morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Stealth Camp 0.1 mi Past Sugarloaf
Miles today: 11.0

It was cool this morning. I started hiking at 7:05 am in 50 oF temperatures under overcast skies. It drizzled and showered off and on during the day. The temperature stayed below 60 oF. The trail today took me over Lone Mountain, Spaulding Mountain, and by a side trail to the peak of Sugarloaf. The Thru-hiker's Handbook said there was a spring 400 ft in from the trail and a cabin to stay at in 700 ft. I reached the point at 4:00 pm and decided to stay in the cabin for the night. I started climbing and passed the spring at 4:15. It had a whole bunch of white crud on the water and was undrinkable. I continued on and reached the summit of Sugarloaf at 4:30 pm. There were 3 communication towers there and the buildings were all locked. It was quite foggy and visibility was only 50-100 ft. I walked around a bit but could not find the cabin, so I turned around and hiked back down, arriving at the start of the side trail at 5:00. I continued hiking, looking for a spot to tent. It took about 10 min. I am in a spruce forest on a moss bed, squeezed tightly between several trees. I will know tomorrow how well I selected a site. For today: ascent 425 ft, descent 3550 ft, 4 laps, duration 10 h 4 min, total miles 11.0. The tent temperature is already down to 54 oF, and I can hear water dripping off the trees onto the tent and also hear the hermit thrush. They will lull me to sleep tonight.
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Stealth Camp 0.1 mi Past Sugarloaf

To: ME27/Stratton
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

It rained last night and the tent served me well. It had stopped raining by morning, but I still had to pack up a wet tent and carry the extra weight. My tent spot was well chosen although not perfect ¢ still, better than most. I was hiking at 6:35 am in 52 oF temperatures under overcast skies. I started out with my rain jacket on to stay warm. I hiked about a mile without much elevation change, then the fun started. It was a 1500 ft descent in less than a mile down to the Carabasset River. Highlander II had warned me that this would be a ¢nasty downhill¢ and it was everything he predicted ¢ very steep rocks with large distances between hand- or footholds. Also, the rocks were still wet from the previous night¢¦ but I did make it, although it took a long time. I stopped after I crossed the stream to have a snack. Out of the bushes came Brad Vile with his fly fishing rod. He hiked the AT in 2004 (trail name Sourball) and I earlier stopped with him at the Little Swift River Pond where he was having lunch and also in Rangeley last Saturday evening when Highlander II and I were eating pizza. He is on vacation this week and is fishing the ponds and streams of Maine for trout. I continued on and crossed South Crocker Mountain and North Crocker Mountain. The skies cleared, the rocks dried (almost), and the temperature climbed to nearly 70 oF. I hiked down from North Crocker to ME27 over a gradual descent of 3000 ft, arriving there at 4:00 pm. I got a hitch from Otto who was in the parking lot. I am staying at the White Wolf Inn in Stratton for the night. I have been hurting some ¢ my left ribs are affecting my left arm capabilities, my right knee continues to bother me, and my back is sending a few signals. Because of these ¢messages,¢ I decided to take a zero day tomorrow. The motel room is a hot 85 oF ¢ no AC. Stats for today: ascent 2470 ft, descent 5010 ft, 3 laps, duration 9 h 45 min, and 10.5 miles.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: ME27/Stratton

To: ME27/Stratton
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I am taking a ¢zero day¢ today. I hate taking zeros and would rather be hiking but maybe one day off will help the aches and pains in my left ribs and right knee. It is 3:15 pm and has been a relaxing day. I slept in, ate breakfast at The Diner, dropped journal pages and a film card off at the post office, did laundry, wrote postcards and dropped them off at the P.O., had a large sub for lunch, got supplies, watched a live car chase on Fox News (they got the three bank robbers), and here I am killing time in my non-AC room with the door open and the fan running. Yesterday I met SOBOs ¢Deaf Balance,¢ ¢Road Runner,¢ ¢Tascha,¢ ¢Irish,¢ and ¢Lizard King.¢ I also met Otto and Seiko who are hiking a section of the AT. At the post office I met SOBOs ¢Mississippi¢ and ¢Alabama.¢ In the Laundromat this morning I met Anne, an avid fly fisherman. We traded fishing secrets. She has her own fly design which was been very successful. She said it was a take-off from a Red Ghost and gave me some tips. She recently won a salmon fishing tournament here using it. I will have to tie some and try them. I just met four NOBOs who started Feb 2nd. There were ¢Chainsaw,¢ ¢A-1,¢ ¢Cactus,¢ ¢Drifter,¢ and ¢Gus the Mananimal¢ (a dog). They were in for supplies and have just headed back out. It is now after my first dinner. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I melted my white polypropylene liner socks in the dryer this morning. No big loss because they were too big, wrinkled on my feet, and I believe they were the cause of some of my foot blister problems. I have put the same type sock in dryers before and never had a problem. I bought them new for this hike ¢ must be a different brand and/or material. The room is hot now. I found that the bathroom window does indeed open to provide for a cross breeze. Unfortunately it has no screen and there are many mosquitoes around so leaving it open is not an option. It will be another night of sleeping on top of the bed in just shorts and bearing it. Tomorrow¢¦ back to the Trail.
Date: 2004-06-25
From: ME27/Stratton

