morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-02
From: chairback gap lean-to

To: long pond stream lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Headed south toward Columbus mt., summited that and got some great pics. There were some hand over hand on rock climbs here and there. I then summited Third mountain and Fourth mountain, then summited Barren Mountain. What a day. My feet feel pretty good. When I reached the peak on Barren mountain I was immediately swarmed by black flies all over my head and face. I immediately ran (yeah..they have a way of making one move a bit faster) off the peak of the mountain (about 25 yards), threw down my pack as Im bobbing all over trying to keep them from bitting me. They were freaking rabbid. I finally found the Deet and sprayed like a deet junky. Its amazing how they all just stopped immediately and dissapeared. They really hate deet. I decended the barren mountain as fast as I could ending the day at long pond lean-to. Here I met a hiker named footnote. He is a writer. I also ran into a camp counselor named Bill with a bunch of teens on a multi day backpacking trip. Bill handed me a can of corn when I arrived at the lean-to and said that they forgot to eat it at dinner...man..I was freaking starving so I said "oh..are you sure you dont need it...)..yeah right...I would have eaten old liver today...I was so hungry when i got there. Well, the corn and chicken mix i made was better than filet mignon. I was also demonstrating some of my gear for the teens there who were very interested it appeared. Went to bed tonight full and happy...yahoooo.
Date: 2008-07-03
From: long pond stream lean-to

To: Leeman brook lean-to
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

HIked early today but the shin splints were killing me on my left leg. I took it easy and did about 11 miles. The trail was pretty gradual with some assents and decents but nothing that bad. I saw the most beautiful waterfall also (Little wilson falls) and walked through a bog reserve. I took pics of the endangered plants there. Somewhere right before the Leeman brook lean-to I passed a sign on a tree that read..pizza, drinks, food, bunks 20 dollars, 5 minute walk. I though...sure...why not. The place was called "Hikers Haven" and is a log house with beds, kitchen, small living room area, propane lighting, wood burning stove for heat, etc. Its was very nice. The owners name is Paul and he is a pretty cool dude. I also met his nice girlfriend. Paul hooked me up with the cabin and some re-supply then drove me down to the cabin on a four wheeler. I met a hiker John at the hostel and we just hung out bullshiting till about 12am.
Date: 2008-07-04
From: Leeman brook lean-to

To: Monson
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Hey...happy 4th everyone. Took off early and came to the Leeman brook lean-to. I stopped in just to sign the A.T. register. Passed two really cool ponds. Both lily pond and bell pond have pine trees lining their shores with deadwood sticking out here and there giving it an awsome nothern exposure look. I had to stop and sit by bell pond for a bit. It is spectacular. Its as if I was stepping into a painting. I wanted to capture the moment and image into my memory. I continued on from there and as I was hiking I could hear a truck driving on a road. Highway15. The road to Monson and the southbound end of the 100 mile wilderness! Sweet. One cannot help but pick up the pace at this point. I continued about a quarter mile and came upon the southbound exit sign to the 100 mile wilderness! Yahoooooo. I was pretty pumped to see that baby!!! A few yards up I came to highway 15 and got a ride into Monson by Jeremy from the Lakeshore house hostel. I rode in with hikers chapstick and archsupport since they were going to stay at the hostel there. I met the owner Rebekah at the hostel after about a four mile drive to town. Monson is pretty small. You could walk through main st. in about five minutes but the town is awsome. I love it. The town has a bbq place, two hostels (Shaws and lakeshore houses), library, post office, etc. Everything a hiker needs pretty much. oh...and good food resupply. I got a room at Lakeshore and showered..oh man...hot water reallly feels great after washing in rivers for a while. I had an A.Y.C.E. fishfry tonight for dinner. I also did my laundry. Lakeshore has a bar/restaurant in the back, laundrymat in the front, and rooms upstairs. Pretty convenient.
Date: 2008-07-05
From: Monson

To: Monson
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

took my first zero day today. Yahoooo...slack time. Met Nobo's one-flop and just hiking in town and also went over to shaws for a bit and met the owner. I helped Jeremy move a refridge from one of the rooms to the dump. We are bringing one back up tomorrow before I leave. I then get my room free tonight. Work for stay. Hung out on the back patio alot talking with the locals and assorted hiker who were here. Nice relaxing day. My legs are very happy right now. The shin splints seem to be almost gone.
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Monson, Maine

