morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-08-18
From: Madison Hut

To: Wildcat E
Miles today: 10.6

We ascended our last Presidential mountain today, Madison, another giant pile of jagged boulders. We descended below treeline... The trail crashed rudely a couple thousand feet in only a few mile. A brief dip in an icy stream greeted me part way down.One has to retain some semblance of cleanliness while hiking. This can be achieved through such uncomfortably cold attempts at swimming. The water was too cold for a swim and the weather not as warm as it was in the Mid-Atlantic. But still we braved the waters briefly before descending further to Pinkham Notch.I asked Ladybird if she waned to go back to the Prezzies... She nodded vigorously. Darn our persistence We'll keep to the AT. With our relaxed pace as of late, we are getting to a point where we might actually have to put in some miles, but with Ladybird's flight out before the 18th of September we still have time to stretch this hike out a bit.We were thinking of walking to Carter Notch Hut, but settled on a pleasant flat spot atop Wildcat E.
Date: 2010-08-19
From: Wildcat E

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: few clouds

My mileage stats have taken a bit of a beating, but I have learned to enjoy myself a bit. There are better things to do than hike all day while accompanied by or accompanying another person. For instance, there is a rather spectacular pond near Carter Notch Hut. And the weather is warm and pleasant. Warm enough for an extended swim.The drive to fastpack, on this trail, has subsided and the desire for fun and adventure has increased. I'm swimming, peak bagging, and stopping at noon! I think I could still knock out 20 miles in a day but I would rather not right now.The new "Croo" at Carter Notch Hut offered us work for stay when we stopped in. Before noon? Why not? So we swam more, did some reading, visited with a few other hikers.---Sometime in the afternoon, wanting a snack, I decided to open my bag of tortillas. This is the northeast where there is only one brand of tortillas. They come in a bag without a resealable zip lock sorta thing. I tugged at the bag for a while, then *POP* little tortilla bits showered the other hikers and eight spinning tortilla-frisbees went flying into the air. I caught one, the rest landed in various locations around the hut.
Date: 2010-08-20
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Rattle River
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: clear sky

I am feeling pretty good about these 13 miles! It has taken a while to break me of the neurotic fastpacker tendencies.Today's mileage came a bit easier. We started at nearly 10:00, took an extended afternoon tea break, and arrived at Rattle River Shelter after 6:00. Maybe six of seven hours of walking. It was a moderate and comfortable clip over a decreasing amount of Volkswagen sized boulders. The... trail, from Carter Notch Hut was actually a trail, and not a boulder field. We ascended rather quickly and took our time atop Carter Dome and the other peaks north of there. These were also our last 4000 footers. If I want to bag any more, I'll have to return. At last count, we have stood atop 24 or the 48 4000 footers in New Hampshire.So we are camped low in Hardwoods for the first time since Franconia Notch. I miss the dense boreal forest already and especially miss the arctic tundra above tree line.
Date: 2010-08-21
From: Rattle River

To: Hogan Road
Miles today: 2.4

Chance of showers: 80%, 70% 20%, 70%... That means it is going to rain every day.We'll take our chances that the 20% day will be reasonably dry...ish. Mahoosuc Notch on Tuesday then... that means we can get just out of town and do two 10 mile days... so much for bumping up mileage. Mahoosuc Notch should be hit on a dry day. it is a ravine full of giant boulders that can be very slick apparently. It is called the hardest mile on the AT. I look forward to it like some sort of obstacle course.So with all this time today, we did town stuff. We set ourselves to the task of taking as long a time as possible to do all our errands. We went to the post office, received mail, including another box of cookies from friends. I shared them with the other hikers in town. We did laundry, went to a coffee shop, had giant sandwiches, lounged in a pavilion out of the rain... Woohoo! 10 hours spent in town, and we didn't even stay the night!We hitched out and set up camp about a mile out of town, once again in the hardwood forest.
Date: 2010-08-22
From: Hogan Road

To: Gentian Pond
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: light rain

