morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-09-09
From: Katahdin Ironworks Road

To: West Branch Ponds Road
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: fog

Today was short but full of hard work.  We started by fording the West Branch of the Pleasant River.  Unlike the other streams we've crossed recently, this one was shallow (not deeper than mid-shin), with not much current.  My shoes haven't dried out from the fording we did two days ago, so I just slogged through in my socks and hiking shoes.   The water was cold, and my feet stayed cold for a long time.  Bill forded in Crocs.  Arlene forded barefoot in order to avoid another day of wet feet.  Partway across she realized what a bad move this was: if she cut her foot on a rock her hike might end - less than 100 miles from the end.  Not far into the hike we came to a sign that Katahdin is 83.9 miles away.  We stopped to pose at the sign (see photo).  We continue to be amazed at how close we're getting.  This project that we started more than four months ago is nearing completion.The rest of the hike was a long ascent, followed by several more short climbs and descents.  We crossed Gulf Hagas Mountain (elev. 2681), West Peak (elev. 3178), Hay Mountain (elev. 3244), and Whitecap Mountain (elev. 3650).  There were magnificent views facing north and south from Whitecap.  Looking north we saw Katahdin.  The space in front of it was engulfed in a rainstorm, and the light made it look like a rainbow.  Atop one of these we saw huge amounts of moose droppings.  In one place they covered a place about twelve feet wide (see photo).  Our hopes rose that we might see a moose, but we didn't.  We stopped at the next clearing to eat a quick lunch, and Chops came through.  He was very excited - he'd just seen a moose.  He said the moose was walking on the trail.  "There wasn't enough room for both of us on the trail, so I stepped off.  The moose looked at me and walked on.  Then it turned to look at me again." We decided that we were making too much noise to see a moose. So for a while we continued on in complete silence.  Still no moose.  Arlene, Bill, Lizzie, and I hiked together most of the day.  It was nice to have all four of us together.  Lizzie and I took off ahead of them from Whitecap and then started rushing because we heard thunder that sounded close.  It rained sporadically but not very hard.  Lizzie and I got in at 5:00, and Arlene and Bill arrived about 15 minutes later.My shoes are still drenched tonight.  I slipped on a rock crossing a stream and completely submerged both feet again.  I'll put on dry socks tomorrow to start the day, but there's another ford just a few miles in.  Depending on how it looks, I may try fording in Crocs.  My long-sleeved shirt and lightweight fleece are still wet from falling into the water two days ago.  I hung the fleece on the back of my pack today, and it dried some.  But it'll take another day for it to be fully dry.  I've given up on the socks and will just throw them in the dirty laundry bag, even though they will mildew in there.  One of the pleasures of civilization I'm looking forward to is being able to start each day in dry clothes.
Date: 2017-09-10
From: West Branch Ponds Rd.

