morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-08
From: Shaw's Lodging 

To: Day 119
Miles today: 0.0

Boy it's been great lounging around and being super lazy for two days. I've just been flipping through the channels, eating taco pizza, playing Scatergories, and watching one freaked-out hiker after another trickle into Shaw's. It hasn't gotten much better out there it seems. Yak, Stitch, and Arrow got stuck at the same river that I almost drowned in and had to backtrack until they found a flooded old jeep road, then they waded 8 miles down the road until they found blacktop and were able to hitch here. Luckily Dawn, one of the caretakers here, has a big ass Jeep and knows the unmapped logging roads and old Forrest Service roads in the 100-mile like the back of her hand. She's been making regular trips out into the Wilderness in search of lost souls. People around here don't play when it comes to wilderness survival.   I'm glad that I've been able to take shelter for a while and recoup a bit. But, alas, my home is out there is the mangled, flooded wilderness. The boys and I have been in a fiercely competitive board game tournament for a while and it's all about to culminate in a winner-take-all game of Risk. After that, it's time to sleep, eat, and hike all over again. It is a pretty surreal feeling that I'm feeling right now. I've just barely gotten myself out of the woods in one piece. I just was able to calm my nerves and get myself clean, dry, fed, and rested, all the while knowing that I would be right back in the shit before long. And here I am on the night before my departure looking around at all of these clean, safe hikers who are telling me that it's crazy to try to hike out right now. To hell with it, at least I won't be road-walking like a bitch.
Date: 2011-09-09
From: Shaw's Lodging 

To: Day 120
Miles today: 15.1

This is it. Do or die time. Go big or go home. Separate the men from the boys. All that stuff. I got up early this morning and ate one more AYCE breakfast. Then I loaded up my pack with 9 days worth of food, two 12 oz bottles of champagne fir Katahdin, and way too much weight in snacks/candy (thanks to Pop for the killer mail-drop and to Mom for the $ I needed for a 3-night stay in the hostel.) The crew and I were back on-trail just before 9:00 Am and were ready for anything. One final push straight to the top of Katahdin. This will be no easy hike either. To make up for the double zero I just took ans still summit in time for the Trails End festival, I've got to average something like 20 miles per day for the next 6 consecutive days as I hike through this flooded wilderness. Time to brush my shoulders off, step up to plate, and be a no-limit-soldier for a little while. Time to power through this mess and climb that northernmost mountain.    Well we started off slowly and only did 15 miles today... Hiking out of town with days worth of town-food in your belly and a town-pack on your back will do that though. Little Wilson stream, Big Wilson stream, Wilber Brook, and the countless other flooded unnamed streams did slow us down a bit too. So much for my dry socks and dryish boots. Some of the fords were pretty hairy, but not as bad as we had anticipated to tell you the truth. Little Wilson was probably the scariest one actually because there is a pretty large waterfall that dumps directly onto a giant rock slab about 30 yards down stream from where the AT crosses it. Rumor has it that a NoBo got swept downriver a few days ago, fell down the waterfall, lost his pack and sustained a moderate concussion, and then proceeded to hike on for dozens of miles until a Ridge Runner found him and took him to safety. Sometimes I wish that I didn't know these things that I know...   Our short day put us at the Long Pond Streams Lean-to fairly early. We had time enough to collect a ton of firewood and build a huge thru-hiker fire, easily one of the largest fires I've had on-trail. This late in the season, it's getting might chilly up here in northern Maine. We even got settled into the shelter before it was overrun by 8 SoBo's and 2 other NoBo's. So much for having the 100-mile Wilderness to ourselves. It looks like we may have gotten ourselves worked up for no reason. The Wilderness may not turn out to be as challenging as we had thought; which is just fine with me.
Date: 2011-09-10
From: Long Pond Streams Lean-to

To: Day 121
Miles today: 20.8

Surprisingly tough day today. I thought that the 100-mile Wilderness is supposed to be flat. There was nothing flat about the 20+ miles I hiked today. In fact, I climbed Barren Ledges, Barren Mt, 4th Mt, 3rd Mt, Mt. Columbus, Mt. Chairback, and then forded the Pleasant River. The river ford caught me off guard too; it was long, slick, and full of day-hikers struggling to get to the other side. Apparently there is a little parking lot and a little campground around here that is a popular weekend retreat for the locals. C'mon wilderness... Actaully, it was pretty funny to sit on the other side of the river and watch all of the fat day-hikers slip and fall into the river and lose their gear. We smoked a bowl, ate a snack, chatted with the hot local Ridge Runner named Threshold, and all took bets on who would be the next to fall in.   After the afternoon entertainment I popped in my headphones, played the Disco Biscuits, and charged up a 5-mile incline to the Carl A. Newhall Lean-to in what seemed like no time. The 2 other NoBo's showed up a bit later. The guys aren't quite as lively as Zen and Mt. Dew are. They are quiet, keep to themselves, and both have this 1000-yard-stare like they're at the end of their rope or something. 2,100 miles of hiking seem to have defeated these two. I sincerely hope that I haven't become a zombie by the time I finish my hike.
Date: 2011-09-11
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: Day 122
Miles today: 18.9

