morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-26
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

Fugitive had told me about a plane wreck near the summit of Mount Success last night. A local had showed her how to get there and she did her best to explain it to me. I will have to go down several unmarked and overgrown trails in order to find it, but I'm motivated.Before I got up to Mount Success I crossed the border into Maine. I've finally reached state number 14, the last one. I took a picture of the sign and walked down the trail for another 20 minutes before it really sunk in. My eyes started to well up with tears when it hit me. I also broke the morning silence by whooping and hollering.I found the little unmarked side trail that Fugitive told me about. There's a few turns involved in finding the plane wreck. If you're interested in specific directions, contact me and I'll try to explain it to you. I took a wrong turn at first, but I kept looking. I really wanted to find the wreck. It was pretty neat when I finally started seeing pieces of the plane. First I saw the cock pit, then a mangled up wing. Further back there was a large section of fuselage. I've seen wreckage from 3 planes in the mountains along the trail, but this is the biggest. Inside the fuselage there is an ammo box with a logbook and information about the crash. The plane is a DC-3 and it went down in the winter of 1954. I believe I had read that there were five survivors and two people died. It was so cold that they started a small fire inside the plane to stay warm. They managed to use the radio after the plane went down to call for help. Pretty amazing story, there are more pictures of this wreck on my photo page.....After crossing over Success Mountain I got down into Mahoosuc Notch. This section of trail is crazy. Whoever blazed it had a sense of humor. Big boulders the size of a shed or a school bus have fallen into the valley and you have to figure out your way through it. I had to take my pack off three times and drag it behind me through narrow tunnels underneath the boulders. This section would be difficult for someone with a bulky/overweight pack. Because of all the hype, I wanted to see how fast I could get through the notch without hurting myself. I made it through in 45 minutes.I hiked up to the Speck Pond shelter after the notch. I wasn't too excited about paying the AMC $8 to sleep there, but Bowser was there and I decided to stay. He showed me how to make instant pudding in a ziplock bag with powdered milk. That's a pretty cool trick, you don't even have to do dishes afterward.
Date: 2012-08-27
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Grafton Notch to Andover, Maine
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: clear sky

I threw a line into Speck Pond this morning to see if I could catch anything. I new that there were a lot of ponds in Maine. When I was in Gorham, I stopped at the sporting goods section in Walmart. I bought fishing line and some smelly rubber lures there. I keep the line wrapped around my water bottle and used a chunk of wood for a bobber. Unfortunately, all I caught this morning were some lilly pads and the front of my shirt.When I got back to the shelter the other hikers had left. I caught up to Slow Foot though. He's planning to call in a shuttle from Grafton Notch and do some slack packing over the next few days. That sounds good to me. Today will be a short day, but I can't say no to cheeseburgers and slack packing. We called from the top of the mountain and met the shuttle driver at the road crossing. She had fresh lemonade for us! Andover is a tiny little village. They have a general store that's also the deli, ice cream shop, gas station, and diner. I got a double bacon cheeseburger, large onion rings, cinnamon roll, and later went back for ice cream. Across the street is the only other restaurant in town. They're open for breakfast and lunch. We plan to get to know these menu's well over the next few days.We lucked out at the hostel. The bunk room was full so they put us in a private room for the same price. Real beds and a TV!
Date: 2012-08-28
From: Grafton Notch to Andover, Maine

To: East B Hill road to Andover
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

Slow foot and I signed up for a morning shuttle back to Grafton Notch. We had been told that we would get a discount on shuttles once we had a group of 3 or more. Slow foot talked to three German hikers last night and convinced them to do the slack pack with us.Before going out we stopped for breakfast at the "Little Red Hen". I ordered the hungry hiker breakfast. This was a little more then I bargained for. She served me four eggs, four strips of bacon, corned beef hash, potatoes, sausage patties, and a stack of three pancakes the size of a dinner plate. I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't finish it. So I packed out the leftovers for second breakfast.Climbing up the steep giant rock sheet to the summit of Baldplate Mountain was pretty neat. We hiked in the clouds over the top. Since it was a short day, we were back in town in time for lunch. It seems as if my appetite has increased since hiking through the Whites. For lunch I ordered the Triple Bi-pass Burger and fries. The sandwich included three burger patties, three layers of bacon, and three layers of cheese. The only problem with this sandwich was that it is too tall to eat without making a mess. For dinner I came back and ordered a calzone. I went back again for a large blizzard type shake thing for desert. Including the sodas, I must have consumed almost 8,000 calories today.Back at the hostel I did my best to catch up with journaling/uploading pictures. At the end of the day, it's hard to find quite time to do this. I'm usually either chatting with other hikers or ready for bed : P
Date: 2012-08-29
From: East B Hill road to Andover