To: Jo-Mary Rd.
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: fog

Today's hike was lovely, but arriving at the endpoint was not.  It was cold enough this morning to start out wearing my down jacket, but we warmed up when we started climbing the first (and only significant) hill.  The ascent was up Little Boardman Mountain (elev. 1980).  We passed several ponds.  At Crawford Pond there was a sandy beach not far off the trail.  Warren had urged us to spend at least half an hour there and preferably an hour.  It's a pretty place and would have been a nice spot to spend time if it had been warmer.  Lizzie and I sat enjoying the waves for a few minutes but then started to get cold.  The wind was strong, and we could only keep warm when moving.The woods we walked through were lovely - lush green moss covering every rock and fallen tree.  Maple trees are turning bright red and create a striking contrast to the dominant green.  The trail had a lot of pine needle-covered dirt surface that was very nice on the knees.  The East Branch of the Pleasant River, which we expected to have to ford, was low enough so that we could cross on rocks.  There was not much mud.Lizzie and I sped along with the idea that there was a stream at the endpoint.  We figured we'd sit out on a rock in the sun, dangle our feet, and just generally relax for part of the afternoon.  We'd heard from another northbound hiker that Jaws's dad would be doing trail magic at Jo-Mary Road, our endpoint, and we were looking forward to it.  Trail magic in the Hundred Mile Wilderness is quite a rarity.    We got in around 2:30 and, sure enough, The Patriot was there with the most extensive selection of good hiker food I've seen.  It included full meal packets, all kinds of protein bars, tuna, cookies, crackers, nuts, chips, and a box of individually wrapped ibuprofen. (I took a few of those because I drowned my supply when I fell in the river several days ago.). We stopped to talk with him and Crayola's dad and had beer and snacks.  Next we found nice camping spots nearby and set up our tents. When we got back to the parking lot to pack our food, Warren had taken everything out of the van and thrown it on the ground.  He said that since we got in so early we could use the time consolidating all our stuff so we wouldn't have to do it at the end. We spent the time we'd hoped to relax organizing all our miscellaneous stuff.  I asked Warren about the schedule for the last several days, specifically about Wednesday.  The schedule shows that day hikers do 18.5 miles, and backpackers do 4.5 miles that day and 13.4 the next.  His response was, "Everyone will hike 18.5.  The other schedule was for people who like the out of doors, which this group isn't."  It often seems he goes out of his way to belittle and offend us.  I'm really tired of it.  It's now 6:45, and I hope to be able to retire to my tent and read for a while.  Tomorrow we hike 15.2 miles of what appears to be flat trail.  I hope we don't finish too early.
Date: 2017-09-11
From: Jo-Mary Road

To: Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a complete surprise - a warm and sunny summer-like day after weeks of cool weather.  When I'm effortlessly warm, my life takes on an easier air.  I feel like I can breathe.  I am happy.We hiked along beautiful lakes and streams all day.  The trail was flat, although it had plenty of rocks and roots in places.  I hiked most of the day with Bill and Arlene.  Our first stop was at Antlers campsite on Jo-Mary Lake.  We sat in a sunny spot near the lake, ate some snacks, and enjoyed the sun. Arlene had cell service, so we were able to look up the berry-bearing  bush we saw at the first beach.  It turned out to be elderberry, the first I've seen.  About two miles past that we came to another wide sandy beach. We basked on a driftwood log there until we got almost hot.  Bill decided to swim, and I decided to wade.  The water felt so good though that I changed my mind about swimming.  I took off all my clothes and waded into the water.  Before I got completely submerged Rennie and Bobby Joe, our southbound hikers, came by.  The water was cold so I didn't stay in long - just long enough to get my hair thoroughly wet.  I felt clean and totally refreshed when I got out.  When I got dressed I zipped off the legs of my pants so that I was in shorts and a t-shirt.  This felt wonderful after weeks of bundling up in so many layers of clothing.  We ate lunch. Arlene and I continued on while Bill took a nap on the beach.  About three miles farther we took a short side trail to Pemadumcook Lake, which is one of those beautiful boulder-strewn Maine lakes that I like so well. We sat on a rock there to enjoy a good view of Katahdin.  We are close enough now that we can see some features such as rock slides.  After about half an hour I realized it was almost 2:00, and we still had nearly nine miles to go.  So I took off at a good pace determined to avoid any further stops.  I finished shortly after 5:30; Arlene and Bill arrived shortly after. We're camped near Nahmakanta Lake and got to sit on the beach to watch the sunset.  After it got dark Lizzie and I went back to the beach to look at the stars.  There were lots of them.  Tomorrow we're not leaving until 7:00 because the hike is short (8.3 miles).  According to my sister Diane the weather forecast is for warm temperatures and no rain through the rest of our hike. I'm hoping for a clear day on Friday so we'll get good views from the top of Mount Katahdin.
Date: 2017-09-12
From: Nahmakanta Lake

To: Pollywog Stream
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: light rain

