morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-07
From: East Branch Lean To

To: Logan Brook Lean To
Miles today: 3.6

June 7, 2016Logan Brook Lean To mile 71.4   3.6 miles hikedHow do I hike these big miles?? 3.6 miles today, makes for a fabulous luxury day off in the 100 mile wilderness. I checked my DeLorean and it told me today it would start raining at 11:00 a.m. Perfect!I checked my map and saw the next shelter was a big 3.6 miles away so I got up early had a great breakfast and ran here, set myself up in the Lean To and prepared to accomplish nothing more for the rest of the day. I¢m so happy, it started drizzling at 11:00 and I made a pot of tea and snuggled up in my sleeping bag. The young crew, Flash, Sarge, Legs, 2 Sisters, Hooch, Fraug, White Walker, Mojo, Stretch and Smitty all went ahead to tackle the White Cap mountains today. I need to rest up before I try those big peaks if I am going to make it all the way to Georgia. I think DeNora and Peter will be coming along today. Ok, it¢s later now, I had the most beautiful series of naps today and feel pretty fresh. Peter, Grannie (Heather), White Gurl and Pringles? showed up- all SOBO and later 2 very interesting NOBOs came. Just Mike, a crazy looking older dude with a wild and matted beard made his entrance singing Christmas songs loudly and enthusiastically. He came with his friend Handmade. Handmade is probably the most interesting hiker I¢ve ever met. He wears underwear that he says look like shorts anyway (They don¢t, the look EXACTLY like mens underwear) and has a long sleeveless T shirt that looks like a dress. He also uses a handmade wooden pack made from a chair back! He demonstrated how functional it is and told stories about going through the Whites bare foot. He obtained boots after he nearly killed himself on the ice. He is currently shoeless. His diet consists of crushed up pop tarts and a mixture of brown sugar, oats and lard or butter and m-n-ms when available. He eats all of this with a flat stick. I was thoroughly entertained all evening. I was glad to have met them. Handmade is kinda of legendary according to Just Mike.Signing off after a perfect luxury day off in the 100 miles. White Gurl SNORES.Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-08
From: Logan Brook Lean To

To: W. Branch of the Pleasant River Campsite
Miles today: 12.8

June 8, 2016West Branch of the Pleasant River Campsite mile 84.2  12.8 miles hikedHow Awesome can a day get??? A whole day of peaks, up and down AND rock scrambles, all in breezy swirly clouds. It was fantastic!White CapHay Mt.West PeakGulf Hagas Mt. My day of rest yesterday was a good idea for me. I wasn¢t tired today, I felt pretty good so I¢m happy with that. Another day of climbs tomorrow and I am looking forward to it! Better head off to bed, its 7:00 pm. no beach to take a dip, I think I might stinkInsect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-09
From: W. Branch of the Pleasant River Campsite

To: Cloud Pond Lean To
Miles today: 11.2

June 9, 2016Cloud Pond Lean To mile 95.3   11.2 miles hikedChairback MountainColumbus MountainThird MountainThird and a half MountainFourth Mountain, Fourth MountainThat was today¢s itinerary! So much elevation and loss (sad). An incredible day, I loved every minute of it, even my grand mistake. Later on that. I didn¢t see people today which made me feel like I was really out in the wild. The constant breeze and clouds added still another dimension to the wild. I took my time, got into a groove and soaked in all the beauty I could. Something shifted in my thinking today. My thoughts slowed down and I focused on, well, nothing and everything around me at the same time. It¢s a happy thing. There was a huge rock scramble early in the day, I saw the jumble of rocks in the distance and secretly hoped the trail would lead me to that climb. Oh yes! that¢s fun going UP, it¢s not so much fun going down a steep rock scramble. I was stopped in my tracks just before going up Fourth Mountain by the sight of an enormous newly fallen tree. I patted the horizontal trunk and said ¢Sorry old pal¢ and went on my way up, up, up Fourth Mountain. I nodded to the summit sign and descended to a col where I stopped for lunch. Full of peanut butter and honey, I picked up my pack and went on my way, up,up, up yet another peak. I nodded to the summit sign which said Fourth Mt. and momentarily thought hmmm, that¢s odd. Down and more down, opps! I stopped in my tracks and said ¢Well, Hello old pal! I don¢t suppose you have a twin?¢ Nope. I realized that I hiked the wrong direction after lunch. AHHHHHHHH! I have decided to adopt a habit of ALWAYS sticking my green hiking pole in front of my red hiking pole so it points in the direction that I need to go EVERY time I stop. I took my 2 best poles with me on this trip and they happen to be different colors- turns out to be a useful oddity. After my extra miles and extra climb I finally reach the blue trail to Cloud Pond Lean To. It¢s about a half mile! On a narrow and muddy trail! It¢s windy, misty and Cold! The Pond itself is kind of spooky, dark and foggy. This is the first time I¢ve collected water from a non- running source. Now I see the importance of having a scoop or a sturdy smart water bottle. I have only my Sawyer bags. They collapse in standing water, It¢s slick and unbalanced here for me to try to scoop up water with this bag! Hmmm. Another lesson, I am getting a smart water bottle and a scoop. My hand is frozen from sticking it in this Cloud Pond! I am the only person here until some familiar faces stumbled in -frozen and sure they were all going to die! Peter, Honeybun, Pringles, Lavender (Heather) and White Gurl. They were starving and pooling their pitiful supplies, I was finally able to unload some of my extra food! Thank you to the starving Intrepid 5 for lightening my load! I am happy to see this group of very funny hikers roll in, they make me smile. I¢m learning a thing or two. Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-10
From: Cloud Pond Lean To

