morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-27
From: Kancamgus Motor Lodge

To: Kinsman Camp Site
Miles today: 12.9

I¢m at the bottom of Kinsman getting ready for my ascent. I¢m scared, nervous, tired, and want to go home. There, I have said it. I certainly don¢t want to quit; I just want to be done with this hike and be home with Susan. All I have to do is to continue walking and with a bit of luck (and no bad luck), I can be home by Sept. 1; that would be so awesome. That I am physically and emotionally exhausted is so obvious, and I know I have to continue. As I sit on the bench at the notch, I remind my self that I had been looking for a challenge and that challenge is maybe not walking the Trail as much as it is finishing it. That must be the challenge. For nearly all of the hiking, each day I have been eager to go and hike. But lately it is more of a challenge to get up and get moving. In front of me are about 380 more miles and I am determined to go one step, one mile, one day at a time. I remind myself to stay in the here and now, to be sure to do my best to enjoy the views and the privilege of being able to hike. And through that, I can finish, and I will be home sooner than I realize. So with that pep talk and dose of honesty with myself I set off and actually feel invigorated. I got into camp around 5:00 where I set up my tent and relax.
Date: 2008-07-28
From: Kinsman Camp Site

To: Liberty Tent Site
Miles today: 7.0

While fixing breakfast, my fule cannister ran out. While I had a spare, my concern was the I might have a problem like before. I hitched back to Lincoln to pick up a spare and then headed back. That took nearly 3 hours due to a ride in taking 2 hours. I got into camp abotu 30' before the rain, which worked out with getting my tent set up.The short distance today meant a longer day tomorrow, which semed kind of the pattern of late.During the day, the workout consisted of going from 2,500 to 4,300 feet, fair amount of hand over hand, and no sticks. Another day towards home.
Date: 2008-07-29
From: Liberty Tent Site

To: Galehart Hut
Miles today: 10.0

I was up at 5 and took the usual the 90 minutes get moving. My hike would start me on the Presidential Range. Mountains included would be Little Haystack (never heard of that president, then Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette (another unknown President) and Mt. Garfield. I would descend from 1,800 to 500, and then back to 3,500 within about 8 miles. By the time I got to the ridge, I was enclosed in massive clouds that were kept in motion by a strong wind. The temp was about 50, which meant my needing to be cautious regarding getting too cold, especially since I was just drenched from sweat and the clouds. My rain jacket went on and off a few times. Visibility was about 100 feet, which meant no views, which meant I just needed to focus on my hike and getting off the ridge line.The whole hike reminded me of climbing Clingman¢s Dome and fighting strong winds, cold, low temps and fog.I got to the Galehead Hut around 2 pm; the staff was not able to confirm a work for stay until later in the day. Around 5 I got confirmation. The work would be folding blankets in the bunk rooms and sweeping the floor.During my wait I was able to talk with several of the other guests, families and others who were out for short day hikes. It is so much fun to share stories of my trek and listen to their questions. Usually the questions I get asked tend to very similar from the various non-thru hikers and I never get tired of answering them. They ask where I started from, or when I started. Sometimes the people are not aware of the Trail and they are almost shocked to learn it goes from Georgia to Maine; they are completely shocked when they realize that people actually hike that distance.Even after 5 months of being queried on this hike, I will get some new questions, at least new to me. They ask ¢What is the toughest part so far? or What do I miss the most? Or Will I continue hiking as a hobby when I am done with this? Almost all of the people I talk with are generous in their compliments to me as far as going on an adventure like this. Many times they reach into their packs and look for food to give me: they do that out of a desire to help and offer some kind of support.So after the ¢social hour¢, the regular guests had dinner, then the work-for-stay thru hikers would have dinner before lights out at 9:30pm.
Date: 2008-07-30
From: Galehart Hut

