morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-02
To: Katahdin Stream Camp - Baxter State Park
Miles today: 5.2

Butterfly and I are on top of Katahdin. It is 10:40 and we¢ve been here for about 40 minutes. We can¢t see anything. We¢re in the clouds but our spirits are high.I will do my best to update the journal, but cell coverage is not good on the AT in ME.  It will likely be several days.To get up onto Katahdin¢s plateau, we hiked up the Abol trail.  It was very challenging - a very long rock scramble, and the wind and clouds made it pretty eerie.  But we did it.  Getting cold.  Gotta go.Added later: Going up and down Katahdin is a workout. I think I prefer asending to descending because much of the way on both the Abol trail and the Hunt trail are rock scrambles and the mental (emotional) challenge of climbing up is much less than going down, at least I find it so.  We left our campsite at 5:50 and got to the summit of Katahdin at 10.  Visibility was bad - we were in the clouds.  There were a couple through hikers who had just completed their hikes, and a hiker named Diablo summited just behind us.  (Diablo had spent some time hiking with Hungry Cat - whose journal I followed this year - back in NC).  We had the honor of taking his summit photo.We spent about 40 minutes on the summit because there was cell reception there.  I know it sounds funny, but there was nothing to see.  Visibility in the clouds was 100 feet at best.  (See video of Butterfly hiking up to the summit). While I updated our trail journal and Laura sent a few texts, a number of through hikers and day hikers summited, took a few quick photos and left.
Date: 2018-08-03
From: Katahdin Stream Camp - Baxter State Park

To: Hurd Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 13.4

We got up at 6:20 and left camp at 8:40 after breakfast burritos with avocado, bacon and eggs. We had to hike the 2 miles from Abol to Katahdin Stream campground as not a single car came down the road traveling in our direction. We weighed our packs on the front porch of the ranger station at KSC and were a little bummed because mine weighed in at 38 pounds and Butterfly¢s at 28.  Had a mid-morning rest at big Niagara Falls on Nesowadnahunk Stream. I dunked my head in the water to cool off, and we met two through hikers there: Fools Gold and Postcard.  The first five or six miles were spent hiking along this beautiful mountain stream.  It eventually Emptied into the West Branch of the Penobscot river, and we hiked along it for another few miles.  We got to Abol Bridge and stopped at the restaurant there - The Northern - a little before 3. There were a number of young, male NoBos there as well.  Funny but respectable bunch of young men.  Most were forgoing beer saying they were going to wait until after they had summited Katahdin before having another beer.  Butterfly and I had linner there - late lunch/early dinner: fish and chips, cole slaw and Baxter IPA.  Left the restaurant at 4:30 and hiked the 3.5 miles the Hurd Brook lean-to. Along the way, we passed a couple that were both using Laura¢s same backpack from Hyperlite Mountain Gear. The fellow said to Laura, ¢Nice Pack¢ to which Laura replied, ¢Oh, I see you have one too¢ and he replied, ¢Yeah, I own the company that makes them.¢ How about that for a coincidence?  There are quite a few campers here tonight, though a good number appear to be scouts or maybe a youth group - ie; not through hikers. It took me a while to find a place to set up the tent, but I finally succeeded in getting a spot off by ourselves near a pond on Hurd Brook. The pond appears to be a beaver pond - meaning one formed behind a beaver damn. We had a nice moment there cleaning up and cooling off in the water. Rain is expected tonight, but it¢s too hot and humid now to put the fly over the tent. I¢ll deal with that if and when it rains.I am thankful tonight for how strong Butterfly is and that here feet aren¢t hurting, for the restaurant at Abol Bridge and that they have good taps, for the beautiful falls and streams we passed, for the sound of the wood thrush in the forest, and for beavers.Good night from Hurd Brook on the AT.
Date: 2018-08-04
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: Pollywog Stream
Miles today: 14.0

