morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-28
From: East B Hill, Andover

To: South Arm, Andover
Miles today: 10.1

I slept pretty well, but a hostel is still a hostel, and a good night's sleep is usually something you sacrifice in a bunkroom to save money. I got deposited at East B Hill Road with Sparky, a British hiker from London. It was a 1500 foot climb up Wyman Mountain, but it was fairly gradual. Sawyer Notch was the major obstacle of the day. 1800 feet down and 1400 feet back up a steep slope were required to reach Moody Mountain. Another 1000 feet down made me glad I was slackpacking.I got there by 1:15pm and Sparky by 1:30pm. Unfortunately our ride wasn't scheduled until 3:00pm. However, Old Buzzard (A.T. '08) was doing extensive trail magic, so I got to hang out and have hot dogs, chips, and beer while hearing his entertaining stories about his thru-hike. Apparently he faked a multiple personality disorder all the way to Maine to keep the shelter logs interesting."The Colonel" and "Cricket" were there. They worked at the Woods Hole Hostel for two months because Cricket was in love with a girl there. I also saw two teenage boys show up. They are flip flopping around but ultimately hiking from the southernmost point in Florida to Canada while being homeschooled. I got back and had dinner at the diner with Silverfox, Bear Bell, Rainbow (A.T. '88), and Sparky. 10.1 miles were hiked: 1932.2 (East B Hill Rd., Andover) to 1942.3 (South Arm Rd., Andover).
Date: 2016-08-29
From: South Arm, Andover

To: Bemis Stream Camping
Miles today: 12.2

I got a good start this morning, powered by Mountain Dew and donuts. I left with Sparky, Silverfox, and Bear Bell. There was a 0% chance of rain today in Andover, but it rained on the mountain. I wrote in a shelter log that I was feeling cold and clammy.It did clear up mostly by the afternoon. I made it up 2200 feet to Old Blue Mountain. Perhaps it was the first day back from slackpacking, but I felt slow and tired all day.I saw Steffan at Bemis Mountain Lean-To, and I tried to hike with him for about an hour and a half. He has a faster pace than me, but I was tired of recycling my own thoughts and pretending they were new and interesting, so I pushed to match his pace.At that shelter I found Mothly Stud, who is now without Little Debbie. She called it quits, which is sad, but she was having a really tough time doing the climbing stuff.Just before Bemis Stream I found Turtle Tracks, a former thru-hiker, doing hot dog, hamburger, and beer trail magic. I intended to hike on, but the company was good, so I stayed and had a great time.Gaia, Ghost, Mr. Wizard, Steffan, Mothly Stud, and Pyro & Tin Man camped. Snickers and Elsa stopped by, but moved on. 12.2 miles were hiked: 1942.3 (South Arm Road, Andover) to 1954.5 (Bemis Stream Camping).
Date: 2016-08-30
From: Bemis Stream Camping

To: Rangely, Maine
Miles today: 14.2

It was a great night of camping last night. Bemis Stream made soft stream noises and all was well. I got out of camp by 7:30am or so after a bagel and cream cheese as parting trail magic from Turtle Tracks.I went about a mile up the trail and got trail magic #2 in the form of water and a garbage bag. I was able to part with my used fuel canister which I forgot to dump in Andover.Near Sabbath Day Pond Shelter I had a nice chat with a man in his underwear (he had been swimming). The terrain was as easy as it's been in a long time, but I felt totally drained. Every mile was serious effort.I made it to the Hiker Hut, 0.3 miles West of the trailhead to go to Rangely. There is no cell reception (or phone that I'm aware of) at the Hiker Hut. They had a private cabin available for $40, so I took that since that was all they said they had.I got a complementary chips and salsa with a paid Gatorade, and then a bowl of kale soup. The shower was outdoor, powered by a car battery and heated by a propane tank. A couple partitions were provided for modesty, but I can't be 100% sure a few cars on their way to Rangely didn't sneak a peak through the trees.Steffan, Gaia, Ghost, Walnut, Centaur, and Squatch are here with me tonight. 14.2 miles were hiked: 1954.5 (Bemis Stream camping) to 1968.7 (Rangely, ME).
Date: 2016-08-31
From: Rangely, Maine

