morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-09-04
From: Crawford Notch

To: Lakes of the Cloud Hut
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: fog

Today was a very different day. I awoke at 6:00 and atebreakfast at the lodge at 6:30. We were on the trailat 8:00.The weather in the valley was cloudy and temp around50. There was very little wind, but it was mistingrain. We were to climb all day today. It was astruggle to keep dry, yet not get too hot. I startedin shorts and a long sleeve shirt. The rain was not areal problem. But the climb caused me to prespire.Then as we got higher the wind picked up and I wascold. I put on my rain jacket and ppessed on. Up andup we went. There were many steep rock climbs thatreguired plain old hand and foot rock climbing. Thehiking poles just were in the way. By 1:00 we were coldand soaked when we arrived at Mizpah Spring Hut forlunch. We ate lunch and dried to dry off. These hutsdo not have a heat source so we really didn't getcompletely warm before it was time to get back on thetrail for the 2nd half of the day. Now we were to get above tree line. The good news wasthe rain had stopped, but as we climbed the tempdropped and at times the wind pickeed up. Most of thetime it was 10 to 15 miles an hourr. Sometimes therewere gusts up to 25 or so. Above tree line there wereno views. Everything was fogged in. That wasdissapointing but it made a feeling of isolation.Baloo was ahead of me by about 25 yards. He was a greysillouete. I could barely see him as he walked thetrail. Old reb was somewhere behind me. The terrain isstrange, with grass, rocks and small plants. The wind blowsat times and at times when I am on the leeward side ofa summit it is earily quiet. I could be walking in theScottish highlands, or the arctic tundra, or the faceof the moon. I really felt alone in a strange place.The last half hour the wind really picked up and thetemp was in the low / mid forties. The fog was thick,very thick. It was becoming a challange to place myfeet where I wanted before they were blown off target.I would hate to be lost off trail up here. I actuallywalked to within 50 feet of the large hut building weare to stay in tonight before I saw it. I was glad toarrive. It was 4:30. I was wet and cold. The stay heretonight will be dry, but unheated. We get dinner andbreakfast. Tomorrow we conquor Mt. Washington.Clay
Date: 2006-09-05
From: Lakes of the Cloud Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

My night at the lodge was nice. I visited with otherthru hikers also nearing the finish of theirjourneys.I slept well even though it was cold. There is no heatin the lodge so I could see my breath when I woke up.All guests get together for a family style breakfast at7:00. It delays our start until after 8:30. This willeventually come back to haunt me.Since the weather was so bad yesterday and last nighteveryone anticpated poor weather again today. But justas we all were getting ready to step out in all of ourrain gear, the clouds part and the sun hines brightly.Al the hikers are happy to have clear skies to ascendup Mount Wahsington as we shed our extra layer ofclothes. I make the short 1.4 mile climb to the summit,snapping pictures at various sites as I go. I madesure I got a picture of the sign thaat says this isthe site of the worst weather on the planet. The summit is busy with lots of people. There is ahighway that goes to the top as well as a passengertrain. I walk around the museum and gift shop for awhile, and take more pics. I spent more time here thanplanned, This will come back to haunt me later.Baloo, Old Reb and I begin our descent at around10:40. This walk turns into the most exhausting walk Ihave encountered. We step on or around boulders of allsizes and shapes for hours. Up and down Mt. Jefferson,and Mt. Madison and then a steep, steep descent of2500 feet in just a 3 miles. I am a trrible downhiller,and was just worn out by the time we finished thedescent at 5:00. Old Reb and Baloo moved on ahead of meand I trudged along but not as fast. They are soon outof siggt and sound. It took me over 3 more hours tocover the next 5 miles. The trail was poorly blazed soit was always a worry that I had gotten off thecorrect trail. As darkness approached, I put on myheadlamp. Travelling in the dark is not too hard, butit is slow tedious work. The only excitment occuredwhen I heard grunts and rustling just off the trailin the brush. I am sure it was a moose I haddisturbed. I didn't stick around for a face to facemeeting.I finally made it to the Joe Dodge Lodge at the bottomof Pinkham Notch. It is another AMC Facility. A nice place for what little I saw of it. I ate a quick dinner and got in my bunk and went too sleep, very tired and sore.Clay
Date: 2006-09-06
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 13.1