To: horseshoe canyon lean-to
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I helped jeremy move a fridge in the morning then me, findin peace and calamity jane, one-flop, and just hiking jumped into jeremys truck for a ride to the trailhead. Myself, finding peace,and calamity jane headed south. One-flop and just hiking headed north to finish up their hike at Katahdin. We decided to have a lax day today. I didnt mind at all...my legs were feeling good and I thought one more day of not pushing them would be great. We found a beautiful stream and hung out their for a few hours before heading to Horseshoe canyon lean-to.
Date: 2008-07-07
From: horseshoe canyon lean-to

To: Moxie bald lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Came to my first lean-to today with a picnic table. The Moxie bald lean-to has two campfire sites, picnic table, swimming area (the lake), and a privy. Its a really sweet shelter! Calamity jane and findin peace showed up shortly after I got there and we just chilled. I slept in the lean-to tonight laying there listening to all the birds, loons, frogs singing into the night.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Moxie bald lean-to

To: Bald mt. brook lean-to
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: few clouds

Summited Moxie Bald mountain (2629') and sunbathed with calamity jane and finding peace upon the hot rocks at the peak. The warm wind felt great and the view was spectacular. We started hiking again about an hour later hoping to summint the next mountain when it suddenly started pouring rain and lightning. We were about a quarter mile from the summit and decided to stealth camp and wait it out. Yeah..we got soaked big time. Its all good. Its part of this cool adventure.
Date: 2008-07-09
From: Bald mt. brook lean-to

To: Caratunk, Maine
Miles today: 14.7

We got up early and took off. Assended Bald mountain. The climb seemed harder to me than some of the larger mountains. Bald mountain is only 1280' but a rugged little bugger. I pretty much summited, took a pic, then bolted down the other side because i forgot to fill my water bottles at the stream. Man...when I finally found the next stream I was so freaking happy. It was like the angels busted out of the sky in song and light gleamed from the little mountain spring. I was so freaking thirsty. I was almost going to lick the raindrops off the tips of the pinetrees where it collected last night from the previous rain. Went swimming to day with calamity jane and finding peace at Pleasant pond. They have a sand beach at this pond also. The water is very clear and warm. Another hiker showed up and we all hiked into Caratunk recieving two rides total. We then walked a few miles to a the Northern Outdoors lodge. This place is big into whitewater rafting and snowmobiling. Its has a jacuzzi, showers, restaurant, brewery in the basement, camp areas and also assorted lodging choices. The staff was fantastic and very friendly. Heres a funny note...when we all walked in the front desk said "we would love you to stay but could you take a shower or jump in the pool first"! Im thinking...Awsome...Free Showers!!! We ate and hung out then decided to go sleep in this broken down school bus we saw coming up the road. It was parked in a field. Good deal because it rained again here (seems like a habit here in maine).
Date: 2008-07-10
From: Caratunk, Maine

To: roundtop mtn
Miles today: 15.8

Woke up early and dispearsed from the bus heading to the trailhead for the ferry to cross the Kennebec river (490ft wide). I got their very early and decided to Ford it. I first walked into the river and it went up to my chest almost. I spotted some ripples upriver and went over to them...I forded and continued on. Hiked a good distance (15.5miles) and stealth camped before dark right near the top of roundtop mountain, 167 miles from Katahdin baby!!!!
Date: 2008-07-11
From: roundtop mtn

To: Stratton
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: overcast clouds

got up at 5:15am and hiking by 5:45am. I hiked all day today pretty much with very few stops. I summited little Bigelow mountain (3052), summited Avery Peak (4088'),summited West peak of bigelow mountain (4145'), and also summited the south horn mountain (3805'). I desended the last mtn. at night right onto the road to stratton, Maine. Got a bit of trail magic here also. I was walking in the dark waiting for a hitch when a car comes up the other direction..turns around and asked if I need a ride into town. Sweet. Thats the second time that has happened. I suck at remembering names but for all you "trail magic" people out there who have/or havent run into Bearwalker.....thank you soooo much. You people Rock and I appreciate it. So my day ended at the Stratton Motel eating a pizza (oh..its really a hostel).
Date: 2008-07-12
From: Stratton

