morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-28
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite

To: Cooper Brook Falls Shelter
Miles today: 17.1

Today we passed the 2100 mile mark, but we are now focused on the distance to Katahdin.We had a long day planned and were making good time, when we stopped for morning snacks at Logan Brook Leanto. We had already climbed the three high peaks for the day, West Peak, Hay Mountain, and Whitecap Mountain, having gone 5.4 miles in 3 hours on the trail with ups of 2000' and downs of 1750'. There was no doubt we'd make it when I read the gauntlet Pepperoni&Jambalaya threw down in the register, "Will FDOM make it to Cooper Brook Falls?" Overnight a heavy fog developed as a warm front moved through. The tent stayed fairly dry, as it was under trees. Veto and I were on the trail at 7:07am, about 10 minutes after Grey Goose and BigFoot. We headed up Whitecap Mtn where the fog turned into a wind-driven light drizzle, shrouding the views. Veto asked me to lead, and I did so all day.The trail was in good condition, and there was only one small climb in the afternoon. After we left the shelter the sun tried to come out, but it didn't make it until about 2pm. We had lunch at East Branch Leanto at noon. That left 8.1 miles to go. Fortunately the trail was good, there was only one steep climb, and the descents were gradual. The sun finally came out in the afternoon, and it is about 50* as I write.When we arrived here at 4:45pm, I shouted loudly, for Pepperoni's benefit, "FDOM has arrived!" As Jambalaya&Pepperoni, Weatherman, and $3 were in the shelter, Veto and I set up tents on a nice site at the edge of the falls. GreyGoose joined us about 10 minutes later, and in another 10 minutes BigFoot arrived and moved on to the shelter. Tonight hiker midnight is at 8pm, and I'll be lulled to sleep by the sound of rushing water.On! On!
Date: 2006-09-29
From: Cooper Brook Falls tentsite

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 13.8

Although the trail miles were 13.9, we hiked another .9 miles to the dock, from which one summons a boat ride across the lake to the lodge. FDOM elected to take the "private" rooms, and we are in a cabin with a Canadian thru-hiker named John, who zeroed here today.I woke early and it was quite warm. We were packed and on the trail again at 7:07am. Within 15 minutes the rain started. We stopped to put on pack covers, and a little later I put on my high gaiters, in a futile attempt to keep my boots dry.The rain continued off and on - mostly on - all day, and only at 8pm has it now abated. It seems a cold front has come through, as the air is much colder and drier. We couldn't stop until noon at a shelter after 11.4 miles. That was excellent time, thanks to the dual incentives of needing a dry place for lunch, and needing to get to the landing to resupply, as we were running out of food.We had lunch out of the rain at the shelter. Earlier I had to call a stop to refuel with powerbars, as I was "hitting a wall". I'm not used to hiking that far and fast without refueling.At lunch, I put on my rain pants, fleece hat, and polyfill vest, shedding the soaking wet hiking kilt. I was much warmer on the brief afternoon section of the hike, but my boots were soaked. There were lots of slippery bog boards after lunch. We reached the blue blaze to the dock for this camp about 2pm, and were at the dock about 2:45. We saw the boat heading away with Jambalaya&Pepperoni, and signaled for a pickup with the air horn.We elected to stay in "private" rooms rather than the bunkhouse, and I'm in a room with Veto. In addition to the FDOM, a Canadian thruhiker named John is in this cabin. There was a welcome fire in the woodstove, making the living room area quite cozy.As we shed our wet gear, Veto and I rigged a drying line near the stove. Just about everything is now dry, and I'm hoping the boots will be dry by morning.After a shower we went to the main lodge for dinner, and to resupply for the two days to Abol Bridge, the last stop before entering Baxter State Park. Dinner was a one pound cheeseburger with chips, a root beer, and Ben&Jerry's.Amazingly, there was cell service here. I got to speak with Carol at the Gyro convention in Canton. She is proxying for me there, and will be driving up here to pick us up on Oct. 3.On to Katahdin!
Date: 2006-09-30
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Stream Leanto
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

