morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-21
From: The Birches Campsite

To: Katahdin Summit
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up at 4:40 AM and dropped most of my pack contents off at the ranger station porch. I carried my pack, one liter of water, one candy bar, and my Frogg Toggs raingear with me. I started hiking at 5:35 and made it to the summit of Katahdin at 8:45. I thought I was all alone and was going to have to figure out a way to take my own photos. Then I saw a pack at the sign on top. Four young men had hiked up from the Abol Camp Trail which is shorter than the AT route. They had been there since 8:10 or so. I asked one of them to take some photos and he was glad to do so. They told me the mountain was closed due to high humidity and they thought no one else would be climbing today. They gave me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and left via the Knife Edge route.I left at 9 AM since everything was fogged in. I stopped on my way down at Thoreau Spring, ate my candy bar, and drank some water. I took some photos there and on the way down as the sun was coming out and the clouds were clearing. I met a lone hiker who told me the mountain was closed as of 8 PM last night, but was re-opened this morning around 8 as a Class 2 day. That explained why I was all alone early this morning on the mountain.After I got beyond the tablelands and into the tree zone I met more hikers coming up. I passed about 20 people heading for the summit. I made it back to Katahdin Stream Campground at 11:55 and went to the ranger station to pick up my pack contents. A man and his daughter were just leaving. I asked them if they were going to Millinocket. They said they were and I could ride with them. I had completed the last 5.2 miles of the AT and found myself eating lunch at the Appalachian Trail Caf© in Millinocket by 1 PM. I was in my hostel room (the same room used by Earl Schaeffer in 1948 and 1998) by 2:15. No more hiking! At last I had finished the AT! Now I can eat, eat, and eat some more and give my feet some much needed rest!
Date: 2003-05-24
To: Prep #1
Miles today: 0.0

>(If you are just beginning to read the journals, I(Dixiebound) started off the hike with my brother, Coosawattee Rambler. He hurt his leg in Massachusetts and had to go home. I am now hiking by myself.)My brother and I are sitting at home in South Georgia making sure we have our gear ready and my mama is spazzing out, not really considering what my brother and I are about to undertake. My name is Luke Carter and I am 18 years old. I just graduated from high school last night and we start our thru-hike on Tuesday, May 27 at Mt. Katahdin, Maine! This thru-hike was my brother Matthew's idea originally, and then he came home saying he was going to do it and I said that sounds like fun so I decided to go too. We have been planning for over a year and cannot believe that the day is almost here finally!!! We just went through our gear to double check everything. I am planning on getting my hair buzzed tomorrow in preparation for the trip. We will update this journal as often as we can when we go into towns along the way. My name is Matthew Carter and I am 20 years old. I moved to the north Georgia mountains a year and a half ago. I decided to hike the trail after considering what to do with my life. One of the reasons people hike the trail is to sort of find their place in life or hope they find themselves on the trail. Well I am hiking for the adventure of the trail. I am also hiking to learn about myself and the world around me. I don't have one good reason for hiking the trail I just feel this is what I need to do at this point in my life. I am exited and the adventure begins Tuesday. We do not have trail names yet. We are going to wait until we get on the trail and hope they come to us.Luke
Date: 2003-05-27
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today is the first day of our 2,172 mile trek from Mt. Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain in north Georgia. We are very excited, but we do not really know what to expect. We climbed Katahdin. It took us 8 hours to go up and down. It was a lot tougher than we imagined. There was a lot of rock climbing and bouldering involved towards the top of our climb. The weather was beautiful. We could see for miles and miles in every direction. It was a great feeling to reach the top of Mt. Katahdin and actually start our journey. We came back down the mountain and tent camped at Katahdin Stream Campground and were swarmed by black flies and mosquitos while trying to cook mashed potatoes and Ramen noodles. Day 1 complete.-Dixiebound and Coosawattee Rambler
Date: 2003-05-28
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Hurd Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: broken clouds