Today was the kind of day I hoped to have when I was envisioning this thru hike. We proceeded at an unhurried pace, stopped to see the sights, and still got into camp with plenty of time to do our chores.  We left the Lake Nahmakanta beach area where we had camped at 7:00 AM, knowing we had only 8.3 miles to hike. We managed to draw the day out to a one mile an hour pace by sightseeing at every pretty spot along the way.  The AT follows the shoreline of Nahmakanta Lake for quite a ways.  Our first stop was at a gravel beach not far from where we started.  The sun was shining brightly.  Bill, Arlene, Lizzie, and I sat down on rocks, basked in the sun, and ate our first snacks of the day.  Not far past this beach was another beach, this one large and sandy.  We sat down at a picnic table and had more snacks.  There were some beach chairs, and Arlene settled into one in the shade.  There was a canoe there available for public use.  Bill, Lizzie, and I took it out for a short ride.  We saw five ducks with red heads swimming near us.  We stayed there for 45 minutes or an hour enjoying the sun and warmth.  The one mountain of the day was Nesuntabunt, which is only 1520 feet in elevation.  We stopped at a side trail there to see a view of Mount Katahdin, just 16 miles in the distance.  There I got cell phone service and called Diane.  There have been complications in my plans to get home, so I wanted her help in exploring options.  We ate lunch here.  My last stop of the day was at a rock slab that formed a sort of beach at the west end of Crescent Pond (see photo above).  I sat and ate the last of my snacks for the day.  I left when the wind started cooling the place.  I've been reading Henry David Thoreau's essay on climbing Mount Katahdin.  His trip was on September 9, and he noticed (and ate) a lot of blueberries and mooseberries.  I've been wondering what mooseberries are. This morning it came to me: they are the berries of the hobblebush viburnum, which we've been told are a favorite of moose.  I'm finishing this entry shortly after 8:00, so I should have time to finish reading the essay tonight.  Tomorrow we hike the final part of the Hundred Mile Wilderness.  It's 18.1 miles, and we're highly motivated to finish before 7:00 PM.  There are showers at the campground at Abol Bridge, and we'd love to get clean.  There might also be a restaurant where we could get real food.  Out here we live like animals.  Our biggest thoughts are of keeping warm, getting food, and getting clean.
Date: 2017-09-13
From: Pollywog Stream

To: Abol Stream
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

We walked out of the Hundred Mile Wilderness this afternoon shortly after four o'clock.  The road we came to had a campground, store, and restaurant about .3 mile away.  We dropped our packs, gathered our shower gear and clean clothes, and headed to the campground to get showers.  On the way we ran into The Patriot, who was again doing trail magic.  This time he was set up in a tent with chairs.  We sat down and had beer and potato chips and talked to the Patriot and Crayola's dad.  Then we headed to the campground.  Taking a shower at the campground cost $5.00 for people not staying there.  It was worth that and more.  I felt amazingly clean afterwards.   There are no words to express just how grimy we are after eight days of hiking.  We do vigorous physical exercise 10 or 12 hours each day, touch trees and dirt constantly, and occasionally spray ourselves with bug spray.  We actually have to scrub ourselves to get the dirt off.  (In Kent, Connecticut I used a white washcloth, and the cloth turned brown with each swipe.)Today also had an element of the sublime.  We just spent two hours on Abol Bridge looking toward Katahdin for Northern lights.  Several photographers were set up there because apparently conditions were right for them to appear.  We didn't see any, but we got a clear view of the Milky Way.  Today's hike took us past many parts of Rainbow Lake.  We made a few stops along the way to enjoy the sights, and we had a relaxing lunch at Rainbow Ledges.  I saw a beautiful green frog (see photo), and we heard a coyote howling and loons calling.  It was a sunny, pleasant day again - another summery day.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Tonight is our last night tenting.  Tomorrow we hike 10 miles into Baxter State Park, where we will camp at two four-person lean-tos.  We have only 15.4 miles left to get to the top of Katahdin and finish the Appalachian Trail.  I can't quite believe it.
Date: 2017-09-14
From: Abol Stream

To: Katahdin Stream Campground 
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

