morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-01
From: Piazza Rock lean-to

To: Rangeley
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Rangeley!!!8/1/2007 9:23pm   Hiked 1.8 miles to get to Maine Highway 4. Got no sleep last night because of ridiculous snoring by another hiker. Keisha will vouch, it was ridiculous. Anyways, it took us over 30 minutes to get a hitch into town. Which is actually a long time considering it was supposed to be an "easy hitch". We called Bob (the owner of the hostile we are staying at) and he came and picked us up and brought us to Gull Pond Lodge, which is two miles out of town. It's a nice place right on a lake with a log cabin kind of feel. Bob basically just spends his day shuttling guests in and out of town whenever they want. We ate at the BMC Diner then went to Pine Tree Frosty, the most amazing ice cream place ever. For around $2.50 you can get a cone piled high (almost too high) with the most amazing tasting ice cream. Next we went to the local supermarket to resupply and get our dinner which we cooked back at the lodge At around 4:30 this afternoon, I realized I had no camera. I had accidentally left it at the last lean-to we had stayed at. I ended up having to get driven back to the trail, hike back to look for it, realize someone had found it and had left an e-mail address to where they could be reached, hike all the way back and then get a ride into town. So tomorrow I will have to look into getting that back. We are planning to hit the trail again tomorrow, but probably not till sometime after noon. I sure hope my foot feels better by then, it's getting hard to walk. But we really do need to keep hiking, if only to stay ahead of Lance and Jenn. Well, it's bedtime now. And I'm tired! OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-02
From: Rangeley

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: clear sky

Town Life!!!!8/2/2007 8:45pm Woke up this morning and ate breakfast at the lodge. He provides a good breakfast with fruits, cereals, bagels, breads, juices, yogurts, and the sorts all at your disposal. He then took us into town where we then went to the library. I emailed about my camera, but haven't gotten it back yet. I really liked that Library. I've never seen myself as one to waste away an afternoon at a library, but there I think I could. The whole town was really nice. It'd be a nice place to live. They were having an annual arts festival today, but we never ended up checking it out. We bought some final supplies and grabbed one last bite to eat before getting Bob to drive us to the trail. Started around 3 in the afternoon went to 6. Got 4.8 miles done and are staying at a campsite. Well, night is upon us, so I'm going to sleep. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-03
From: Little Swift River Pond Campsite

To: Bemis Mountain lean-to
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: few clouds

Blueberries!!!8/3/2007 7:01pm   It is raining. it down poured for about the last hour, but has let up a little now. It's the heaviest rain we've gotten since our first night at Katahdin. We are safe and dry out of the rain spending the night in Bemis Mountain lean-to. We got here in time to build a fire, cook ramen noodle over the fire (our heet supply is low and we are trying to conserve fuel). and eat before the rain come. We hiked over Bemis Mountian peaks 1 & 2 ( we still have a couple more to climb tomorrow). On the second peak we went crazy picking wild blueberries (we also did this on Saddleback). They are very little berries, but very abundant and quite good tasting. We spent quite some time on the mountain getting our fill of the little berries. Keisha twisted her ankle coming down the 2nd peak, but I think she will be ok. We'll probably have to wait till morning to see. Well OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-04
From: Bemis Mountain lean-to

To: Hall Mountain lean-to
Miles today: 12.8

Moody!!!8/4/2007   8:12pm A second wave of rain came last night at around midnight. It was worse than anything we had seen so far. One lightening strike woke everyone up it was so close and loud. It must have been within 100 yards of us. But today brought the sunshine. This was arguably our hardest day of hiking. 12.8 miles over very difficult terrain. We have definitely hit southern Maine: many mountains and slow progress. Mt. Moody was very appropriately named; it sure has the ability to make a person moody. Other than Keisha scrapping her knee while on the way up Old Blue, all in all it was a good day. The next couple days might be pretty hard as well. We've hit the 250 mile mark. We're close to being out of Maine! OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-05
From: Hall Mountain lean-to

