morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-09-22
From: East B Hill Rd. (Pine Ellis Hiking Lodge)

To: South Arm Rd/Black Brook Campsite
Miles today: 10.1

In the morning, I headed over to the post office, only to find that my package was not there! My Aunt Kathy had sent it, but I just think that it was a result of the USPS screwing it up. As a result of the package not arriving, we had to re-supply at the very expensive General Store in town, which had very limited food resupply options. In the early afternoon, Jungli, Odin, and I headed back to the trailhead. We had planned on slackpacking north (Jungli doesn¢t hike south ¢ or, so she claims) up and over the very steep Moody Mountain. The sun had been setting earlier and earlier each night and we knew that we would be pressing our luck to make it to the other side ¢ South Arm Rd. ¢ by nightfall to pick up our packs. We hiked efficiently and quickly until we reached Sawyer Brook, which is at the base of Moody Mountain. Over a very short .9 miles, we climbed nearly 1,400 ft, a stretch that included traversing across an avalanche of large sheets rocks and trees that had slammed into the trail. Conditions were so bad that the MATC had to re-route the trail to some 90-degree metal rebar that we had to climb. Once on top of Moody Mtn at 2,440 ft. the views of the setting sun and golden rays shining on the changing colors of fall foliage were just wonderful. There was a stealth spot off to the side and Jungli and I agreed that had we not been slackpacking, it would have been a wonderful place to camp. On the other side of the mountain, we met up with Ducky, who we had met in Gorham, and the BC Squared (Buttchinz and Big Camera). I still wasn¢t feeling very good and decided to hit the ¢tent¢ early.
Date: 2009-09-23
From: South Arm Rd/Black Brook Campsite

To: Bemis Stream Campsite
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Although ¢chinz, Big Camera, and Jungli and I woke up at the same time, I stayed behind in my tent after they had left and tried to rest my sick body. I just felt terrible! Chinese Tourist showed up a few hours later; he told me about the night before and how he cruelly but delightfully ¢smooshed¢ a mouse under his foot in the shelter. Beechucks arrived later on and we hiked out together. Beechucks absolutely cracks me up. You just can¢t take him seriously. Half of the time he has food stuck in his beard and the other half of the time he¢s being an idiot and making crazy jokes. We hiked up Old Blue Mtn from 1,410 ft. to 3,600 ft. over 2.8 miles. There was virtually no water on this section and we had to carry several liters over a 7-8 mile stretch. It was nighttime when I had reached the Bemis Mtn Lean-To, but I wanted to keep pushing on to re-connect with Jungli and the BC¢s. On the northern end of Bemis, the trail turned into an intricate maze of rocks and cairns that were very difficult to follow ¢ especially with the setting sun. On several occasions, I became lost and had to walk southbound in order to find an existing cairn and to get my bearings straight. There were ominous clouds up ahead and I was worried that I would get caught in a rainstorm. Well, I did. It was VERY steep heading down to Bemis Stream and the rain just came pouring down, forcing me to slow down to a crawl. I¢m glad that I did, however, as I certainly did not want to take a tumble. Up above, I could see a fire burning far in the distance and figured that it was my friends. BC2 is a professional at making fires ¢ even in the rain ¢ and I figured that it was he who was at the campsite. Sure enough, when I descended a little bit further, I saw them off to the side and scampered over to join them. The rain came and went and we were able to cook our food by the fire with the sound of Bemis Stream running in the background.
Date: 2009-09-25
From: South Pond Campsite (close to Maine 4)

