morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-09-08
From: 1954.5

To: 1963.9
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Fairly decent Trail today - setup for hostel in Rangeley. Not sure about camping further on. Campsite has no shelter, but plenty of decent tent sites. On pond - has a canoe with 2 paddles and PFDs. Water source at campsite allegedly a "spring house". Nothing but a 6x8 set of boards over a muddy puddle, trickling through a pipe into the pond. I would NOT have used the puddle, but it worked. Had to trickle into my coffee mug, then pumped into my bottles. Glad I use iodine as well as filtering. Med Packrat and Frickles (Fried Pickles). Pretty nice guys. Funny, hiking together, lifted my spirits with THEIR complaints. Heh. They took canoe out onto the pond. In camp early, napped, helped Packrat and Frickles set up a bear cable for the campsite. Relaxed.
Date: 2016-09-09
From: 1963.9

To: 1968.7
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Down to the road and the Hiker Hut. Only took about 2+ hours - very nice Trail, but I was surprised at the time. Very nice hostel - off the grid - no electricity, propane shower by stream, solar for a few things for the owners, Steve and Catherine. Very nice people. Flowers EVERYWHERE. Dahlias, anemones, nasturtiums, many others. Gardens, hanging baskets, beautiful and pleasant. Steve works with a med team in India over the winter, so the hostel helps fund this. I got a private, small cabin. Comfortable bed, kerosene lamp, nice. Steve took package to Stratton for me - extra food I was going to mail, but he said he would take it.
Date: 2016-09-10
From: 1968.7

To: 1079.4
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

Up early - donuts and juice from town for breakfast and Steve made a fried egg sammich for me. Filled in the empty spaces very nicely. 1st part of Trail OK, then turned bad. Up and over Saddlebacks was very rough, hard and technical. Wind blowing hard all day, cloudy and cool. Wondered about rain all day, but nothing so far. No coverage on phone, so no radar to check. Poplar Ridge shelter by 1600 or so. Nothing by shelter, went up Trail 100 meters and found a sheltered place up the north knoll.
Date: 2016-09-11
From: 1079.4

To: 1992.5
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Wind all night - rain started around midnight(?). Woke me up, checked for leaks, went back to sleep. Wind in the morning as well. Trail very wet, very bad. Not as bad as the Whites, just strenuous. Some technical places, but not many. Fell twice. Worst one was over a 4' wall of sheer rock. Stopped at the edge to pick a path, found one, took one step and fell over on my back. Could not stop myself and rolled over the edge. Took brunt of impact on right side and pack after rolling at least 1/2 turn through the air. Glad the pack was NOT on top. Shook up and wind knocked out of me. 2nd time was in the mud - went off the Trail into the shrubs after slipping. Numerous times slipping and sliding without warning. Not sure why - numerous factors, maybe. Thought about it after Dad said he was "worried" about the falling. Heh. Me, too. Crutch tips on poles gone, slick wood instead. Taking caffeine in the morning and at lunch, wonder if I'm getting tired when it wears off and making mistakes. Ankles and knees not working properly - can't step down onto balls of feet anymore without pain, have to land flat footed, which narrows down the options when I slip. Need to slow down, but I need to make miles. Really want to get this over with.
Date: 2016-09-12
From: 1992.5

To: 2000.9
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Cold last night - had to put on dry socks and hat to sort of stay warm. BDU jacket liner over legs. Clear and blue and cold today. Hard climb up Crockers - stupid summits - trees cut down to make "view". Ridiculous. Another dumb stretch for nothing, it seems. Fell (again) on a moderate stretch. Was doing well, when something went wrong and I fell, rolling off the edge of the Trail, rolling over at least 3 times down 10+ feet before hitting a birch tree hard. Caught my breath, couldn't move with the pack on, so I slipped out of it while on my side. When I did, the pack went another 10+ feet further down slope. Sat up, started taking inventory, shaking HARD from reaction. A young lady named Twix came up, asked if I was OK and at that point came over the edge like I did, just not as far. She was shaken up, had the same scrapes over left shin as I did. Still couldn't see what had happened. She went on, I went up Trail about 10 meters and sat down to shake some more. Scared me a lot. 2 other hikers came up, stayed a few minutes to make sure I was OK and moved on. Later, they told me they could tell I was extremely shaken up and that I didn't want anyone around. Didn't know it was that obvious. Road by 1430 - no shuttle, out on long trip. Tried to hitch for 45 minutes and nothing. Young pup - The Dude - came up and 10 seconds later, taken into town by Ms. Sue. Decided to zero the next day. Still reacting to fall.
Date: 2016-09-14
From: 2000.9

