morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-09
From: Rattle River Shelter 

To: Gorham NH
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: few clouds

We tried to sleep-in some but were just too eager to get into town for breakfast. So, we were on the Trail by 6:45 AM and were sitting at a breakfast buffet by 8:00. The Trail was an easy gradual downhill hike, just like "a walk in the woods" would be--something new to us! The first car that came by picked us up and brought us right to the restaurant. After two hours of eating while uploading to our journal we were off to find a motel for our two day rest. Following showers and a short nap, we were off to the library, laundry, and re-supplying. We then ate snacks while relaxing in our room until dinner time when we met Chill for pizza. It seemed like a day "off"--our morning hike forgotten.
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Gorham NH

To: Gorham NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

We enjoyed a great nights sleep knowing we were just going to relax all day. After watching "Good Morning America" we were off for breakfast and then to the library. We stopped at several tourist shops, bought some gifts for our grandsons and mailed them on our way back to our motel. We enjoyed Gorham and found it to be a very hiker friendly town. The day went by so much more quickly than when we're hiking. Towards the end of the day we find it difficult to get motivated about hiking tomorrow. We know we'll be out there and after that first dreaded hour we'll be moving right along like we never left the Trail. But until then we'll continue to enjoy the comforts of city life.
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Gorham NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We watched GOOD MORNING AMERICA again before getting out of bed. Hard to remember so much is happening world-wide when we are solitary for days in the midst of a beautiful environment. We packed up and headed out at 8:30. We had to stop for antacid tablets after overeating at the Chinese buffet last night!   The trail offered a little of everything today. We started out on two roads, then entered the woods and began our first climb of the day-1700' up Mt. Hayes. The trail wound in and out of the woods and included several rocky exposed places. We had great views of Gorham and the surrounding peaks. The trail had a lot of mud, but it was cool enough that there weren't mosquitoes. We climbed 4840' feet today over two mountains and lots of MUDS (meaningless ups & downs) in between. Gentian Pond Shelter was a welcome sight at 4:30. The shelter has an awesome view of surrounding mountains and the pond, and we're told moose frequent this pond, so we'll be watching for one at sundown and sunrise tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, we will be in MAINE in the morning. WooHoo!
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Gentian Pond Shelter 

To: Tent Site at W. End of Mahoosuc Notch 
Miles today: 11.1

No moose, but we had a good night's rest. So good, in fact, that we slept through our alarm and didn't get on the trail until 7:45. It was 40 degrees when we got up--on August 12!--and it never got above 50 all day. We had some very challenging climbs and descents, including steps, ladders, and many times where we had to use our hands. It seemed like we crossed about six summits with beautiful views each time. The winds were very strong again and almost nocked us down a couple times. Once we looked across and saw other hikers on the summit we would reach next. The most spectacular view, however, was as we crossed our final mountain top for the day. It was a full half-circle rainbow! The pot of gold at each end was a forest laden mountain side. It was really beautiful. We were also excited about reaching Maine our final 14th state. When we were ask where we going we'd say, Georgia to Maine. And now we made it we're finally there. It's almost hard to believe. It took five months and yet, in a way, its gone by so quickly. We're also happy that New Hampshire is completed. It was more more beautiful but much more difficult than we had anticipated, and our bodies couldn't have taken much more of the punishment it handed out to us. Even today we still climbed 6920 feet and it took us 9 hours to hike just over 11 miles, which gives you an idea of how hard it continues to be. We were thrilled to reach our tent site at 4:30 but then we weren't sure where the water was located. We were told that it was right at the trail junction where we'd also find some flat tenting sites. We finally found it in a blue blaze trail. After setting up the tent Craig had to put up a bear line. He had a hard time finding a tree that would work since they were almost all pine. Then the line got snagged and he had to climb the tree to get it free. He's had better moment. Dinner is finished, bear bags hung and we're ready for bed at 7:30. Tomorrow we start the day off by doing what's reported to be the most difficult mile on the AT, the Mahoosuc Notch. Several south bound day hikers, who hiked it today, said it took them a three hours. Something to look forward to.
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Tent Site at W. End of Mahoosuc Notch 