To: Behind IGA Supermarket (Rangeley, Maine)
Miles today: 2.1

In the morning, we packed up our camp and hiked back to the trail en route to Maine 4, the road to take us into Rangeley. We managed to get a hitch right away by a man who was teaching army survival classes at a local base close to Saddleback Mountain. He dropped us off at the IGA to resupply, where we also saw ¢chinz, Big Camera, and a few of the others. We wanted to do some laundry and take showers, but there wasn¢t really a place in town to do it. So, ¢chinz asked the owner of Gull Pond Lodge if we could come back with him and he said that this would be okay. While back at the hostel, we were able to do our laundry (much needed) and shower up (also much needed) and rest up with some of our hiking buddies. Big Camera and Ramble On were crazy and ran out into the pond and started swimming in the frigid water. My balls would have been frozen if I had done that. We then made a few phone calls in town and walked our way to the IGA, where we re-connected with CHEF!!! He was sick too and slowly recovering from a nasty cold. What surprised us the most was that he had been sleeping in the woods directly behind the IGA supermarket. We thought that it would have been a good location, but we seriously had to ¢bushwhack¢ our way through these thick fields and bypass large piles of scattered branches. His tent was set up all the way behind, but the ground was still very lumpy, rocky and thick with weeds and brush. Jungli and I surprised ourselves at being able to set up our tents in such a small, but rugged area. After dark, we watched Chef cook a zesty honey mustard basted chicken on top of our fire and we listened to a large moose making strange noises in the distance behind us.
Date: 2009-09-28
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-To

To: Stratton, ME (Stratton Motel & Hostel)
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

In the morning, we awoke to a completely saturated campground and to the beat of Chef s  Peanut Butter Jelly  song, which eventually became the anthem for us in the last month on the trail. The song, itself, is a program on Chef s iPhone, which has a banana wearing a baseball cap do some crazy dance moves and sing a rap of  peanut butter jelly . I think that it woke up Spice Rack in the process. Poor Odin decided to sleep out in the storm, which was so strong that it made his tent nearly collapse. Last night, as I was climbing back into the shelter, my Polar Pure iodine bottle fell from the shelter floor onto the ground floor, smashing into tens of pieces. I would now have to drink water straight from the source and risk getting giardia or cryptosporidium, or I would have to borrow a purifier from one of the members of the Vortex. Later on in the morning, the group re-convened down by the river below, at one of the most picturesque moments of the trail. The fall foliage was in full effect, the river was swollen with water due to the rains, and we were all there to enjoy one another s company. Initially, we had joked around that we would pull the plank for Odin that lay across two rocks that helped us to not get swept away by the river. This lunch was also around the time when Chef pulled out his infamous dentures that he found on the trail. Yes, Chef literally found these fake dracula dentures out on the trail and then put them into his mouth as a joke. As the rest of the group went on to get up and over the Crocker Mountains, Odin decided to take a blue-blaze, wandering a few miles to the main road and then getting a hitch into the town of Stratton. On top of North Crocker Mountain, we all stopped to allow Chef to use his phone to call into town to see about a pickup and some potential camping opportunities. He had been trying to get the phone number of a pizza place to see if we could camp out back. Eventually, he tried the post office as per Jungli s suggestion and when they didn t know, he responded,  That s okay. I ll just call my mom . As Chef is a grown man of 30 years, we started cracking up at the mom comment. The guy who worked for the hostel came to pick us up and took us to the hostel. When we were fairly refeshed, we went out to get some food and then returned to the hostel. We sat around drinking some beer and wine until Chef abruptly and unexpectedly picked up the wine bottle, turned it at a 90 degree angle, in which the wine flowed violently into the cup below. I was completely shocked, so I went to grab Chef s arm and the wine flew all over the place. I had no idea what the hell he was doing, but in the end, Chef told us that working at these restaurants, he used to do this all the time for his clients. We were absolutely cracking up.
Date: 2009-09-29
From: Stratton, ME (Stratton Motel & Hostel)

