morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-12
From: Popular Ridge Lean-To

To: Piazza Rock Lean-To
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I have way more fun writing trail journal entries when I am angry. Today, however, was an unspeakably glorious day across the Saddlebacks. For the first time ever on the AT, a peak snuck up on me. I was climbing along, and all of a sudden I was at the top! Phil has experienced this many times but it was my first time and for that reason The Horn will have forever a special place in my heart.And the day was perfect . . . windy and sunny making the temperature perfect, and we were hiking off and on with the Graff brothers which was fun. Descending Saddleback reminded me of The Tablelands of Katahdin . . . . . . and it was beautiful.The only thing that made it more magical was staying at Piazza Rock Lean-To where the caretaker Slayer gave us some trail magic in the form of Smores materials. Incredible!Also, I found a new book! I ditched my old one back at Little Bigelow and I've been looking for another ever since. Sigh. And I finally found one. Granted, Lady Susan by Jane Austen would not have been my first choice, but hey. Beggars can't be choosers.
Date: 2009-07-13
From: Piazza Rock Lean-To

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: moderate rain

A short day today due to the majority of it being spent in Rangeley resupplying. This was the day of riding with four strangers. #1: Shuttle into town. The Graff brothers arranged a cheap shuttle into Rangeley (9 miles away) so we hopped on board.#2: While not hitch-hiking, an older man pulled over for us and drove us the rest of the 4 blocks to the grocery store. He had thru-hiked in '91 when he was in his 60s. His trail name was Spring Chicken, and he was a dear. We sat in his car at the grocery store for a long time just talking about the trail. #3: We had to head back into town to get fuel and water purification (because my Steripen is MIA . . . have I mentioned that Steripen is not making this hike better?) and a 20-year-old mother with her baby Winter offered us a ride. She is moving to Minnesota soon with her boyfriend.#4: An older man drove us back to the trail. He once had 36 kids over at his house for Christmas.We love hitch-hiking.
Date: 2009-07-14
From: Little Swift River Pond Campsite

To: Bethel
Miles today: 8.3

I did not expect this.I had come to terms with the fact that yes, I, Joanna Swanson, rabid Harry Potter fan, was going to miss the midnight premiere. A sad, sad, day (or night, rather) for me. It was impossible. I knew that.And then we met Mama Maple and Haiku, who were camped at the same campsite Phil and I stayed at last night. And we got to talking, and all of a sudden Mama Maple was telling us about how Bethel, a charming little town apparently, was having a midnight showing.We got out our maps and realized it would be a heck of a day to pull it off . . . but we had 14 hours before midnight.And so we hauled our tired selves through mile upon mile of wet, slimy, bog until at last we reached Highway 17 between Rumford and Oquossoc. There was, of course, no traffic. Eventually a pickup pulled over and we hopped in back. It was my first time riding in the back of a pickup and it was awesome. It also took over half an hour. My hair was really special, let me assure you. I think I should go with the Phil hairdo.From Rumford we tried and tried and tried to hitch on Highway 2 to Bethel and at last a woman pulled over for us, and she turned out to be a complete trail angel. Her name was Amy, and she first drove us to the theater so we could buy our tickets, then drove us to the best place to stay in town (Ruthie's Hotel) and even returned my trekking poles that were forgotten in her car. Amy, Amy, you are magnificent. We are going to send her a card.Wonder of wonders, Phil went to buy Ben and Jerry's ice cream and returned to the hotel, opened the freezer, and found two deserted pints left over! Ice cream party! Woo!And midnight Harry Potter? Oh, it was spectacular.
Date: 2009-07-15
From: Bethel

To: Sawyer Brook Site
Miles today: 2.7

Spectacular hitch today with a man named Phil who sells lobsters and works in the paper mill. Great man with many stories who was kind enough to take us back to the trail. We made it up and over Moody Mountain (complete with a landslide) and found a beautiful campsite with a PICNIC TABLE! I cannot tell you how exciting this is. We have not had a picnic table since we camped at Katahdin Stream Campground last month. A picnic table! And so, we are back on the trail after hitching in 45+ miles to see Harry Potter. I am surprised Phil puts up with me.
Date: 2009-07-16
From: Sawyer Brook Site

