morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-09
From: Pleasant Pond Lean To

To: Bald Mtn Brook Lean To
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

One major skill for camping that I totally lack is being able to access when the ground is level so I can place my tent. I tried again last night and once again failed. I was trying to sleep but I kept rolling against the right side of the tent. Not conducive to a good nights rest. Thinking that I was half way intelligent I got out of the tent and turned it 180 degrees. Now I just felt like I was swooshing down an Olympic ski slope. I kept slipping down but I finally fell asleep dreaming of winning gold in the Luge.As I went to unzip the tent this morning the rain started. I didn't hesitate and just plopped right back down. I fell asleep and this time I picked up gold in 2 men bobsled event. Penny was my brake man and of course we kicked butt.I finally hit the trail just before 9 a.m. I had kind of missed having to hike up a mountain but I got my fix first thing this morning. It was not a bad climb up to Pleasant Pond Mountain. A couple of steep parts but nothing like in the past. When I reached the summit the soft drizzle turned into rain. I hiked to a second summit and promptly lost the trail. My glasses had fogged up and with the streaks of rain on my lens my vision was not all that great. It took me a good 15 minutes to look to my right and see the white blaze.The walk was pretty easy after that point except for walking in the mud. About 8 miles into the hike I came to this major swamp. I stood there and looked the 30 yards across and saw the white blaze. I just plunged right into the murky, stinky water. It kept getting deeper and I got worried that the deep mud I was walking in would suck my boot plum off my foot. About 10 feet from shore I see this older couple be-bopping down the trail. They came to a sudden stop and just watched me struggle the last few feet. I had a line of mud above my waist and nasty black water oozing out of my boots. The couple asked me a few questions, told me I had some grit for fording the swamp and wished me luck. They then turned right, followed a different trail and walked across a sound beaver dam to the other side. I watched them walk out of sight, nice and dry and clean. I was feeling slightly stupid but then I remembered that I was a two time winter Olympic gold medalist and that made me feel much better.   I'm in the shelter this evening and it is a good thing. The rain is coming down in buckets and has been doing so for the past couple of hours. Another wet, muddy hike tomorrow but I'm wondering if the trail will be like this the rest of the way. 136 miles to go so I can handle some rain and mud. Take care, Pasta & Crockett (Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-09
From: Bald Mtn Brook Lean To

To: Moxie Bald Lean To
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I was taking my time lumbering up the start of Moxie Bald Mountain when I looked up and saw a full moon. Fifty yards in front of me, right in the middle of the trail was a woman bent over, nude from the waist down, changing from long pants into shorts.It turns out the woman and her boyfriend were from Quebec and just out for a two week hike. The mosquitoes had been eating her up for days so she had decided to wear long pants to keep them at bay. She had gotten hot hiking up the mountain and decided to change. Not just the mosquitoes but all types of bugs have been out in full force. The combination of all the rain along with all the standing water in the swamps makes for some fertile breeding grounds. I've taken to spraying 100% Deet each morning before I set off. Not just on my exposed skin but also on my hat and shirt covered shoulders. I will not say what Penny calls the mosquitoes but let me just say that I have made the south proud by killing a regiment of those bastards.The top of Moxie Bald Mountain was open slabs of granite with a small ribbon of dirt which the trail followed. The hike only got steep for the last 200 yards and I was totally rewarded after hitting the summit with ripe blueberries scattered along the trail. I took out my bandana, tied the two ends together to make a small basket and started to pick those luscious berries. A short time later I kicked back on an open ledge looking down on Moxie Pond and slowly munching on fresh picked blueberries. They were wicked good and I savored every last one of them. I couldn't believe how enjoyable it was to sit up there and eat one of natures little treasures. It sure beat those nasty Pop-Tarts I'd had a few hours earlier. I tried to save some of them for later but I just did not have the willpower.The light is now growing faint out over the water. I had my dinner of noodles with tuna mixed in while sitting out on a big rock looking out over the pond. Once again I kept up the hope that a big bull moose would show up to join me for dinner but it didn't happen. The pond was still a stunning place to watch the sun set. The clouds parted just slightly and I could watch the last shred of light slowly disappear over a distant mountain.It is now back to my tent where I hope I pitched the tent on level ground. The rest of the trail was a gradual downhill to the shelter. Whoever chose the locations of the shelters in Maine did a wonderful job. Once again, this shelter sits where there is a terrific view of a mountain pond. I'm starting to get spoiled since each day I've been able to take a nice swim after hiking. It totally washes away all the sweat from body and refreshes you like nothing else. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Monson ME