To: Leeman Brook Lean To
Miles today: 16.2

June 10, 2016Leeman Brook Lean To mile 111.5      16.1 miles hikedIce, Icicle, frozen nose, frozen toes, numb bum, how else can I say that I froze at Cloud Pond Lean To? It was windy and drizzly and darn cold!! I have my 45 degree bag and thermal liner, I think I am going to get a thermarest thermal blanket in Monson. It¢s been nippy, this isn¢t the first cold night I¢ve had although its been THE nippiest. Great views from Barren Mt. and the Barren Ledges. I walked a long time looking down at the Big Wilson Valley. You can look 360 degrees here and not see anything related to MAN. No houses, roads, electric lines, nothing. It¢s nice. The trail crossed 4 streams, 2 were rock hops and 2 I just got wet feet. It¢s ok, I will be in town tomorrow! I am settled in the lean to and expect to see the Intrepid 5 at some point. It will be a hoot to hear their stories of the day. Doing well with my go green pole habit. The Intrepid 5 rolled in at 10:30 p.m., they really tried to be quiet. How adorable!Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-11
From: Leeman Brook Lean To

To: Route 15 (Monson)
Miles today: 3.0

June 11, 2016Route 15 and Shuttle to Shaw¢s Hostel in Monson.mile 114.5    3 miles hikedThis is the BEST. The best bed, best room, best food, best shower, best washer and dryer, best town, best host and hostess - Poet and Hippie Chick. Thank you for operating this hostel! Poet and Hippie Chick are AT thru hikers and not only provide this amazing hostel experience, they share their AT know-how. Poet will shake down and shake out your pack to get rid of extra unnecessary items and really get rid of weight. Honey Bun had a shake down, he was carrying over 85 lbs in his Army pack. Honeybun is an Iraq Veteran. Poet got him into a pack that fit and a weight of 35 pounds I think. That¢s amazing, it¢s also amazing that Honeybun was carrying so much weight from Katahdin to Monson! I got rid of 5 lbs myself, extra bowl, too many batteries, extra headlamp, extra underwear and socks, toe nail clippers (I use a file), bug nets, deodorant, lotion, shampoo and a bulky sweater. It all adds up! If I haven¢t used it in 100 miles, I definitely don¢t need to carry it. The Intrepid 5 and I assembled at route 15 and Shaw¢s shuttle van picked us up, I realized how smelly we were when we were crammed in the confines of the van. Wow, made my eyes water! I elected to treat myself to a room, so nice to have a clean, quiet space to myself. I had signal and was able to call home and catch up with everyone. My god, I get really homesick sometimes. The hostel provided loaner clothes so that we could get all of our laundry done without having to put on rain gear (its sticky and uncomfortable!) or wrap in a towel. I had 2nd lunch at Pete¢s coffee shop and diner, excellent coffee, grilled ham and cheese, soup and a cinnamon bun. I brought a sub back for dinner. Mostly I napped, ate, in a haze of squeaky clean tiredness. Cold and drizzly day but a great day indeed. Made it through the 100 mile wilderness, sweet.Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-12
From: Shaw's Hostel Monson, Maine

