morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-24
From: Long Pond Stream 

To: MONSON
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: few clouds

Kate's entry: We woke to being tired and sore. We were short breakfasts due to mis-calculating portion sizes, so it was a combo of what we had left PB, protein shakes, kudos, etc. The terrain wasn't terrible, but there were enough ups and downs to be sure. It was long and tedious. Matt and I were so tired from the last couple of days. No rest day for so long was definitely taking it's toll. I really wanted to get "out of the vortex" BAD. I fell lots of times today and I just wanted to stop walking. Mama gave us a snickers in the morning, which we thoroughly enjoyed at lunch.The afternoon progressed and Mama and Nanny caught up with us and said Pollywog and Beetle had called Shaw's, booked a spot for us, and they would shuttle us in. They thought we were a lot closer than Matt did.Thank God they were right...It's the first time I've seen Matt out-map-read before which just tells me how tired he was. We got to the lean-to and waited for Pollywog and Beetle and then we headed out the last three miles. They weren't bad, but man were my legs were tired...and my feet. We started to hear the trucks on the highway. The shuttle showed up just after Beetle and Pollywog pulled in. Dana, one of Shaw's owners, took Pollywog, Mama and Nanny first. When she came back for us, she said they had ordered food for us. Shaw's is like a big house. We walked in and there were many of the guys that we saw along the trail the last couple of days. It was SO loud in the living room and so overwhelming. BUT there was food...I didn't think I was hungry, but I ate: an egg salad sandwich (while waiting for hot food), a burger, a pickle fries and ice cream (so there Montrell and Danielle - I CAN eat). All of a sudden, I said "I just ate (all of the above)...and I can't believe it. Our maildrop was there and so were letters from Sarah and my Dad. Took an amazing shower (first in 12 days) - YUM> We have our own room which is very nice. I am TIRED. It is good to be out of the wilderness and to have completed our first 100 miles!
Date: 2008-06-25
From: MONSON

To: Shaw's Lodge (Monson)
Miles today: 0.0

Kate's entry: This morning I woke up early, started laundry, you know me - if there's things to do, I'm up. Breakfast was great! YUM - eggs, potatoes, sausages, bacon, and french toast! and I ate it all. We went to the library to pay bills, update the blog and send out emails. I tried to call Sarah before she left for Europe but our phone had crappy reception. Chef let me use his phone so it was great to talk to Sarah, Becky and Aaron. It made my day. Then I tried to charge up Chef's phone with our solar charger...and made a mess of it. I mean, if I hadn't come back to check on the connection...I think it would have been more than the solar charger fried. Fortunately, all turned out ok with Chef's phone. We got a shuttle to Greenville with Beetle and Pollywog. We have decided we're walking at least to Stratton together. We went to the outfitters and they FIXED MY POLE in like 30 seconds. It was amazing! I got a pack cover and am trying out an insect repellant handkerchief to protect me from the evil black flies. OH and if you have a bite, the stuff I bought - Afterbite is AMAZING. We did some grocery shopping and found pitas again.We had dinner at the pub and said goodbye to Mama and Nanny. Which was sad. We will surely miss them. We're hoping to catch up with them later down the trail. We packed our gear up, organized food - all in all a busy day and I'm exhausted - I don't know if I'd call it a rest day. Tomorrow we hit the trail after breakfast and a trip to the post office.
Date: 2008-06-26
From: Monson