To: Safford Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 6:00 am. I took a shower (my 3rd in 3 days!), did final packing, and was at The Diner at 6:30 am when they opened. I ate a big breakfast, did a room once-over, and went to the Northland Cash Supply where Mark said he would help with a ride back to the Trail. There was little traffic and the cars that did go by did not stop. Mark said, ¢If they were local folk, they would have stopped.¢ After about an hour a customer stopped for a coffee. Mark asked if he was going by the Trail. Russ said, ¢No, I¢m headed in the other direction.¢ Mark said, ¢This gentleman has been waiting 3 hours to get a ride to the Trail. Can you take him there?¢ Russ said, ¢Sure.¢ I bought Russ his coffee and we were on our way. Russ was an interesting fellow. He is a 10-year cancer survivor. He cuts wood for firewood and for lumber and runs a small saw mill. He makes furniture from the wood he cuts. Thanks, Mark and Russ. I started hiking at 9:00 am in the rain. It was in the low 50s and cool. The rain gradually let up and by noon it was dry and partly sunny. By 4:30 it started to rain again. I reached the Safford Notch Campsite at 6:00 and set up my tent in a light rain on a tent platform. I went over South Horn, West Peak, and Avery Peak in the Bigelow Range today. This should be the last of the 4000 footers until Katahdin. I do look forward to some more mellow hiking. I do think the zero day yesterday has helped some. The stats for today: 4290 ft ascent, 3460 ft descent, 5 laps, duration of 10 h 0 min. I met two SOBOs on the Trail today, Pat and Sara. Tenting here tonight is Gary who is also southbound and just started at Caratunk 3 days ago. It is 8:15 pm ¢ time to hit the sleeping bag.
Date: 2004-06-26
From: Safford Notch Campsite

To: West Carry Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today I passed the 2000 mile mark and gave a Trog cheer on the Trail! It is also the first day of my 3rd week back. It rained last night but had cleared by morning and the tent was dry. Up at 5:45 am and hiking at 6:45. Gary was still in his tent. It was 50 oF and overcast. During the day the sky cleared and the temperature got into the low 70s at times. The mosquitoes and some black flies came out but did not require Repel. The hike today was mellower than previous days. I went over Round Top Mountain and some lesser bumps. There were still some tricky places that required great care but no long, steep climbs or descents. I arrived at the West Carry Pond Lean-to at 3:30 pm, selected a tent site, and pitched my tent. On the Trail today I met SOBOs ¢Megan,¢ ¢4 Winds,¢ and ¢Night Rain.¢ A few moments ago ¢Canary Lung¢ rolled in. He was trying to hike the AT on $250 and is running out of money so will be getting off in Stratton. His hiking buddy has not arrived so he asked to use my pot. I loaned him my pot and he burned the noodles in the bottom of it. He has now cleaned the pot so I can cook my dinner. Tomorrow I hope to get close to the Harrison Camps so I can get the pancake breakfast before I get ferried across the Kennebec River. Stats for today: 2700 ft ascent, 3410 ft descent, 3 laps, duration of 8 h 45 min, miles 12.2. I get a chance to camp-wash my hands and face tonight, then early to bed. It is only 6:30 pm. No one else has turned up at this site yet. I just checked and "Canary Lung¢s" partner ¢Green Splinter¢ has arrived. It is 7:30 ¢ time to hit the sleeping bag. I can hear two trees rubbing together as the wind blows. That and the wind are the sounds to which I will fall asleep tonight.
Date: 2004-06-27
From: West Carry Pond Lean-to