At dawn the sun painted red hues on the ridge opposite the cabin on the other side of Pemadumcook Lake, and refracted rainbows through the brief squalls of drizzle leftover from yesterday's rain. Last night about 11pm, the sky had completely cleared, and the stars were stunning.We are at the 30 miles-to-go point, having gone 17 miles counting the walk back to the trail from the boat dock. We reached the AT right at 10am. Again I was walking with Veto as the other FDOM were on the first boatride. I was having trouble getting my pack adjusted to avoid bumping a bruise/sore spot on my back. Veto helped me adjust it so the hip belt rode atop my hips, which held the pack above the tender spot. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made these long miles.As it was, we made a nice picnic table at the foot of Nahmakanta Lake for lunch at noon. There we switched to the last map which I had the other FDOM, Jambalaya&Pepperoni, and Weatherman sign. We knew then it would be a challenge to make this leanto before dark. We just made it, pulling in about 6:15pm -- the ability to see colors ends about 6:30pm now, and it is full dark by 7pm. Needless to say, I cooked and ate my mac'n cheese by headlamp.The afternoon hike took us up an 850' climb of Nesuntahbunt Mtn, where there was a great view of Katahdin. During the descent we passed a pond, where the leaf colors reflected beautifully. We continued on to a view of the gorge carved by Pollywog Stream, which we followed downstream to a woods road, and crossed on a bridge. It was then 5pm, and we had 2.4 miles to the shelter. Fortunately, I had energy reserves from yesterday's meals and today's hearty breakfast at White House Landing. I shifted into high gear and caught up with Weatherman, just as we were about to reach the shelter. Veto was close behind. There we joined Strider, GA-ME '03, who is doing a leisurely section in the 100-mile wilderness. About 15 minutes later, BigFoot and GreyGoose arrived to take the shelter to its maximum capacity. Even though I was moving fast, I enjoyed the last 2 miles along Rainbow Stream, which offered beautiful scenery.Hiker midnight tonight is at 8:40pm.On! On!
Date: 2006-10-01
From: Rainbow Stream Leanto

To: Abol Pines Campsite
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in a bit, leaving the shelter about 7:30am and arriving at the camp store here about 3:30pm, in spite of difficult tread of rocks, roots and mud. We have just 10 miles from here to the campsite from which we will summit Katahdin on Tuesday. The view of "the great one", a rough translation of Katahdin, from Abol Bridge over the Penobsot River this afternoon was truly impressive. It completely fills ones field of view.The trail today immediately crossed Rainbow Stream. Weatherman, Veto, and I crossed on a makeshift bridge of three tree trunks lain across the stream. The others did rock hops, including some about ankle deep, or waded in their camp shoes. We tracked upstream along the east side of Rainbow Stream, passing a "deadwater" section that looked like a lake, then along a lake created by a dam on the stream. At about 7 miles we finally left the lake behind and climbed about 400' to Rainbow Ledges, where we had lunch in the sun at 11:30am. Weatherman got the weather, which calls for rain overnight and tomorrow morning, followed by a clear day on Tuesday, our planned summit. Just beyond there was an excellent view of Katahdin before we descended toward Hurd Brook Leanto, the last AT shelter before Baxter State Park and big K. There we had a snack break and moved on mostly downhill to Abol Bridge. Lured by the promise of Pepsi's and other junk food. We made good time to the road, Abol Bridge and the campstore. The commercial campground closed yesterday, so we are here at the primitive campground just across the road.We decided to set up camp, since there was a possibility of rain, then return to the store for resupply and to get dinner. I have everything in the tent with me tonight in case I have to pack up in the rain tomorrow. When we returned to the store, we met the ridgerunner who answered some of our questions on the logistics of the summit hike. Hiker midnight tonight is at 7:30pm.On! On!
Date: 2006-10-02
From: Abol Pines Campsite

To: Katahdin Stream campground, shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

