morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-26
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter Mile 816.6

To: VA56, Tye River Suspension Bridge mile 828.0
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: scattered clouds

One of the nice things about sleeping in the the woods is being awakened by the chirping of birds. Today they were accompanied by a pleasant sunrise glowing through the trees. Weather is supposed to be sunny today and it looks that way as I get up. Route to rendezvous with May Louise does not have any long climbs and is a reasonable 11 miles. I anticipate a pleasant day's walk. Hike took a little longer than I had predicted and I did not reach the rendezvous point until about 5:00, but drive from Interstate through mountains took longer than May Louise had expected; so she did not have to wait long.Trail ended with a long and steep 4 12 mile downhill section. Halfway down I met a fellow who looked on his 40's climbing at a good pace followed by two teenagers. He explained he had promised to take his daughter and her boyfriend to hike the Grand Canyon to celebrate her High School graduation on the condition they proved their ability to do the Canyon by making this hard climb and descent. Drive home was beautiful. A heavy rain storm rolled in just after I got securely in the car. I really enjoyed watching it in comfort instead of being drenched by it. When we got to the valley between the mountain ridges the storm produced a beautiful full rainbow.The drive home reminded me that I still have a long 137 miles of Virginia to hike through.Being in our home with May Louise after more than three months away was wonderful. My few days here will be way too short.
Date: 2014-06-27
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After getting cleaned up and a restful night's sleep drove to Davidsonville, MD to visit son, daughter-in-law and five Grandkids. Went swimming with the kids in their pool. They are all turning into little fish. Micah is still sucking his thumb. He explained that while the right thumb tastes good the left one tastes awful.
Date: 2014-06-28
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Davidsonville, MD
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

While our son helped a friend pack out her DC home for a move to Portland, Oregon May Louise took the girls to see The Sound of Music. Berky was concerned whether there were bad guys in the movie that would make it scary. May Louise assured her that the bad guys were not in the first part of the movie. When the film switched from the opening scenes of Maria running across the mountain meadows singing "The Hills Are Alive with the Sounds of Music" to the nuns in the convent, Berky pulled Grammy's sleeve and asked "Are those the bad guys?"The boys had watched the video and were not interested in seeing the movie again, so while the girls went to the movie I took the boys on a short hike at the Smithsonian's riverside research center. They reported that the best part of the adventure was stopping at the convenience store where I let each of them choose anything he wanted for his lunch snack. I brought my Slackpack which the proudly took turns carrying.On the way home we stopped at REI. After the rainstorm during my next to last day on the trail I noticed that my feet had gotten wetter than I expected, On closer inspection I found that a seam had split in the side of my boot. Otherwise the boots are in good shape. I had expected to get more than 800 miles out of them. The new boots I bought feel comfortable wearing around the house, so maybe I won't have any trouble wearing new boots for my climb up Katahdin.
Date: 2014-06-29
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Went to Chambersburg Methodist Church with May Louise where Sunday School Class has been following my progress. If I bail out and do not finish the trail I will have a moderate sized audience monitoring my failure.Spent more time than I wanted figuring how to move pictures off my iPad Mini to clear up space for future pictures without losing the pictures I already have when future synchronizations take place. I think I correctly figured out the process which appears to be designed to be idiot proof, but it is frequently the case with computers, all you need is a higher grade of idiot.
Date: 2014-06-30
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Unless I hike further than normal each day, we will not have time to get all the way through the 100 Mile Wilderness before Nathan has to leave and fly back to work. We contacted the Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket and made reservations for the three of us to stay before and after hiking Katahdin. They explained the could meet us at a couple of different locations in the wilderness to pick Nathan up and get him on a bus to the airport in Bangor. Afternoon dentist appointment revealed that I have a crack in an old filling that needs to be replaced. I made an appointment for November knowing that I will have either given up or finished by then. I am taking a chance that the old filling will hold together that long.
Date: 2014-07-01
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Morning appointment with accountant to clear up questions about last year's taxes. I was pleased to find that the expert agreed with my analysisCleared desk full of mail that had accumulated while I was away from home.Loaded pack for return to trail and packaged food for Nathan and me to spend six days in the 100 Mile Wilderness. Our packs will be much more heavy than we will want to carry.
Date: 2014-07-02
From: Fayetteville, PA

To: Boston, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Drove with May Louise to Boston to pick up Nathan.During the full time I have been at home I have had a pain in my right knee. I am worried that it may not go away when I return to hiking and will become a real problem. Although I am looking forward to spending a week and a half with my son, I am having difficulty convincing myself that I want to again give up the comfort of hearth and home and return to life in the woods. I hope the beauty of the Maine trail rekindles my enthusiasm. Nathan arrived on time and in good spirits ready for adventure.
Date: 2014-07-04
From: Katahdin Stream Campground mile 5.2

