morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-07-29
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Saying goodbye to New Hampshire is like saying goodbye to that kid in class that made the school year more difficult than it could have been. He caused problems, disrupted plans, and wasn¢t as cooperative as would have been nice. He¢s got lots of friends - students and other teaches included. You like him - really - but more so at the beginning of class or on half days. You know, as you say goodbye, that it¢ll be best just seeing each other in the hallways or at the Friday night football game; just not everyday. Saying goodbye to New Hampshire is like saying goodbye to your first car after it gets totaled by a minor fender bender. You¢ve got some great memories from that car despite the fact that it was breaking down at inopportune times, smelled like the old cologne that the former owner spilled, and was 10 years past its prime. You were stunned when the insurance company totaled it. Then you realize, after a day or two, that while it was a great car, there are lots of other cars around that suite you better. You¢ll keep some great memories and stories about that car but it¢s time to move on. Saying goodbye to New Hampshire is like finishing that helping of side dish that gets served at Thanksgiving. It gets lots of hype from the crowd and it does taste pretty good but you decide you like it best once a year (or less) and only on special occasions. It¢s not a dish that you¢d ever consider making as a normal side but if someone else made it or if you found it in the fridge, you would definitely eat it and enjoy it. Once. So¢¦Goodbye New Hampshire.
Date: 2022-07-30
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Grafton Notch
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Guest Columnist: Grayson ¢Fish¢ SkogmanIt¢s 6:45, the sun pokes through the trees, Baxter¢s already awake, packed and ready to go. The water is about one-hundred yards to our left, large stacks of lumber are stacked around the shelter. I¢m thinking about our cats, sleeping, probably. Mahoosuc notch starts 1.6 miles north of here. I slide out of my sleeping bag and unzip the tent door, and start packing up my pad and pillow, I¢ll pack my sleeping bag after breakfast. Breakfast consists of instant oatmeal, not the worst. Pop tarts are the worst, too sweet. As we leave I look back at the shelter the words PRIME are etched into the wall some Roman numerals under it, I take a good look at it and wonder what number it is. It¢s 2022: MMXXII, I pass the Full goose shelter sign and adjust my poles as we walk away from the shelter.Around 7:15 we reach the south end of the notch. Dad starts a stopwatch as we enter the notch and start the 1 mile trudge through the notch. This mile is known as the hardest mile of the AT, in the end it takes us two hours to traverse it. In the notch there are three caves that the trail winds through, on your left there¢s always a game trail or a social trail that leads around the obstacle. At the start and end of the notch there¢s campsites; no water at either of them, but there¢s a cold stream that winds through the notch. Clean machine ,Blaze Dog and Wick were in the notch, too. After the notch there¢s Mahoosuc arm, a 2000 foot climb in 1.6 miles. At the top no view can be seen except for a fire tower on top of old speck mountain. We hike around another mile to Speck Pond Shelter. On the way we meet a NOBO named Journeyman. He has some cool cat shorts and a mug with Christmas trees on it. Journeyman is hiking with two friends named Tennessee Pickles and Fuel Can. We have lunch at a rock on outcropping. There¢s tortillas, cookies, beef jerky and tuna. After that we climb Old Speck Mountain while reciting poems and ranting about how weak Old Speck is to get our minds of of the rock face in front of us. A long downhill leads to water. Everyone is tired and disappointed that we¢ve only been 10.6 but on Monday we¢ll be sleeping in a bed.We¢re all joking about how there will be burgers and hotdogs at the bottom but there are none. I turn to look at the message board and something on my left catches my eye, a cooler about thirty feet down the trail I run toward it and open its piece of paper reads,TRAIL MAGICFor ATers  The rest of it is Oreos and Snickers.  Also a pack of cheeze-itz and chips ahoy. We fix a dinner of knorr¢s with a thing of curry. Throw away our trash and spot Rocket Man and Lazarus - two friends we hadn¢t seen since Crawford notch!We walk back into the woods and find a stealth site, hang a bear bag and set up tents. As I write this I think of me writing this and that version of me thinking about writing this.  Another great day in Maine!
Date: 2022-08-02
From: South Arm Road