To: Rangely Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

I slept extremely well in my private cabin. The cost/benefit ratio was right for me, so I decided to zero here at the Hiker Hut today. I caught the 9:00am shuttle into town.We stopped Gaia and Ghost off at another hostel. Steffan hiked on. I found freeze-dried food at the Ecopelagicon and had a french toast and egg breakfast while I charged my phone at the Moose Loop Cafe. I managed to call home in the middle of the day since I won't be able to communicate at any other time. Then I got more food and phone charging at Sarge's Pub. At 1:00pm, Steve drove us back to the the IGA store and I completed my resupply.I'm loading enough freeze dried food to get to Monson, but only need enough other food to get to Stratton, ME. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. With no T.V., internet, or electricity to distract me, I read a book from the library while drinking a PBR.I got to talk to Centaur and Squatch. They have been hiking together a long time but Squatch injured his ankle and needs time to recover, so Centaur is moving on. They're flip flopping, but currently Sobo. I saw Little Red and Buff in town. We all started on the same day at Springer Mountain. All in all, it was a very pleasant zero day, and I'm feeling a bit better.
Date: 2016-09-01
From: Rangely Zero Day

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-To
Miles today: 10.7

September began with a beautiful morning. I supplemented my donut and egg sandwich with a Mountain Dew for maximum energy out of town, said goodbye to Catherine and Steve and hiked on.Piazza Rock Lean-To was the first stop. Optimistic Dreamer (O.D.) seriously injured himself here yesterday or the day before, shattering bones in his foot, breaking a rib, and hitting his head in a nine foot fall that I heard about second hand. I never met him, but he always had an entertaining log entry.Saddleback Mountain is a significant climb, about 2500 feet and then two 500 foot food for The Horn and Saddleback Junior. I made it to Poplar Ridge Lean-To with a little bit of energy left, but I was with a good group of people and they had a fire going, so I decided to set up my tent and stay.The other reason I'm staying is Inchworm disappeared about three miles from here three years ago, and I don't want to stealth camp by myself around here.Ghost, Gaia, Scuba Steve, Torch, Pambi, Mad Tom, Pyro, Tin Man, and Road Runner are here among others. In general, I felt better today, but the difficult terrain canceled out any advantage I had from the zero day rest. I'm getting a little behind on my schedule, but I still have some time to make that up. 10.7 miles were hiked: 1968.7 (Rangely) to 1979.4 (Poplar Ridge Lean-To).
Date: 2016-09-02
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-To

To: Crocker Cirque Camping
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I blame my cozy tent and the chill in the air for my late start today. I eventually made it out. I spent much of the day piecing together the Geraldine "Inchworm" Largay disappearance story. I still have many unanswered questions, but here are a few observations.The spot where she got off trail according to her phone was not marked well, but no worse than hundreds of other locations. If you go the wrong way, the path quickly goes from trampled to untrampled and you realize your mistake. Roads can take longer to be sure you're going the wrong way, but I didn't hear of any hikers having trouble where she got off the trail. Also, I was only out of cell service for about 3.5 hours, and had call service two hours after the location she got off trail.Hiking-wise, Lone Mountain and Spaulding Mountain were conquered. I hiked with Ghost a bit past the "200 Miles Left" Mark and down Sugarloaf Mountain. I ran into Orange Crush who is doing a vehicle assisted slackpack with his wife, Lightfoot.The hike down here was steep, but I found a nice spot for my tent at a campsite and ate dinner with Pyro & Tin Man. 14.2 miles were hiked: 1979.4 (Poplar Ridge Lean-To) to 1993.6 (Crocker Cirque Campsite).
Date: 2016-09-03
From: Crocker Cirque Camping