To: Baldpate lean-to
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Magic!!!8/5/2007   8:17pm   "It's magic, she says to me...". Started this morning at a good time. Right before we hit East B Hill Rd., a NOBOer who was staying in Andover and slackpacking a section gave us a couple of pancakes. That was a good edition to our morning snack. We then were going to stop at the next lean-to for lunch, which turned out to be further away then expected. Keisha got there first and I was hungry and exhausted upon arrival.   I got there to find 2 bags hanging in the lean-to, one with oranges in it and the other with zip-lock bags full of cookies. There were also a bunch of coca-colas sitting in the stream. I ate a whole bag of cookies and an orange and a half. I even had a coke. I usually wouldn't even drink a coke if it was given to me. I think this was the first time I've drank a coke and actually liked it. It was all so good. It is amazing how when on the AT you will accept food in ziplock bags from strangers (some you never even meet) and not even hesitate to eat it. The trail magic gave me the motivation to continue (which I probably would not have). We hiked 3.5 miles up and over the Baldpate mountains. Keisha almost had a heart-attack getting up. We finally made it to the lean-to where we set up a tent and made some sort of Asian rice dish that we had gotten out of a hiker box. I thought it was good. Tomorrow will be a hard day. We will have to start early. So it's bedtime for me. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-06
From: Baldpate lean-to

To: Speck Pond Campsite
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Deadliest Catch!!!8/6/2007 2:17pm It is early in the afternoon but it feels like it is time for bed. Today has been a long day. We started out good with lots of energy and high expectations. We were planning on getting up early, skip Speck Pond campsite (because there is a fee to stay there), make it through the Mahuosue Notch and all the way to Full Goose Shelter. It would be a long day but we figured if we could get an earlier start and eat 4 meals, we could make it. We did get an early start, hiked for an hour before breakfast and continued. Then it got hard. We started climbing up Old Speck Mountain which is 4180 feet (a climb of over 2,600 feet). 1/4th of the way up, the rain came and the temperature dropped. We both put on our bright yellow rain suits and felt like the guys on the "Deadliest Catch". With the coldness, the constant rain, the gusts of wind, and our rain suits; I figured the only difference between us and these guys was that they got paid for what they are doing and we get nothing. As we got higher, we were inside the clouds, which means it wasn't raining but it was cold. It was a long, miserable way up, but we made it. Coming down the mountain was steep and slick and we were exposed for a lot of it. But 1.1 miles and 700ft. down we made it to Speck Pond. We got here a little past 1 0'clock with little energy and figured in this weather we wouldn't be able to make it through the Notch today, so we decided that even with the fee it would be worth staying here. So here we are sitting in a shelter trying to figure out how to kill the next 5 hours before bedtime. I think I may take a nap. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-07
From: Speck Pond Campsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: light rain

'Moose'hoosuc Notch!!!8/7/2007 7:47pm   After spending a ridiculous sum of money($16) to stay in a not-even-that-nice shelter, we were ready for the notch. We climbed up the Mahoosuc Arm and then basically slid down it. Then we came to the notch. The Mahoosuc Notch is basically a bunch of boulders that you are required to climb over, under, through, or around. You have steep mountains on either side and therefore it can be rather cold under some of the rocks (year-round ice in some places). The 1.1 mile notch took us about an hour and a half to get through. Near the end of the notch we saw the infamous dead moose that we have been hearing about since the 100 mile wilderness. We are now 4.9 miles from the border of Maine and that is the only moose I've seen. I'm a little disappointed. Maine, to me, is just a: MooselessAreaInNewEngland (props to Keisha)But tomorrow we shall be out. Keisha is so excited. We are maybe going to try and do a harder 15 mile day tomorrow, so that we can get to Gorham, NH in good time the day after, and probably spend the night. But that all depends on the weather. The sun finally showed up today, but tomorrow is questionable. Well that is all I have for now. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

