morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-06-28
To: Noepel shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 76Could have gone further, Hot Rod did, but my feet hurt and I didn¢t know if I could commit to 7 more. 5? Sure. 7¢¦.? 7 hits different. Did a resupply at Dollar General and have three days of just crap food to eat. And Breakfast Essentials¢¦ so. That¢s something. Got here so early, though, I was able to actually use the little ¢shower¢ Dad made for me (poked some holes in a normal bottle cap) and take a shower of sorts. Just get some of the filth and sweat off my skin. Feels kinda like a Nearo. And, dude. This shelter is bumping. Three sectioners hammocking. The two dudes from yesterday. Three NoBos, a couple who went to the group tenting area, and another guy just showed up. I¢m just chilling in my tent. Guess that is everything.
Date: 2022-06-29
To: Sherman Brook campsite
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 77: Okay, I¢m actually writing this a couple days later. The night I got into camp, even though it was early, I just had zero energy. Bugs were bad, no mobile signal, and just eh. So¢¦Today I finished Greylock. Didn¢t push to the 16 miles and called it a day around 11. Because I linger, well, I get to linger. Spent an hour at the Greylock summit just messing around. Talked to some staff, went into the observation tower thing¢¦ then it was the two mile descent. That sucked. It wasn¢t terribly steep or hard, but it just. Kept. Going. And the mountains coming up are gonna be worse but whatever. That sucked then. Met some trail maintainers who were working on an AT reroute (cause there is no AT. It changes every year). Around this time I heard that there was trail magic two miles ahead and decided to try to scamper. Went as fast as I could, which isn¢t saying much, and blew past the last water source for a couple miles to arrive at the trail magic in time to see it packing up. Sad face forever. Couldn¢t even get my bottle refilled and BACKTRACKING is garbage, so I pressed on hoping to just bother someone in the neighborhood I was walking through to ask for some hose water. It didn¢t come to that when, just a quarter mile later, was a cooler at an AT message sign with bottles of water and Gatorade! Truly magical! Talked to some of the folks hanging out there for a bit and scored a grapefruit. After piddling around I knew I didn¢t wanna make it a 16 mile day, it was already 2:30, so I settled for the unpopular site south of the VT border. Got more water from a friendly house on trail who left a hose with a sign on it saying, ¢water for hikers,¢ and then started the gradual climb up. Again, most people pressed on for the Vermont border so I had the overgrown and buggy campsite to myself. Massaquito proved to live up to the name, so by 7:30 I was horizontal in my tent trying to sleep. Trying.
Date: 2022-08-21
To: Some logging road
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Really??? That was only ten miles??? I¢m happy to hear everyone is saying that, though. A bunch of folks stopped at the shelter a mile and a half back cause even though they weren¢t big climbs or steep climbs, the trail was muddy, rooty, and rough today. To be fair, a bunch of folks are pressing on to the shelter 2.2 ahead. I¢m just trying to avoid shelters for this section. I really like the camping alone if I can¢t be with folks I know. The ¢where you from? When¢d you start? How¢d ya get your trail name,¢ just¢¦ eh. Also, the NoBos are four days from finished so they are just in a different place. They¢ve been so cheerful and pleasant lately.Not as much to say about today. No cool water to swim in or plane crashes. Just four back-to-back ups and downs with only one of them having a view. That view, however, included seeing Katahdin for the first time. Okay. So. I know we can see Katahdin from this mountain so I¢m looking¢¦ oh. There it is. Big mountain over there? Oh. Wait. That¢s not it. The one behind it. Oh. Yeah. That¢s looks tough but¢¦okay. And then someone coming down, a lady who gave me a carrot earlier today randomly, said, ¢Katahdin is over there,¢ and I looked and. Oh shit. That mountain that is so big my brain didn¢t even see it???? The massive landform that seems to rise up from the ground from all directions and disappears into the clouds??? I¢m supposed to climb THAT in one day??? People do this???? It¢s POSSIBLE???? Okay¢¦if you say so.