To: Stratton, Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I did some re-supply, ate a shitload, and just relaxed. Did some laundry also. I watched "Pulp fiction" on the tube during the afternoon. Zero-ing (not hiking..a day to take care of business like resupply, laundry, etc.) in Stratton, Maine. After yesterdays run I believe my shin splints are pretty much gone.
Date: 2008-07-13
From: Stratton

To: crocker cirque campsite
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: broken clouds

Sue is the owner of the Stratton Motel and is a hiker. She has lots of good hiking stories and is a very pleasant person. She drove me to the trail head in the morning and once there I saw a woman getting out of a car. Her name is Megaphone and the cool thing is she is section hiking and is from Allentown, Pa. Right next to my town. Pretty freaky. Anywho....as soon as we started hiking it started to rain and just got worse and worse. We both thought it was going to stop really soon so we never put on rain gear (just the pack covers).We were both soaked thru and thru before we even got to the peak. Its was very cold and windy the whole while. I stopped once and lit my alchohol stove so we could thaw our fingers. Ended up stealth camping near Crocker Cirque Campsite.
Date: 2008-07-14
From: crocker cirque campsite

To: Spaulding Mtn lean-to
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: light rain

Hiked up Spaulding Mountain with Megaphone and we layed all our wet gear all over the rocks. It actually dried very nice in the sun. Met a bunch of very nice people at the top. There are ski lifts there and the sky house or whatever. The view is of course spectacular at 3140ft. Had a nice lunch and then continued to Spaulding Mtn lean-to. It was pretty full so we decided to stealth a bit up the trail. Perfect day.
Date: 2008-07-15
From: Spaulding Mtn lean-to

To: Piazza rock lean-to
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a get up and go, hike all day, kind of day. Made it from Spaulding Mtn lean-to over to Piazza rock lean-to just as darkness was setting. Yahooo...nice mile day. We are right outside of Rangeley, Maine. Now...during the hike we went over some freaking big mountains...first..lone mountain (3280'), Poplar ridge (3120'), Saddleback jr.(3655), the horn (4041), Saddleback mountain (4120') before descending into Piazza Rock lean-to. Wonderful hiking today but very taxing on the body (legs). Saddleback is quite a beauty. Its a long, hard climb to its peak and there is a long trail at the top of these mountains at Alpine (your walking the trail with alpine plants and flowers all about you...totally awsome)...Saddlebacks view from the peak is really nice also. Wish I could post the vids and pics for you but I cant. Im at the Rangeley, Maine library right now typing this.
Date: 2008-07-16
From: Piazza rock lean-to

To: Rangeley, Maine
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: few clouds

Hey,hey..got up early and we bolted on the nicest little lame (terrain wise) trail into the town of Rangeley. We ate a bit then headed to the RipRaff hostel. Met superman, meg, squirel, and some other hikers at the house. We all went out to Sarges pub and restaurant for Kerioki night. Had a blast. Yeah..I sung but not by myself...oh...I'm 220 miles from Katahdin now. Onward to Georgia baby!!!!!
Date: 2008-07-17
From: Rangeley, Maine

To: sabbath day pond lean-to
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today me, megaphone and a hiker named "Chef" (from hike4hope.com) went out to the local diner for breakfast. I then separated with megaphone since she she was going to slack-pack 13 miles to hwy 17 and I needed to go to the library to update this journal and pay some bills. Spent about two hours at the library updating my journal, went to the local outfitter and picked up a Marmot rain jacket and a new cooking system, the Pocket rocket. I used it tonight and I like it better. My old denatured alcohol stove worked great but I want to take coffee breaks through-out the day and the new stove heats water very quickly. Its a little heavier though. I hiked to the Sabbath day lean-to and ended my day. This lean-to even has a sandy beach on the lake. Its only a little over three miles to the highway where I shall meet Megaphone for the hike to Andover. The lean-to was empy, set up my hammock, and had a very comfy sleep. Love the Henessy Hammock!
Date: 2008-07-18
From: sabbath day pond lean-to