When we awoke at 6:20 it was raining hard, so we went back to sleep. We both slept pretty soundly for another two hours and got up at 8:40. By that point the rain had stopped, though there were a lot of drops falling from the trees. We had granola, bananas and milk in the tent as well as some almond butter right out of the packets. I packed the sopping wet tent fly into a water proof stuff sack. We managed to keep the tent and footprint relatively dry, thankfully, because the forecast was for rain all day and we expected to tent again tonight. It¢s no fun setting up and getting in a wet tent. The plan was for Butterfly to work her charms with the rain - halt it enough this evening that we weren¢t setting up camp in the rain.It started to rain again as we finished packing, and we managed to get on the trail by 10:40. A number of other hikers were similarly off to a late start because of the rain. There were several other SoBos staying at Hurd Brook shelter last night including Cold Brew and Social, both of whom are talkers. We hiked with Social a bit today. Turns out he got his trail name from someone he hiked the John Muir trail with who gave him the name because he talks a lot. Nice guy, from West Virginia and his pace is similar to ours, so we expect to see a lot of him in the next couple weeks.It rained lightly most of the day. We put in 5.5 miles and then stopped for lunch under the overhang of a very large piece of granite near the shore of rainbow lake. The afternoon hike went by quickly and we got to Rainbow Stream Shelter at 5:30. We met and talked with several NoBos as we are our dinner, but decided to press on after dinner so the the hike to the White House Landing Hostel tomorrow was a little shorter. We covered 2.5 miles after dinner, arriving at Pollywog Stream just before 8. Our plan worked: though it rained pretty hard as soon as we started hiking after dinner, Butterfly managed to get it to stop shortly before we found our site for the night and while we set up camp.  We are stealth camping near the stream. I was so gross and hot from hiking through 100 % humidity that I sat in the middle of the stream for a while to cool off and clean up. Feels so good.  I am thankful for all the beautiful lakes and streams we saw today, for the sound of the loon on the little pond below rainbow lake, for the good conversations we had with NoBos at dinner, and, most especially, that Butterfly is with me.We are safe, warm and dry in our tent. Goodnight from the AT.
Date: 2018-08-06
From: White House Landing

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 0.0

Butterfly asked Ghost, ¢How has the trail changed you?¢  Ghost replied, ¢Well, I don¢t know that it¢s really changed me all that much, but I¢ve learned some important things. One comes from the first few weeks. I started with a lot of stuff in my pack. It weighed a ton. About once a week I¢d go through all my stuff and ask myself, ¢Did I use it? Do I really need it?¢ And if the answer was no, I¢d get rid of it. I¢d let it go. I¢ve realized this applies to my life as well. There¢s some stuff that I¢ve carried around for too long. I¢ve learned to let it go.The second thing I¢ve learned from hiking the AT is to keep my eyes focused on the stuff that¢s right in front of me. If I look too far ahead or look left or right, I¢ll trip.¢Words to live by. Ghost is a US Marine Corp veteran of Afghanistan who was injured by an IED three weeks into his deployment. He is also an AT through hiker who is a few days from summiting Katahdin and who showed up at the White House Landing just in time for dinner.Earlier in the afternoon, Butterfly and I had applied Ghost¢s lesson #1 to our backpacks. We managed to shed several pounds each and have two priority boxes which we will be bouncing ahead a few weeks. We know we will eventually be needing some of these things: items like my sleeping bag, my long sleeve merino wool shirt, Butterfly¢s puffy down jacket. And some of the items we know we will likely send home: my razor, some clothes, the cooking pot and second bowl. With some of the items, though, we¢re a little uncertain and will do without for the next few weeks. If in that time we decide we do need them, we¢ll add them back in. For now, everything is being forwarded to Andover, ME.We also did laundry today - the old fashioned way - with a washboard and tub, made a tentative plan for the next week, read, went swimming, caught up some on correspondence, took naps and, right around sunset, went for another canoe ride on the lake.  We¢re looking forward to seeing a moose or moose. (Seems like I need an ¢s¢ in there somewhere, but I guess not). One walked by our cottage this morning at 5:30 as I was catching up on our journal. I heard its footsteps as it went clopping by, and I looked out the side window of the cottage but saw nothing. Had I looked out the front, I was later told by Linda the owner, I would have seen it swimming across the lake. She was up and had watched it.  Breakfast today was eggs, English muffins, bacon and AYCE blueberry pancakes. Right after breakfast, the owner, Bill, runs hikers back across the lake to the trail. When he returned this AM, Sam and Charles - the 20 something SoBo through hiker brothers - were in the boat as well. Apparently they¢ve decided that the AT is not for them, and they¢re getting off.Today I am thankful for swimming in the lake, blueberry pancakes at breakfast, a successful ¢shake down¢ with Laura that knocked our weight down a lot and the serenity of Lake Pemadumcook.
Date: 2018-08-07
From: White House Landing