To: ME 17
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Breakfast was on the table at 7:00. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, potatoes, and fruit. Coffee, OJ, & apple juice to drink. Five stars!Hopper loaded 10 people and their gear into the minivan. We pulled out at 8:00 headed to ME 17 trailhead. I sat in the floor facing the rear of the van behind the front passenger. The drive took about 45 minutes. I was glad when we arrived!We planned on slackpacking the 13 miles back to South Arm Road where Hopper had met us yesterday. Both the morning and the afternoon shuttles would work better if we headed south. We set out from ME 17 overlooking Mooselookmeguntik at 9:15. The trail crossed a dirt road after a quick mile. ¢MEATMAN¢ was pulling into a parking space there with a truck loaded down for trail magic. He was ready to cook bacon cheeseburgers all day. We were, unfortunately, too early for the burgers but we did snag some drinks and bananas as we helped him and his wife set up their wayside stand. We hiked on. We came across Journeyman shortly. We chatted for a minute and told of cheeseburgers ahead. Next was Tennessee Pickle. Then Blue. We realized we were about to see everyone we¢ve been hiking with for the last 2 weeks. Scrambles & Catchup, Catch Up, Amelia Earhart, Sunshine, Jay & Tina, Clean Machine, Blaze Dog, Wick, and I¢m sure several more that I¢m forgetting. We stopped telling about the trail magic about 1:00 since MEATMAN was leaving at 5:00. Stretch and Lotus came across us as we were eating hot lunches on the trail. We had thrown down next to water and we¢re relaxing for a short break. We did tell them about MEATMAN since they can really cover some ground but they were stopping short at nearby Beamis Mountain Shelter.Old Blue was our last (and only major) climb of the day. Rain began to threaten just after lunch and seemed close to showers throughout the afternoon. We met Jay and Tina on the summit of Old Blue. We chatted about their recent misadventures. I called Hopper, who was back at The Cabin, to let her know we¢d be at the road at 5:21. As I hung up, a load peal of thunder rolled in from the south. We cut the conversation short and went our separate ways!It was the only thunder we heard. It never rained. We made the 2 miles down Old Blue and got to the road at 5:11. Hopper was waiting for us with icee pops. We ate all 12 of them!Back at The Cabin, shepherds pie was on the table. We walked into dinner with little time to spare and ate heartily. Moose Tracks and brownies for dessert.Showers and laundry have been nice. The meals here are fantastic. I¢m looking forward to getting back into the woods!
Date: 2022-08-03
From: ME 17

To: Piazza Rock Lean To
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

We are e back into friendly trail! Easy terrain on easy trailbed. We¢re told Travis won¢t last - The Crockers and the Bigelowa are only a few days ahead. The 100 mile wilderness is no cake walk. But for now we¢re enjoying this trail.We arrived at Piazza Rock Lean To with daylight left. ¢The Caves¢ are nearby and the boys and I went to explore. The Caves were described to us as ¢Mahoosuc Notch except vertical.¢ It turned out to be a good description - thankfully it wasn¢t as tall as the notch was long.
Date: 2022-08-04
From: Piazza Rock Lean To

To: Sluice Brook
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

We crossed the 600 mile mark today just before camp. This trail has continued, unbroken, for 600 miles. It¢s got another 200 before Katahdin. It is easy to take the continuity and length of this trail for granted. It¢s difficult for the mind to comprehend 2194 miles. We rattled off another 11+ miles today over 3 stern peaks replete with steep ascents and descents. We pressed on past the shelter, despite the high chance of rain in the morning, and are camped on an abandoned (but surprisingly well-maintained) logging road next to a fresh cascade.We arrived at 4:30 and have enjoyed the evening bathing, cooking & eating, and giggling. I kindled my first fire on the trail here - a small blaze that lasted only 20 minutes - mainly because I had the time. It¢s acting like rain now as we¢re laying in tents. We¢ll see if we stay dry tonight!
Date: 2022-08-11
From: Pierce Pond Lean To

