morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-16
From: Sugarloaf Mtn. Summit Hut

To: ME 26
Miles today: 10.9

Even though we went to bed with a great sunset, we woke up to mega fog and crazy wind. We(Oopu, Slickrock, Ketchup, me and the three section hikers: Sarah, John and Robin) decided to hike down Sugarloaf Mtn Ski Slope instead of down the AT trail on many rocks. Another adventure for us!!! We hiked 2 black diamonds, a black and a blue slope...Then the coolest thing happened. We got to the bottom of Sugarloaf Mtn. and we started to hitch on ME 26 to get a 5 mile ride to Stratton. When all of sudden a car slams on the brakes and swerves to the side of the road...and who gets out but MR. CRANKYPANTS!!! I had emailed him earlier this week to let him know we were in Maine and were expecting HUGE Trail Magic :) and so he came as soon as he could figure out where we were! So we got a ride to Stratton with him and got to hang out with him ALL DAY! It is so crazy that we have gotten to know people so quickly and so well. Mr. CrankyPants -thank you!Well, we have 14 days exactly and I am ready. I will enjoy all that I can and when I can. Thank you to those of you who continue to pray for me and us out here, we need it to continue to fight the mental battle that we are all fighting. It is still beautiful out here and I do see that. song:"Jump" Van Halen
Date: 2003-08-17
From: ME 26

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

zero for me and Slickrock. We are both trying to rejuvinate every way we can to keep going and stay positive. So the rest of 5 Alive headed out toward Monson and we wil leave tomorrow. We are also going to the Post Office tomorrow because our mail drop with all our food isn't at the White Wolf Inn...so before we spend money we are going to see if it is somewhere else. The weather is holding! It is even cool...we might get through the next couple of days with sun. Yeah!song:"Red dirt Road" Brooks and Dunn
Date: 2003-08-18
From: ME27

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

Sigh. Beautiful day, not a bad hike, amazing views from Avery Mtn...I really like Avery Mtn. especially since the descent wasnt a killer. But I just got stung by a bee on my 2nd toe of my left foot and it is so painful! I can barely sit still..I was allergic to bee stings as a child and have always carried epinephrine with me. I have it now too...nothing bad seems to be happening. Just the tip of left foot is on fire. Hope I can sleep!song: "Who wouldnt want to be me" Keith Urban
Date: 2003-08-19
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.0

Another pretty day!!! I have a sunburn on top of the one from last thursdau...what's that about? By the way, my bee sting is much better. I don't think I am allergic anymore. My toe is only slightly swollen and sore today. So yeah! And I was able to fall asleep last night...it did hurt bad for another hour or so...man, bee stings hurt!So no worries any more about bees. Maine is beautiful! So much water all over the place! Lakes and ponds...amazing.song: "Have a heart" Bonnie Rait
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Caratunk

To: ME 201
Miles today: 0.0

Subject: speck aug 20start:finish: ME 201Slickrock and I have been having a hitching adventure...we decided to skip some miles to meet up with the rest of 5 Alive in Monson, ME. We had a great time! Thank you to Bruce and Alex for sharing your family and helping us get to Bingham, ME. And then we got to get to know a 72 year old woman...got to get vegetables and look up a Chimney expert. Pretty cool! So we are staying at the Pie Lady's in Monson and Cire showed up about an hour ago and we are pretty sure the other three will get here tomorrow.12 days till we summit Katahdin!Song: "Supermodels" Kendall Payne
Date: 2003-08-21
To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

zeroing in Monson. Got to check email, eat a lot, and just hang out. We will be entering the 100 mile wilderness tomorrow morning! Getting so close! The weather is hot but it has been holding up for us this past week...just 11 days...wonder if the rain will keep away! Mr. CrankyPants and Eileen are here blessing us with their presence...yeah! Actually they let Diesel, Oopu and I take Eileen's car to go to an ATM in a different town...and we had such a great time! Freedom. Driving a car and listening to awesome music...I don't know how to explain how amazing it is to listen to music and be in a car. Diesel and I actually stayed in the car when we got back to the Pie Lady's and then Cranky and Slickrock joined us and we all listened to music for another hour. Dave Matthews, Nickel Creek, Jars of Clay, Rusted Root, Rent, Rustic Overtones, Ani DiFranco, and so much more! Thanks you two for letting us take over your car! song: "99 Luftballons" Nina
Date: 2003-08-22
From: ME 15(Monson)

