morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-20
From: kinsman notch

To: lonesome lake hut
Miles today: 13.4

great day of hiking. got up and back on the trail by 9:30 and summited the south and east peaks of mount wolf, then south and north kinsman. me, j.r., and chino were the only thru-hikers that showed up at the hut, so they let all three of us work-for-stay. the work involved clearing the table... not a bad deal. the whites have offered some spectacular views so far, as we all knew they would, but being here feels unreal. had a great dinner courtesy of the hut croo. i ate 42 chicken nuggets, chino had 38, and j.r. had 27. 107 among the three of us is pretty solid. we're doing franconia ridge tomorrow, which is almost all above treeline. scrubs and jay took the day off, and only plan on doing 8-10 miles a day through the whites, so it's doubtful i'll see them again, but i wish them both an injury-free finish.
Date: 2005-06-21
From: lonesome lake hut

To: galehead hut
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

long day on this, the summer solstice and national hike naked day. the climb up to franconia ridge was long and strenuous, but the views were incredible. most of the ridge is above treeline, so it's mostely grasses, rock, and evergreen brush for ground cover. summited liberty (a .3 blue blaze), little haystack, lincoln (my favorite), lafayette, and garfield. doing work-for stay at galehead. the huts are designed to appeal to those who would rather shell out money than camp, so the atmosphere and people are quite different from the hiker culture. planning to meet good to go tomorrow at crawford notch, since his family lives in the area.
Date: 2005-06-22
From: galehead hut

To: crawford notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

easy hike compared to yesterday. we climbed south twin, which was a good haul, then only had two short climbs the rest of the day. met good to go at crawford notch and me, j.r., and chino are staying with his family tonight (a thank you is definitely in order here). just as i remembered (i haven't seen them since i moved from maine eight years ago), they are some of the most hospitable people you'll ever meet. lots of catching up over a huge dinner, and now i'm really tired... it was great to talk with good to go in person finally. he and his wife headed to okinawa for three years with the marines, so i wish them the best of luck.
Date: 2005-06-23
From: crawford notch

To: lakes of the clouds hut
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

slept in until 8:30 this morning, then had a huge breakfast cassarole. good to go's mom gave us a ride back to the trail (we'll see them again tomorrow night) and we started the presidential range. the last 5 miles or so were above treeline, which makes for awesome views... but it's cold, always very windy, and it's easy to sunburn. not to mention the danger of being caught exposed in a thunderstorm. nonetheless, incredible. we're doing work-for-stay at lakes tonight. it's a good deal, even if the food is just leftovers. lakes of the clouds is located just one miles and 1,000 verticle feet from the summit of mount washington.
Date: 2005-06-24
From: lakes of the clouds hut

To: pinkham notch
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

hands down the slowest day on the trail. it took me 8 hiking hours (not including breaks) to complete less than 15 miles. the presidential range is spectacular, but painfully slow because of the all-rock-chunk terrain. mount washington was a disappointment, just like the other peaks with parking lots on them. it's too bad that such a magnificent mountain has been developed. oh well. we're staying at good to go's parents' house again tonight. i got to see his sister, who babysat me and my brother back in the day (once for an entire summer). more great food... they really feel like a second family to me, which is great because i haven't seen my parents or brother since i went to trail days. chino did some chino-blazing again... a full four miles round-trip!
Date: 2005-06-25
From: pinkham notch

To: pinkham notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: haze

it was HOT today - up to 95. good to go's parents offered to put up with us for a zero day, so we took them up on the offer. i got up late - 9:30, the lastest i've slept in for the entire trip. my body is really wearing down. to earn our stay, we (chino, me, j.r.) stacked some wood and mowed some of the lawn that needed to be done. watched the red sox win (now they're #1 in the al east), then everybody lounged around in the heat. we went swimming and kayaking to cool off, then the hikers took the hosts out to friendly's for dinner. i don't want to leave, but it's time. i'm ready to finish. j.r.'s friend marty met him here and will drive us to the trail tomorrow - he'll be hiking with j.r. for the rest of the trip. big thanks to good to go's family for putting up with us... you've been too good to us!
Date: 2005-06-26
From: pinkham notch