To: Pleasant Pond Lean To
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

The trail had both sugar and spice today! It started spicy, less than 200 yards from camp. We packed up slowly to let the crowd who camped with us get on down the trail. We had the Kennebec to ferry across today and there was going to be a queue on the near shore. The AT fords Pierce Pond Creek less than 100 yards from the shelter. There are no rocks to be hopped. This is a true ford. Shoes will get wet. A sign nearer the shelter had an arrow to the left ¢Old AT High and Dry¢, and one to the right ¢New AT Ford the River¢. Easy choice, right? We soon discovered the reason for the reroute. The old AT crosses Pierce Pond Dam. ¢Dam¢ is a generous word. A grid work of log pilings across the wide mouth of the pond outlet had been filled with rock and gravel. Vertical wood plank slatting had been nailed to the pond-side of the dam to create a barrier. The whole structure, 3 to 4 feet tall and 80 feet or more across, was like a giant sieve that water was gushing through. Years ago, linoleum sheeting had been laid underwater on the pond side and against the slatting to improve the damminess. It only added to the mess. The old AT footpath apparently crossed the top of this structure. I understand now, after crossing that sketchiness, why the MATC chose a new path. We made it across with no issues but I wouldn¢t want to be the guy who ¢okays¢ 4000 hikers crossing it this season. Bumblebeast, Rolo, and Leg spotted a moose within the first few miles. We missed it by a few minutes (or, more likely, it heard us coming and got lost fast). The Kennebec River splits the state of Maine in two, slicing south-southeast through the state and cutting the bottom third off from the north. The river is about 400 feet wide and gets waist-deep at normal flow. The ATC provides a free guided canoe ferry to hikers so the river doesn¢t need to be forded - that would be a dicey undertaking. We crossed in 3 loads: Joni & Leg, Grayson and me, and then Jasper and Baxter. Three-tenths of a mile further brought us to trail magic! Pancakes, eggs, sausage, OJ, and sodas were enjoyed by all. We needed a lunch-and-breakfasts resupply. Caratunk is a community dating from the mid 1800s but had no services near the trail. We walked 1.4 miles east to The Sterling Inn for food and charging. We saw Great Dane and Fish there. Lunch on the porch. Then we got a shuttle back to the trailhead from the guys at the inn. Five miles later we pitched tents at Pleasant Pond Shelter. It was 3:30 but rain was threatening and we wanted to save the climb over Pleasant Pond Mountain for the morning. Grayson, Joni, and I walked down to the pond where we skipped some rocks and Grayson swam in a steady drizzle. Dinner was cooked back at the campsite under a hemlock canopy (relatively rain-free). We were all in tents by 7:00. It¢s raining now, not hard but steady. It¢s the kind of rain that seems ready to stay for awhile. I think today will be a memorable one. The Kennebec crossing is unique on the trail. The dam crossing is another, hopefully unique experience.
Date: 2022-08-12
From: Bald Mountain Pond Lean To

To: ME 15
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Determined not to repeat the mistakes of yesterday morning, and knowing Monson was within a days walking distance, Joni and I got moving at 5:00am. The sun had not yet risen over Bald Mountian Pond when our packs were ready to go. The boys got going about 5:15 and, despite silent objections, we got walking by six o¢clock. We ate our breakfast waking in the trail.Monson was 17.9 miles from our campsite. The shuttles to town ran at 2, 4, and 6 o¢clock. The profile was stunningly flat. Over the course of the first 12 miles the trail dropped only 600 feet! The morning walk today was along the East Fork of the Piscataquis River. Morning miles are the fastest and easiest. By 7:40 (the time we left camp yesterday) we had covered just over 4 miles. We all felt good to get some early miles behind us.There were 2 true fords on the map today - the East and West forks of the Piscataquis. At the 6 mile mark we came to the first of them, or so we thought. We realized pretty quickly that the obstacle before is wasn¢t a river but a beaver-dammed creek. The flood had created a 2-pronged crossing that was as much mud as it was water. We slogged in and out (nearly losing some Crocs to the mud) and checked the map. The East Fork ford was still three tenths ahead! We kept our river shoes on (for some, just regular shoes without socks or insoles) and walked to the riverbank ahead. This was a river for sure, 20 yards across with a fresh current and clear water. The legs of our shorts were wet when we reached the other side. We dried off and got our feet back into hiking gear.We repeated all this 5 miles later when we got to the West fork (sans mud). It was refreshing, both physically and mentally, to walk through the cool water.We made the road (ME 15) at 3:10. Our longest day to date was in the books! I called Shaws to let them know we were there and we waited for Hippy Chick to show up with the van at 4:00. Shaws is a legendary hostel on the trail. It sits at the southern end of the 100-mile wilderness. It is the NOBOs last stop before Baxter State Park and Mount Katahdin. It is the SOBOs first introduction to civilization. There is history here. We arrived in the bustle of the afternoon. There were, perhaps, 40 hikers at the hostel showering, shuttling, returning from slackpacking, drying stuff out in the lawn, drying themselves out on the lawn, shopping the gear store, heading to town. It was a busy place. We got right after the chores: showers, laundry, gear explosion and pack clean up, charging, and the like. We¢ll save the food resupply until tomorrow. At about 6:00 we walked to the nearby General Store with Great Dane to get deli sandwiches. The boys and I each got a quart of chocolate milk - divine. We all got back to the private room (number 6) after moves and chess for a good nights sleep. The famous Shaws breakfast is tomorrow. We¢ll take a zero and get rested for the next 8 days of hiking to Baxter Peak!
Date: 2022-08-14
From: ME 17

