morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2020-09-20
From: US 2 (Gorham)

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: few clouds

Got up early and cooked eggs and bacon I'd picked up at Walmart for Hercules, Amazing, and myself. Amazing was characteristically jubilant to have eggs for the first time in apparently a long time. Paul drove me to the trail about 7:30. Walked a mile on back roads, passing a hydroelectric power plant on the Androscoggin River.Met several backpackers sectioning the Mahoosucs. There's a traverse, as well as several loop trails that use the AT. A guy named Matt is hiking New Hampshire southbound, having gotten on at the Maine border using a side trail. He asked how bad the next climb is. What climb, I asked? I hadn't even noticed it was descending. The trail was pretty easy for most of the day. A few sharp ups and downs and the ubiquitous rocks, of course. But also long stretches of dirt trail. I passed a few ponds full of lilypads. Much of the higher ground was bedrock. Several mostly open summits with spectacular views back to Mt. Washington and other ranges in the Whites as well as ranges to the east and north in Maine.Crossed paths with an older thruhiker named Fossil. He hiked from Gorham to Virginia and is now doing Grafton Notch to Gorham. Then he'll flip up to Katahdin. So I should see him again in a week or two. At this point in the season everyone's trying to finish Katahdin before it's too late.I stopped at a sunny bedrock summit and perched on a rock, cleaning out my peanut butter jar. A girl came by who's been out hiking for 9 days through Maine. Her pack was huge, but she was happy it was so much lighter than when she started.Crossed into Maine a half mile before the shelter turnoff. Soon after the border the trail dipped into the col down a seriously steep jumble of boulders.The Carlo Col Shelter was empty. It's mostly enclosed but for a small doorway. It's a double decker. Hopefully it holds the heat well. The water source was just puddles. I froze my hands scooping out a liter for cooking dinner. Knorr's cheese and broccoli rice, Earl Grey tea, and peanut butter M&Ms. The sun set over the mountains behind the trees surrounding the shelter. It must have already been in the thirties, so I hustled under my quilt for an early night.An older guy named Wild and Muck Fichigan stumbled in (literally) well after dark. Both had wanted to cross into Maine before the day ended.
Date: 2020-09-21
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Grafton Notch
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Wild, my shelter mate, just got back on trail after DJ-ing a couple of weddings back home in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He'd committed to them before he had to get off trail in March and got back on in May. He's wanted to hike the AT since getting lost on a church group outing and discovering, after some initial fear, peace in the woods.We hiked most of the day together, over three peaks of Goose Eye Mountain and through Mahoosuc Notch. I figured it was best to have a hiking buddy going through that mess of boulders.We met Danventure, a retired cop from State College, Pennsylvania. He was a rookie when I attended Penn State. Glad we didn't have a reason to meet then! Also saw Speak Up and Lana for the fourth time going southbound. They are bouncing north several more times to Katahdin so I am sure to see them again. Mahoosuc Notch was more of a puzzle than a physical challenge. Sometimes just finding the right path took a minute. We had to squeeze under the boulders a couple of times. Wild, who vlogs on YouTube as Wild on the Trail, had me film him squeezing out of a narrow gap and joked that it looked like Mahoosuc Notch was giving birth to its newest thruhiker.We had a bite after the Notch before tackling the stiff Mahoosuc Arm climb. It was already mid-afternoon and I had another seven tough miles to reach Grafton Notch so I could be picked up by The Cabin hostel. So I said goodbye to Wild and took off. The Arm was tough but not worse than other big climbs. At the top, Speck Pond sparkled in the sunlight. I climbed further to the top of Old Speck, then flew downhill on an empty trail to Grafton Notch to meet my shuttle.Hopper from The Cabin met me. I stayed there in 2017 and she remembered me. Among other mishaps I'd lost my hiking shirt the day I arrived. It was so hot I'd taken it off and strung it on the backpack to dry out. During some descent I must have scooted down on my butt and lost the shirt to the boulders. Hopper had given me one of the hostel's loaner shirts, a Celestial Seasonings "Tea" shirt, with a Lao Tze quote "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is done."At the hostel, a rambling wood-sided home outside of Andover with a basement bunkhouse, we had the ample leftovers of a meatloaf dinner. Honey, the hostel owner, is 88 and a lifelong Mainer, hiker, and trail maintainer. She still goes for a hike in the White Mountains every July for her birthday. There are several trailers on the property including one with a tenant. Two former thruhikers who met on trail also live on site in a large tent.Soon after dinner I was overcome by fatigue and turned in early. Tomorrow I slackpack.
Date: 2020-09-23
From: East B Hill Rd