We are set up to summit tomorrow, and the weather looks like it will be great.Sure enough it drizzled lightly from about 10pm last night through about 5:30 this morning, then off and on until about 10am. Thus, I packed up a wet tent, doing most of the packup from inside. I had just about everything in the tent with me as a precaution last night. This morning there were only a few drops falling from the trees by the time I got out to take down and pack up the tent. I ate my usual cold breakfast, then headed to the Abol Bridge Camp Store where I had cocoa and an egg-bacon-cheese biscuit.We headed out at about 7:30am on the easy hike here. Then we headed down the trail and signed up for the Birches campsite here. The trail followed the Penobscot River then its tributary, Nesowadnehunk Stream. The bridge over the latter was washed out, but there was a questionable makeshift bridge of fallen logs with a nylon rope as a handrail. The others, FDOM-1 and Weatherman, elected to ford in camp shoes; but I braved the makeshift bridge, which was much better than it looked.We stopped along the way on a rock along the stream for snacks after the rain had stopped, then pressed on, reaching the campground about 1pm. I was the 382nd thruhiker to reach Katahdin from Georgia. We (FDOM and Weatherman) are in a shelter at Katahdin Stream, and will be having dinner with Jambalaya&Pepperoni who are at a separate shelter for two. In the next shelter up are BP, IronWolf, and Bumblebee. Gary, the photographer, is here, and LoneStar and Blacksnake are staying in Millinocket and will summit tomorrow. There should be quite a crowd summiting tomorrow.It did clear off a bit, and I got some photos of our objective. It's nearly 5pm and time to cook dinner, then it'll be time to sleep.Tomorrow, Katahdin and the end of this excellent adventure!
Date: 2006-11-12
To: Home Sweet Home
Miles today: 0.0