To: 2011.3
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Up and over Bigelows, The Horns and Avery Peak. Very hard up - rock hopping mostly in heavy fog and wind. No views until the other side of Avery and then only for a few seconds at a time. 9 hours for 10 miles. Not good. Hard downs as well - wet, slippery. Nothing really technical, just rock hopping again. I've quit taking caffeine to make sure THAT was what was making me go too fast and fall too often. I could feel it today. Safford campsite by 1640 - already starting to get dark with the fog and the wrong side of the ridge. Went to the end of the campsite trail and found a place where 2 older lady section hikers had set up. They graciously allowed me to stay nearby. Helped them start a fire, set up camp and went to bed. Knees and ankles pinging again.
Date: 2016-09-15
From: 2011.3

To: 2023.9
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: few clouds

Setting up for Kennebec River crossing in 2 days. Rained hard last night - midnight? Got cold and clear by morning. Cold all day - had to wear field jacket liner in the morning. Fair Trail over Little Bigelow. Done with the hard mountains now, I believe. Good Trail after - just too many roots and rocks. Rock hopping in places, which slows me down. Ankles not working - have to land flat footed now - can't turn ankles more than a few degrees without pain. 9 hours for 12+ miles - slow, but not too bad. Getting dark when I arrived at shelter about 1700. Found an actual tent pad - dirt inside logs specifically for tents. Flat, no probs. Finished camp in the dark after supper and hanging the bear bag. Out like a light.
Date: 2016-09-16
From: 2023.9

To: 2035.3
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Fair Trail today - no bad ups or downs for a change. Roots and rocks are really taking toll on legeds and time hiking. Hard to keep an even pace when trying to find a flat place to put my feet so the ankles don't bend wrong. Got to Pierce Pond shelter where I was going to stay - saw ad in shelter for a fish camp up the Trail a bit. The guide says cash only, but I decided to go see if that has changed. Several cash only places are now taking plastic. Nope - cash only. Off the grid - no power, no phone. No places to tent around the place, the owner states. They off an immense breakfast for $9 I wanted to get in on. Oh, well. Went on, finally found flattish place right by Trail. Took it, even though there is a dip in the middle that will probably cause my back problems in the morning. Almost dark by bedtime. Need to walk sooner and longer, as light is getting shorter. Oh, yeah, leaves are turning, just to let me know I'm woefully behind schedule. Now setup for Kennebec River crossing and Caratunk resupply. Whoot.
Date: 2016-09-17
From: 2035.3

To: 2037.9
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: broken clouds

Got to the Kennebec at 0850. I was passed by 14 young pups on the way. Yikes. Looks like I'll be in line for a while.Got to the river - was intensely low. 3-5 meters of rocks on either side. Upstream, there was an island of rocks exposed, which seemed to indicate a fording possibility, but all the literature says not to ford, as there are "numerous dams upstream that may release water at unexpected intervals". Somehow, I doubt in a drought year, they would be releasing water. I'm in no hurry - only 1 mile to the hostel - which is a good thing, as I'm #20 in line. Ferry is a canoe hired by a local trail club. Hours are from 0900-1400 until the end of September. He started pulling people across about 0915. 1 hour later, I was across. oThe canoe actually has a white blaze in the bottom to indicate it is considered part of the "official" Trail. Neat. I sat in front and helped paddle. The water under the deepest part was only about 1 meter or so. Current was fairly strong, the rocks are smooth and slippery and it was still a wide crossing. I'm glad I didn't try to ford. No phone service at the Trail head, so walked the 1.3 miles to the hostel, Sterling Inn, which has been in operation continuously for 100 years this year. Resupply was expensive, but no stores for miles, so no problem. Had problem with Amazon dot com on the computer. Would NOT take my credit card number for my last order of food to get the last 151 miles. Struggled, finally put the order in, but I need to check in the A.M. to make sure. Aired tent and sleeping bag out on front porch. Nice, clean accommodations. Room price is very reasonable. I'd stay again.
Date: 2016-09-18
From: 2037.9