To: Horns Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: broken clouds

In the morning, we awoke to Chef and Beechucks making some breakfast and pancakes in the hostel. It was absolutely delicious and we all filled our bellies with some quality home cookin . Then, it was time to resupply and prepare ourselves for heading back out into the woods. In the early afternoon, everyone had readied themselves to leave, but I stayed behind making phone calls and re-connecting with friends and family to assure them that all was well. Jungli s package was somehow magically found at the post office, but as we waited around for a while, a very heavy rain came out of nowhere and just bucketed down on us. We were holed up inside the post office for about 30 minutes, before we decided to brave the weather and attempt to get a hitch to return to the trail. Luckily, within 10 minutes, a truck passed by and we both jumped into the back cabin and headed back to the trailhead. On the way, it was freezing, as the rain continued to come down on top of us and the cold was exacerbated by the moving wind against our bodies. Then, once back at the trailhead, the rain stopped, lol. As we crossed the highway, we both marveled at the wonderful fall colours of Maine. It was absolutely spectacular, especially after a rainstorm with the sun just beginning to peek through. We have had a history of night-hiking and tonight was no exception. As the darkness descended, we were forced to climb over 2,000 vertical feet with our headlamps on. Additionally, the heavy rains and winds came through again and we had some difficulty getting up the mountain without being able to see each step. A huge lightening and thunderstorm flashed and rumbled nearby and I wanted to get up and over the mountain as quickly as possible to ensure that not strikes could possibly hit us. We finally made it to the Horns Pond Lean-To area, but as we were stuck inside a large cloud and a thick blanket of mist, we were unable to locate the shelter. There was a pond nearby and we spent some 30 minutes wandering around trying desperately to determine where the shelter(s) might be. I started shouting for our friends into the cold, murky beyond attempting to get a response from them. I was told later on that Odin immediately knew that it was me shouting, sitting straight up and saying  That is Tully. That is DEFINITELY Tully.  So, they started yelling back. We still had some trouble finding the path leading to the shelter, but eventually we found it and arrived to greet our friends. We set up our sleeping bags and pads in the adjacent shelter and cooked our food in near silence, listening to the breeze pass up and over the trees.
Date: 2009-10-01
From: Long Falls Dam Rd. (2000 miles)

To: Pierce Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up and started walking alongside the beautiful ponds. It was another very windy and cold day and we recognized that the weather was really changing. Early in the morning, we caught up to Bottom Bunk and Spice Rack at the West Carry Pond Lean-To. We had just missed our friend Ducky, whom we had met all the way back in Gorham and then saw again at the second Andover, ME road crossing. She had to make the Kennebec Ferry, which only operated between 9 am and 11 am and was told that she left the shelter at 2 am with her dog in order to hike all through the night, some 14 miles, and arrive in time for the ferry crossing. She had skipped a few very small sections of the trail earlier on, but was so determined to make them up and complete her hike that she was driving all over the northeast and was prepared to drive all the way down to North Carolina to finish something like a 7-mile section. Incredible dedication. The BC s followed shortly after, with Big Camera adding to his tally of running over 200 miles of the trail. This section was of endless ponds and beautiful views of glacial lakes. We made it into Pierce Pond Lean-To, where Chef and Beechucker made another huge fire. Ahh, the warmth of nature. At this point, all of my clothing was completely wet and in a futile attempt to dry the clothing, I hung it over the fire. Some of it did dry, but with it came loads of ashes and a smell of fire that would stay with me all the way to Katahdin. We are all excited about getting some pancakes in the morning.
Date: 2009-10-03
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-To

To: Moxie Bald Lean-To
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Beechucker, Odin, and the BC s decided to adventure-blaze as they were getting a bit anxious to get to Katahdin. Chucks continued to crack us up by telling us that upon finishing the trail, he would retire from walking. So, the four of them literally, walked the 5-mile section of the trail BACK to the road in the Caratunk, the same 5-mile section that they had just skipped the night before, all to catch a hitch to Monson. In true Vortex spirit...lol. Chef, Jungli, and I decided to keep pressing on en route to Monson. Strangely, I was the first one to get out of camp in the morning and enjoyed climbing the steep mountain of Pleasant Pond. The rains came down harshly again and, by the time I made it to Bald Mountain Brook Lean-To, I was freezing again. At this point, I took out my sleeping bag and climbed inside to get warm. In the process, I started to do sit-ups and push-ups while in the sleeping bag just to get the blood flowing so that my body could warm up. Chef caught up and we both had lunch together, before a guy who was a scout leader popped out of the woods to say hello. Jungli caught up a short while later and then we all departed at roughly the same time.Moxie Bald Mountain was another tough climb. There was actually a short way, which bypassed the summit, but I wanted to stay on the trail so I just kept going. Up on top, the wind was so fierce that it nearly knocked me over on several occasions and the small drops of rain were flying horizontally, smacking me in my eyes and blurring my vision. It was a mini-hurricane on top of the mountain and I was happy to get to an area that wasn t so wind-exposed. This was when I checked my voicemail on my KrapFone (formerly known as TracFone) and received several messages, one of which was from our good friend Willow, who was entering into the wilderness a few days earlier. Although she wasn t with us, it was at least great to hear her voice again. Upon getting to the other side of the mountain, I kept plodding along arriving at the shelter later on in the evening. As I turned the corner, I heard and saw Chef singing and dancing the  Peanut Butter Jelly  song. Talk about a great melody...Jungli also took the high mountain route and arrived some 30 minutes later. At night, it was one of the worst rains we have ever had. The roof of the shelter started leaking all over Jungli. She woke up and we both had to position ourselves perpendicular to the shelter to avoid getting soaked. The rain continued and we had to slam ourselves up against the shelter wall. Chef was dry on the other side of the shelter and didn t wake up when we yelled to him.
Date: 2009-10-06
From: Monson, ME (ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs)