To: Baldpate Shelter 
Miles today: 10.5

It was so quiet during the night, no wind or any birds, where have they gone? At least there have been no mosquitoes since the cold weather started. Maybe they're all tired of the cold weather we know we are. It was warmer last night and it was 50 degrees when we got up. We were on the Trail by 7:30 AM with anticipation of doing the Mahoosuc Notch. The Thru-Hikers Companion wrote "Many call this scramble under, around, over and between the boulders the most difficult mile on the Trail".   It was a very difficult climb taking us 1hr & 50mins to complete. We still felt more in danger of being injured while hiking Madison Mountain or the ascent from Lehigh Gap, but it s a long, challenging mile. After Mahoosuc Notch we then had to climb the Mahoosuc Arm and then Old Speck Mountain, both very hard climbs. We climbed a total of 5,740 feet and it began to feel like the horrible climbs would never end. Our bodies were slowing down and our knees were crying out. We both were beginning to feel frustrated with the difficult climbs and the 1 mile an hour speed it was forcing us to go. We had had hopes of reaching a shelter that was 4 miles from Andover but at this speed we'd have to settle for one 8 miles away. We came upon some Blueberries which helped to improve our diminishing moods. Then we came to Maine 26 where Slow Journer, a 99 Thru-Hiker, was doing Trail Magic. He and his friend had cold pop, sandwiches, chips and apples. Then a section hiker we met two days earlier brought over a blueberry pie. We couldn't have asked for better Trail Magic timing. After a great meal and conversation we started again on the Trail. Our moods were much improved and stayed that way as we hiked to the shelter on a Trail that reminded us of the Shenandoahs. We reached the shelter at 5:45 PM and found a group of teens from the Outward Bound program.   They and there leaders were tenting so we had the shelter to ourselves at dusk. Hui, who we hadn't seen since Delaware Water Gap, stopped by to say hello but was still going to hike to the next shelter. We hope to see him at the hostel on Andover ME tomorrow. We plan to get an early start tomorrow since it's a town day and we still have eight miles to hike.
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Baldpate Shelter 

To: East B Hill Road to Andover ME
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up to cold again, 45 degrees--we can't believe it's the middle of August. It was a town day so we were on the Trail at 6:30 AM. The first half of the hike was a lot of climbing but much less difficult than yesterday. Our climb up Baldpate Mountain was fairly challenging and not one of Cathy's favorite climbs. Come to think of it, she doesn't have any favorite climbs! We climbed 3,050 feet and mostly in the first four miles straight up the balds of Badpate East and West. The next four miles were the easiest we've had since Virginia. We passed a beautiful waterfall and several great views. We reached East B Hill Road at 11:00 actually hiking over a mile an hour once again. We got a ride with the second car that passed us, but that wasn't until 11:45. After checking into the Andover Guest House we got the bounce box we sent to ourselves fron Glencliff and then went to the General Store and Diner for lunch and then ICE CREAM. We relaxed back at the Guest House until dinner. Not too bad of a day.
Date: 2006-08-15
From: East B Hill Road to Andover ME

To: South Arm Road to Andover ME
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

It rained during the night but we were feeling fine in our room at the Andover Guest House. We had a great breakfast at the General Store and then were shuttled back to the Trail by Kris, the woman who manages The Guest House and also runs the Ice Cream shop next door. We were on the Trail at 9:45 feeling refreshed. Our first 1,400 foot climb was fairly easy but then the Trail started to have some overgrowth that we had to duck or push through. After the descent, we climbed another 1,400 feet but this time it was difficult. This part of the trail had four ladders and four sections of rungs to climb, which did help a lot. The rocks were sometimes slippery, and we find ourselves being more cautious as we get closer to Katahdin. Two of our fellow hikers, Boulder, fell and broke his foot a couple weeks ago, and Postcard, fell and broke his arm a couple days ago, ending their thru-hike right when they were so close to finish. It may be another reason we're not hiking as fast lately. We had a nice view at the summit of Moody Mountain and a fairly easy descent. Our elevation gain for the day was 3660 feet. We never saw any other hikers all day and haven't seen a SOBO in several days. We decided that another night at the Guest House was too good to pass up--so when we reached South Arm Road, we hitched into town again. As soon as we arrived we headed straight for the Ice Cream Shop. We sat out on the porch until dinner time. It was back to the General Store where we ate as much as a party of four. At dinner Wondering Bill and Slim showed up. We hadn't seen them in about over a month so it was good catching up with them. We then returned to our room and made reservations for a Cruise to Bermuda. Kind of a celebration trip after we reach Katahdin!!!
Date: 2006-08-16
From: South Arm Road to Andover ME

