morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-25
From: US 2, Gorham, NH

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 6.9

This morning we all went down to McDonald¢s and I had my 2000 calorie breakfast and I'm ready to get going. Bruno takes our packs and Cash back to the trail, while the rest of us get a ride with a couple staying at the inn who have just finished their twenty-two year section hike of the AT. They did it by taking two weeks a year and going hiking. There¢s more than one way to hike the AT and section hiking just might be the ticket for some of you out there who might not otherwise be able to do the whole trail at one time. There¢s not much to say about today's hike. Nothing has changed other than we have someone new in our group, Odat. The mountains, the rocks and the roots are still here. But oh yeah, this should be our last night in New Hampshire! So today we took our time, stopped and rested more and really enjoyed the hike. We did more stopping and talking to the folks on the trail and even took the time to thank the couple that were painting the white blazes on the trees. I know it seems like I complain a lot about my aches and pains and the heat and the bugs and I may not say this enough, but I¢d like to thank my wife for everything she¢s doing to help me do what I'm doing. I'm a lucky man to be able to do this hike and see this wonderful country from the great wilderness to the small towns and I have met all types of people and trail angels that I would have otherwise never met, on and off the trail. I am truly a blessed man!We're here at Trident Col Campsite, tenting along with a group of students from Boston. Wait a minute - I hear a familiar voice. It¢s Buddy Backpacker and his parents. They¢ve just made it here before dark. It¢s 8:30 and I'm going to sleep!
Date: 2013-08-26
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Carlo Col Shelter and Campsite
Miles today: 10.1

First off, I have something important to say - I'm in MAINE! My last state, Whoop, Whoop, give me five!It rained last night and somehow my camera got a little wet, so I'm trying to dry it out. Today's weather is cloudy, cooler and the humidity is high. A lot of wet roots and rocks. At one time, I slid downward on my feet for about six feet and that got my attention. On one of the climbs I stopped and took out a pack of cookies and wrote on them, ¢For Buddy Backpacker.¢ Later these two ladies came up headed north too and one of them asked me who I was and I said, ¢I'm Boo Boo.¢ Come to find out, her name is Brown Squirrel and she's been reading my journal and I've been reading hers. She's hiking with Flo and both are Wounded Warrior hikers and have to be in Katahdin on the 13th so I let them pass. I hope they can make it on time! We've been hiking all day and I know we are getting close to the shelter and then there it is - the state line. I made it - my very last state, Maine. Now we only have a half mile to go to the shelter. Maine is not being very kind to us. It¢s picking up where New Hampshire left off, straight down and sliding most of the way and then jumping and tossing our poles and dropping down. The cloud that we¢re in and the wet rocks aren't helping. We are here now at Carlo Col Shelter and we¢re all in the shelter tonight. Five year old, Buddy Backpacker, comes walking in and I ask him if he finds anything on the trail and he says yes. He said someone had written on a bag of cookies, ¢For Buddy Backpacker.¢ To see the look in his eyes was priceless!
Date: 2013-08-27
From: Carlo Col Shelter and Campsite

To: Bull Branch campsite
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: light rain