To: Ethan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

I got up around 5, after a bit of a restless night. Eating chocolate before bed, combined with the on and off noise of the wind driven generator kept me waking up every hour or so.So I am a bit anxious when I get up and it is at this time that I have that talk with myself. Staying focused on my trek and not succumbing to the various distractions that seem to creep into my mind. Some of those distractions are: How to reach my daily mileage goal?, or Trying to catch-up to Piper so we can solidify our plans to finish the hike together, or What will the weather do to my hiking day?, or How much closer will I get to home after my hike today?. It is easy to remind myself that these questions/thoughts are in fact very distracting and so I go back to my recommitment to focus on ¢one foot in front of the other, to hike in a safe, methodical fashion. Doing that makes everything else work out and I will get closer to heading home.So today I¢ll start out helping the staff at the hut, then hike 10 miles to Ethan Pond, longer if the weather is good and the terrain doesn¢t use up all my energy.The weather started our sunny and reasonably warm. I have found that I miss blazes more often in those conditions as I tend to look around and enjoy the scenery. Exactly what I was doing when I found myself on a blue blaze trail. A family was hiking on the Trail and they were helpful in getting me to the right spot. After learning of my trek, they opened their packs and started handing my food that they wouldn¢t need. They were more helpful with getting me going in the right direction, but the food is always welcomeAt Zeeland Hut there were several day and thru hikers taking a lunch break. The warm temps combined with the cloudless sky created an almost picnic atmosphere. Several of us headed out and had a great wildlife sighting. A very large moose feeding about 30 yards from the Trail had been sighted by the lead hiker. Awesome.I got into Ethan Pond around 5 and set up my tent. The rain started about an hour later.
Date: 2008-07-31
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: fog

I was up at 5 and on the Trail around 6 and started off with pretty good hiking. The ups and downs had me starting at 2,800, down to 1,200 then back up to 4,000.They rain started around 7:30 and as I continued onto Mt. Webster, the rain became more intense and was accompanied by thunder and lightening. To continues meaning hiking above tree line and being completely exposed. Another easy decision to try for a work for stay at the Hut. It was a bit frustrating to again being stifled in my effort to go beyond 10 miles, but I reflected on my game plan ¢ to get on Trail early, hike safely and add miles where I can ¢ is continuing to work. It is my impatience and desire to get home that sometimes interferes with my game plan. Staying focused is the most important thing I can do at this time.During the hike today, even though there was heavy cloud cover, I was able to look down the mountain into the notch and see what looked like a highway rest stop. Being so high up let me watch the various clouds, their size, shape, thickness or opacity and how they seemed to form to fit the valley they were covering. Just magnificent sights.The hut was able to accommodate about 40 and I had conversations with several of the guests. Because of the short hike today, I would look for making up the miles tomorrow and was pretty sure I would catch up to Piper.
Date: 2008-08-01
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Joe Dodge Lodge
Miles today: 19.6

It is 10:55 on Friday night and I am eating a Whopper meal at Burger King in Gorham, NH. My feet are soaked, filthy, and throbbing. My clothes are wet from sweat (not rain), a and my shoes, socks, and gators are also soaked and filthy from slogging through the mud on the Trail and the creeks that need to be forded. My day started out at 6 am and now I am eating dinner almost 18 hours later and nearly 20 miles from my starting point. I am almost too keyed up to be as exhausted as I should be and so grateful to know that the cab will pick me up soon to take me to the Lodge.I can¢t wait to get there and have a long hot shower and go to bed. What a day, what a week. It really is all good, as challenging as it can be sometimes. How lucky I am.So to go to the beginning of my August..I left around 6:45 determined to get to Pinkham Notch, where my supply package was and where I was pretty sure I would connect up with Piper.The weather was a nice surprise as there was no rain and occasionally the sun would come out for few minutes. I got to Mt. Washington around 2:30; by then the sun was out and I had great views of the area surrounding the mountain. Just stunning. With Pinkham Notch about 8 miles away, I headed out. I was about a mile long the ridge when I saw the storm coming in from behind me. So now I was racing the storm to get below tree line before it hit. I almost made it, getting to the trees after a short rain.Sometimes the path was very uneven and made hiking difficulty. Other times it was very smooth and easy to hike. It was difficult to go fast and get a rhythm going. Just a matter of hiking slowly and carefully.Because of so many trails in this area, it was difficult to keep track of the correct trail, which resulted in some backtracking, which meant it was taking longer to get to my destination. Around 8 I decided to check my location; with no recent white blazes, I was beginning to think I was lost. The GPS on my phone showed a road in the next 100 yards; that was somewhat comforting and offset my concerns over the coming darkness of night. So I came to the road, which ended up being the state road through the park. The sign indicated the lodge was 2 miles through the woods. I opted for the state road down the mountain rather than go into the woods in the dark in a part of the trail where the blazes/signage was pretty lame.It took another hour plus but I was feeling pretty good about being on a bona fide road. This took me out to the highway and about 4 miles from the lodge. I took refuge on the porch of a business and arranged for a cab to take me to town for food and then to the lodge for cleaning and sleep.A long hot shower and I hit the sack around 1 am. Felt so good.
Date: 2008-08-02
From: Joe Dodge Lodge