To: 1st peak, Bemis range
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

Left the lean-to to meet Megaphone near highway 17. She had to check to see if her mail drop showed at the P.O.Hung out for quite a bit then decided to hike to the lean-to a little over 4 miles away. No sooner after I took off does it start to pour like crazy. LIghtning and all. I hiked a ways and after about 2 miles decided to stealth camp half way up Bemis mountain. Probably a good idea. To much lightning. The good new is I actually get internet service on my phone here. Amazing. The bad news is my battery died two minutes later!
Date: 2008-07-19
From: 1st peak, Bemis range

To: south Arm rd.
Miles today: 10.7

Man, last nights storm was strong. I didnt get the hammock up in time before most of my gear was soaked. I now have my pack lined with a garbage bag. Stopped a few miles up the trail at Bemis mtn lean-to where I had lunch. I then went over west,east, and third mountains before assending Old Blue mtn. Old Blue (3600') is a nice wilderness mountain. It seemed to me to be somewhat of a roundtop mountain, be it true or not. Assending it wasnt the most challenging in the angle of climb, what was the most challenging was the amount of time I climbed upward. I would go upward for ten minutes, the path would turn, go upward a bit, turn, go upward a bit, turn, and keep repeating this over and over for a very long time. I guess the fact that this went on for well over an hour with a not so steep accent made it appear to take forever to reach the peak. The view from Old Blue was nice but the large garden (in the collection sense) of alpine trees made for quite a picture. Decending the mountain was a pretty tough deal. The down hill took a quick sharp downward path over rocks, rock slabs, roots, mud, etc. and was quite a long hike. This mountain was a definate knee buster if taken quickly. Upon reaching the bottom there was a car from the Andover Guest house hostel waiting for 4 other hikers who had called them and I asked for a ride in. The owner of the Guest house was driving and after talking to him for awhile Id say he is pretty cool. The Guest house is a great place to stay from what I saw of the house- unfortunately his credit card machine was broken so I charged my phone there and went across the street to the general store/restaurant and ate a rib-eye sandwitch then went down this path into the woods and stealth camped behind the Grange hall near the atv tracks.
Date: 2008-07-20
From: south Arm rd.

To: frye notch lean-to
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 5:30am - hung out for a bit until the general store opened, resupplied, then hitched a ride to the trailhead. A very nice and encouraging elderly couple named Fran and Wayne from Massachusets picked me up. Thank you again if you read this! As I started my morning hike up Moody mtn. (2380') it began to rain again. Moody mtn. isnt the tallest mtn. but man, let me tell you- it took a while to peak it. The terrain was primarily rock, root, large rock surfaces (plates)...some good climbing and definately an arm workout. Decending it took forever. These mountains are very wilderness in there terrain and not forgiving if you slip up and fall. I went ten miles, crossed East B HIll road (another road that leads to Andover) and as I entered into the trail I noticed some trailangels left a bag full of drinks to the left of the trail. Totally Awsome. Thank you whomever you are. As I assended Surplus mountain (2870')or shall I say right before assending I took a break at this waterfall (Dunn Notch Falls) and snapped some pics. It was great. First I had to ford the river and the falls were about 10 feet to my left. I rock hopped over the river making damb sure I didnt fall!!! I continued up Surplus mountain for over an hour on some pretty steep terrain. It was still raining but by the time I was half way up Surplus it turned to a storm. I was soaked head to toe and the trail was now more like a stream. Right before I peaked the mountain it got dark. Still storming and raining like nuts. Thank god I had just bought that ran jacket in Rangely. It took another hour or so to decend Surplus mtn. and I was soooo glad to finally get to the Frye Notch lean-to. I pitched my hammock near it and crashed. I went 14.6 miles today and believe me..I earned them.
Date: 2008-07-21
From: frye notch lean-to