To: Horshoe Canyon Lean to
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Matt's entry: It was really great to hang out at Shaw's. Breakfast was great again. Don't know what Kate told you about Bfast, but basically you order "2, 3, or 4 and then say how you want your eggs. If you order 2 it translates to 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage, and 2 whatever side they make that day. today was pancakes. Some of the northbounders (NOBOs) eat a 4 and then reorder. It's sick to watch but I'm sure we'll get there soon.I actually was up before Kate today(5AM) ; I wanted to sharpen our knives and write some postcards. I also ended up taking things off of the clothesline. I don't remember my rain gear ever looking this clean, especially my gaiters, which look brand new. It's funny to me.It sprinkled as the shuttle took us back to Hywy 15. Ironic? Then it cleared up for the hike. We hiked 9 miles into horshoe.When we got into camp theber re was a large group of "counselors in training" in the shelter. Their leader seemed kindof clueless and they took up the whole shelter. We set up our tents. Creature and Stovepipe (Matt and Aaron) were already there and I played pass the pigs with them for awhile, also a guy named Joe aka Radioactive Man (I know I know some of these trail names are a trip) was there too and we played spades.Then it really started to rain hard so we decided to go to bed early and read etc.We didn't go as far as we wanted today but Kate's knee was bothering her and Pollywog's foot seemed hurt. Our packs are heavy again with food anyhow. I think will at least eat in Caratunk as we practically walk right through it. TTFN
Date: 2008-06-27
From: Horshoe Canyon Lean to

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Kate's entry: This morning the sun was so shiny when we woke up. It was amazing. We found the terrain to be as bit more rocky and rooty than yesterday. MLEH! We forded a couple of rivers. Pollywog fell in the last one - all her stuff is wet - poor girl her camera is fried. (This is the part of the journal where I apparantly fell asleep while writing - so this is my later addition) We got to the shelter and Creeture, Tilly and Radioactive Man were there. We decided to tent it in the hopes to dry out. We taught Beetle and refreshed Pollywog in cribbage. It then began to pour HARD. AGAIN. Tilly, Radioactive, Matt and I played spades. Soon NOBOs showed up and they wanted to shelter it so we retired to our tents. I forgot to mention earlier when we took lunch, Matt went swimming and I sat in the sun. It was amazing. I just can't get over how the weather changes here.
Date: 2008-06-28
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: Power lines near Moxie Pond Rd.
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Kate's entry: It was WET when we woke up this morning...Didn't want to move. Not raining yet but wet. It rained most of the night. Moxie Mountain wasn't as bad as the NOBOs made it sound. They said there would be scrambling but there was none. It was SOOO foggy it was like being in a cloud the last 1/2 mile up - wet and cold. I just want a view from a summit - is this too much to ask for??? We got down to the lean to and cooked tea and hot lunch while we waited for the ladies. We made them tea and decided we would throw up tents 3 miles down the trail which would put us near the base of Pleasant Pond Mountain. We hiked an easy 3 miles more. Matt found a great place to set up the tents. Radioactive ended up joining us as well. It started to RAIN while we made dinner. Went to tent early and listened to rain.
Date: 2008-06-29
From: Power lines near Moxie Pond Rd.

To: Pleasant Pond Lean to
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

Kate's entry: It rained all night...stopped for breakfast. We walked a bit and it started to sprinkle. Pleasant Pond Mtn is the summit that lasts forever - you just keep climbing up and up and up. It then started to POUR - a real soaker. My boots, my waterproof boots that have stayed dry all this time, got wet. It finally stopped when we got to the top...While we were up there, I started to choke on a nut in my trailmix...but no worries, I threw it up. Always excitement. Then we started down - not as steep as I expected, but I might as well have been walking down a stream instead of a trail. Came into the lean to soaked. Tilly was there and gave us hot tea. We decided to stay and walk into Caratunk tomorrow. Try to dry out, again. Played cribbage. Looks like rain again tonight so we pulled in all the gear. Here is a ditty Matt and I wrote:Are your boots still wet?Have they really dried out yet?Do they really make you mad...Or are you merely upset?Have you burned them in a fire,Just trying to make them drier?Are your boots still wet?
Date: 2008-06-30
From: Pleasant Pond Lean to