Date: 2022-08-22
To: Near Cooper Falls lean-to
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The ten miles today were eeeeeeeeeeeasy. With a 40 minute break at Crawford Pond (it has a beach) and a later start of 6:30, I still got here before 3:30. Nice. If this is what the AT was, I¢d just live out here. Picked a ton of blueberries, forded another stream (got my butt wet), had a smallish climb and then, at 12:19, the trail got calm and stayed that way. Yeah, SOME rocks and mud, but that¢s not the norm. It was¢¦nice. As I mentioned, I chilled by the lake, ¢pond,¢ for a bit with some folks then got over here by Cooper Falls to swim. Well. That was the plan. Sun retreated just as I arrived and it¢s a bit too cool for me to swim, but I got in up to my shoulders and gave my skin a good scrubbing as best I could with my hands. Wanted to rinse my hair but¢¦just too cold with no sun or towel. Lots of folks at the shelter and rain coming in tonight. Always a weird vibe when we know it¢s gonna rain. Everyone is just resigned to, ¢well, guess we are gonna get wet,¢ and tries to hunker down. I was tempted to stay in the lean-to with a bunch of other folks cause packing up a wet tent SUCKS, but I¢m kinda doing a no-huts and no-music thing during the HMW. Then I music thing is to save my phone battery, can only change my battery bank when I left Monson and MAYBE when I get to Abol, but that¢s a ten-day stretch. Wanna make sure I can take photos of Katahdin. Good mood at the lean-to, though. Everyone who stopped all had, at least for today, the ¢wait, this is supposed to be enjoyable,¢ lecture with themselves and so there was no talk of crushing the miles or whatever. We made a fire. Folks swam. I played cards with someone. I¢m NEVER out there crushing the big miles, but today still felt like a rest. The rain rolling in tonight has be a bit concerned about where I¢ve set up my tent. I¢m not in a dispersed site or at the lean-to, but just some random clearing I found a few minutes down the way. My tent is kinda slanted , but I can lay flat¢¦ hope the rain is light and I read the ground where it is gonna puddle right. On a ton of pine needles and leaf debris. Maybe the rain will seep right under me.
Date: 2022-08-23
To: Sand Beach
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Rain last night continued into the morning. Tent was, indeed, wet inside and out, but all my important stuff like my sleeping bag and diddy bag stayed dry. Was aiming for a late start but didn¢t wanna just sit in a wet tent so I was on trail by 7:10. Late, but not late enough. I got to my destination for my food pick up about three hours early and just set up my tent.  A bunch of us showed up early but by 10:30, so was our food drop! Nice! It was a cheerful, social moment. All of us happy to have food again, commiserating about how heavy our bags were now, and hiking about how miserably wet we all were. Most folks were set to do another 15 mile, but my goal was only 6 away, Sand Beach. Arrived just after 3 to see one dude, Quitter, setting up. He had planned on doing a big day but. This spot was premium. I communicated my intent to not get my almost-dry bra wet again and proceeded to jump in wearing only my boxer-briefs. Getting a piece of clothing wet that was sooooo close to dry would be a sin. All day, it was rainy and overcast, but for a few brief moments in the late afternoon, the sun would peak out and all of us just delighted in the sunshine. And then¢¦the clouds dissipated entirely. We were going to have a clear sky at this remote lake with moonrise not happening until after 1am. Oh yeah. Two Braids, Quitter, and I all announced our intent on cowboy camping.  But¢¦keeping our tents up just in case. We laid there on the sand on our ground cloths or sleep foams just watching as the first stars came out and then see how a couple more became visible every time you looked. Alas, I noticed how damp my quilt was getting, so I put it back in my tent and just sat there watching the last of the blue sky fade away until the Milky Way was visible. Quitter decided the moment was too beautiful not to have a Star Swim and he jumped back into the lake. I considered it, but it was just too cold for me. Eventually we all knew we needed to sleep, most folks doing 19 tomorrow, and I went back into my tent. Every time I¢d wake up throughout the night, though, I¢d poke my head outside. The sky was just magical with the Milky Way moving across the sky, stars reflected in the still water, and a possible northern lights glow of green just against the horizon
