morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-10
From: Caratunk, ME

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: few clouds

Today has been a great and relaxing day! We started off the day by sleeping late at the Caratunk House and eating a big breakfast with wonderful pancakes and other stuff! We got on the trail about 9:30 AM. The first thing of the day was to cross the Kennebec River. We're not supposed to ford the river because the water level rises and falls very quickly and it's too wide to cross, so the A.T. provides a free canoe shuttle across. The canoe was a green Old Town canoe which reminded Matthew and me of home because we have the same exact canoe that we ride around our ponds in! Also, we had just stayed in Old Town, ME two weeks earlier with Scott and Anne Small. It was a neat little ride across the river. We walked beside a stream for a few miles and it was beautiful with all of the waterfalls. The weather has been great all day long! Sunny and warm! When we got to the first lean-to after only 4 miles of hiking, we decided that since it was such a great day, we'd stay there and rest. So Matthew, Creature, and Squirrel Meat, and I all stayed there for the day. We had a great time. We found a waterfall near us and we went swimming in the waterfall and the river. It was extremely cold, but it was also extremely fun!!! The lean-to we're staying at is right on the edge of a beautiful pond with mountains all around. We watched the sunset today over the mountains and the lake and it was amazing. We watched the entire sunset and it was a million different colors! It is very relaxing out here to just sit here and not worry about anything! It also felt good to rest today. We have 4 easy hiking miles, so the day was basically a rest day. It really refreshed us. We also heard coyotes howling in the distance while we were watching the sunset and it added even more to the whole atmosphere!! Great day! It's amazing how God can make the sun come up and go down everyday! Just to sit here and think about that is amazing! Seeing all of these beautiful sights makes me think of how beautiful God must be!
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today has been another good, long day. We got in over 17 miles today. It's been pretty flat for most of the day except for one mountain in the middle and then we climbed halfway up Little Bigelow Mountain to end the day. We have had beautiful weather again today. We walked 10 miles this morning and stopped to eat at West Carry Pond Lean-to. Somebody had left a deck of cards there and me and Matthew played a few games of cards. It was a great break! After eating, we hiked another 7.3 miles to the Little Bigelow Lean-to. It is located halfway up the mountain and it is in a beautiful spot in the forest by a stream. It felt great to finally arrive and eat again! I put up my tent to get away from the bugs. A bunch of people stayed here tonight. Matthew, Creature, Squirrel Meat, Todd, an older guy named Dr. Green, 2 girls out for a 3 day hike, and me. We have a great time around the campfire talking about different stuff. It's amazing how different everybody is! I never knew that people could be so different! But it's also amazing how everyone seems to get along despite all of the differences. We saw a beautiful lake today towards the end of the day. It was a huge lake with trees and mountains all around. I've never seen so much water in my life!!! Maine is full of huges ponds and lakes around every mountain! It's beautiful and remote!
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! Today was a tough day! We climbed up and over the Bigelows today! We started the day off by climbing up Little Bigelow Mountain which was about 3100 feet high. After that, we went to the bottom and then we started our ascent up Avery Peak, which is 4088 feet high. The climb up was extremely steep and tiring! It really tired us up going up and we had to stop continuously and rest our legs! When we finally got to the top, it was a great feeling!!!! We both went over and touched the sign and hollered! The weather has been great again today and we could see for miles and miles from the top! The views from the tops of these mountains are amazing! After climbing up Avery Peak, we went down about 300 feet to Avery Memorial Campsite and stopped and ate some dinner(12:00). We rested up there and heading up to West Peak of Bigelow Mtn. which was 4145 feet high. This was the tallest mountain we've climbed besides Katahdin. After West Peak, we started a steep descent into Horns Pond Lean-to. Matthew's feet were hurting, so he decided to stay there for the night with Todd and Creature. I felt good and we were only 5 miles from town so me and Squirrel Meat decided to hike on into town. We got to the road at about 7:15 PM. We sat there for awhile and waited for somebody to pick us up. We decided after about 10 minutes of no luck that maybe people only wanted to pick up one person, so he went and hid in the woods while I stood there with my thumb out. And sure enough, a nice lady stopped and picked me up and he came out of the woods and got in.:) She was really nice. She had driven by one time and didn't stop, but she said she felt so bad, she turned around and came back and got us!!! It's really nice of these people to pick up us stinky thru-hikers!!! We got to town and stuffed ourselves with food from Fotter's Grocery! I got a Dr. Pepper and some snacks and two hamburgers and then we checked in at the Widow Walk, which is a hiker hostel. Walt and Tara were there, they are two thru-hiker's we had previously met. It was neat to catch up with their experiences and see them again! It feels great and kinda weird to be in a bed again with a pillow! I'm really not used to this!
Date: 2003-06-13
From: Stratton, ME