To: South Arm Rd
Miles today: 10.1

Another slackpack today. Groggier waking up. It was much warmer this morning. Hopper made omelets for us. It was easy terrain gradually climbing Wyman Mountain. Tons of fall color. Even the steep climb later up Moody Mountain wasn't bad when taking it slow with a light pack. I met a young NOBO named Boomerang taking a break. He seemed a little preoccupied but friendly. But down at Sawyer Brook in a deep notch I ran across Spurs, Muck Fichigan, and Wild all hanging out. Hopper had again sent me out with leftovers, including lots of day-old pancakes in case I ran across hikers. When I asked if they were interested in food they all looked at me intently. And when I pulled out the pancakes they practically leapt on them. Wild was especially ecstatic over the sausages and potatoes. Seeing how thrilled they were over these simple but unlikely treats helps me understand why trail angels do what they do. Wild decided to go back to the hostel with me for the night. Though he seemed very conflicted over cutting back today's miles. He wanted to upload videos to his YouTube channel. He teased though that I'd be to the road way ahead of him. He recreated my departure yesterday at the bottom of Mahoosuc Arm: "Nice hiking with ya Wild!"... <fist bump>...<cloud of dust>. But as we climbed over Moody Mountain I veered off at a viewpoint and didn't realize he'd snuck past me until I reached the road to find him and Hopper hanging out. Though, once again, it was almost exactly the time I said we'd get there. Mills Market again, but this time I grabbed three slices of pizza. Lazy afternoon at the hostel. A big rotisserie chicken family meal. We learned the dinner table was covered with hiker signatures below, including Earl Schaffer's, and added our own. Honey has promised it to the Appalachian Trail Museum. Back on the trail with a full pack tomorrow. It's been a great mini-vacation. These dayhikes have made me feel like a tourist, but a well-fed, relaxed, and unhurried one.
Date: 2020-10-04
From: Otter Pond

To: Katahdin Ironworks Road
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

For the second day in a row I woke up thinking I would zero and ended up doing a slackpack. This time it was over the Chairback range.Poet made sure we all had plenty of calories to start the day. All-you-can-eat blueberry pancakes plus eggs, skillet potatoes and bacon. To Poet and his wife Hippie Chick it's a quiet day, but to me having a dozen hikers around is a big and exciting event.We left in a light rain. I shuttled out with Snorlax, who would be slacking the section I did yesterday. We talked about boy scouting as we headed up the connector trail to the AT. Snorlax is an eagle scout from Kansas City. I headed north up Barren Mountain while he headed south.I shortly overtook a trio of dayhikers. Trail Snail is visiting the trail on her 60th birthday for the first time since her 1996 thruhike. She was joined by a friend with her 14-year-old son. The two wanted to hike the Wilderness this year but were unfortunately deterred by warnings from Baxter and the ATC. But they'll be out next season.A thruhiker named Mighty Bones hiked down at the same time. He's on the flip side of a flip-flop hiking south to Maryland. He nearly died in a car accident two years ago and has had numerous surgeries and prosthetics to repair his arms, knees, and face. An amazing and inspiring story of overcoming adversity. Once again I'm reminded that whatever discomforts or privations I suffer out here it pales beside what others have gone through.I had a gorgeous view from Barren Slide of cotton ball clouds drifting over Lake Onawa and the multi-colored valley. There are seven climbs in the Chairbacks: Barren Ledges, Barren Mountain, Fourth Mountain, Mount Three and a Half (unofficial), Third Mountain, Columbus Mountain, and Chairback Mountain. In between are bogs and streams. None of the climbs were outrageous, but everything was damp and slick. The trail was often muddy or flooded. Overall slow going, and I took my time to avoid any falls. I still slipped many times. Fortunately all were partially controlled - like when both feet straddled a boulder, starting slipping apart, and I nearly did a split.I had plenty of time to reach my pickup point so I did some wildlife watching along the way. Plenty of red squirrels chattering and hoarding nuts. A pileated woodpecker flying between trees and making some interesting sounds. Fresh moose tracks in the mud. Bear clawings in a dead tree looking for insects.I sauntered down the last stretch to Katahdin Ironworks Road near 5:30 where Mike was already waiting. He had two more hikers who had opportunistically come upon the truck and decided to head back to Shaw's. We waited a half hour for Water Queen and 5-Oh to finish the slackpack just north of here, another fifteen miles over Whitecap Mountain, who came in with freshly soaked shoes from fording the Pleasant River. It took an hour to get back to Monson and we hit the gas station for dinner. Already a long day, I hit the sack early. Tomorrow will definitely be a zero.
Date: 2020-10-05
From: Katahdin Ironworks Road