To: CARATUNK
Miles today: 5.7

Kate's entry: Rained terribly last night. Poured into the wee hours. Six miles to Caratunk - terrain not bad, but the trails are SLOP. Got to Hywy 201 - no phone reception. Knocked on some doors to see if someone would let us use their phone to call for a shuttle and a nice man said "I'll just give you a ride". So we jumped in the back of his pickup truck with our packs and he drove us the 2 miles to Northern Outdoors. AMAZING - wouldn't take money for gas or anything. We got a room with the ladies. Nice place - laundry, restaurant with good food. Matt and I fixed Polly's glasses that broke today. Can't complain - nice restful afternoon. I used the payphone and talked to Mom and Dad - which was awesome. I've missed talking to our family and friends so much. Each call makes me happy. We are hoping to catch the ferry across the Kennebec tomorrow morning. BUT we hear it might not run because of the high waters...so pray for no rain tonight and that the ferry man will paddle us and our gear sometime between 9 and 11 am tomorrow morning. OK, way past bedtime. To bed I go!
Date: 2008-07-01
From: CARATUNK

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Matt's entry: Today was pretty darned great. Woke up early and did a neat journal entry on day to day trail life (the outline of one day), but the wireless wasn't working at the outfitters for some reason so it's stuck on my phone. Hopefully I will be able to get it posted at the next town.After Kate got up (around 6:30), we all went downstairs for a bite - Creeture and Tilly said it was 'on point,' but I thought it was just OK. The service here has been consistently slow. I decided that journaling late in the day is not hte best time for me - sometimes I am so tired that I just can't think straight. If I am too tired I think I will just try to get rest and catch up the next day. Also, this AM we had a minor bank scare - we thought that we had been overcharged but it turns out it was a previous purchase and we were at "Northern Outdoors" instead of "Northern Outfitters." At any rate, I guess it's safe to say that we are "up north."Thank you by the way for all of your guestbook hellos and well wishes. We both look forward to reading the blog to see who has been on lately. It's neat to see we have some readers out there.The walk today was great. We took the canoe ferry across the Kennebec and we made some great time, considering we had such a late start due to the ferry service. We saw Chef at the ferry. He aparently had some kind of time scare and thought it was later that in really was, so he was trying to rest. I'm really glad that we decided to rest in Caratunk. We needed it I think.The trails today were awesome - except that is for a 2 mile stretch of pure mud, but at least that was close to the shelter. Also, we had lunch at an awesome shelter - it was finally one that overlooked the lake it was near. Usually they are far away, or at least you can't ever see the water. I guess that's for privacy and so that hikers don't get harassed. Anyhow it was great to see - it was Pierce Pond lean-to. Getting there was a bit tricky too. The trail was right on a levy that kept the water at a certain height, and the water was going up over the wall. When we did arrive at the site, Creeture and Tilly (the hiker formerly known as Stovepipe) were of course already there and so were a huge group of girls from some nearby camp. They didn't have any means to purify their water for some reason, so I let them use our filter since it's so easy to use and clean. Then Tilly offered to travel with them to filter their water until they could find something out, and I was really impressed by his flexibility and kindness. I was wondering though if the New Zealander counsellor had anything to do with it...
Date: 2008-07-02
From: West Carry Pond

To: Bigelow Mountain
Miles today: 7.3

Kate's Entry: Woke up DRY this morning! How amazing. It felt spectacular. We all slept quite in a bit today (7:30 am). I needed it - I didn't sleep well last night. Today was a 7 miler with 2.5 ups and 2 downs. We are currently on the side of Bigelow Mountain. Ups are still challenging for these short little legs of mine, but it seems like I'm doing better with them. Knee was hurting, but better yesterday. I need to keep up with stretching - that with some vitamin I (Ibuprofin)...seems to help a lot. Got into camp early and set up tents expecting the gaggle of girls, but they must have passed by camp. Then we found "the tubs" - which were delicious pools in a brook running next to the site. I took a mini bath in one - water was so cold but it felt SO good to be clean after a hot sweaty day. I read from my book while Matt napped. We all did dinner and shared our peach crisp with Beetle and Polly. Yum...then of course, cribbage. It was nice to relax and have the joint to ourselves. Matt worked on our stove which has been leaking and it seems to be doing better. Starting to have to refigure food as we are eating more "snacks" to supplement meals. Our appetites are definitely picking up. Tomorrow we have a bunch of ups and downs so it will be a challenging day. It's been sprinkling off and one this evening, but maybe it will pass over so we can have a view from the summit tomorrow!
Date: 2008-07-03
From: Bigelow Mountain