To: Horns Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

Sleep was severely interrupted by a group that came in at midnight and shouted "Seven miles in seven hours!" Repeatedly to either boast of the difficult Crocker Mountains they just climbed or their stupidity for starting at 5:00pm. They continued disturbing at least twenty people for two or three hours.I managed to get an early enough start anyway. I only had another 1500 feet to go since I did 600 feet of it yesterday. I plugged along and crossed the 2000 mile mark before reaching the road to Stratton.I hitchhiked, and the first batch of cars had a car for me. Vivian, whose son is hiking the PCT right now gave me a ride into town and a Clif Bar! She dropped me at the Wolf Inn where I saw a lot of familiar faces. I ate a salad, bacon cheeseburger, fries, and ice cream with Rainbow who is still finding ways to slackpack. Afterwards, I resupplied at the general store with enough food to go to Monson. I charged my battery as much as possible at the restaurant and the store, and then I "cramped the hitch" of Gaia and Breaking Badger who were also headed back. Gaia quickly reeled in a car and we hopped in. I attempted to match their pace and sweated profusely up the mountain.I set up in the shelter with G.I. Joe and weekenders Gary, Gary, Chris, and Isaac, a three generation group. 12.4 miles were hiked: 1993.6 (Crocker Cirque Campsite) to 2006.0 (Horns Pond Lean-To).
Date: 2016-09-04
From: Horns Pond Lean-To

To: West Carry Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: few clouds

I slept pretty well in the shelter despite being somewhat nestled on between weekenders Gary and Isaac. My headlamp batteries died, and Gary traded me his good lithium batteries for my dead alkalines, since he's headed home today. Thank you! I finished the climb to Bigelow Mountain West Peak. The views from both there and Avery Peak were spectacular. I forgot to mention that yesterday at MP 2005.2, I think I had my first view of Mt. Katahdin.I climbed down, stopped at Little Bigelow Lean-To to get water and chatted with Pambi and Mad Tom a little. I saw Orange Crush doing his slackpack routine, and then again when he tacked on another three miles, southbound both times.It was much flatter after that, but still with plenty of roots and rocks to contend with. I thought I heard a moose in West Carry Pond, but it turned out to be a beaver making a lot of noise.I used my headlamp for about a half hour to get to the shelter. It was empty with maybe one tent nearby. I went through my evening routine and was just drifting off to sleep when two hikers showed up and started their routine. I drifted off to sleep and they were very quiet. 17.9 miles were hiked: 2006.0 (Horns Pond Lean-To) to 2023.9 (West Carry Pond Lean-To).
Date: 2016-09-05
From: West Carry Pond Lean-To

To: Caratunk, Maine
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

The shelter was comfortable, but I set my mental alarm clock for 4:30am, and due to faulty wiring woke up every half hour from 2:00am on. Eventually, the correct time was reached. I got ready and was on the trail by 5:30am.I filtered water from Sandy Steam and then the race was on to make it to the Kennebec River ferry by 2:00pm. I stopped at Pierce Pond, which was being renovated. The stairs to the privy had been removed, but that's no obstacle for someone who has been through the Whites.A man was behaving strangely, wading in the pond and stream and wandering down the trail and doubling back, all in a pair of tighty-whitey underpants. I reached the river, filled out a waiver and canoed across.I hiked a short distance to the Caratunk House Bed & Breakfast and decided to get a private room for $25. I also had a nice lunch and dinner and saw tons of people. Mud Puppy, Little Red, Buff, Thin Mint, and Mr. Wizard to name a few.Monarch (the guy) reached the river late and swam across, using his air mattress as a raft for his pack. The resupply options were good, but I only needed hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, and pop to restore me. 14.0 miles were hiked: 2023.9 (West Carry Pond Shelter) to 2037.9 (Caratunk, Maine).
Date: 2016-09-06
From: Caratunk, Maine

To: Bald Mtn Camping
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

The hostel was great, and provided a solid breakfast. I also giggle to myself when I hear my trail name, "Spaghetti Legs", pronounced with a proper British accent. It sounds refined and ridiculous at the same time.I reached Pleasant Pond Mountain and got a call home which was nice. I accidentally followed an old A.T. trail straight up the side of the mountain through a nearly impassable web of fallen trees. It intersected with the real trail and all was well again.I saw Hammer and a group of weekend hikers at the summit. I didn't see a lot of hikers the rest of the day. Eventually at Bald Mountain Lean-To I ate dinner and chatted a bit with Stormtrooper.I decided to hike up Bald Mountain. Sunset was stunningly beautiful at the top of the mountain. I hiked down a bit to the junction with the bypass trail and found a camping spot. I was all by myself, but felt at peace with the world.I was near enough to the trail junction to hear the occasional night hiker come stumbling through. I intended to watch the stars, but clouds got in the way. Tomorrow I intend to hike all the way to Monson. 17.0 miles were hiked: 2037.9 (Caratunk, Maine) to 2054.9 (Bald Mountain Camping).
Date: 2016-09-07
From: Bald Mtn Camping