To: Sabbath Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We were having breakfast at 6:30 AM hoping to give our bodies some time to digest before we started hiking. Before long, Wondering Bill and Slim showed up at the General Store & Diner. Our conversation mainly centered around how hard the Trail has become and how eager we all are to be done! After wishing each other well, we packed up and were shuttled back to the Trail again by Kris. We were on the Trail by 8:00 and didn't have a specific place we were going to stay because we didn't know how difficult the Trail would be. We climbed 6,190 feet but none of the climbs were particularly difficult. We had great views from the various summits throughout the day and passed several ponds and lakes. The forest was very quiet at times, so much so that it was uncomfortable. Later in the day were heard some Loons and the wind picked up and made the the forest sound alive. We passed two south bound section hikers and shared some good information with each other about our respective trail ahead. We made fairly good time so we decided to keep hiking to a shelter instead of tenting. At around 6:30 we passed a beautiful lake, and a few steps farther the shelter sign appeared. We were greeted by three SOBO Thru-Hikers but no other NOBO's were there. We had a great fire and made a great dessert with some blueberries that we picked on the Trail. We talked Trail with the other hikers until going to bed at 8:30. It was a beautiful hiking day, and it especially felt good being able to hike more than 12 miles. We have to say once again how much we appreciate your notes of encouragement. While a thru-hike is a tremendous physical challenge, it is so much more a mental challenge. We have wanted to quit so many times, and created elaborate "justifications" for doing so, then we'll encounter trail magic or get a note in our guestbook reminding us that they are walking this journey with us. Thank you so much for supporting us along the way--we'll be celebrating in less than three weeks !
Date: 2006-08-17
From: Sabbath Pond Shelter 

To: Poplar Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 20.0

We were up by 6:00 AM and the other section hikers in the shelter were soon up as well. Everyone had a long day planned; as for us we hoped to be able to hike 20 miles over several mountains. The SOBO's thought it was much too far in that they took two days for the same distance. We didn't want to do just ten miles, and there weren't any tenting sites at about fifteen miles. So...we were on the Trail at 7:00 hoping the Trail would be kind to us. The first 11 miles were great, climbing only 1,800 feet with fairly easy terrain. We didn't have any particularly great views and didn't even take any pictures during this section. However, the next 9 miles were brutal, much like the Whites. We hiked three difficult mountains and climbed another 5,000 feet for a total of 6,940 feet for the day. When we were just starting our first ascent we passed a ridge runner who tried to discourage us from hiking further due to the distance to the shelter and the rugged terrain. When he realized we were Thru-Hikers he thought we might make it before dark, if we were lucky. His concern, along with what the SOBO's said, began to worry us but we still thought we could make it by 7:00 PM.   We had one ascent that required hand over hand rock climbing as well as one steep, gruesome descent. We finally reached the shelter at 6:45 and felt good about being able to get there well before dark. We had some beautiful alpine balds to hike up, with phenomenal views from all three mountains. We felt so alone at the summits not seeing any indication of civilization anywhere. The forests now feel so much more remote and rugged, making us feel more in the wilderness than anywhere else on our journey so far. We're seeing fewer people as we hike, and we're coming to roads less frequently. The next road we come to is 20 miles from the one we had crossed earlier today. It also makes us feel a little more vulnerable if one of us were injured. We weren't alone at the shelter--Tex, a NOBO Thru-hiker, was already there when we arrived.   He had just set up his tent and was happy that he wasn't going to be alone as he had been last night. He's from Australia and just finished a degree in law. We enjoyed talking with Tex, but after a quick dinner we were in our bags at 8:15 and sleep was soon to follow...
Date: 2006-08-18
From: Poplar Ridge Shelter 

