morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-23
From: Mt. Garfield

To: Near Saco River
Miles today: 18.1

As we are breaking up camp the early risers pass. Yesterday's great views are gone and we mostly see clouds blowing by. Every once in a while there is a gap and we can see Franconia ridge in the distance. When we're nearing Garfield campsite we meet a lot of weekenders. We pass one of them but catch him again after an uphill. He wants to know the name of the thru hiker in the back (Wilderness Bob). What am I? Apparently I don't look like a thru hiker to him. How funny. I sure smell like one.At our first hut we meet up with the Laugh Factory, Paul, Leviathon and Waist deep. It's very tempting to stay there and drink tea all day. We're determined to make some miles however so after second breakfast we move on. The register informs us that the Trolls aren't too far ahead maybe we'll catch them soon.After leaving the hut we have an unexpected encounter with another PCT '03 hiker. It's Huff and Puff! He used to leave great drawings in the registers. He tells us that he's been to Nepal last year and if we have any questions we can e-mail him. How cool! He's caretaker of one of the campsites a little bit off the AT. We later discover it's situated in a beautiful alpine area. We are lucky to have some views again. It's been pretty cloudy all day. It even starts raining when we are at the second hut for the day. This hut has some interesting facts about dehydration. Apparently it's hard to do math when you're dehydrated and it also affects your short term memory. I must be chronically dehydrated because I can't do math ever. After this excellent information which we will use as an excuse for any dumb behavior from now on we decide to tough out the weather and put our packs back on.The rain doesn't last long and the terrain is great! Flat trail! We can actually walk! We can't stop talking about how nice it is to have trail like this. The best part is when we're walking on an abandoned railroad bed. It's wide and flat and we have views! Awesome!The five miles between the hut and the next fee campsite fly by. Right before the campsite we have our first moose encounter. It's a huge bull moose. His rack is enormous! The moose is on the trail and moves slowly uphill from us. It's Pirate's first moose sighting ever and I don't think I've ever seen one this big. We're both pretty excited. We walk down to the campsite to check if the Trolls are there. They aren't but Socks is. We chat for a while and she believes the Trolls are headed for the same stealth site we are. Cool! While we walk on we are coming up with various attack plans for the Trolls. Since it will be dark when we'll arrive at their tent we can just steal their campshoes and leave the headlamp that I've been carrying for them since Hanover in its' place. That will puzzle them ; ). We also think of different sounds we could make to scare them. Oh, the silly fun...We never get to execute our plans however. The Trolls left a note on a cardboard trail magic box. It tells us they went into town. Bummer! We continue on to find our stealth site but can't find it in the dark. A flat spot next to the trail will have to do.
Date: 2005-08-24
From: Near Saco River

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: light rain

Socks passes us in the morning, right as we're packing up. The early starts we had the first two days since Hanover seem already past. We leave around 8:30. We start climbing right away and I fall behind real fast. I tell Pirate to go ahead, I don't have the energy yet. After a little potty break I see two hikers come up the trail. One of them is one of the Pokey Puppies I met last year. This year they started in Bear mtn NY where they left of last year. Unfortunately there's only one Puppy left, his wife had to get off because of injury. We chat for a while and then resume climbing. Not long after I ask them if they've seen the Trolls guess who shows up? It's the Trolls! They stayed at a campground last night. I finally return the headlamp they had lent to Gypsie Lulu and also Trolls nasty bandanna. We hike together most of the way to the Mitzpah hut. Occasionally the clouds part and we have great views. At the hut we meet up with Pirate again. He had been there for over an hour and a half, eating soup but saving me cake (very much appreciated). We all eat soup and awesome bread. Yum!!! Good lunch.The five miles to the Lake of the Clouds Hut we all stay more or less together. Pirate and Oblivious make up a whole plan of attack for Fatman and Blobbin. They will use their fat powers to vanquish King Kong after which they will clip him and deep fry him. Enough said. Conversation was great. We must have been dehydrated. But that is yesterday's story.It's still pretty cloudy but the views we do have are awesome. Unfortunately we have a hard rain that lasts just long enough to get us soaked. It gets pretty chilly so when we get to the hut we're really happy.We can work for stay and meet up with Skywalker and Socks again. Dinner at the hut is awesome and I'm happy to be dry and warm.
Date: 2005-08-25
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Osgood tent site
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