To: baldpate lean-to
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up today and tried to dry my equiptment/clothes. Almost all my clothes are wet. The sun really wasnt out yet so I packed up my gear and me and Supertramp (he was in the shelter) headed up Baldpate mountain. This one was a climb! Large slabs of stone (rock) were everywhere and as you reached alpine level (above tree line) there were huge rock slabs everywhere. Thats what the trail was on. Quite impressive. I love my hiking poles! The tips worked terrific gripping the rocks. Once at the peak (3812')I took all my things out of my pack and laid it all about. The sun was cooking now and everything dried quick. Yahoooo. There goes ten lbs of wet gear weight. I love breaking on Mountain peaks. It"s majestic especially if I have a view. Descended after a bit and it started raining again. We made it to the Baldpate lean-to just in time for it to start another heavy downpour. We decided to just call it a night. I have been hiking in wet socks and boots for days now and after the storm I hiked thru the other day- I just wanted to eat and sleep!! I fell asleep in less than one minute.
Date: 2008-07-22
From: bald plate lean-to

To: full goose shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

I left the shelter today pretty pumped about finally getting to go through the famed Mahoosuc Notch. Its said to be the hardest mile on the A.T. We stopped at Grafton Notch for coffee then headed up Old Speck mtn. (4180') to decend upon Speck Pond Campsite. This pond is at a level of 3440ft and is gorgeous. Myself, Supertramp, Gash and Dank had lunch there and I drew another cartoon in the A.T. register book. I had a full pot of Macaroni and cheese, washed the pot in speck pond, took a few pics then we were on our way. The Mahoosuc notch was quite interesting. I had slowed my pace down a bit and had been hiking alone for a few miles when I suddenly found myself entering Mahoosuc Notch. The Mahoosuc Arm (3765') drops steeply down to the notch which consists of various boulders very large in volume (some the size of a house) set sporadically along a one mile stretch between two very tall and steep wilderness mountain walls. There are long drops in and around the boulders, theres tree swinging, theres pulling your backpack through spaces between the rocks. So, the first thing I do within the first five boulders is toss my poles to an adjoining boulder in order to Free up my hands for climbing about. As I look on my hiking poles land on the next boulder and ever so quickly slide down into a rock cave and out of my view!!! W.T.F!!! The one thing I did not want to happen. Being I am a thru-hiker and most hikers love their poles for balance and stuff...I jumped down into the cave to retrieve the F-ing things! So now Im in tis cave, poles in hand, and the entrance I came in is two or so feet above my head. Lovely. IM stuck in a cave in the Mahoosuc Notch. Didnt see that one coming! hahaha. I look about and see a boulder behind me about three feet tall. I get up on it and jump up toward the cave opening and jam my poles into the ground and pull myself out! Tah Dah!!! W.T.F. I continue through the boulders-sometimes over, sometimes under for a while. Its fun now. I find ice under the boulders and when I go through them the temperature rises real quick. That is soooo cool. One hour and fifteen minutes later I reach the end of it. Oh..right before the end of the Mahoosuc I finally got to see the famed Moose skeleton. A moose got stuck in the boulders and its skeleton is still there. Someone took the skull and set it up on a rock. I couldnt help but take a picture with it. Two of them! Im surely going to hell. oh well...I did the Notch. Pesonally I didnt think it was the hardest mile but hey...thats my opinion. It might be the funnest..but not the hardest. Directly after the notch I assended a pretty steep mountain called "South Peak of Fulling Mountain (3395') and decended 365ft to Full Goose shelter. It started to rain again so I called it a day. Me, Supertramp, gash and dank, slim and bogie were there. I finally got to do the Mahoosuc Notch. Cool.
Date: 2008-07-23
From: full goose shelter

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Upon waking up I realized today was not just any day- its the day I hike out of the state of Maine via the Appalachian Trail- Yahooooo!!!! My morning started by going over the north peak, east peak, and west peak of Gooseeye mountain (3675',3795',3854' respectively) and Mt. Carlo (3565') down past the Carlo Col shelter and straight to the Maine/New Hampshire border! It was myself, supertramp, gash and dank. We all took the crossing the state line pics, yelled a bit, then moved on down the trail. The border is 281.4 miles from Mt. Katahdin. Of course, it started raining again and supertramp, gash and dank decided to stay at the Gentian pond shelter as I attempted to reach the town of Gorham by nightfall. I made it 6.9 miles from town before I decided I was wet, tired, and really wanted to dry my feet! I ended up hammocking at the Trident Col. tent site. It was deserted as the rain crept through the trees.