To: Wilson Valley Lean-To
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I took a zero day in Monson and fully enjoyed just kicking back, drinking half gallons of lemonade and sitting my big backside in a bigger lounge chair that overlooked the lake.There were four older ladies staying at the same place and they spent their time planning day hikes but I'm not sure if they ever actually went out and hiked. The place where I stayed was above the Laundromat. It was really nice and the owner, Bob was even nicer. As I was sitting in the backyard he brought me out a big Dove ice cream bar. There is a part of me that is looking forward to hiking the 100 mile wilderness. The other part of me realized just how heavy my food bag is. The pack weighs more than it ever has and I have to stifle a groan each time I lift it up.I didn't hit the trail till almost noon. One of the older ladies said she would give me a ride back to the trail but she never came back. Maybe they really do hike. The lady who owned the Laundromat gave me a ride and I was finally on my way.After thirty minutes the highway noise was gone and the only sound was the wind kicking up and blowing through the trees. The trail was super muddy and along with the weight of my pack made for some slow going. There are no bridges over any of the streams but for the most part I can rock hop across. It really slows me down when I have to take off my boots and put on my Tevas to ford a river. There was one last stream to ford before I reached the Wilson Valley Lean-To. I came upon this lady who looked to be around 55. As I approached she turned around and said ¢I have been praying that you would come along." Since I was sure that I could not turn the water into wine I just said "Thanks." Come to find out she was terrified of crossing the streams and she said she felt much better having someone there just in case. Sure enough the ford across Big Wilson was not super easy. I went across and then went back and carried her pack across. She had a hard enough time getting across the stream without the weight of the pack on her back and it was no problem helping her out. When she made it across she asked me to tell her friend at the shelter that she had made it across. In fact I will feel kind of bad if I do have a problem crossing a stream after all those years of walking streams while fly-fishing.When I got to the shelter there was a woman waiting and as I approached I told her that Carol was safe. Next thing I know I have this 55 year old woman hugging me over and over. Needless to say I didn't sleep beside this lady in the shelter. Honestly, both of them were very sweet and I spent time over dinner talking to both of them about the trail. Once again I had Lipton noodles, chicken flavor for dinner. I mixed in these huge chunks of ham which was not the smartest thing to do. The taste combination pretty much sucked but it did not stop me from eating the whole pot. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Cloud Pond Lean-To

To: Chairback Gap Lean-To
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

As I stepped out of the shelter it started to rain. That is just no way to start the day so I stepped back in and laid down. When the shower had passed I hit the trail. There were four peaks that I had to traverse today so I scaled my miles back thinking that I would be worn out from all the climbing.The first climb up to Fourth Mountain (I guess they ran out of names to call all the peaks) was steep and rocky but I kept a pretty decent pace. I soon caught up with the couple from NH that had tented nearby the night before. They were both very kind and I fell into hiking with them. Chelsea and Mark had a nice, steady pace that did not slow during the climbs. We made good time over the next ridges. We took a long break along the ledges at the top of Columbus Mountain. There were plenty of people out hiking. I sat around talking to both north bounders and south bounders for almost an hour. Once again there were large ledges that you could sit on and get a panoramic view of the unspoiled countryside.Thanks to my space blanket pilot friend I had hit the trail very early. I made it into the Chairback Gap Lean-To just past noon. It was good timing since five minutes after climbing into the shelter it started to rain. The shelter was built in 1956 and it was showing its age. I started thinking that I was born not too many years after and that after a day of hiking, I was probably showing my age also, naahhhh!A short time later a thru-hiking couple shows up to stay in the 6 person shelter. The two of them did not say a dozen words the entire evening. They were very quiet and went about their chores in a highly efficient manner. Phyllis showed up an hour later and then a while later Carol comes rolling in. As everyone is fixing dinner I happen to look back in the shelter and see this little mouse waltzing over to check out my pack. I should have gone and put up my tent right then and there. That night there were mice all over the place. I swear one of them ran up my sleeping bag and stopped at my shoulder just to see if I was sleeping or not. You could hear them scurrying around and trying to hop onto our hanging food bags. I just scooted deeper into my sleeping bag, wiped my goatee to make sure there was no food stuck in it and tried to get a couple of hours of sleep. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Chairback Gap Lean-To