This is the day we go over Mount Washington. We have pretty good views and yes, it's windy. Between Washington and Madison Hut we enjoy the company of Skywalker. He and Pirate converse in Spanish while I manage to trip and fall on the rocks. I'm not hurt. Just upset and tired of the rockpiles that are supposed to be trail. I'm frustrated enough to want to stay at Madison Hut but there is only room for one more work for stay and I ain't paying! Stupid hut system. The Lake of the Clouds team was awesome but the people here suck.We decide to walk the three more miles to Osgood. Three miles isn't that much but the terrain is still very rocky. I manage to fall flat on my face hitting my chin on a rock. Luckily I'm not really hurt. It gives me a good reason to cry again though. Boy, I sure love this trail!After the rocks the roots take over and it gets really steep. We make it to Osgood just before dark and are happy to stop walking.
Date: 2005-08-27
From: Wildcat Peak E

To: .4 miles before Rattle River shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today has some nice ridge walking and views. The highlight of the day however is our parody of the Little House on the Prairie t.v. series. It starts out with the man of the house leaving as was usually the case but instead of him leaving for a noble cause it turns out he has a whole second family in the next town over. Other conversation topics are flying carpets and flying horses. Ever wonder how a flying carpet would do in the rain? We were thinking maybe we could set up a tarp over it.All the steep ups and downs of the last days are finally taking their toll on me. Something in my right quad starts hurting. It gets real bad in the last mile when it's actually pretty flat. The last down hill had been extremely steep however and I think that might have done it. After passing the Trolls I still felt fine and we were ready to push on to the shelter. A half a mile before the shelter there is a ford. It's dark by now and my leg really doesn't want to walk anymore. We camp an inch away from the trail. I sure hope the leg will work better tomorrow.
Date: 2005-08-28
From: .4 miles before Rattle River shelter

To: Trident Col tentsite
Miles today: 0.0

The stretch to Gorham is easy. We pass some great swimming holes but it's too early. Besides, we want to get breakfast in town. It's hike, hike, hike til we get to the road.We get a hitch from Amoebe who just finished her AT section hike yesterday. She did some big chuncks. It took her only three years to complete the trail. Pretty cool!At the Barn we meet Rollergirl who we start calling Rollerbabe because she's cool. She hiked a bit this year but is now trailangeling. We have a great breakfast with all the hikers in town. There is Vapors, Sam I am, Origami, Thunder and Rollerbabe. The breakfast has one of the best buffets I've ever seen. Yum!After breakfast we move on to do laundry and after that it's time for groceries. We get a ride from Phoenix Rising and Papa Razzi who are on their way to Pinkham Notch to meet up with Crazy Legs.The walk back from the store is long and the grocery bags are heavy. Why am I lugging around a two liter bottle of juice? Half way we decide to make an attempt at hitching. We get lucky. Two nice ladies turn around to pick us up. My leg still feels kind of stiff and every once in a while my hip does something weird. A good stretch seems to take care of the latter. Hopefully the quad will losen up too.Around 3pm Rollerbabe drops us off at trailhead. We start out with a nice flat roadwalk, I love it! My backpack is hurting me however. I bought way too much food. When the trail leaves the road we take a break to eat some of it.The first climb is pretty gradual. Things go slow but it's not bad. On top there is a nice view of the clouds and beginning sunset. We do hit some steep sections of trail again. It's rather funny when at some point the trail goes out of its' way to go to a rock viewpoint. I see PP ten feet away from me but walk at least 100 yrds to get there. When we walk through a nice Birch tree patch we see another moose. Cool!There is a nice view with a somewhat flat spot. We discuss the option of camping but decide to move on. I soon regret this because we face some horrible steep rocky descents. Whine, whine. The steeper descent hurts. When we finally get to the campsite I'm limping and crying. I'm not sure if we'll make it to Katahdin in time.
Date: 2005-08-29
From: Trident Col tentsite