We got up very early this morning at daybreak.(About 4:45) We packed up camp and headed out for Hurd Brook Lean-to. Today was a rough day because our 45 pound backpacks really hurt our shoulders and backs all day long. We followed Nesowadnehunk Stream for about half of the day. It was a beautiful mountain stream with many waterfalls. We found out how out-of-shape we really are today. We have a long way to go before we are fully-conditioned. We made it to the Abol Bridge Campground and Store at 12:30. Abol Bridge crosses the West Branch of the Penobscot River. The store was a welcoming sight to us because we were ready for some good food and cold cokes! Matthew had a double-cheeseburger and 2 Cokes and I had a hamburger, Doritos, and 2 Dr. Peppers. We were very satisfied and it gave us renewed energy to finish our hike for the day. After the rest, we entered the 100-mile wilderness. In the 100-mile wilderness, there is no place to resupply with food, equipment, or medical provisions. This is some of the most remote land that the Appalachian Trail passes through. We are staying at Hurd Brook Lean-to tonight with Dave and Will, two guys from North Carolina. They do not have trail names yet, but Dave keeps talking about Bojangles fried chicken and biscuits in North Carolina, and Matthew is calling him Bojangles. We made a fire tonight and it helped some with the bugs. We were very tired and it felt good to lay down and rest.
Date: 2003-05-29
From: Hurd Brook Lean-to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Today has been a good day. We started off from Hurd Brook Lean-to heading for Rainbow Stream. We started off the day with an 850 foot climb to the top of Rainbow Ledges. We had beautiful views of Mt. Katahdin and surrounding mountains and lakes from the top. Later in the day we came to Rainbow Lake. We walked beside the lake for about 6 miles. It is a gorgeous lake that is untouched by civilization and completely surrounded by huge boulders and pristine forests. This lake proves that this really is 100 miles of pure wilderness. The trail is full of roots and rocks. The roots are very difficult to walk over all the time because your feet slip off of them and turn your ankles ways they shouldn't be turned. Right before Rainbow Stream Lean-to, we had to cross Rainbow Stream by walking on a log. Right when Matthew stepped on the log to start crossing, he slipped and fell in the stream backwards with his pack on. All of his gear got soaked, but luckily it was at the end of the day and he didn't have to tote the wet gear all day. It felt great to rest again at the lean-to and eat! Our appetites seem to get bigger and bigger each day!
Date: 2003-05-30
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

Today was our longest day so far, but it was a fun one. We left Rainbow Stream this morning pretty early and headed for the Nahmakanta Stream Campsite. About 1.5 miles into today's hike, we crossed the Nahmakanta Stream and I slipped on a rock and fell face first into the stream. I fell on a rock but luckily I didn't get hurt. Also, only my body and clothes got wet and not my pack. The Lord was really looking out for me. About 2.5 miles into the day, we crossed a bridge over a river and we were supposed to turn right after the bridge back onto the trail but we didn't notice it and we kept on going straight. We walked about a half a mile the wrong way before we noticed that there were no white blazes on the trees.(White blazes mark the A.T. all the way from ME to GA) When we noticed this, we had to turn around and find the trail. This incident reminded us that we need to keep alert of where we're going and not just follow any trail. After returning to the trail, we started up Nesuntabunt Mountain. Halfway up, there was a viewpoint for the Pollywog Gorge. The gorge was beautiful! You could see Pollywog Stream down in the distance and beautifuls forests and mountains all around. On our descent from Nesuntabunt Mountain, we got our first taste of real rain. It started raining about 1:00 and didn't quit the rest of the day. We stopped at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to for a rest and to eat and then we set back out in the rain for the Campsite. We met up with a guy named Elk today. He is a guy who is thru-hiking and he has cerebal palsy. It is remarkable that he is able to function as well as he does and actually do this trip. He ended up camping with us at the campsite tonight. He's a really nice guy. We put up our tents in the rain and cooked under a big tree and then went straight to bed!
Date: 2003-05-31
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