New Hampshire!!!8/8/2007 7:26pm "Rain, another rainy day...". It rained last night. It rained this morning. We decided to fight the rain and see how far we could get. We hit 4 rainy and windy mountain peaks before we finally made it out of Maine. We drove in to Maine on July 9th and walked out August 8th. The bad weather continued into New Hampshire. On the 1st mountain peak (the 5th we hit today), the wind actually knocked Keisha off her feet. But as we neared Gentian Pond Campsite, the sun finally broke through. We basked in the sun by the lake for a bit before setting up the tent and cooking dinner. Half way through cooking dinner, dark clouds moved in overhead and brought more rain, so much for the dry night we had hoped we'd get. We ended up eating in our leaky tent. Then I fixed the rain fly so we wouldn't get so wet, Gorham is 11 miles away. We are hoping to get there tomorrow and stay in a hostile. I can't wait. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Gentian Pond Campsite

To: Gorham
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

Gorham!!!8/9/2007 9:45pm "When you can't seem to find a town with a stoplight, it's in Gorham. When you can't seem to locate any fast-food chain, it's in Gorham. A Mc-ee-dees, a Burger King, a Subway, and traffic that rings, that's in Gorham".After several rainy, energy-draining, mountain-climbing days; today was a relief. Woke up with everything drenched, but the much-needed sun gave us enough energy to accomplish 11 miles to reach Gorham by 2:00pm. I already like New Hampshire better than Maine. A nice trail angel brought us to the Post Office and then MacDonald's. Then we got picked up and brought to our hostile, "Hiker's Paradise". We spent the rest of the day doing laundry, eating Subway and exploring town. Gorham is definitely the biggest town we've hit as well as the most spread out. We walked over 3 miles in town over and above our 11 to get to Gorham. Gorham actually has a stoplight and a couple of recognizable places to eat; something we haven't seen in about a month. It still is not that big though. We were expecting a Clemmons (our home town in NC), but it is about half of that. Not big, but compared to the other 5 towns we've passed, it is massive. I'm exhausted, bed is calling. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Gorham

To: Rattle River Shelter
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: broken clouds

Thinking Back!!!8/10/2007 7:15am So, after thinking up a song for Gorham, I got to thinking and realized I had never make one up for Rangeley. This is mainly due to the fact that it was kind of a last-second, unexpected stop. But it was a good town, and I think it should be given due recognition. So here it goes...   "I found a town, right on a lake.      With a diner, and a real nice ice-cream place.      I bet you'd say, 'Where on earth could be this place?'      Rangeley, Rangeley, Rangeley Talkin' 'bout Rangeley.      I found a lodge, with a nice sunset view,      and Bob will drive ya, where ever you want him to.      I bet you'd say, 'Where on earth could be this place?'      Rangeley, Rangeley, Rangeley. Talkin' 'bout Rangeley.      Rangeley, Rangeley, Rangeley."Well, today we are starting the Whites. It is interesting because there is no real way to plan for them. It'll be a day-by-day thing that we'll just have to see about. I pray to God that the weather will be good and everything will work out. Well, I think it's breakfast time. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Gorham

To: Rattle River Shelter
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: broken clouds

The Brink!!!8/10/2007 6:54pm We are on the edge of the Whites. I'm pretty stoked. I ate at the Inn for breakfast. We packed our stuff and then went our mile into town for some shopping. We had to buy much-needed fuel, some more food bags (for our snacks), and new trekking poles for me. We ate lunch at Pizza Hut (the service was horrible) and then went back to the Inn. We got Bruno to drive us back to the trailhead. The notorious, infamous innkeeper. Bruno actually turned out to be a very nice guy. I guess we shouldn't listen to everything we hear. He turned out to be a conservative. He said he had lived under a totalitarian dictatorship till he was 25 and now that he was allowed to vote, he was going for people who would take down such regimes. We hiked 1.9 to get to our shelter which seemed so short after walking up and down Gorham. At the trailhead we met Mountain Squid again, the trail angel who had taken us into town. The Whites start tomorrow. We're just gonna hike and see where we get to. