morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-09-06
From: Bemis Stream 

To: Route 4 Rangeley 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 15, September 6I was packed up and ready to go by 0715. I had 14 miles to hike to get to Route 4 in Rangeley. I was told after summitting Spruce Mountain it was mostly downhill with a manageable trail. Mostly true. I hiked by 3 large ponds: Moxie, Long and South ponds. If it was summer I would have stopped to take a swim. I arrived at Route 4 in Rangeley by 2:30. Once again I was greeted by trail Magic in the parking lot on Route 4. Beans and hotdogs were provided by a local couple. After eating I hiked the 0.3 miles north on Route 4 to a local hostel, the  Hiker Hut. I was able to take a wonderful shower outside, driven into Rangeley for dinner and slept in a private one bed cabin. A great grand finale for this section hike. Next summer I will pick up just after the Bigelow Range at Long Fall Dam road and hike the approximately 50 miles to Monson. The 52 miles north of Rangeley I have previously hiked. I have no desire to re hike AT miles.  Eventually I will hike the 100 mile Wilderness and summit Katahdin. I am getting close ¢14
Date: 2020-08-20
From: Long Falls Dam road

To: Pierce Pond Lean to
Miles today: 13.5

Day 1 August 20,2020Ron  dropped me off at the trail crossing on Long Falls Dam Road at 0830. It was a 2.5 drive from our home in Rockland. It took us  a few minutes to find the trail crossing. But we found it on our second pass. The weather was perfect. 60 F with a small breeze. Within 10 minutes I met 2 female south bounders. Then within 2 hours I met a group of 8 thru hikers heading north. They had been hiking together for the last 2 months. Impressive. We were all heading to the same campsite, Pierce Pond Lean to. I needed to hike 13.5 miles to get there. I averaged 2 miles an hour arriving at the Lean to at 3:30. It was easy hiking. Mostly flat and passing by 3 beautiful Maine ponds. The Pierce Pond Lean to is 0.3 miles from Harrison Pierce Pond Camps, an old Maine sporting camps since the 1930s. After I put up my tent I walked over to the sporting camp to hang out with the other thru hikers. They are much faster than me and had arrived earlier. It was nice to have fun company on my first night out. A year has passed since my AT last summer but it seems longer than a year. I think the viral pandemic has made last summer seem like a long time ago. I hope I can get back my Hiker legs before I get to Monson.
Date: 2020-08-21
From: Pierce Pond Lean to

To: Moxie Pond
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 2, August 21It started to rain around 3 am. I had to pack a wet tent. I had breakfast back at Harrison¢s fishing camp. It was a nice way to start the day on such a rainy day. It stopped raining by 9 am. I was 3.7 miles from the Ferry which provides transportation across the Kennebec River. The ferry is a canoe provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I arrived at the river at 0915 just as the canoe was coming across. My original plan was only to hike 10 miles to the next shelter but by 1 pm I was there. So I decided to push on for another 6 miles. I stealth camped at Moxie Pond. I found a lovely campsite just off the trail. I was too tired to find a tree to hang my food. So for the first I put my food bag in my tent.
Date: 2020-08-22
From: Moxie Pond

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean to
Miles today: 16.0

Day 3 August 22I slept much better my second night. I was hiking by 0645. I have been hiking faster than I anticipated and knew I would make it to Monson in 4 not 5 days. Today I hiked 16 miles to Horseshoe Canyon Lean to. I had to climb over Moxie Bald Mountain which was beautiful with views of the Kennebec River. After summitting the Mountain it was mostly flat. I had to Ford the Piscataquis river walking in 3 feet of water in my Teva sandals. It actually felt good to get my feet wet.  I arrived at the shelter at 4 pm. At the shelter I met a different group of hikers, mostly section hikers closer to my age who also are completing their last section of the Appalachian Trail. We had a lot of laughs talking about our previous AT hikes.
Date: 2020-08-23
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean to