It ended up getting really cold last night, the coldest night in a while. That compounded with the fact that my clothes, shoes, and socks are soaked all over again made for an unpleasant night in the shelter. It was so cold this morning that we were all slow getting up and out of our bags. After we had finally gotten everything packed, we decided to start a little fire around 9:00 AM to give us a little warmth and motivation. It was awesome. The fire worked out so well that we've now set a goal of building a blazing ripper of a fire every single night/morning that we spend in the Wilderness. This will be necessary in order to lift our spirits and dry our socks enough to hike big miles every day.    Speaking of big miles, we did 18 of them today. Started the day off by climbing over a 7-mile roller-coaster that featured Gulf Hagas Mt, West Peak, Hay Mt, and White Cap Mt. On the northern slope of White Cap I was able to catch my very first glimpse of Katahdin. It is truly spectacular that mountain. The damn thing took up 1/2 of the horizon and I am still 40 miles away line-of-sight (70 miles by trail.) I am so ready to climb this beast after being taunted by the summit today. After that I spent the rest of the day climbing little hills, fording little streams, stumbling over Little Boardman Mt, and finally arriving at the Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to. It's a lovely little place with a nice fast cascade right in front of the shelter. Zen and Mt. Dew already had a ripper going by the time I got here. Mac&cheese w/ pepperoni and a klonopin for dinner tonight. I have to make sure I get a good nights sleep tonight. A marathon awaits tomorrow.
Date: 2011-09-12
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: Day 123
Miles today: 29.6

I broke a record today. Smashed it. Believe it or not, I actually hiked 30 miles today. Which flat-out destroys my old record of 23+ miles (while I was slack-packing.) It was crazy. We woke up before 7:00, packed up, got a little ripper going to warm us up, and hit the trail by 8:00. We kept a good pace, took short but frequent breaks, and marauded down the trail all day long. The terrain was not without its climbs, but it was significantly more flat than what we're used to. It was full of mud, slippery rocks, and standing water however. We even has to do a few surprise fords that are in the guide book. Fun fun.   Towards the end of the day, we took a break the Wadleigh Stream Lean-to. The two other NoBo's showed up and started to bunk down for the night. They sat there in silence and watched the 3 of us eat, smoke, tell jokes and laugh, and gear-up to hike 8 more miles. We left the lean-to just after 5:00 PM. Of course, we had to climb Mt. Nesuntabunt just as soon as we left... No matter. It felt good to leave the other guys in our dust.   The sun set just as we were leaving a little patch on Mt. Nesuntabunt where you can see Katahdin again. Now the mountain takes up, not just 1/2 of the horizon, but 1/2 of my entire field of vision. We've sure come a long way since yesterday afternoon. I was put in the lead while we night-hiked because I'm the slowest so I gave it all that I had to push through the last 6 miles of the hike. We got to the Rainbow Stream Lean-to at 9:00 PM and immediately started a ripper. Now I'm struggling to get through this journal entry... and I'm about to sleep like a baby.
Date: 2011-09-13
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Day 124
Miles today: 15.0

Last day in the Wilderness! This morning was bitterly cold so we made a tiny little ripper out of cardboard trash. Then we hit the trail bright and early. Zen and Mt. Dew were planning on hiking a 25 straight to the base of Katahdin, but I am pretty blistered and sore still. Hiking 30 miles in wet shoes yesterday definitely turned a bunch of my blisters in to outright open sores. So I decided to do a short 15-mile day to Abol Bridge, just to get out of the Wilderness. I'm not in a huge rush to get up the mountain now anyway.   I would really have to fight for today's miles it would turn out. My feet are killing me and my energy level has dropped to zero. Thankfully, I was hiking toward a little general store at Abol Bridge where I could get milk and real food. That was pretty much the whole source of my motivation today. When I finally crossed Abol Bridge over the mighty Penobscot River (the river that I was born on,) I was surprised to see Zen and Mt. Dew sitting there at the general store. They had decided to stick around and enjoy the food and then night-hike all the way to the summit of Katahdin. That's one way to go out with a bang.   The 3 of us ate a ton of food, drank milk, washed it down with beer, and built a huge, almost ceremonial ripper before bedtime. My rain cloud that follows me around started pouring on me just as I was going to bed, so the guys took it as a sign and just stayed in the shelter after all. We just flew through the flooded 100-mile Wilderness at break-neck pace and now we're practically sleeping in the shadow of Mt. Katahdin. This is a pretty surreal, unreal way to spend my 4-MONTH ANNIVERSARY!
Date: 2011-09-15
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Day 126
Miles today: 0.0