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Bloody hell.Amazon STILL messing up order. Took a couple of hours to fix and now the order will not get to Monson until this Friday, 2 days AFTER I do. Checked Monson hostel and lodging prices - seems I'll be here at the Sterling Inn for at least one more day, possibly 2. Crap. No way to rush order to a PO Box. It is what it is. Cie le vie. OK, I'm still happy to zero. It's raining pretty hard this morning, and MAY, repeat, MAY quit by by this afternoon or linger into tomorrow.
Date: 2016-09-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Another zero at the Sterling Inn - no prob - it is what it is. 100 year old inn, very reasonable prices. Very nice place, very nice owner - does it right. Has a COMPLETE resupply. Bit pricey, but with the closest grocery store 25+ miles away, I get it. Got some tortillas and PB for the next leg. Got a LOT of rest.
Date: 2016-09-20
From: 2037.9

To: 2052
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Great Trail to Pleasant Pond shelter and mt, then TONS of roots and rocks. Made 7 miles in 4 hours, then lunch. Noticed my left shin is yellow from bruises caused by all the hits and abrasions I've been experiencing. Right shin not as bad for some reason. Left leg/ankle still not all in, even after 2.5 days off. Found flat space right by the Trail, finally. Piled rocks and logs on the Trail side of the tent in case someone tried to night hike by. Didn't want them to kick my guy line. By 1710. it's already dark under the trees. Finished camp and supper by headlamp, which I hate. Absolutely NO clue where I am - just guessing. May be more, may be less than 14. Went past the powerline, but haven't made the next shelter, so who knows?Ashes went past, but he has a hammock, so he can camp pretty much anywhere.
Date: 2016-09-21
From: 2052

To: 2065.6
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: few clouds

Only 30 minutes to Bald Mt shelter - maybe 1/2 mile? I now have a cold I picked up at Sterling Inn, probably from some piece of hiker trash. Oh, like me. Not too bad yet, just enough to take the edge off my well-being. Moxie Bald Mt not too bad - past the shelter the Trail was pretty good. Mostly nice, few rock hops, but good. Flat, easy. Still only 13.6 in 9 hours - feet and legs can't give any more for some reason. Just worn out, probably. Came up on 3 Walker hounds with brightly colored collars and radio or GPS collars. Except for the color (black with brown spots), they looked exactly like my Walker hound at home. One was barking at me, so I shooed them back south. Later, I heard panting behind me and they were following me north. No barking this time, so I let them go by. Hope they find their owner. Made Horseshoe Canyon shelter by 1645. Now set up for Monson. ** I am typing this in on 08 Oct. I can't remember where I camped here, but I know I did NOT use the shelter. **
Date: 2016-09-22
From: 2065.6

To: 2071.3
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: clear sky

Got to the 100 Mile Wilderness Outfitter camp. Very nice place - very nice owner - Mr. Pepin. Did the Trail in 1977 after the Air Force turned him down. Sets up a food drop at Joe Mary Road for you, about 60 miles into the 100 Mile Wilderness, which helps a LOT. Private cabins, bunk house, very clean and neat, yet primitive and off-grid. Came to a Trail intersection - could not decide if it was the right place or not. Had to call - Nope - keep going. "Can't miss it." Wanna bet? Found the place at last. Pretty easy, once you have the directions. Heh.
Date: 2016-09-23
From: 2071.3

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Another zero day.Amazon took all 15 of my Mountain House meals and put each of them into a separate package. Sheesh. Mr. Pepin took me the 1.5 miles into town and dropped me off with a bicycle, as he had a long shuttle to do. Put all the meals in one box and hauled them back. Had to walk up one hill, as I have walking muscles now, not biking muscles. Eeek. Set up the food drop. Snack part is heavier than the Mt House meals part. Ready to start tomorrow.
Date: 2016-09-24
From: 2071.3

To: 2085.3
Miles today: 14.0

1st day in the 100 Mile Wilderness. Did 3 miles before actually getting into the Wilderness, though. Pushed today, as it was fairly decent Trail. Nothing major YET. Looking forward, maybe. Went past shelter about .3. No camping at the shelter I was impressed with. Found flat space about 1730 when it was pretty much dark. Have I mentioned I HATE setting up camp in the dark? Planning to stop sooner now, probably about 1630. Cold today. Have not seen frost, but the nights and mornings are pretty cold. Colors are coming out very strong in the trees the further north I go. Haven't seen that since living in Virginia.
Date: 2016-09-25
From: 2085.3