To: Carlo Col shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

When I come back from the privy this morning I see Oblivious in the tent site next to us. The Trolls were camped next to us and we didn't even know it!After a hard five miles we meet up with them again at a shelter. My leg is already hurting. Another ten miles seems like a lot. There is a tough climb out of the shelter and my leg doesn't like it. Shit! The pain is slowing down my climb even more. I'm quite upset but try to improve my mood by listening to music. That works for a while but the climb goes on and on and even the short downs hurt. I meet Pirate again close to the top of the mountain. He kindly offers to carry my pack (he left his at the top). I let him carry it. I hardly ever give up my pack so I must be miserable.There is a nice bog to be crossed. Unfortunately the bog boards are often flooded so keeping dry feet is a challenge. At the top we add up mileage, time and the shape I'm in and conclude that we're probably not going to make it any further than the next shelter. Actually, I really don't feel like I want to go any further. Lots of climbing and rockscrambling later we finally make it to the Maine-New Hampshire border. Only about half a mile to go before I can stop hiking that's all I can think about. We do take some pictures of the sign. The trail in Maine isn't any better and soon we end up with some big boulders. Since I try not to bend my right leg I become the queen of the butt slide. I wish I could enjoy this more. I would love this stuff on a day hike.The .3 to the shelter isn't easy either and we're glad when we finally get there. We've been talking about taking a trail out to the road and walking the road around the Mahoosuc Notch. The way I've been hiking today that seems the best option. Rockscrambling is too painful right now. Luckily we find some hikers with maps and it seems like there is a good roadwalk up to Grafton Notch. We'll see how the walk to the road goes. Maybe it's smarter to hitch back to Gorham and skip a section. I'd hate to do that though.
Date: 2005-08-31
From: Andover

To: ???
Miles today: 0.0

I'm in Andover right now. Not feeling too great. The Whites were beautiful but very demanding on the legs. My right quad suffered from over use and is now hurting every up and down and we've had lots of those. I'm now struggling with the fact that we have skipped 10.5 miles from Grafton Notch to here and won't be able to hike those this year and still finish in time. We road walked around Mahoosuc Notch yesterday (gasp!) which I didn't really mind too much because I plan to hike it when I'm not hurting and can fully enjoy it. I did set out to connect my footsteps though and that got messed up. First of all we took a wrong turn and ended up seven miles from Grafton Notch instead of the planned 1/2 mile (otherwise yesterday was quite enjoyable, we even played darts). Then we hooked up with Phoenix Rising and she drove us to Andover. I didn't know it was such a long drive from Grafton Notch. Way too long to hitch back. Plus we have our dead line to think of. It seems like such a luxury problem. I might have to skip trail because I planned a two month trek to Nepal after the hike (yes, I'm going to Nepal!). I just don't like not having a continuous hike from Springer to Katahdin. Plus if my leg doesn't get better I might have to skip more. But what am I whining about? I guess it's the thru hiker pride... the bragging rights...Well, at least I'll have something to come back for...
Date: 2005-09-01
To: Andover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I had hoped to do a 10 mile slackpack from Grafton Notch to East B Hill rd (Andover) but when I wake up this morning I'm all dizzy and nauseous. I'm not even sure I want my planned massage anymore. I force some food and Gatorade down and when the masseuse picks me up I feel okay enough to be pampered. Unfortunately it's not all pampering. Getting the knots out of my back is really painful and I'd probably need two more sessions to get it all straightened out. The hot stones feel really good on my legs and back. I manage to gross the lady out. One look at my heels was enough. I tell her it's just dead skin but I don't think she believes me.I'm still feeling pretty lousy when I get back and instead of hiking out I go back to bed. Later in the day I finally mail some stuff home and pay another visit to the library. I get my hands on a road map and discover that I could easily connect my footsteps by roadwalking 26 to East B Hill rd. It looks like seven miles, that's great! I was pretty bummed about skipping but now it seems I can still make a continuous walk, yippee!
Date: 2005-09-02
From: Andover