With a persistent morning downpour, we stayed in our quilts and didn't leave until rather late.Under cloudy skies and dripping trees, we trudged through mud and sodden vegetation. The views of the White Mountains, which could possibly be rather spectacular, were blocked by fog.We camped at Gentian Pond Shelter with a surprising number of hikers, pretty much a full house.
Date: 2010-08-23
From: Gentian Pond

To: Full Goose
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

Here is a typical wet weather northeast hiking scenario. Imagine you are hiking on relatively flat trail. Now insert knee high rocks and roots. You are looking at your feet trying not to fall and crack your skull open on rocks. You chance a look ahead seeing a white blaze on a rock about six feet up. "OK, that way..." you think, then something makes you look up higher. There is another blaze 12 feet up, and another 20 feet up. You climb up, walk on perfect trail for 20 feet, then descend a vertical 20 feet again.So why do AT hikers put them selves through such torment? I haven't quite figured that part out yet... But I seem to enjoy it my self. Even in miserable weather and reasonably challenging conditions, I enjoyed my trudge in the sludge today. I even enjoyed my hip deep slip into a mountain op bog!So while walking across a bog on boards, we reached an impasse. The boards disappeared into the mud. There was a board visible about six feet away. I backed up and made a slight run for it, leaping for the plank. Landing neatly on both feat, I celebrated prematurely as I continued to slide. my feet were going slightly faster than the rest of my body. Then I was airborne, drawn upward by some unseen force. feet and arms flailed helplessly as I arced through the fog, reaching an apex and descending to earth once again. Like a cat, I managed to land arms and legs first on the ground, in the mud, sinking hip and shoulder deep.Ladybird walked across to gap I had jumped without sinking more than the tops of her dilapidated shoe soles.Oh well, mud is supposed to exfoliate or something, right?
Date: 2010-08-24
From: Full Goose

To: Speck Mountain
Miles today: 6.2

Mahoosuc Notch! The hardest mile on the AT! Apparently it can take some hikers up to five hours to travel the length of this boulder strewn ravine. It took Ladybird and I about one and a half hours! Not bad considering the wet rocks and hundreds of photos we took!It felt like an obstacle course. We crawled through small caves, tunnels, climbed boulders, jumped gaps... I felt like a contestant on Ninja Warrior, the Japanese game show, which I recommend.After that, we ascended Mahooosuc Arm, supposedly one of the toughest climbs on the AT. When terrain s steep enough it becomes scrambling rather than walking. I can scramble up a steep rocky route faster than I can walk a semi-steep trail.Up to we dried gear for an extended period of time with views south to the White mountains. At Speck Pond, the highest pond in Maine, we took a swim in the 50 degree water. It was brisk, but refreshing. Then to the top of Speck Mountain to camp. From the fire tower, we could see the bank of clouds approaching, promising heavy rain for the next couple days.Well at least it was dry for the Notch.
Date: 2010-08-25
From: Speck Mountain

To: Baldpate Lean-to
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: moderate rain

Another day and a possibility of a fatal slide down an exposed rocky slabby mountain? Why not lounge? So we stopped before noon, and at the recommendation of a thru-hiker who had made it over, stayed put.Later in the evening, a group of college students arrived from a college in Maine, some shared the shelter. They had crossed the same mountain we were too timid, or smart to cross. Didn't I learn to not listen to people on the PCT and CDT?
Date: 2010-08-26
From: Baldpate Lean-to

To: Andover
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

A "pate" is defined as the crown of the head. A bald pate is a bald head I suppose. And that is what Baldpate is! It is a bare slabby granite mountain.Our morning climb was wet and slippery, not recommended highly. The fog wafted by making our traverse rather dramatic! Baldpate would be spectacular in the sun I imagine. We would have been fine yesterday in the rain, but discretion is the better part of valor?We then hitched to Andover for additional food and internet, and space in the hostel. Warmth and cleanliness was in order after not stopping since Killington.
Date: 2010-08-27
From: Andover