Agai,s as I had done for the past few mornings I atebreakfast at the lodge, and again this delays thestart of the day's hike which comes back to haunt me.I am very tired and very sore but hav no choice otherthan to continue hiking. We have very steep, hand andfoot climbing making barely a mile an hour for thefirst 3 hours. First break at 11:00 is a the top ofWildcar moutain. the ski gondola for a ski resort ishere. It brings tourists up here in the summer to seethe views. Today it is cold, cloudy and windy. We moveon over continuing tough terrain. I make it to CarterNotch Hut by 2:00 for a quick lunch. I have 7.2 milesto go and leave by 2:30. I know I will not make itbefore dark. The guys have moved on ahead and I hikemostly alone. I knew I should have skipped breakfastand started earlier. I have another terrible one stepat a time descent. Lots of butt scrubbing, as I callit. Voluntarily sliding on my butt so that I don'tfall. The day ends at 8:15pm in the dark. Another eatsomething quick and go to bed. I know now that I mustmake a change. Return to starting earlier or reduce mydaily mileage. Tomorrow is a short day into town for aday off.Clay
Date: 2006-09-07
From: Imp Campsite

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: mist

I slept soundly from 9:00 until 6:30. I got up and atequickly. I started on the trail at 7:45 with Baloo. Wehave a short day planned into town, and a much neededday off planned for tommorrow. The terrain was onlyslightly better than yesterday. Ups and downs. Luckilythe rocks were dry at least at the upper elevations sowe made better time than ususal. As we began todescend more the moisture was more evident. It slowedme down. It wasn't only wet rocks, but mud bogs andslippery roots that had to be manuevered over oraround. And there were the planks, or board walks asthey are called. In various places the trailmaintainers have placed 8 inch wide by 8 feet longboards side by side in boggy spots along the trail.This is done to prevent further trail deterioration.It is not neccesarily done for the benefit of thehiker. The problem is thaat when these weather treatedboards get the slightest bit moist they are worse thanice to walk on. When they are dry it is great, you canreally make god time when you come upon a half milelength of these planks. But when wet and with even theslightest bit of downhill to them and disaster isinevidible. That is what happened to me. One second Iwas standing, the next I was sitting flat on my butt.Nothing was injured, so after a minute to catch mybreath and reduce my heart rate, I go back up andslowly continued on. I know of at least 2 other hikersthat fell in this same section this morning.Anyway, I made it to town where I and my hikingpartners were picked up by Jane. We are staying at alocal motel and will do the ususal town chores. I willrest my sore knees, and feet. I have a blister or twoto deal with because my feet have be so wet lately. Iwill be back on the trail on Saturday. Rain isforecast.Clay
Date: 2006-09-09
From: Gorham, NH II

To: Gentain Pond
Miles today: 11.3

Wow! in my tent taking a nap at 3:00!!First time in a long time I have had the chance totake an afternoon nap. I really needed it too. We hadplans for a hard 16 mile day so we got up at the motelat 6:00 grabbed donuts at Dunkin Donuts and were on thetrail by 7:00 today. We knew we couldn't stay in townand eat the ususal big breakfast if we were going tomake any miles. We are losing 4 minutes of daylighteach day so we can't waste anytime.The trail was not really too tough compared to what wehad done over the past week. Around noon it did becomeextremely wet with lots of bogs and there were manyroots and rocks in the trail. This slowed us down. Weare each tired and worn out from all the miles. Wedon't have the stamina and the ability to come up withbursts of speed like we did so many miles ago. Our goal today was a 16 miles day, with the last 4miles being a difficult hand and foot climb. We weredreading it and truly I was pretty sure I would stopfor the day before that and let Baloo and Reb go on. Ithink Reb would prefer to slow down also. Baloodoesn't have the wiggle room on time as Reb and I do.However the decision was made for us. When we arrivedat Gentian Pond Campsite at 1:00 for our lunch we weregreeted with the chance to watch a moose feeding inthe pond. She paid us no real attention, but we stillkept our distance. She grunted occasionally and welater learned that she had a calf hidden in the brushnear the edge of the pond. We were also greeted withthe beginnings of a thunderstorm. At least it startedas a light shower. We knew the forecast was for rain,and we really didn't want to do that climb on wetrocks and in a rain storm, so we decided to stay herefor the night. I personally was very happy, I thinkeach of my partners were as well. The rain showerpassed by but we stuck to our new plan. I threw up mytent and took a nap for an hour and a half. I then gotup, went to the stream and got water. By the time Ireturned the actual thunderstorm we expected finallyarrived. So I hunkered down again in my tent. Listenedto my radio and dozed some more. Around 6:00 the stormsubsided a bit and I hopped out and made my dinner,Noodles and Chicken with tomato and spices seasoning.Now it is 7:30 and I am about to zip up my sleepingbag and go to sleep. Hopefully the climb tomorrow willnot be too bad. Good night.Clay
Date: 2006-09-10
From: Gorham, NH