To:  Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to
Miles today: 14.1

We left White House Landing by boat at 8:30 after a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffins, coffee, orange juice and all-you-can-eat blueberry pancakes. Surprisingly, Sam and Charles had decided that they were not going to get off the trail and they headed back across the lake to Mahar Landing with us and ghost. With the five of us hikers, our backpacks and Bill, the owner of White House Landing at the helm, the boat rode low and slow.  After the 10 minute ride across and up the lake, we got to the trail at 8:45 and, energized by the great breakfast, took off at a 2.5 to 3 mile an hour pace, made possible because, surprise, the trail was largely root free! It was also flat, so no great views. We did see a lot of lakes, ponds, streams and moose poop, but no moose (yet).Two hours into today¢s hike, the trail hugged the shores of Jo-Mary Lake. I was drenched in sweat, and we were ready for a break, so while Laura purified water from a stream feeding the lake, I went for a swim. Twenty minutes late we were back on the trail.  The weather today was hot and humid, so I eyed every stream, pond or lake as an opportunity to cool off and refresh. At 12:45, we stopped for lunch along Cooper Brook. No sooner had I taken off my shirt, shoes and socks and sat down in the stream to cool off than we heard thunder followed shortly by big drops of rain. We quickly repacked the lunch items we were going to eat and got back on the trail. It rained hard for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but the rest of the day was really damp as a result of the storm. Pretty yucky hiking weather, but I hear it¢s ideal for keeping your skin looking young :-)We got to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to at 3:45 and set up camp up the hill from it on a spot close to the trail. The brook is the same one we stopped along for lunch and has a large swimming hole right in front of it.  Laura and I both cooled off and cleaned up in the brook before dinner. Sharing the site with us is a father-son duo from Fairfax, VA who are hiking the 100 mile wilderness NoBo.We are both pretty tired and, believe it or not, got in our tent at 6:40.  Laura is asleep now as I write this and it¢s only a few minutes past 8.Today I was thankful for cool water to swim in . . . or just sit in.Total ascent: 1170 ft; descent: 780 ft.
Date: 2018-08-08
From:  Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7