To: Hall Mountain
Miles today: 6.0

Andover is a pleasant small town of 680 residents, "Oh wait, 679, someone died last week." as the manager of the hostel said. The library is one of the most interesting libraries I have ever seen! It is all wood interior and in the shape of an octagon. The ceiling is vaulted, high up with hanging lights. It is fairly small, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in character.We hitched out of andover and walked six easy miles to Hall Mountain Lean-to to camp.Surplus pond made for an excellent break for lunch. The trees on the hill above were just starting to turn red and yellow. I can't wait for the real thing! I do plan on being around in October when the leaves do change.
Date: 2010-08-28
From: Hall Mountain

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: broken clouds

I have been trying to learn a lot of the local trees. It is kind of tough when a) there are tons of species, and b) Suddenly, you jump biomes and there is this rogue oak that apparently only grows in southern Texas... I think the tree guide was wrong. We also found cedars for the first time thus far.Our morning was spent of two big climbs. Moody Mountain and Old Blue. Old Blue is up high and comfortably back in familiar Boreal forest territory. From Old Blue, we could see south to Mount Washington, now quite a ways in the distance. Some say that our end point is visible from here, but neither I nor Ladybord could see it. It is still over 100 miles away.
Date: 2010-08-29
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to

To: Little Swift River Pond
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

Remember when I was assigning points to very good trail days? Well this one ranks up there. We spent our morning on slabby granite with clear views north and east. Not a cloud in the sky, though it did drizzle briefly... I am still trying to figure that one out...The trail was fairly easy to walk. There were surprisingly few 15 foot cliffs and boulder fields! After eight or so fairly easy miles, we came to "The Beach" a fantastic swimming spot on a fairly sizable lake. It even had a sandy bottom. We spent a good long time there. After another easy stretch of trail, we came to Little Swift River Pond, a much smaller pond, but very nice. There were even a few canoes there, apparently unowned and available for rent... for free. We snagged one for a sunset cruise.As Papa Smurf would say... "Another fantastic day on the AT!"Wildlife? Nothing interesting... Still looking for moose, ore meese, or whatever the plural of moose is. Weather? Warm and sunny! We would have swam regardless.
Date: 2010-08-30
From: Little Swift River Pond

To: Saddleback Mountain
Miles today: 10.5

Why not camp on a windy mountain? 60 miles per hour? No problem! One heck of a view at sunset though!Ladybird and I had a very efficient stop in Rangely. The first truck picked us up. "Get in the back, I got guns up here." We obeyed. While at the outfitter, a man offered us a ride to the Grocery and then back to the trail! In and out of town in under two hours. Then we climbed Saddleback under beautiful, but typically hazy sunny skies. It was also a great night for star gazing! Though picking out constellations can be exceedingly tricky under skies this dark!We camped with Tourguide. Several other hikers went for the better camping in the trees further north.
Date: 2010-08-31
From: Saddleback Mountain

To: Spaulding Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

We awoke in a fog. A literal fog. Thick damp air, our bags pretty wet with dew. The passing clouds that wafted by soaked us even further as the morning progressed. We walked in fog to The Horn, and down the mountain to a fairly high saddle. We then climbed a short but steep pitch to Saddleback Junior which granted us a place to dry gear, and a view of Saddleback, still covered in dense clouds.After a cool morning, Orebeton offered respite from the somewhat harsh late summer heat that we endured in the afternoon. It was shallow but cool. After that, it was up up up to Spaulding Mountain. We camped at the shelter with numerous other thru-hikers and a college group. We had debated another mountain top camp but decided against being covered with dew.We will be in the town of Stratton tomorrow, home of the reasonably famous "Wolfburger"
Date: 2010-09-01
From: Spaulding Mountain Shelter