To: Harrison Camps
Miles today: 10.4

The tent temp was 55 oF when I got up at 6 am. I was hiking at 7 am with temperatures in the low 50s, partly sunny skies, and with a light-to-moderate breeze. As the day went by, the temperature rose, getting up to 68 oF at one point. The hiking today had very little elevation content, truly mellowing out. There were areas where the mosquitoes were annoying, but I just slapped at them and hiked on. I had a Milky Way snack on the shore of East Carry Pond with no mosquitoes or black flies. I did notice a lot of dragonflies there and remember the caretaker at Rocky Pond, VT, telling me that the dragonflies take care of the black flies. This is one small bit of evidence to support his assertion. I had my lunch of cheese and crackers at 11:30 am in the middle of the trail where it passed through a spruce forest. There were no mosquitoes as I was hiking so I thought it would be a good spot. WRONG! They found me and their numbers gradually increased until I finished. I hiked on, stopped by the Pierce Pond Lean-to to sign the register, and arrived at the Harrison Camps at 1:10. I decided to stay in one of their cabins and have both dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow here. Then it will be off to the Kennebec to catch the ferry before 11:00 am. Today I met SOBOs ¢Commodore,¢ ¢Salty Stash,¢ ¢Nimble Nomad,¢ and "Bjorn." Yesterday I saw about a dozen brown-colored garter-type snakes in the trail. They are so well camouflaged that I never saw them until I heard them move to get out of my way. Today: 890 ft ascent, 1090 ft descent, 2 laps, duration of 6 h 22 min, 10.4 miles. I just had a great dinner prepared by Tim and Fran at the camp here. Soup, salad, chicken/gravy/stuffing/cranberry/rice pilaf, and hot blueberry crunch cake with ice cream on the top. It is now 7 pm and time to hit the sleeping bag.
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Harrison Camps

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained last night and the wind blew hard. I was glad to be in a cabin. This morning the skies were clear blue and the temperature in the high 40s. I was up at 6:30 am. Breakfast was served at 7:30. I ate at a table with ¢Bjorn.¢ We each had 12 Patriotic Pancakes with blueberries and raspberries, syrup, eggs, sausage, juice, and coffee. It was their Hiker¢s Breakfast, and it was good. I was hiking at 8:30 am. The going was over fairly mellow terrain. I arrived at the Kennebec River at 10:30 am (within the ferry window of 9 ¢ 11). ¢Junior¢(NOBO thru-hiker #11) arrived shortly after, and Ferryman Steve Longley came over with 2 SOBOs, dropped them off, and then ferried the two of us to the north side of the Kennebec. We waited while he ferried two more SOBOs across, and then we hiked to the road crossing together. He gave us a ride to his store which is closed on Mondays (today), but he opens it for thru-hikers as he did for us today. I resupplied enough food to get to Monson. He also let me use his computer to check my email, and he gave both Junior and I a plate of barbequed steak that was left over from a friend¢s visit last night. I had 2 20 oz Pepsis and, to top it all off, Steve gave us a ride back to the Trail. I resumed hiking northward at 12:45, arriving at the Pleasant Pond Lean-to at 3:30. It is now 5:45 pm and I am in my rain gear trying to stay warm with only moderate success. It is time to prepare dinner. No one else is here yet. Stats for today: 1520 ft ascent, 1340 ft descent, 2 laps, duration 7 hrs, distance of 9.3 miles.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Moxie Bald Lean-to
Miles today: 13.1

No one else showed up last night, so I camped with the mosquitoes. They were buzzing at a temperature of 59 oF, but when it dropped to 57 oF they stopped, and I went to sleep. The lean-to temperature was down to 52 oF this morning when I got up at 6:00 am. I was hiking by 7 am under partly sunny skies. There were two moderate climbs and descents today. It did get into the 70s and the pesky mosquitoes came out in places. I passed a number of SOBOs this morning: ¢Aqua,¢ ¢Adam,¢ ¢Laura,¢ ¢Single Track,¢ ¢Finn,¢ ¢Late,¢ ¢T. Sprock,¢ ¢Bean Sprout,¢ and ¢Sony.¢ They were all having fun ¢ except ¢Aqua.¢ He said he is going to get off in Maryland. I arrived at Moxie Bald Lean-to at 3:50 pm and no one was there. It was buggy, so I set up my tent which is where I am now. I have eaten dinner, taken a cat lick batch with the help of multitudes of mosquitoes, and am now in the tent writing today¢s journal. It is 7:50 pm. The tent temperature is 66 oF and there are many mosquitoes on the netting of the tent. Hopefully they will go away when the temperature drops some more. I heard two loons shortly after I arrived. I just heard one again. It would be neat to fall asleep to the call of loons. Stats for today: 3430 ft ascent, 3520 ft descent, 2 laps, duration of 9 hrs, and 13.1 miles. It is 8 pm and has just started to rain. We will see whether it is just a passing shower or whether it is the beginning of a rainy stretch¢¦
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Moxie Bald Lean-to