It's been a little over a month since I returned home. Between catching up on yardwork and with family and personal business, I busied myself with posting my pictures. It's taken a good long while, but I've finally posted them on this journal. Eventually, I'll shoot pics of my gear and post reviews of the same. While posting the pics, I re-read my journals and am happy to say that they take me back to the trail. I often yearn for the simple routine of "getup, hike, make camp, sleep" that I followed for over 6 months, but I won't be hiking the AT again---maybe the PCT or CDT, but not the AT. One of the things I hoped to do was to switch my vanity plates to "GA-ME 06". Fortunately, it was available and it now graces my car.I've been thinking of how to conclude this journal. After re-reading the comments I added to my 2000-miler application, I can't think of anything better.Here it is:I set off on my thru-hike March 15th, a beautiful, sunny day with ideal hiking temperatures reaching the 60s, a portent of generally excellent weather throughout my hike. The exceptions were freezing rain at Tray Mountain, wind-driven snow with 15 degree temps just to the north of Bly Gap, torrential rains during late June in northern MD and southern PA, and oppressive 100-degree heat and humidity in Connecticut around August 1. Even so, the weather gods generally smiled on my hike, reserving rain for days we were zeroing in various trail towns.I had to take off three weeks in May after passing the 500-mile mark to rehab serious hip tendonitis, and had to treat debilitating Lyme disease in Pennsylvania in July. A serious bout of blisters required walking in loose boots and caused toenail pounding. The blisters healed and the toenails are growing back. I¢ve lost 15 pounds, my love handles, 3 inches from my waist, and just about every bit of body fat I¢d accumulated over 60 years. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I haven¢t felt in better health in decades.My beard is down to my chest, but my hair didn't grow into the pony tail I tried for and has been trimmed to its usual length. Eventually the beard will be scaled back too.I suffered loneliness when hiking partners had to get off the trail, and felt joy when I bonded even closer with new hiking partners. I¢ve formed new friendships with three other men with whom I hiked almost 1500 miles as the FDOM, Four Dirty Old Men. I hope to continue these friendships the rest of my life. I've learned there are lots of very fine people who give selflessly to help others and personally benefited from their "trail magic". I¢ve also learned that I can get along just fine without all the stuff Madison Avenue hawks. I experienced exhilaration and joy on reaching the summit of Katahdin October 3rd, fulfilling a goal I¢ve had for nearly 50 years. All in all, it¢s truly been the ¢Excellent Adventure¢ I¢d imagined as I set out.¢What a long, strange trip it¢s been!¢
Date: 2005-08-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I think it's time to get this started. I have 19 months (and 2 days) to go till I start my Thru-Hike on the AT. I have been planning this for the past 18 months and it seems like it's getting here pretty quickly. March 20th 2007, is my start date. I will be 50 years old at the time, and hiking solo as my husband is not into backpacking.Lets get to the question of why I¢m doing this. For a couple of reasons, first, it's there! The reason many people give for climbing mountains is that ¢it's there¢, well, I¢m not really a mountain climber, although I guess I will be climbing many mountains along the AT. Next, there is something I find very intriguing about continuous trails, its sort of like on the beach ¢ I just want to keep walking and see what is around the next bend, or when I¢m jogging, if the street just keeps going straight, I will just keep running (if only I didn¢t have to turn around and go back to get home. This reminds me of the movie 'The Never Ending Story' - I was in Colorado once backpacking and we came across a boulder field that was just like the Rock Monster in the movie!! and, lastly, the trail is calling my name and has been for many years. When my twin sons were 14 years old, (they are 20 now) we drove cross country (with their 14 Y.O. cousin also ¢ what was I? nuts?) from Texas to The Great Smokey Mountain National Park. There we were up by Clingmans Dome and I saw the sign for the AT, I put one foot on the trail , and then the next, and I heard this loud whisper in my head ¢keep walking ¢ don¢t look back- leave those 3 ¢ 14 Y.O. kids there¢. I thought maybe I was like Lots wife, I¢d turn into a pillar of salt if I turned back, but then, I thought of my big sister who¢s daughter I had promised to take care of and figured turning into a pillar of salt was better than dealing with the wrath of my sister! So I turned back and was not transformed into salt, but ever since that day, there has persisted this whisper in my head to thru hike the AT and I am finally in a place in my life that I am able to do this.
Date: 2005-08-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I spend a good amount of time thinking about the equipment and other stuff I will take as well as what I will miss the most from home. I have most of my equipment but will replace my pack for a lighter one before the trip ¢ I have an Osprey Luna 75 which has been great for backpack trips with the Boy Scouts (my twins are booth Eagle Scouts ¢ just a little bragging here) but it weighs a little too much for my Thru hike. I will probably also replace my tent, I have a Eureka Back Country 2 woman tent, and I love it but it weighs about 5 lb. I¢m hoping some new models hit the market before I have to really ¢gear up¢ . I will be cooking and dehydrating nearly all of my meals, I have been dehydrating food for many years and really prefer my own (vegetarian) cooking. I have a Pepsi can stove, a titanium cook pot, my Leki poles and clothing will be selected later.What I will miss: besides my husband and my cat, I will miss sleeping with 3 pillows! I sleep with one between my knees, I hug one to my chest and one under my head! I always find it very difficult to sleep in a sleeping bag ¢ oh, I have a Mountain Hardware down bag that weighs less than 2 lb. along with a Cocoon liner made from coolmax fabric. But it¢s the pillows! For 6 months! I do plan on taking a small pillow for my head, I know this sounds crazy, but it really won¢t weigh anything at all, its just bulky ¢ you know those pillows they have out now with the tiny beads in them? They come in all shapes and sizes these days ¢ from having them at airports to Bed-Bath & beyond, they have knit covers on them? Well they are very comfy and lightweight only not compressible at all, I will buy one and cut it down to a smaller size to carry with me.I will take a digital camera, but no other electronic items, no phone, no pocket mail, I want to get away from all that ¢instant on¢ sort of stuff. But I have 19 months in which to change my mind about items. Oh, and I will bring one of those ¢leather bound journals¢ to write in ¢ I know ¢they¢ say to just bring a ¢small¢ pad of paper that can be replaced later, but I¢d rather keep my journal as a written thing, all in one, I guess I will have to Xerox copies to send home for my friend to post on line for me.
Date: 2005-09-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I now have exactly 18 months left! But the best laid plans of mice and men¢¦¢¦ Hurricane Rita is heading in towards Houston, I hope I still have a home by this time next week! I live very close to Galveston so if it does hit this area, I will be in trouble.But, on to more pleasant topics ¢ The AT. I will start to plan my meals, I guess it takes quite some time to dehydrate that many dinners. Although I don¢t think I will actually start cooking for another year! ¢ its just fun to plan.It¢s always interesting when I talk to people about my plans to hike the AT. Most people have heard about the AT somewhere along the lines, but most people really don¢t know much if anything at all about it. Most often, when I say I plan to backpack the AT, people smile and say, ¢that¢s nice¢ and then try to look very knowledgeable about it. Then they ask how long it will take ¢¢2 or 3 days?¢ The look on their face when I say ¢6 months¢ is worth a million, suddenly they realize that they haven¢t a clue about what we are talking about, and often try to shift the conversation at that point. Otherwise, it gets to the question of; ¢who are you going with?¢ and when I answer ¢by myself¢ the shocked looks, the ¢oh that¢s not safe¢, ¢what about bears?¢ ¢Where will you sleep¢ ¢your going to carry your own tent?¢ ¢ You know the line of questions I¢m talking about. The best one is ¢oh you don¢t need to do that at your age¢!!!!!!Well, I had one of the most rewarding conversations about the AT the other day, I met these 3 women, one was about my age ¢ late 40¢s or 50¢s, I¢ll call her Lady-1, her mother (had to be 70¢s-80¢s) Lady-2 and another woman, I¢m not sure of the relation but she was the oldest of the 3 had to be in her 80¢s, Lady-3, So, when I mentioned my plan to hike the AT, Lady 1 said her husband is a section hiker, lady 3 said her son had thru hiked, lady 2 didn¢t know all that much about it but asked when I would start and was I going all the way to Maine, and who I was going with, When I told her I would be hiking by myself, she asked if that was safe, and Lady 3 the oldest of these women, said ¢of course it is, there are so many people on the AT all the time¢. It was very nice to talk to women (older women) who had no problem with what I want to do.
Date: 2005-11-30
To: 2006?
Miles today: 0.0