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today has been a rest day for me and Matthew arrived here this morning around 9:30 after his 5.3 mile hike in from Horns Pond Lean-to. We were originally going to resupply and leave this afternoon, but his knees are hurting, so we decided to take the rest of the day off and rest up and head out in the morning. We are probably going to slow down some for Matthew's knees and ankles to heal up. Hopefully we'll be able to pick the pace back up after the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The terrain between here adn there is very rugged and it's up and down the entire way. We are staying at the White Wolf Inn tonight. It's really nice! Even has a tv and we even get to watch CMT!!! We both really miss hearing music!!! Todd decided today that he isn't going to continue his thru-hike. We've been hiking with him for about a week and it's really sad to see someone leave. But he is going back to work and save up some more money and finish the hike next year. It's sad to think that not all of us will make it to Georgia. We never know who will and who won't make it. I pray that we will have a safe journey and be able to make it home, but God may have other plans for us. We'll just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and just see what happens! We both really want to finish and we're having a great time! Despite all the difficulties of the climbing and hiking. Matthew and I were amazed today when we read all of the entires in the guestbook! It does us really good to see all of the support we have back home and it helps us mentally to keep going! Thank ya'll again for all of the support! We picked up our first maildrops today. Thank you grandma for the WONDERFUL rice krispy treats you made us! They are great! Mama also send us some grits!!! They're kinda hard to find up here! She also send us a copy of the newspaper article we're in! I still can't believe we're in the newspaper like that. It's really neat that everybody is interesting in our journey and keeping up with us. Thank you all again!
Date: 2003-06-14
From: Stratton, ME

To: Sugarloaf Mtn. Summit House
Miles today: 10.6

Today has been a day of ups and downs for me mentally and physically. We left Stratton this morning and headed up the Crocker Mountains. I wasn't feeling very well so I walked pretty slow and Matthew went on around me. We ended up hiking separate the entire day and we stayed at different places tonight. We started the day with a hike up North Crocker Mountain, which was a long, gradual climb up over 4,000 feet. After that, we went down a little and then summitted South Crocker Mountain. It has rained all day long and the trails are streams again. Our feet have been soaking wet all day long. When I got to Crocker Cirque Campsite, Matthew had left me a note saying he was going on to Sugarloaf Summit House of the next shelter, so I decided to go on too. I continued on and made it to a river that we had to ford. After the river ford, the hike up Sugarloaf Mountain started. The hike up was pretty much straight up and I had to pull my entire body up some boulders with my arms because there was nowhere for my feet to go because it was so steep. The rain didn't help at all either!!! When I finally got to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, there was a side trail that led to a summit house and I decided to go up there because I thought Matthew had went up there to stay the night. When I got up there, he wasn't there, but it was so nice I decided to stay the night! It is a house on the top of Sugarloaf Mountain that skiers use during the winter months as a summit house. It was completely enclosed from the elements and it had a working microwave, radio, toaster, wood heater, a big comfy couch, and picnic tables! It was great to sleep on the comfortable couch!!! Matthew ended up staying at the next shelter which is called Spaulding Mountain Lean-to. Today ended up great despite all the climbs and the rain!
Date: 2003-06-15
From: Sugarloaf Mtn. Summit House

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has been a great day! I got up really early this morning and hiked 3.5 miles by 6:40 AM and got to the shelter where Matthew was and he was still asleep! He was very surprised to see me! We ended up staying at that shelter until about 12:00 and just rested up. Today is Sunday, and on my hike this morning, I started thinking about hymns. The hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" came to my mind because it starts off with "On a hill far away," and I was on a mountain. It really made me think about how much torture Jesus went through carrying the cross on His back that He died on for me and for you. The 45 pound backpack on my own back made me think of how it must have felt. It was a very good time to reflect on all God has done in my life and all He continues to do! He is so good! We left the shelter about 12:00 and headed for Poplar Ride Lean-to 8 miles away. We had a mostly downhill hike for about 4.5 miles until Orbetton Stream. After we forded the stream, we started up Poplar Ridge. It has still continued to rain today and our feet are still wet! The hike up Poplar was another long one, the end was pretty steep and we were glad to be at the top! The clouds cleared when we were on top and we had wonderful views!!!! After reaching the top, the lean-to was only half a mile so we went on down and set up our tents because the shelter was full. We met 4 other guys from Georgia today. They stayed at the shelter tonight and we had a great time talking with them about back home! Great day!
Date: 2003-06-16
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Gull Pond Lodge, Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