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: clear sky

I slept well on the mountain. Neither man nor beast disturbed me. It wasn't too difficult of a descent, and I was filling out a shelter log at Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-To within an hour.Today's hike featured three river or stream "fordings" including two with a rope provided, but it has been so dry I was able to step across stones without getting more than the soles of my boots wet. I was partly relieved and partly disappointed to be missing out on this classic A.T. obstacle, but the trail is the trail.The only other significant event was a short stop at Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To. Other than that it was a quiet day of hiking, with a little more sun and warmer temperatures, with a lot of the day spent at lower elevations.My feet were quite tired by the end of the day, but I made it to ME 15 and called Shaws Hostel for a shuttle. Longstride and Tesla arrived from the other direction and the shuttle took us back to Shaws.I got a bunk and saw a great gathering of hikers, many of whom I knew. I got dinner at the Lakeshore House Pub with Longstride and watched part of The Last Samurai with Shepherd, who I last saw in Pennsylvania. 19.7 miles were hiked: 2054.9 (Bald Mtn. Camping) to 2074.6 (ME 15, Monson, ME)
Date: 2016-09-08
From: Monson, Maine

To: Monson Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

The bunkhouse in the garage was quite comfortable. I even had my own electric outlet right by my bed for overnight phone charging. Breakfast was a hiker feast: eggs cooked to order, potatoes, and all you can eat blueberry pancakes.The day was largely dedicated to resting, but a few useful things were accomplished. Much work was put into getting this journal up to date and typing up entries for the wide world to see. I also visited the community center and pre-registered to climb Katahdin.With some of that info, I refined my final Baxter State Park / Millinocket itinerary. It's looking like my plan should be achievable at this point. I went over to Pete's Place. All of Monson is sold out of Mountain House freeze dried meals, but Pete had some dehydrated meals that I've tried once before and liked.So, I bought those and some other food. I will finish my resupply at Shaws tomorrow morning. People are paying Shaw's to deliver food 60 miles into the 100 mile wilderness, but I'm just going to carry everything.I finished my planning of the final week and watched parts of a scrabble game and Lord of the Rings intermittently. Lunch was at the BBQ place. Dinner was with Tent Shaker and two seaplane pilots at the Lakeshore House Pub. Zero miles were hiked.
Date: 2016-09-09
From: Monson Zero Day

To: Long Pond Stream
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast was an excellent repeat of yesterday's breakfast. I then completed my resupply, weighed in on an old scale, and assembled the final pack.I weigh 181 pounds, for a total trail weight loss of 56.5 pounds (so far). I'm sure I'll lose some more in the 100 mile wilderness.I got shuttled to the trail with two section hikers and their large dog. I called shotgun before the dog did, so I got the front seat. The trail wasn't drastically different than anything we already hiked.There were three stream fordings listed in the guide. I was able to rock hop across all three, although I had to do some serious surveying and planning to make it across Big Wilson Stream without getting wet.I got a report from Orange Crush of a 10 mile stretch with no water, so I camped just North of Long Pond Stream, the last spot to get water. I cooked myself an excellent Thai Curry dinner. It was looking like I would be by myself, but Tink, Wolfpine, and Gung-Ho showed up and camped nearby.I am excited to be entering the great endurance and all around backpacking challenges of the 100 mile wilderness. The game is the same, but the stakes seem higher. 14.4 miles were hiked: 2074.6 (ME 15, Monson) to 2089.0 (Long Pond Stream).
Date: 2016-09-10
From: Long Pond Stream