To: 2096.3
Miles today: 11.0

Only 11 today - avg 1.5 mph. Daylight is fading. Very cold and windy today - had sprinkles on and off. Mts hard in places - was lied to (*gasp*) about no mts int he Wilderness. These are pretty much as "mountainy" as anything down south. Bad Trail in places as usual. On other side of Fourth Mt (that's the name) somewhere. Planning to summit on 04 Oct as all weekends through November at the campground are sold out. No reason to rush. Can't anyway. Got cold as I was setting up camp - thermals, dry sox and hat tonight. Started 2 hand warmers by mistake - first one seemed dead, so I started another. Found out it takes up to 30 minutes to take effect. Oh, well.
Date: 2016-09-26
From: 2096.3

To: 2108.3
Miles today: 12.0

Bad Trail until about 1000, then good places to hike. Stairs in the middle of nowhere? Why? both north and south of the stairs were places that needed them MUCH worse. NO help for the slab climbing, either. Got to West Branch Pleasant River - went on 2+ miles to be legal. Did NOT care about the falls. River was VERY low - supposedly a ford, but I barely got the bottoms of my boots wet. Hope it continues. Found great spot abut 1640. Gets dark at 1830+/-, so I'm home.
Date: 2016-09-27
From: 2108.3

To: 2117.8
Miles today: 10.5

Slow start - slow walking. Hard to walk for some reason. Mts are hard - ups and downs for no reason. No help as usual with switchbacks, etc. It is what it is. White Cap Mt was useless. Why bother, except to put ANOTHER mt in our path. Foggy, windy, no view of Kahtadin. Walked AROUND the top to get to the other side instead of up and over. Very nasty rock hop/scramble. Got to Logan Brook shelter +.1 mile. No camping around shelter, rocky sites .1 down the Trail. Made a fire for the first time in literally months. Played witgh birch bark fire starting and WOW!!! does birch bark work GREAT !! Saw no one today. Am I the last one up the Trail?
Date: 2016-09-28
From: 2117.8

To: 2131.2
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: clear sky

Cold and foggy last night. Might have rained - I was out. Good thing I had the tent flies down. Lunch on Little Board mt - aired out bag and tent. Finally saw people - young pups going for 01 Oct summit. Good luck with that. Did well after lunch - got to within .5 mile of Joe Mary road and food drop. Have too much food left over - have gone further each day than what I had thought I could do. Had several (8?) people pass me while I was setting up camp.
Date: 2016-09-29
From: 2131.2

To: 2143.4
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Talked with a lady in a hammock who stayed at the last shelter. She stated her hammock and food bag got ripped into by the shelter mice. Not good. This is another reason I try to stay away from shelters. Heard moose calling all last night, in addition to some idiot with a boat horn on his vehicle. I could hear vehicles crunching down the gravel road and the boat horn sounded like it was just up the Trail it was so loud. Got my food drop - now I have way too much food, but I'm not dumping anything just yet. Killed 3 mice INSIDE the bear box. They had just set up shop, shredding a roll of toilet paper. I have a few nibbles on my plastic bag, but nothing eaten. Got a couple of drinks and snacks, moved on. Texted Mr. Pepin about mice - he had a good laugh at how I texted him. Not HIS fault mice are there. Got to White House Landing by 1515. Great Trail up to them. Nice people, primitive, off grid set-up, but really neat. Got a room and a shower. No laundry, which is icky, but a hot shower helped. Great supper as well. WHL was a place that had closed for 2 years. It's one of the places I had wanted to visit on my thru attempt and I was happy to see they had re-opened. You call, they come pick you up in an outboard motor boat. Pretty neat
Date: 2016-09-30
From: 2143.4

To: 2155
Miles today: 11.6

Late start with boat back to Trail. No probs - had a great breakfast which put me up another meal. Good time down the Trail, but it seemed like I was in slow motion. Passed by old and young hikers, but no prob. Walked fast and did pretty well. 1st view of Kahtadin. Sat, stared and teared up quite a bit. Also, got scared looking at the sides and wondering where MY Trail was. No good bear tree, did a poor one. It'll work, hopefully. Got just past Crescent Pond. Restless was supposed to catch up and use my filter, but I never saw him. Got into a good pine stand with flat places.
Date: 2016-10-01
From: 2155

To: 2170.5
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Clear and cold AM. Got to Hurd Brook shelter - camped uphill. Met and camped by Faux McCoy. Leapfrogged him today several times. Lots of young pups with a dog in shelter. Were meeting Miss Janet later to drop the dog off, as Baxter State Park doesn't allow them. Tried to get reservation at Rainbow ledges, thought I got a tent site for 2 nights. Only place to have cell reception. Called at 1550, they close the rez line at 1530, so went online. Software glitches, but I should have the rez. Getting close !Completed camp in the dark again. Still, 15+ miles !! Part was good Trail, part not so good.
Date: 2016-10-02
From: 2170.5