Wow is the word for the day! We started off the morning with 3 big climbs, each with wonderful views! The weather has been great today! It finally quit raining!!!! Our first climb was up Saddleback Junior (3655'). From the top of Saddleback Junior, we could see the other two big mountains we were about to climb. We descended down from that mountain and then started right back up The Horn. The Horn climb was a tough climb uup to 4041', but we had wonderful views at the top! We were above the treeline for about 3 miles and we could see for what seemed like forever! The views at the top definitely make the climb worthwhile! Our last mountain of the day was Saddleback Mountain (4120'). It also had great views! We could see Mt. Washington, which is in New Hampshire and we could see Rangeley, ME. After Saddleback, the rest of the day was downhill. The next 3 miles were straight downhill! Kinda tough on the knees and ankles, but atleast the rocks had dried out some from the sun. Matthew and I are both ready to get out of Maine!!! It's beautiful, but we've been in it long enough! Maine is the second longest state that the A.T. passes through. We officially completed 1/10 of the trail today! Yay! Finally seems like we've gone somewhere. We continued on and stopped at Piazza Rock Lean-to for a snack and then we made it to Highway 4, the road to Rangeley. A day hiker we had met on the top of Saddleback was parked at the road and he gave us a ride into town. We got the biggest ice cream I've ever seen today! It was atleast 10 inches above the cone!!! I had to eat it extremely fast so it wouldn't melt all over me! I couldn't believe how big it was! We are staying at Gull Pond Lodge tonight, which is a cabin on a huge pond with mountains all around. It's a beautiful spot to relax! We got a ribeye steak tonight! Yum, yum!!! We are planning on heading out tomorrow for the trail.
Date: 2003-06-17
From: Gull Pond Lodge, Rangeley, ME

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

I spent the morning in Rangeley doing some last minute things before leaving. Matthew wanted to stay one more day so he decided to wait and leave tomorrow, but I went on and we decided to meet back up in Andover, a few days hike. I didn't get started hiking until about 2:30 PM today. It was a great hike today. The weather has been great and no rain!!!! Yay! The hike was relatively flat today also, only one mountain. I got to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to at 6:30 PM. I was able to make good time. This is about the nicest lean-to on the trail yet. It has skylights in the top to allow for light late into the evening. It also has a homemade picnic table out front made of old stumps and a big old tree. It was nice to be able to eat at a table. It was set on a beautiful pond. I was the only one at the lean-to all night so I put my tent up inside the lean-to and spread my stuff out all over the place. It was great to have all that room! The tent allowed me to escape the bugs for awhile too! Today was a great day and very relaxing and enjoyable!
Date: 2003-06-20
From: Andover, ME(Andover Guest House)

To: Andover, ME(Andover Guest House)
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today has been a great day for hiking! I woke up this morning and went and ate breakfast at Addie's Place. After that, I came back to the guesthouse and got a daypack and Pegleg shuttled me out to South Arm Road where I left off. I slackpacked for 10.1 miles today. It was GREAT to hike with only a 5 pound pack instead of a 45 pound pack!!! It really rejuvenates you and helps you make great time! I did the 10.1 miles in 3 hours and 45 minutes. I started off with a hike up Moody Mountain, then I went all the way down to 1100' and then straight back up Hall Mountain and Wyman Mountain to 2935'. After those climbs, it was all downhill from there. It was a very sunny day today and no rain!!! It was kinda hot though, but atleast it didn't rain! Pegleg picked me up at East B Hill Road and was waiting for me with a cold Coke!!!! He is really nice and the Andover Guesthouse is great! It is a huge place and they have tons of movies to choose from and they keep it really clean, the cleanest hostel so far. After coming back from the trail, I came in and ordered a pizza and rested the rest of the day. Matthew came in around 3:30 PM today. He had got a ride in from South Arm Road. He is planning on slackpacking the 10.1 miles tomorrow. Andover, ME was the first place to have satellite communication I found out today. It was chosen over all the other places in the US because it is surrounded by a wall of mountains in all directions and there is a rise in the middle of the mountains and that was the perfect place to put the satellites. It's a neat little town and the people are really nice. I found out yesterday coming back from Mexico, ME that even animals have to wear head nets to cover them from the black flies and mosquitos. I saw a horse out grazing in a field with a big black head net over his head. It looked kinda funny, but it works! I hope these things are about gone! Pegleg took me and Matthew to the Lovejoy Covered Bridge this afternoon. It was really cool. It was erected in 1867 and is in great shape! We got us an ice cream tonight and restocked our food supply and we're heading back out tomorrow!
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Andover, ME(Andover Guest House)

