morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-19
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a very long 11.5 miles, but it was good. I started off knowing I was going to take it slow and so I was able to stay positive. But a great story came from today: About 8 miles in, I had a river crossing. All others to this point have been relatively easy to get across by rock hopping without getting my boots wet. Though I've been looking forward to a real river crossing, I'd managed to stay dry all day so I wanted to make it across the rocks here as well. The rocks were a bit trickier placed and further apart though. I decided to rock hop. The space between the 2nd and 3rd rocks however was a little larger than I would like, but I thought I could probably make it, the worst that happens is that I don't land the jump and I end up a little wet. It was kind of deep though and I didn't want my pack wet because that makes it a ton heavier, so I HAD to make it!! Well, I leapt, and for 1 glorious second, I was really proud of myself for landing on the dry part of the rock and not falling in...but my boot caught the very top of the slipperyness and I completely ate it. I was able to catch myself and hang onto the big rock Mufasa-style, but my entire right leg and part of the tent (attached to the bottom of my pack) was being swept away by the river. But, don't fret! I somehow was able to pull myself up onto the rock and again I celebrated- after all, only one foot was wet and my pack was still dry! However, the rocks weren't done with me yet...I went to the next rock (I thought the rest of the crossing would be easy...) and I'm not really sure how it happened, but next thing I know, I was belly flopped onto a rock the length of my body. This time, though much more painful (it's definitely a miracle I didn't break a rib, or my face), was also much more comical - the rock was about the length of my torso, but only the top 1" was visible above water, and both sides sloped down; I landed where I was basically straddling the rock, but my entire body was against it, so my whole body is now in the water except my back and my pack. Getting up from that position was extremely difficult because there was no non-slippery place to put my feet or poles or hands. So, I kinda was stuck for a few seconds and really, I have no clue ho I finally got up...but when I finally made it to the other side, I could only sit down and laugh at how hilarious that probably would have been for anyone else if they had been watching! The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful, I started hiking in my Chacos and my feet have never been happier! Sandal hiking from here on out. THe last two miles seemed to never end, but I was glad to get to the lean-to and find out the Wes and two of the Boys Scouts also fell into the river on the first rock I did! What a long day, tomorrow will be hard, but it's only 7 miles so that's a comfort. Every day's a new adventure - I'm still lovin' it!!
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Logan Brook Lean-to

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 7.2

Today was an easy 7.2 miles. I thought it was going to be rough, but it wasn't! The downhill parts were painful but bearable, and the climbs, though steep, are nice because I'm getting my trail legs and can do them pretty quickly and they aren't bad on my knees at all so I feel like I'm making more progress than on the descents. We climbed Whitecap Mountain today and it was BEAUTIFUL! The views in Maine are all so gorgeous and pictures just don't do the landscape justice at all. We've been blessed with great weather so far in Maine which is uncharacteristic this time of year. We were expecting rain every day. We could see Katahdin from Whitecap and it was so far away this time! It's cool to see it get further and further away every view we get. We met a new SOBO at the lean-to, Bible. He's going ahead because his resupply didn't happen somehow. Andrew caught back up to us today too - his trail name is Blue Skies now. And Amy (Breeze) caught up as well. So there were a lot of us at the lean-to and we all just hung out and chatted. The Boy Scouts made a fire which keeps the bugs away. It was a good evening a good day today.
Date: 2013-06-21
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 9.9

WOW! I feel like I just climbed Katahdin again. Today was somewhat eventful. I was having a bad day the first four miles or so, not for any reason, I just needed an attitude check. When I worked at Mountain T.O.P., we were always encouraged to take a "sabbath" during the day to just rest and refocus your day. I was never very good at it while on staff, but I definitely took one today and it helped a lot to just sit down, eat something, and look around at where I'm at and just be thankful for this opportunity. During my break, an older man passed, he's just doing the Maine portion of the AT and is a few days from being done (NOBO). We talked for a bit and as hikers do, we talked about food (he's been craving watermelon). Last night at the lean-to we were talking about fruit and so I've been craving peaches and I told him that. And lo and behold! He pulls a freakin' peach out of his pocket and gives it to me! Weirdest thing ever. But I ate that peach with a giant smile on my face and my day was better. I forded a river for real today, no falling in or anything. Cleaned my blisters out and continued hiking in my Chacos which reminds me of MTOP because everyone there always would wear them except me because I always had to be in closed-toed shoes. My MTOP family would be so proud =P Anyway, today was the Summer Solstice so it's tradition on the AT for thru-hikers to hike at least a portion of the trail naked. That sounds uncomfortable to me and it's a good thing I didn't participate in this tradition because I passed a ton of people today, that woulda been awkward!!! Well, I hardly slept last night, so I'm going to bed at 6:30 tonight! It's so weird how quickly my lifestyle has changed. I wake up between 4:30 and 6:00 every morning depending on how far we have to hike, and I go to bed any time between 6:30 and 8:30 depending on how tired I am. Definitely a huge change from my pre-AT life!
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Long Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9

Today was the toughest day yet by far. Lots of steep ups and downs. Normally the ascents aren't that hard for me, but today's were all pretty difficult and slow. But of course, the descents were worse and slower. It rained just enough today to make everything slippery and the trail was mainly jagged rock today so that resulted in quite a few falls and some more scrapes and bruises. The upside of the rain is that it keeps the bugs away and keeps the air cool, and it wasn't raining hard enough or long enough at any one time to break out the raingear. Breeze and I hiked the last four miles together so I didn't have to suffer alone! One more full day of hiking until Monson!!!!! Monson = shower, good food, and a cold beer. And a bed. And a zero day. It feels like the Promised Land! So close to being out of the Wilderness!!
Date: 2013-06-23
From: Long Pond Lean-to

To: MONSON!! Lakeshore Lodging and Pub
Miles today: 15.1

Today we were planning to hike to a shelter and have an easy 3 mile hike in to Monson tomorrow morning. But, we decided to push through the last 3 miles and just get there tonight. And we MADE IT!!!! Oh my God this feels amazing. Flip and Wes hiked faster than Breeze and I. They had left a note at the road to meet at the Pub because that is the only place to eat dinner in town really. So, I hitchhiked for the first time!!! Breeze and I were picked up by a guy that passed us originally and turned back around because he felt bad for us. The people at Lakeshore are so amazing. They're nice and hospitable and really cater to hikers. Mulligan is here! Which was cool to see him. And a ton of other guys who are all hiking out tomorrow. Earlier today I passed a dad and his young son (Squishy Feet) and their giant chocolate lab. I talked to them for a while. They're doing the Wilderness so the Squishy Feet can help out the MATC by cleaning all the trash out of the lean-tos! That is such a task! But, it's so cool they are doing that, I always think about the ATC volunteers and how awesome it is that people care about preserving the trail and caring for the area and the hikers. It was really cool to meet them. We got to the pub, and Flip and Wes were staying elsewhere, but Breeze and I decided to just stay here. Good decision. Food - check. Shower - CHECK. Laundry - check. BEDTIME! I will sleep great tonight =) so glad to be done with the first 100 miles =) time for rest and recuperation!
Date: 2013-06-24
From: MONSON!! Lakeshore Lodging and Pub

To: Lakeshore Lodging
Miles today: 0.0

Had a great zero day today! All the guys that were here hiked out this morning so it's just Breeze, Pauk and myself. We went to Shaw's for AYCE breakfast which was delicious. There were sone other SOBOs staying at Shaw's s it was good to see them and meet some new ones. Went to the outfitters in Greenville for a tent and some trail runners to use until the blisters heal and I can g back to my Chaco's. Ditching the boots for sure though. The rest of the day was spent icing my incredibly swollen ankles and peroxiding my borderline infected feet! And eating. A ton. And kayaking n the lake with Breeze and Pauk. It was really relaxing and I'm taking another zero tomorrow.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Lakeshore Lodging

