morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-30
From: Speck Pond Campsite & Shelter

To: Frye Notch Shelter
Miles today: 10.4

We played our usual game this morning....looking over to see if any other couples were stirring. They were not so we continued to lay in our sleeping bags all snug. The section hikers got up and began preparing breakfast so we slowly began to get up.Yesterday we were all pretty beat up after Mahoosuc Notch and Arm...all of us came through unscathed, but doing 5.1 miles in well over 6 hours is not normal (well, maybe it is normal for the Notch).The morning went quickly since we managed to rest up yesterday. At Grafton Notch there was supposed to be some trail magic....we ran into southbound day hikers that told us a lady was getting out a cooler and leaving it on the trail. That bit of news made us pick up our pace all the more! Everything was going great until I cut off a turn on the trail and once again slipped on a rock. It hurt, but I managed to catch myself on my hands. I jammed my hand pretty good, but all is well. It wasn't one of Bug's more sensitive moments as he told me that was what I got for cutting off the trail. We had a chat about that one, Bug and I.Upon arriving at the Notch, who did we see there but Queen Diva! We couldn't believe it. For those of you who don't know, Diva is the awesome caretaker of Bear's Den Hostel just south of Harper's Ferry, WV. She had come up to visit Circuit Rider and Sherlock on the trail. We sat and talked with her for awhile and got her to tell us of some of the other interesting characters she had seen this year in addition to "Samsonite". After a bit, we got on our way.Soon we hit Baldpate Lean-to, where Commune Tardy stopped off for a snack and privy break. I spotted a large snake slithering off into the woods as I headed for the privy, but I am not sure what kind it was. I am going to assume all of the people who told me there weren't poisonous snakes this far north were correct.Before long we hit the west and east peaks of Baldpate mountain as well as Little Baldpate mountain. This was impressive because it was one massive rock with very little vegetation, and relatively few individual rocks. It was a tad bit windy and after picking a few mountain blueberries and cranberries we quickly scurried down.Ironically enough, as we were climbing down the East Peak of Baldpate Mountain in Maine, we met a southbounder whose trailname is "Memphis" and ironically enough he is from Cordova, TN just outside of Memphis. It is a small world, here I am thousands of miles from home, not having met a single person from my hometown and very few from my home state and I meet a guy who lives a matter of minutes from where we did. Interesting!Rather than push on all the way into Andover tonight, we decided to stop at Frye Notch Lean-to. It has been a long day and we simply don't want to push it. It is a pretty teeny shelter and the 3 couples making up Commune Tardy have pretty much filled it. Gray Walrus and Pathfinder made it in and are tenting just outside the shelter. We are really looking forward to a long nero in town tomorrow. Only 4.5 to do in the morning. Hopefully, we will still be able to get in to The Cabin.
Date: 2005-08-31
From: Frye Notch Shelter