To: W. Branch Pleasant River
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept well and got a solid early start at 7:30am. I was on pace with Gigglefritz, Little Red, and Buff for most of the day. It was a challenging day, with a 2000 foot climb right out of the gate.I stopped for a morning snack there at Barren Mountain. Somewhere on either Fourth Mountain or Mt. Three and a Half, I came across Tent Shaker who is introducing to first time backpackers to the A.T. by getting dropped off in the middle of the 100 mile wilderness and hiking about four days back to Monson. It looked like much weeping and gnashing of teeth was going on.Columbus Mtn. and Chairback Mtn. rounded out the mountains for the day. There was nothing that we haven't seen before, but it was a solid tiring day of ups and downs.When I reached Katahdin Ironworks Road, I couldn't believe it, but "Sam I Am" (A.T. '15) was doing extensive trail magic. It was picked pretty clean with about a dozen hikers lounging around, but I got two hot dogs, a Mountain Dew, and a Coke.I set up my tent at the river with your section hikers and it started raining. I ate laying down in my tent with my food in the vestibule area. It wasn't particularly fun, but it was good to be dry. 15.9 miles were hiked: 2089.0 (Long Pond Stream) to 2104.9 (West Branch Pleasant River).
Date: 2016-09-11
From: W. Branch Pleasant River

To: Logan Brook Lean-To
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I stayed in my tent longer than necessary, in the hope that the light rain would stop. It didn't, and I packed up a wet tent in the rain. West Branch Pleasant River had risen a little, making rock hopping very risky.I made it and got water on the far side while watching six people attempt it. About half had both feet dry on the North end. It was soon irrelevant because the rain soaked everything. The misery index was high when I stopped in at Carl A Newhall Lean-To. A cold wind blew in and made things worse. I would compare it to a cold November Rain in Chicago.Fortunately, the rain let up a bit and I pushed on to Gulf Hagas Mtn., West Peak, Hay Mtn., And White Cap Mtn. From there I got my first for-sure view of Katahdin, and briefly got cell phone reception as well. The peak was fittingly shrouded in clouds.Logan Brook Lean-To is a short distance down the mountain. It is currently very cold. I am here with Roadrunner (the guy) and Romeo with Tarzan tenting nearby. We all have just about all of our winter gear on.I did an inventory of food supplies, and I'm going to have to ration a bit to stretch my food six and a half days. It was a tough day for morale. 12.8 miles were hiked: 2104.9 (West Branch Pleasant River) to 2117.7 (Logan Brook Lean-To).
Date: 2016-09-12
From: Logan Brook Lean-To

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 19.6

It was cold last night, with temperatures in the 40's I would guess. I had just about every article of clothing on, including the long underwear which has been more of a luxury item on this segment of the trip.I forgot to mention that two days ago I saw Firecracker. The last time I saw her was in Hampton, TN. But now she's doing a flip flop back to Massachusetts.Temperatures warmed up and there was no rain today. The trail was also some of the easiest hiking I've done in a long time. I managed to get a short text at Little Boardman Mtn., relaying my position. I'm meeting lots of section hikers, some of whom look like this 100 mile wilderness is at or above their capacity level. I try to be encouraging, because what else can you do. This is a tough segment of the trail, with no hostels or towns.At Jo-Mary road, Napster (A.T. '12) was doing trail magic. He knew Thin Mint who was there along with Badger, Pyro, Wookie, and Amelia Earhardt. I was hungry from my food rationing, so I ate a lot of Oreos and had three beers (for the calories). It was probably too much, but I felt no pain in the final four miles to Antlers Campsite.Ninja Geisha is here along with a hammocker and a swarm of no-see-ums which are attacking in force. 19.6 miles were hiked: 2117.7 (Logan Brook Lean-To) to 2137.3 (Antlers Campsite).
Date: 2016-09-13
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean-To
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The campsite was beautiful, but very inhabited by wildlife. I heard them scurrying around all night. It must have been a chipmunk that ran towards my tent and bounced off my head. Some small creature left some droppings on my bear canister.It was a beautiful morning, but it took me a long time to get going. I did some journal work, rationed my remaining food, filtered water from the pond, had a couple privy visits (thank you three bean chili), and slowly packed up.The trail was about as flat as possible, but about as rooty as possible as well. The weather was beautiful, but I struggled with very low energy levels. I ended up at Wadleigh Stream Lean-To and had no more energy to continue, so I set up my tent. Tink, Wolfpine, Gung-Ho, The Count, and Pyro are here among others. The jovial atmosphere is lifting my spirits.Tomorrow I plan to do 20 miles or so and it should be my last full day in the wilderness. I am so excited to be finishing this hike. I'm trying to get my trail journal up to date by the time I finish so my readers can experience the grand finale in real time. 13.6 miles were hiked: 2137.3 (Antlers Campsite) to 2150.9 (Wadleigh Stream Lean-To).