To: Mahoosuc Notch
Miles today: 12.2

After a restful night in my tent, we left at 7:00. Itstarted with a steep climb as usual. The earlyhighpoint was crossing my last state line, from NewHampshire into Maine. One state left, 13 down. I can'tbelieve I walked here! At the state line I have I have281.4 miles to go. The only other achievement for the day was thecompletion of the Mahoosuc Notch. It is a 1 milelength of trail. It is in a very narrow gorge, butimagine it half full of boulders or all sizes andshapes. These rocks range in sizes from refrigerator size, car size, bus size, house size all tossed into the gorge. We have to travel through this gorge anyway we can. It is over andaround and under and between. It took me an hour and55 minutes to travel one mile. I had to take my packoff once to climb through a small crevice. It was hadand foot reach and grab. Leaps over open spaces andbutt scooting down big slabs. My knees and shins arecut and scrapped. My hands are sore as are myshoulders from pulling myself and my pack up and over.I am really glad that mile is over.We stopped for the evening at 6:30 at a little spotnear a stream. Not even n official campsite. Tomorrowanother big day.Clay
Date: 2006-09-11
From: Mahoosuc Notch

To: Frye Notch Lean To
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: few clouds

Today was a really good day. We started with a bigclimb called the Mahoosuc Arm. WE had been told it wassteep and difficult. I was surprised to find it nottoo tough at all. It was not a hand over foot climblike we had been experiencing, but mostly steps orslab. The slab walking was easy because it was at anangle that we could walk up. And it was dry as well.We made good time and arrived at Hwy 26 where ourtrail angel Jane was there to meet us one last timebefore she returned home to Atlanta. She provided uswith sandwiches and snacks. We filled up and returnedto the trail at 2:30. We had a little less than 7miles to go. Again the climb was nice. At the top ofBaldpate mtn. the views were great. Miles and miles ofmountains and trees. We pressed on down the north sideof the mountain and finished our day here at Frye NotchLean to. There is a group of Outward Bound kids here.There were no other tent pads left so I am sleeping inthe shelter. We have 14+ miles to go tomorrow so willlevy early tomorrow. Good Night.Clay
Date: 2006-09-12
From: Frye Notch Lean To

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

It was cold this morning when I woke up. Probably 40 degrees, or just below that. We hit the trail quickly just to warmup. The trail was pleasant for the first time in manymiles. We made it to Hall Mtn. Lean to for lunch. Wemade arrangements for a pickup at the road 4 milesaway. We plan to stay at the Cabin Hostel tonight.The final 4 miles of our day turned rugged as weclimbed Mt. Mody. Another steep exhausting climb. Thetrail maintainers have installed rebar in variousplaces to use as hand holds and steps. It was anotherone mile for one hour of struggle. Luckily we weredone for the day after that and Bear was there at theroad to pick us up. His hostel¢ The Cabin" is wellknown with a wonderful reputation. We claimed ourbunks and took our showers. At 6:00 dinner is served.It was a wonderful dinner with fresh vegetablesfrom the garden, Shepard¢s pie, chocolate cake and icecream. After dinner we washed clothes and sat in thehiker lounge watching a movie. It was a nice rest thatwe really enjoyed as you will see tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-09-13
From: Andover, ME

To: Andover, ME II
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The stay at the cabin was so restful we decided tomake it home again for another night. Bear told us hecould shuttle us to the trial and pick us up again atthe end of the day and take us back to the cabin. Andeven better since we weren't going to need our tent orsleeping bag, or cook an evening meal we could leaveall that gear at the cabin.This was great. I packed a day pack of Gatorade andlunch and rain gear. It probably weighed no more than 10pounds. So that made the 13 mile day a breeze. Itsaved more wear & tear on my knees and ankles. Wewere picked up at 3:30 and taken back to the cabin foranother night off good for rest and relaxation. Tomorrowwe will do almost the same thing again as we hike intoRangley, ME and go to another hostel. It has becomeevident that these little perks to get me throughthese last 233.1 miles.Clay
Date: 2006-09-14
From: Andover, ME II

