morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-16
From: Imp Campsite, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: light rain

8/16Day: 155Start: Imp CampsiteFinish: Gorham, NHMileage: 8.0Weather: excellentI woke up in the morning and worked on my journal for a while before I started walking. The walking was nice and easy most of the way, gradually downhill with some steep sections. I went up Mt. Moriah which was very nice and celebrated my last good view in the Whites. After more descending, I found myself at Ratle River where I swam in a beautiful swimming hole south of the shelter. I walked on past the shelter and went into town.In town I made some phone calls, resupplied, got my hiking poles fixed and ate some ice cream, yogart and banannas. I spent a good portion of time saving all of my pictures onto a CD. I didn't want to stay in town that night and was planning on zeroing in the woods tomorrow to swim in Rattle River, let Yardsale catch up and do some writing. I got a ride out of town a little before dusk and hiked back to the shelter. There I met Ten Bears and Mailar and we talked about our hikes and lives and God's work through each. Mailar told me an amazing story of how he had an aneurism on the trail last year and of how God situated every possible circumstance in such a way that enabled him to evacuate the trail with his life. I was very encouraged by this account of God's work in Mailar's life. I went to sleep late after some soup and dumplings, courtesy of the Outward Bound leaders and their excitedness about being back in the woods that resulted in cooking too much food.
Date: 2005-08-17
From: Gorham, NH

To: Rattle River Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

8/17Day: 156Start: Rattle River ShelterFinish: Rattle River ShelterMileage: 0.0Weather: coolI woke up right as Mailar was leaving the shelter, but Ten Bears was still there so we talked for a few minutes while he packed up. He left and this guy came to the shelter asking if I needed a ride into town. It seems that he hikes up to the trail quite often to offer people rides. But I didn't need a ride today as I was all set to relax by the river all day.A hiker named Ghost came by along with Bootleg and a flip-flopper named Manfire. I primarily talked with Ghost and Bootleg as the other guy didn't have much to say. All of them eventually hiked on and I did some reading and writing by the river.During the hottest part of the day (which was still very cool), I went swimming in the most amazing swimming hole. This swimming hole was even better than yesterday's, but I was unable to stop shivering once I got out into the open air. I put most of my cloths on and ran in place to get warm. This method worked alright, but I still wasn't incredibly warm.I spent some more time reading, writing and watching the local chipmunks for the rest of the afternoon. Two members of the Outward Bound group returned from their hike and I talked with them for a while. The rest of the group eventually returned and I set them to the task of collecting firewood. We started a fire and I answered all their curious questions about long-distance hiking. A sobo named Anxious showed up and he answered questions as well. We tried to solve some riddles by the fire and I eventually retreated into the shelter and went to sleep.
Date: 2005-08-18
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

8/18Day: 157Start: Gorham, NHFinish: Gentian Pond CampsiteMileage: 11.8Weather: beautifulI woke up after the Outward Bound folks had already left and the same guy who was offering hikers a ride to town yesterday was asking Anxious if he needed a ride. I got ready to hike while talking to Anxious some more before he left.I hiked down to the road and saw the Outward Bound group waiting for their ride. After saying goodbye to them, I hitched a ride into town to make a quick stop at the post office and a diner. The diner I went too was a bit too upscale for my taste and the portions were too small. But there must have been some hidden energy in that food because I didn't feel like eating again until late in the afternoon.I was dropped off at a different point than my point of departure, so I walked back the rest of the way to the trail. The hiking out of town was uphill, of course, but it wasn't too bad. At Trident Col Tentsite, I met a sobo (Neil) from SC who knew a guy that I grew up with. I was on the lookout for moose today since I wanted to see one before I left New Hampshire and I planned on getting to Maine tomorrow. I was on the lookout for a while at both Dream Lake and Moss Pond.I didn't see a moose, but I did have some other neat sightings. I found more berries (blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) today than probably any other day on the trail. Also, I watched a red chipmunk dig up a nut and eat the whole thing right in front of me at Dream Lake. His technique and efficiency were flawless and he screeched at me several times apparently just for being there. By Moss Pond, I saw a dragonfly hopping along the ground, unable to fly. I put out my finger and it hopped on. After a quick inspection, I noticed that it had some spider web tangled in its wings.Although it didn't like me doing so, I removed the web from its wings and it flew away.At the shelter, I met O'conner, Thumper and Snowyman. Pac-man was already in his sleeping bag and O'conner and Thumper told me about their moose sighting at the pond I passed over. Oh well, I will probably see one in Maine. I spent some time looking in desperation for one of those giant creatures by Gentian Pond before it got dark, but I was unable to find one. I went to sleep hoping to perhaps see a moose in my dreams.
Date: 2005-08-19
From: Gentian Pond Campsite

