morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-13
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-To, ME

To: Piazza Rock Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Finally an easier day. After rough days, lots of hard climbing the entire way through New Hampshire and southern Maine, today was almost easy. There were no major climbs, and long flat sections. The day started sunny, but clouded over and sprinkled a bit, then it would clear up again. It even thundered for a bit, and was just starting to rain when I got to the shelter. Since then, though, it¢s cleared back off and is beautiful. The weather report that I¢d heard from SOBOs coming out of Rangley said that it¢s going to be beautiful again tomorrow.This morning, my boots were still wet from yesterday¢s river crossings, so I put my sightly damp socks from yesterday on again. It turned out to be the wrong choice. By the time I got here, my feet were killing me. I have the same raw spots on the tops of my feet that I got hiking with wet socks during the hot, humid weather when I was just sought of Troutville, VA. I was going to soak them in the stream for a while, but the water was too cold, and I didn¢t want to chill myself standing out in the cold air.At the shelter here, I heard barking as I came towards it. It was Swampmonster, along with Bobcat and Sunshine. I¢d hiked with Bobcat and Swampmonster, (his dog) coming into Duncannon. I hadn¢t seen him since then, and didn¢t think I was going to see him again, but he took some time off when he got home in Massachussetts, and has been going a little slower since then, taking his tie. Professor, Boy, and Hornblower all went to town to resupply, so I got here way before them. I¢d eaten dinner and had been in my bag reading for a while by the time they got here. Hornblower still isn¢t here yet. He probably stopped to play his horn for a bit.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-14
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To, ME

To: Sugarloaf Summit House, ME
Miles today: 19.8

My boots were almost dry this morning, and when I put on dry socks, it felt wonderful! My feet were still a little raw, and hiking hurt just a bit, especially going downhill, but I could tell it wasn¢t getting worse. By the end of the day, my boots had completely dried out, and I could barely feel the pain anymore. Hiking another long day also felt good. It¢s now been three long milage days in a row, and I¢m feeling better and better, both physically and mentally. There¢s something cleansing about getting up and hiking hard all day long.The trail crossed over the Saddlebacks today, which gives some great views, including of Katahdin on the clearest days, but it was still in the clouds when I got there. By the time I got to The Horn, though, the fog had burned off. The clouds were still all around, but there were some nice views of the surrounding areas. Although Mr. Abraham is another 4000-footer, I decided not to make the side trip. An extra 3.4 miles isn¢t what I needed on top of 20+ (it¢s a half mile off the AT to the summit).Since I got here, the sky has been nothing but dramatic. There are impressive clouds all around, constantly changing. Behind us are the mountains we just came over. To the left are the Crockers, which we go over before going into Stratton tomorrow. In front, we can see the Bigelows, which are just after Stratton. At about 2:00 are the mountains we go over after that. I think I can see Katahdin, way off in the distance. If you¢re visualizing this, the trail does actually wind around that much. We go a long ways in the wrong direction do to some steep climbs. However, the end is (maybe) in sight!When I got here, there was a starling trapped inside one of the windows. It was somehow between the panes of the window. When I looked closer, the window was broken, and it had gotten stuck behind the glass. I reached in, and after some attempts, I managed to grab the bird and keep it in my hand long enough to get it out. It actually sat still until I carried it out the door, and it flew away. I got a little cut up from the glass, but it wasn¢t bad.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-15
From: Sugarloaf Summit House, ME

To: Horns Pond Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: light rain

So much for the dry boots. After blowing a fierce wind all night and into the morning, the good weather held out until about 10:00, and then the sky opened up. It poured hard as I climbed up and over the Crockers (two more 4000-footers to knock off the list), but then cleared up as we came down to the road. I hiked with Wirenut for a while this morning, and it made the hike go a lot faster. When we got to the road to Stratton, I tried to hitch in, while he kept going.It took over half an hour to get a ride, but I eventually got into town, and to the hostel. The owner was out, but there was a pile of maildrop boxes inside. Mine wasn¢t there, so I called the number she¢d left, and she said it should be there, or she didn¢t have it. I called my mother, who said that it had been delivered on Thursday morning. The owner said that they don¢t deliver to the motel, but put a mote in her P.O. box when a package comes in, but they must have messed up or forgotten. It being Sunday, I couldn¢t bet the box, so I had to resupply at the store. It was a little expensive, and I bought too much, but I¢ll eat well.I made one last phone call, this time to Harrison Camps. They have a place near the trail, and we were going to pull a long day tomorrow to get there, because they offer a huge ¢lumberjacks breakfast,¢ but you have to call ahead. Unfortunately, when I called, the man told me that this Tuesday he had something else going on, and wouldn¢t be able to do breakfast. We were all disappointed, but it means we don¢t have to do such a long day tomorrow.It took just as long to get a hitch back out to the trail, but I finally got going again. The first couple miles were easy, but I got eaten alive by the mosquitoes. After that, it was a steep climb for the last three miles. A little after I got in, it stared pouring. A thunderstorm swept through, and it¢s blown over now, for the most part. I was very glad that I made it in when I did, it was raining really hard for a while.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-16
From: Horns Pond Lean-To, ME

To: West Carry Pond Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Another day, another milestone or two. This morning, I climbed over the peaks of the Bigelow mountains, steep and rocky. On top of the first peak, the wind was whipping across the mountain. It was blowing so hard I was getting knocked sideways. The trail was narrow, and to my right, a cliff dropped off. Of course, that was the direction the wind was blowing in. It was scary for a little bit, but the views were nice, and I got to knock off two more 4000-footers. The summit of Little Bigelow (almost) marked the 2,000 mile point, cause for celebration. About 6 miles later, someone had painted ¢2000 mi.¢ in the middle of a road crossing.The shelter is near a beautiful pond. I could hear loons calling as I walked around it to the shelter. Unfortunately we¢re packed in tight here. There are the five of us NOBOs (me, Wirenut, Boy, Professor and Hornblower), plus five SOBOs and two overnighters. There¢s not a lot of space, but I got in early enough that I got a wall spot.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-17
From: West Carry Pond Lean-To, ME

To: Northern Outdoors, The Forks, ME
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We had a brief scare this morning. Professor woke up, and was sick as a dog. He had horrible stomach cramps, and couldn¢t even walk. We wanted to stick together, but didn¢t have enough food to zero at the shelter. After the rest of us had eaten breakfast, he felt good enough to go back to sleep for a bit. Before, the cramps and nausea had been keeping him up. When we woke him up at 9:30 or so, he was feeling a little better. We set off, unsure if we¢d be getting to Caratunk or stopping at the first shelter. In order to make it to the ferry over the Kennebec, we¢d have to hurry. The river is too wide, deep and swift to ford, so there¢s a ferry, but it only runs until 4:00. Fortunately, Preofessor felt strong enough to push it out, and we got to the river at about 3:45.The guy running the ferry closed up after we¢d come across, then gave us a ride to the store to resupply. We met Scoops there, with his girlfriend, and after we¢d resupplied, they gave us a ride here.   We got a room for six, showered, did laundry, and headed for dinner. Our waitress had met Professor and Hornblower while hiking yesterday (I¢d seen her too, but she hadn¢t stopped to talk), so she gave us some free beers and then gave us all free ice cream for dessert. We all left nice tips, and we¢re just chilling out back in the room.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-18
From: Northern Outdoors, The Forks, ME

To: Moxie Bald Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

Scoops had told us that the breakfast buffet at Northern outdoors was awesome, so last night we asked the waitress if there would be one this morning. She went and checked and said that there would, but when I came to the dining room this morning, there was no buffet. I had to order off the menu, and it was expensive and not all that good. I was rather disappointed.We packed up and one of the raft guides drove all of us (the six of us from the one room, plus Garrett and Garret-last seen near Duncannon, PA-who had also stayed there last night) back to the trail. The weather report was calling for rain every day for the rest of the week, and rain it had. It poured a lot while we were hiking, peaking just as Professor, Boy and I got to the shelter 15 miles out.There, we met Tecumseh and Moxie, and Sarge, section hikers, all of whom started out in PA this year, I believe. Professor, Boy and Hornblower decided to stay, but I decided to push on, in favor of a shorter day into Monson tomorrow. Just as I got up, Scoops came by, and we hiked together for the last 4 miles. The rain eased up as we went over Moxie Bald, but it started up again just before we got to the shelter, and is still coming down hard. We¢re packed in tight here, with me, Scoops, the Garretts, Bobcat, Sunshine and all our wet gear. It smells awful! As I write this, it¢s only 8:00, but I¢m the only one still up. I feel like such a hell-raiser. Time for me to join the sleepers.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-19
From: Moxie Bald Lean-To, ME