To: Avery Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Matt's entry: Today was a pretty great day. No one came into camp last night so we had the whole shelter to the 4 of us - of course Beetle and Pollywog and Kate and I.We broke camp under partly cloudy skies and enjoyed a prett decent climb up Little Bigelow Mountain. The thing with this mountain was the top of it is a good mile long, so it seemed like we weren't ever going to summit. Then, we summitted Avery Peak, which was well maintained and mostly dry.Of course, when we got to the summit, the clouds really started to roll in and it got really dark and windy. As a result, we didn't spend much time on the top.When we got down, we entered the Avery Memorial Campsite, which was a little disappointing to me. We had a hard time finding a good site - there were only wooden platforms surrouned by dead trees, and the wind was really unsettling. Finally we found a decent site and really had to anchor the tent with big rocks and I ended up guying the tent down extra tight due to the weather.Also, we haven't seen the girl camp or Tilly or Creeture all day. Beetle said that she saw Tilly earlier in the day, and one of the girls had twisted her ankle and they had to get her out. Hopefully all is well with them.Kate wasn't at all happy with the site tonight - the wind really made her nervous. It made me nervous too but I didn't want to say anything. In the end we got through the night and the weather cleared up by morning. TTFN
Date: 2008-07-04
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: Cranberry Stream
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Kate's entry: What a perfectly wonderful day!! It started off cold - the wind blew and blew and blew last night and blew the clouds away. Winter binky hat thank you very much! It was so clear and all the views were WONDERFUL! A few little ups and down, down, down we went. It was glorious. I can't describe how elative I felt about the views and the sunshiny day! And for those of you who know my fear of heights, you'd be surprised to know that I went out on a lookout and got closer and closer to the edge to catch a view - with no fear! Matt was shocked and did document the moment! I'm proud of that. Getting there slowly and surely. We then got into camp and danged if Tilly wasn't sitting there with pizza boxes and beer. YUM! Pizza has never tasted so good! We hung out read, just chilled at the site. It was great. Tilly, Creeture, Polly, Beetle and we are in camp. P, B and we played cribbage and taught Tilly. I just felt like it was a perfect day - just drank in the views, the sun, the walk, the joy of the day. Only 2 miles and a shuttle are between us and a big hot breakfast in Stratton tomorrow morning. Everyone is excited!
Date: 2008-07-05
From: Cranberry Stream

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: clear sky

Matt's entry: Today was a SUPER day! WE woke up and everone in camp was in great spirits. Town day has that kind of effect on you. You get to eat great food, and lots of it. Also, you get mail sometimes,andd who knows - maybe someone from work has sent you some SAMOAHS or THIN MINTS. Geez what does a guy have to do to get some of those things anyways?!Anyways, Kate was bouncing down the trail today and I was dancing along listening to Ben Folds on my iPod. I suppose we were a site to see. We had cell phone reception last night, and we talked to Dan and Carrie, which was great to hear them; we hadn't talked to them since we left. Everything seems so damned loud today. Our cell phone last night was so LOUD it embarassed us and we didn't want to make any other calls. As we sat by the side of the road all of the cars and especially the motorcyles that passed were SO LOUD. It is so quiet in the woods; I suppose I am oversensative to noise but I now think that noise pollution is real, and we are all (I was too) just oblivious to it. We filter it out but really normal life even in a small town is very loud.The ride into town was nice but it took a long time to get picked up. I read my Walden and Kate and Beetle and Pollywog chatted. I am glad that we met some great folks on this trip. They are fun to be with. We got into town, showered, ate a wonderful breakfast (second breakfast of the day ), and then did our chores (mostly laundry and shopping). I bought a candy bar for each of the days that we are going to be out again (I think 9). I also updated my picture log (I seldomly have enough energy to keep up with this when we are out), and then our little group had dinner and beer at the White Wolf In. Grandma, you would have loved the place - it had lots of pics of wolves everywhere. Most of them weren't too cheesey. I really wasn't that hungry when dinner time came around but I ate down my whole 1/2 pound burger, most of the fries, and had dessert too. My appetite is kind of sick. Like that northbounder's I guess. It's so weird. Dessert was excellent by the way - blueberry rhubarb surprise with ice cream. Then, the four of us played cribbage and my team got spanked again. It was fun though and then we went to bed. A great Nero (near zero) day!
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Stratton, ME