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 4.5

The rain started to come down sometime during the night and boy did it come down! I woke up the first time somewhere around 3:30 am to the rain pounding down on the tin roof just a few feet above my head. Gray Walrus and Pathfinder started packing up and making racket (per our request) around 5'ish. Bug and Hairball did their usual routine by eyeing one another to see if the other was moving, and as usual ignored the fact that the other was awake. My back began to ache and the constant drumming of the rain was beginning to drive me mad. This being said, I was the first to sit up and move and worked on a bit of correspondence. Even knowing it was a mere 4.5 mile walk to the road, the thought of packing up and heading out into the rain was a hard thought to process. Alas, we made ourselves get up and going.The six of us (Train, Raindrop, Hairball, Snowbunny, Bug and myself) sloshed our way through the mud and the streams running down the trail and laughed and sang songs as we did so.All of this came to a grinding halt however, when we came to the west branch of the Ellis River. It said nothing of a ford in our companion or data book, yet right there in front of us was a rushing river with water that would reach well above our ankles. That doesn't seem like too big of a deal, but to the right about 10' there was a sudden drop of 200'+ down a cascade. Which if it has to be spelled out would mean sure paralysis if not death, if one of us had fallen. We did take the proper precautions and unbuckled our packs before crossing and I am happy to report that all of us made it across unscathed and without a hitch. I have to admit though, it was quite breathtaking to make it across and then look down the gorge below.In no time we were waiting at the road for Bear of "The Cabin" to come and pick us up. It was still drizzly and we enjoyed a snack while waiting. When he arrived, he gave us the bad news that "there was no room at the inn" but he refused to take any money for the shuttle he offered. In fact, after getting us our boxes that had been delivered there, he made sure we were settled and had a place to stay in town before leaving us. What a nice man. We were so sad not to be able to stay at the Cabin, as we had heard numerous great things about it, but were obliged to meet the owner just the same.We are instead bunking at the Andover Guest House. I am dry and happy, we have all been well-fed and as I type we are sitting in front of the TV watching, "O Brother Where Art Thou?" The lady here seems to be a bit obsessive compulsive and some might say a little fruity, but we are having a great time nonetheless. Andover is possibly one of the smallest towns we have seen on the trail (with a population of 800 people), but definately one of the friendliest!
Date: 2005-09-01
From: East B Hill Road

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 0.0

Wow! The extraordinary things that happen while we are out on the trail! Yesterday we watched as the gas station across the street changed their gas prices to an exhorbitant amount. We didn't know why until we saw the papers and talked to people back at home. Being from the south and so close to the areas where all the hurricane damage was done, it really was a shock to us to hear about all the lives possibly lost, the damage done to the towns, and the domino effect it is having on the rest of the mid-south if not the entire country. From what we knew until this morning, Hurricane Katrina just caused massive rains up here in the northeast and we had no clue as to the damage that had been done. Just to give you an idea about how far removed we are from society and world news, it took us days if not at least a week to find out about the following events: the death of Pope John Paul II, the announcement of Peter Jennings cancer and subsequent death, and now Hurricane Katrina just to name a few. In fact, just a few days ago a section hiker thought he would be funny. So he told us that China had taken over Taiwan, and the sad thing is that we believed him until he told us he was only kidding. That is how out of the loop we are out here on the trail.After the shock of the news of the hurricane and after watching Train try to unsuccessfully eat four 14" pancakes, none of us could get motivated to hike out of town today. Instead, it has been a movie marathon day and I got to talk with my family and best friend, Robin. Even with the bad that happens in life, I can't complain. I am staring out at clear blue skies and beautiful mountains....as they say in Maine, this is "the way life should be!"
Date: 2005-09-02
From: East B Hill Road

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

This morning came way too early. I woke up to nature's call around 4am, crawled back in the bed and hoped to get some more sleep. Unfortunately, Pathfinder came in stating in a loud voice that it was time to get up and get ready. Bug and I reluctantly pulled ourselves out of bed and began to pack up. All eight of us (Hairball & Snowbunny, Train & Raindrop, Pathfinder & Gray Walrus, and Bug & I) shuttled out at 6:15 for the trailhead. By 7:20 we were on trail and hiking strong in our couple train. There was a gorgeous view of the pond and by the time we arrived at the first shelter at 10:30, we were ready for a midmorning snack. Collectively, we decided it was probably not the best idea to go all the way to Bemis Lean-To since the water source there was listed as questionable. That being the case, we decided to do a huge 10.1 mile day. It really was the only logical thing to do, or so we thought. As we pondered what to do, we took an hour and a half break at the shelter and walked up to the viewpoint since we were doing short miles. What a view it was, mountains as far as the eye can see and clear blue skies.There was only 4 miles left in our day, but we still had Moody Mountain in front of us. We were told it would put us in a mood because of the steep grade and all the rebar steps. The great thing was that we weren't put in a mood even though it was tough because we were hiking it with friends.At South Arm Road we decided to stop for the nightor afternoon. Here we are at 8:01pm after arriving at 1:43 and setting up on the sandy beaches of the brook. We forded the brook earlier in order to partake in some of the trail magic Queen Diva had left! It was a great afternoon, Gray Walrus shared his Special Dark around and we had a lazy afternoon. I am in the tent journaling now and we are calling it a night early since we have a big mile day planned tomorrow.
Date: 2005-09-03
From: South Arm Road