Toughest. Hitch. Ever. I expected more from Baxter State Park honestly. I stood across from The Birches in light rain and heavy cold for 2 hours this morning before I got a hitch out. The guy who did pick me up was really cool though. He even drove me around and gave me a little tour of downtown Millinocket before he dropped me off at the AT cafe. I ate an amazing bowl of New England clam chowder, used the net for a while, and walked out into the rainstorm and started strolling down Main St. It didn't take long before I ran in to Zen and his buddy John Wayne. The 3 of us had a long safety meeting at the laundromat and then I waltzed over to the AT lodge to grab a bunk and a shower. After that, me and Turn Around walked back to the cafe to cheer Zen & Mt. Dew on as they attempted the Summit Sundae ice cream challenge. After that tomfoolery, we all head to a bar called the Blue Ox to get the night started.   All of us are having a pretty good time, drinking delicious Katahdin Ale and getting smoked out by the locals. Turn Around and I step out back to smoke a cig and I notice a young couple who are very obviously not locals twisting up some American Spirit roll-your-owns a few tables down. I get the distinct inclination that these two are heads so I strike up a conversation. They are traveling around Maine for a couple of months with no particular destination in mind. Joe and Lenny are their names and we get to talking about Phish and The Dead and music festivals and whatnot. It's the first time I've mingled with some hippies who are my age in quite a while. Eventually I find out that the chick Lenny is from Florida so we start name-dropping, sure that we've got some mutual friends somewhere. It turns out that she practically grew up with Trudy McDonald. She grabs her phone and calls Trudy and B right there in the bar in Millinocket. I even chatted with B for a while and discussed some potential job prospects for when I'm done hiking. It really is a small world man....We all hung out until we were pretty drunk, exchanged #'s, and went our separate ways. Back in the hostel, I'm drunk and about to pass-the-fuck-out. planning on doing this "hard core" trail maintenance project tomorrow before the Trails End fest starts. It's gonna be an early morning for sure.
Date: 2011-09-17
From: AT Lodge

To: Day 128
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up at 10:30Am with a tenacious hangover and Dave the hostel troll telling me I had to get up if I wasn't gonna stay another night. Not only that but I had spent some of the money I made on food and hard liquor. So I had a $50 tab at the AT Lodge for staying there for 2 nights, and only 15 bucks left to my name. I pretended like I was going out to the ATM to take money out and made my escape. I stumbled down the road to the AT Cafe to get some food, collect myself, and figure out my next move. Tried calling my Mom to beg for $ but I couldn't reach her. Lenny and Joe rode out to Arcata because the festival isn't as jumpin' as we all had thought. I was in a tight spot. Eventually I got Pop on the phone and he agreed to pay for me via his credit card. But here's the punch line: When I went back to the Lodge and had Dave the troll run my card he accidentally charged me $0.50 instead of $50.00, thus saving my Dad $45.50 for my stay in the hostel. Take that ruthless hostel operators!   Feeling much better, I went back to the AT Cafe and watched Turn Around and Hand Stand attempt the Summit Sundae challenge. Turn Around succeeded. Hand Stand didn't... I pretty much hung around town and did nothing in particular all day long. The festival was a lot more family-oriented than I though it would be. The bar crawl was was really the only 21+ event of the weekend. The locals didn't turn out in very large numbers either. A highlight is that some of the live music turned out to be really good.    After sunset, I went ahead and spent the rest of my money at the bar crawl. I went and got a drink from each of the 5 places to drink in town, then spent the rest of the night back at the Blue Ox smoking weed and drinking PBR with other thru-hikers and many of the same townies from last night. As an act of protest (and poverty,) I decided not to go back to the AT Lodge for another night. So, instead, I chose to cowboy-camp on top of a couple of wood pallets out by the Airstream. Here I am, under the stars, drunk, and content.
Date: 2011-09-20
From: Kurt's House

To: Day 131
Miles today: 0.0

I slept like a champ on Kurt's floor last night. And today I had all to myself. Kurt had to go to work this morning and my buddy Doppler (the same Doppler from New Jersey) is busy until tomorrow. So today was just me and my hometown. I spent the whole day walking around town, on and off the phone with my parents trying to get general directions from one landmark to the next. I checked out downtown, the old military base my Mom used to work at, the hospital where I was born, and made my way to my old neighborhood. My old house looks about the same as it did in my memories except for he fact that it's a lower-income civilian residence now instead of military housing. My favorite part of the day was exploring my old playground and the little patch of woods behind my house. I found the big rock that I used to go draw on then I was a kid and had a little ceremonial safety meeting and a bout of meditation before I took off.    By then, the sun was setting so I started to look for a nice little nook to get some urban stealth camping done. With the help of my Dad, I found a little network of trails along the Kenduskeag Stream right before it empties into the Penobstot. Apparently my Dad and I did our fair share of snowmobiling and fishing along this stream. I set up my blackbird in literally the most picturesque place on the whole stream, cooked up some mashed potatoes, and crawled into my nest. Now I'm swinging in the cool Autumn breeze on the river that I was born on in my hometown after hiking here from West Virginia. Just wow.
Date: 2011-09-21
From: Kenduskeag Stream