To: nowhere
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

June 12, 2016Monson Maine, zero day  mile 114.5  0 miles hikedDespite my quiet room and comfortable bed, I had a difficult time sleeping. I think I had too much stimulation from coffee, texting, people and talking to family. I also agonized about every item I sent home, agonized about going to Greenville to get a thermal blanket, agonized about how much to resupply my food bag, agonized about my next section, agonized about agonizing. Finally I had to pull myself together!! I was fine on the trail, no worries, I have to be able to keep that attitude while in towns. What is wrong with me? I will work on this. Well, I did. I relaxed after eating the entire Shaw¢s breakfast of pancakes, home fries, eggs, bacon and sausage (that was at 7:30, I'm starving again at 11:00) I decided yep, I am cold at night so I need something. There is an outfitter in the next town of Greenville so Pringles and I hitched. We got a ride from a nice guy in a Subaru (the engine light was on) still no worries. I found my blanket and it weighed under 1 lb, Pringles got shoes. We stuck our thumbs out and another Subaru picked us up. This lady had a box of donuts! Score! She insisted that we eat some. Her engine light was on too. Curious. Nothing bad happened so I am just not going to worry about engine lights anymore. I am going to try to just not worry. I spent the rest of the day, hanging out in the hiker common room listening to hikers tell their stories, Peter, finally accepted a sort of trail name of ¢Petah¢. He had rejected all names offered and only slightly committed to an exaggerated pronunciation of his name. The Intrepid 5 have bonded into a family of siblings, they bicker, laugh, poke fun and support each other. Petah, Honeybun, White Gurl (who is actually a boy), Lavender and Pringles. I assume they will outdistance me soon but its nice to hang out with them for now. Next town is Caratunk, I will skip it and hike on to Stratton for my next resupply. Decision made and No Worries!Feeling excited about hiking more Maine!Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-13
From: Route 15 (Monson)

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean To
Miles today: 9.0

June 13, 2016Horseshoe Canyon Lean To mile 123.5   9.0 miles hikedOh so difficult to leave the comforts of the Hostel and abundant food in town. However, I had to be done. And I did it. After Breakfast, I took the early shuttle back to the woods and hiked on. Sean, young guy from Indiana who recently graduated walked with me for a while. He wears a wonderful purple buff- stands out in the sea of green. It¢s the first time I¢ve been hiking and talking with someone, so of course I wandered off the trail. We had to backtrack about 10 minutes to find it. In my defense the area had many side trails unmarked by blue blazes. Easy trail today, Somewhat overcast but not bad. I set up in the Lean To because it looked like rain, even though I knew better. Was is worth it to sleep like a sardine with the Intrepid 5 plus Sean the purple Buff Boy? White Gurl snores and Sean looks like a snorer or worse a teeth grinder. Eh, it¢s a trade off. Dry with snoring and no wiggle room? or pack a wet tent in the morning with quiet in my spacious tent? I flipped an imaginary coin and it chose the Lean To.Eased back into the woods without too much pain.Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-14
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean To

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean To
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: clear sky

June 14, 2016Bald Mountain Brook Lean To mile 132.4   8.9 miles hikedMost important for today, Congratulations to my niece Brittany as she graduates from High School. I know for certain this is one of the happiest days of her life! A great hike up and over Moxie Bald Mountain today. The trail was kind of flatfish, following the Piscataquis River and then Bald Mountain Stream. I stopped at the Bald Mountain Pond Lean To on Bald Mountain Pond for lunch, a nice spot. After a nice rest I went up Moxie Bald Mountain, 1400 ft. climb which wasn't bad at all. The last mile was exposed, navigating from cairn to cairn. After the second cairn, clouds and wind rolled in. That happened really fast and I was glad I happened to be standing right next to a cairn. I couldn¢t see the next cairn! I¢ve been in clouds before but this was like being inside a marshmallow! I had to wait for a break and take a compass bearing when I spotted the next cairn. That worked until I was at the summit sign. It was so barren and I couldn't spot the next cairn. HMMMF, now I am in a marshmallow again. I don¢t want to leave the safety of my summit sign but I don't know which way to look to try to spot the next cairn. OH! It¢s 2016 and I have Technology!! I took out my phone and opened up Guthook, the little GPS arrow pointed me in the right direction. I still used my compass as a safety measure as I walked in Guthook's direction and finally found the next cairn hiding down below the summit rise. I did this until I reached tree line and could follow a real and visible trail. Back in the woods it was kind of pleasant, hard to believe that not too far away I was in a gusty blurry marshmallow without my bearings. I was at the Lean To by 2:30 even though it seemed like I was on the exposed summit forever. I got myself all set up, my tent this time, for the evening and am having cocoa. The Intrepid five plus Purple Buff Boy aren¢t here yet but I do expect them at some point. They showed up in the early evening minus Pringles, who showed up later in dramatic fashion saying she had been lost and without hope on Moxie Bald, blinded by the clouds half dead with fear. Now I think she is a warrior for getting herself safely to the Lean To.Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-15
From: Bald Mountain Brook Lean To