To: Abol Bridge mile 15.1
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

Baxter State Park has a parking reservation system to allocate their limited parking areas. I had reserved a permit for us, but we had to be at the gate by 7:05 am before it expired. We talked with the Park Ranger at the Katahdin Stream Campground at the base of the mountain. He confirmed that rain was predicted and recommended we delay our ascent until Sunday when it was supposed to be clear. Since my knee was still worrying me and I did not want it to give out in a downpour on the mountain, we decided to Slackpack through the park. May Louise walked the first few miles with us then circled back to the road. We later found that the trail she took was mot marked as expected and she made a longer hike than she wanted. Our route was only 10 miles, Nathan and May Louise reminded me to take time to enjoy the beauty of the park, He manned my camera and got a lot of great photos. The route included my first fording of a serious stream. Nathan's river experience was reassuring and he helped me learn some techniques to reduce my chances of drowning. The trail was surrounded by lush vegetation circling around beautiful lakes, following the Penobscot River and crossing streams that flow into it. They do not believe in building bridges over streams in Maine, perhaps because the spring snow melts wash them out.The River was used for floating logs that were felled during the winter and skidded on the snow to the river banks. When the river thawed they went downstream to sawmills. The handling of log rafts over impressive waterfalls and clearing the resulting jams earned the loggers their reputation memorialized in Paul Bunyan legends and my sister Judy's "Stirs His Coffee with His a Thumb" song. The rain did not start until the last part of our hike, but it fell heavily enough that we were delighted to find May Louise waiting for us at the bridge ready to take us to a hot shower and warm bed.Maine bugs are bad. Mosquitoes swarmed me as soon as we got out of the car. Long sleeves, treated clothes and deet protected Nathan and me pretty well, but May Louise got enough bites that she felt sick tonight.
Date: 2014-07-05
From: Abol Bridge mile 15.1

To: Polywog Stream at Wadleigh Pond Road Bridge mile 3
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Worst rain and high winds predicted as a result of the hurricane that hit the East Coast, so we planned to slackpack again heading north from a logging road crossing.   Although we started in the rain, it stopped fairly early and left us with a pleasant, cool, overcast day for hiking with a steady breeze that kept bugs under control.We did not see a lot of wildlife, but we heard the mournful call of a loon and Nathan spotted it for me. Since most of the trail was fairly flat I expected we would hike at about 2 miles per hour. I underestimated the nature of the Maine lakeside trails. The path was rocky and frequently filled with water. In addition to puddles from the rain the trail frequently runs up the middle of small streams requiring constant rock hopping. We moved much more slowly than I expected and did not reach May Louise at Abol Bridge until 9:00 as dusk was falling. We got a beautiful view of Katahdin in the sunset from the bridge befor we hopped in the car to avoid the biting bugs. The day with Nathan was wonderful, but re confirmed that hiking here with a full pack and without a nightly ride to a comfortable place to stay will be challenging.
Date: 2014-07-06
From: Katahdin Stream Campground mile 5.2

To: Katahdin, Baxter Peak mile 0.0
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

Started to the Peak at 8:15. It would have been wiser to get up earlier, but after 12 hours of hiking yesterday both Nathan and I were exhausted after getting supper and a shower last night we did not get to bed until midnight.It took us 7 hours to climb the five miles to the summit. The climb up the Gateway was the hardest part. Nathan compared it to technical rock climbing. Hiking up we met a number of folks who had decided that the rock climbing along the sheer drop offs was too dangerous and had turned around. One older fellow we passed with his family explained he was making his third attempt to complete the climb. I don't think he made it this time either.   If Nathan had not been with me to provide reassurance and to guide me up the most difficult climbs I probably would have chickened out too.Following a Ranger's suggestion and Nathan's wisdom we came down the Saddle Trail on the back side of the mountain to Roaring Brook Campground where May Louise met us. The 5.5 mile trail down was was very windy at the top then very steep, but it was much easier and steeper than the Hunt Trail we took up. I'm proud I made the ascent successfully, but it left me with no desire to take up mountain climbing as a hobby.In addition to babysitting me Nathan manned the camera and got some marvelous photos of me struggling up fearfully with fantastic vistas in the background. I missed much of the scenery because I felt that if I looked down I would get scared and lose my nerve for the climb over the next bolder. We reached May Louise at 7:30. It took us over 11 hours to hike 10.7 miles.
Date: 2014-07-07
From: Polywog Stream at Wadleigh Pond Road Bridge mile 3

To: Nahmakanta Lake State Campsite Mile 40.8
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: clear sky