To: Day132
Miles today: 0.0

Another beautiful day in paradise. I woke up late and was slow leaving the stream. As much as I loved checking out Bangor I still feel much more comfortable in the woods and far away from asphalt and concrete. I marched across town to the one figment from my memories that is still the most vibrant: the Hilltop School. This edifice of a building stands 3-stories-tall on a hill looking out over the Bangor countryside. I remember helping my Dad do some masonry work and some roofing on the school when I was a young whipper snapper. The years that I spent in this private school in preK probably made me the person that I am today. The hands on one-on-one attention that I got at such a young age set the pace for the accelerated curriculum that I would be on for the rest of my life. And I owe a lot of it to my teacher Karen. Her and I were like best friends and I remember her always treating me like an adult in conversation, even when I just barely stood taller than her knees. I really owe her a lot. Unfortunately, she had gotten off work for the day and gone home by the time that I got there. So I left a note with some contact information, snapped a few pictures, and went on my way.    I had gotten a hold of my buddy Doppler via facebook and we made plans to link up after he got off work today. Doppler had stayed in the St. Thomas hostel when me, Sam, and BC hiked out into that terrible heat wave back in NJ. He took another day, drank another bottle on vodka, and decided that he had hiked enough. He got off-trail, re-entered the real world, and wound up moving to Maine and taking a job at the LL Bean here in Bangor. It's funny, I left Doppler like 3 months ago and I've been hiking ever since, living the same lifestyle. And, to him, he's moved on and the AT is becoming a distant memory. A lot can change in 3 months I guess.    Doppler was nice enough to buy a bunch of beer because I'm super broke. So we went back to his house and started slamming drinks, just like old times. My buddy Kurt called me when he got off work. He figured that we had might as well hang out while I'm still in town because there's no telling when/if we'll see each other again. Turns out Kurt and Doppler live in the same neighborhood. The three of us sat outside, got fucked up, and maintained an enthusiastic conversation for hours and hours. It was a really really good time. Old friends and new. I passed out with a beer in my hand on Doppler's floor. Day = success.
Date: 2010-12-04
To: Book Learning
Miles today: 0.0

Thru-hikers smell bad.Thru-hikers eat a lot.No, thru-hikers smell really bad.Every gram you carry matters.Thru-hikers think about almost nothing but food.If you get a bunch of thru-hikers together, they smell even worse.No matter how much weight you start out carrying, you will likely end up finding a way to carry less.The friendships you make on the trail will be some of the strongest you'll ever have.The AMC are jerks.You're unlikely to come to a great epiphany while hiking the trail, but you are likely to change your life afterwards.More than an adventure, a thru hike is a way of life that lasts at least several months, and maybe the rest of your life.Pennsylvania is rocky.Mice are evil, and they're everywhere.The AT goes out of its way to reach every damn peak and valley it can find.If you're thinking about hiking a thru hike, you should do it.Hike your own hike.
Date: 2011-03-29
To: Geared up and ready to go!
Miles today: 0.0

The time is nearly here!Tomorrow morning I will board an overnight train to Gainesville, GA where the next morning I will get a ride to Amicalola Falls and the A.T. approach trail. I plan to hike the approach trail on March 31st, sleep on Springer Mountain and begin the Appalachian Trail itself on April 1st.
Date: 2011-03-31
To: Springer Mountain!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm here! The day started the night before on the train, where I got an hour or so of sleep, but then picked up when I was met at the train station by trail angel Malto, who drove me straight to the approach trail. Malto told me about the 90 day PCT hike he's starting in May and his enthusiasm was contagious -- by the time we arrived at the approach trail I was as excited as I had been in months.The morning weather was perfect -- sun burning off mist through the hills. By the time I reached Springer around 1 PM, the clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up. A crowd of eight or so of us hung around the shelter for the afternoon, planning to start the AT itself on April 1st. Danimal, a retired Army thru-hiker, told us about a gun that a party of women day hikers found that morning. The day hikers were going the other way so Danimal carried the gun in its Granite Gear stuff sack until he could return it to the young women who had dropped it. "My mom bought it for me," she explained, but she hiked on to the next shelter before most of us arrived so we couldn't get the full story.