To: Shaw's Boarding House, Monson, ME
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: haze

Monson. Shaw's. To NOBOs, the words have almost a mystical quality about them. Monson is that place, when you start, that's so far down the road, that you couldn't ever imagine getting there. It's the last stop, the last town, the last chance to resupply, to sleep in a real bed, to eat real food. It's the last bit of civilization on the trail. After this, it's the 100-mile Wilderness, 100 miles without a paved road. Then, Katahdin. It's amazing to finally be here, so far from Georgia, and so close to the end. From here on out, it's a sprint to the finish. Tomorrow, we're all going back into the woods, and we've got some long days planned to finish by next Wednesday.I got up earlier than usual this morning, and left camp before 6:30. The goal was to get into town early and to have some time to hang out. I felt pretty good all day, and got to the road around 2:00. As I was coming down the last hill, I heard voices, so I hurried to get to the parking lot. When I got there, Bobcat and Sunshine were talking with a woman and some other hikers. Turns out, she's the woman that owns Shaw's, and she was dropping off a couple of SOBOs. She gave us a ride into town, and got us set up in the hostel. She bought the place from the Shaw family last year, and has fixed it up really nicely. She still does the famous Shaw's breakfast, which I'm thoroughly looking forward to in the morning. At the hostel, I ran into Quiet Paul, who I've been just a little bit behind all the way from Duncannon. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him again, but he's slowed down a bit, and zeroed today, so we caught up. He's planning on finishing later next week. I walked into the main part of town, and found Professor, who'd gotten a ride not long after I had. We're now at the library, checking email and doing last-minute weather checks. When we're done here, we're going to go get some lunch, then it'll be back to Shaw's for a shower and some laundry.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-20
From: Shaw's Boarding House, Monson, ME

To: Cloud Pond Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: moderate rain

After I left the library yesterday, the fun was just beginning. Professor and I went to the BBQ place in town, which was actually really good. I had a BBQ pork sandwich, and to our great surprise, there was homemade sweet tea! We were both thrilled, and although, as Professor put it, ¢it¢s not Grandma¢s sweet tea,¢ it was still good. After, we resupplied at the general store and went back to Shaw¢s for some showers and laundry.Later, Professor needed to go to the next town to use an ATM, so Tim, the general store owner, drove a bunch of us to Guilford. At first, it was Tim, Wirenut and Professor in the cab of his pickup, with Hornblower and I in the back, but it started raining hard, so we all piled into the cab. It was a tight fit, but we made it to the bank, a pharmacy, McDonalds for dinner, and back. On the way back, Tim told us a bunch of jokes, helping take our minds off the cramped quarters.This morning all of us in the bunkroom woke up at the same time, to the smell of bacon, sausage, and potatoes being cooked. Breakfast was calling. It was amazing. Youorder by the number, and get that many eggs, sausages, pieces of bacon, sliced of French toast, and scoops of potatoes, plus all the coffee and orange juice you want. I gorged myself until I could barely move. In the end, I¢d had four of everything.It took until almost 10:00 for me to pack up and get the shuttle to the trailhead, but by the time I started, the rain had just about stopped. It was cool and foggy most of the day, but didn¢t rain again until shortly after I arrived at the shelter. I hiked most of the day in my Crocs, the first time I¢d done that. There were a bunch of strewn fordings, so after the first one, I just didn¢t put my boots back on. It felt pretty good, and didn¢t bother my ankles or knees like I¢d been afraid it would. I did take a nasty fall, although that wasn¢t because of the Crocs. I slipped on some mud going down a steep hill, and landed hard on my rear end. It hurt, but the only lasting damage it did was to my hiking poles. One of them now has a nice bend, and the other has a bent tip.The shelter is the most crowded shelter I¢ve stayed at yet. We¢re packed in tight, and I¢m actually sleeping on the Deacon Seat, the wooden bar a couple feet away from the main sleeping surface. It was the only space left!The Brain
Date: 2007-07-21
From: Cloud Pond Lean-To, ME