To: imp campsite
Miles today: 13.1

the four of us set out with the intention of staying at imp, but j.r. and marty didn't make it. probably camping a few miles back. in all fairness, it was a brutal first day for the new guy... the climbs out of pinkham and carter notches were some of the toughest we've seen. so me and chino did the wildcat and carter ranges. carter was very buggy - i'm considering a headnet. talked to my parents about how the finish is going to work. hard to believe that the end is so close. just three weeks or so!
Date: 2005-06-27
From: imp campsite

To: gentian pond shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: clear sky

up early for a big day. resupplied in gorham and met diesel and mississippi alan while eating at burger king. the four of us all came here tonight, a shelter that my dad stayed at back in the day. the pond is a bit nasty (warm and muddy), so i got my water at a stream before a shelter. starting to see a lot of southbounders - two are here tonight, uncle walt and harry potter/batman.
Date: 2005-06-28
From: gentian pond shelter

To: speck pond campsite
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

finally in maine!!! slowest day of hiking so far - it took 10 hours to do 14 miles. lots of ups and downs, and mahoosuc notch took an hour and a half (it's one mile long). just piles and piles of boulders (some house-sized) that the trail snaked through. somehow i managed to get through without taking my pack off. right after the notch was mahoosuc arm, which seemed to go on forever... one of the toughest climbs so far, in my opinion. also passed the 1900 mile mark today. feels great to be in the state i grew up in!
Date: 2005-06-29
From: speck pond campsite

To: east b hill road (andover, maine)
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

ok, maine is hard. overall, we're probably doing as much climbing as we did in the whites, just spread out more. tons of ups and downs. one mountain, baldpate, was just a huge exposed rock slab. the terrain has an interesting mix of roots, rocks, and dirt, but on flat you can still average three miles an hour. staying at the andover guest house tonight with chino, diesel, and sippi.
Date: 2005-06-30
From: east b hill road (andover, maine)

To: south arm road (andover, maine)
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

the original plan was to do 19 miles today, but after the first 10 we were all beat, so we called sandy at the guesthouse and she picked us up at the other road that goes into andover. got food, watched a couple movies, and am charged up for the haul into monson! about time, too, because all my gear is starting to fall apart... i had to repair my shoes with dental floss, and i find a new hole in my pack every day (mahoosuc notch helped with that).
Date: 2005-07-01
From: south arm road (andover, maine)

To: sabbath day pond lean-to
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

cool and cloudy today, which was a welcome change. maine remains rugged, but the next few miles are supposedly easier (until we get to the saddleback range). sippi and diesel went on to rangeley, which is another 8 miles from here - no thanks.
Date: 2005-07-02
From: sabbath day pond lean-to

To: piazza rock lean-to
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

short day for a number of reasons - didn't feel like doing a 20 (which is what today would have been if we'd gone to the next shelter), i'm recharging for a couple big climbs, and rangeley (maine, remember?) was a great lunch stop. also wanted to finalize a schedule for the home stretch. it is supposedly going to be clear tomorrow, so we may get our first view of the big k from the top of saddleback. called my dad from rangeley to finalize a meeting point in monson, and called my brother (it's his birthday... 19, dang). it's funny... now that it's almost over, i'm more homesick than ever... probably because i'm thinking of going home all the time. i'm meeting my dad on the 8th at at shaw's lodging in monson. chino and maybe icebound (who's here tonight) are going to stick to a similar schedule and we may summit together.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: piazza rock lean-to

To: the sugar shack
Miles today: 19.7

long day, but i feel good. did saddleback, the horn, saddleback junior, lone mountain, spaulding mountain, and took the blue blaze up to sugarloaf, where i'm staying tonight. it's a ski resort, and they let hikers stay in the old gondola building. i skied here a lot when i lived in maine, but never made it al the way to the summit. i think i saw katahdin (the weather is crystal clear), but i'm not sure.
Date: 2005-07-04
From: the sugar shack