To: 2183.9
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

Bear bag was chewed. Seriously??? 7 months on Trail and this is the first time I had problems. I had camped uphill from the Rainbow Stream shelter. I heard plastic rustling, but thought it was Faux McCoy packing up, so I didn't check. Chewed through the outer plastic trash bag, food bag and into my inner trash bag. Heh. Fooled THAT squirrel. No other damage to actual food. Got to Abol store about 1000. Met a "Trail Steward" - Long John who checked on my rez with his radio. Nope - didn't go through. He had a deal for me being the 4th in a 4 person shelter, but I wanted my own space. Got a beauty of a view of Kahtadin from the bridge. Still freaking about the route. I tried to make the rez at the wrong campsite. Long John radioed and got me the rez with no prob. Pay at the park. Got snacks and moved on - wait !!!!! I'M OUT OF THE 100 MILE WILDERNESS !!!! WHOOT !!!Good Trail mostly - went upstream for the one stream I had to actually ford, as the fording place was pretty bad. Found a log jam and kept the feet dry, but took 30 minutes.Got to park - NO tent spaces left. Got a shelter instead for the same price, Paid for 1 night, as forecast had changed to only 20% chance of rain tomorrow instead of 60%. Met Duffy - shuttle driver for the AT Lodge in Millinocket. He and his wife - Mighty Mouse - started me out in GA on 29 Feb at the Hiker Hostel. I wanted to end with them. Had another fire - played again with birch bark. Very nice fire. Planning to summit tomorrow, IF no rain. Got a day pack from the Ranger to use for minimal weight. Met Bamm-Bamm at the station. Had no place to stay, so I offered him a spot in my shelter. He accepted and then decided to sleep in his van.
Date: 2016-10-03
From: 2183.9

To: 2189.1
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: scattered clouds

No rain last night. Not much sleep, either. Had one mouse running across the wall, but my packs were untouched. Up at 0-530 - on the Trail by 0640. Bamm-bamm was the only person ahead of me at 0500. You sign a clipboard at the foot of the Trail. Easy for a mile or so - then turned very tough, including hand over hand climbs over some of it. Met Bamm-bamm coming down. Passed by no one. No one up there, according to him. Fog started at the end of the Tablelands below the summit. Could not see the summit until about 40 feet away. VERY windy, VERY cold from Tablelands up to summit. Hands started to get numb, so I broke out a hand warmer, which helped. Yes, I didn't take my gloves. Idiot.Tablelands are the flattish areas between the peak and the last rock climb cliffs. Sorta flat, you rock hop a bit, but it's pretty smooth. Sign came into view through the fog - got there, touched it and started crying. Sat down and could not believe I was almost done. Don't forget - climb up, climb down. No one there to see, no one there to take my picture. Drat. Poop Hands and another young pup came up AFTER I was under control and the obligatory pictures started. The fog began to break up and we had amazing views past the sign. Stayed less than 30 minutes - had to meet 1600 shuttle. Took me 4 hours to get up. Now, the hard part of getting down. Met a TON of people coming up. Turned around, peak is clear from 1.5 miles away - you can see the sign and cairn beautifully. The fog was starting to roll over the edge of the Tablelands. it would curl up and over and dissipate. Really cool looking. Going down the cliff climbs, met Calamity Jane from England, who went past me while I was taking a break. She had asked her Trail buddies to help her down, but they pretty much deserted her. She was not in a good mood and was emotional about it. I stayed and we started down together. 100 meters down, I realized I had left my jacket liner and had to go back. Pretty sure Jane thought I was deserting her as well. Scrambled back up, got the liner and caught back up. Made a joke about how she had been dumped by the Americans TWICE in one day. Bloody yanks, you just can't trust 'em. Helped her (psychologically) down by taking her poles as needed when she had to climb or slide down. Helped her and I was glad I had been there. Started listening to my epic music, Jane wanted rock, so she picked some stuff out and we pretty much flew down the rest of the mt. Went a LOT faster than I would have, probably. Got to the parking lot at 1430. Met the shuttle at 1600 with Mighty Mouse driving. She claims she remembered my speech on 29 Feb at Hiker Hostel about 2016, blah, blah, blah. I'm a Thru-hiker.