To: Vaughn Stream
Miles today: 13.7

start: ME 15finish:Vaughn Streammiles: 13.7100 Mile Wilderness...as with the rest of the world, I am not sure it should be called a wilderness much longer. We crossed at least 5 logging roads and train tracks today...saw a few day hikers too. It's pretty cool when you get to the trailhead though...there is a sign that says if you don't have at least 10 days of food that you need to turn back because you may not make it. We took a picture of it. I enjoyed today so much(even with the insane amount of blood sucking mosquitoes), I was in such a good mood! I am not sure if it is because we started our final leg of the hike or just cause...we passed so many ponds and it was all so pretty! I am tired now though. I won the "heaviest pack" award today. I am not sure why it is so much heavier than everyone elses but it is. And I am paying for it...my feet hurt more than they ever have before, my neck and my back too...it's a good thing the pack will get lighter every time I eat something. :)Did I tell you all that I have a new backpack? I can't remember. Well, I do. My Osprey Ariel 60(that I bought in Hot Springs) was having a few problem. It was ripping on the hip belts, one of the stays was poking out the bottom and jabbing my leg and my pulley was coming apart. SO I called Osprey last week and they said it was under warranty so they sent me a new one! I got it in Monson and sent the original one back to them. So YEAH! I will go home with a practically new pack! Love it! Osprey Rocks!Song: "Time is ticking away" D.C. Talk
Date: 2003-08-23
From: Vaughn Stream

To: West Branch of the Pleasant River
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Don't know what to say about today. Slickrock and I left before everyone else and right away we had to ford a stream. We have to take our shoes off and cross in our sandals...sometimes its easy and sometimes its really hard to get across. Then we climbed up Barren Mtn. which was so pretty. The weather was perfect for me - about 65 degrees and sunshine...till after lunch then the clouds started rolling in. It has spit on us off and on all afternoon. And now it is COLD! Yesterday was so hot...anyways...Feet still hurt but my pack is getting lighter. Whats funny is that everyone (cept maybe my sister) is running out of food. We are all so hungry and eating everything we can...but I have more than enough and am glad, even though they all made fun of my pack being so heavy yesterday. One good thing about today is we found rasberry bushes. Black AND red rasberries. Man, oh man they taste so good. I think that rasberries are my favorite fruit...and they were right off the trail!!! YUM!!!We talk a lot about food out here...we started playing the "if you could have any food you wanted right now, what would it be game" back in North Carolina. And we still talk about food more than anything else. What we want...the first place we want to go when we get home...our biggest cravings...today I have been craving my mexican food. Always loved Mexican food and cant wait to have some! Soon, very soon.song: "Satellite" Dave Matthews Band
Date: 2003-08-24
From: West Branch of the Pleasant River

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: few clouds

Okay, 2 days ago it was hot-87 degrees and humid and mosquitoes were everywhere. Then yesterday it went down to upper 60's and was pretty nice till it rained on us in the afternoon. But guess what? We woke up today to blue skies and 46 degrees! Brrrrr...its like a Florida winter. It got up to 53 degrees by lunch and dropped from there. We climbed our last big mountain till Katahdin today. First we had an insane climb up Gulf Hagas Mtn...which wasnt even that high but the trail was flat till the last minute and then straight up...and the same thing up Hay Mtn. We finally get to White Cap Mtn. 3600 feet and have the best view of Mount Katahdin. It looks so close! It actually is, we just have to hike the next 72 miles in a zig zag around ponds and lakes to get there. ONE MORE WEEK! I can't believe that I have lived outside for the past 6 months and have hiked through 14 states! Wasnt sure if I was going to make it these past couple of weeks but now nothing could stop me...cept really bad weather. BUT that isnt going to happen. :)song: "Missing you" David Wilcox version)and   some song by Elliot Smith from "XO" or "OX" Album - my memory...hmmm
Date: 2003-08-25
From: Logan Brook Lean to