To: Frye Notch Lean-To
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: broken clouds

As we packed up camp this morning we saw someone ford Sawyer. "Creepster and Jo?" he called. It was Cornbread! Cornbread who we hung out with in Monson! It was great to see him again, and Trudger has been hanging out with him. We talked for quite awhile and then headed up Hall Mountain (it should be spelled h-a-u-l).Today I listened to music alllll day long and for the first time I was ahead of Phil all day. It's amazing to be hiking through the woods listening to Inti-Illimani or the Traveling Wilburys. I got to the lean-to, moved in, got comfy, and waited. And waited. And waited. When he finally came I was ecstatic because I believed I finally had my trail legs and I finally was going to be able to keep up with him!Alas. Phil had had bowel issues all afternoon. I am doomed to not keep up with him. Well, unless the bowel issues persist. Hmm.
Date: 2009-07-18
From: Stealth before Speck Pond

To: Stealth by Mahoosuc Notch
Miles today: 5.3

One month on the trail!And what a day. Our last night (dear God, please) in Maine. The day was slow . . . super slow. We hiked from 9 - 6, which is a pretty long day, yet we only went 5.3 miles. Crazy. Today we hiked the hardest mile of trail on the entire AT - Mahoosuc Notch. It took us three hours to go one single mile. The trailbuilders, you see, thought it would be fun to route the trail through a mile of boulder pit between two mountains, where often you have to depack, crawl through tiny holes, jump over rocks, and otherwise endanger your life and limbs. Thanks.Phil, of course, thought it was great.In retrospect, yeah, it was kind of cool. We saw SNOW! And the temperature changes were crazy. Being right between two mountains all the cold air pooled down in the notch. Phil tried to build a snowman but it didn't work too well. He was very patient with me and my anger issues regarding the trail route.But, seriously. Was that necessary?
Date: 2009-07-19
From: Stealth by Mahoosuc Notch

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

This was the first day Phil and I split up.It was a wonderful day today . . . until around 2PM, a half-mile from the Maine-New Hampshire border. That was when I realized my feet were bleeding.Now, this has happened before. My toes get rubbed raw. They are very unhappy. I am going to buy new shoes in Gorham and there will be much rejoicing. But for that moment, there was no rejoicing.I knew then that I would never make it to Gentian Pond Shelter. I did manage to make it up and over Mt. Success. . . (And here I have to go on a side rant. There are many clubs that maintain the AT. Until recently we have been in the Maine Appalachian Trail Club territory, and now we are in the Appalachian Mountain Club land. The AMC does not believe in signs as much as the MATC does. Who would name a mountain Mt. Success and then NOT put a sign on top? Can you imagine how great a picture that would be? "YEAH! I scaled Mt. Freakin' Success!" But nooooo. The AMC deprived us. Pffft.). . . but soon after my feet were in agony. Every step felt like pieces of foot flesh were being ripped off. I am sorry this is graphic, but it is true. But alas, we did not have enough water for both of us and Phil needed his Liptons, so I took the tent and set it up and he went on to sleep at the shelter. I had enough water and the tortillas; he had the AquaMira (because, oh, that's right, we have no Steripen . . . not that I'm bitter).Weird to split up, but it was the best option.But hey, we are in NEW HAMPSHIRE. I never have to go back to Maine, ever again! Woooooooooooooooooooo!
Date: 2009-07-20
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Stealth by Gorham
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