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 17.0

7 roadwalk, 10.1 on ATWe get a ride back to where we left of two days ago and I walk the 7 miles to the trailhead on East B. Hill road. I connected my footsteps. Yay!!! At the trailhead I find a note from Prune. He found a nice spot on a blue blaze and is waiting for me there. He's telling me I hiked too fast, I need to go back so he can finish his book. Yeah, right! Back on the trail we go!The trail is muddy but luckily not hard. I take it really slow and end up camping with the Trolls, UG, LowBridge and Prof. Nutmeg. More thru hikers are close by. Lots of people here!
Date: 2005-09-03
From: South Arm Road

To: Sabbath Day Lean-to
Miles today: 17.0

We start packing pretty early this morning but after socializing with the Trolls it's still close to 8 before we leave. First thing on the agenda is a ford. My sandals would have come in handy now but I'm still happy with my new shoes. I walk them right through since I don't want sticks or pointy rocks to hurt my feet. I haven't had too much trouble with wet feet lately so I don't mind. Those that have been out in the rain of the last days are less happy.I hike up Old Blue with the Trolls. They have an awesome new song. Something about being Trolls and trudging along because they are Trolls. Trolls' low voice makes it really special. It's pretty windy up at the top and we all take a snack break. The views are pretty nice. Pirate and I continue on but split up when he has a thought he wants to write down. I wish I would have thoughts worthy of writing down ; ).Before the shelter UG passes me. When he takes a break we chat some and hike a bit together. We conclude that all the bad trail we hiked together in New York was nothing compared to the Whites. I lose him again right before the Bemis Mtn shelter. He wants to make miles, I want to have lunch.We take a long lunch break partly because the Trolls come in and entertain us. When Anchor starts feeding us Gatorade powder we realize it is time to move on.It's beautiful hiking out of the shelter. Walking on big slabs of granite with awesome views. I like this part of the trail. After another ford we come to ME 17 where we are all hoping for trail magic. No such luck. Oh well, we are too spoiled anyways.After the road it's only a little more up hill and then it's mostly flattish to Long Pond which has a great sandy bottom. We can't resist and go skinny dipping. We enjoy the last moments of the sunset while we rinse ourselves off and then it's onward to the shelter.UG, Low Bridge and Nutbag are here too and so are eight other thru hikers. I guess the Trolls camped somewhere near the road. Hopefully we'll see them again tomorrow.ps. We did over fifteen miles today, how exciting to have 'normal' terrain.
Date: 2005-09-04
From: Sabbath Day Lean-to

To: Seat of Saddleback mountain
Miles today: 15.8

We wake up to rain falling on our sleeping bags. We vacated the shelter after we discovered that our sheltermates' snoring made the floor vibrate. Luckily there was a tent platform available and it didn't rain until around 6 am.We move back into the shelter and hope the rain will stop soon. Everyone seems to share that hope because they are up and packed but not leaving. We are the last to start packing but the first to move out. We're very proud of ourselves.We're trying to figure out if we need to go to town or not. Pirate doesn't have much food left but I'm fine. We finally decide that Pirate is man enough to go to town by himself. I let him go ahead and take it really slow. I wait for him at Piazza shelter and have a nice break. There are some big rock formations nearby that I go check out. I was hoping to find a nice viewpoint to hang out at but unfortunately there is only a rock scramble that I can't really do right now. The big rock kind of looks like a space ship. Pretty cool.When Pirate shows up he is very giddy. We do some more break taking and finally move on to climb Saddleback mountain. We have awesome weather and great views. The best on the whole trail! It's so cool!!! We love it.We stay up top for a while to see the sun go down. It's really cold and windy so I'm wearing most of my clothes to stay warm. It's beautiful up here. We don't have enough time to get below tree line so are now cowboy camping on bare rock. The Milky Way is awesome! Hiking above treeline rocks!!!
Date: 2005-09-05
From: Seat of Saddleback mountain

