morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-29
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: fog

Woken up at 6:30 and began to pack my gear. Since it was still really cloudy out, I decided to stick around for breakfast. Nine pancakes later I was on the trail around 9.For almost the entire day today I ridge walked completely above treeline. For the first half of the day it was very foggy and at points I was hiking from cairn to cairn. I began my ascent of Mt. Washington and it only became cloudier on top of the clouds the wind speed also began to increase. At one point the wind was so strong at my back that it felt like it was pushing me up the mountain. I finally reached the summit but didn't realize I was there until I was about 15 feet from one of the buildings, it was that cloudy.The wind on top of Mt. Washington was ridiculous! At points it was almost impossible to stand. I went inside the summit building and found out that the wind speed is 50 mph with gusts of 65 to 70 mph. The summit of Mt. Washington is very touristy. There is a road and a railroad that both service the summit. I was able to get 2 pieces of pizza and a coke from the summit restaurant, and it was awesome. I also was able to get cell service and I called home and talked to my parents.I found Mt. Washington to actually be a pretty emotional experience for me. It just kind of hit me about how far I have hiked. All the other tourists on the summit had either hiked a couple miles or gotten a ride to the top... but I, I had walked 1,840 miles to get there. Just thinking about how far I have come gives me the chills. If climbing Mt. Washington is this emotional I can't even imagine what it is going to feel like to climb Katahdin and finish... the thought actually scares me a little.After leaving Mt. Washington, I had 6 miles of ridge walking before the Madison Hut. Luckily for me, about a mile in the skies began to clear and for the rest of my hike, it just got clearer and clearer. Eventually I got some pretty amazing views, and had a wonderful hike all the way to Madison Hut.At the Hut I was able to get a work-for-stay and I believe I will be cleaning an oven... fun! There are 4 other thru-hikers here besides me, all southbounders. It was great to talk to them and get their perspectives on the things I have coming up in my hike.
Date: 2006-07-30
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Carter Dome
Miles today: 14.9

Woken up at 6:30; packed and on the trail by 7:30. The trail down from the ridgeline was the steepest I have encountered, in places the trail and streams became one and the rocks were really slippery. I fell twice, the first time my foot went into the creek, the second time I fell sideways and scraped up my left elbow pretty good.Once down in the valley I went to the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. I started talking to one of the employees about hiking and then he noticed that the rope on my gaitors was broken so he gave me some rope to try for free. Then as I was ordering a sandwich from the cafeteria he came over and told me that they had an extra lunch already made up that I could have for free. It had good stuff in it too: turkey sandwich, baby carrots, an apple, pieces of cheese and a Clif Bar. I ate my lunch and sat around the visitor center for almost 2 hours before hiking again.I had been dreading this next part of my hike all day. It consisted of a 2,000ft climb in a mile and a half and then followed by lots of little ups and downs. Luckily I had great weather: low humidity and a temp of about 75. The climb sucked but I did get some amazing views of Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range, my first crystal clear day in the Whites and it was beautiful. Still I was feeling pretty miserable and by the time I climbed to the top of Wildcat Mountain, where a gondola services the top, I was seriously considering riding the gondola down the mountain and going into town for the day. In the end I am glad I decided to keep hiking, my day got better, and I was able to get enough miles done that I will be hitting the town of Gorham tomorrow.Currently I am camped at 4,832ft on the top of Carter Dome. Here I got to watch a gorgeous sunset over Mt. Washington and the Presidential Mountain Range. I don't believe I am suppose to be camped up here, but I was able to find a great stealth campsite that has already had some light use. I love being up this high, it is so much cooler up here which means tonight I can snuggle up inside my sleeping bag. I miss cold nights on the trail; cold mornings, however, I do not miss.
Date: 2006-07-31
From: Carter Dome

To: US 2 - Gorham, NH
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: fog

Less than 300 miles to go!I got a great night sleep last night, it was cold, but I was nice and toasty in my sleeping bag. Eventually woke up and was on the trail around 9:30. Today was a beautiful day, low humidity and temps in the mid 70's. Perfect hiking weather!Got some great views coming across Carter Mtn and Mt. Moriah, but other than that todays hike was very uneventful. The last 4 miles of trail was some of the smoothest trail I have hiked on in about 200 miles so that was really nice. Got to US 2 around 4 and began to hitch to Gorham. Hitching was a big pain because the black flies were terrible along the road. They swarmed my face and kept flying in my eyes and up my nose. Eventually I got a hitch and was able to get to the post office before it closed.I am staying at a hostel here in town called Hikers Paradise. It was a wonderful feeling to finally take a shower, I hadn't showered in 7 days. Plus I got to wash my clothes, which was really good since they had become stained with blood and dirt.Tomorrow I have to do quite a few errands but I hope to get out of town sometime early in the afternoon. But we will see.
Date: 2006-08-01
From: US 2 - Gorham, NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day!Well I wasn't planning on taking a zero day today... but it just sort of happened. I ran all my errands today and one of them consisted of trying to see if one of my pack straps ripping was a problem. I called Gregory and they will be sending me a new pack in Andover, ME. Since it won't be there for 3 or 4 days and it will only take me 2 or 3 to hike there, I decided to zero here in Gorham. Well that, and because it was 95 degrees here today and I really didn't feel like hiking in the heat.This journal may or may not make any sense, but I have a good excuse, I am trying to type this while watching an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Date: 2006-08-02
From: US 2 - Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: few clouds