Finally we did not have a deadline and got to sleep late. Someone else had reservations for our three room family suite at the Appalachian Trail Lodge; so May Louise had gotten us reservations at a Millimocket Suites motel. Nathan came across Doc and Hangry in the motel whom I met last in Narrows Virginia. They are heading south from Abol Bridge and should catch me in a few days. Doc is sounding less excited about their adventure. They have a month to go before their parents pick them up for a cross country road trip. Hangry is very tall. He told us they had forded some streams that were chest high.   Chest high on Hangry would be high up on Doc's neck. I reorganized our food supply to match Nathan's schedule while he and May Louise arranged his pickup on Saturday with the Appalachian Trail Lodge staff.Nathan noticed that our 25 mile drive along the logging road to our start point at Pollywog Stream crossed another road that led to the Lake Nahmakanta Campsite. He proposed we drive to the Campsite, pitch our tent, leave our packs, and then drive to Pollywog and slackpack back to the tent.We followed his plan, but we did not get started on the trail until 5:00 pm. Nathan left his slack pack with the folks at the Lodge with his travel clothes and he carried our rain gear, water, and supplies in my slackpack leaving me to walk with no pack. Even with that luxury we had more miles than daylight and we had to hike the last hour and a half in the dark with headlamps.It was raining when May Louise let us out and gave us our final hugs before she started south to attend a family reunion. I will really miss the last few day's luxury of having her waiting for us at the end of the day to take us to a good meal and a warm shelter. The hike was beautiful. We started with rain jackets, but the rain slowed to a drizzle and with 100% humidity we were soon soaked with sweat, so we put the rain gear back in the pack and hiked wet. As dusk fell we had an impressive view of Kathadin across the lake. We met several determined hikers pushing through the last days of their through hike to the mountain. The last half mile of the hike was right along the edge of the lake on gravel beaches and slabs of rock. We fumbled around for a while in the dark after missing a blaze and following a path to the Lake instead of the Trail beside it. It was 10:00 when we finally got back to our tent. The campsite had filled and other hikers were buttoned up for the night in their tents beside us. We decided that instead of disturbing them to forego supper and crawl in our tent out of the drizzle. The tent and our sleeping gear was dry and the tent's screen kept the bugs away. Even with the high humidity and and two people in the tent we did not have any problem with condensate and slept comfortably.
Date: 2014-07-08
From: Nahmakanta Lake State Campsite Mile 40.8

To: Antler's Campsite mike 51.8
Miles today: 11.0

The tents around us turned out to be a group of high school age kids and their leader who were participating in a Bangor Maine YMCA Adventure Program. They had started south of us the day before and were heading North to climb Katahdin and then take a whitewater trip. One small attractive girl had been overwhelmed by the hike, mud, and stream crossings and the leader was arranging for her to be picked up. As he explained to the other kids what was happening he kindly reminded them that the girl had been carrying a pack that weighed half as much as she does. We only planned to go 11 miles today, but that proved to be plenty. The trail was relatively flat, but full of rock and root gardens that required careful placement of every step with lots of mud and water obstacles intermingled. Between the return to the burden of carrying a full pack, sultry humid weather, and the impact of several hard days in a row, I felt short of energy all day.We continue to see what we think are moose droppings along the trail and we saw one large footprint in the mud, but May Louise is the only one of us to have actually seen a moose so far. Nathan's observant eye continues to spot interesting things along the trail that I would have missed if he had not pointed them out. He is also delightfully skilled in engaging other hikers in conversation and getting information or a story for themOur route followed Nahamakanta Stream for the first half of the day and we walked to the sound of rushing water. We took pictures of what may be our last view of Katahdin in the distance across Pemadumcook Lake. Mosquitoes and other bugs continue to be a nuisance but not the overwhelming problem I had anticipated. Perhaps I have gotten too scrawny and nasty to look appetizing. The little buggers do seem to have figured out that when I am balanced precariously on a log gripping both hiking poles tightly to keep from falling is a good time to take a bite. We stopped at a sand beach on Lower Jo-Mary Lake to skinny dip and wash the grime off. Being cool and feeling clean was wonderful for 30 minutes until hiking in the still, humid air of the forest covered us with sweat again.We camped on a point of land with a beautiful view of Lower Jo-Mary Lake out the door of our tent,
Date: 2014-07-09
From: Antler's Campsite mile 51.8

To: Mountain View Pond mile 65.9
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