Date: 2022-08-25
To: Rainbow Dam
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: clear sky

Beautiful morning. Didn¢t swim, thought about it, but the struggle to get clothes dry and not being in a good situation for going in my skin meant I passed. Was up early enough to watch the first round of colors hit the sky and was packed and just sitting on the beach for sunrise, but when I felt how warm that morning sun was¢¦ lingered for another hour to let my clothes dry. Got on trail just enough to make it to a privy .4 miles away. Dude. This privy had TP AND hand sanitizer. Fancy! Trail was a bit more like usual. Much tougher today than the past two days. Roots, rocks, and used my hands. The highlight of the day for myself and others was getting to a peak where we could all get a tick of cell service. Friday, tomorrow, is gonna have bad weather but Sat and Sun are looking better. I called a couple places in town to see who has room. Don¢t want to reserve anything but see what my options are. Most places are looking to be fairly full Sat, so I¢m hoping to summit and get to town Sunday. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!Only 13 miles from Abol bridge and 24 from Katahdin¢s summit. That abstract thing looming in the distance is getting really close. Anyway, after everyone¢s Contact With the Outside World (a bunch of folks all sitting around on their phones calling hostels and home), it was back down to another small, leechy-looking pond. Ate some berries, had lunch by some cascades, and said good bye to Pasta, we had been leapfrogging all day, at a shelter he stopped at. Then it was just me and my thoughts and my glasses that are pissing me off. Either these are defective or my prescription has changed significantly cause the right lens is warped in bad ways. Lots of blurry spots and fishbowling happening. Poor left eye is doing its best, but its job has always just been to keep my face mostly symmetrical. Anyway, the dam is producing a steady white noise. I can see Katahdin across the water from my tent. While Sand Beach was my favorite campsite so far, I will admit this one is more beautiful. The water is crystal (which makes it deceptively deep as a dude discovered earlier trying to walk across a section) and Katahdin is impressive. Likely gonna rain tonight so buckled down as best as possible. Could easily push to Abol but  no point in getting to Katahdin before Sunday. ¢¦despite the loud noise of a dam, a dude snoring across the site startled me. Whoa. That was impressive. Might need my earplugs tonight¢¦.
Date: 2022-08-26
To: Abol Pines
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Two falls today¢¦And one of those falls got my leg nice and bloody. A stray branch I just didn¢t see caught the toe of my shoe. I went completely airborne down Rainbow Ledges, a stone slab, and remember thinking, ¢ahhh! Shit! Aim for the moss!!!¢ It bled more than it truly warranted, and even though Bubbles made a rule that, ¢unless the blood reaches your sock, keep hiking,¢ I let my sock absorb some of the blood. 13.4 miles and all done before 2 pm. Yay, me! Yeah. Ended up pushing to Abol. I mean. I got to my stopping point today at 11:51. 