I got up in the night to, you know, and found that next to the shelter was a tent. Hummm. They must have come in after I went to sleep. Well the next morning I walk out of the shelter and see Cub and Badonkadonk, then CoMOMdo pops her head out of the tent - the Florida Flip Floppers have found Boo Boo! This is where I say hello to CoMOMdo¢s mother-in-law. She¢s told me that she¢s a faithful reader, so, ¢Hello and thanks for reading my Trail Journal - I hope you find it entertaining!¢ We talk for a little while, and before I know it the four of us (me, Cash, Sky Pilot and Odat) are ready to leave. I wished the Floridians well and we went on our way.The beautiful Carolina blue skies, oops, I mean Maine blue skies - the weather couldn't be any better. We can see for miles and it¢s a good thing because we have cliffs to climb via rebar stuck in the rock and ladders made of big trees. We arrived at Full Goose Shelter for lunch and right before we left, the Florida Flip Floppers come hiking in. They said Buddy Backpacker was right behind them. We head on out and on the next climb, I came across four brown birds and one black bird, all the size of a small chicken. My guess is either a grouse or maybe a partridge, but not in a pear tree! I¢ve posted some photos so y'all can tell me. After a long descent, we finally came to the Mahoosuc Notch. This is at the bottom of two mountains and it looks like a ¢V¢ and is nothing but great big boulders and I guess someone thought it would be cool to make it part of the AT. Well, it was cool and I enjoyed it! Sometimes you¢re rock hopping or butt scooting or my favorite - squeezing threw a small rock tunnel! Kind of like an obstacle course. The guys are beat and to tell you the truth, so am I. We don¢t think we can make it to the next shelter, so we're tenting just passed the notch in a place called Bull Branch Campsite along with the Florida Flip Floppers, Buddy Backpacker and his dad, a section hiker and two other NOBO¢s. Cash was so quick, we haven¢t seen him in a long while and we think he did make it to the shelter. Tomorrow we will have to do about thirteen miles to keep ourselves on track.
Date: 2013-08-28
From: Bull Branch campsite

To: Maine Hwy 26
Miles today: 7.0

Last night for some reason, my tent spot was so far from everyone else's. Maybe I need a shower or I guess it could be the only spot available. Either way, I was fine until this animal, my guess a big freaking RAT, went under my arm that was lying off my air mattress. I sat up, grabbed my light and looked around for it. It wasn't inside, it was under my tent. An hour or two passes and I feel my air mattress rise a little on the side. Once again, I looked around and nothing. I must have put my tent on his pathway.I was up at 5:45am and started packing up when I heard Sky Pilot call for me. He does this crow call and I answer by sounding like an owl. I didn't start this; he did, after I told him about my owl dream. So if you¢re out hiking and you hear a crow followed by an owl, don't shoot. It¢s just me and Sky Pilot.The climb today is up 1600 feet in 1.5 miles and I don't mean steps all the way up. It¢s more or less walking up a flat, sometimes slick, wet rock ten to a hundred feet long, and what you don't walk up, you hop up or pull yourself up. We make it to Speck Pond Shelter and Mr. Cash is there waiting on us. He said he got to see a moose in the pond this morning and even took pictures of it! I'm glad because he¢s been saying that he really wanted to take a picture of one. It started raining, so we waited it out and decided to go into Andover and stay at Pine Ellis Lodge where both Sky Pilot and I have packages waiting and we can slack pack tomorrow. Cash and I headed down the mountain first and to my surprise I was able to stay with him, even when I took my mind off of what I was doing and fell on my tush and darn near speared Cash with my hiking pole. (My wife says I'm cussing more lately so I'm trying like xxxx to clean it up. I blame the riff raft I'm hanging with ) We made it down to Maine 26 and an hour and a half to two hours later, the rest of them show up. Then we waited an hour and forty five minutes for our shuttle driver. He showed up at five and takes us to the town that time has forgotten, Andover, Maine. We¢re staying upstairs in one big room with five beds, one fan and no air conditioning. It¢s 10pm and it¢s 81 degrees in here. Now just why did I take a shower?
Date: 2013-08-29
From: Maine Hwy 26

To: East B Hill Rd
Miles today: 10.3

Today we slack pack! We leave in the rain, but it soon stops. The clouds and the mist make it a challenge going up Baldpate Mountain. The closer we get to the top, the more I can hear the Flip Floppers laughing. They always seem to be enjoying themselves - rain, heat, bugs, or sliding down the mountain, they¢re always having fun! I hike with them awhile and we¢re all sliding. They¢re laughing, I'm not! I slip and try to catch myself and the next thing I know I'm having to run down the rock about twenty-five feet to keep myself from falling and I go until I run into the bushes. CoMOMdo yells out, ¢Great save!¢ And then she falls on her bottom. Man these rocks are slick! We slowly work our way down and I mention to her that we¢re staying at the Pine Ellis Lodge, but she says they are going on further. I soon catch up to Cash and Sky Pilot and carefully we make our way down to the East B Hill Road where Buddy Backpacker and his dad were waiting for their ride. Our shuttle driver comes about five minutes after we arrive and takes us back to the lodge. We all get cleaned up and hit the big town for some five-star dining at the General Store/Diner and then, low and behold, the Florida Flip Floppers come rolling in to eat and they¢re staying at the lodge too - said they couldn't pass it up!
Date: 2013-08-30
From: East B Hill Rd

