to Elizabeth (she is flying east today) and called my brother. While we were there a couple sobos came by. We mentioned we were going 17 more miles to the base of Katahdin. They were quite concerned that we planned 25 miles in one day. I told them that we had hiked over 2,150 miles and knew what we were capable of. Chops pulled out everything in his pack to dry it out. We also had an awesome view of Katahdin. We are getting really close now.Seven miles later we reached Abol bridge. We did the 15 miles by 11:30. It's great being able to walk on good trail again. Shroomer and I took showers and washed our clothes out then headed to the restaurant. Ryan, Six Slash and Politician were there. Chops and Sabertooth showed up a few minutes later. It surprises me how much I am eating yet I am down at least 25 pounds. I am feeling great though. We also bought food for tonight and tomorrow. A mile after the bridge is a sign up for the shelter at the base of Katahdin. Shroomer Chops and I got the last 3 spots. Sabertooths friend and brother are meeting him so he is camping somewhere else. The four of us headed out for the last 8 miles to the Birches, the set up shelter for thru hikers to summit Katahdin. At the sign up spot there was a notice recomending we take a high water cut off trail. The AT crosses a river twice and the water was waist deep and rushing, so we did opt for the high water trail to stay dry and safe. A few miles later we crossed a parking lot and there was Sabertooths buddy and brother. They had a grill and cold drinks. We stopped for close to an hour and had a hot dog, burger, chips and drinks. As we were leaving they offered to bring our packs to the Birches. Sweet. We flew the final 2.5 miles.We got signed in and registered for tomorrow. I am thru hiker 242. We head over to the shelter and Politicians parents are there with more food. So I ate my third meal in a few hours. Guess I shouldn't have bought so much food. As usual a great group here. Everyone is headed out about 6 in the morning. We are not sure what happened to Birdman. He is probably at a different campground. I assume we will see him on the mountain tomorrow. It's incredible that there is only 5.2 miles left in this amazing journey. Tomorrow afternoon I am meeting Elizabeth in Millinocket. We will then begin a vacation cruising around Maine before flying home on the 26th.
Date: 2014-08-18
To: Greenville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

Aug 18The last couple days have been a ton of fun. On our way out of Millinocket on Sunday morning we stopped to pick up some Gatorades and we brought our extra trail food and headed to, where else, the Appalachian Trail to go for a walk. We were headed to Greenvile on the Katahdin Iron Works road, which crosses the AT in to 100 mile wilderness. We hiked the AT so Elizabeth and Sherry could see a bit of the trail. The best part is it was raining. Yes, Shroomer and I spent our first day after finishing by walking the AT in the rain. We saw Dozer and UHaul again. We went thru the Mahoosuc Notch with them. We gave them some food, Gatorade and took their trash for them. We then walked back south a bit and put a bunch of gatorades in a stream. I was thinking Go Far and Spruce were in the area, but we did not see them.Once in Greenville we checked in to our lakefront motel. It is quite cold here, highs in the 60s. For dinner Shroomer cooked up steaks on the grill. They always taste great. It was nice having a shower and dry place to go after walking in the rain.This morning we got up early hoping to see a moose. We drove around for abiut an hour with no luck. It was still raining this morning. About 9 the rains stopped and the skies tried to clear. At least things were starting to dry out. We then headed down to Monson to, you guessed it, go for a walk on the AT. We headed south in search of nobos. We ran into Hemlock, the Crocs. Both are nice young men that neither of us had met. We shared trail stories then moved on. We took a side trail to a pond then headed back to the car. When we were just about back a guy catches us iand I ask him if he is Taz. Sure enough. Shroomer was hoping to see him again. They had hiked together for a bit in Vermont. We gave Taz a ride into town and dropped him off at Shaws hostel.We then went to Petes Place for lunch. Who rolls in but all 3 guys we saw in the trail. More fun trail stories then we headed back to Greenville. Tomorrow we head to Boothbay Harbor so it is good by to the AT. Sure has been a blast being a part of the AT community for the past 4 months. Elizabeth and I will probably come back next summer to meet people and do trail magic. I will write up a recap as soon as I get some time and the gear review next week when I get home. Thanks again for all the guest book postings and emails. I have enjoyed sharing this journey. Thanks also to all who have supported our charities.