To: Little Wilson Stream Camp
Miles today: 10.1

In the morning, it was all business. We packed up our belongings and spent an hour (or two or three for me) organizing our food drops. Because the 100-mile-wilderness was such a considerable distance, we were paying a guy at Shaw s some $16 each to drive our food on one of the few logging roads four days into the wilderness so that we wouldn t have to carry such a tremendous load. Jungli, 10 x 10 and I headed back to the blue-blaze where we had left off ensuring that we were completing each mile of the trail. We crossed Maine 15 and came up to the sign warning us of the wilderness.   CAUTION. THERE ARE NO PLACES TO OBTAIN SUPPLIES OR GET HELP UNTIL ABOL BRIDGE 100 MILES NORTH. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS SECTION UNLESS YOU HAVE A MINIMUM OF 10 DAYS SUPPLIES AND ARE FULLY EQUIPPED. THIS IS THE LONGEST WILDERNESS SECTION OF THE ENTIRE AT AND ITS DIFFICULTY SHOULD NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED. GOOD HIKING! M.A.T.C.  We were cracking jokes about the sign, not realizing that we were in for a very special ride in the wilderness. At the first shelter, the Leeman Brook Lean-To, we met up with the BC s again and also Big Camera s brother, Leprechaun, and his friend, Timber. I hadn t seen them since Palmerton, Pennsylvania over 1,000 miles ago! Knowing that they were pressed for time, they decided to jump up to do the wilderness and Katahdin before the park rangers closed down the park. It was good to get news from behind, as we had no idea who was off and who was still on. They were saying that Blue Eyes  knees had been hurting him and he made one valiant effort for Katahdin, but just was hurting so badly that he couldn t go on. We were devastated for BE because he was a good spirit on the trail and was so determined to make it to Katahdin. Our bud, Gnarley, was still going, but he was still a good ways behind at that point. Later, I would find out that we missed Gnarley s arrival by just one day. The 67-year-old Floater was still plugging away and was doing a section further south, as he had previously jumped up to Katahdin to get this out of the way. Regarding Floater, I found out that he finished his hike somewhere in the northeast in some two feet of snow on January 2nd, 2010 an incredible feat. He had always said that he wanted to be the last class of 2009 thru-hiker to finish the trail. He very well may have succeeded in doing so. Jungli and I plodded along into darkness to Little Wilson Stream, which we would have to ford the next morning. The temperature plummeted again and we ate with our headlamps on, not saying much, and just concentrating on staying warm. Although we were camping, several mice came over and were running in and out of the campfire and trying to steal any morsel of food that would fall out of my food.
Date: 2009-10-09
From: Chairback Gap Lean-To

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-To
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