To: Logan Brook Lean-To, ME
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: few clouds

As might have been expected, I didn¢t sleep very well last night. If the log had been a little longer or a little wider, it might have worked, but as it was, I couldn¢t quite get my entire spine on top, so I couldn¢t get comfortable, and felt like I was falling off. After actually falling off, I moved to the ground between the Deacon Seat and the main planks. Nestled between packs, boots, Crocs, and everything else, I curled up and manged to get some sleep.Today was a long, rough day. It started with a slog up and over four peaks of the Chairback range: steep, rocky scrambles. After that, the trail dropped forever, crossed over the Pleasant River, then climbed back up for another long section. At the beginning of the climb, the trail passed through the Hermitage, a stand of enormous white pines. They towered overhead, stretching towards the sun. Also on the climb was the side loop trail through Gulf Hayes, a large gorge that¢s known as ¢the Grand Canyon of the East.¢ Unfortunately, I didn¢t have time to go explore around, so I kept going.At the end of the day, I had to climb over the White Cap range, another series of four big peaks. I was dying by the time I got to White Cap, the last, and highest peak. It was worth it, though. There was a cool breeze on top, and I got my first view of Katahdin, hulking on the horizon. It was awesome to finally see it. I stumbled down the last 1.5 to the shelter for dinner. Fortunately, there¢s space tonight. Only one other thru-hiker was here, a SOBO, plus an Outward Bound group, but they have tents, and the kids are out on a solo tonight, so we chatted with their leaders for a while. After being beautiful all day, clouds have moved back in, and it¢s raining again. Fortunately, most of my stuff dried out during the day today.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-22
From: Logan Brook Lean-To, ME

To: Nahmakorta Stream Campsite, ME
Miles today: 27.4

These long days are starting to take their toll on me. My body is starting to wear down. My feet hurt, my legs are sore, my hips are bruised from the pack. I¢m falling apart. But the pain is not what bothers me the most. Physical pain I can ignore at this point. I can heal when I¢m done.What gets to me is the mental struggle to keep going. Today, every mile was a challenge. I¢ve gone several days hiking all on my own, all day long, with the exception of about 20 minutes today, when I hiked with Treefrog, and Show-Me, who are finishing what they didn¢t have time for when they tried to thru-hike last year. But then they stopped for water and I kept going, past the shelter where they¢re spending the night. I almost can¢t stand to be around myself anymore. I¢ve long since run out of things to think about, so all I have to keep myself company is thinking about how much farther I have to go.Now, I¢m here with only one day left to go in the Wilderness, and at the end, my ¢hiking family¢ will all group up again. Coming out of Monson, we all got split up. The Garretts, Scoops and myself got out earlier, and went the farthest. Professor, Hornblower and Boy didn¢t¢ start until after 11:30, and then Professor and Boy went a really short day, while Hornblower pushed on. Yesterday I couldn¢t keep up with the Garretts and Scoops, so they got a shelter ahead, while Hornblower pulled a really long day and came in where I was at about 9:00 last night, which is how I know what happened to Professor and Boy.Today, I got out before Hornblower, and when I got to Potaywadjo Lean-To, it was early enough that I decided to move on. Every mile I did today is one less I have to do tomorrow to get to where we¢re meeting up. I don¢t know how far the three behind me have come, but they¢ll all have a long couple days in store. I don¢t have a lot of will left, but I think I¢ve got one more long day left in me. I may go practically insane by the end, but I think I can do it. I have to.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-23
From: Nahmakorta Stream Campsite, ME

To: Hurd Brook Lean-To. ME
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: broken clouds