To: Crocker Cirque Yent Site
Miles today: 15.0

We had planned to get up at 6:00 AM but we were just too tired from our long hike yesterday. We finally got up at 6:45 and were able to get on the Trail by 7:30. We only had 15 miles to hike and only a couple of climbs. We passed an older couple who were just starting to do a two part Thru-Hike of the AT. This year they'll go from Katahdin to Harper's Ferry and then next year Springer Mountain to Harper's Ferry. Later we passed Tooth Fairy started as a NOBO Thru-Hiker but Flip-flopped to Katahdin after reaching New Jersey. She's finding the Trail to be more difficult than she had ever expected and is wanting to quit every day. We tried to provide some encouraging words as have other Thru-Hikers, but the reality is that it is very hard. She has a couple more months yet to hike but, hopefully, she'll get through this just as we have been able to do. We had a couple of nice views throughout the day and the hike was fairly pleasant aside from one difficult ascent from Sugarloaf Mountain. We climbed 4,570 feet with the air cool with a light breeze. Our bodies did fine until the descent from Sugarloaf Mountain. Then they started to feel like they did at the end of yesterday's long hike. Happily we got to the tent site early, 3:30 PM, and were all set up and finished with our chores and cleaning up by 4:30. We relaxed until dinner and then did some more relaxing. We have a short day into Stratton, ME tomorrow, but we hope to get off even earlier because tomorrow is a TOWN DAY!
Date: 2006-08-19
From: Crocker Cirque Yent Site

To: Maine 27 Stratton, ME 
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were on the Trail by 6:00 AM because today is Town day! We had a 2,000 foot climb to begin the day but the last five miles was a descent and was fairly easy except for the initial steep section and all the rocks. During the descent, Cathy stepped on a beehive and got stung in four places on her calf. We put some ointment on them but they still really stung. We reached Maine 27 at 10:00 and were greeted with a cooler of Trail Magic: pop, oranges and blueberry muffins. It took us 30 minutes to get a ride into Stratton, but once there, we were able to do some business at the post office, print some information at the library, have lunch, and check into our motel room by 12:30. The town is very centralized and everything we needed was close by. After relaxing for awhile we resupplied and did the laundry. We then relaxed in our room again and watched TV, but this time we had lots of goodies to munch on. Cathy also put ice on her leg as it is swollen and inflamed. Dinner came later and then more relaxing. We like to do both those things, a lot. Not a bad town day!
Date: 2006-08-20
From: Maine 27 Stratton, ME 