To: Stealth Camp 200 yds from Hebron Lake
Miles today: 13.6

It rained last night but had stopped before I got up at 6 am. ¢Little Tree,¢ a NOBO (#12), arrived about an hour before dark, and she tented also. I was hiking at 7:00 under cloudy skies. The foliage by the trail was wet and so were the rocks and roots in the trail. In some parts the rocks were mossy and especially slippery. I had to take great care and the going was slow. The drying was also slow and things were not dry until the afternoon. At about 8:30 am ¢Little Tree¢ passed me going much faster. She had to take off a week to get diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease. She said she is doing well now and was planning an 18 mile hike into Monson today and then out first thing to the 100-mile wilderness tomorrow. She may even catch ¢Junior¢ and perhaps the ¢Dutch Boy Posse.¢ Good luck Little Tree! I forded both the East Branch and the West Branch of the Piscataquis Rivers today. I found spots that were only ankle+ deep so only the outsides of my boots and gaiters got wet. My socks and the insides of my boots stayed dry. I had hiked 9 miles by noontime when I reached The Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to where I stopped for lunch. I hiked on another 4.7 miles when I found a good tent site buried in the woods about 200 yards from Hebron Lake. It is about 30 yards off the AT next to a nice stream. The time is 6:55 pm and I have everything set up and have eaten dinner. Stats for today: 1300 ft ascent, 1730 ft descent, 1 lap, duration of 8 h 46 min, and 13.6 miles. I have been sitting on my z-rest, back against a tree, wearing my rain gear fighting off mosquitoes and writing in my journal. It is partly sunny and there is no wind. I can hear the gurgling of the stream and the chattering of a couple of red squirrels. It is time to wash up and get into the safety of my tent for the night.
Date: 2004-07-01
From: Stealth Camp 200 yds from Hebron Lake

To: ME15/Shaw's
Miles today: 4.3

It did not rain last night. I was up at 6 am and hiking by 7:00 in 52 oF temperatures under clear skies. The trail was mostly easy with slight ups and downs. I reached ME15 at 9:10 and got a hitch in 5 min from a man that has a camp on a pond near the trailhead. He took me directly to Shaw¢s where I got a room for the night and signed up for dinner, breakfast, and a shuttle back to the trailhead. I picked up a mail drop, did laundry, sent stuff no longer needed home, and by the time I went to the library for internet access, it had closed (early). I enjoyed a large dinner at Shaw¢s comprising baked potatoes, chicken, string beans, corn on the cob, bread and butter, milk, cookies, and coffee. There was more than enough. The Shaw¢s are wonderful people. They treat you just like family. They get 5 AT stars from me! Today I met SOBOs ¢Whitewater,¢ ¢Cold Blood¢ (a married couple), ¢Bulldog Nelson,¢ ¢Little Bump¢ and ¢Flounder,¢ ¢Justin,¢ ¢Kate,¢ and ¢Sean.¢ Stats for the day: 900 ft ascent, 550 ft descent, 2 laps, duration of 2 h 12 min, and 4.3 miles. It is 9:15 pm and I still have to pack my backpack ¢ then off to bed. My breakfast is scheduled for 6:30 am and then they will shuttle me to the trail where I will start the 100 Mile Wilderness. It is quiet here now.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: ME15/Shaw's

To: Stealth Camp up Barron Mtn
Miles today: 15.4

Big thunderstorm last night with rain and fireworks. It left the woods, trails, roots, and rocks wet and slippery. I was up at 6:00, had a Shaw¢s breakfast at 6:30 of 3 eggs, 3 bacon strips, 3 ham slices, 3 sausage, 3 servings of hash browns, toast, orange juice, and coffee. This is what Mr. Shaw calls number 3 (actually it also includes 3 pancakes which I declined). One helping was all I could eat. Keith, Jr. took me back to the trail and I was hiking at 7:15 at the start of the 100 mile wilderness. The radio said the dew point was 60 degrees, the starting temperature was 63 degrees, and it was very humid. I had to ford five streams today. Four of them were relatively easy rock hops, only getting the outsides of my boots and gators wet. The fifth one was another story. It is called Big Wilson Stream. I reached it shortly after a big thunderstorm had dumped its rain and left. I slipped on wet rocks three times trying to find places to rock hop (they were serious slips, the kind after which you have to slowly check to be sure all the body parts are still intact and working) and then decided I would just bite the bullet and ford the stream. So I took off my socks and removed the Spenco inner soles from my boots and walked across the stream in my boots. There were places where the water was over my knees. When I got across I tried to dry out as best I could while I ate my cheese and crackers lunch. It was about 2:00. My goal was to make the third lean-to in the 100 mile wilderness, a hike of 15.1 miles. Somehow I went by the third lean-to without seeing the sign or the side trail, and by the time I realized it I was partway up Barren mountain.   I don¢t like to go backwards so I hiked on until I found a reasonable stealth camp site partway up Barren Mountain. This caught me short of water. I only had one liter for cooking, night drinking, and hiking tomorrow morning. But I will manage.Stats for the day: 3420 ft ascent, 2990 ft descent, 4 laps, duration of 12 h 0 min, and 15.4 miles.I have less than 100 (99.1) miles to go. It is a good feeling.
Date: 2004-07-03
From: Stealth Camp up Barron Mtn