To: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: light rain

Today was a rough day. We walked through swampy areas all day today and the mosquitos and black flies were HORRIBLE!!!! We couldn't stop for a break without being swarmed by bugs! Even when we were walking, they would swarm us and bite us all day long! At one point, we walked for 10 miles straight without a single break because of the bugs. We hiked the entire day with our head nets on and in long pants, even though it was hot! The roots and boggy areas made it difficult to walk also. We continually tripped and slipped all day long. We could not find refuge from the bugs until the last 1.5 miles of the day.   We started going uphill a little bit and they slacked off enough to atleast take a short snack break. Matthew had to stop in the middle of the trail about 1 mile from the lean-to and make a double-decker Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with his smushed up bread. He really enjoyed that! Once we got to the shelter, it was great to sit down and stick our sore feet in the freezing cold water for some relief. There was also a beautiful waterfall called Cooper Brook Falls in front of the shelter. The sound of rushing water lulled us to sleep in a hurry tonight.
Date: 2003-06-01
From: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 8.1

We took a rest this morning because it was Sunday and I had a little prayer time and we just sat in the lean-to and just rested until mid-morning. After resting, we set off for a short hike to East Branch Lean-to. We climbed Little Boardman Mountain today. We also stopped and ate on the shoreline of Crawford Pond, which is a huge, crystal clear lake that doesn't have a single house on it. We had a good time sitting there eating, and then we continued on. The trail acutally took us in the lake for a few feet and we got our feet wet a little bit. We were walking on boulders in the lake and then we got back into the forest. About 12 o'clock, it started raining again. We only had about 2 miles left though. Right before the lean-to, we had to ford the East Branch of the Pleasant River. My feet got soaking wet, but atleast I didn't fall in again! We got to the East Branch Lean-to about 1:30 and just laid all of our stuff out to dry and rested and enjoyed a leisurely Sunday afternoon rain. We met up with a guy named Kevin from North Carolina and hiked with him some today and he is staying with us tonight. We had a great time sitting there talking about different stuff all afternoon and just relaxing in a stress-free environment.
Date: 2003-06-02
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a tough climbing day. It was extremely cold all day today and our hands were almost frozen!!! We had to constantly keep going to stay remotely warm. The wind was also gusting very badly. We started off the morning with a 2,100 foot climb up White Cap Mountain. Halfway up the mountain, we stopped at Logan Brook Lean-to for a rest and we found a treat!!! Dave and Will, the two guys we had stayed with a few nights earlier had left us a bag of tuna!!! I had never eaten tuna before but I don't remember having many things that tasted better than that did today!!! It really rejuvenated us and helped us make it up White Cap Mtn. The climb up White Cap was pretty difficult. We had to climb up rock stairs for a long way and when we finally got to the top, the wind was gusting up to 45-50 MPH. It was a clear day though, so we had beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding mountains!!! We ate some Ramen noodles on top. We had to hold my sleeping pad around the stove so the wind wouldn't blow the fire out. After White Cap, we descending and then we climbed up Hay Mtn, and Gulf Hagas Mtn. Today was full of mountains. We got to the Carl A. Newhall Lean-to about 2:30 and we met up with two new thru-hikers, Ron and Drew. They are two long time friends from PA who are in their late twenties. They are headed to Macon, GA after the hike to see the Allman Brothers graves.
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was another good day. We had one major climb today up Chairback Mountain. The mountain never seemed to end while we were climbing. We would hit one peak, and then find out that it wasn't the highest one, so we had to keep going up. After hours of hiking, we finally made it to the top! The last 150 feet up was a rock scramble straight up rocks and boulders. It was a tough end to a long mountain, but the view was very rewarding! We stayed at Chairback Gap Lean-to tonight with ten other people. 6 were in the shelter, and 4 tented. We stayed with Ron and Drew who are two guys from PA, Walt who is a guy from TN, Kevin from NC, a father and son out section hiking, Squirrell Meat who is from VA, and Fisher King. We made a fire to keep the bugs away and had a great time that afternoon.
Date: 2003-06-04
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Little Wilson Stream
Miles today: 19.3