To: Phil's
Miles today: 3.3

Though today was relaxing, I'm getting antsy to get back on the Trail. I think that's a good sign =) it's been great getting to know Breeze and Paul so I'm kind of sad they both have to go home for a little bit. I hope to see them again, I'm going to be going pretty slow so maybe they'll catch up when they get back on the Trail. Breeze and I walked 1.5 miles to Phil's place to stay for the night because he's letting us stay for free. I'm technically skipping 3 milesby hiking out from Phil's, but I walked there and I'm not a purist so it doesn't really bother me.
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Phil's

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 14.6

After talking to Paul Monday night, I decided to do 15 miles today because he said the first 18 miles leaving Monson will be the easiest section I'll have seen yet. Since I survived the awful 15 into Monson, I figured today would be alright. And Paul was right! It was an easy, flat 15 miles. There were 3 fords which were fun. Part of the Trail though was just smooth rocks and there was really nowhere to step. The rocks were slippery so those two miles slowed me down. It poured the last 3 miles or so, so I was glad to get to the lean-to and put on dry clothes, eat, and crawl nto my sleeping bag for the rest of the evening. It's weird being the only here though, at the same time it's nice to havr the place to myself and spread my wet stuff out. I hope the rain stops else the climb up Moxie Bald might kill me tomorrow!
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

For some reason, I thought Moxie Bald was supposed to be a much harder climb than it was. So, I'd planned on only doing the 4.1 miles up and over it. I knew it wouldn't take all day, but I thought it'd take long enough that I wouldn't be able to make it another 9 miles to the next lean-to. I was wrong. So, I climbed Moxie Bald and Pleasant Pond Mountain. Both were really eerie because of the fog/being in a cloud thing. Luckily no rain else I may have died - it was slippery enough! I lost the trail a ton of times on top of both mountains, I felt pretty dumb, but not really because I could barely see in front of me and it wasn't too well marked anyway. I was getting worried because my clothes were drenched from yesterday still so it was perfect hypothermia weather, but I was prepared. And I didn't get hypothermia yay! Coming down Pleasant Pond Mountain (which really isn't all that pleasant by the way) was absolutely ridiculous! I should have taken a picture, but at that point I was too frustrated to stop and turn around to take one. It was straight down giant roots and rocks...that description doesn't do it justice! But, I made it. I went all today and yesterday without seeing a single person, so I was very glad to make it to the lean-to this evening and find Wes and Shutterbug! And 4 other section hikers. I wasn't upset that the lean-to was full, I prefer to tent anyway, I was just relieved to know people still exist. We'll see how my rainfly holds up tonight, this is the first time I've used my new tent and it's starting to rain!
Date: 2013-06-28
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 9.7