To: S. Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Alright, alright, alright! Enough rain already. I'm in Maine! There's a saying all up the trail from Georgia to Maine that goes like this, ¢No rain, no Maine.¢ You know how sick I get when I hear this? Well, I'm in Maine, so no more RAIN!Today I'm going to do something I haven't done since I started from Springer Mountain, GA. What I'm about to do didn't set well with me, but I told myself from the beginning, I'll try to experience everything the trail has to offer and today it happened. I, I¢¦ went South. At first I felt dirty, like I was cheating, but like dirt, I soon washed it away and enjoyed the day, even in the light rain. We slack packed from a starting point north of where we had been hiking and hiked south back to the pickup location. The first climb was a doosie up and then straight down, then straight up again, then a six mile down. In our band of smelly hikers were the Florida Flip Floppers, Buddy Backpack and his dad, Lady, Odat, Sky Pilot, Cash and some guy named Boo Boo. Once we got back to the lodge, we all decided to slack pack just one more day, due to this stuff called RAIN - 60 percent chance tomorrow. Oooh, I hate Maine rain! Still no moose, but lots of poop. Speaking of poop, David, our shuttle guy, makes jewelry from moose poop. Yep, you read it right the first time. Moose poop jewelry, earrings and necklaces. Humm, I wonder if Kathy would wear this?
Date: 2013-08-31
From: S. Arm Road

To: Maine 17
Miles today: 13.2

I saw the flash of lightning through the window last night and thought, ¢It¢s going to be muddy in the morning!¢ Now the morning is here and our shuttle driver, David, tells everyone to be careful and it¢s going to be slick and muddy on the mountain today. He drops us off at ME 17, were going to be slacking backwards again. I¢m calling it a reverse NOBO. At the trailhead, boy did we have one heck of a view of Mooselookmeguntic Lake (meaning a portage to moose feeding place). (Kathy here ¢ I thought he made that lake name up, but I googled it and that¢s really what it is called! You just never know with Boo Boo!)The sun is out and trying to dry everything up but it¢s going to take days for that to happen. The first thing we do is go downhill and there in the middle of the trail is trail magic - ginger ale! I drink a can and moose on, I mean move on. About an hour into it, we came across a group of college students. They make way for us and I'm the first to pass. Well, about halfway through the group I slip. One of my hiking poles almost hits this guy and I fall right on my keister - way to go Boo Boo! The rest of the hike had a lot of ups and steep downs, sliding and tripping most of the way. Odat falls and hurts his wrist. It¢s swollen, but he makes it down. The views other than this morning were hard to find. As we made our way down to the road, we pass Andrea who is on her way up to her son, Buddy Backpacker and her husband, Dion. It starts to rain as we approached the shuttle van. Tomorrow we leave for good on our way to Rangeley and I think we'll pass JD and Trip who Cash and I have hiked with in the past. They had to flip flop (meaning they went on up to Katahdin and are making their way south now to where they got off the trail.) It will be good to be able to catch up and shoot the bull with them!Just 233 miles left!
Date: 2013-09-01
From: Maine 17