To: Jo Mary Road
Miles today: 15.4

Blah, blah, blah, blah...almost finished. I got stung today by two bees. They didn't hurt as badly as whatever stung me last Monday. I think it was a wasp. And again, no allergic reaction this time-so yeah!The terrain is getting ridiculously easy...which is crazy because it isnt like that anywhere else. Slickrock and I did 15.4 miles by 4 pm and are just hanging out tonight. The rest of 5 Alive did 4 more miles to be able to get to the White House Landing Hostel tomorrow by lunch. They have all run out of food so they want to get there and eat and resupply. But I think that Slickrock and I will be there by 1 pm too...so we just are taking it easy. It's our August motto.song: "Kiwi and the Apricot" Keller Williams
Date: 2003-08-26
From: Jo Mary Road

To: Nahmakanta Stream
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

What a lovely day...lovely, lovely...(please read the above lovelies by sounding out every syllable, heehee)Slickrock and I were up and hiking before 8 am and as I mentioned yesterday, the trail is easy these days. We hiked 10.1 miles to Mahar Tote Rd...where we knew there was a turn off to the only hostel in the "100 mile wilderness". We hiked a mile to the White House Landing Hostel dock, where I sounded the fog horn(loud!) and we waited only 5 minutes for the owner to come in a speed boat and pick us up. LUNCH TIME! The rest of 5 Alive was already there eating the biggest burgers, so Slickrock and I ordered ours and then we sat back and enjoyed.We stayed there all afternoon. We showered, did laundry in a tub basin with an old ringer outer, got to canoe, I sat in a hammock for a while...and then we ate dinner. Another burger for me. :) Then we got shuttled back to the trail where we hiked around .1-.3 of a mile and are camped out. Very enjoyable day. Cept for the insane Mosquitoes!We have 5 days left and only 46 miles left. We will hike about 10 miles a day for the next 4 days and then the last 5.2 up Katahdin!!! Our parents are all coming to meet us on Sunday morning, cept some of 5 Alive is talking about getting their parents to pick them up on Saturday night and then ride in on Sunday morning to hike Katahdin. We will see. I dont know what I want to do because I would love to hang out with mom and dad but dont want to wake up at 3 am to get into the park...which is what we would have to do...to make sure we are one of the 100 cars that gets in every day. Anyways, I have time to make that decision.song: "Trust in the Lord" Sixpence None the Richer
Date: 2003-08-27
From: Nahmakanta Stream

To: Wadleigh Stream Lean to 
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up late because of crazy rain storms last night and then the mosquitoes took over. I didn't want to get out of my tent ever...ever...ever. But we did. And then the day started clear up and the air cleared up...we passed about 5 lakes-one had sand beaches, it was so pretty!!! I hiked along that lake for about 2.5 miles...waves were crashing. We all got to this shelter about lunch time and as soon as we did it started to rain like crazy. But we were dry! So we waited and then it cleared up again. This weather is crazy! Cire started a fire and it is still going...7 hours later. Basically we have all played, talked, slept, and hung out. Now we are quoting stupid movies...hahaha...its been a fun day with all of 5 Alive. Oh yeah, we met Two Dogged and her 2 dogs. She is from South Africa and met Williams(the coolest man ever!) in the Shenandoahs too. Anyways, got a big 11.7 miles tomorrow...going to rest up for that.song:"Always and Forever" Shania TwainI don't even know how I know this song! I have had it in my head for a couple of days too...so maybe if I admit it, I won't have to sing it anymore.
Date: 2003-08-28
From: Wadleigh Stream Lean to

To: North end of Rainbow Lake
Miles today: 15.4

This has definitely been one of my favorite days of the entire hike. I don't think I will be able to explain why...but I will try.Woke up to chilly weather-probably lower 60's and we were going to hike 11.9 miles to the Rainbow Spring Campsite. We all started hiking at 8am and had a 1000 foot climb to one of our last viewpoints...it was of a lake with Katahdin in the background...just a sweet moment. Then we ate lunch at Rainbow Stream Lean to...and everyone else seemed to be in an irritated mood. They might not have been but no one was really talking...so who knows. So they all left and were going to hike the last 4 miles and I just hung out at the shelter with Ketchup. We met Tyler and his sister and talked with them about hiking in Wyoming and Colorado and then headed on. We found Slickrock waiting for us at Rainbow Lake/spring, so we hung out there. I guess the beauty of the day is that I took my time and still hiked 15.4 miles and only have 23 miles left on the A.T. Ketchup and I just hung out by the lake for an hour and a half to watch the sunset. There was an old metal drum...so we pretended we could rap/sing spontaneously and laughed a lot. It was awesome! We also talked about all we hope to do when we get home and how much we have changed over the past 6 months and how amazing it is to know that we can do anything we want. I want to live. I want to live and never become complacent with my life...that is my prayer for me and for 5 Alive.song: "Here comes the sun" The Beatles
Date: 2003-08-29
From: North end of Rainbow Lake