Today was a very long day! We hiked up 4 major mountains to start off the morning and that tired us out. We hiked 7 miles by 9 o'clock today. We climbed to the top of Barren Mtn, (2672') and we could see Monson, ME!!! Monson is our first resupply town and the first place to get food! We climbed up to the top of an old fire tower that was on top of the mtn. and we had beautiful views there. After coming down, we rested at Long Pond Stream Lean-to and Matthew decided to stay there for the night but I wanted to keep going and try to get to Monson!!! He stayed there the night, but I ended up walking another 10 miles and camped out at Little Wilson Stream with Walt. We were just too tired to make it all the way to Monson today. All we could think about was Dr. Pepper, hamburgers, pizza, and a shower!!!
Date: 2003-06-05
From: Little Wilson Stream

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light intensity drizzle

I got up at 4:30 in the morning, about sunrise, and packed up camp in a hurry and started for Monson!!! Walt and I didn't stop but maybe one time between Little Wilson Stream and Hwy. 15, which is where you get picked up to go to Monson. When we got within 2.5 miles of the highway, we could hear the cars and we got very excited!!!!! We almost started to run, even though we were dead tired! It started raining early this morning and it turned bitter cold. We continued hiking in our shortsleeve shirts and shorts! When we finally saw the highway, we let out a big yell!!!! We started towards Monson and we stuck our thumb out at every passing car. My hands were so frozen, I couldn't move my thumb up to motion for cars, I had to use my other hand to pull my thumb up. IT was cold!!!! After about 15 minutes, a man stopped in the middle of the road and popped the trunk and told us to hop in the car!!! I couldn't believe that he was picking us stinky, cold, and sopping wet hikers up in his car!!!! I jumped right in and he took us to Monson!!! My first stop was C&G General Store!!! I got 2 hamburgers, french fries, Reese Cups, Mr. Goodbar, a PayDay, and 2 20 oz. Dr. Peppers!!! It was so good!! After that, I went to the hiker hostel. We stayed with "The Pie Lady." It felt so good to sit in a chair, take a shower, use a real toilet, lay on a couch, and get dry. I got to Monson about 9 in the morning and Matthew rolled in about 4:30 PM. I was starting to get worried about him because I knew he didn't have any more food left. But the Lord supplied our needs and brought us in safely. We ate at Springhouse Cookhouse and BBQ tonight and ate a huge BBQ sandiwch, beans, cole slaw, and more Dr. Pepper!!!! It felt so good to finally be full and clean!!! Did I mention I have a beard now? Another one of the weirdest things was looking in the mirror. I almost didn't recognize myself!!!
Date: 2003-06-06
From: Monson, ME

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was a well needed rest day. We slept in a real bed last night and woke up to an all you can eat breakfast that consisted of scrambled eggs, pancakes, Irish potatoes, bacon, blueberry muffins, and orange juice!!! It was awesome!!! The owner of the general store here in Monson is originally from GA and Matthew and I have gotten to know him and he sent us 4 packs of grits this morning for free and the Pie Lady cooked them for us and it was great!!! It felt like home!!! The people are SOOOOO nice here in Monson, it's a great town. We did our laundry today in a laundromat that used to be a saloon in the 1800's. We also went to the post office and mailed a few things and we are going over to the Greenville Grocery Store and Shop this afternoon to pick up some things. It feels great to rest your muscles and just relax on a couch!!! We are definitely going to enjoy today and we plan on starting back on the trail tomorrow morning after another wonderful breakfast!!!! We are staying with all of our hiker friends also. About 8 of us stayed last night at The Pie Lady's house and it's neat to sit around talk about the trail and our experiences. It was also great to finally call home and talk to mama and daddy and find out how everything is at home!!! And to find out we were on the front page of the newspaper! I was surprised at that! That kinda puts a little pressure on you to finish:) I guess it's good to have motivation though!!!
Date: 2003-06-07
From: Monson, ME