To: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hiker hostel
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Day 4 August 23There was a great group of hikers at the Horseshoe Canyon Lean to. All 7 of us were section hikers completing our last section of the Appalachian Trail. We were all over 40 years old. We all talked about the challenges ofOf returning every year and re acquiring our Hiker legs. I slept well and was awake by 0530. I was hiking by 0620. I had 9 miles to route 15 where I was picked up by the Shaw¢s hostel in Monson. It was an easy hike out. There were a few river crossing one of which included walking over a beaver dam.  The Knats were out but I put on my sunglasses which somewhat stopped them from entering my eyes. I have developed blisters On the soles of both feet just below the big toe. For blisters on the soles of feet dick tape has worked really well for me  I will have to get some at the hostel. I arrived at the Maine Rt 15 parking lot at 11 am. A school bus owned by a previous thru Hiker was waiting there to shuttle myself and 2 other southbound hikers to the hostel.
Date: 2020-08-24
To: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hiker hostel 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 5 August 24I took A zero day at Shaws hostel. It was great to sleep in until 7 o¢clock. They provide a huge breakfast but I knew it would be too much food for me to eat. So I decided to eat some of my homemade granola. I really enjoyed the coffee and orange juice. At breakfast I ate with 2 other hikers who had decided to slack pack on Tuesday due to the predictions of heavy rain. Slack pack means basically day hiking and returning to the hostel at night. One of the hikers, Rickflipper, is a middle aged thru Hiker, who made the comment that at our age we have more ¢cash than cartilage¢ welcoming the opportunity to slack pack. So I decided also to slack pack with them and will end up staying 3 nights at Shaw¢s hostel. Rockflipper also gave me great tape to put on my blisters. My feet feel better.
Date: 2020-08-25
From: Maine route 15, Monson 

To: Long Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 6, August 25I  decided not to slack pack because it meant another night at the hostel and I wanted to keep moving north and camping at the Lean-to. The morning you leave a hostel you leave on their time schedule which was 0815. I usually start hiking by 7 am. I did not arrive at the trailhead until 0845. I had 15 miles to hike to stay on my time schedule of getting thru the ? Mile Wilderness in 7 days. I knew I would not get to the Long Pond Stream Lean to until 6 pm. Thunderstorms were predicted for the morning. Sure enough at 0915, thirty minutes into my hike the thunder and heavy rain arrived. My rain gear was in the top of my back so I did not get wet. It rained for a few hours so my socks and hiking shoes were soaked. I had to ford Big Wilson stream in the afternoon. I changed into my Teva sandals and hung my hiking shoes off of my pack. I got over the river without difficulty. I arrived at the shelter by 5:30. Initially I was by myself but sure enough by 7 PM the hikers that I had met at the hostel arrived. It is always good to have company at the shelters. As usual I slept in my tent.
Date: 2020-08-26
From: Long Pond shelter

To: Katadhin Iron Works Road
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 7, August 26, Wednesday It was very windy last night. But I was warm in my tent. I was ready to go by 7 am. It continued to be windy all day. At one point I was getting cold and needed to put on another layer. My hands were cold too and I forgot to bring my gloves. I used a pair of socks for about an hour. The wind died down. I hiked a hard 15 miles over 4 mountains through the Barren Chairback range. I descended to Katadhin Iron Works road around 5 pm. I quickly found a stealth camp by the river. The night before in the previous shelter I met a thru hiker, Dude Man, who has been hiking since Georgia. His wife is following him in an RV camper. Dude Man, invited all of us at the shelter to join him at his RV camper the following evening for dinner. I was the first one to arrive for dinner. Dude man¢s wife provided me with a wonderful baked bean casserole, chips and a soda. Soon after eating my dinner the rest of the friends I had been hiking with, cinnamon girl, wilderness hawk, snoboat, greygoose, Rockflipper and shaggy arrived for the baked beans dinner. We all stealth camped together down by the river.
Date: 2020-08-27
From: Katahdin Iron Works Road

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 8, August 27, Thursday Last night I stealth camped off of Katadhin Iron Works Road with 6 other hikers. I always appreciate the company at night. I was hiking by 0645. Within 1/2 mile I had to ford the West Branch of the Pleasant River. After fording the river I immediately hiked into the Hermitage, home to old growth pines. The Hermitage is a national landmark owned by the Nature Conservancy. After the Hermitage I summited Gulf Hagus, West Peak, Hay and White Cap Mountains. From White Cap I had panoramic views including Katadhin. From the top of White Cap Mountain I had excellent cell phone reception. The hostel I stayed at in Monson asked that I call to confirm that I would be arriving the next day at 2 PM for my food drop. By 5:30 I was at my next Shelter, East Branch.
Date: 2020-08-28
From: East Branch Lean to