Did not get a good sleep last night, it was just way too hot and there was absolutely no air circulation. Woke up for good around 8:30 and just sat around hot and grumpy for the next hour or so. Walked down to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and also fixed my gaitor straps while I was there. I then began to hitch a ride back to the trail. After about 20 min of hitching, a car pulled over and strangely enough I knew the people in the car. It was Socks and her husband. Socks was the lady who drove me from Kent, CT to the train station in Bridgeport, CT way back in late June when I got off the trail for 6 days to go home to DC. We got to the trail and Socks offered me a soda and some snacks for the trail and then said goodbye. Socks you are incredible, twice now you have made my day, thank you so much!Once on the trail, it took about an hour but I eventually got my hiking groove back. The trail wasn't tough today, but it wasn't really easy either. Much of it was very poorly maintained. The blazes were impossible to follow at times and there were so many tree branches over growing the trail. I have tons of scrapes all over my legs from brushing by the branches. It threatened rain for a long time today but never really rained that hard on me. The trail, however, was a muddy mess in lots of places. I did get my feet wet, but it wasn't from the rain or mud. I was crossing a section of boglogs and one of the boglogs sank about a foot under the water once I stepped on it. Having wet feet sucks.I got to the shelter around 5 and was thinking of moving on another 5 miles, but eventually decided against it because it began to rain pretty hard. I really hope to do a big day tomorrow, I need to get a 20 under my belt to feel like I have some hiking momentum back. Also, tomorrow I will be entering Maine, which is pretty exciting, the home stretch is beginning.This morning while I was being grumpy Moat brought out a quote that his mom had sent him. The quote below is from the July 2006 "Smithsonian" magazine:"If I am bitten by one more damned mosquito, I am going to burn down the whole forest. And another thing, it's cold out here. And lonely. Very lonely. My best friend is a piece of tree bark that looks like Zachary Taylor's head. Thank God for moonshine. And guns! Pow! Pow! Blam! Pow! Gimme a life of loud desperation." ~Henry David Thoreau (from pages written in his hand and found nailed to a rafter in his cabin).I think this quote pretty sums up what it's like to be in the woods sometimes.
Date: 2006-08-03
From: Gentian Pond Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

Well I made it to Maine... today was one of the hardest days of my journey... but I made it to Maine!Woke up and began to pack my stuff around 7:30. It then started to rain, so I sat around for a while waiting to see if it would stop. Eventually the rain stopped enough around 10am, so I started to hike. Minutes after starting my hike it started to pour... so much for being dry. It then proceeded to rain and mist for the rest of the day.The hike today without the rain would have been pretty tough, but with the rain it just plain sucked! The trail had lots of ups and downs, with most of the ups consisting of vertical rock scrambles and most of the downs consisting of slick rock with water running down it. It was on one of these downs that I took a really bad fall. I was standing over this really steep section, trying to figure out the best way down, when my foot slipped and I fell down this steeply sloped rock face on my ass. When I finally stopped, blood was dripping from my left elbow, my left butt cheek had a huge raspberry and my right butt cheek was very bruised. It took me almost 6 hours to go not even 10 miles. It was a frustratingly slow day and I am glad that it is over.Oh yeah, I almost forgot. To make my day even worse, when I got to the Maine/ New Hampshire border I pulled out my camera to get a picture of myself. But when I turned the camera on, nothing happened. The camera didn't turn on, it didn't do anything! I was so mad! So I am hoping that the battery is just out and that's why it wouldn't work, but who knows. Grrrrr!!!!Tomorrow I need to do a big day, I need to make sure that I can get into Andover by Saturday morning so I can pick up my maildrop. Andover is 20 miles away so hopefully I will be able to get into town tomorrow night.
Date: 2006-08-04
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Frye Notch Lean-to
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: few clouds