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: few clouds

Today was a short day for me, but Matthew hiked 14.5 miles. He went back to South Arm Road this morning and slackpacked the ten miles to East B Hill Rd. and I met him at East B Hill Road and now we are caught back up with each other. We only had one mountain today in the last 4.5 miles that we both did. It is called Surplus Mtn. and it was about 2600 feet. The bottom part of my left leg was bothering me today. I have some kind of knot on it and it throbs there and then my foot falls asleep while I'm hiking. Maybe it'll get better. We got to the shelter pretty early today. We cooked supper and read a little and then we went to sleep!
Date: 2003-06-22
From: Frye Notch Lean-to

To: Speck Pond Campsite Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has been a pretty long day. We started off the morning with a hike up Baldplate Mtn. (3812'). It was above treeline and the views from the top were beautiful. I slipped coming down the mountain and fell flat on my backside. It didn't feel too good, but it reminded me that these rocks are wet!! We came down the mountain and ate at Baldplate Mtn. Lean-to. We talked with two dayhikers who were going up the mountain. After eating, we continued down the mountain and made it to Graphton Notch. There is a road to Bethel, ME and a big parking lot here. We weren't planning on going into Bethel, but we decided we might as well go on. So we go stand by the road and the first truck that comes by stops and tells us to hop in the back and a nice couple gave us a 17 mile ride into Bethel. We ate the best cheeseburger and hamburger yet in Bethel! We also got some Cokes and Dr. Pepper's and called home. We caught a ride back to the trail with a guy in a truck and he went 15 miles out of the way to give us a ride. This is just one example of how nice everyone has been to us on this trail and how God provides for His children! We got back to the trail around 5 o'clock and we still had to climb up Old Speck Mtn. before getting to the shelter. After getting back on the trail after Bethel, we entered the Appalachian Mountain Club area of the trail. This is the group that maintains this part of the trail. We were excited about reaching this point because the AMC are the maintainers in New Hampshire, so this meant we were VERY close to NH!!!!!!!!! We climbed up Old Speck, which was 4180 feet high. The sunset at the top was one of the best yet. It was a little cloudy and the sun rays were beaming through the clouds down into the valley! After watching the sunset, we continued on down the mountain to Speck Pond Shelter. This is the first shelter where we have to pay to stay. We had to pay 8 dollars a night just to stay in the shelter. They have a work for stay program, but it was late when we arrived, so we just paid! Matthew went for a swim in the cold pond and after that we sat around the campfire with a guy and his two young daughters, they were about 8 and 10 years old. They were out for the weekend and they had brought marshmellows and graham crackers and chocolate and they gave us some and we made smores. It was a nice treat! After that, we went to sleep!
Date: 2003-06-23
From: Speck Pond Campsite Lean-to

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

We left Speck Pond this morning and headed for the hardest mile on the entire Appalachian Trail. We first climbed down Mahoosuc Arm, which was a 1700 foot drop in less than a mile(very steep). We made it down that without too much harm, and then we entered the Mahoosuc Notch, which is said to be the toughest mile on the entire Appalachian Trail. Lots of years ago, a glacier went right through this mountain, and it left huge rocks and boulders in the middle, and that's what we went through. It was extremely hard! We had to climb up and down house sized boulders and some places we had to pass our packs to each other because they wouldn't fit through the tight spaces. There was snow and ice in the caves under the rocks and the cool breezes felt VERY good because it has been very hot today.   The Notch was very tough and we both agreed it was the toughest mile we've done yet. After the Notch, we had to climb up Fulling Mountain. After Fulling, we continued on to Full Goose Shelter and we stopped and had a snack. After the snack, we climbed 3 different peaks of Goose Eye Mountain and then we climbed Mt. Carlo. After Mt. Carlo, we decided to stay the night at Carlo Col Shelter, which is only .5 miles from the New Hampshire border!!!! It was hard staying that close to the border and not go on, but we decided to stay. We stayed with a guy and his two young sons who were out for the week hiking. They were all from the Boston area. We had a good time talking to them and then we went to sleep.