SO MUCH RAIN!!!! I got up early today to hike the six miles to the Kennebec river by 11. There's a ferry (canoe with a white blaze on the bottom and a guy who rows it back and forth across the river for hikers) that runs from 9-11 only right now. You can't ford this river because it's downstream from a dam that they release randomly, so the river, which is already fast, rises very quick and can easily drown hikers trying to ford. So the ferry is the "ATC sanctioned" path across the river. It was pretty cool, the guy who does it loves his job and was a lot of fun. I caught up to Blue at the river and we rode across together! It rained all day - I've only been this drenched once that I know of and it was hiking through the jungle in Costa Rica coming back from a waterfall. I don't mind the rain actually, but today the trail was pretty ridiculous and of course my camera was in my pack since it was raining so I didn't get any pictures to prove how crazy it was! 1st: mud. EVERYWHERE. Nothing new, but like you wouldn't believe. I can't explain how much mud there was! 2nd: Kennebec river/canoe trip. Pretty cool. 3rd: to cross a stream at one point there were 3 logs about 8' above the water; one log to walk on, and one log on either side about two feet above the middle one to use I guess as "railings" but they were only knee high. Logs put in my the MATC are very slippery when wet and the gaps between the logs were just big enough for me to fall into the stream 8' below if I were to slip. Which I did. (slip, not fall into the water. So, I sat down and butt-scooted across the entire stream. Classy. 4th: the lean-to is on the pond and the last leg of the trail was on the edge of the pond. By "edge" I mean a makeshift dam of big rocks and logs so the pond doesn't overflow into the woods and flood it. Water was coming over the dam pretty heavily from all the rain that's been going on. I can't explain the ridiculousness of it all, but it was so bad that halfway across the dam, when I came to a fallen tree in my way, I decided that there was no way this was actually the trail, so I turned around and made my way back to where I last saw a white blaze. I looked around for a few minutes, then realized yep, that was in fact the trail... so I went back across the dam and followed it to the end where I fell off a log into a mini waterfall in the stream that the overflow was making. Once again, I can only thank God I didn't break something! I got to the lean-to and it was still pretty early and Flip was there! So, all of us just chilled in the lean-to while it was raining and talked. It was so nice to put on dry clothes, eat peanut butter, and sit in my sleeping bag! It was a very relaxing afternoon and evening. We mainly talk about food. We can't go 30 seconds without the conversation turning to food! It only makes us eat more of our food than we should, but oh well. Out here I'm always craving red meat, fruit, and bread. That's why towns are so awesome - I can get all those things!
Date: 2013-06-29
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.0

Today was the easiest 10 miles yet, and probably the easiest I'll see for aw hile. The Trail was basically a giant puddle the whole way, but it was flat and only rained for an hour or so this morning. I enjoyed today's hike a lot, there were a lot of punch-ins (the logs that were put there as paths over boggy areas)and they were newer than the ones I've seen thus far, so they weren't as slippery from years of mud and hikers and moss and stuff!There were also some really cool spots along the pond and a cool thing that reminded me of the Great Wall of China. Only it wasn't that great. Or a wall. Or in China. So really it was a walkway that was 3 logs across and had a lip to keep you from sliding off I guess - fancy! The mosquitos were the worst yet today though, for about 2 miles there were SWARMS that would just attack. I swear they're some mutant breed, DEET didn't work, and I've never seen this many mosquitos follow me at once. It was miserable. I'll be glad to get out of mosquito areas, hopefully in higher elevations in NH. Maybe... if I'm lucky. Today was a milestone though for me: I wasn't the last one to the lean-to! Shutterbug left before me this morning, Flip passed me earlier, but Patches (Wes, now has a trailname because he had to sew 3 holes in his thermals last night) and Blue never passed me, which is a first! Even though I lost the Trail for about 40 minutes...something I seem to do at least once a day lately. 10 miles in 5.5 hours is really good for me. After Stratton I'm definitely slowing it down some though because the trail is about to get TOUGH! er.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Avery Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night I didn't sleep AT ALL because an older NOBO was snoring in the shelter all night. Guess that's why I should pitch a tent! Everyone (Wes, Flip, Shutterbug and Blue) were all planning on just going to the next lean-to today, but I decided to go a little further and get one mountain out of the way so I didn't have to do two tomorrow and kill me knee. They look pretty big. Dr. Scholls (another SOBO) had caught up to us at the lean-to last night, and he too was going past the next lean-to. It was a tough 15 mile day up and over Little Bigelow, and up to Avery Peak, but I'm glad I did that because we got up to the peak for a GORGEOUS sunset. Definitely an experience that I'd rank up there with Katahdin. The view was stunning and I think this might by my favorite summit so far! Doc is good company to have - we get along pretty well and he knows a lot about the Trail because he's done a NOBO hike before, so I'm asking him a ton of amateur questions =P He was a medic in the Army and was super nice to handle my disgusting feet and dress all my blisters for me. It was definitely an awesome day, the only bad part was the aggressive, mutant mosquitos at teh campsite, but they can't get me in my tent! HA! Stratton tomorrow by lunch hopefully!!
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: Stratton, ME - White Wolf Inn
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Good thing I split up those 2 mountains! Today's descent was very long and slow going and there's no way I would have made it over Little Bigelow and Avery Peak in one day and still been happy. But, Doc and I made it to the town today by 2 and I never have to do that descent again, so it's a good day =) It took us a while to get a hitch into town, but we finally did, ate a ton of food. I pigged out on a Wolf Burger (pretty big), fried pickles, french fries, and the best piece of peanut butter pie I've ever had. EVER! It was especially good because I'm awful at rationing my peanut butter and ran out only two days out of Monson. WITHDRAWALS! Resupply, laundry, shower, and sleep, then hiking back out tomorrow!
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Stratton, ME - White Wolf Inn