To: South Arm road to Andover
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

We went back to the Little Red Hen for breakfast this morning, only today I ordered a breakfast that would fit in my stomach. Slow foot and I also ordered sandwich wraps to have for lunch on the trail. We are again hiking with the German group from yesterday. There are five of us all together, four Germans and me. Slow Foot and Hoppel are thru-hikers. Hoppel's brother and sister in-law came from Germany to hike with him for a week. I like hiking with these guys. The only problem is that when we are hiking together they all speak German to each other. I can't understand a word they're saying. It's funny, Hoppel's brother Lui forgets that I don't understand what he's saying. He'll say something to me as if he's asking a question or something and expects me to know what he means. I have to remind him that I only know English. Today's hike was short and not particularly strenuous. I sat next to Hoppel on the Shuttle ride back to Andover. Hoppel doesn't really have much of a German accent. He said that his English has gotten really good after months of being on the trail. When his brother Lui came to the U.S. a few days ago he said that Hoppel's German sounded slow and kind of funny. Hoppel said that it's like his brain has switched over to English as a first language. He said that he's been speaking it so much that he now even dreams in English. I seriously stuffed myself with food when I got back to town. I haven't denied myself at all. I'm going to have to stuff myself with vegetables till the hunger goes away when this is over.
Date: 2012-08-30
From: ME 17

To: South Arm Road to Andover
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today is the last slack pack out of Andover. Slacking short miles and eating lots of town food the last few days has been really nice. It's like taking a rest while still making progress up the trail. Unfortunately, I may have to join over eaters anonymous after I summit Katahdin. I weighed myself this morning and I'm holding 10 pounds of food in my guts from the few days I've been here. I'm sure most of it will fall through without sticking though.The view from ME 17 where our shuttle driver David dropped us off was beautiful. We took the opportunity to take a group photo. It was a nice walk. After calling David from the top of "Old Blue" we made our way down to the road. The shuttle was waiting for us when we arrived.When Slow Foot and I first got picked up at Grafton Notch the woman driving the shuttle said we'd get a discount for having a group of three or more. That is how we ended up as a group of five for the slack packing. The only problem was that when it came time to settle up they wanted to charge each of us full price. Nobody on the trail has tried to charge like this. It amounted to a pretty large sum of money. Hoppel and I tried to negotiate with her. We managed to save the group about $60. But they still made a killing on shuttle fees. Most places will give you a flat rate for a shuttle or a per mileage fee. The fees at The Pine Ellis hostel only make sense to the lady running the place. I would suggest negotiating with the other hostel in town about shuttles first.
Date: 2012-08-31
From: ME 17

To: Piazza Rock lean-to
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

After our last breakfast in Andover this morning, we were shuttled back to ME 17. Maine really is a pretty state. It feels like the trail is taking us further away from civilization. There are many small lakes in Maine. The trail took us to a sandy beach area on one of the lakes today. There we met a couple of fisherman that were waiting for a sea plane to come and pick them up.Putting a fully loaded pack on after slack packing for several days takes an hour or so to get used to. It's very uncomfortable at first, the body rejects it. But the weight eventually becomes familiar again. After you've been backpacking long enough, you get to the point that you don't feel the weight of the pack anymore. It starts to feel normal, like it's a part of you. It took weeks for me to feel that way in the beginning. Back then the backpack was a daily burden. I knew the monkey was on my back all the time, I couldn't help but pay attention. Now I only notice the difference if I've taken the weight off for a few days.I want to let ya'll know that my friend Slow Foot has been very diligent about writing his daily blog post. He's putting me to shame. Slow foot's blog is in German, but he has taken lots of pictures. Google also has a free translator that you can cut and past his text into in order to understand it. The translator works surprisingly well. Check it out! Slow Foot's blog is up to date and since we've been hiking together it will give you a better idea of what's happening now....a least until I catch up on my own journal. The address is:http://www.rausundweg.wordpress.com/
Date: 2012-09-01
From: Piazza Rock lean-to