We were both asleep before 9 last night and awoke and started moving at 6:30. We had soft/hard boiled eggs on tortillas/bagels (Huckleberry/Butterfly) and hit the trail at 8:40. The trail tread was great for the first few miles and we made good time until the climb up Boardman Mountain. The elevation gain up Boardman was 750 feet in 1.5 miles, so no terrible, but we are a couple of weeks away from really getting our hiking legs back, so it was a chore. Just south of the peak was a vista of White Cap mountain and several others that are a part of the White Cap range - tomorrow¢s hike.  We stopped at an ice cold spring gushing out of a rock on the down slope of Mt Boardman for an early lunch and met a nice young couple from Philadelphia that are doing a northbound hike of the 100 mile wilderness.  We saw a lot of moose poop on the trail again today, but again no moose. And the parade of mushrooms continues. There¢s also an amazing yellow coral-like . . . thing - I don¢t know if it¢s a fungus or what. (See photos.). We also stopped to enjoy some blueberries mid-afternoon.Today¢s hike ended with a steep ascent to Logan Brook shelter about 1/2 of the way up White Cap mountain. We arrived at 4. We found a really nice tent site a few hundred feet north of the shelter, set up camp and then went to the brook to clean up and soak our feet. Afterward, we had Triscuits and cheddar cheese followed by pesto pasta with salmon and a Knorr side - noodles with broccoli.  We were in our tent by 8 and making notes of the day on our phones, when Butterfly noticed that she was getting alerts and text messages. She had left her phone in normal mode and had signal. I then took my phone out of airplane mode and checked the weather. The forecast for the next week had changed significantly - nightly lows in the low 50s, and very little rain, except tonight! Yes, there¢s a 100 % chance of rain from 3 AM until 5AM followed by a high chance of rain throughout the day tomorrow.  Now, with approaching cooler weather and the fact that I have mailed my sleeping bag forward to Andover, ME, ( I¢m using Laura¢s sleeping bag liner) I reasoned that we should keep the tent dry tonight. There was nobody in the shelter, so we quickly took the tent down and set up in the shelter.  All is good except for the cute little mouse that is investigating our stuff. Today I am thankful for the ice cold spring water, for wild blueberries, for a relaxing late afternoon and for a dry shelter to sleep tonight (that we have all to ourselves).
Date: 2018-08-09
From: Logan Brook Lean-to

To: West Branch Pleasant River
Miles today: 12.8

We started at 8:45 after slowly getting up at 6:30. After a breakfast of granola with banana, almonds and milk and coffee, we climbed 1300 feet in 1.3 miles to the top of White Cap Mountain. Stopping at the top to catch our breath, sip some water and admire the clouds and 100 foot visibility, we appreciated the cool breeze.The rest of the morning and early afternoon we went down a few hundred feet and back up a few hundred feet,summiting Hay, West and then Gulf Hagas. From there it was all down hill to the West Branch of the Pleasant River. We stopped at Gulf Hagas Brook for a late lunch and there met a couple NoBos who gave us the lay-of-the-land for the remainder of our hike. Importantly, they assured Laura that the ford of the Pleasant River was a cinch. As we left our lunch spot, it began raining again. It didn¢t rain long - just enough to wet us - and then cleared up and cooled a bit. A nice breeze started blowing making the afternoon hike fairly pleasant.  We got to the ford of the Pleasant River around 5:30. The ford was a cinch, fortunately, knee deep at the most and only about 30 yards. Shortly after crossing, we found a great campsite on a brook that feeds into the Pleasant River. We both washed, set up camp and had a very nice dinner as the air cooled and humidity dissipated.  Tonight I am thankful for cool air and clear skies.
Date: 2018-08-10
From: West Branch Pleasant River