To: Long Pond Stream
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

You¢ll measure everything in life by your thru hike because you know you were the happiest when you had the least. -Poet, 2008 Thru hiker Sunday, August 14, 6:56 It¢s hard to think straight at 7:00 am, but chess needs your brain. Apparently Baxter¢s brain is mostly dead at 7:00 o¢clock. Finally it¢s checkmate. Our bags are packed and finally after thirty minutes we¢re in the car. Shaws hiker hostel is very large - paddle boards, inversion table, slack line - everything that could break a leg and end a thru hike, great hostel though. Poet drives us to the trail. We¢re close to Katahdin but the hundred mile wilderness is in the way so let¢s shove that out of the way then climb Katahdin. Although we¢re not done, the hardest parts are out of the way. In the wilderness there are lots of ponds and roots. About six miles in we hit the 700 hundred mile mark. We¢re one third of the way through. We stop at Wilson Falls for lunch. About three miles after that there¢s a large brook that we have to ford. After the brook we meet hodding who has followed Benedict Arnold¢s steps through the Maine wilderness and he also followed Lewis and Clark¢s path across the United States. In 1779 Benedict Arnold and 1,000 troops crossed the Maine Wilderness to Quebec and attack. Although the attack failed, Benedict Arnold is still told as a hero for his quest to Quebec, but overall he betrayed the American cause and was a friend of the British. Thru hiking is a way to lose weight but comes with the side effect of loss of basic social skill¢Fish, 2022 attempted thru hike ¢¢- Some side notes: Grayson¢s waist has slimmed down on the course of the hike and his hip belt no longer cinches tight around his waist. I spent some time at Shaws with a discarded foam sleeping mat and a roll of duct tape doing ¢surgery¢ on the belt to improve the cinch. Today, not 2 miles in, the fixit job failed. Grayson and Poet had tried in some packs during our zero day so I called back to Shaws and got a Hyperlite 2400 put into the food drop packout for tomorrow. ¢Cliff¢ is a generous word for the next story but I¢m going to use it. ¢Very, very steep and smooth rock drop-off¢ is closer to the truth but tricky to type. Jasper stepped off a cliff today and was stopped by the mat of ferns that began to bunch up underneath his feet as he slid. The rock from which the fern mat had been peeled back from was now wet, slick rock. The cliff met the forest floor another 40 feet below. He kept his cool and was able to relax and stay composed. I was able to climb down in the dry parts and situate my sitting parts into a cleft and extend an arm down to him. I was able to pull him up to me. Hodding was up and behind me to help Jasper the last few steps to the top. Extra spicy. Jasper later scored us a sweet campsite by the river. I think it¢ll turn out to be one of our best sites.
Date: 2022-08-15
From: Long Pond Stream