To: me27 (stratton, maine)
Miles today: 10.6

out of the sugar shack at 6:00, a new record for me. only mountain today was crocker, and it was a pretty solid climb. got in to town at 11:30 (talked to some southbounders for a while), resupplied, ate lunch, showered, and did laundry. staying at the stratton motel tonight. myb former neighbors from maine came up and took me out to dinner - it was great to see them again after five or six years. met big daddy d, and wocket rolled in later. that's pretty much it for northbounders around me - i think i've met them all now.
Date: 2005-07-05
From: me27 (stratton, maine)

To: little bigelow lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

i'm getting tired of journaling. most nights i just stare at my guidebook for a good 15 minutes, even though i already know it pretty well. anyway - myself, chino, icebound, and early bird set out to conquer the bigelow range today, which was the last time we'll be above 4,000 feet until katahdin. they were surprisingly easy, or at least they would have been if i didn't have this sinus infection or whatever it is. three days to monson. there is a french canadian group here, which is fairly common on the trails in new england.
Date: 2005-07-06
From: little bigelow lean-to

To: harrison camps
Miles today: 17.4

a lot of things happened today. it thunderstormed last night with me in my tent, then rained more while hiking this morning with early bird. her full name is now "early bird grace wocket." i gave her the middle name "grace" because she falls a lot... she bent her pole and fell into a swamp today, much to my amusement. after the rain i was eaten alive by mosquitoes, then ran into some branches and broke my glasses (perhaps my middle name should be grace, too). when we got to the camp, we started a fire in our cabin to dry our clothes, against the advice of the owners. fran harrison yelled at us and called us stupid for lighting a fire because it will heat up the cabin quickly. it didn't, but early bird singed her insole and it shrunk. she also sorta fixed my glasses with wire and duct tape.
Date: 2005-07-07
From: harrison camps

To: moxie bald lean-to
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: clear sky

this may have very well been my last 20 mile day. up and packed by 7:30, when we had breakfast - 12 pancakes, sausage, and eggs. i couldn't quite finish it all and left half of my eggs... good stuff. we hit the trail at 8:45 or so and immediately divided into two sub-groups: chino and icebound (up early, few breaks, get into camp early), me and early bird (up early but leave late, many breaks, get into camp late). including the hour it took us to cross the kennebec (steve the ferryman, master of the official AT canoe, likes to talk), we took four (4) hour long breaks. the last was on top of moxie bald, which was beautiful at dusk. pulled in at dark.
Date: 2005-07-08
From: moxie bald lean-to

To: monson, maine
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: mist

man, town is stressful. left at 7:00 this morning as the last nobos at the shelter and again took my time. three fords today, which were new to me. the crocs worked great, and crossing knee-high rivers presented no problems. arrived at the highway around 3:30 and called my dad. he, his friend teco, and teco's girlfriend brenda met us and we all went to shaw's lodging to check in. there are a ton of people here, mostly sobos. nobos and sobos are like oil and water at first. dad and crew, me, and chino went out to eat and settled the food situation for the hundred mile wilderness. it's great to have my dad hiking with me for this last section.
Date: 2005-07-09
From: me15 (monson, maine)

To: long pond stream lean-to
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: moderate rain

great breakfast at shaw's this morning, and it turned out to be the only time we were dry all day. rain came down constantly, and we ended up having to ford four streams instead of the two mentioned in the guidebook. one of the fords was unbelievably dangerous - waist deep, strong current, and to top it off, a waterfall was 20 feet downstream. fall there, and you're dead. chino and icebound hiked ahead, so it's me, my dad, early bird, big daddy d, and some sobos in the shelter tonight... cold, wet, and dreaming of katahdin.
Date: 2005-07-10
From: long pond stream lean-to

To: chairback gap lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

after a rugged climb up onto the barren-chairback range, we (me, early bird, and my dad) did lunch at cloud pond lean-to, my mom's favorite spot on the trail. it was really nice... far enough out of the way so that most hiker bypass it. dad had a little trouble with the hike today, so he's camping about two miles back. i guess his knees are bothering him quite a bit. i think he'll be fine, though. the first two days are the toughest. i'm finding myself very anxious to finish, so the set-in-stone finish date of the 18th is frustrating to think about. just have to focus on the fact that i am, in fact, having fun. early bird plans to summit on the 16th, so she's going to be hiking ahead of us tomorrow.
Date: 2005-07-11
From: chairback gap lean-to