To: Mahoosic Notch (east end)
Miles today: 12.2

Day: 158Start: Gentian Pond CampsiteFinish: Mahoosic Notch (east end)Mileage: 12.2Weather: beautifulI woke up planning on only doing about nine miles in order to set myself up for a fun-filled day of Mahoosic Notch madness the next day. But after I remembered that the weather was supposed to be poor the next day and after I arrived at Full Goose Shelter pretty early, I decided to go on.To back up some, woke up early to look for moose by the pond but I left the shelter after everyone else. Snowyman, Thumper and O'conner were planning on doing a 26 mile day and Pac-man was planning on going pretty big as well. However, after a tiring climb up Mt. Success, I caught up to the whole crew at the boarder. Wow, the last state boarder of the trip; it was hard to believe. I caught Pac-man again before Full Goose Shelter and we hiked together to the shelter. There I met Cooker Hiker (section-hiker) and saw the other three before they took off. I broke my spoon spreading nutella onto a bagel and dropped the bagel onto the ground... nutella side down. We went into the notch and had a good time. This section is considered the single most rugged mile on the trail. I would agree since you must take your pack off several times to scramble under, over, and between giant boulders. If you aren't in a hurry though, this section is lots of fun.I'm just glad I was able to go through when the rocks were dry. I lostPac-man while I was exploring the miniature caves created by some jumbled boulders. Many of these crevasses hold ice throughout the year and that was neat to see and feel. You know you are getting pretty far north when you run into ice caves in the summer.I set up camp just past the notch with the company of a curious chipmunk. I was pretty tired and went to bed early.
Date: 2005-08-20
From: Mahoosic Notch (east end)

To: Frye Notch Shelter, ME
Miles today: 12.9

8/20Day: 159Start: Mahoosic Notch (east end)Finish: Frye Notch ShelterMileage: 12.9Weather: wind and rainI woke up somewhat late in the morning and spent some time reading and writing under my tarp. The curious chipmunk from the day before continued to investigate me throughout the morning. We even startled each other at one point when I made some noise while it was just outside of my tarp. The noise caused the chipmunk to panic and run into my tarp which surprised me and made me yell at it, causing it to turn around and retreat back to the safety of the woods.I started hiking around eleven in the morning and was immediately greeted by the difficult climb of Mahoosic Arm. The rain began and I had difficulty climbing the trail, which was all rock slab. I passed Cooker Hiker and made my way toward Speck Pond shelter in the luke-warm rain. I dried off, put on some warm cloths, filled up on water and ate lunch at the shelter.I hiked on the rest of the day alone through the beautiful but rugged terrain of southern Maine. There were a lot of day hikers around Grafton Notch and I played the game of keeping my thru-hiking identity concealed; this is a fun game.Baldpate Mountain provided for a fun situation since the clouds were blowing in pretty heavily (great scene of changing weather) and the wind was pushing them along very quickly. The moon-like landscape was particularly eerie on the summit of this mountain due to the dense mist and heavy wind. The air was warm though, so I didn't feel rushed off the mountain. In fact, after descending between two peaks and effectively blocking some of the wind, I spent a good amount of time picking some of the best blueberries I'd had to date on the trail.I met 9 Lives on the way down the mountain and he told me about how his sleeping pad had saved his tailbone several times that day and then he fell to the ground, demonstrating his point. I arrived to an empty shelter until 9 Lives caught up. We talked for a while about climbing along with other subjects before going to sleep.
Date: 2005-08-21
From: Frye Notch Shelter, ME