Today!Today I hiked 1.5ish miles to get to the shelter where Phil slept. About half a mile from the shelter I ran into him as he was coming back to check on me. Aww. It was a posh, double-decker shelter. We consulted the map about the day and I saw something that changed my day completely. A beautifully placed side trail.Some hikers on the AT are purists. They have to go by every white blaze. Well, when your feet are bleeding, that becomes a lot less important. Phil and I hiked together to Dream Lake (it was nice), I filled up with water, took the tent, and we parted ways yet again: he went on to hike 10 more miles of the AT; I took the Peabody Trail.It was INCREDIBLE. I don't remember having spent a more enjoyable afternoon for many many months. It was too bad Phil missed it. At first the trail was wonderfully boardwalked, with fresh moose tracks everywhere and a beautiful sweetness in the air. And I got to see an AT Boundary Marker, which no purist ever sees (the government owns the land, you see, surrounding the AT). Then the trail followed Peabody Brook for an easy, easy, two miles. It had a pine-cathedral feel to it. I ate lunch and blissed out. Soon I was walking through a field with grass and flowers up to my knees and butterflies all around me. It was disgustingly beautiful.And then there was the laden raspberry bush, and you know, it was just wonderful. When I hit the road I was disappointed that the trail ended so soon. I road-walked a mile to get to the parking lot where Phil and I had planned to meet. I spent half an hour meandering through a cemetary because it was beautiful and there and I had time.Phil and I met up and we stealth camped by the trailhead, waiting to go to Gorham til the morning. And to make it better - trail magic! Pop and Little Debbies in a big bucket, for thru-hikers only. Life is really good.
Date: 2009-07-21
From: Stealth by Gorham

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: light rain

Today we had our first real official AT roadwalk, where the blazes were on telephone poles and we were almost routed to civilization. We revisited good old Highway 2, but this time there was no luck in hitching. We must have walked well over a mile trying to hitch, with my hair down (and even somewhat brushed!) and no luck.At long last a car going to opposite way turned around. A woman got out and said, "Are you Jo and Phil?" We'd never seen this woman before in our lives. Her name was Burly Girl and apparently she and her husband Bugsy have been following us on this site! Burly Girl gave us a ride into town and we met up with Bugsy and we talked about the trail for awhile. They are section-hiking and heading up to Maine (poor souls). Very fun to connect with them, and I look forward to finding them on this site and reading up on their adventure.Tonight: The Barn! We will be sleeping in an actual barn in town. Our choices were Hiker's Paradise or The Barn, and the choice is obvious.
Date: 2009-07-24
From: Gorham, NH

To: Rattler River Shelter
Miles today: 1.6

A whopping 1.6 today after a ridiculous number of zero days in Gorham. The town kind of sucked us in. Think of a black hole, but with really good pizza. Exactly. It was impossible to resist.Not much to write about the 1.6 miles. They were flat enough to ride a bike on. Tonight we're with Firebuilder, a southbounder like us, and we're going to have a fire. It will be the first REAL fire of our Appalachian Trail trip. Stupid rain.
Date: 2009-07-25
From: Rattler River Shelter

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: fog

Long, long day.Someday in the future there will come a time when 13 mile days are not bad. This was a bad 13 mile day.To be fair, the day itself was not bad. There was just a LOT of elevation gain. Up, up, up. Down, down, down.We had heard so much about the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Hut system that we weren't sure what to expect. We arrived a bit later in the day than we would have liked, and so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to get work-for-stay. Luckily, the "croo" took pity on us and took us in.For those who don't know, there are many huts throughout the Whites. To stay costs over $80, and much more on weekends. The huts are rustic and provide breakfast and supper, all of which has to be carried up miles and miles by the annoyingly-named "croo." (Why the AMC refuses to succumb to adhered-to spellings is beyond me.) We've heard everything about the huts, from how terrible they are to thru-hikers to how wonderful they are to us. There's a lot of bad blood between the AMC and thru-hikers, mostly due to their love of charging us for amenities we normally take for granted, but our experience at Carter Notch was extraordinarily mediocre. In exchange for doing the breakfast dishes tomorrow, Phil and I got to feast on supper leftovers (salad!)and breakfast leftovers. We were also allowed to sleep inside, in the dining room. Not bad.The stars are beautiful tonight. I tried to tell Phil a story about how the stars came to be, but he fell asleep.Possibly, though, the best part of the experience was Bones, a crazy northbounder with loud snores who told us stories of his times at Hazelton. Oh, Bones. He was truly "bona-fide."
Date: 2009-07-26
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Nowhere
Miles today: 0.3

After an ungodly number of zero days in Gorham, Phil and I were on a roll and decided to do it again!Woo!The best thing about zeroing in the woods is that you don't have to pay. Realizing how well the huts might provide sustainance for us in our hike, we came to the conclusion that we had WAY too much food. The best way to lighten our load was to take a zero day. That, and the weather was doing that annoying misty-rain thing that bums Phil out to no end. We set up our tent exactly .3 from the hut (no camping allowed .25 from the huts) on a not-so-stealthy stealth campsite pad, and enjoyed the day. Crosswords, books, naps . . . it was a darn good day.Later Phil went back to the hut to schmooze with the night's workers and he got some food. I was quite happy to be anti-social and stay in the tent.Zero days. They are the best things ever.
Date: 2009-07-27
From: Nowhere

To: Stleath by Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

If life gives you a gondola, for the love of all things on this great Earth, TAKE THE GONDOLA. Perhaps this is to be my great revelation of the trail.Today was a nice short day for me - longer for Phil, who really wanted to tackle the much-talked about descent of Wildcat Mountain. Really, after peaks A, B, C, and D, I felt like I had pretty much covered Wildcat. When we reached the Epcot Center-like gondola, I was thrilled. We ate lunch and I happily got into the box of death. It was a rather terrifying descent, but a one-mile roadwalk later I was back on the trail at Pinkham Notch. Yep, I skipped a whole, oh, three miles of trail. Couldn't care less. Phil can fill me in.I waited for Phil at the visitor's center where I met up with Firebuilder, RedLine, and Tuna. We sat and talked and waited and talked and tried to schmooze a cheap room at the lodge, to no avail. Phil arrived at long last and we hiked on our merry way, to a stealth site not too far from tomorrow's ascent of doooooom.Viva la gondola!
Date: 2009-07-28
From: Stealth by Pinkham Notch

To: Madison Hut
Miles today: 6.3

Mount Madi-SUN!What a perfect, beautiful day!Today the highlight was Phil almost running into a moose. He was hiking in front of me, looking down at his feet and at his poles (the whole hiking-with-poles thing is a new world for him . . . he keeps forgetting them and having to hike back several tenths of a mile to get them . . . anyway . . . ) and I was looking straight ahead. All of a sudden I realized there was a moose right in front of Phil and he didn't see it! I shouted "STOP! PHIL! MOOSE!" and finally, ten feet from the creature, Phil stopped.Whoa.The moose was obviously young. It didn't care that we were there and went on munching on its leaves. I managed to get some good pictures and a short video when I heard noise from the other side of the moose. More hikers. I shouted at them to stay back, but the moose was surrounded now by people and still didn't care.Eventually we convinced the moose to move off-trail and began the 2,000+ ascent up Mount Madison. Once I was above treeline, it was magic: the day was warm and wonderful and I could see forever. Mount Washington was right there looking at us and Gorham was down below, still luring us with its black hole-like power. We kept ascending and ended up finally at Mount Madison Hut, where we got work-for-stay.So we ended the day cleaning out a freezer and shoveling compost for an hour. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, they can only be compost-shovelers.
Date: 2009-07-29
From: Madison Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: haze

Wow.After a hearty leftover breakfast we headed out on our day above treeline. It was sad to say goodbye to some really fabulous northbounders we met: Rune (an Australian Scot?), Luna Moth (who has a Wolf Ridge jacket and is from Wisconsin), and Crabapple (a teacher from Chicago). But the day made up for the goodbyes.Also, I got really sunburned.The terrain today was spectacular. The ups were gentleish and there were plentiful downs and flats. It made for happy feet for Jo. I can see how the Whites would be hell in the rain, though - I don't even want to think about it. I made it to the cog railway and promptly got lost, and ended up going all around the base of the mountain and summiting northbound. It happened to at least five other southbounders that day, which is one of the reasons hikers have issues with the AMC. Since we entered their territory, most places have not been blazed the way we are used to. As in, there are no blazes marking the path, and with SO many paths everywhere, it is really easy to get lost. A part of me wants to buy a gallon of white paint and mail it to the AMC. "Dudes. A little paint, please."But I made it up Washington in the end, and sat at the top and waited for Phil. I thought I was just awesomely fast, but alas, it turns out that we was just sadly sick. After a meal (!) in the building (!) at the top, I think he felt a little better. Hurrah! WE MADE IT UP THE (2nd) HIGHEST PEAK ON THE AT! WOOOO! We continued on the mile and a half to Lakes of the Clouds Hut where for the last time we begged (and won) work-for-stay. As soon as we got there a storm descended upon the mountain and it was a wonderful, wonderful night to be INSIDE! Also, leftovers are always welcomed.All in all, other than his sickness, it was a fantastic way to spend Phil's birthday eve.
Date: 2009-07-30
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Stealth with nice light
Miles today: 7.0