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We had another nice night at The Cabin last night aswell as a good breakfast to start us off for themorning. We got to the trail at around 8:00. The trailwas not steep at all today, but was full of roots,rocks and mud bogs. This slowed our pace to barely 2miles an hour. This was ok today as we had only 13mles to do today. We have arrangements for staying ata hostel in the small town of Rangeley. We passed acouple ponds today but still didn't see any moose.There are lots of tracks in the mud, but no moose. Idid see a nice bear print but no bear either.We arrived at he road at 3:15. Our pickup arrivedright after that. We stayed at Gull Pond Lodge. A nicequaint place. Bob, the owner also took us back to townto do laundry, eat dinner and grocery shop. In bedbefore 10:00, more miles tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-09-15
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

We got started at 8:10. Later than we liked. Again thetrail was full of roots, rocks and mud bogs, but addedto that were tough climbs and descents today. Firstwas Saddleback Mtn. a climb from 1700 to 4120 thendowwn to 3500 hen up to The Horn at 4040, then down to3000 then up to Saddleback Jr. at 3,655 and finallydown to 2950 tothe lean-to for the night. Tomorrowstarts with dropping down to 1550 feet and up to 4000feet.Orignally the plan for the day was to do 18+ miles. Infact, Baloo and Old Reb went ahead and pushed on to dothat distance. I chose to stop here tonight. They havetime deadlines and arragements to meet girlfriend /wife next week. They don't have the flexibility intheir schedule as I do. I hated to part with them butI want to enjoy my last days on the trail, not feellike it is a forced march. I will likely see themagain near the end of the trail. Great guys I willmiss their company. Tomorrow I will press on bymyself. There are lots of other Northbound thruhikers, I am sure I will not get lonely, but I do lookforward to walking at my own pace for a while. Goodweather is forecast for the next 2 days, but may havesome rain tonight. I will take whatever comes and dealwith it.Clay
Date: 2006-09-16
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Crocker Cirque Campsite
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a good day overall. I got started at 7:00earlier than usual lately. The weather was clear allday.For the most part the trail was tolerable. For thefirst time in a long time my boots are relatively dry.There wasn't an abundance of mud bogs to deal with.There were some downhills but I took my time. It makesa great deal of difference when you don't feel thaturge to push yourself to make miles in a day. The daywent easy. I ate lunch at 11:30. Got back on the trailby 12:45 and ended for the day at 4:15. Tomorrow Ihave a short day into the town of Stratton, only 7.3miles. I need to buy supplies. I do not know for sureif I will overnight there or just get back on thetrail. It is a 5 mile hitchhike so I am at the mercyof friendly drivers to pick me up. I do have a fewjournal entries to post so that may influance me tostay. I will just decide tomorrow. FYI I am under 200miles to go! Only 195.1! I don't think I will finishon Oct. 1 as planned with Baloo and Old Reb. I willrealx and enjoy the last miles. Use the time to thinkand plan life after the trail. Good night.Clay
Date: 2006-09-17
From: Crocker Cirque Campsite

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

A wonderful morning hike down from 2700 elevation to1450. The leaves are turning on the trees makingtoday's brief walk a memorable one. Mostly in thisarea at lower levation there are birch trees and Mapletrees. The leaves are red and orange and gold. Theycover the path making a multi color carpet. Is somespots the sun is filtered and takes on a yellow hue asit shines through the trees above. I am in another small Maine town for the ususal; food,resupply and laundry. Tomorrow I will be back on thetrail again. I think I have only 4 more resupply townleft. Cold weather is forecast for later this week.Mid 30's at night. No mention of snow yet. I will keepyou posted.Clay
Date: 2006-09-18
From: Stratton, ME

To: Safford Notch Campground
Miles today: 10.4

I was up at 5:30 and the first one in the diner at6:00. I had my waffle and bacon, then returned to thehostel to complete packing my pack. I was hiking by7:30. It was a warm day. My task for the day was toclimb Bigelow Mountain. I had a steep up right off thebat that lasted for 4 miles. Then bouncing up thendown for 5 more before the last peak of the day. Theviews were grand, and could have been even better hadit not been for the haze. Rain is expected in the next24 hours so that probably added to the atmosphere. My plan for the day was to go either 10 miles or 15.At 2:30 I arrived at this campsite. It had taken me 45minutes to cover the last mile. As ususal the downhillslows me down. Quick math told me it would be 6:15 atthe best before I arrived at the 15 mile destination.I decided to stop here. That leaves one small mountaintomorrow. And Wednesday I finally hit flat land for afew days. I will make up miles over this area. Overallthe day was great. I enjoyed going at my own paceagain. The weather was nice. The views werespectacular. I hope tomorrow doesn't turn into awashout. I will let you know.Clay
Date: 2006-09-19
From: Safford Notch Campground