To: Little Bigelow Shelter
Miles today: 15.3

2,000 Miles                        Now that's a lot of miles to hike!It rained throughout the night and was still raining when we got up at 6:00 a.m. After a great breakfast at the Stratton Diner, we tried to hitch a ride back to the trail in the rain. We probably weren't too successful due to it being Sunday (little traffic) and maybe nobody wanted two wet hikers in their car! We tried to get a shuttle out but the man wasn't going out today because no hikers at his hostel were leaving in the rain. Forty minutes later, a young man on his way to a mountain bike race picked us up. We were hiking by 8:45 a.m. and were feeling fine except for the weather. The temperature was only around 50 degrees, and it was quite cold with the wind. We had several alpine sections today ranging from 3100 feet to 4300 feet. When we were on Bigelow Mountain's West Peak, the winds had to be over 50 MPH. In addition to rain, it felt like we were being pelted with small hail. We were on a bald mountain top in raging winds and it was horrible! We were pushed off the Trail and even knocked down by the fiece wind on the summit. Our faces were being pelted so hard that it stung. The sound of our rain gear flapping in the strong wind just added to all the drama. When we finally reahed the timberline, we were frezing but very thankful we were safe with no injuries. We had both fallen on the slippery rocks more than once. We climbed 6,120 feet today and it seemed like we were always climbing. We had no views due to the fog, and we were only able to take one picture due to the rain. The Trail became little streams again and, at times, the water in the Trail was over the tops of our boots. It made for very slow, difficult hiking. The good news was that there were no bugs and that we reached the shelter at 6:45 pm in one piece. We found Hui there along with Shell Shock. Hui said he had wanted to hike to the next shelter but was too uncomfortable to go on. Then there was bad news again: the shelter had two leaks in its roof. We were able to configure our sleeping bags so all four of us could sleep and stay dry. After getting into dry clothes, we had a good dinner and then went to bed. You can't imagine how wonderful it felt to be warm and dry after being cold and wet while hiking for ten hours. It was a very miserable day but now that we're in our warm bags, all is well.P.S. We won't be able to upload any more photos until we reach Katahdin due to the lack of cellular service here.
Date: 2006-08-21
From: Little Bigelow Shelter

To: Pierce Pond Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

We woke up to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof of the shelter--not the most encouraging or pleasant sound to wake up to on the Trail. That resulted in us not getting on the Trail until 8:30 am. We had a long hike today, 17 miles, but we didn't have any steep climbs to do, so a late start didn't concern us. It's also very unpleasant to put on wet hiking clothes, especially when it's so cold out. It was still raining when we started hiking and continued to do so until around 1:00 pm. The Trail was difficult to hike because of all of the water that had accumulated after the two days of rain.   Our boots were full of water in no time, as we were fully wet. The roots and rocks were impossible to hike on. Craig even fell two times but within a matter of seconds of each other. He handled the first fall in muck amazingly well, but after cleaning up and then falling in muddy water again, well...let's just say he wasn't too happy. WE had to ford two streams, but because our boots were already wet, we just walked across them (always a positive!) We ended up climbing 2,420 feet but never climbed more than 300 feet at one time. We had no mountain views but we did pass several lakes and ponds that were just beautiful. We also talked about the variety of fungi we have seen along the trail. One tree today was particularly beautiful with fungi growing up along one side, but we wondered if it hurts the tree. We've also passed numerous types of mushrooms in every color imaginable. We reached the shelter at 4:30 pm and found that it was located twenty feet beside a beautiful pond.   We had the shelter to ourselves which, given the amount of wet "stuff" we neeeded to hang out was good. We had hot tea and Oreo cookies to the music of loons on the pond before going to bet. Another very satisfying ending to a tough hiking day.
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Pierce Pond Shelter

To: US 201, Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 3.5

We woke at 6:00 am but the view of the lake from where we were sitting in our sleeping bags was so beautiful that we didn't get up until 7:30. It wasn't raining; it was warm and the sun was out. Today we were going to take the AT ferry (canoe) across the Kennebec River; it is too fierce to ford, so the ATC provides this service.   The canoe even has a white blaze! We were on the Trail by 8:30 and only had four miles to hike to Maine 201 which would take us to the Northern Outdoors Resort. That's right--another town day! We only climbed 410 feet but the Trail was full of roots in that it ran alongside the river. The river had some great rapids as well as a couple of impressive waterfalls. When we reached the Kennebec River, the ferry was already on our side of the river. We had a smooth ride, and it was our easiest river crossing yet. We were at Maine 201 at 10:00 and were able to get a ride within a few minutes. We stopped at Rivers and Trails to re-supply and then walked a mile to Northern Outdoors Resort as we were unable to hitch a ride. The main lodge was full but we were able to get a tent cabin. After showers and lunch we hung out at the resort, using the Internet, swimming in the pool, sitting in the hot tub, and then just relaxing in the lounge. Hui was the only other hiker there. We hung out together, sharing a 1/2 gallon of ice cream after sitting in the hot tub. Hui joined us for dinner which topped off a great town day. Tomorrow its off to Monson ME--our last trail town before Katahdin!