9 days to complete the 100 Mile Wilderness. And I definitely didn¢t push myself! I liked being done by 2 most days. Felt like I carried too much food, but I still have tomorrow and Summit Day to account for. Anyway. Today wasn¢t strenuous although it wasn¢t EASY either. Lots of roots, rocks, rain, and mud. No climbs of significance but just kinda rolling up and down with a 700¢ small climb toward the middle of the day. Couldn¢t take many photos because of the rain, but did have the best sunrise of the trail so far. Got some decent pics of that. Didn¢t waste much time trying to get a signal at Rainbow Ledges ¢cause of the rain, either. Popped out of the 100MW, however, and straight into Trail Magic! Husband and wife team making burgers and had a cooler of Millers and Cokes. Well, too late in the day for me to have caffeine sooooooo. Two beers and a cheeseburger later, I walked the .1 to the Abol Bridge Camp Store and Restaurant and had another drink, and order of poutine, and some broccoli¢n¢cheese bites. 8 days of significant calorie deficits and then one afternoon of, ¢FOOOOOOD!!!!!¢ So now it¢s after 7. I¢m at this random Department of Maine campground, a normal campground that I would stay at with my mom. It¢s a bunch of thru hikers and one cramped site of normal weekenders. Weird vibe. For some folks, tomorrow is their last day. Some people go from here to the summit and down. It¢s a 20-something mile day, but you don¢t have to worry about getting a walk-in site at The Birches, the thru hiker site that takes 12 people. It¢s just weird to be surrounded by folks I have seen off-and-on the past couple days on such an emotional day for them. Wish I had a crew I was hiking with. Happy bastards. Probably need to call it a night. Gonna try to be at the ranger station at 5:45 to get my place in line for The Birches. Some folks were there at 3:30 this morning for a sign-up sheet that gets posted at 7. I¢ll see what 5:45 does. I¢ve heard that they usually try to find a place for everyone.
Date: 2022-08-27
To: The Birches
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

It¢s after 7 and I have an EARLY start tomorrow so imma make this short. Made it into Baxter! Left Abol Pines at 5:10 to walk the half mile to Baxter to get to the ranger station to be one of the 12 to get to camp at the Birches. Trail today was pretty dang easy and I ended the day with a full cup of huckleberries. Maybe I¢ll have time tomorrow to expand these thoughts. Folks can¢t pay attention to directions. Blueberries are trash and huckleberries are a Superior fruit.
Date: 2022-03-29
From: Amicalola Falls

To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

I woke up in Dawsonville GA at a hotel with my parents. I chose to sleep in until about 8am. We had breakfast at Papa¢s Place. It was a little hole in the wall that was clearly family owned. I had a big breakfast to fuel me on my way. We then went to a goodwill in search of a Bible to cut up for me to have the psalms and proverbs with me on my trek.After checking in yesterday and speaking with Bob and Richard, who are volunteers with the GA AT club, we decided that I would leave some of my gear and a lot of my food in the car. I would then hike with only a minimal weighted bag. This process is known as slack packing.I got my picture taken at the arch to the AT Approach trail. I then kissed my parents and started a little before 11am. I made good time going up the 604 stairs that climb next to the Amicalola Falls. I met several people who were encouraging when they learned I was attempting to hike to Maine. Notable people were: Alicia, because she was carrying her little 9lbs dog. That¢s right she had the dog in a little sling/bag thing. She said the dog had some issues and didn¢t walk very well. I also met Robert ¢Moss¢ and Roslyn ¢Compass¢. They are from Australia. They did the PCT back in 2019 and were planing on doing the AT back in 2020 but because of Covid that got cancelled.I met up with my parents at the top of Springer Mountain. They had driven around and walked the one mile up. Dad said he was tracking my InReach just find to know where I was. We then walked down to the parking lot together. They had a sub, chips, and other sweets for me to gorge myself on. I then packed up the rest of my gear and headed out. It was only a little under 2 miles down to Stover Creek Shelter. There are probably 20 people here tonight. I set my tent up before I checked the shelter, thinking it would already be full. Turns out only two people are sleeping in the shelter. So lessons learned on that one.