To: Antlers Campsite 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 9, August 28, Friday Today was a much easier hike. I only had to hike over Little Boardman Mountain. After this Mountain it was relatively flat to Jo Mary road. I hiked by a beautiful pond called Crawford pond. I have been so impressed by the number of ponds in the 100 mile wilderness. So remote and beautiful. I arrived in time for my 2 PM food drop. Dude man¢s wife was also there with her RV and invited me to again enjoy her a good cooking and comfortable chairs by her RV. I stayed on the Joe Mary road for almost 2 hours which included taking a bath in the river by the road. From Joe Mary Road I had 4 miles to hike to the highly recommended antlers campsite. The trail was flat and easy and I arrived at The Antlers campsite by 5 PM. Soon after my group of hikers friends arrived as well. We all enjoyed dinner together and watching the sunset over antler lake. The picture I have included for this day is actually the sunrise over antler lake the next morning.
Date: 2020-08-29
From: Antler Campsite 

To: Rainbow Lean to
Miles today: 22.5

Day 10, August 29, Saturday I left Antler Lake campground at 0630. I had 21.5 miles to hike to Rainbow Lean to. Rain was predicted to arrive by 0900. I wanted a few hours of dry hiking. Sure enough it arrived at 1000. It was a constant rain all day. The rain made the hiking slow going having to navigate all the wet rocks and roots. I stopped at every lean to to take a break from the rain and use the privy. I finally arrived at rainbow lean to at 5:30 - eleven hours of hiking. It was raining when I arrived so I decided to stay in the lean to against my better judgement. There were 6 of us: 4 men and 2 women. The snoring factor which I anticipated was actually mild. What kept me awake and miserable most of the night was the overwhelming body odor. It was a long night for me and I was eager to wake up at 5:30, Pack my pack, eat breakfast and leave as quickly as possible.
Date: 2020-08-30
From: Rainbow lean to

To: Abol Bridge Campground 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 11, August 30, Sunday After a sleepless night I was eager to get up and leave the lean to. I was hiking by 0630. I had 16 miles to Abol bridge which is just before the perimeter of Baxter State Park. The rain had stopped but everything was wet. My plan was to meet Rockflipper and shaggy at the Abol Bridge store and campground on the Golden road. It was easy hiking and I was at the campground by 1:30. I was determined to sleep in my tent to ensure a quiet night. The campground is on the West branch of the Penobscot River. The wind was rolling off the river directly into the campground. I had to use about 20 rocks to hold down my tent. When Rockflipper and shaggy arrived they rented a small cabin and invited me to join them. The predicted low for the night was 47 F and probably 10 degrees lower with the wind. My bag only goes to 37 F. So I took them up on their invitation, took down my tent and joined them in the cabin. What a relief to get out of the wind. I slept well that night.
Date: 2020-08-31
From: Abol Bridge campground

To: Katahdin Stream Campground 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Day 12, August 31, Monday The campsite included breakfast so we all slept in until 0630. It was great to sleep on a mattress and have a flushing toilet next door. I was hiking by 0830. I only had to hike 10 miles to the Katadhin Stream Campground. Within 1 mile I had to ford a river because the bridge burned down in May 2020. It was an easy river crossing. Realizing that I was hiking the remaining miles of the Appalachian trail I took my time. I took a couple pictures, ate a leisurely lunch and arrived at Katahdin Stream Campground at 2 PM. I registered with the Ranger, dropped my pack off at my reserved lean to and waited for my husband to arrive at 5 PM. After he arrived we walked over to the official campground, the birches, for section and thru hikers to check in with my new hiker friends. We were all going to try to reach Katahdin within an hour of each other so we could all celebrate together.
Date: 2020-09-01
From: Katahdin Stream Campground 