To: Mountain View Pond
Miles today: 0.0

It was good sleeping last night as the air temperature finally started to get nice and cool. The sky was crystal clear and I just laid there in my tent and watched the millions of stars. It was an amazing night sky with no lights around to diminish how vivid the stars shined.The day started with a short steep climb up West Peak. Just enough elevation change to break a good sweat and have me sucking air 30 minutes into the day. Turns out that this would be the hardest climb of the entire day.Hay Mountain was a modest climb and even reaching the summit of White Cap Mountain was not a killer. I'm not saying that it was not difficult but in my mind I keep comparing everything to some of the climbs in the Whites. The day was clear and the views from the summit of White Cap were outstanding. It was my first view of Katahdin. The mountain towers above the surrounding landscape and I cannot wait to be climbing up that bad boy. I took a long break and relaxed knowing I had climbed the last big mountains located in the 100 Mile Wilderness.After the mountains the trail headed downward for the next five miles. It was hard on my old knees but I was able to make pretty good time. I had lunch at the East Branch Lean-To which consisted of a bagel with four pieces of cheese placed on top. For dessert I downed a pack of M&M's.I hiked on for a couple more miles until I came to a really pretty lake. I was pretty tired and I spotted a decent campsite so I decided to call it a day. It had been the fifth straight day of pretty hard hiking so I didn't want to push my body too much. I pitched the tent, laid down on top of my sleeping bag and the next thing I knew I had napped for two hours.There are two loons out on the lake and I watched them swim and dive as I ate dinner. It is fun seeing them pop back up and then shake their feathers like crazy as they dry off. I sat on a big rock with my feet in the water and I would watch the little creatures swimming around. I saw this small thing that almost looked like a piece of ribbon making a B-line for my foot. I watched it swim right to my ankle and stay there. I pulled up my foot and there was a big leech attached to my skin. I was able to flick real hard and send the thing flying back into the water. It didn't hurt but for some reason it just felt nasty having a leech on my body.The night looks clear once again so I'm not going to put on the rain fly so I can watch the night sky once again.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Antlers Campsite

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 0.0

My body is tired and the trail is rocky and muddy. The bugs are all over me, even landing on the lens of my glasses where they take on the form of some prehistoric blob. I walk across a bog log and bash my head on a low tree branch that I never saw. I reach up to check my head and there is blood matted into my hair. I encounter another series of bog logs, slip and my left knee scraps against a rock as my foot plunges into the ooze up to my shin. I check the knee and there is a trickle of blood running down and mixing with the black ooze. Yet, I find myself in a good mood because I know in a few more miles I will be chowing down on a big cheese burger and having a hot shower.Seventy miles into the wilderness is a place called the White House Landing. It is about two miles off the trail but every south bounder I've talked to said the cheese burger alone is worth the trip. I hike on with the thought of real food and before long I hit the grassy tote road that leads to the place. It seems to take me a long time to make it to the boat dock where I give a short blast on an air horn to let them know I'm waiting to be picked up. The air horn was super loud and echoed up and down the water.Before long I see a boat heading my way and three friendly faces on board. The owner, his seven year old son and a big, older black lab. In a matter of minutes we were on the other shore and I was ordering that burger. As I walked back out to the front porch the really quiet couple that I had spent a night with at a shelter a few nights earlier spotted me. They were not the same people, they were chatty, outgoing and seemed glad that I had made it. Now I probably did not say 10 words to them at the shelter and I had to pull those ten words out of them. I figured that maybe they were tired or had had a bad day and that now they were feeling back to their normal selves. The burger was very big, 3/4 of a pound and the bun had been grilled which made it taste even better. I downed it with two mountain dews and a big glass of chocolate milk. I proceeded to go throw the pack in my room, take a long, very hot shower and then crash in the little bed. Being clean and having a full tummy caused me to fall asleep very quickly.This place in on a slight hill which offers a nice view of Pemadumcook Lake. I spent the afternoon relaxing on the front porch of the cabin and looking through outdoor magazines.Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-20
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite

To: Campsite beside Pollywog Stream
Miles today: 0.0

4 eggs, 6 pieces of bacon, hash browns, 2 english muffins, 3 blueberry pancakes and 4 glasses of orange juice had me nice and full as I said good-bye to White House Landing. The owners of the place are very friendly and fully welcome you but be prepared to spend some money. They are located 70 miles into the wilderness so when I arrived yesterday the least of my concerns was the price of a cheeseburger. I would fully recommend staying here but just keep tabs on what you are spending.My other intelligent act was drinking a mountain dew as I lay in bed reading. For some reason after I turned off the light I was not sleepy. 2 hours after I turned off the light I was not sleepy but I did have to go pee. I was upstairs and the other hiking couple was sleeping downstairs. I didn't want to wake them so I had the bright idea of just peeing in the mountain dew can. I got up, grabbed the can and walked to the other side of the room. I turned my headlight on, held the can in place and proceeded to go...and go and go until I had quickly filled up the entire can. I can honestly say that one of life¢s pleasures is not having to stop in mid-stream. I ended up going outside and finding the nearest tree.It was another beautiful Maine day. Clear with just a hint of crispness in the air. I did not get started hiking until 9:00 and the going was slow since I had all the food inside my belly. I finally fell into a nice stride, each foot hitting the ground in the same cadence. The hiking poles staying in a constant unison with every other stride I took. When you hit this type of mode your mind can't help but start to think. My mind went to that big box of memories and I believe that we are wired where we usually remember the good stuff from our past. My Dad letting me tag along when he and all his fishing buddies would head out for a camping trip up to the mountains. I know I got in the way and probably drove him crazy but as each new trip approached I would see him once again loading my fishing pole into the truck. I thought about the summer my sister morphed from a shy, slightly chubby girl into this beautiful, confident young woman. The day I realized that my mom was not the best swimmer in the United States but that she will always make the best oatmeal cookies in the world. The smell of fresh cut grass on a fall evening and running as fast as I could toward daylight. I remembered the sound of Penny's laugh and the knowledge that shown in her eyes as we sat across one another eating Mexican food and talking about our future together.The noise of the outside world is gone and the gentle sounds of nature allows you to focus your thoughts and your memories. To sort things out, make decisions and instill in you a confidence that you can succeed. Today was a wonderful journey both through the wilderness in Maine and through the memories stored deep in the recesses of my mind. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-08-28
From: Abol Bridge