The opportunity to hike the trail in 2006 came up today, what a dilemma ¢ leave in 4 months or in 1 yr & 4 months?   How this came about is like this, I¢m a student, working on an associate¢s degree in fashion design at the local community college. It¢s a 2 yr program that I¢m in my 3rd year of and still have at least 2 more semesters to complete! Now, I don¢t really NEED this degree, I have started up my own business making custom wedding gowns, & special occasions dresses. (I¢ve been sewing all my life ¢ well for at least 40 yrs anyway) I have several college degrees including a Masters degree in Nursing (I¢m a family nurse practitioner). So, today I decided that I really don¢t want to go to school next semester; I¢m getting a little tired of it, and not really learning anything at this point. I mentioned this to my husband, and that I thought maybe I should go back to work as a nurse for a while. He was the one that came up with the suggestion that I hike in 2006.I have been planning the 2007 hike for several years now, I don¢t really have any specific time line for getting things done, but thought I¢d start all my cooking (remember I¢m going to cook & dehydrate all my dinners) in April of ¢06, that way I will have plenty of time to experiment with different dinners, package things up (and it does take time to prepare all of this) so the though of rushing into this is a bit daunting.There is one other major issue that will prevent me from hiking in ¢06. My niece is getting married in August, I promised I¢d make her wedding dress for her, I would have to weasel my way out of making her dress, and I¢m not sure I want to do that.There are some other issues as well, we (my husband & I) just bought our retirement home - it¢s just outside of Asheville, NC. We¢re actually going there next week for the closing. My husband plans on retiring in 2 yrs, and so we were planning on spending most of our vacation time this coming year in Asheville getting the house ready to move into. ¢ The house is ready, it just needs some furniture and we will vacation there. (And I will do some hiking there)So, I will mull this over for the next day or two before making a final decision, but will probably still wait for 2007, I feel like I¢m part of the ¢class of 2007¢ not part of 2006, so¢¦.
Date: 2005-12-05
To: Making a change
Miles today: 0.0

I do believe its official! I¢m moving up to 2006! I am SO SO excited, I figure I can still make my nieces wedding dress and have it 99% completed by the end of March, then, get off the trail about 2 weeks before the wedding (and I should be in New Hampshire -where she lives) about that time anyway! How convenient .So, tomorrow morning, my husband and I are going to Asheville, North Carolina to close on our new home ¢ it¢s our retirement home, Marc will retire in about 2 yrs, but for now it will be vacation land. When we get back on Sunday I guess I will get full tilt into preparation for the trail, I have a LOT to cook and dehydrate, and a few clothing/gear items to purchase. I think I want to get the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone pack, but can¢t find one around here to try on, I seem to remember the outfitter in Asheville had them, so I may purchase my pack while there. I need a summer weight sleeping bag, and will probably settle on a Western Mountaineering one, and the REI Quarter Dome tent. I will get some silk long johns for sleeping in, and I will probably bring one or two pair of panty hose ¢ they sure provide a lot of warmth for the weight!. I also want to get a vest, either down or thinsulate, haven¢t decided on that yet.Ok, that¢s it for now, very excited! I¢m moving this journal to the 2006 area!