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 13.2

Today we leave with full packs. The sun is out but we leave one behind ¢ Odat. His wrist is swollen, so he's going to Portland to have it X-rayed. The start of today's hike is slightly up hill and the Florida Flip Floppers pass us with ease. Off in the distance I hear a plane and it sounds like its flying low. Then Sky Pilot says its landing. We discover later when we come to this lake, that it had landed and then taken back off from the lake. This lake has a beach and the Flip Floppers are taking a break. Cub is in the water sitting on a float eating chips, having the time of her life. After about twenty minutes we leave. Our plan is to stop at the campground and evaluate whether to stay there or to hike closer to Rangeley. When we come up to a sign, we find a note from Cash saying he has gone on into town. It¢s only 2:30pm so it was no brainer for us - we're going to town! On the way there, we run into to JD and Trip. We end up talking for 45 minutes and I tried to get them to hike north with us but no luck, but at least I was able to see them once again. We wished each other well and continued on our way. Then we ran into Andrea on her way to Buddy Backpacker and Dion. Once we get to the trailhead, the Florida Flip Floppers were out thumbing and soon were picked up. So now it¢s our turn. Fifteen minutes later, Buddy Backpacker and family come out of the woods and we get a ride with them into town. We¢re staying at the Town & Lake Motel. This place is sweet! I'm looking out the back window at the lake. There are boats and planes at the dock, just outside of my room. Cash is staying at a cabin with Lady and her friends and will join us again in the morning.
Date: 2013-09-02
From: Rangeley, ME

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Labor Day is here and so are we, taking a rain zero. It started raining around three in the morning, so here we are. Sky Pilot goes to the office to tell them our sink is still not draining ¢ look folks, I'm on break, plus I didn't have my plunger! Then I go into the office and ask if they have an umbrella we could use and to our surprise, the owner/manager asked, ¢Are you going into town?¢ I said, ¢Yes we are.¢ Then he says, ¢Take the Dollie.¢ I asked, ¢The Dollie?¢ He said, ¢The keys are in it. It¢s right out front there.¢ We turn and it¢s not a Dollie, it¢s a Cadillac Denali, dang! We've only talked to this guy for a total of about ten minutes since we've been here and he¢s letting us drive off in his vehicle. Don¢t forget folks that it has been months since either of us has driven anything. Sky Pilot takes the wheel and we drive around here and there running errands and then head back after about 45 minutes. We thank him and go back to our room. Cash calls and says he's on his way and once he gets here, the rain soon stops. We walk back to town and wash our clothes and visit the stores that are open now (some were closed earlier). Then we stop by Sarge¢s Sports Pub & Grub for lunch and afterwards head back to the room and rest while it rains on and off throughout the day. Tomorrow we head out towards Stratton.I received a text from Odat today. He had his wrist X-rayed and its bad news. His hike is over. He broke his wrist and is flying home to have it looked at by an orthopedic doctor. I only hiked with him for a short time, but it felt like we'd been hiking together from the beginning. I will truly miss my new friend!
Date: 2013-09-04
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Caribou Valley Rd
Miles today: 13.2

It was a wet windy night but this morning the sun is out and we¢re off to find Andrea in hopes of her slack packing us. My heel and knees are taking a pounding and so are Sky Pilot¢s. Even Cash said his were sore. So off we go. The first road we come to is Woods Road. It is not a paved road. It is more like an old one lane fire road with big pot holes in it. I walk down the left the road looking for shoe prints in the mud. I turn back after a half mile and cross the pool of water that has cut the road in half and search the other side. I find shoe prints and a campsite but no one is there. Just as we were leaving the area we stopped and were reading the mileage sign when Cash noticed a note on the ground next to the sign post addressed to us from Buddy Backpacker. He left us some root beer - thanks Buddy! We may have missed them but we didn't miss the trail magic! Our next chance to possibly catch them is at Caribou Valley Road, ten miles away.I don't think it¢s going to hit seventy degrees today. With all the sweat we¢re producing and the wind and cooler temps, I hope we don't catch a cold! We all stop on top of Lone Mountain, elevation 3260, for lunch. As I sat down I noticed some raspberries behind Sky Pilot. There were only four but man they were good. A couple of miles later, we came across a bronze plaque that basically said this was the last section to be completed of the AT from Georgia to Maine. Then it was downhill and across the Carrabassett River and up to Caribou Valley Road where Sky Pilot and I are tented beside the road in hopes of spotting Andrea in the morning. Cash is tenting down near the river with some other hikers that he knows.Our bodies are starting to let us know they can't do this for much longer. Our feet, knees, hips, hands, shoulders and backs are trying to take us out. We only have 196.5 miles to go. We have duct tape, ibuprofen and the will to finish. Look out Stratton, here we come!
Date: 2013-09-05
From: Caribou Valley Rd