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: fog

It is 9 on Saturday and I have had breakfast (3 plates at the buffet) and connected with Piper. He is going onto Imp Shelter and we will connect there tonight or at Gorham tomorrow where we will take a zero. My plans are to dry out my clothes, pack, and head out by noon. I managed to put off leaning until a little after 1; I ended up talking to a number of other hikers, including Bullwinkle, a thru hiker from last year. We ended up having a great discussion; he offered a lot of insight into the state of mind of the thru hiker at this stage. He had heard an expression which I find very accurate when describing us: ¢Thru hikers are tough as nails and fragile as a flower¢. That truly sums up hikers. I would find out tomorrow how incredibly accurate it was.So I headed out and began the 2,000¢ climb in a mile and I found myself making good progress. When I got to the top, again I could not find a blaze. There was a family there and the daughter went down one of the trails at top and I went to the other, both of us in search of a blaze. It was so ironic that I was trying to help other people find the right trail. After about 200 yards I found a white blaze and went back to let them know. Now I had the pressure of hoping I was right in my choice of trails. The father was big guy and seemed easy going, but I was worried about having made the wrong choice. After about a mile, I encountered a SOBO who confirmed I was on the AT...whew.I got to the Wildcat peaks soon and then arrived at the Hut at 5:30. The weather was turning and I was able to secure a work for stay. Over the next 2 hours, 4 more hikers showed up and they were allowed to stay.After talking with several non thru hikers, we set up quarters in the dining room and turned in.
Date: 2008-08-05
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Recuperating. My hand now really throbs and I kind of expected it. But it, along with the rest of me, is dry while the rain continues outside. 'Dis ain't so bad".Piper is staying on to help me out and to a lessor degree take a break from the rain.Being such an organized type, he is glad to take advantage of the gas grill at the motel (next to the swimming pool and hot tub) and cook burgers for dinner. I am supposed to serve beer, but cannot open them, not even the twist top kind of bottle. So I do my best by drinking beer; I can do that one-handed.
Date: 2008-08-06
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Set up follow-up appointment with the surgeon: I am to see him this Friday. Hand is feeling better. Piper is very good at changign the bandages, but was surprised when I told him to wear gloves. I donot need to get my hand infected at this stage. dinner cooked by Piper; I served beer. I am beginning to get concerned I may fall down again.
Date: 2008-08-07
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Getting to know this town.Piper got a great surpise this afternoon..his wife Laura flew in for a birthday surprise. His birthday is tomorrow. She is a real sweetheart and I can tell Piper is just tickled pink to see her.Night Terror and Cat get into town and they plan on leaving tomorrow.
Date: 2008-08-08
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madions Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Recuperating. Hand feels better and I am assuming the surgeon will release me to hike tomorrow.It is becoming more and more evident that I am lucky to be forced to miss the continuing rain. A section hiker had left this am and came back after a few hours. He had his fill and was headed home; he seemed so tired of the weather. Oen of the locals say this rain is incredibly unusual and they have had 29 straight days of rain. I have a sore hand and dry clothes. Yea, this is working out.
Date: 2008-08-09
From: Mt. Madions Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Met with the surgeon who suggested I come back to see him on Monday. While there is no infection, he wants to see the wound close up some more. A bit frustrating, but I have to agree with him, plus with all the climbing coming up, having two strong hands is critical. Piper and I talk about our options; he is going to head out over the weekend and I will connect with him in Rangeley. I will do the missing section after Katahdin. That kind of changes the schedule but in the end, it is the most workable.
Date: 2008-08-11
From: Mt. Madison