To: Cloud Pond
Miles today: 11.0

Today was the best day of weather we¢ve had and the toughest day of hiking. The humidity was low, temperatures in the 60s, sunny and . . . no rain. We had great views from the Chairback Mountains and Columbus Mountain.  Mainers are Maineiacs (thanks to Jerry Sullivan for that play on words) when it comes to making trails. Over 11.2 miles of trail, we ascended about 4000 feet and descended about 2200 feet. On the face of it, this isn¢t all that difficult once you have your trail legs (we don¢t yet) and if the ascents and descents are gradual (they¢re not). Trail designers in Maine, it seems, believe in going up and down every mountain, whether or not there¢s a nice view on the summit, and doing so in the most direct way possible - straight up or straight down. Now, that¢s a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. They don¢t seem to understand what a switch back is. This really slowed us down today.  We had a number of sections of the trail where the grade was 1000 feet per mile.  And going down grades like this is as slow or slower than ascending.We started this morning with an 800 foot climb in .8 miles as part of the ascent of Chairback Mountain. The views from the top of Chairback were really great, and we could see where we had hiked yesterday.We saw only 7 or 8 NoBos today. We stopped and talked to Dahu (from Switzerland), Translator (so named because she translates for Dahu) and Hook who had all started around April first. They told us that there was really special trail magic on the other side of Barren mountain which we will summit tomorrow morning.  Our plan was to stay at or near Cloud Pond lean-to tonight, and that¢s where we are. It¢s on the north side of Barren Mountain and on Cloud Pond and 0.3 miles down an annoyingly difficult side trail. What a beautiful place, though. Well worth the hassle.During the ascent up to Cloud Pond, we caught up to Cold Brew who we had met the first day at Abol Campground. He was somewhat dehydrated, though a NoBo had helped him out with water shortly before we caught up to him. Further along, we encountered a nice spring on the side of the trail that wasn¢t in either of our guides. We decided to fill up all of our containers and carry as much water up to our campsite on Cloud Pond - not knowing what the water quality would be and liking the water at this spring. Cold Brew caught up to us and was thrilled to fill up his containers as well as rehydrate himself.  Today I was thankful for the beautiful weather, the views, that we were able to tackle the steep ascents and descents safely and for our beautiful spot in Cloud Pond. We are safe and warm in our tent and it¢s in the mid fifties outside now.4030 feet elevation gain, 2189 feet descent.
Date: 2018-08-11
From: Cloud Pond

To: Thompson Brook and Big Wilson Stream
Miles today: 9.9

We got up and going early by Huck and Butter standards - 8 AM. The going, however, was tough and slow again today, and we managed only 1.25 mph over the course of the morning. We had some great views from the top of Barren Mt and from the ledges on the south side of Barren and we enjoyed the conversations we had with the numerous NoBos. The view from the ledges is, I¢m pretty sure, one of the first scenes in the documentary film ¢Walking Home¢ about four Mainers who did the trail (available on YouTube, very good).Here¢s a cute trail name origin story: One of the NoBos we chatted with on the Barren Mt ledges, a redhead with an English accent who hails from Seattle, was named Battalion (pronounced, ¢bat a lion¢) because she, in reading about how the material for a shelter in Georgia had been delivered by army helicopters had not recognized the word and asked her fellow hikers, ¢What¢s a bat a lion?¢After descending Barren Mt and walking through the valley below for a few miles, (and hitting the 100 mile mark), we came to a dirt road crossing with a large sign that said, ¢Trail Magic in Memory of James Adams¢ and pointed down the dirt road. We had been anticipating this magic for miles as many NoBos had told us about it. So we walked the few tenths of a mile to Terry Adams cabin where he and a friend of his son¢s named Birdman, fed us hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, raspberry pie (home made from wild raspberries), soda and beer. The food really hit the spot, and we stayed and chatted with Terry and Birdman for a couple hours.We started hiking again around 2 and Laura announced shortly thereafter that she needed a nap. We had often napped after lunch in 2014, so we found a somewhat comfortable spot near a creek and Laura napped for 20 minutes while I worked on the journal. We forded two streams today: Long Pond Stream and Big Wilson Stream. Laura has become much more comfortable with fording streams - especially since the water levels have been much lower than in the video that Ghosts showed us while we were at White House Landing in which a guy is holding onto a rope stretched across Long Pond Stream for dear life in rushing waters up to his waste.After fording Big Wilson Stream, the trail makes a left turn and follows the stream. About a half mile down stream, we crossed Thompson Brook at the point where it empties into Big Wilson Stream, and on the other side was a perfect campsite. We set up camp and bathed in the river - one of life¢s simple pleasures.  Today was a short and relatively easy day, but we needed it after the last few days. We are still getting our legs, and we don¢t want push ourselves too much to early.  Today I was thankful for fantastic trail magic from Terry Adams and Birdman, for the views south and west from Barren Mountain, and for a bath in Big Wilson Stream.1347 feet elevation gain, 3239 feet descent.