To: Katahdin Ironworks Rd
Miles today: 0.0

Zero-ed at Shaw's after two days of slackpacking. Rough life! Should be four more days to reach the foot of Katahdin, a day to summit, and a day for insurance, which I'll use to climb the last 4000-footer in Maine if I don't need it. Six days of food is more than I've carried at any point on this thruhike. With a frameless pack I'm expecting to feel it for the first day or two.Another huge breakfast - I'm frontloading calories for the next week! Resupplied when I got to tag along with Hippie Chick to the grocery store in Greenville 15 miles away. Picked up a bottle of champagne to celebrate early with the hikers here. I'm not carrying it to Katahdin, that's for sure. Kitchen Sink, who zeroed the last two days, got a replacement backpack and spent the afternoon sorting through his gear, shipping some stuff home, and repacking. He's southbound and is early in his journey, however far it may take him. Snorlax also zeroed, while Muck, Spurs, and Wild slacked and Water Queen and 5-Oh headed back on trail. A flip-flopper named Fossil who I met in the Mahoosucs showed up last night and slacked the section south of Monson today. A girl helping out here has been doing work-for-stay for a few weeks. She hiked a little but plans to thruhike next year. Poet dubbed her Jabberwocky - as in the trail is her Jabberwocky to slay. Poet, a former high school teacher, can recite that and many other works from various authors from memory.A foursome popped in last night from the middle of the Wilderness just for the night and to resupply - Shark Boy, Lava Girl, Bear Claw, and one I forget. And this afternoon Red Beard and Dutchman made it from Caratunk after zeroing two days at the Sterling Inn. Several section hikers also came through. Shaw's is the epicenter for hikers in northern Maine, and something of a vortex. It's almost impossible to stay less than two or three nights. Hippie Chick whipped up dinner for everyone because it's Monday - lasagna and plenty of it! I popped the champagne, which on top of some wine and mulled cider made everyone merrier than usual. Tomorrow, I hike. On into the Wilderness! On to Katahdin! The Long Cruise nears its end.
Date: 2016-07-27
From: Delaware Water Gap 

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 15.5

We did our 15 miles today although we were really slow. But the trail was very rocky. We met about 20 Thru hikers today and at the very end we had hoped to stay in a motel which was closed. But thankfully they left an igloo cooler full of water so we could fill up since there was no where to fill up. Sidewinder ( my hiking partner/daughter) started to not feel well the last couple miles so we took a break and chatted with some thru hikers and then trudged on to se up for camp. It was just about dark. We are now in our tent snuggling with our 2 dogs. We are hoping to do 15 more miles tomorrow ending in little gap. -Yardsale and Sidewinder.
Date: 2016-07-28
From: Wind Gap

To: Little Gap Road
Miles today: 13.9

This morning we saw 2 deer at our campsite. Pretty cool. Saw another 2 while hiking. Walked to Leroy A Smith shelter and had to walk a mile round trip to get water. We were out so we needed to do it. Well we were trucking right along and then we heard the Thunder. We kept walking in the rain for about an hour. Then we saw a campsite and decided to set up there. Although it was 2 miles short of where we were planning on going. We are bunkered down for the night.
Date: 2016-07-29
From: tent site before little gap road