To: Katahdin 
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I didn¢t sleep that well the night before. I think anticipating the final day of hiking the Appalachian Trail kept me awake most of the night. But we did start hiking by 0650 hours.  The other hikers I had been hiking with left at 0600 hours. But we were able to catch up with them within 50 minutes.  I have climbed Katahdin twice before so I was somewhat prepared for the significant bouldering and hand holds of the rocks that you need to do to reach the table lands. Still it was quite challenging at times. We reached the summit within three hours. Cinnamon girl had left at 0500 hours and was up there waiting for us. She graciously offered to video me walking up to the Katahdin sign and posing for the long anticipated look of triumph standing on top of the sign with my poles raised high. We spent an hour on the summit enjoying the beautiful weather and panoramic views. Ron also brought along ashes from our dog Hazel who had died in 2015 when I started hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Dogs are not allowed in Baxter State Park. We had promised Hazel that she would get into the park after she died via her ashes.  We were off the mountain by 2:30, in our car by 3 PM and arrived at our lovely home on coastal Maine by 6 PM. It was an amazing day. Almost hard to comprehend  that so much could happen in one day.  Before I left for this last section of the Appalachian trail I read a quote by the Buddha :Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that the final victory comes. I think this quote summarizes my experience of the Appalachian trail. It took a lot of discipline but also tremendous support from family and friends to accomplish the Goal of completing the Appalachian Trail. I also want to thank the hikers I met during this hike: Rockflipper, Cinnamon Girl, Wilderness Hawke, Greygoose, Snoboat and Shaggy. With the exception of Rockflipper, the rest were also completing the Appalachian Trail after several years of diligently returning to the trail each summer. Rockflipper is a thru hiker and will complete the AT in 4-6 weeks. Go Rockflipper!
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We have finished 454 miles of the PCT we are on our way home to Virginia to get back to work and prepare for our AT southbound hike we have been talking about a Southbound for sometime and since being on the PCT we have missed the AT and the mtns. So, we figured we would just go back to work and get ready for the 2015 hike. We plan to also do the rest of the LT when we get to the long trail inn we plan to shuttle to Canada and do the rest of the LT back down to the long trail inn and reconnect with the AT. God bless to everyone and we loo forward to seeing all our dear friends on the AT.
Date: 2014-02-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It is hard to imagine that in less than 4 months we are on the trail again. We plan to hike the AT and LT plus hike 65 miles on the Benton Mckaye trail then 290 on the Pinhotti trail and then road walk 190 miles in Alabama down to the Florida Trail and hike 1100 down to the road walk to Key West. This past weekend we hiked 5 miles on the Cumberland Trail from Cumberland Gap towards Chattanooga TN. The trail is around 300 miles and runs along ridge line in Tenn. When completed the trail will be part of a long trail about 1800 miles. We are going to Dahlonaga in March to the hiker weekend and will take Spirit to springer on March 15 to begin her hike to Damascus for trail days. God Bless and hope to see everyone on the trail. We were also in a bad wreck two weeks ago and totaled our Kia Soul but Gods hand was upon us and we didn't get hurt. We hit a deer going 60 miles an hr hate to say but the deer was not as fortunate as we were.
Date: 2014-06-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