We're sitting at a picnic table at Katahdin Stream Campground watching our fire - the first campfire we've had.  Katahdin Stream is babbling beside us.  This is our last night together, and we're in a lovely place after spending an excellent day hiking together.  Earlier we went to the warden's office and got our permits to hike up Katahdin.  I am number 804 for northbound thru hikers (I was 1309 at Harpers Ferry).  It's hard to believe that in 5.2 more miles we'll be done.  The trail ends at Baxter Peak.  After that we'll still have to come down some steep and scary places.  I've read that this is the most difficult section of the whole trail.  Grey Beard, who's already hiked it, said that it's no worse than lots of places in the White Mountains.The trail today started in a beautiful birch forest (see photo) and followed the West Branch of the Penobscot River for several miles.  Lizzie and I stopped at a beautiful cascade to wade.  We spent a long time there picking up small stones made smooth by the action of the rushing water.  While we were there Arlene and Bill caught up.  Bill waded for a while and then stretched out on a rock in the sun.  We stayed there quite a while and ate lunch.  Later we took another long break at Little Niagara Falls (see photo).  We walked by rivers and ponds all day.  At one stream a group of Americorps workers were building a bridge over a stream, and I stopped briefly to take a picture (see photo).  The weather continues to be warm and sunny.  The thermometer on my pack read 80 degrees at one point.  We even heard cicadas.  I so enjoy this.  Tomorrow's forecast is for more sunny warm weather for our climb up Katahdin.
Date: 2019-03-27
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Arlene's chingona earrings: Arlene comes from a long line of strong women.  These women are from a part of Mexico that has a design associated with it.  Arlene wore earrings of this design on the trail to remind herself that she too was such a strong woman.  She called them her chingona earrings (chingona means "badass" in Mexican Spanish).  One day when we were atop a mountain in an electrical storm, in a steep rocky open place that had to be crossed, I noticed that she didn't have the earrings on.  I asked her where they were.  She replied that she didn't want to tempt fate by wearing them in an electrical storm: it would be too ironic if lightning struck her badass earrings and killed her!My AT soundtrack: For much of the trail music played in my head.  At first it came, unbidden, at times when I was hiking up a steep mountain or making a scary rocky climb or descent.  But after I learned how helpful it could be I started deliberately playing music in my head to help me remain calm and focused in challenging or difficult circumstances.  (I have a lot of music on my phone and could have played the music using earbuds, but I found it was just as easy without them.)  My dentist says I was using biofeedback techniques.  Here are the main songs: "Siberia", a Cole Porter song from the Cold War era musical Silk Stockings; "Two Little Babes in the Woods", another Cole Porter song; and "King's Special", a B.B. King song with a train-like beat, helped me keep a good rhythm when hiking up long or steep parts of the trail.  "Lo Slo Bluze", from the album Newport in New York 1972, helped keep me calm and focused when I had to climb or descend steep rocks using hands and feet.  I played George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in sunny and celebratory moments.  Sometimes songs I don't know well, or even like, played, such as "The Devil Came Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels or "Go Away, Little Girl" by Bobby Vee.  And for several days the instrumental theme for the boat going down river in The African Queen played as an ear worm.   Where did that come from!?!  Sometimes it was troubling that my mind produced so much music when I didn't even want it but, on balance, it was helpful.The difficulty of mental perseverance when the end is in sight: During the last hundred miles, and especially during the last week of the hike, it became extremely hard to get out of bed in the morning.  When the alarm went off I'd let out a groan of dread that I had to get up so early again.  I was so extremely tired, and the nights were so cold.  (Once I was up, I enjoyed hiking because this was the part of Maine where I grew up.)  I think the sudden dread was because the end was in sight: I could start to imagine that I soon wouldn't have to get up so early and work so hard every day.  For some reason this made it extra difficult to get up and do it again.  This lasted till the day we went up Katahdin.  That day we were so excited we were up early ready to go.
Date: 2017-02-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Been going to Swallow Cliffs every weekend to do the stairs. I thought I had an original idea but ran into someone on the trail who saw me hiking with backpack on and using trekking poles and commented that I must be training for some thing. Turned out that he had done the AT a couple years earlier. Also turned out that he had written a book about his hike called The Green Tunnel.
Date: 2017-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