To: Abol Pines Campsite
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

2 more days! 2 more days! We are sitting 9.9 miles away from Katahdin and it is raining on us right now. Shocker!!!We woke up to a beautiful morning though and climbed about 400 feet to Rainbow Ledges and had a phenomenal view of Katahdin. Then we hiked by the last lean-to in the 100 mile wilderness...where a lot of people write a goodbye, or a last remark in the register. So Slickrock, Ketchup and I spent time reading it and then added our own goodbyes. I even wrote a poem! And it rhymed! Can't say it was too good though. Ate lunch at Abol Bridge Campground and found out that Gadget and Chris are camping near here and he wants to summit with us on Sunday. So Slickrock and I are going to hike to his campground before we get to the Birches. Hopefully, we will find him.So anyways, this is about it! Only 2 more official days out here. Craziness. I feel like I am in the movie "Groundhog Day"...like Sunday will never really come and I will always be in the middle of wanting to leave and never wanting this experience to end.   BIG SIGH. Guess we will see on Monday!song: "I'm so happy that I can't stop crying" or whatever it is really called. By Sting
Date: 2003-08-30
From: Abol Pines Campsite

To: The Birches Campsite in Baxter State Park
Miles today: 9.9

One more day! We woke up after a heavy rain last night to a pretty clear and nice day. We all stocked up on food at the Abol Bridge Campstore because we weren't sure if we were going to see our families this afternoon. But we got to the Birches around 1:00 p.m. and signed in officially with the park ranger. I am hiker number 166 to reach Baxter State Park for this year...pretty crazy!Slickrock and I had tried to find Gadget and Chris this morning at their campsite but they had already gotten up and left so we figured we had missed them. But as some of us were setting up our gear at the shelter/campsite, Gadget drove up! So yeah! We got to see them and found out that Gadget summitted yesterday. They left us with some potatoes to bake, and some other goodies...just in case our families weren't coming. BUT of course they did. ABout a half hour later, Diesel's family drove up! Yeah. This is really going to happen! We discussed all of our options of going to town or waiting here for other parents and we decided to head into Millinocket for food and to try to call our parents from there. But how do you fit 9 people in a sedan? You put 2 of them in the trunk. So it's official...I have ridden for 30 minutes in the trunk of a car with Cire and it was the funniest experience. This is what memories are made of. :)Mike and Robin took us to McDonalds because that is where Cire's mom was meeting us and I called my parents and they headed to McD's too about an hour later!!! It is sooo good to see them. By the time we were showered and ready for dinner...Oopu's parents were there too. Only Ketchup is going to have to wait till tomorrow to see her family. We ate a huge pizza dinner and then some of the parents brought us back to Baxter State Park for the night.We summit tomorrow!!! song: "You are so good to me" from Enter the Worship Circle
Date: 2003-08-31
To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I am on top of Katahdin. I started crying as soon as I saw the sign on top...amazing. We have the best day today- Class One Day. Probably the best weather we have had the whole trip. Amazing. My dad is about a mile from the top too...How crazy! He rocks. All of 5 Alive hiked to the top together...we helped each other and waited when we needed to and then all touched the Katahdin sign together. I can't even begin to describe how proud I am off all of us for doing this together. I mean, all five of us left our parents on March 1st at Springer and we are here together on Katahdin! We have grown, changed, fought, laughed a lot, cried, supported, listened, talked, sympathized, scratched(bug bites) and so much more together. I sit in AWE of how our Heavenly Father has blessed us and grown us these six months. This has been the hardest and most amazing thing I have been apart of and I am thankful to have shared it with Ketchup, Slickrock, Diesel, Oopu and Cire...I truly will miss each one of you. Now we have gotten down from the Mountain and are going to dinner with our families in Millinocket. Will I ever stop eating so much? I hope so. :)song:Hey, hey, hey" 4 Non Blondes
Date: 2002-08-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Okay, I am sitting at my desk and I am soo ready to start this trail. Actually I still have a lot of work ahead of me before I leave next March. I have been planning this trip for about a year and a half now and cannot believe that it is actually going to happen!!! I let my boss know about a month ago that I would be leaving this next spring. The decision to hike wasn't hard but the decision to leave my job has been extremely hard. I am the Director of Children's Ministry and have been here for 3 years and I love it. I love the kids and the family and the fact that I get to play, pray and tell others how much Jesus loves them!!! And I am leaving it. Wow. But I am trusting that God has something else for me after the trail. I really didn't know about the AT until about 3 years ago and kept mentioning it as one of those things that would be amazing to do on so many levels. I liketo challenge myself and to test my limits and I know that will be exactly what happens next year. I think a lot of people take so much for granted and I hope that I never do-so here is one way to try not to. Like I said before I have no idea what I am going to do next year and I am trying to decide now what to do with my house. Yuck.Oh yeah, I am going to get to do this hike with my sister, Julia. She and I get along really well(actually we know how to push each others buttons too but can work through it) and I am so excited to get to share this with her. She is getting her degree in Conservation and so I hope I will learn more about God's country and creatures with her. I have already put together an itinery(sp?) and mail drops but will probably keep fine tuning those. I feel like I have done nothing but read about the AT the past 6 months and I still have so much to learn!!! But I am soooo very thankful to all of the websites that work so hard to get good info out for those of us that hope to journey on the trail-especially this website. What a great IDEA!!! Now I just got to make sure I don't read too much. :-)Kay-guess that's enough babbling...see you soon!
Date: 2002-08-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Oh yeah, got to hike in VT last week with Julia and it was stinking hot!!! Hope it is cooler when we go through there next year.We ran into 2002 hikers - Pakatak, Icebeard, Maybe Muscles, Giggles, SouthPaw, and Magyver. Thanks for all your info that you shared with us!!! There was someone else there too - but I forget at the moment. Sorry. You guys rock!! Good luck finishing.
Date: 2002-09-02
To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Hi all...I just got back from a Labor Day weekend hike to Blood Mountain!!! I took a friend of mine who had never hiked before and we set out from Neels Gap to get to Woody Gap this past Saturday. Well we didn't make it but I had the absolute best time!! Thanks for going with me Dirt-in-the-skirt!I met John "Big Stick" who is the Ridgerunner for Georgia-Thank you for what you do so the rest of us can HIKE!! And he gave me some info on how to help with some of the maintanance in Georgia. It's hard for me to get up there but I am planning on helping with some maintanance in the next couple of months.I am so excited about this opportunity. One of the coolest things that I have noticed is how different the Mountains are even not too far from each other. It completely fascinates me...I am amazed at the details each area shows. I just thank our Father for creating it all and pray that we don't ruin it all. I am really learning a lot about conserving what we have and how we as Americans aren't the best at it. But there are a lot of people out there trying so here's another one!!!I hope you all have a great Fall.
Date: 2002-11-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I still don't have a trailname - sooo...I am allowing the kids that I work with at the church give their suggestions and then we are going to vote. Kind of makes me nervous!!! I have been dehydrating all sort of weird foods recenty...I did potato salad yesterday and I may not be eating one day on the trail. I will do bread pudding tonight so that I can variety in my breakfasts...I am so excited!!!I never mentioned that there are actually 2 others planning on hiking with Julia and I - Leah and Jason!!! Another friend, David is still trying to make it work...I will update more on them later!!! We are already planning on meeting in Atlanta on February 27th!!! Going to be here before I know it. Yeah!!!
Date: 2002-11-13
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Short One!!! I have been trying to figure out how to include the kids at my church in picking out my trail name. So I let them all today write down a name they liked - they have had 3 weeks to think about it...I have over 40 different names to choose from now. I think I will pick my favorite 5 and then let them vote!!! Yikes. Variety...I am going to list a few of them here--just in case you guys need some ideas?! Pencil Hanger      Worm      M & M      Bare Feety      Skittles105Popcorn Head      boogaboo   Tiger   Mr. Nobody      Shortcake(Got this one at least 3 times)      Roxy      Guitar Lady   Maniac on FeetKids are pretty creative!!! Who knows what I will end up being...Blessings,Em