To: Pleasant Pond Lean To
Miles today: 9.9

June 15, 2016Tenting at Pleasant Pond Lean To mile 145.5    9.9 miles hikedThis turned out to be a short day, very pleasant, sunny and a little cool. The hike wasn¢t too hard. It included a 2 mile stretch along an old logging road. I passed by 2 power lines which made me sad that maybe I was leaving what I assumed was the wildest and furthest-from-civilization section of trail. The trail had 1 water ford, crossing Baker Stream, turned out to be a safe crossing. I hung out a while at the water it was such a pleasant spot. I climbed Middle Mountain and Pleasant Mountain and all of the ups and downs in between- there were many!! So, I am here at the Pleasant Pond Lean To early (12:30) and decide to put up my tent and relax for the rest of the day. I took a nice swim without my clothes. It¢s quiet until the Intrepid 5 show up (YAY!) and take their time deciding to stay. They like riddles and the current riddle is ¢Cosmic number 4¢ ¢¢1 is 3, 3 is 5, 5 is 4 and 4 is Cosmic!¢ any number you start with cam be whittled logically to cosmic number 4. ¢ 17 is 9, 9 is 4 and 4 is Cosmic!¢ Can you figure it out? I did and it kept me occupied for about an hour!! Later as I was starting to fall asleep, I hear a huge ruckus at the Lean To, screaming and shouting ¢OH MY GOD!! IS THAT REAL? IS IT REAL? ITS MOVING OH MY GOD!¢ I hear the Intrepid 5 scramble to get out of the Lean To and I think there is a bear headed our way. So I get out of my tent and get to the Lean To. It¢s a SPIDER, A WOOD SPIDER! Granted they are ugly and grow really big but I thought it was kinda funny. White Gurl actually slept in his hammock and refused to go into that Lean To again. Cosmic number 4 and a Spider, can¢t beat that!Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-16
From: Pleasant Pond Lean To

To: Pierce Pond Lean To
Miles today: 9.7

June 16, 2016Pierce Pond Lean to mile 155.2  hiked 9.7 milesWhat a glorious day! I had a mission, just a scant 5.8 miles was US route 201. A couple miles down that road was a Norther Outdoor Center and they served Breakfast!! So, Yes, I was up and hiking at 5:20 after having breakfast no. 1. I really love to be hiking early enough to watch the woods transition from all of the night activity to daylight activity. Sometimes I stop to watch the sun rays creep up as the sun rises. I was able to fly to the road and walk to my pancake place. No luck hitching, although I noticed a full Subaru pass me and someone waved- hmm it was Pringles. Anyway, I enjoyed a good breakfast and charged up all my electronics and got a ride back to the trail. Nice way to start a day. Next, I hiked to the Kennebec river where the official crossing is in a canoe paddled by ¢Dan¢. There is a white blaze painted on the bottom of the canoe. It¢s a wide river that has unpredictable water surges when a dam is let up upstream. Hence, the safety of the canoe. I took a nap on the other side of the river as I only had 3 miles to this location. A relaxing day before I have to start going over the Bigelow Mountains. On the way to Pierce Pond Lean To, I noticed a sign for Harrison¢s camp and something about signing up for a 12 pancake breakfast. Of Course, I went to sign up, I came up to a very rustic Adirondack style cabin in the middle of nowhere. There was 1 main cabin and some outbuildings in the woods. I wasn¢t sure I wanted to proceed, however, there was that pull of pancakes. To my surprise Jim, let me in the cabin and its like going back in time to a logging camp dining room. It was Awesome!!! old wood stove, twig furniture, animal heads on the wall (ick). Jim signed me up and said to be at the place at 7:00 sharp. This is very exciting. The lean to was a short .7 miles away and I was there in no time. I tented down by the water and took a nice swim, it¢s a beautiful pond. A Maine pond is like a normal state¢s lake. The Intrepid 5 showed up as well as Purple Buff Boy, Long John and 3 others. I relaxed in my tent and watched the water until I fell asleep.Pancake DreamsInsect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-17
From: Pierce Pond Lean To