To: logan brook lean-to
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

today was a day of mixed emotions. my dad got to the shelter at about 8:00 AM, where me and early bird had waited for him. he had a good night camping out, but his knees were killing him, so he gave me a few pounds of food and was going to see if that helped. it didn't, so he decided that the prudent thing to do was to call teco to come pick him up near gulf hagas, at the base of the range. his right knee was very swollen, and we're definitely not wanting to do serious damage. plus, those knees have to take him up katahdin soon. it was huge for him to hike these last hundred miles with me, and it hurt a lot to see him go. he's done more than most fathers would ever think of doing, though, and i'm glad he was able to hike with me for a few days. so after a sad fairwell, i hiked to the 17 mile shelter with early bird. i saw my first moose in a pond, saw katahdin (first definite time), and it rained for the last hour.
Date: 2005-07-12
From: logan brook lean-to

To: antlers campsite
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

took it easy this morning and probably didn't leave until 9:00. running moon, jukebox, odyssa, and pilot all wanted to do bigger miles, so they left earlier. stopped at cooper brook lean-to, which is known for having a great swimming hole. it did, so me and early bird went swimming. after that and lunch, we hiked eight more miles to this campsite. absolutely beautiful... it's a peninsula on lower jo-mary lake and has great views.
Date: 2005-07-13
From: antlers campsite

To: wadleigh stream lean-to
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: light rain

short day with a long break at white house landing, a wilderness camp about a mile off the trail. walked a blue-blazed trail to a dock, then fired the air horn to signal the owner (bill) to pick us up in their boat. it's been a while since i've been in a boat. bill's wife, linda, made us a pizza, with which we had two pints of ben and jerry's and a bottle of wine. afterwards we lounged around for a loooooong time. probably a good thing, considering what a half bottle of wine does to you when you're dehydrated and tired. it ended up being a six hour break. at 5:00 we kicked out the remaining eight miles. early bird wanted to pack out another bottle of wine so she could drink it when she was sad about finishing. this is how alcoholics are born.
Date: 2005-07-14
From: wadleigh stream lean-to

To: hurd brook lean-to
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: moderate rain

wow... only 18.6 miles to go. today didn't feel all that special... kinda dreary and buggy. early bird and i took breaks on a mountain and at rainbow stream shelter before catching chino and icebound tonight. they want me to summit on saturday with them, but i don't think my parents will be ready by then... my mom left thursday and it's a solid 20+ hour drive to baxter state park. everybody is trying to think of songs that have "nah nah" in them. the theory is that it must be a good song or artist to pull off nah nahs. here's what we have so far:-horse with no name-hey jude-long december-the rising-i know what boys like (this is early bird's suggestion...)-every move i make-drops of jupiter-it's my life-horse with no name-shot in the hearti miss music.
Date: 2005-07-15
From: hurd brook lean-to

To: the birches
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: few clouds

right up to the base of katahdin today! chino and icebound got an early start, as usual, and me and early bird left around 7:30. bought some things to get us through to the end, including a six pack of some wine cooler, which we promptly drank. no break after drinking this time, though. it made for an interesting couple miles, considering we were again dehydrated, hungry, hot and tired... for about three miles we were singing at the top of our lungs. since we followed a good sized stream for several miles, we took breaks at the waterfalls and swimming holes. early bird learned that combining those two features is dangerous. had a great view of katahdin from abol bridge and again at the daicy pond campground dock, then saw a moose wading in elbow pond, which is just before katahdin stream campground. signed in as the 31st thru-hiker to reach the big k this year. at least four people in front of me had skipped several states, and nobody recognized about five other names. geez. hopefully those five are flip-floppers, but something tells me that's not the case. at least i know that i hiked the trail in its entirety, and that's what matters. still irks me a bit, though. my parents showed up (!!!) and said i should summit tomorrow if i want to, so of course i am. they'll start up at 5:30, so i'm going to leave about 7:00. met t-rex today for the first time - his wife and early bird's husband, gig, brought beer and food. last day is tomorrow. unbelievable.
Date: 2005-07-16
From: the birches