To: West Carry Pond
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: broken clouds

Another nice travel day. I got started at 6:50 thismorning. It was warm again. As I looked out at thevalley below Little Bigelow Mtn. I saw only cloudsbelow me and blue skies above me. A weird display ofclouds for sure. I had easy terrain today and didn'tworry about pushing the pace. I stopped for a break at10:00 and then for lunch at 12:00. I made it to WestCary Pond Lean-to at 2:00. I expect rain tonight so Iwanted to stay in a shelter rather than my tent. AlsoI have a time challenge tomorrow so I want to start asearly as possible. 13.6 miles from here is theKennebec River. It is too wide to ford so the A.T.C.provides a ferry service to hikers in the form of acanoe and paddler. The problem is the last ferry is at4:00 pm each day. So I need to make sure I cover thedistance in plenty of time otherwise I am stuck onthis side of the river for an extra niggt and I don'thave food for that.The A.T. will be following the historic Arnold Trail,so named when Benedict Arnold and an army of 1,150 menused this route en route to Quebec where they hoped tomount a surprise winter attack on the British. Theybecame so bogged down in the streams and swamps in thearea that only 650 men were left to attempt unsuccesfulattack.So I will start early and push a steady pace until Iam sure I will make the deadline. I will let you knowif I succeeded or not tomorrow.Clay
Date: 2006-09-20
From: West Carry Pond

To: Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 14.0

Well, it rained all night but stopped by daylight. Iknew the rain would add to the day's challenge bymaking the roots, rocks and bog logs all wetas well asmaking plentiful mud holes. I got started at 6:40. Itwas cloudy, but not cold. The wind was strong comingoff of the lake. Surprisingly, I made good time. It wasmostly a flat or slightly descending trail today sothat helped. I arrived at Pierce Pond Lean-to for lunchat 11:00. I knew the ferry was closed until 2:00 and Ihad 4 more miles to go so stopped with plans for a onehour break. I ate my cheeze and pepperoni and read theshelter register. The shelter looked out over the pondso it wasn't long before I was getting cold from thewind off the pond. I decided to start early for theriver. I began at 11:40. Moving got me warmed up. Thetrail followed the Pierce Pond Brook and there weremany waterfalls along the way. I stopped and looked ata few of them, trying to figure out some way to createa photo opportunity using the self timer on my camera.I finally gave up that idea for fear I would end upfalling in the stream. I pressed on. The trail wasdifficult over this section. Lots of roots to stepover. I arrived at the river at 1:40. Plenty time tospare. I sat with Maple Leaf waiting for the canoeferry to arrive. At 2:00 he arrived and ferried usacross the 75 yards of the Kennebec river. I had done14.0 miles and this was the end of my day. I walkedone mile up the road to River and Trail store andcamp. I stayed at the hostel, and bought suppplies. Iate dinner at a resort restaurant up the road laterthat evening. In bed by 9:00. More miles tomorrow.151.2 to go.Clay
Date: 2006-09-21
From: Caratunk, ME

To: Bald Mtn Brook
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

14.7 in a tentUp and one the trail by 7:00. It was another coolmorning. Tonight's forecaast is for below freezingtemps. That will be the lowest I have encountered sofar. Today's miles was another nice day. Not much upor down. The trail was mostly pleasant. I walked aloneall day. Passed a couple Southbound weeknd hikers, andwas passed by Low Gear when I stopped to eat lunch. Hestopped and ate as well. We sat in a sunny spot in theforest, but when the sun moved behind the trees itquickly became cool. We packed up and got back on thetrail. He was bound for a farther destination than meso I didn't see him again or anyone for the rest ofthe afternoon. I arrived here at 3:30 and it is now5:30. I am the only person here at this shelter, and Idoubt that anyone will arrive late tonight either. Ihave my tent set up, and am about to go fix dinner,then back to the tent to stay warm and cozy in mysleeping bag. More good weather is forecast fortomorrow. That's all for now.Clay