To: Stealth site
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

Well, today didn't go as planned, but that's OK, it's not like I really have anywhere to be ever. The plan was to hike to the Carabassett River and camp there but on our way up the mountain, we ran into Polechar and Glamis (another SOBO and his dog) coming back toward Stratton. Polechar showed us a video he took of the river, it wasn't fordable. Doc and I decided to keep going but to stop at a stealth site along the trail and hike the rest of the way to the river and hopefully cross tomorrow. We camped a little past North Crocker Summit. It's rained pretty good the last day and a half so we figured there was no point in going all the way to the river today. Even with that, today's been a really good day, and we have a sweet stealth spot that's on a bed of moss so it's super comfortable!
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Stealth site

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 7.8

We got a late start this morning because it was only 3 miles to the river and we figured we wouldn't be able to ford it until the afternoon. So, I slept AWESOMELY and slept in until 7. Then ate and read and was lazy for the morning. We headed out around 10:30. The river fording was FUN!! Finally a really good, real, almost dangerous but not TOO dangerous, ford. It was fun. The rest of the day went by really slow for some reason so I was getting frustrated. The descents weren't bad but were killing me. But the climb up Spaulding and Sugarloaf were beautiful of course and that put me in a much better mood! Even a bad day out here is better than doing anything else I'd be doing otherwise. At the lean-to, I talked to two NOBO girls for a while, they were pretty cool and got me excited about the White Mountains which I've been pretty nervous about. Tomorrow is a hard 10 miles but hopefully we'll be where we can nighthike to catch some fireworks. We'll see!
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to

To: Redington Campsite
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY Y'ALL! Today was definitely one of the better days I've had on the Trail! I listened to some music while hiking, which I don't normally do, but I had an awful, annoying 90s country song stuck in my head, so I pulled out my iPod to listen to some Skynyrd and Charlie Daniels Band. So that was nice. The miles were rough, but it really didn't seem like it because we took some fun breaks throughout the day! I caught up to Doc at a river around lunch, so we played in the water and skipped rocks and just sat in the water and sun and ate lunch for about an hour. That was a ton of fun, and a beautiful place. Then the climb up to Poplar Ridgewas tough, but the summit was, of course, beautiful! We could see Avery Peak which was awesome to see a place we'd been and hiked from... that never ceases to amuse me! We hung out on that peak for a bit too, just enjoying the fact that THIS is my life right now. Pretty freakin' cool! Then, another climb to Saddleback Junior which was again a beautiful mountain! A perfect 360 degree view and we met Noodles, a NOBO and sat and talked to him about other trails for a while. The descent down to the campsite was long, but the last mile is always long anyway. Today was an awesome day. No fireworks tonight though because on Saddleback Junior the fog was rolling in so we figured night hiking to The Horn wouldn't get us the view of fireworks in the valley that we thought it might. It's OK though, a great day, despite running out of peanut butter. Town tomorrow!