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Met with the doctor and he is happy with the progress, but is advising another week. He would like to see the wound close a bit more (sorry if you are squeamish) so it is another week or so.Vry disappointing but it is still better to have my hand get better, than to develop a problem while on Trail.I began to deveop options so I could hike with Piper. He will go ahead on Monday and I will meet up with him the week following in Rangeley. this plan means doing the Notch after Katahdin. While I would like to summitt on Katahdin, the idea is to finish and it is the most workable and safest solution.So far these 7 days off have: delayed my finishing by about 7 days, given me a much needed rest, let me miss a lot of rainiy,cold, windy weather, and I also get to watch the Olympics. This is working out just fine.
Date: 2008-08-13
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

So I decided as part of my plan to see the doctor this Friday instead of the following Monday (8/18). that way I cold hitch to Rangely and see connect with Piper there.I am feeling separated from the Trail; it hass been 10 day since I have hiked. It is almost a relaxing feeling of knowing my hiking days will return by next week and my daily workouts will help in my return to the daily routine fo hiking. The time off seems to have removed a lot of the edginess I had been feeling for a while.
Date: 2008-08-14
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Mt. Madison Motel
Miles today: 0.0

Made an appt. to see the doctor a few days early; hopefully the stitches will be removed and I can return to the Trail. I spent my day cleaning out my pack (I'm convinced it will always have the Trail smell), organizing my food bag, and sending some stuff home to reduce weight.Speaking of weight..I'm gaining!!! In the last 10 days I have managed to put on 5 lbs which puts me above 160.My hiking around town led me to a beautiful scene on the pedestrian bridge over the Peabody River and a great meal at the market.My pack is packed in anticipation of hitting the Trail tomorrow after I see the doctor.
Date: 2008-08-15
From: Mt. Madison Motel

To: Birches Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

So I put on my pack and head to see the doctor, who removes the stitiches, gives me a supply of 3M butterlfly bandages,a nd sends me on my way to the Trail.Yay!!!My plan has changed a bit. Tonight I will stay at the Birches Hostel, just east of town and hitch out tomorrow to Hiway 17. Originally I had planned on connecting with Piper at hiway 27, but his hike is taking a bit longer. Going to hiway 17 lets me get a section done, thereby reducing the mileage I need to get done after Katahdin. (There is about 40 miles I missed when I was off Trail).I get into the Briches around 5 and run into Capt. Max (retired Army officer) and Just Josh.I don't expect to sleep much in anticpation of finally being back on the Trail.
Date: 2008-08-16
From: Birches Hostel

To: Sabbath Day Shelter
Miles today: 4.0

I¢m back on the Trail, almost like Willie Nelson being back on the road!In Maine!! My last state; how crazy is this. Had an easy start to the day getting packed, organized, etc. My plan was to hitchhike to hiway 17 and start hiking north (duh!). Because of the room reservation in Rangeley, which I can¢t cancel, I¢ll head there and wait for Piper.Hitchhiking went well as it took only 3 hitches to get to the drop off point, which was across from Land with a View, just a beautiful sight. My first ride was a guy who got me a few miles up the road. He wasn¢t too optimistic on my getting other rides. Fate was to prove him wrong.The next ride came from a local guy with his girl friend and another friend. They weren¢t too familiar with the Trail and were really fascinated by what they heard. They dropped me off in Mexico, ME at a convenience store. After getting some Gatorade, I was offered a ride by a retired couple who were going to Rangeley. They have helped hikers in the past and almost had me convinced to go straight to Rangeley, but I wanted to get some miles in today. So I hike my 4 miles to the first shelter; me hand felt fine and thankfully there was no hand over hand climbing. There were some steep descents, but they were helped by built in stairs. Stairs make a world of difference.I get into the shelter around 4 and set up my tent. I met Popeye, Little Mac and Free bird while there.Turned in around 8.
Date: 2008-08-17
From: Sabbath Day Shelter