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: light rain

8/21Day: 160Start: Frye Notch ShelterFinish: Andover, MEMileage: 4.5Weather: am rain, pm sunI woke up very early this morning to the ear-piercing sound of heavy rain on a tin roof. The shelter design was such that the roof was only a couple of feet above my head, so this intensified the terrible noise. Somehow I drifted back to some restless introductory level of sleep for a few more hours.When I emerged from my semi-slumber, the rain was still beating down.   I read the shelter register and talked with 9 Lives until the rain stopped around nine in the morning. The lack of rain didn't make the hiking much drier though and my feet were soaked within minutes of splashing through puddles.The terrain wasn't as treacherous today as it had been for the past several days and my body appreciated the break. In fact, the only questionable portion of today's hike came at a river crossing just before the road into town. The river was heavily flooded from the night's rain and it dropped off into a one-hundred-foot waterfall about twenty feet beyond the crossing; the consequences of a slip while crossing were deadly. But when I stepped into the river, I knew that everything was going to be alright as the water pressure wasn't as strong as it appeared. I forded the river without incident and took my pack off to investigate the upper falls.At the road into town, I saw Caroline, Shawn, Porter and Bams getting back on the trail. I talked with them for a while as I tried to get a ride into town. I got a ride with little difficulty and went to the first diner I saw. After some food, I went to the Andover Guest House to secure a bunk for the night. The sky was cloudless at this point and I thought about pushing on, but I needed to pick up my bounce box in the morning so I decided to stay. Hal, Draggin', Dead Animal, and Handyman were already there and Throw and Fetch showed up soon thereafter. We hung around for most of the afternoon before we went back to the diner for dinner. Our waitress at the diner had an incredibly strong Maine accent and it was "had" to understand what she was saying some of the time. I talked with Hal about population growth in third-world countries into the evening before going to sleep.
Date: 2005-08-22
From: Andover, ME

To: Hall Mt. Lean-to
Miles today: 6.0

Day 161:8/22s: Andover, MEf: Hall Mt. Lean-tom: 6.0w: pm rainI woke up after a wonderful night of sleep to an empty bunkhouse. Everyone else had left by 5:30; this is apparently a cool thing to do if you are over forty years old because that seems to be the schedule all the older guys keep. I went downstairs and called home only to be kicked off of the phone a few minutes later by the returning innkeeper. I finished my call from the pay phone across the street and then returned to talk with the innkeeper about my plans. I told her that I needed to pick up a package from the post office (I couldn't do so yesterday since it was sunday) and charge some batteries. I told her that I could get everything out of the bunkhouse so that she could clean up but that I would like to hang out until the batteries were fully charged. She looked at me as if I were from Mars and said blankly "Checkout time is eleven o'clock." Some hostel owners actually care for the hikers they serve and others are just out to make money. The ironic part of it is that, since the AT community is so small, those establishments that lack such compassion often loose business quickly as word of their attitude travels throughout the community. I ate breakfast, picked up my package and charged my batteries until eleven o'clock, at which time I moved across the street where the woman cooking at the general store diner told me I could charge my batteries for as long as was necessary. During the transition, I heard a familiar voice calling my name and looked to see Yardsale crossing the street. A guy named Free was with him and we went into the Snow Valley diner for some food. I didn't have anything to eat but I sat there and caught up with my friend. Yardsale said he was going to spend the night in town, but I didn't want to stay another night. So after lunch we went our seperate ways once again. I mailed my package and hitched a ride out of town.I got back to the trail with plenty of time to do the planned six miles, so I hung out at the road with Bricks (sobo) for a while before I began walking. I walked slowly over the fairly easy terrain, especially after it started raining. At a scenic view I saw the best rainbow I've seen on the trail and I spent some time looking at it.I piddled along to the shelter and met Oly who had arrived at the shelter before the rain. I talked with Oly during dinner and Bootleg, Moterin, Free Heel and 3 Cats showed up before dark. All of them except 3 Cats tented and they built a fire that I sat around until late into the evening. Sleep didn't come very easily and I spent that time thinking about my plans for after the hike.
Date: 2005-08-24
From: South Arm Road