To: East Chairback Pond
Miles today: 13.3

It did not rain last night. I was up at 6:00 and hiking at 7:00 in partly clear skies and humid 57 degree temperatures with no wind. The foliage by the trail was wet and the rocks and roots in the trail were wet. And they were slow to dry out. In addition we had four instability showers during the day, so just when things were drying out they got drenched again. These wet conditions made things very slippery, and hence, the hiking was quite slow because of the care I had to take. In spite of this care I slipped and fell twice. The first was on a sloped wooden bog bridge. As I was going down it my feet just slipped out from under me and I sat down very hard with my feet straddling the bridge. The second time was when I stepped on a sloped root that I didn¢t see and my feet went out from under and I ended up in some awkward position in the bushes beside the trail. I climbed Barren Mtn, Fourth Mtn, Third Mtn, Columbus Mtn, and Chairback Mtn, all in the Barren Chairback Mountain range. Even though they were only 2000 footers, they still had their share of steep climbs and descents. I hiked all day, did not take a break for lunch, but did take a break for dinner, arriving at the East Chairback Pond campsite at 7:30. There was a dead moose in the pond so I could not get water there. Fortunately I had enough to get me through the night and the early hike tomorrow morning. My tent is pitched and it is 9:00. There are plenty of mosquitoes buzzing around the tent now.Stats for the day: 3870 ft ascent, 3780 ft descent, 6 laps, duration of 12 hr 30 min, and 13.3 miles.It is time to unpack the sleeping bag and crawl in it. Maybe I¢ll hear some loons tonight.
Date: 2004-07-04
From: East Chairback Pond

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

It did not rain last night nor all day today. I was up at 6:00 and hiking at 7:00 in 57 degree temperatures, clear sky, and very little wind. I made good time to Pleasant River which I had to ford. So I took off my socks and pulled out the inner soles from my boots and hiked across the river. On the other side there were benches which I used to take off my boots and dump the water out of them. I let them drain while I had a candy bar snack. Then I tried to sop the remaining wetness out of the boots with my yellow bandana (wash cloth). I put the inner soles back in, the socks back on, and was hiking again at 8:30. The rest of the day was gradual climbs and descents over Gulf Hagas Mtn, West Peak Mtn, Hay Peak, and White Cap Mtn. I rolled into the Logan Brook Lean-to at approximately 6:30, quite happy with my 14.4 mile day. White Cap Mtn is the last 3000 footer until Katahdin. It did have a demanding descent over a large jagged rock cliff which I was glad to have over. The more level walking (at lower elevations) will probably have more mosquitoes to contend with, but that is a price that I am ready to pay. The past two days I have met about a dozen SOBOs. None have had trail names and didn¢t have much to say. Today I met SOBOs ¢Kim¢ and ¢Josh,¢ ¢Fred,¢ and ¢Allen.¢ Allen has a stress fracture and is trying to get off. I also met NOBO ¢Hog Walker¢ (named because he rides a Harley). He would be 13th to finish if the order stays the same. I also met at the shelter ¢Jig¢ and ¢Flat Wheel¢ who are an older couple section hiking. Their son, Guy, is spending the week with them. Today I passed the 2100 mile mark. I also met ¢Two Shoes¢ who is guiding a group of 7 late teens for a 12 day hike through the 100 mile wilderness. Their group is from a wilderness adventure summer camp in New Hampshire. She has a stress fracture in her foot but is being very careful and expects to complete the hike. She wears one hiking boot and one sneaker (to keep pressure off the sensitive part of her foot), hence the name ¢Two Shoes.¢Stats for the day: 4270 ft ascent, 3370 ft descent, 5 laps, duration of 11 hr 34 min, and 14.4 miles.It is 9:00 and time to turn off the head lamp. The wind is blowing moderately.