In the morning, we all said goodbye to Odin again. Chef showed up and the BC s followed shortly after. They wanted to catch up to us to ensure that they would be able to receive their food drop the following day. Everyone left the shelter and I asked Odin to do his famous hand-clap one last time. Odin seems to be double-jointed and he does this thing in which his hand flies back and forth violently hitting the palm of his hand and the backside of his hand in a rapid motion. He also explained to us about his  Euell Games  party, in which all of his friends gather to get drunk a weekend around Christmas and have wild drinking competitions. If I remember correctly, the one was where his friends play power hour continuously to the point where if you tap out to go to the bathroom or you go to the bathroom in your pants, you lose. It is basically to determine who has the largest bladder. Another one is who has the largest beard. Who can consume the largest amount of food determined by weight (be it pumpkin pie or spaghetti). Odin also was in a  band  in high school. You might even be able to google his hit song,  Where s My Pig! Leaving the shelter, I descended down the mountain and passed the famous Katahdin Iron Works Logging Road that led to a former iron smeltering plant in the woods that developed into its own community and created its own cultural environment. I then arrived at the West Branch Pleasant River, which was another river ford. This time, the water was ICY cold and virtually unbearable. I saw Beechucks on the other side of the river and he waited for me to cross, but then pushed on as I wanted to use the body warmth from my hands to warm up my feet. Continuing on, I made it to the Carl Newhall Lean-To, but had just missed Jungli and Chef by 10 minutes. They wanted to push on a bit farther to set them up for the food drop the next morning, as Chef was going to try to coordinate this from the top of one of the upcoming mountains. Beechucks, the BC s and I decided to stay, as it continued to rain and everything was saturated. That evening, as we lay awake in our sleeping bags, we talked about our former lives, our jobs, our loved ones, and our future. Despite having hiked with them for miles, it was one of the first times that I was really able to get to know Buttchinz and Big Camera a bit better ¢ to know where they came from, what they were doing, and where they had intended to go. I enjoyed it immensely.
Date: 2009-10-15
From: Millinocket

To: KATAHDIN!!!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well folks, I'm in Millinocket at the moment - at the northern terminus of the trail - and some cold weather has entered the region at a bad time. Rangers have closed the mountain for the past three days due to excessive snow and ice on top of Katahdin. We did the 10-mile section between Abol Bridge and Katahdin Springs Campground yesterday, enjoying beautiful views of the snow-capped mountains in the area, including the grandiose Katahdin that stands like a giant from all others. Never before have I stood at the base of a mountain, where the sides continue to rise so steeply towards the heavens. Despite arriving at the park 'early' (the mountain closes October 15 or when inclement weather wreaks havoc on the mountain), we have missed the opportunity to summit by two days. Park rangers believe that it will be closed for the rest of the season and will not re-open. They have already had to helicopter several people off the mountain this year and as the conditions worsen, the more dangerous a summit attempt and, potentially, a rescue attempt will be. Obviously, the group that has been holed up here for the past few days are incredibly discouraged; however, we must lift our heads high for we have so much of which to be proud. Above all, we have been part of something so special that is beyond explanation. We have made friendships that will last more than a lifetime...at least in spirit. More personally, I'm proud that I can say that I have walked every single mile on the Appalachian Trail and have refused to skip any section, hiking all 2,173.2 miles, a mere 5.1 miles short of the Katahdin/Baxter Peak. We cannot summit because the rangers have said that it is far too dangerous; it is certainly not out of a lack of determination or a lack of will. Some things are just more important than a final picture and a final summit. This experience has truly taught us that it is the journey - NOT the destination. This entry will be short and, hopefully, when I'm back home in the comfort of my friends and family, I'll be able to express my thoughts and feelings in a more apt manner. Until then, please know that I thank everyone for their love and support during this incredible journey. It has helped me greatly along the way. As I wrote to my aunt in a recent postcard: I want you all to know that it has not been MY journey, but OUR journey. To my fellow thru-hikers who managed to climb the summit: Many congratulations!!! You deserved every second up on top of that peak! To those who were not able to summit due to the park closing: have faith...it might not be this year, but someday, we are going to get up that mountain..and we are going to love it. Have patience, for it is a virtue. For those who wish to see her in all of her snow and glory, here she is: www.katahdincam.com. Peace and love to all, TULLY