To: Spaulding Mountain lean-to
Miles today: 16.9

There was a lot of climbing over the Saddleback Mountains today. The trail through southern Maine lives up to the hype. It's tough hiking, the trail conditions are awful. You have to take big steps up and down over the rocks, it's hard on the knees. We had a climb up to 4,120ft. today. I usually push myself on the ups to the point of being just a little bit uncomfortable. I started that habit in Georgia. I met an old hiker in the beginning who told me that it is better to take the climbs slowly without stopping and build up your speed over time. I pushed myself a little bit harder on every mountain in Georgia. I knew that it would make me stronger. I'm certainly not the fastest on the trail. There are guys out here fresh out of the army and experienced mountaineers that I have trouble keeping up with. But I have become a strong climber, stronger then most. Having a light pack helps. I haven't noticed that walking all this way has made my leg muscles any bigger, but they are definitely harder. So anyway, when I showed up to the Spaulding Mountain lean-to there was a college group there playing a game. The only other thru-hiker there was "Stumbles", Slow Foot showed up later. When Slow Foot arrived we decided to build a fire. Slow Foot likes fires as much as I do, he started pushing over dead trees and we built a big one. We started joking that there wouldn't be any forest left in Maine at the rate we were burning it down : P It started to get chilly after the sun went down and all the college kids wanted to come stand next to our fire. It's amazing that it's totally dark now at 8:00pm. We'll have to move hiker midnight an hour ahead. The south bounders are going to have some short hiking days ahead of them.It's September now, time to finish this hike...
Date: 2012-09-02
From: Spaulding Mountain lean-to

To: ME 17 to Stratton
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Today was pretty cool even though there were lots of PUDs (pointless ups and downs) with no views. Someone had commemorated the last 200 miles with branches on the trail. It wasn't long ago that I thought 200 miles was an incredible distance to walk. Now it seems like no big deal. When Slow Foot and I got down to the road we called Sue at the Stratton Motel/ hostel. She came and picked us up at the trail head. We were so hungry that when we got into town that we didn't bother cleaning up. We dropped off our packs and walked down to the "White Wolf" for burgers. The wolf burger was a perfect appetizer. For desert I had a pint of Ben & Jerry's. I tried to get some journaling done back at the hostel, but I got caught up in watching a movie. While I was sitting around I ordered a large pizza for the main course/second dinner. I think that after awhile thru-hikers begin to take in town food like a camel takes in water. When I got in today, the bathroom scale said I had lost that 10 pounds I gained in Andover. I seriously think that I left there with that much food and water in my intestines. The hostel is clean and comfortable. Sue is shuttling Slow Foot and I ahead in the morning, so that we can slack pack back into Stratton. It will be nice to slack the Bigelows, and spend a second night here.
Date: 2012-09-03
From: East Flagstaff Road

To: ME 17 to Stratton
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: broken clouds

This morning Slow Foot and I walked across the street to a little diner for breakfast. The waitress here is very pretty. After being out in the woods for this long almost every girl you see begins to look attractive. We've had kind of a running joke about the difference between "trail pretty" and "really pretty". The waitress here is "really pretty". Bowser walked in to the diner while we were still eating our breakfast. He hadn't planned on slack packing today, but Slow Foot and I talked him into it. Now we can split the shuttle three ways and it will be cheaper for all of us.Bowser had to make a mad dash to get his things together for the slack. Sue had a set time she needed to leave. She is picking up some other hikers after she drops us off. We are slack packing southbound today. I enjoy slack packing in reverse once in awhile. It allows you to see who's just ahead of you. When you're walking a similar pace as someone only a short distance ahead, you may not actually see them for hundreds of miles. The first couple north bounders we saw were "Chiba" and "Mr. Fabulous". I hadn't seen Mr. Fabulous for 1,000 miles. The last time I saw him was in Harpers Ferry right before I found out I had Lyme's Disease.Going over the Bigelow Mountain range today was awesome. It was above tree line and reminded me a lot of the Whites. It was BEAUTIFUL! I love having a clear view from the top, it makes it all worth it. Today was one of my best days on the trail.When we got back into town we again loaded up on burgers. I also downloaded some pictures to the trail journal.
Date: 2012-09-04
From: East Flagstaff road

To: Pierce Pond lean-to
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We got word this morning that Spirit was up last night puking. She stayed at the White Wolf Lodge just down the road. One of the hikers staying here was also puking last night and Gypsy Soul was puking a few days ago. There are signs posted about Noro virus in the shelters and hostels. I even heard rumors about a hostel along the trail being shut down because of a Noro virus outbreak. Last night Spirit stopped in at the hostel and offered the leftovers she had had for dinner. This was of course before she knew she was sick.... I ate them. This morning when we heard about everyone catching this Noro virus, I figured I would be next....The diner across the street was closed today, so I was unable to be served breakfast by the pretty waitress working there. Even more alarming was the fact that the restaurant at the White Wolf was also closed. The only place in town that was open was the convenient store/ pizza place. Slow foot ordered a large Hawaiian pizza for breakfast and shared it with me.  I also had some chocolate milk and a muffin.The forecast said that some weather would be coming in tonight. We wanted to get out to the shelter early so we could wait it out under cover. I started having a stomach ache on the way out there. I told Slow Foot to go on ahead and I'd catch up. He was reluctant to leave. We both thought that maybe it was the Noro virus. He said "I can't have you out here puking in the rain". I reassured him that I'd be fine and I'd meet him at the shelter in a little bit. After he left, I tried to go to the bathroom. My stomach really hurts. I sat on a log and decided to try and eat something. As it turns out, I was just hungry : P  I ate a few granola bars and felt much better after 10-15 minutes.I met Slow Foot at the Pierce Pond lean-to. This is the pond where a thru-hiker named "Parkside" drowned this summer. He jumped in after hiking all day and cramped up in the cold water. I heard that the people he had been hiking with carried his ashes the rest of the way and sprinkled them on top of Katahdin.
Date: 2012-09-05
From: Pierce Pond lean-to