This crazy marathon is finally over! It took a lot out of me, to the point where I stumbled down the last hill into camp, but I made it. I¢m in better shape than Boy and Professor, though, thanks to doing a longer day yesterday. Professor and boy justshowed up, after a series of insanely long days. They¢ve averaged almost 30 miles a day for the last three days. They didn¢t get into camp until 11:00 and 9:00 two of the last nights. I was impressed that they got here so early today. I was expecting them to show up around 10:00 or so, but they practically ran today. Suddenly, I don¢t feel as bad about my condition.I¢d been planning on getting up at 4:20 this morning, but when I woke up about twenty minutes before, it was too dark, so I re-set my alarm for 4:30 and went back to sleep. It was still dark, then, but I go up anyways, packed up, and left. At the first shelter, I caught up with the Garretts and Scoops, getting a late start. They soon left me in the dust, but it was nice to see a NOBO after a full day of hiking on my own.I alternately hiked really well, and really poorly today. For a while, hiking felt good, then I¢d take a break and lose my rhythm, then I¢d get it back again. I was on a roll until I stopped a couple miles out from the shelterhere, on top of Rainbow Ledges. There was a great view of Katahdin, and I stopped to talk with Trail Boss, who finished up twenty years of section hiking today. He¢s the guy in charge of the Blackburn Center, just outside of Harper¢s Ferry. There were some blackberry bushes on top, the first ripe ones that I¢ve seen so far, and we ate them and talked. After that, it was a tough walk, but I finally made it. Now, just one easy day left, then Katahdin.The Brain
Date: 2007-07-24
From: Hurd Brook Lean-To, ME

To: The Birches Campsite-Baxter Park, ME
Miles today: 13.4

An easy day today was exactly what I needed. The terrain was beautiful, lots of easy, rolling terrain. It was slightly downhill for the first couple miles to Abol Bridge, then slowly uphill for the rest of the day, but it was so slight that it was barely noticeable. I stopped for a second breakfast at the little store at the bridge, then headed into Baxter State Park. The trail followed the Penobscot River for a while, through pine forest, on a bed of pine needles, a welcome change from the rocks and roots I¢d been hiking on recently.After following the river, the trail turned and followed a beautiful cascading stream most of the rest of the way. There were a couple of ponds that the trail went around, and there were some great views out to Katahdin and the other mountains near it. I got to Katahdin Stream, at the base of the mountain, about 1:00. It had turned into a beautiful day, and I sat and ate, rested, and read. It felt great to just sit for an afternoon.Scoops, Garrett and Garrett went into Millinocket for the night, and so I sent them with a message for my parents, to let them know I¢m here, and they should come hike tomorrow, meet me at the top. Professor, Boy, and Hornblower came in later, and then Wirenut and Plod came in a bit later. We¢re all planning on hitting the trail early tomorrow morning. Now, we sleep, then we strike at dawn.The Brain
Date: 2007-04-12
To: Just another diamond day...
Miles today: 0.0

The preparation process is finally winding down and our stress levels, finally falling. The past few months have been very hectic, yet in the same sense, quite rewarding; knowing that all of our hard work will pay off, knowing that in a matter of days our journey will finally begin...oh yes, the perpetual stress and much a crumbled breakfast bar was worth it! This week we put the finishing touches on our food packages. All in all, we ended up with about 200 pounds of gorp, 400 homemade breakfast bars, 530 candy bars, 270 meal/protein bars (big shout out to bumble bar) and I don't even know how many yard o beefs...yes, you read that correctly "yard o beef". Gathering all of the necessary food we needed proved to be one difficult tasks while preparing; we dehydrated a lot of our own food (mostly fruit and a few vegetable blends), we baked our own breakfast bars (which was a lot of fun, let me tell you! I had no idea I could bake without catching things on fire...so big props to me for not burning the house down), and we bargained shopped with a greater force than an army of thrifty mothers on black Friday...odd lots, folks, that's where it's at...odd lots...and the day after valentine¢s when everybody realizes that buying a bunch of candy was a stupid idea (kind of like valentine's day in itself) and everything is reduced by like...90%...to make way for St. Patrick¢s day decorations.
Date: 2007-04-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Aud and I have just arrived here at Cloud 9 hostel. We have completed 66.6 miles of the AT so far with little problems. Our first night, while tenting, on top of Springer Mt. Audrey had a mouse chew it's way into her food bag. Just last night a mouse chewed on the mouth piece of my hydration system. Other than the field mice we have been doing great. Tonight will consist of showers and all you can eat southern food down in the lovely town of Hiawassee. Love to all.