Happy birthday Hungry Creepster!Today was Phil's much-awaited birthday. Alas, we had no party, but we did eat a Whoopie Pie that I oh-so-sneakily bought on top of Mount Washington. Since we had no candles, I used three of our emergency matches and stuck them in the pie. It sort of worked. We ate a lot of chocolate and rested today.
Date: 2009-07-31
From: Stealth with nice light

To: Nowhere
Miles today: 0.0

We were going to hike today.We really were.The huts wiped us out, I swear. The thing with the huts is that the "croo" wakes up and starts cooking at 5AM, and they don't turn out the lights til 10PM, so after two consecutive nights in huts, we were wiped out. We are used to almost 12 hours of sleep per night. Our bodies need it. So it wasn't surprising to me when we woke up and it was almost 9 already.It was also raining."Let's give it til noon to stop raining," said Phil. So we slept a little more, read, snacked, and all of a sudden it was 2PM, and a minute later it was 4PM, and at 4PM there's really no point in going anyway, especially when the outside of the tent is soaked and that tent lives in your dry bag.
Date: 2009-08-02
From: Ethan Pond Shelter

To: Stealth
Miles today: 9.4

Today was a much-improved day: no weeping, no falls. The miles between Ethan Pond and Zealand Hut were completely flat and we sped through them in no time at all. Why didn't we pack a bicycle? The only flat part of the trail so far! It reminded me of home, only with more blueberries.We got to Zealand Falls Hut pretty early in the morning and there was a plate of pancakes on the table, free for grabs. Only thru-hikers would get super excited about a plate of dry pancakes - we were ecstatic! The universe continues to rain food upon us!We climbed a lot, and went above treeline for a little while. It started to rain, and the sky looked ominous. We ducked below treeline and decided we'd better set up camp rather than hike up another mountain and risk getting caught in a storm. Or rather, I decided this. Phil is more trusting of the weather and I am a total weenie. It balances pretty well. I usually win.And so we lived another day, the storm never hit, and we had a really uncomfortable tent site. Such is life.
Date: 2009-08-03
From: Stealth

To: Liberty Springs Stealth Site
Miles today: 13.3

Today was a long, heartbreakingly beautiful day.We got up early and hit a last up before the long, long down to Galehead Hut where we filled up with water and bought some baked goodies. I managed to score two books that had been left behind - Matilda and Ad Infinitum, a Biography of Latin. I plan to read Matilda right away (for the 30th time) and ditch it in a shelter (hurrah for the traveling library of the AT). Mostly I am excited about 400 pages about the story of Latin. I am a total dork.We climbed Mount Garfield, descended, and then went WAY up Lafayette Mountain. Lafayette was a huge climb, but the reward made it all worth it: Franconia Ridge.There are a few places on the trail that are simply iconic. Katahdin, Mahoosuc Notch, Franconia Ridge, Harper's Ferry, Roan Mountain, Springer Mountain, and many more . . . names that conjure up a lot more than just a simple image. Somehow they hold in them the spirit of the AT, as silly as that may sound. Franconia Ridge is one of those. It is a long, narrow, ridgewalk that would, quite honestly, inspire excrement if tackled in bad weather. But being lucky, we had 75+ mile views, a nice wind, and evening sun.Liberty Springs Tentsite on the bottom of Hay Mountain was full tonight so we stealthed just below and probably had more peace and quiet than anyone at the legitimate site. My feet were in pretty terrible shape tonight and I was tired; Phil was a saint and made supper. We feasted on Liptons.