To: ME 27
Miles today: 13.5

Woohoo! Four days in a row of double digits! Hah!It was a day of ups and downs. Literal ones. Up 1000 feet, down 2000, up 2000, down 500, up 600, own 2800... Uhh... Makes for a tired hiker.The heat is back. It was apparently above 90 degrees today, which is very warm for Maine. Humid too. The air was thick, and visibility quite low. We could hardly see the mountains we were climbing! Or the ones we had just climbed.So after a quick swim, we scampered up 2000 feet then down nearly 3000 and hitched into Stratton for the famous (on the AT) wolfburger. A burger with sausage, bacon, mushrooms and cheese. I don't know what made me feel worse. The hot sticky climbs? Or the burger hangover? I am not a big beef fan, but it was required eating. The fries were quite amazing.Then after a resupply and ice cream, it was off to the trail at dusk. After about 10 minutes, the most haggard of trucks squeaked, and rattled its way to a stop. With the help from a comfortably sozzled driver of approximately 18 years, the truck knocked, pinged and swerved its way wildly at 60 miles per hour for five long miles out of town toward the trail head. And when the truck had decided it was too much, it ground to a rattling halt. Belching smoke, the driver... and the truck, stopped and requested we walk the final half mile. Ladybird and I quickly said our thanks and sprinted away quickly. We walked the road uphill to the trail head then turned left into the woods and camped in the dark 20 yards off the road.
Date: 2010-09-02
From: ME 27

To: Little Bigelow lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

So it gets easier from here? Everyone tells us that Maine gets easier after the Bigelows. Today was our last 4000 footers before Katahdin which stands a mile high. And it was hot and muggy, and there is a hurricane coming!So we climbed slowly up toward Horns Pond. Even in the relative cool of the morning, I was still sweating up a storm. Then we climbed up to Bigelow and Avery. Both were rocky, but the thick humid air afforded few views, even on this cloudless day. We took our time walking until we were on Little Bigelow. There was a rather colorful sunset in the now heavier cloud cover. It started to sprinkle lightly so we donned pack covers and booked it to the shelter where Kumquat and Tourguide had made it much earlier than us. No more of this night hiking stuff. It is dangerous. We need to hit our marks. We no doubt missed some views, and Ladybird missed some squiggly rocks. (geology degree) We'll try harder tomorrow We need to make a shelter for the possibly heavy rain from hurricane Earl. I predict it won't amount to much.
Date: 2010-09-03
From: Little Bigelow lean-to

To: Pierce Pond
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We are thru-swimming again, the real "aqua-blazing" I swam four times today! We had set a goal of hiking eight miles before a long break, but two miles in we found a rocky sandy beach, free of mud and weeds. Then there was another spot, and another... I swam again in the evening after reaching the rather full Pierce Pond shelter. With the impending doom of a hurricane circling nearby, quickly approaching, I figured why not swim if I am going to be wet anyway? I feel cleaner today than most days on trail.The day started hot and clear but clouded steadily as the hours went by. I wasn't as inspired to swim at about 3:00 under dark skies and brisk wind so we went on past East Carry Pond. We'll see if this hurricane lives up to the hype.---note: we started in a tent but ended up in the shelter. Read the 9-4 account.
Date: 2010-09-04
From: Pierce Pond

To: Joe's Hole Brook
Miles today: 17.0

Call me "Emergency Spot" or something. It seems as though whenever I make the decision where to camp, we end up hiking into twilight and find some barely flat spot not long enough for a normal sized person. I rejected a viewful power line cut in favor of getting another mile or two. We ended up in a non impacted damp spot near a creek. It is a bit overgrown but the tarp fits, sort of. It twill serve.So, you may ask, whatever happened to Hurricane Earl? He spun off into the Atlantic, sending a few bands of rain westward. At 1:00 a.m. Ladybird woke me warning of small rivulets draining into our flat spot, our slightly dished flat spot apparently. We decided to abandon ship and seek shelter in... the shelter. We picked up all of our gear except for the tarp and a couple miscellaneous items and ducked into the full shelter, seeking space on the dirt floor in the "porcupine trap" A place in between the front and the floor. We spent the rest of a restless night hoping not to get too damp from the splash of persistent rain.Before 7:00, we were off in the mist headed for Caratunk. The rain subsided in time for us to get to the Kennebec River. Hillbilly Dave was waiting with a canoe to ferry hikers across. Kumquat went first, as she had got out of the shelter before Ladybird and I. Then Ladybird and I were paddled across. This river has been forded before, as our ferry man said and this is paraphrased: "A few [idiots] try to ford every year and some end up about 300 yards down stream." We had information on how to ford safely but with the remnants of a hurricane loitering nearby, we decided the wise choice of action was to take the official rout and get paddled across.After we resupplied from our mail drop we headed north again, running into a group of hikers and a car, and a grill, and soda... Trail magic! We had corn and soda with other hikers and headed north again. Having not exactly met our mileage goa we continued hiking til nearly dark. Aren't all creeks supposed to have some sort of decent flat camp spots? Sheesh!
Date: 2010-09-05
From: Joe's Hole Brook