To: Little Bigelow Lean To
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

June 17, 2016Little Bigelow Lean To mile 172.9   Hiked 17.7 milesI cried, I cried right during my beautiful 12 pancake breakfast. Jim Harrison had a keyboard in the dining room and asked if anyone minded if he noodled around alittle. ¢Well of course not!¢ I had finished my Strawberry pancakes and the Blueberry pancakes and was going for the plain pancakes when he started to play Beethoven, ¢Moonlight Sonata¢. Oh, are you kidding me? That melody always makes me tear up, add a perfect morning, perfect breakfast, the perfect CCC Camp venue and the Intrepid 5, of course I notice tears flowing down my cheeks. It was an awesome feeling. I am a lucky one to be living, and I remembered that at that moment. Petah got up and played Piano Man and got everyone singing. I do need to mention that it is really difficult to hike with 12, no 13 pancakes in your belly. Pringles gave me her last pancake because she was stuffed. I felt waddly-ish for a few miles. I had an extremely nice trail to West Carry Pond Lean To, and took advantage of the sandy beach to take a swim. Next stop Little Bigelow Lean To after a moderate elevation gain. Its a beautiful spot and I set up my tent and went to soak in the stream, lots of pools to choose from. I had a signal and spent a happy half hour or so texting with my nephew Josh. It¢s hard to be away from family. You miss stuff. Tomorrow starts the Bigelow Range, back up in the 4000 footers, that¢s exciting. I think I¢m ready.I am going to add 2.9 miles to my miles hiked today, this site auto adds up the miles and somewhere I must have entered data incorrectly. I really am at mile 172.9. and the site calculator is 2.9 miles behind.Lucky pancake no. 13! Thank you Pringles!Insect SOBO 2016
Date: 2016-06-18
From: Little Bigelow Lean To

To: Cranberry Stream Tentsite
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

June 18, 2016Cranberry Stream Tentsite mile 186.4  13.5 miles hikedOk, time to feel confident and not cocky. I had a beautiful day going over the most beautiful peaks! Lots of elevation gain and loss and I was ok with it. Little Bigelow, Avery Peak, Bigelow and South Horn. All beautiful, all above tree line, so very cool. I saw a day hiker with his family, a young guy sporting a cap with the Adirondack 46er patch. I think I scared him when I bounded up to him and said (too loudly) Hi! Are you a 46er?! Me too! A 46er is someone who has climbed all of the 46 Adirondack 4000¢ mountains. We stopped to talk and this family is from Keene Valley, heart of the Adirondacks, near where I live and one of my ultra favorite towns. I don¢t know why, but I felt a physical boost after talking with these people about familiar things even though I didn¢t know them at all. I am pretty quiet on the trail and maybe I miss more than my family. Anyway, Thank You Keene Valley Family for the boost, you made my day. I planned to stay at this tent site because it is just a short 1.8 miles to Maine Route 27. This is important because I am getting low on food and the town of Stratton is just a mile or so down the road. I plan to resupply and eat, but am undecided if I want to stay in town. The tent site is really crowded, I managed to wedge myself between 2 big groups. The group farthest from the trail is loud, lots of drinking and swearing and laughing. They like to use F- - - as a universal adjective. I don¢t care, I just find it repetitive and benign after hearing the same word 100 times. The group forward is a church group of young boys and their 3 leaders. They are having fun making a huge dinner with lots of yummy ingredients. I put up my tent, got water, ate, cleaned up and hung my bear bag before they got anything cooking. Their dinner was 100 times better than mine though! The Intrepid 5 and Purple Buff Boy raced by going into Stratton tonight. Should I be sick of rice and pepperoni this early in the hike?Insect SOBO 2016