To: East Chairback Pond
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Jasper found our campsite after fording the creek last night. It was next to the loud creek on a flat bench near an easily accessible swimming hole. It hit nearly all the bullet points on our ¢best campsites¢ criteria. I only recall one site better than this one on Bully Brook way back in Vermont. Zeta Pass can get an honorable mention. The night was cold next to the creek and I had neglected to commandeer down jackets from then boys before going to bed. I managed the early morning hours with my down jacket, bag liner, socks, and my rain poncho as a blanket. We crossed The Chairback peaks today: Fourth Peak, Three-and-a-half, Third, Columbus, and Chairback. The miles weren¢t difficult and the day was pleasant. We me Hodding Carter on the trail yesterday. He¢s hiking the 100 mile NOBO with no resupplys. He¢s an interesting character for sure. He had a replica of Leif Erikson¢s ship built and sailed it from Greenland to Nova Scotia. He retraced the path of the Corps of Doscovery up the Mississippi in an inflatable boat, then hiked over the Rockies to the Columbia River watershed on the western side to continue downstream to the site of Fort Clatsop. He commissioned a boat maker in Maine to recreate the ¢too-small and leaky¢ bateau boats used by Benedict Arnold in the failed Quebec campaign of 1775. Then paddled and portaged the boat up the Kennebec River and through Maine wilderness 350 miles to Quebec, retracing the I¢ll fated expeditions path. Needless to say Hodding Carter has some cool stories. He regaled us much of the day as we hiked. The boys would ask about other adventures and the plausibility of retracing the route. We discussed John Wesley Powell, Roald Amundsen, Hannibal, Marco Polo, the Crusades, John Coulter, Ernest Shakleton¢s walk across South Georgia Island, Dr Livingston, the Overmountain Boys, Hernando DeSoto, and the Kon Tiki trip. I wish I had mic¢d everyone up and recorded the conversation. It would make a killer podcast. We pushed on past Chairback Gap Lean To since water was scarce there and came 2 miles further to East Chairback Pond. We are a bit off trail down a blue blaze. We have the whole basin to ourselves. The sunset behind us left a soft light on the trees 400 yards away on the far shore. The two loons on the pond did a paddle past us to check us out. I heard a moose clear his nostrils across the pond and we watched as he stepped out of the woods and enjoyed an evening soak in the pond until the light failed and he melted in with the shadows. Now the loons are singing their mournful night songs to one another. These Georgia folks mistook the first calls on Pierce Pond for a coyote howl. Unlike the coyote, the loon gets no answer except an occasional call back from her partner. It is not the ¢where are you all?¢ call of a coyote. It is, instead, a call that says to anything listening in the Maine woods, ¢I am here. This is my pond. You are no welcomed here but you will be tolerated for a night.¢ If she¢s like the loon at Pierce Pond, she¢ll remind us several times throughout the night.
Date: 2022-08-22
From: Millinocket, ME

To: White River Junction, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Gail agreed to drive us to Medway this morning at 8:30. We all woke up slowly around 7:00 and enjoyed lounging in bed. When I looked over at Grayson just before 7 he had his headlamp on reading a book he found in the bunk room. We found the kitchen in the house and quietly fixed coffee, oatmeal, cereal, and toasted the pop tarts. Repacking packs and turning over the beds in the bunk room took the rest of our morning. Gail dropped us off at a convenience store around 9:15. The bus to Bangor makes a stop at the store at 10:00. We bought tickets, Sour Patch Kids, and chocolate milk and waited in the shade. The AT Lodge shuttle arrives at 9:45 with Great Dane, Hot Sauce, and Governor. We loaded the bus upon arrival and rode the 45 minutes to Bangor. I rode with Governor who was flying back to San Francisco today.We were dropped off at a bus station near the airport. We said our final goodbyes to Great Dane and Hot Sauce. Joni, Jasper, and Grayson stayed in the shade at the bus station while Baxter and I walked about a mile to the airport with Governor. We rented a Subaru Ascent SUV from a nice lady at the Avis counter and drove back over to pick up the other 3. Lunch was Chick-Fil-A. REAL sweet tea was a treat. Our destination was Dan and Whit¢s General Store in Norwich, VT. It was a six-hour drive that we all enjoyed. My legs needed more action than sitting around but the rest of my body appreciated the break. After wrestling with the rental car arrangement - drop off, pickup, timing, locations - we settled on hiking our Vermont gap southbound. Joni spent a big chunk of the drive working to get us from Rutland (on the south side of the gap) to High Point. We finally hired a shuttle driver to meet us at VT Route 4 on Saturday morning. We arrived in West Lebanon, NH about dinner time. After an Indian Restaurant was unexpectedly closed, we landed at Wendy¢s. Baconators and Frostees all around! We resupplied at Hannafords and headed to the Super 8 motel. We exploded gear and food resupply in the hotel room and began to repack packs while some took showers. Bedtime was about 8:30pm. We¢ll head back to the trail tomorrow after returning our rental car at the Lebanon airport.