To: Riff Raff Hsotel
Miles today: 9.4

Up at 6 and one the Trail around 7:30 ready for a short day of just over 9 miles to the road to Rangeley.The weather was excellent for hiking, clear skies, about 50 degrees to start and hit 70. Since the others were faster hikers, I hiked by myself and was relieved to feel comfortable being back on the Trail. That hiking while recuperating was rewarding me.There were 2 drawbacks to hiking and they were sort of minor:1)my hiking poles were just so beat up that only one was useable. 2) Because of the rocks in the ground the tree roots are forced to grow above ground. When dry they are ¢only¢ a trip hazard; when wet, they turn into the hikers¢ nightmare as they are incredibly slippery, especially when the bark is worn off. The good news is that I was forced to go slowly and carefully. Seems to make sense, doesn¢t it?So I continue to mosey along and came to the power line area. These areas are typically open areas playing host to numerous power line poles. I took one of several breaks here and just sat and looked at what was in front of me. Pure beauty, even with the power lines and poles. To look out and see all the mountains and hear just the wind is a truly magical experience. It continues to hit me how incredibly lucky I am to see and experience all this. I am especially grateful to have the time to experience it and to sit and just watch. So after my break I hike on and come to the highway. Within a few minutes an ambulance picked me; nice folks from the local EMS service that dropped me in Rangeley.I connected with Night Terror and Root, joining them at the Riff Raff Hostel. We had a bit of reunion with beer and poker. I turned in around 9.
Date: 2008-08-18
From: Riff Raff Hostel

To: Rangeley Inn
Miles today: 0.0

To all:I currently (Aug. 28) am in Monson, Me. gettting ready to start the 100 Day Wilderness. While here, I hope to get my journal updated, but wanted to let my faithful readers know that after that, for the next week, there will be no computer acess. I expect to summit Katahdin on Sept. 6, weather permitting. So please continue to be patient as computer acess will only be worse (or non-existent)until I get home.There will be an announcement when I summit.Please hang in there with me; I need all of you and your support so I can make it to the top.Willie Boy GA-ME on
Date: 2008-08-21
From: Popular Ridge Lean-to

To: Crocker Cirque Tent Campsite
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

There seemed to be fewer hikes on the Trail today. The hike was easier today than I expected. The map showed some steep climbs and descents, but the grade was not as severe. We started at 3,000', dropped down to 1,500' within 2 miles, went back up to 4,000', then down to 2,2000' in 7 miles. The weather continues to be very good for hiking with sunshine, mild breezes and temps in the high 70's.
Date: 2008-08-22
From: Crocker Cirque Tent Campsite

To: Stratton Hostel
Miles today: 7.3

Up and on Trail by 6 as planned and had another "relatively" easy day of hiking.Got to the road by 10:30 and we were picked around 11:00. That gave us time for laundry, groceries, and getting my new sticks at the post office. Getting the sticks was a bit of a miracle as Chritian Wind, REI, jumped through some serious hoops to get them shipped out.
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Stratton Hostel

To: Safford Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 5, breakfast at the diner and on Trail around 7:30. We had some really tough climbing today, and by day's end, I could feel all the descending in my knees.I have ben lucky in that my knees have been feeling pretty well. Going downhill is very tough on them and many hikers started to feel that stress early on. For me, it seems my knees have felt that stress only lately, which is good as I have less than 200 miles to go.
Date: 2008-08-24
From: Safford Campsite

To: N. Branch Carrying Place Stream
Miles today: 18.3

The terrain was more challenging than we expected so we cut our day "short". We had planned on going a bit over 20 miles, but we were pretty tired by 4:30. We found tent sites in the woods.The good thing about today's hike is that the path is drying out. That means much less mud to hike around or through, and the roots tend to less slippery, though I still try to avoid all roots.