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

Kate's enty: A full rest day without chores...What's a girl to do? First of all, sleep in a little. Breakfast at the diner across the way. Potato pancakes an an egg sandwich. YUM! Talked to DiJo another southbounder. Finished blogging. Checked email. Ate some stuff. Took a nap. Oh wait, after breakfast, I saw that said pies down the road at a B & B. We went to check it out - Polly bought a rhubarb blueberry pie for dessert later tonight. Went to the grocery store...twice. Talked to the family =). Ate dinner. Talked with people. Played cribbage. Stretch. Ate a quarter of a pie. Almost bed. Very pleasant. Wrote postcards. Just for the record, here is what I ate today:~ coffee~ 2 potato pancakes~ egg sandwich~ a large box of Mike and Ikes~ an apple~ a kiwi~ fig newtons~ corn fritters in syrup~ stuffed pork roast with corn bread and cranberries~ a side of pickled cabbage~ most of a baked potato~ 1/4 of a pie~ ice creamand I'm thinking about finishing my container of pringles...and I'm losing weight??Breakfast tomorrow, P.O. and out to the trail again.
Date: 2008-07-07
From: Stratton, ME

To: Crocker Cirque Campground
Miles today: 7.3

Matt's entry: Well, I think today was a pretty good day, but I am very worried about Kate's knee. It was really hurting her today - she said shooting pain was going on while she walked. And, I was already carrying a bunch of her stuff because she was feeling nausious. I really hope this isn't serious. So, right now we've vitamin I'd her, elevated her knee, and she's resting up. The funny thing is, we've carried more weight before, we've been going slow, and we just had about 2 rest days. And, she was doing fine before and she said she didn't injure it. So I guess the paln is to wait until tomorrow and see what's what then. Reguardless, she needs to not carry so much tomorrow and we need to heavily vitamin "I" her for the next couple of days. BTW, the vitamin I is Ibuprofin. We went up Crocker Mountain today and we will more than likely do Sugarloaf (the one with the ski hills) during the next few days if we walk at all.Now I am really wishing we had chosen to resupply at the next place instead of carrying 8-9 days of food - I know that I can take more weight, but if I over do it I will be injured as well. Kate seems to be in good spirits and I hope she gets better soon.The weather was nice today. I was so glad to see the sun. It probably got into the 80's but it's getting cooler at night, which is great. This is a nice space if we do need to zero tomorrow. The privy is really far away though, and there is a lot of trash lying around everywhere. We can clean that up before we leave.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Crocker Cirque

To: Crocker Cirque
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Kate's entry: Grounded!! Knee feels better than last night, but still hurting without the pack. Decided it was best to sit tight here. Under strict instructions from Nurses Beetle and Pollywog of rest, ibuprofen, ice and elevate for the day. It was hard to watch them leave...but I know it is the right decision. Matt says he's proud of me for making it, but I just know I don't want to make it worse. Beetle gave me one of her knee braces for when I'm ready to walk. Matt and I have talked about re-divying the weight for the rest of this section - thinking the weight I've been carrying is just not one I can continue at for long periods of time...so later we will review. I finished my book this morning and napped. Later cribbage with Matt. It's hard to be so still and have nothing to do. BUT the knee is significantly feeling better - even when I take the brace off. Matt and I have played numerous games of cribbage and yahtzee today. Hopefully, I'll be ready to head out tomorrow.