On the trail around 9am, after the rain had stopped. Shortly after starting to hike the sun came out and greatly lifted my spirits. After about a mile of hiking I entered Mahoosuc Notch, which is known as the hardest mile on the AT. While it was tough, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The notch consists of about a mile of climbing over, under and between huge boulders. Many boulders were wet or covered in moss which made them very slick. Much of the notch doesn't get much sun light so there was even one place where under some of the boulders I saw a big patch of ice. Overall the notch took me a little over an hour and a half to make it through.The next part of the trail was pretty rough as well, it is called the Mahoosuc Arm. It is a 1 mile uphill climb that at times seemed to go straight up. In many places, I had to use roots along the side of the trail like a ladder to pull myself up the rock faces. It took me another hour and a half to climb the Arm.After the Mahoosuc Notch and Arm, the trail went back to being more like normal. While there were still lots of ups and down, there were also many places where I could get my hiking stride going and really felt like I was moving. I also got some breath taking views today, which if my stupid camera was working I would have taken pictures of. By the end of the day, I didn't make it as far as I would have liked, but I am happy with what I did do. Tomorrow I have to wake up early (like before 6) to make sure that I make it into Andover with enough time to take care of everything at the Post Office before it closes at noon. I have to pick up my maildrop and I have to get my new Backpack, which is being sent to a hostel, and then send my broken backpack back to Gregory. Confused yet? Yeah, me too.
Date: 2006-08-05
From: Frye Notch Lean-to

To: East B Hill Rd. - Andover, ME
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

Alarm went off at 5:45 today... which is way too early... so I reset my alarm and woke up for good at 6. On the trail and hiking by 6:30. I was initially excited about being up so early, hiking and going into town today... but that quickly changed as I walked through my first spider web. I then proceed to break web my entire hike to the road... not fun!Once at the road, I sat down and waited for a car. East B Hill Rd is not a very traveled road so I had to wait for about 20 min before I even say my first car... luckily the first car also picked me up. Once in Andover I quickly realized that there was a big celebration going on. Andover was having their "Back Home Again" celebration, so there was a parade and lots of food. It was great! Andover is a very small town (population of only 143) but there had to have been a couple thousand people in town for the festivities.I got to the post office, picked up my mail drop and then was also able to get ahold of the hostel I was planning on staying at. They brought out my new backpack to the post office so I was able to send my old one back to Gregory. I had been really worried about whether I would make it to town to take care of everything I needed to at the post office, but in the end it all worked out perfectly. I really have to remember to "just go with it," because thing always seem to have a way of working themselves out.After eating my share of fair food, I was driven to The Cabin (a hostel) and was able to get settled and relaxed. I then had lots of time to kill so I watched a movie and just sat for a while. It was wonderful. However, after the movie I got really antsy and was ready to get back out on the trail and hike. It is amazing how hiking has become an addiction, something my mind and body craves. But I guess there are much worse things to be addicted to.
Date: 2006-08-06
From: East B Hill Rd. - Andover, ME

To: Bemis Mtn Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke up around 6:30 and had a huge breakfast made by the hostel owner. It seemed like it took me forever to get all my stuff packed, but I eventually did and was on the trail and hiking at about 9am. The first 6 miles were a piece of cake, but the next section wasn't so easy. It involved 2 very steep descents and ascents in about 6 miles, one of a little more than 1000ft and the other a little more than 2000ft, and boy was it tough. I was really hurtin after that section. Luckily after those two mountains, I was done with the major climbing for the rest of the day. For most of the day today, I just didn't feel right. It was wierd. While hiking I rarely trip or ram into things. But today I tripped about a dozen times and kept smashing my hands, knees and shoulders into trees and rocks. My balance was also really off and I had a lot of trouble walking on some of the bog logs. Hopefully this is a temperary problem and it won't bother me tomorrow as well.As my journey is getting closer and closer to its end, I have been thinking a lot about all that I have been through and learned. And I so badly want to write it down and put on paper what I think about all day. But for some reason everytime I try to write any of it out my mind puts up this mental block and I have no idea what to say. Hopefully this too will pass... 16 days left!
Date: 2006-08-07
From: Bemis Mtn Lean-to

To: Maine 4 - Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to a 20 second downpour. Besides soaking my tents rain fly it didn't do any harm. According to my maps, today should have been an easy day. The trail was relatively flat and there was only one climb over 1000ft. Well my map lied... cuz today was pretty tough.I got to Maine Route 4 around 4:30 and got a really quick hitch into the town of Rangeley. Once in town, I went to a pizza place and polished off 6 sodas and a large pizza. I then went down the street to an ice cream shop and ended up talking to a family on vacation and they offered to buy me an ice cream cone. Sweet!I made it to the hostel (Gull Pond Lodge) and ran into Conductor... I haven't seen him since before Kent, CT. I also got to take a shower and sit... I like sitting.So I have been reminded by someone who is reading my journal that I haven't updated everyone on some of the things that have happened to me on the trail. So my camera wasn't working, but I was able to recharge the battery and now it works perfect. Also, my eyes had been really red, itchy and irritated, well they are doing much better now. Still a little red, but much better than they were. Last, I got my new loaner backpack in Andover and my new pack seems to be working great. If you can think of any other plot loop holes, email me and let me know.
Date: 2006-08-08
From: Maine 4 - Rangeley, ME