To: Bake Oven Knob
Miles today: 14.2

This day was the most exhausting day. We had three gaps to descend and climb. Happy to see trail magic consisting of soda and water. Made it to bake oven knob shelter. I think my dog summer was having some heat exhaustion. She got sick. But all is well today. Spend the night with a father and 16 year old son. A bunch of NOBO made it in before dark. Then at 4 am more came in who hiked at night. They all were enjoying the drinks at the Summit. Pretty good night at the shelter considering the rained.
Date: 2016-07-30
From: Bake oven Road

To: Eckville/Hawk mountian road
Miles today: 17.4

Started out with not having packed enough food. Plans dont always turn out like they should and we should pack an error day just in case. We had planned to hit a restaurant the night before and fell short because of the rain. We managed by eating our snacks. We also knew we were going to hike 6 miles and eat at the Blue Mountain Summit. We concured Bear rocks and Knifes edge early on our hike today, then lunch at the Summit. We got there 20 min before they opened. Tied the dogs out back in the shade, and filled up on water. The dogs were so content just laying there. First thing we ordered was Water, Soda and an Alcoholic drink. They tasted so good. It was extremely humid toady. We also got the dogs burgers for their hard work. Then headed off toward the Allentown Shelter. As we got near, it started thundering and lightning. A bit worried but, that just turned to all rain. We walked the next 7 miles in the rain. In the beginning it wasnt bad, by the end we had enough. Our water proof boots were soaking wet. Thankfully we had my husband waiting for us as we walked off the trail. We came home showered, unpacked our wet gear, and ate a hot meal. Unfortunately we are going to have to leave my dog Summer home on the next leg of the trip. She was showing sings of fatigue and with further examination, her back toe nails have the flesh rubbing thru. She will stay home for some R&R.
Date: 2016-07-31
From: Eckville

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 15.0

We had a little late start leaving the house. Got to the trail @ 9:00. Started the hike to the Pinnacle. Normally it would take someone 3 hours to get there. We managed in 2:15. It was a steep hike up a nice grassy lane. We must be getting better. Enjoyed a snack and the view. Then peeked in at Pulpit rock for another view. We worked like mother truckers and put on the miles. We hit the switchbacks into Port Clinton. Going down and pretty intense. Our feet hurt so bad and I have like 5 blisters on one foot and 3 on the other from all the rocks. As I sit hear writing my feet are throbbing. Anyway, when you come off the trail it would be say to hike up route 61. That's what my daughter thought. Nope you need to go under bridge and go another half mile into town. On the way we hit a small stream flowing into river. It dealt so great to put our feet in it. Then we walk thru Port Clinton a guy gave us a ride to end of town. Another local offered us to use the spigot to get water. The we were so happy to meet up with my husband and friends for dinner at the hotel. It was amazing and so good. As we are hiking. We find that we are so hungry but when we try to eat we can only eat about half. Crazy. We were once again joined up with Kara's dog Rhone after the day of R&R. I am missing my dog Summer but she is better off at home at this point. But just to report she is doing a lot better today. So then back to the Pavillion to join 2 older hikers Brokeback and Pounds. 2 chatty souls. So unpacking to go to sleep I can not find my sleeping bag anywhere. Imy husband said I didn't leave it at home. The only other place I opened my pack was at a shelter to eat lunch. Hmmmmm. So in the morning I am off with a shuttle to buy a sleeping bag. My friend Dee offered to come. But I'll use my Frogg Toggs tonight as a cover. A thunder storm rolled in than god we were under the pavillion and at 12 a hiker rolled in.
Date: 2016-08-01
From: Port Clinton