To: Sabbath Day Pond lean-to
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We got up early this morning, after brief showers came down on our tent during the night. It was a might chilly and we had a brook to ford first thing. Yesterday, Snowbunny and I forded it to get some trail magic that was on the other side, and luckily today the water levels have gone down even more. We were pretty much able to rockstep across with the aide of a rope that someone had tied across. We met a gentleman from Georgia by the name One-way on the other side who is finishing up his section hike of the AT this year.Old Blue Mountain tried to kick my tail, but Raindrop was kind enough to let me borrow her IPOD shuffle to help pass the time and take my mind off the climbing. We saw some really large moose tracks in the mud as we hiked. About halfway through the Bemis Range, we stopped at the shelter to eat a bite of lunch before pushing on forthe rest of our day. The second half was much easier than the first and was quite literally a pond walk around 3 different ponds. Long Pond was just beautiful and I would love to have camped there, but the water was up and there was really no place to set up a tent. We did however see a large hare hopping off into the forest. Right around the corner we came up on Sabbath Day Pond and this is what we have decided to call home for the evening. All of Commune Tardy is camped out in their tents and Pathfinder and Gray Walrus are in the shelter. Stranger is tented down the way and poor Ug decided to cowboy. He seems happy to do so, but rain has been predicted for tomorrow and the skies don't look good tonight; I sure wouldn't take thr chance. Not my call though, goodnight!
Date: 2005-09-04
From: Sabbath Day Pond lean-to

To: Piazza Rock lean-to
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh me, we had planned to be up early, but we made the mistake of hitting the snooze button. That 5 minutes was just enough time for the rain to start pouring. We quickly got up and packed our things and sat under the eave of the shelter eating breakfast. Last night though, the loons were such songbirds. I have yet to see one, but we heard them all night. Bug thought they were coyotes and when I woke up in the middle of the night excitedly, he told me they were coyotes. It took some convincing on my part for him to realize that they were in fact loons. They are awfully creepy sounding.Today we let the boys have their fun! Train, Hairball, and Bug hiked ahead 10 miles so that they could go into town. Raindrop, Snowbunny, and I left about 20 minutes later. There were some beautiful ponds that we passed, Little Swift River Pond and South Pond complete with canoes that people could take out. We made pretty good time and had lots of good girl talk and before we knew it we were at ME4, the road to Rangely. We were able to sit and sun ourselves at the road for a little over an hour before the guys arrived back from town. They made it to the road in record time and got into town by 11:30. They surprised us with ice cold Cokes, Bug brought me a bag of Cotton Candy, and they packed out Cheddar Wursts, mustard, buns, and chips. We ate like Kings and Queens this evening.It was a short 1.8 miles to the shelter and very well graded. The guys showed their male prowess by building a large fire for our bratwursts and luckily there was a grill ready and waiting. I had saved half of my Coke for dinner and it was soooo good.The crazy thing is that there are about 17 NOBOs here this evening in addition to a few section hikers. I would actually love to be sleeping right now, but there are so many loud people carrying on. Well, nonetheless I think I will have my nightly "Beny" and try for some sleep.
Date: 2005-09-05
From: Piazza Rock lean-to

To: Spaulding mountain lean-to
Miles today: 16.9

It has been a pretty tough day, physically that is. We woke up before daylight this morning after not getting to sleep until late with all of the noise from the shelter. We were rolling on trail by 6ish and our little commune had me front and center to lead the morning's hike. It wasn't too awful of a climb and I'm not sure if it is because we shared the climb with friends or if it really was that well-graded. We were blessed with awe-inspiring views from the summit of Saddleback Mountain, but unfortunately it was a bit chilly and windy. Being above treeline we didn't exactly want to sit still very long. Soon enough we were climbing over The Horn and Saddleback Junior, although I must say that Junior looked much closer than he really was. Hairball began talking to Bug about gear and pretty soon Bug was afraid that his pack wouldn't fit the amount of food we would need through the 100-mile wilderness. Pretty soon, Bug and Hairball talked Bug into getting the Granite Gear Ozone for the remainder of the hike.This conversation powered the boys along until lunch at Poplar Ridge Lean-To. Here, I got into a little bit of trouble with Bug because I really didn't do much to help out. He didn't appreciate that too much, which I certainly understand. From Poplar Ridge we were greeted with more incredible views as we looked over to Mt. Abraham and Sugarloaf. Down at Orbeton Stream the water was low enough that we were able to rockstep it rather than fording and from there it was a very steep climb up to Lone Mountain. Once we reachedthe top though, it seemed to take us no time to get to the lean-to! We had hoped to make it all the way to the "sugar shack" on the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain but we were so beat down by the time we got here that we decided to stay. We have good company this evening. In addition to Teams Hairbunny and T-drop, Circuit Rider and Sherlock are here, as is Gray Walrus. It also looks like we will be catching Pumpkin soon since she wrote that she was only headed up to the top of Sugarloaf tonight!
Date: 2005-09-07
From: ME27/Stratton, ME (ME Roadhouse)

To: ME27/Stratton, ME (ME Roadhouse) 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Guest Journalist: Raindrop Ahhh...the Road House. Probably the best zero we've had on the trail; spent with the best company, eating the best food, and sleeping in the best bed. The idea of taking a zero must have been lingering in the air that morning because no one was shocked when I mentioned it over our breakfast of left-over cherry coke salad and cherry pie. Luckily for me, the slackers in the group (Miss Priss, Train, Hairball, and I) outnubered the over-acheivers (Snowbunny and Bug) and the matter was quickly settled. We prepared for our second zero of the week and called Don for a ride into town. While in town, we bought steaks, ingredients for mashed potatoes, a pizza for lunch, more icecream, and rented a couple movies. After watching "The Elf", Miss Priss and Snowbunny finished re-writing "These are my Favorite Things"; making it a song about the AT instead of Christmas. Train cut new tread into his worn-out shoes. Bug and Hairball spent much of the day on the computer looking at GEAR! I spent the afternoon napping in a cozy queen-size bed. The dinner turned out better than we had hoped; I was still full in the morning. That night we topped the zero off with a couple of hours in front of the good ol' tube and promises of breakfast at the local diner. Now that zero is hard to beat!
Date: 2005-09-08
From: Maine 27; Stratton, ME/The Maine Roadhouse