To: Pleasant Pond lean-tp
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was down pouring this morning. There is now way I'm going out in this. Slow Foot, Bowser, and I didn't leave the comfort of the shelter till noon. The rain had let up by 10:00am but the ferry across the Kennebec river doesn't operate from 12:00-2:00pm. There was no point in leaving before noon because it took us a couple hours to get there. The Kennebec river is pretty big and the current is strong. A hiker died trying to ford it a few years ago and now they have a canoe ferry for the hikers. I'm glad they do, it was fun.Just across the river is the little town of Caratunk. I forwarded my bounce box here because the post office in Stratton was closed for the holiday weekend. Slow Foot went on to the shelter while I walked down to the post office. I'm glad that I sent myself some food, I needed it. After refilling everything one last time, I decided to send the box home. I won't need it anymore since this hike is almost over.When I got to the shelter I made the first repair to my thermarest. An ember from the fire last night had melted a small hole in it. The mattress was totally deflated this morning. I used some seam sealer over the hole and it worked like a charm.
Date: 2012-09-06
From: Pleasant Pond lean-tp

To: Horseshoe Canyon lean-to
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Slow Foot and I decided to make some miles today so we'd have a short day into Monson tomorrow. Maine is a pretty state but the trail through here pretty much sucks. It's roots, rocks, and mud the whole way. I mean, you can pretty much say that about the entire A.T. but it's is more extreme in Maine. Some hikers were joking around the other day by calling the trail the Appalachian drainage ditch. Considering all the rain we've had, that's not too far from the truth. The trail is like a river. There is no point in skirting the edges trying to keep your feet dry. There were multiple rivers to ford in addition to the already wet trail. My shoes and socks were soaked all day long. It's not so bad really, the cold refreshing feeling of crossing another river or stepping into a big puddle feels good on your feet. Some of the fords are a little bit deeper and the rocks are slippery. People have strung ropes across these rivers to give you something to hang on to. I think it's fun, we haven't had to do this in other states.
Date: 2012-09-08
From: ME 15 (Monson)

To: Monson
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

There was a guy passed out on the couch in the hiker lounge this morning. Empty beer bottles surrounded him. Tarp Water was right, the Lakeshore hostel is a party place. It makes sense since it's above a bar. Not my kind of scene.Slow foot and I walked down the street to "Shaw's", (the other hostel) for their all you can eat breakfast. The food was great. While I was there I checked the place out. The bunk rooms are big, there are two bathrooms upstairs instead of one, and all the beds have real mattresses. I'm staying here tonight. After breakfast I went back to the Lakeshore grabbed my stuff and paid the bill. Slow Foot is still gonna do the slack pack and stay at the Lakeshore again tonight, but I cancelled on the whole thing. He will be 16 miles ahead of me at the end of the day. I'm going to zero here in Monson for the hiker feed."Troll" of whiteblaze.net puts on a hiker feed every year in Monson. It's going on this weekend. The Honeymoon Hikers hiked with Troll in 2010. He's giving them a ride into the next town to resupply, they asked if I wanted to come along. There isn't much of a resupply in Monson. I was grateful to get a ride to the store.I forced myself to buy more food then I wanted to. I thought about going really fast to save weight on food. But, I want to enjoy the rest of the hike.....maybe even do some fishing.When we got back to Monson I got a bunk at Shaw's and spent some time journaling. I also got some stuff together to send home. The weather is supposed to be good for the next week, so I'm sending my hammock and tarp home. I want to go as light as possible. I'm going to cowboy camp and use the shelters. I will be carrying more food into the 100 mile wilderness than at any other time on this hike.Around lunch time I went down to the ball field, that's where the hiker feed is. They are cooking food down here all day long. It's good to see everyone. I saw Cheese It around dinner time. I had heard that his step dad died while he was on the trail. Cheese It flew back to Louisiana for the funeral. I'm glad to see him back on the trail.The town of Monson is showing a documentary about the Appalachian Trail at the community center tonight. A bunch of us hikers went up there to watch it. Most of us were teary eyed by the time the movie was over.