To: Campsite near Route 183
Miles today: 14.9

Started with getting up a 6 am. My friend Dee picked us up and took us to breakfast at 3C's resturant. At this point it is kinda comical to watch us walk. We look like 2 little old ladies who can hardly walk. After about an hour it eases up. Dee was also nice enough to to take me to Walmart to buy another sleeping bag. It's not at home so it was either left at a shelter when we pulled out our lunch or it was stole at the pavilion when we went to dinner. Prolly at the shelter. We packed up and tended to our blisters. On our way out of town a car pulled up, they had trail magic for Paw Patrol. We were on the trail by 8:30. The trail travels this steep incline out if Port Clinton. The steepest we have done. It was tough. It definitely slowed our time today. We hiked all day with 2 breaks and 30-40 min lunch and also to re bandage our blisters. 2 more have reared their ugly head. I think from compensating for other blisters. Overall it was a good hiking day other than the rocks,gnats and blisters. We also met a lot of thru hikers who were headed to Maine. A funny story.... Our trail dog, Rhone aka Paw Patrol, has been teased by chipmunks all through our hike. Well one zipped out on the trail ran into her legs and made a u turn n ran back in the woods before Paw Patrol even knew what happened to her. Another is when she runs in the ferns after them, she looks like a lion with ferns all around her neck. Anyway We hiked to 183 be was greeted with trail magic. A cooler full of goodies freeze pops and lemon seltzer water. We also were happy to make it to camp before getting any rain. According to the weather it was going to rain at 1:30. While Kara started cooking I set up the tent. We then hung our bear bag(food) in a tree. It only took 2 attempts. Checked in at home and as I am writing this it is thundering like crazy. All I can say is hopefully we stay dry. Ill let ya know tomorrow. Oh ya and we smell pretty bad now.
Date: 2016-08-02
From: Campsite near 501

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up early and dry. Imagine that. We had to pack up our wet tent and try to dry out later. We hit the trail and hike about 9 miles to 501 shelter. We passes a youth group of kids and when we told them that today we will have hiked 100 miles. They were amazed. We got to 501 shelter and met up with 2 guys that are brothers. One is just hiking a week with the brother. We all ordered Pizza and it was delivered to the parking lot near the shelter. We chilled for about 2 hours. Kara got a very cold shower from an over head hose. We then hiked 4 more miles to William Penn shelter which is a pretty big be has a loft. At this point 3 guys are already sleeping down stairs so Kara is taking the other area down stairs since she has the dog. I will sleep upstairs and another guy and one guy in a hammock. Kara had her 4th slip today on rocks. Thankfully she just slid and fell on her pack. Me on the other hand had a good fall early on the hike. The hiking poles went flying and I had a hard time getting up because of the pack. Hence my trail name is Yardsale. Time for bed or my mat and sleeping bag. The whole shelter is going to sleep at 8:45.
Date: 2016-08-03
From: William Penn Shelter

To: Campsite 
Miles today: 16.5

The day started pretty early as all the hikers got up and started eating breakfast. Our breakfast was leftovers that we had from the 501 shelter. Where Kara ordered pizza and I got a medium ham and cheese calzone. That means we actually got 3 meals out of that one order. Of course we had to pack it with us. 3 guys were headed NOBO and Dr. John and his brother Matt and ourselves were headed SOBO. They left before us. We had to hike another .3 miles to get water before we even started hiking. That doesn't sound like much but after 8 days of hiking and our feet killing us. We needed to have 2 liters knowing there's were creeks ahead. We hiked to the first overlook and had a snack. We are trying to have 2 snacks before lunch because we realize now that we are feeling so bad and stumbling and careless and it is because we are not consuming enough calories. When we try to eat we are starving but when we actually eat we can only eat half. The hikers say this is common in the beginning. We eventually hiked to Swatara gap. There was a really nice bridge and the river so we soaked our aching feet in the river while we ate out lunch consisting of a tortilla with peanut butter,honey, almonds and dried fruit. We planed on hiking to the next shelter and taking a break. We also heard from other hikers that Dr John and his brother were there. We had a really big climb up the mountain and halfway down the other side. We found an old cemetery that 3 people were buried there from 1845. The one was a native of England and died at Gold Mine Gap. Pretty interesting. As we got to the sign for the shelter it was another .3 miles to the shelter. We decided to rest there instead of walking back. Then came our 2 hiker friends. They were planning on hiking 2 more miles and setting up camp. We were as well. Eventually we hiked 2 miles and couldn't find a spot so we hiked another mile and eventually just found a place in the middle of the woods. It feels so good to rest our feet. Dinner was Alfredo noodles and chicken. We are up in the mountain above Fort Indian Town gap. I swear it sounds like they are practicing with machine guns. Well I can't check I. With anyone tonight. I have no cell service.