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Moxie Bald at a paltry 2600 feet was quite stunning, granting views in all directions. "Which mountain is Katahdin?" We all asked. Even the local weekenders couldn't answer. There were some clouds and it wasn't overly clear. The mountain may still be hiding. There were some large peaks, but they seemed too close. They were likely Whitecap, Chairback and a side peak, Big Spencer. It is tricky to tell what is what without maps. Barely anyone carries maps on the AT, but sometimes I wish I at least had a rudimentary map to tell what the surrounding peaks, lakes and rivers were. It wouldn't be necessary for navigation with white paint on trees every 100 feet.So the rest of the day was spent going vaguely downhill along two creeks complete with scary ankle deep fords! "OOOO Should we take our shoes off? Is there a way around?" It is kind of fun in an egotistical sort of way to come up to a river with slowly moving hikers in crocs and just bound across with our shoes on. I've been fording hip deep snow melt streams the past couple years.So Monson will be tomorrow. We are planning to stay one night. Then the 100 mile wilderness, then Katahdin.
Date: 2010-09-06
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to

To: Monson
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

The section hikers were up at 6:00, walking in crocs sans socks, chastising their decision to get up and face the brisk morning and hike 13 miles, and bemoaning the quarter mile walk for water.The thru-hikers all huddles in sleeping bags and quilts, too lazy to get moving. "we only have nine flat miles to go!" We waited for the first rays of sunlight to peak above the canyon rim. Ladybird and I managed a fairly early departure and meandered not too slowly to our hitch to Monson, making the paved road by noon. It was one of the tougher hitches I have done on this trail. Many cars passed. A woman in an old Toyota sedan tossed up her arms in consternation mouthing "sorry" slowing, but unable to stop with the stream of tourists behind her. The road barely has a shoulder, but after about 30 minutes of holiday day weekend traffic complete with giant motor boats froom Moosehead Lake, the largest lake in Maine, we were picked up by the owner of Shaw's.We opted for Lakeshore House. We were told about it several hundred miles ago and planned our last town stay to be there. They have four rooms for two, three, four and six hikers I believe. They also have a restaurant, kayaks, a floating trampoline, movies, TV... It was a very comfy spot.A couple southbounders were there as well as Bunne, from northern California and his dog Stella, named for a Grateful Dead tune, a well mannered fantastic beast, Siberian Husky. Stella knows sign language and showed off for the hostel owner's kids. The guy and his dog could win an award for best trail partnership if they gave out such an award.
Date: 2010-09-07
From: Monson

To: Wilson Valley Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Can we zero? Please? If we did we would have to do 30 miles per day through Maine's famous 100 mile wilderness. And so we left the comfort of Lakeshore House and the many hikers who we will likely not see again on this trail. Farewell Bunne, Sleepy, Eatmore, Roam, Stoaker, and Sour Tower. We are thinking of summiting on Sunday, but that will be an aggressive schedule. Monday is more likely. Especially for two hikers who have not broken 20 miles on two consecutive days since Pennsylvania. Granted we enjoyed the heck out of the north east.So we did our ten in the half day of walking. In fairly low rolling terrain, highlights were a rather large beaver pond with at least three beavers patrolling the still waters. We saw the pond near 6:00 pm with warm early evening light glinting off the water casting yellow fall light on the rocks and trees.---So I have not discussed Monson. It is a pleasant little town of 600 or so on a lake. There is a general store, two hostels, a gas station, deli... Shaw's Hostel has a famous AYCE breakfast for a mere seven bucks. It started with French toast, then moved on to eggs, sausage, bacon, and very good fried potatoes. We ate with about ten other hikers, including Kumquat, and Tourguide. It has been a blast out here meeting this huge community of hikers. They are like cousins I never met. We come from far fields of interest and work, with one common passion, walking long distances.