To: Katahdin Springs Campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was very hard for us both to get out of the nice comfortable bed in Millinocket. We were off to a late start so we decided to mess around the whole day until we needed to check into Baxter State Park for our campground site.We had breakfast at the Appalachian Cafe which had a super nice waitress. We decided to drive to Gulf Hages which is 30 miles into the 100 Mile Wilderness. Scott did not take the little detour to see this when he was hiking and for me, I needed the exercise before heading up Katahdin. We must have looked funny to the thru and day hikers. I had sent home our day pack while in New York so we improvised. I emptied out my purse in the car and we stuck our water bottles in that.The falls and gorge were very beautiful. It was an easy hike and got my muscles working again. Plus I was excited to see part of the 100 Mile Wilderness without actually hiking it.We headed back to town with another stop at the Appalachian Cafe for a late lunch. Then off to our campsite in Baxter.The campsite at Katahdin Stream was truly great. We had a three sided lean-to shelter that sat up off of the ground. It was situated right on the bank facing the stream. We sat our tent up right in the shelter.We had a few hours to kill before dinner and night fall. Scott built a roaring fire while I set out a little snack of cheese and crackers, grapes, and a bottle of wine. While in NY, I went to estate sales buying items to ship back to sell at Shaboom's. I bought this great deck of woman nudie playing cards from the sixties. I brought those out for an X rated game of poker with Scott. I am glad that none of our fellow campers came over for a visit during this time.At sunset, we headed down the road about one half mile to a couple of lakes in hope of spotting a moose or two. No luck at the first one so we hiked further on the AT. Nothing at the second one either. It was getting pretty dark by this time so we decide to just park ourselves on a bridge that overlooked the lake. We were talking and joking like we always do. One of us looked up and way in the distance like a silhouette, was a large male moose! He was in the middle of the lake and was raising his head up and down partaking of his dinner. It was a sight to see!Back to our campsite in the dark and off to bed for an early morning wake up to hike Katahdin. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)
Date: 2003-04-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"Delay not; swift the flight of fortune's greatest favours." -SenecaTwo years ago, when I rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride Route with my kids, I told them that I planned to run-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2003.So big deal. Plans change all the time.Like one year, I told my family that I planned to kayak solo across the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. Instead¢¦slight change of plans. I ended up working as a cruise ship doctor in the British Isles. Not even close on that one¢¦.So I could have backed out, changed my mind, found something different to do. But last summer, on the morning of my 49th birthday, I got a phone call from my doctor. I was less than half awake¢¦ "You know that mole we removed last week? Just got the pathology results. It¢s malignant melanoma. So have you got any plans for today? Yeah, well¢¦that¢s nice¢¦wait a second, did you hear what I just said? MALIGNANT MELANOMA. Want me to repeat that? Well, see if you can change those plans. I¢d like you to come back in this morning¢¦we better go back and do a wide excision." Thanks doc. Happy birthday my ass!The sucker went and blew my candles out before I even had a chance to light them. BUT THAT SURE WOKE ME UP. In more ways than one¢¦We think we have so much time, so many years. And then¢¦and then¢¦.So things changed. I really did wake up. For several months afterwards, each moment ¢ more often than not -- seemed precious, wonderful. The colors of life were etched in richer hues. And then I decided to get another opinion from a different pathologist. "No melanoma," he told me in a flat monotone. I went back to the original lab and asked that they re-read my biopsy slides. They called me back a couple of days later. NO melanoma. TALK ABOUT PARADIGM SHIFTS¢¦I¢m grateful, don¢t get me wrong. But lately I¢ve been backsliding towards complacency¢¦too many days of pastel hues and anonymous moments. TIME TO RAISE THE ANTE¢¦TIME TO HIT THE TRAIL¢¦