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

I still have not seen a moose in Maine¢¦yet, but last night I heard a noise. Something big cracking the sticks as it came out of the woods. I soon fell back to sleep. In the morning I went outside my tent and fifteen feet away I found moose tracks. Now that was close! The weather is starting to change. There is a nip in the air and the leaves are turning color and some are starting to cover the trail. Tonight they¢re calling for thirty-four degrees. We only had two climbs today, South Crocker and North Crocker Mountains, then five miles down to Maine 27. These last two days of hiking have been where a hiker named Inchworm disappeared back in July and has still not been found. Once down to the road, we get a ride from Lady's friend, so now we¢re here at the Stratton Motel in Stratton, Maine where out the door comes Hoosier who I've hiked with in the past. He said he had been off trail for a family vacation and other commitments and was just getting back on. It was good to see him again. It brought back some good but cold memories. Later, I went out to eat supper with Little Sas, Hoosier, Cash and Sky Pilot. While at the restaurant, I noticed Monk getting dropped off. I posted of photo of him on the bridge with his arm up, back in Falls Village, CT. That's it for now. Tomorrow - the Bigelows.
Date: 2013-09-06
From: Stratton, ME

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 15.3

Sorry for the delay but there¢s no cell service out here in the sticks! Sue, the owner of the motel, drops us off at the trail head, and I met Irish. She¢s doing a section hike. She asked me my name and when I told her, she said she's been reading my journal. Wow! When I got back to the guys, who were waiting on me, I told them you have to be nice to your fans. Today's hike is going to take me over the Bigelows which should be my last 4000 ft mountains till Ka..Ka..Ka¢¦Katahdin.The plan for today was to stop at the Safford Notch campsite but out here, plans change just like the weather does. Now we¢re going to the Little Bigelow Lean-to and in the morning we will be able to slack pack, thanks to Andrea, Buddy Backpacker¢s mom. The only hikers we have seen today were going south Clever Girl and Dump Truck. Sky Pilot and I slowly worked our way up and down the Bigelows and into the dark of night with our head lamps on. We made it to the lean to and no one was here, not even Cash. He had moved on to the upcoming trail magic 1.4 miles away, so we'll meet him in the morning.
Date: 2013-09-07
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.7

In the morning, we make our way down the 1.4 miles to Flagstaff Road and give Andrea our packs and go over to the trail magic tent and have an egg mcmuffin (not from McDonald's though) and a Pepsi and then we head out. The terrain today is just the opposite of what we've been having. It¢s flat with small hills but the mud, rocks and roots that we've come to love are still with us. Cash is already gone and my guess is we won't see him till later. For lunch we stop off at one of the lakes and I stick my feet in the water while I eat. There are a few houses surrounding the lake and people are kayaking and fishing. The water is so clear but it has leaches in it so I have to check myself later. We leap frog throughout the day with Little Sas and when we arrived at the Pierce Pond Lean-to, Cash was not there but his poles and his pack were. Sky Pilot and I start walking the half mile to pick up our packs and we see Cash, carrying my pack, Sky Pilots bag, Little Sas¢s bag and his own bag (the contents in the bags were stuff from their backpacks). What a great guy! It¢s supposed to rain tonight so we¢re in the lean-to. And there are about six other tenters here too. Last year one of the young thru-hikers took a swim in the pond and accidentally drowned. I don't know all the details, but you can just never be too careful.
Date: 2013-09-08
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well, well. The rain went to the south of us so that's great news. One thing you hate to do is hike in wet clothes. The hike is supposed to be downhill but it turned out to be a reverse downhill. Awol must have been drinking when he put that gray line down the middle of his map! But overall it was a nice hike through the woods. We only have 3.6 miles to the Kennebec River where we get to take an official white blaze canoe ride over the river. (The white blaze is painted on the bottom of the canoe.) After that we hiked up .4 miles to US-201 and Andrea is sitting in her car. She had just dropped off Buddy Backpacker and Dion so she had some time and took us to the Sterling House in Caratunk, ME. We¢ll stay for the night and leave in the morning. I've picked a day to summit and now I'll be hell to hike with, knowing that for the first time I have a deadline to meet.