To: South Branch of Carabassett River
Miles today: 17.4

It got to be pretty cold last night. And it's still cold when I wake up. I'm wearing all my clothes and eat my breakfast while I'm still in my sleeping bag. I decide that I could just get up and get an early start so I pack up my stuff and get going. It's only 6:30am Pirate doesn't want to get up yet. No worries, he'll catch me soon enough.The views are awesome again. Clouds are covering the valley. When I get to the Horn some of the clouds lift and I can see a few lakes again. The sun is still low on the horizon and is shining in my eyes. It makes me get off the trail for a little bit but I soon see blazes again.It's down and up to Saddleback junior. The sun is finally warm enough to shed some layers. I decide to take a break and let some of my stuff dry. My sleeping bag had gotten quite wet from condensation and I prefer it fluffy and dry. Pirate catches up to me here. He hadn't expected to see me yet but I had been moving really slow. Some hikers pass me and I get a bit grumpy. When I'm tired I don't deal well with the fact that I'm a slow hiker. Unfortunately Pirate isn't in a cheery mood either so I stay grumpy for a while. Some music would have been good but as part of the weight saving plan the mp3 got sent home in Andover. Luckily my mood improves as I hike on and when I get to the ford at seven miles Pirate is smiling too. We enjoy a nice swim and do some laundry. Life is good again!There is quite some climbing from the river but it's not too steep and it's followed by flattish smooth DRY trail. I love it! We're cruising along and despite the long river break we still make 17.4 miles. I'm so happy to have real trail again.We're at a nice real flat campsite next to the river now. No stars or spectacular views but maybe a better night sleep... although I just found out that my therma rest is flat. Hopefully I can find the leak tomorrow.Today's hike was great!!!
Date: 2005-09-06
From: ???

To: stratton ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Short update.The hiking since Andover has been awesome!!!I've continued the roadwalk so I could connect my footsteps and got back on trail at East B Hill road. The trail has been so nice and the views spectacular!The weather has been working with us too and I'm enjoying myself tremendously!!!Life is good again!
Date: 2005-09-06
From: Katahdin

To: Horn Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 13.5

After a climb and a descent we settle in to Stratton for a few hours. We spend most of our time stuffing our faces and eat ourselves sick. After that we go shopping for resupply and everything looks disgusting. The Stratton motel looks like a great place to stay but after fifteen minutes of computer time we've reached our self imposed dead line of 3pm and head back to the trail. The hostel owner gives us a ride and we are very content.The climb up to Horns Pond is way too long to my liking so I'm a bit grumbly when I meet Pirate at a viewpoint close to it. The view is great though and when we do get to the shelter I'm pleasantly surprised to meet up with Mad Mike whom I'd met on the PCT in '03. We chat for a while and his buddy gives me a patch and glue for my therma rest. Too bad I don't have a stove to heat up the glue. I'm sure I'll find someone tomorrow who can help me out.
Date: 2005-09-07
From: Horn Pond Lean-to

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

In the morning I say goodbye to Mad Mike & friend and also to Fig & Just Visiting who I had seen last somewhere in VA.We climb up to the west Peak of Bigelow mtn. It's not a bad climb and the views are great. We chat with some day hikers at Avery Peak and conclude that this part of the trail is beautiful. I love the hiking above treeline and the great vistas that go with it.The sign to Old Man's Head says there is an excellent vista .1 mile of the AT. We have to verify the excellence of that vista so go out there. It turns out to be an okay vista. We decide that for it to be excellent it needs something extra. That's it! We'll pose in front of it! Our hot hiker bodies definitely improve the quality of the view. Pictures will be posted after the hike.The climb up to Little Bigelow mtn takes forever and I'm getting a bit tired. Pirate stays on the top for break but I want to get out of sun and take a break at the stream near the shelter.There are some nice 'tubs' but we decide to go for a swim in Flagstaff lake instead. At the lake we meet the Dutch couple people have been telling me about. We chat and eat and swim, it turns out to be a looong break. The imagined twenty miles aren't going to happen. The trail is too rooty and muddy to continue in the dark. I do pass the 2000 mile mark today and pose at the one painted on the road. I'm sure those pictures will make it to the web too. They are most excellent.