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: light rain

Day 1638/24s: South Arm Roadf: Bemis Mountain Lean-tom: 8.7w: pm showersI slept horribly throughout the night as I was busy worrying about the big cat prowling around my tarp, and a subtle bump under my chest became less subtle as the night progressed. I woke up several times during the night and eventually came to the conclusion that the cat wasn't going to make a move. But I still slept poorly.I started walking at a reasonable hour and made it up Old Blue Mt. with relative ease. The hiking was just up and down from the top of the mountain to the shelter and I enjoyed the walk. There was a wonderful crop of blueberries on top of Bemis Mountain, but while I was eating them I noticed an oncoming storm in the distance. I hiked on toward the shelter to avoid the rain but was soon stopped short by more blueberries. It started drizzling so I walked along at a quicker pace only to be stopped yet again by even more blueberries. This time I didn't stay long and I arrived at the shelter before it started raining heavily.Two hikers were leaving the shelter as I was arriving. They asked me about the terrain and they wern't too happy with me for not being able to give them more detailed information. They left and I noticed that they wrote a pretty unhappy entry in the register; I guess they wern't having much fun.I hung out in the shelter as the rain picked up, and two hikers pulled in. Ambler Rambler was only twenty miles short of finishing the entire trail, so it was neat to see her excitement. I wanted to keep hiking, but I also wanted Yardsale to catch up. The rain helped me make my decision and I got in my sleeping bag to catch up on sleep from last night.Cooker Hiker, Thumper, O'Conner and Snowy Man all arrived while I was halfway snoozing and I got up to talk with them. Radio, Crazy Katie, Adam, Yardsale and Pac-Man also showed up along with a big college orientation group. We had a full house. There was a good bit of hanging out before everyone went to sleep.
Date: 2005-08-25
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 1648/25s: Bemis Mt. Lean-tof: Little Swift River Pond Campsitem: 12.9w: beautifulQuite a few folks in the shelter awoke early and everyone was awake by 6:30. Yardsale and I were the last ones to leave but this was still an early start for us. We hiked down the mountain over pretty slick rocks and I slipped on the rocks more times than I can remember. I was pretty frustrated with the lack of traction on my shoes, but I was thankful that I didn't hurt myself worse than I did while falling.We arrived at ME 17 to find Cooker Hiker and Pac-Man talking with a guy named Don who was in the process of leaving some trail magic for us in the form of cookies, donuts and coke. I was pretty thankful to recieve his generosity as my food supply was running dangerously low (into town tomorrow morning). We stayed by the road for a short while to enjoy the snack before we moved on for an afternoon of moose searching.Our first stop on the moose searching expedition was Moxie Pond. There were no moose there after a few minutes of looking so we left. We then checked out a section of old AT (the OAT) that was slightly covered up but that ran by a swampy moose-looking place. None there either. Next we checked out Long Pond which seemed to be rather inconvenient for moose (too long), but which was excelent for swimming. So we put the moose hunt on hold and swam in the sandy-bottomed waters for a while. Radio, Crazy Katie and Adam showed up along with Cooker Hiker and everyone tested out the water's swimming quality. I was not happy to hear that we had missed the moose at Moxie Pond, but I was glad that the others experienced the sighting.After a nice talk about politics with Cooker Hiker, I walked on past Sabbath Day Pond (no moose there) toward Little Swift River Pond, our destination for the day. Along the way, Yardsale and I stopped to pick tons of raspberies and to watch some spruce grouse bumble around in the woods.We arived at the campsite to find the company of several other hikers, all of whom were either sobos or section hikers. I ate dinner and then took a canoe out into the pond. I paddled around for a while before I decided to return to shore. One of the sobos took another canoe out and, just as I was pulling into shore, I heard him say "moose." I turned around to see a large female moose stepping into the water. Of course, I turned the canoe around and went toward the creature for a closer look. The moose didn't seem to mind our presence, which was good because I kept getting blown around by the wind and having to paddle back in her direction. I was unable to get a good picture since it was pretty dark, but I watched the moose eat and bathe for at least half an hour. I paddled back to shore in the dark, happy to have finally spotted one of these animals; I was starting to believe that they didn't really exist. I poorly set up my tarp in the dark and went to sleep.
Date: 2005-08-26
From: Little Swift River Pond Campsite