We continue to congratulate through hikers we meet who are approaching the end of their long journey. Most of them started in February and endured awful winter weather. One lady we met who had started in February had adopted the trail name "Punisher". Most of today's trail was delightfully smooth and easy. One northbound hiker explained to us it was the best stretch of trail in Maine. Everything south of here is worse. A steep climb at the end of the day with lots of rocks, roots, and stumps in the footpath suggested he may be correct. Although we hike at times for three hours or more without seeing anyone, we have met a good number of other hikers including a long string of teenage girls who were part of a Maine summer camp adventure program. We talked with a trail maintenance volunteer walking north to check for blow downs. He confirmed that the piles of oversized deer droppings we had been seeing in the trail was moose scat. He had a heavy Maine accent. Nathan commented that a Maine accent was mostly a mumble. I suggested that it may be an evolved characteristic. To survive the winters here the fittest preserve body heat by learning to talk without opening their mouths. From the descriptions by young hikers we had met in camp we anticipated having to change shoes and ford a couple of streams today, but water levels were down and we were able to cross everything we came to by rock hopping in our boots. Our boots are waterproof enough that they can stand on a rock an inch or two under water and still keep our feet dry. Many of the hikers we meet have resigned themselves to the pools of water and mud along the trail and push through hiking each day in wet shoes. The process slows us down, but so far we have been able to keep the inside of our boots dry.   Dry is a relative term. The sweat from our feet leaves our socks and the inside of our boots damp by the end of each day. We set up camp alone tonight at the edge of a lake with a beautiful moon shining overhead. Nathan suggested the slightly cleared area we are in may be a moose water access and hoped we don't get stepped on for putting our tent in the middle of a moose's path. We have gained some elevation and the humidity and temperature have dropped a bit, so we should have comfortable sleeping tonight. My little tent is tight with two of us in it, but leaving our packs outside under Nathan's tarp we have enough space to function without getting in each other's way too much. I continue to delight in his company and am already regretting his return to work in Asheville on Saturday.
Date: 2014-07-10
From: Mountain View Pond mile 65.9

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite mile 76.8
Miles today: 10.9

Reached the 900 mile benchmark today. I left Virginia to flip flop at mile 828 and we have now done 76.8 miles in Maine. We have crossed lots of bog bridges in Maine. Given how poor my sense of balance is I am surprised at how comfortable I have become striding across a plank mounted on two logs over the muck. Eventually my confidence will be rewarded and a misstep will leave me sprawled in the mud of a bog, many of which look like settings for the old "Creature from the Black Lagoon" movie. I rested too long at a shelter and caused us to run short on daylight. We had to push hard to get over the last steep climb and descent to reach the Sidney Tappan Campsite before dark. We just avoided having to descend a steep rocky section with headlights and had to set up camp in the dark. Setting camp is delightfully easier with Nathan doing half the work and relieving me completely from worrying about throwing the bear bag line. We topped White Cap Mountain today. It is a serious climb that gives North Bound hikers their first view of Katahdin. The summit is above the tree line with impressive views of the peaks and lakes we have passed and of those before us. The mountain is high and unobstructed enough that we were able to get weak cell service. We sent messages to family and Nathan confirmed his pickup time and place with the Appalachian Trail Lodge. They will meet us at 4:30 Friday. Instead of Saturday. We have had good weather and trail conditions and will reach the KI road at the Pleasant River earlier than we thought we would. A Northbound Hiker we met before the White Cap Mountain climb advised that we had been hiking in the easiest section of trail in Maine.
Date: 2014-07-11
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite mile 76.8

To: West Branch of Pleasant River mile 84.1
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I went to bed with a queazy stomach and did not sleep well through the night. When we got up on the morning I threw up last night's supper. I felt better after the purging, but it left me feeling weak with rubbery legs for hiking. In addition to taking my energy the illness affected my balance and I hiked through the morning like a drunken sailor. Nathan was a great support. Through the day his stomach also felt queazy so we concluded that instead of my having a serious illness something we ate must have been bad. Nathan's care for me is wonderful. He left a note in our rest stop shelter journal asking Southbound hikers who catch up with me to help the old man along and assist him in getting across difficult river fords. I continue to delight in Nathan's observation skills and his appreciation for things he sees that I overlook. For example we took some fun pictures of a mushroom that he pointed out looked like a fried egg. The Pleasant River was a major wide river ford. Fortunately water was low and it was only calf high instead of its normal knee high. Even at that low level the current was swift enough to make the crossing feel precarious. Nathan's pickup arrived exactly on time. A couple of fellows from Maine doing a section hike whom we had talked with a couple of times over the last few days could not get a signal to call a wife for their pickup, so they rode out with Nathan and will split the cost with him. The time alone with my son was absolutely wonderful and I feel lonely already. Our boys are a marvelous blessing. I had intended to climb the first four miles toward Monson after Nathan left, but I still felt weak from my stomach problem. I was worried when some girls in the pickup parking lot told us that all available campsites had been reserved, but right after Nathan left I met Ridge Runner Brawny or Carol at the ford who showed me a delightful tent site on a brook flowing into the River just a few hundred yards from the ford.