To: katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

last day... wow. it was like christmas - we all got up really early and hit the trail at 6:15 because we couldn't wait. caught and passed my parents, who started at 5:45. the climb was amazing. no doubt katahdin is the most difficult mountain on the trail. of course, i didn't notice. rock scrambles, metal rungs and handholds, whatever... when the end is that close, you could break both legs and still finish. katahdin is a very cool mountain - the hunt trail gains more than 4,000 feet in 5.2 miles, but at least 1.5 miles of that is getting to the base or walking the tablelands near the summit. anyway, icebound looked like a man on a mission and did the last mile at a near run. early bird touched the sign soon after, and i was right behind her. chino had savored the last few miles, so he rolled in a bit later, then ez came up a few minutes after him. what a feeling... what and ending. both my parents made it up (i had my doubts during some of the more difficult parts of the climb) and that made it even better. what better way to end an incredible journey than with an incredible mountain, incredible friends, incredible family, and incredible weather?
Date: 2005-08-08
To: last entry
Miles today: 0.0

so the great adventure is over. it's been a few weeks since i've finished, and i still can't articulate anything. what it meant to me, what i learned, what i feel... but i'm not so sure i'm going to understand that just yet. it was a life changing experience, for sure, and yet life now doesn't seem much different than it was before. i've made a lot of great friends, and have a lot of great memories... i'm sure i'll be talking about this for a long time.all my pictures
Date: 2005-05-16
From: Is it time yet?? 

To: Off to the trail I go!!
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m now 3 days away from leaving for the trail, I¢m counting down the days, or should I say hours, minutes, seconds!!!I have packed, repacked my backpack only getting my pack weight down to 21lb with 4 days of food and 32 OZ of water. With no food and water my pack weight is 15 lbs, I have tried to shave it down but that¢s all I can do without.All of my mail drops are packed and 2 are sent already. I hope that there are other hikers on the trail, the trail is so lonely when no one is hiking.Although last year when I hit 2 hurricanes and one tornado, I was so glad that there was room in the shelters. I would hike for days and not run into anyone. Heaven help the person that I ran into, because I would talk their ear off.I started hiking the AT in 2002, and will finish in 2006, (4 years) my goal was a 12 years plan, I did a lot better than I planned.In some ways I never want it to end, yet in other ways, I can¢t wait to reach my goal. So what¢s after the AT?More trails.¢Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.¢      -George Patton-Happy Trails POOH-BEAR
Date: 2005-06-12
From: VA Roanoke (a few miles before)

To: Clingman's Dome
Miles today: 506.0

I have not had time to enter in my information for this year¢s AT hike, so here is this years hike in a nut shell.I hiked 506 miles this year had a great time, ¢there is never a bad day if your on the trail¢I made a lot of new friends on the trail, as I do every year.Total miles this year hiked 720, 506 miles are my AT trail hike.I will finish my AT hike next year, I am so excited, then on to my next long trail.I just love being out there, even in the rain.Happy trails to all.Please keep in touch.POOH
Date: 2005-02-25
To: The Fifth Monkey
Miles today: 0.0

20 Percent. Thats a stat I saw on the Appalachian Trail Conference's website for thru hikers that make it all 2200 miles. One in every five. It reminds me a lot of freshman orientation at Georgia Tech. They put us in an auditorium and did the old "look to your right, look to your left, only one of you will graduate" bit. I wonder what ever happened to those other two. I need another good challenge, so damn the torpedos I'm going hiking.I've decided to keep a journal online for the viewing pleasure for friends, family, and anyone else who care read through. Hopefully, me and my as-yet-to-be-determined transcriber will be able to keep it fairly up to date so you can follow along as I progress. I aim to make this at least a little interesting, not just how far I went and where I slept that night. If I fall into that routine, be sure to issue a proper smacking via the guest book or something like that.So, here we go...