First of all happy fathers day to all the fathers but most of all thanks to our father above. We drove to Waynesboro to the church hostel to meet our dear friend Gypsy Sol so we could hike this weekend. We met up with two old friends who run the hostel Woody and Irma, so we sat at the church and socialized with the hikers and our friends until Gypsy showed up. We rented a room for the night due to Gypsy arriving late and lighting over the mtns. Saturday we drove to the Tye river and hiked 1.7 on the AT until we took the Mau-Har trail 3 miles up to the Maupin Field Shelter. We sat and ate lunch while talking to a daughter and her parents thru-hiking the AT. Its wonderful seeing families spending time together on the AT. The funny thing was they asked if we knew late 4 dinner and of course we hiked the hundred mile wilderness and summitted Katahadin with him. We always say when you are on the trail it makes the world a small place. We then hiked 9 miles on the AT back to the Tye river and camped next to the river. Then we drove home this morning because ratmans son was cooking dinner for fathers day. It was great hiking on the AT but ratman said his knees and feet hurt worse hiking 14 miles on the AT than all 454 miles hiked on the PCT. God Bless and thank u gypsy for coming out and hiking with us we wish u the best and again ur a very special person in our hearts.
Date: 2014-08-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Just thought I would journal since it has been a while. We miss the trail but will start our thru-hike of the AT SOBO June 1st. We regret leaving the PCT so soon after 450 miles. We developed pics of our hike and wished we would have kept with it. We have talked and decided we want to try and be triple crowners so we will do the AT next year the PCT in 2016 and finish up with the CDT in 2017. We have some friends who are going to do the PCT in 2016 so we have decided to hike the PCT with them. We have been spending time with the family, spending yesterday taking the grandkids to the Knoxville Zoo and then keeping them overnight. We then went to church this morning, it was a blessing to spend the weekend with the grandkids. We have to go meet Ratmans brother in Biloxi Mississippi to pickup his mom who has spent a month in Texas. God bless to everyone and pray that all is well with everyone and your families.
Date: 2014-08-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We spent this weekend hiking near Brevard, NC. The trail is called Panthertown valley trail. We hiked 12 miles Saturday and 1.5 back to the car Sunday. If u have never heard of this trail look it up on the internet. It is a good trail with great campsites everywhere on the trail. There are 5 waterfalls on this trail and some neat little towns around the area. Sapphire,caches,brevard and panthertown. I highly recommend this trail if u have a spare weekend. God Bless and hope ur week is blessed.
Date: 2014-09-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Tomorrow is our 3 year wedding anniversary and I want to wish my wife, tumbler a happy anniversary. I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with she is a kind,loving and God fearing women who is the perfect hiking partner and I can't wait to hike the AT SOBO next yr with her. Also would like to thank all of those who finished their thru-hike on Sept. 17 two yes ago and celebrated our 1 yr anniversary on top of Kahtadin. God Bless and only 8 more months before flying to Maine and starting our journey.
Date: 2014-10-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday we hiked 13.3 miles in cades cove. We started at cades cove canpgraound and hiked 1.6 miles and then hiked 3.5 miles on the russell field trail. We reached the shelter around 1pm. We sat there and talked to 5 other hikers. We then hiked another 3 miles to spence field via the ATwhere we reached elevation of 5000 ft. We then hiked 1.7 down to Bote Mountain trail. From there we hiked 3.5 miles back down to the car. We loved being back on the AT. It makes us miss it even more. We loved the fall colors and seeing Gods beauty. Today we had our annual fall church picnic. It was a beautiful blessed day.
Date: 2014-11-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are sitting here enjoying the snow and thinking it is only 7 months until we start our SOBO of the AT. We have decided if the weather is good and the funds don't run out we would like to hike the LT also and when we reach springer cont on the Benton Mckaye trail then onto the pinhotti trail down to the Florida trail down to Key West. We hope everyone had a happy Halloween. We had trunk or treat at our church and we were Adam and Eve. We hand out candy to the kids and parents at stations dressed as bible characters. We read a verse and tell who we are and what we represent in the bible. By the end the kids and parents get a tour of the bible along with candy,coffee,hot chocolate and popcorn. We want wish everyone happy holidays and God Bless to all.
Date: 2014-11-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are happy to have our dear friend that we met on the AT in 2012 here visiting this weekend. Today while tumbler had to teach we went hiking to little stony falls which is a 5.2 mile hike. We picked up tumbler at 4 and went Kingsport to eat at Macadoos then drove to Bristol Motor Speedway to see the Christmas lights. Tomorrow we are hiking 14 miles to the sand cave,white rocks and Hensley settlement. Then were going to Ratmans sons 30th bd party. We have been talking about our thru-hike next year and also discussing plans of going back out and hiking the PCT with our friend Gypsy Sol. We hope all have a blessed Thanksgiving and God Bless.
Date: 2014-12-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We pray that everyone has a blessed Christmas and we hope u have a happy new year. We have been so blessed the past month with our church. We participated in blankets across America and gave 375 blankets,coats and socks in 2hrs. We also fed 500 for thanksgiving. The church adult play and the children's play went well with the church filled. We can't believe it's only 5 days until the new hiking season starts. We are still hiking up to Springer mtn for New Years with friends. We only have 5 months until we start our 4200 mile hike we so looking forward to start hiking. God Bless to everyone.