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Our day started off with lots of milling around and trying to get packed and ready to go. Don, co-owner of The Maine Roadhouse picked us up at 7:30am sharp. We loaded all of our gear into the van and went to the diner for breakfast. Bug had a sizeable omlet, toast, and corned beef hash, while I enjoyed 3 blueberry pancakes, an order of bacon, and side order of corned beef hash. Breakfast of champions and we, Commune Tardy (Train, Raindrop, Snowbunny, Hairball, Bug and myself) were on our way. Don agreed to mail some packages for us and took us on ahead to the trail. The first five miles went rather quickly as we talked and walked. Unfortunately, they have made me pace leader which means if I so choose I can walk as slowly as I want, but there is so much pressure leading a group of 6 hikers who are probably much stronger than I. It wasn't too bad and for the most part was pond-walking on a bed of pine needles.We stopped briefly for a snack and water at the lean-to and continued walking. First there was the west peak of Bigelow to climb, the views were phenomenal barring the haze in the air, but there were two things keeping me from enjoying the beauty of it all: (1) the inccessant flying ants swarming my head and (2) the unruly college group lounged all over the trail. Now I know that not every one is up on trail etiquette, but these folks were ridiculous! Granted the terrain was tough, but one girl just sprawled herself out across the middle of the trail. She did not seem at all remorseful about hogging the trail, nor did she really even make an effort to move. The combination of the two annoyances pushed Commune Tardy on to the next peak, Avery Peak, which was every bit as lovely as the first, but again the flying ants kept us moving. From here we had a mere 7 or so miles to the lean-to and only 1,600 feet worth of descent. It was killer on the knees going down and by th! e time it began to level out some, Bug and I were beat! We had gotten behind the group a bit, and were still in awe of two massive rocks that we had seen (we are talking house-sized, big house) when we came right up on them sitting at the junction to Safford Notch campsite. Apparently, the downhill along with the girls allowing the boys to kill themselves while hiking on their own really did a number on Hairball's and Train's knees as well. The group decision was to call it quits early and camp at this site.Here we are now at 7pm. We have set up camp, cooked, cleaned and just in time because 30 minutes ago it began to pour! My Benadryl is kicking in, so I'll stop here.
Date: 2005-09-09
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: West Carry Pond lean-to
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: few clouds

Bug and I were the last ones to roll out this morning, but the good news is that we managed to keep everything dry inspite of the rains we had last night! We knew we were late to roll out when the college orientation group was ready to roll as well.The hiking was nice and the terrain was beautful with thick spruce forests and lush green mossy floors. We passed a sothbounder or two, one of which we met back in New York. He had decided to flip-flop. On top of Little Bigelow Mountain we celebrated and took group pictures for having made it 2,000 miles---T-Drop, Hairbunny, Pumpkin and us. After that there was no playing around. Pumpkin was the first one down and Raindrop wasn't wasting any time either. We had 2 miles down the mountain to some yummy goodness! Ray and Janice put on a huge hiker feed at Bog Brook Road. We stayed a good 2 hours at least and hung out in lawn chairs enjoying the cheeseburgers and cokes they provided. Bug had a total of 3, but I stopped at 2. They even had chips and salad to go along. We each packed out a soft drink to have with dinner tonight and for some reason Pumpkin wanted a Moxie (Bleah!). We continued on, bellies full. Some years back, someone painted 2000 miles on Long Falls Dam Road back when that was the actual 2,000 miles mark. Again we took the time for photo ops and laid in the road beside the mileage. We still had another mountain to climb but it was minutia...this was Roundtop Mountain. It wasn't anytime until we reached tonight's destination, West Carry Pond Lean-To. Bug and I had orginally planned to cowboy camp, but the tent needs to be dried out anyway, so tenting it is. We ate dinner, and Pumpkin let us try a sip of her Moxie and why anyone would want that is beyond me...gross! After dinner, Bug and I fixed up a batch of Pistachio pudding to share around. So yummy, beautiful scenery, wonderful company and great weather...now this is the way life should be!
Date: 2005-09-11
From: US 201/Caratunk, ME (Northland Outdoors)

To: US 201/Caratunk, ME (Northland Outdoors)
Miles today: 0.0

Well, we all swore a solemn oath to each other that we wouldn't take another zero day. So, you can imagine my surprise when Hairball showed up in our room requesting a medical zero day 20 minutes before our shuttle was scheduled to pick us up. In brief, he was sufferring from a pretty major case of monkey bum (the technical term for chaffing).I guess you could say that we are enjoying all that Maine has to offer since we have taken days off in 3 out of 4 towns that we've passed through. Today's activities have mainly consisted of resting our tired bodies. The lodge has a hot tub which has been wonderful for achy joints and muscles. We also watched a movie and ate more Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Well we're all starting to settle in after a fabulous hot dog dinner, so I'll say goodnite.