To: Spaulding Mtn Lean-to
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today was an great day!I was gonna wake up early but decided to sleep in, slept till 8:15 and then went down stairs for a continental breakfast. I must have been really hungry because I ate a lot for breakfast! I got my gear together, checked the weather and then got a ride back to the trail. I got to the trail head at 10:30, a much later start than I had really wanted... but that's what I get for sleeping in.Right off the bat, I had a big climb up Saddleback Mtn. About a mile from the summit the trail went above treeline. It was a perfectly clear day so the views were breath taking. I love hiking about treeline, the views are almost always amazing and there is always a breeze to keep me cool. Today, however, the breeze made me cold... but cold is better than hot. I stopped and ate lunch at the summit, I hid behind rock wall wind break that someone had made. I just love having lunch with a view!The trail then went down a couple hundred feet, but still remained above treeline. Then the trail quickly went up again to the summit of The Horn. Again I was greeted with spectacular views. Both Saddleback and The Horn are above 4000ft.The rest of the trail today was like most of the other trail in Maine so far. Steep ups, followed by steep downs, followed by scrambling over rocks, stepping over roots and dodging mud puddles. It is not much fun, but I have gotten use to it. The last 2 miles into the shelter were a little different, however. In this last 2 miles I was able to cruise and really stretch out my legs, it was great! And I made great time too. The trail was relatively flat, but still had some ups and downs, the biggest difference was there was almost no mud.One of the biggest reasons today was such a great day is that I made it to the exact ending place I wanted to, with plenty of day light to spare. When I got on the trail so late this morning I was worried I wouldn't make it as far as I would like to. But as the day went on, hiking felt really good, and I made better time than I anticipated. It was a great feeling! I feel like I have my momentum back again. I haven't felt this good hiking since before the Whites and that was almost 2 weeks ago.
Date: 2006-08-09
From: Spaulding Mtn Lean-to

To: Maine 27 - Stratton, ME
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Less than 200 miles to go!On the trail by 8:30 and almost immediatly start a 1000ft climb to the top of Spaulding Mtn. Spaulding Mtn. is one of 3 4000ft mountains I will summit today, the other two are North and South Crocker Mtn. Nothing special about the trail today, there wasn't much mud which was nice and I was able to make decent time. Got to Maine 27 around 2:30 and the first car by stopped to pick me up. As I was climbing in the back of the pick-up the guy says "Better hurry, big ass logging trunks a-comin." Thinking he is joking I laugh, but as soon as I sit down and look to the rear of the pick-up I see a "big ass logging truck" barreling down on me.I arrive in Stratton and walk across the street to the Stratton Motel. There is a hiker hostel there so I pay and find myself a bunk. After showering and getting a burger from a restaurant across the street, I head out to do my laundry. I call my mom and find out that everything is all ready for my dad to meet me in Monson and hike with me. She also let me know that they were able to get a tent site in Baxter State Park (where Mt. Katahdin is located) for August 20th and 21st. Which is perfect because right now my plan is to summit Katahdin on August 22nd.After laundry I went to a bar/ pizza place with two other hikers (Homebrew and Viejero) for dinner. We all had a few beers and each ordered a pizza. Later it was back to the hostel to sit and relax in front of the tv.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Maine 27 - Stratton, ME

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I passed my 2,000th mile on the Appalachian Trail!Had a great breakfast this morning at a diner across the street from the hostel; pancakes, eggs and toast... Yum! Packed up my stuff and got a ride back to the trail. Hiking by 10am. Hiked over Bigelow Mtn today and got great views and great weather for most of the day. There were some really tough climbs in places, but the views from the two peaks of Bigelow Mtn were definitely worth it.About 4 miles out from the shelter it started to rain, not a real heavy rain, but enough to get all the trees wet. I then proceeded to get wet from brushing past the trees. There were also quite a few rocks in this section of trail so parts were really slippery. Got to the shelter just before the down pour began. I am joined in the shelter tonight by Homebrew, Red Dane and Mr. Blister (a flip-flopper). The weather is suppose to clear up tonight so today should be a great day for hiking. The trail also smooths out a lot. I am going to try to do a 22 mile day to Caratunk, ME. The only problem is there is a ferry crossing just before Caratunk and the ferry stops running at 4pm, so I need to complete 22 miles before 4pm. I am pretty sure I can do it, but it should be an interesting attempt. I am still a little in shock that I have hiked 2000 miles. I keep thinking to myself: "Who on earth walks 2,000 miles in this day in age?" and "I must be crazy!" Who knows... maybe I am crazy. The real question is: Have I enjoyed myself? You bet your ass I have!