This was our last practice hike this time with the gear we expect to be carrying on AT. The packs did not seem too heavy but we were on flat ground the whole time. Sharon will be joining me on the hike for the first four days and Joe, a relative from Atlanta, will join us for a day hike of the approach trail. We will be able to go packless for the approach. Hopefully that will help our legs adjust especially since we won't be on flat ground anymore. While our hiking weather on Sunday looks good, day two appears to have thunderstorms in the forecast. Not exactly how I wanted to start out.
Date: 2017-04-02
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Sharon and I did the approach trail today joined by Joe and Anton cousins from Atlanta. We parked Joe's car at the Springer Mountain parking lot at the end of a 6.5 mile curving dirt road and then went back to Amicalola Falls to start the approach trail. Thank you to Norm and Nancy, Sharon's parents, for the long drive from Atlanta to get us to the start. The approach trail 8.8 miles mostly uphill. It was then another mile to get to Joe's car where we picked up our backpacks and hiked another 1.8 to Stover Creek Shelter. There must have been about 50 hikers already their. Storms are due to come thru tomorrow so not really looking forward that hike. Total miles for the day was 11.6 but only 2.8 was on the official AT
Date: 2017-04-03
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Campsite short of Justus Mountain
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to rain so we were no hurry to get out of the tent. It did let up a little to allow us to pack everything up. So did not start hiking til about 10:30. Then it was about 4 hours (3.5miles) of hiking in the rain, with maybe 30 minutes of thunderstorms. Stopped at Hawk Mountain shelter 5.3 miles in to get a little break from the rain and to eat lunch. The shelter was full from hikers calling it a day. We left there around 2:00 and hiked another 6.5 where we found a campsite and called it a night knowing we would not make our goal before sunset. I told Sharon her trail name should be pacesetter as she was always way out ahead of me. At Hawk Mountain she had taken some of the gear from my pack. I had been having some hip pains. After easing my load a bit and re-adjusting the straps of my pack I did much better.
Date: 2017-04-04
From: Campsite short of Justus Creek

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: moderate rain

Slept in again even without the rain excuse. Had a beautiful day today. Made a lunch stop at Gooch Mountain Shelter about 2.2 miles into the day. Met Pete and Sue, local trail volunteers who would be there for a few days. We spent a little more time there than planned. Another 1.4 miles to snack break at Gooch Gap and again at Cooper Gap where we met someone from Lagrange Park about five miles from our home.We had a few steep uphills today but I was not feeling as much pain as yesterday. The uphills did lead to some nice views especially from Ramrock Mountain.The end of the day got us to Woody Gap where someone told us we just missed trail angels serving hot dogs and brownies. Luckily the group that included the Pat from Lagrange Park knew we were close behind and saved us some.We had planned on camping there where Sharon's parents were going to pick us up but there was another storm due in early so we got a shuttle into Suches, GA where we stayed in a cabin At a biker campground called Two Wheels of Suches. We were the only ones there. We went across the street to get a six pack and sat outside on the deck of the Two Wheel and cooked our dinner. I was great to have a beer and a bed.
Date: 2017-04-05
From: Woody Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Storms due all day so I moved from cabin at Two Wheels to Hiker Hostel where I just had to pay for a bed in a common area. I was first one here as most guests are actually coming in from airport and then will start trail tomorrow.My pack is still pretty heavy from too much food so tried to pig out a bit today. When Norm & Nancy picked up Sharon this morning they also gave me a resupply of food but we had not yet worked down our supply from the last three daysI repacked some of the food into zip locks to get rid of the bulky boxes and out of habit thought of where outside to use the backpacker stove as I'm sitting in a chair looking at the kitchen that is at my disposal.I Enjoyed talking with other hikers in the hostel from Philadelphia, Boston, England and McHenry ,Il. Mostly women staying in the shelter. Rain had let up earlier today but as I am typing this at 9:45 it just started pouring again. Glad to be off the trail today.