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 1658/26s: Little Swift River Pond Campsitef: Piazza Rock Lean-tom: 6.6w: niceWe woke up at a reasonable hour and headed toward Rangeley. Yardsale gave me some food for breakfast since I was completely out and that helped me hike the few miles into town. The entire crew (Pac-Man, Krazy Katie and Radio) was ahead of us and we took our time strolling across the nice terrain and into town.We got an easy ride from a guy in the parking lot using a tried and true method: "Its that way into Rangeley, right?" The rest just falls into place... most of the time. It worked out particularly well this time as the guy gave us a ride into the grocery store (slightly out of town) and then into town from there. Yardsale and I ate our yogart as we waited for the pizza place to open. In the mean time, we recruited Pac-Man for pizza and we all had a nice lunch. We took care of some other town chores throughout the afternoon, the highlight of them being a stop at the general store (tourist-themed) for milkshakes. Good stuff.The hitch out of town was suprisingly difficult and it took us about an hour. More seemingly hateful people passed us than usual and we recieved a number of dirty looks, coarse gestures and angry remarks. "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" (Mt. 5:44-45). I need to be more like this in such situations.Pac-Man, Yardsale and I eventually did get a ride to the trail and we hiked the easy 1.8 miles into the next shelter out of town for the night. A big college pre-orientation crew was camped out and Cooker Hiker, Radio and Crazy Katie were also there along with several others. We built a fire and I hosted a group game about going to the moon. We had a good time and stayed up pretty late. Pac-Man and I, in particular, talked by the fire until late into the evening. Sleep was nice.
Date: 2005-08-27
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 1668/27s: Piazza Rock Lean-tof: Poplar Ridge Lean-tom: 8.9w: beautifulI left the shelter shortly before Yardsale and well after most everyone else, but I didn't make it far before I came to a side trail marked "The Caves". I could see piles of rocks not too far in the distance, so I decided to check it out. "The Caves" were really just jumbles of boulders that you could crawl around and between; sort of like Mahoosic Notch revisited. It was a good time and Yardsale caught up to me while I was goofing off around the boulders.We hiked on to a fairly large but shallow pond with a canoe parked on the shore. The canoe didn't have any paddles so we got a big stick to push along the bottom of the pond and propel us forward. We went to an island that had a copious number of blueberries that we picked and ate until we were sick of blueberries. We sat on the island for a while and Yardsale tried to solve a riddle I told him. We eventually paddled back to shore as he asked me questions about the riddle.Yardsale finally figured out the answer to the riddle about halfway up Saddleback. All of our talking made the climb seem relatively easy and we reached the summit pretty quickly. We hung out there for a while and looked at the beautiful views. Supposedly, Katahdin is visible from Saddleback on a clear day, but we were unable to pick it out. I was sort of glad for this since it would be strange in a number of ways to see the trip's ultimate destination from here.We did have some wonderful views though and I felt like the ridge from Saddleback to The Horn to Saddleback Junior was as nice as anything in the Whites. We spent time on each of the peaks and enjoyed the views.We pulled into the shelter to find quite a few people. Cooker Hiker, Radio and Krazy Katie, Angry Andy Car 54 and Where Are You, and Pac-Man were all there. A sobo named That Guy showed up early in the evening along with Song Line (new nobo). We built a fire and told some riddles while folks ate. I stayed up by the fire for a while and met Clockwork Orange (nobo) when he hiked in. Eventually, I found a flat spot to lay down and slept under the stars since the wind was nice and the shelter (with its baseball bat floor design) was uncomfortable.