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up this morning to another wonderful breakfast at "The Pie Lady's" house. After breakfast, we walked around town to tell everyone bye and then we caught a ride back to the Appalachian Trail where we had left off. We were very excited about hiking again today and I was even more excited about starting back today than when we started on Katahdin. It's weird to say, but we both felt more at home on the trail already than we did in town. Matthew and I hiked with Todd most of the day. Todd played his bamboo flutes for us that he made. He even knew how to play "Amazing Grace" and that was great to hear that! It reminded me of Sunday mornings at Gresston Baptist Church!!! Todd is a really neat person who has had lots of interesting experiences. He has hitchhiked through many states and he's been a monk for 3 years and now he's building roofs in Maine. He's fun to talk to while we're hiking. We walked through lots of swamps and bogs today through the mud. So much for keeping our clean clothes clean!!! The mosquitos and black flies have been horrible again today! They just will not go away! Today has also been the hottest day. We have been sweating the whole day. We only had one major river ford today. It was up to about my thigh, but it was only up to Matthew's knees.I guess it's good to be tall sometimes! Todd fell in and Matthew and I helped went back in and helped him out. This is why it's always good to hike with others. I think Matthew and I are starting to realize that this is going to be our life for the next 5-6 months. It's just starting to sink in, but we are excited about it because it's such a stress-free life. We saw 4 snakes today, they are everywhere up here. But Maine doesn't have any poisonous snakes I've been told, so no need to worry. When we got to the lean-to this afternoon, we built a fire to keep the bugs away, it worked really well until it started raining, and then there was no way to keep the bugs away. A guy named Creature from NJ had a radio and he is letting me and Matthew listen to our country music!!! It's great to be out here and lay on our sleeping bags listening to George Strait and Alan Jackson! Reminds me of home! My right ankle is pretty swollen. I sprained it playing softball the day before we left and it hasn't gotten any better. Matthew and I are getting along really well and enjoying some time together. Today has been a great day!
Date: 2003-06-08
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0

First of all, Matthew and I want to say a big congratulations to our little brother John Mark Carter. We heard about the game winning grand slam that you hit! We are very proud of you and we miss you! Can't wait to see you soon! The word for the day is WATER!!! We have been walking in water all day long. About 2 miles into the day, we had to ford two rivers that were above my waist. They were definitely the deepest so far. After that, the trail was like a stream the entire day. The whole way was mud and swamps and we just had to walk in them. The mosquitos and black flies definitely breed in all of this stagnant water and they were all over us the entire day. I have huge bites all over my legs that are about an inch in diameter. Matthew has bites all over him too! I've heard these black flies last throughout the entire month of June, we'll sure be glad when they're gone!!! We made it to Moxie Bald Lean-to and we stopped and ate some Ramen noodles and a Snickers bar and then we pushed on to the top of Moxie Bald Mtn. Moxie Bald was a fairly steep climb up to about 2640 feet. The views at the top were amazing because it was such a clear day. We could see many mountains all around and lakes in the valleys. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to stand on top of these mountains and look down around you and know you climbed up all this way! After enjoying the view at the top for awhile, we headed down to the next lean-to. We made it to Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to about 4:30. The first thing we did was put our tents up so we could find some escape from the bugs. After that, we put on long clothes and head nets and gloves to cook our supper. After supper, I went straight to sleep and I think Matthew stayed up around the fire for awhile and talked with Creature, Todd, and Squirrel Meat. Squirrel Meat got his trailname because he woke up one day and a squirrel was biting at his toes. He's a nice guy from Virginia. We got to listen to some more country music from Creature's radio tonight! We are doing much better in the way of food now. We had to be very careful with how much we ate during the 100-mile wilderness and we were hungry all the time! But now, we have plenty of food and it feels great to not be hungry all the time! When we were crossing a stream today, one of Matthew's trekking poles broke on him and he fell down and bruised up his leg. The pole just bent right in two! Now he's trying to get used to walking with just one which is a big adjustment after having two for 125 miles! Great day altogether!