Date: 2022-03-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I started at Stover Creek shelter this morning and I am sleeping at Gooch Mountain shelter. Last night I woke up to the sound of military helicopters flying right over us. They had to be only a few thousand feet up. And then a few minutes later they came back over us. It took me until this morning to remember that I had been told that the Army Rangers do training in the area.It¢s been an incredible day. I realized that I have developed bruises on my hips where my bag rides. They are red and swollen right now. So I put some ointment on them. It was so challenging today. Some big ups and downs. My check in number is 2109 and I passed my first 1900 hikers today. I didn¢t realize I was holding such a pace. Several of the people at Gooch I started with this morning. I passed Hawk Mountain shelter on my way here and all of those people are here at Gooch. We have maybe 60 people here. There is no room to be had. I¢m sharing a tent pad with two other tents.Most of the way here I was playing leapfrog with this guy named Michael a thru hiker. He is from NJ. Seems pretty cool. Has his stuff together. I also was around a couple from Johnson City, TN. They are Justin and Lindsey. With getting in around 4:30pm I had time to meet so many people around the shelter today. Most of the hikers that are here began on 3/28 or before. It¢s satisfying to conquer so much at a faster pace. ¢Skip¢ and ¢Stork¢ (I didn¢t catch their real names) said something about everyone being bored so I started a word game. It drew several people in. I think it will catch on. And I have so many other games to bring out from my time at VJ.Most of the hikers here don¢t have a BearVault for their food. Which means their bags are lighter but they can¢t stay in the bear warning section tomorrow. They will have to stop just outside of it at Lance Creek. Since I do have a BearVault I will be one of the few to press on to Woods Hole Shelter.It is supposed to storm tonight and tomorrow. So I will be getting to rest out how waterproof this tent really is.Forgot to mention that there was a family that rolled in late and couldn¢t find a place to pitch their tent. So they ended up crawling under the shelter to sleep. They said they stayed dry. So it worked for the best for them.
Date: 2022-03-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today has had a lot of things happen. I woke up to the storm around midnight. It was no big deal because I was snug in my sleeping bag and tent. But then I started realizing I was getting rain on my face. So I got my headlamp out and saw the issue. Rain was coming down so hard that it was going under my rain fly and then bouncing on the packed earth of my tent pad up into my tent. It took me a few minutes but I was able to use my rain suit to block it from hitting me. But this left the water to fall down inside my tent, forming a puddle. So I sacrificed my used socks to soak it up. And that is a lesson in why you always carry more than one pair of socks.I slept well other than that. I was hot my first night so i changed things up by fully unzipping my sleeping bag and using it as a blanket. With my sleeping pad being really warm this worked out well. I will being doing that again.It was still raining when I woke up but only drizzling. So there was nothing left to do but to do it. So I got up and packed up in the rain. I left Gooch Shelter around 8:30am. I hung some wet clothes off my pack to dry out as I hiked which only worked once the sun came out. There were some great views today. Preacher Rock was just amazing. I stayed to have lunch there.With having my bearvault I was able to push on into the bear canister required section. I am here with one other hiker. His name is Kurt. He is from Cincinnati. He also has a bearvault. When I was about to take the side Trail off to the shelter I ran into a Ridgerunner. His name is Tom and has done this for 6 years. It¢s a seasonal job, from February to May. He is in charge of educating hikers and making sure the trail and shelters stay clean. Tom is 74. He loves this job. It gets him out of the house. It¢s a 40 work week (4 days, 3 nights). He loves the outdoors and teaching people. Which is good because Kurt and I had tons of questions.An hour or so into hiking this morning I think I just came down to hard on my left knee and made it hyper extend. So it has really hurt all day today. I dug out the Arnicare around 3pm and then did it again after dinner tonight. Hopefully it feels up for the challenge of getting out Blood Mountain tomorrow.I will go up and over Blood Mnt. Into Neel Gap tomorrow morning. I should be at the outfitter there by noon. I had hoped to book a bed at the hostel and get a shower and rest in a bed but I learned from Tom that they are still closed from Covid. So I will just resupply food and push on. Oh speaking of food. I weighed in at Amicalola at 35 lbs. most of that being food. Well now that I¢m out here I realize that I am carrying way to much. I still have enough food to last me two days. So I will only do a minor resupply tomorrow.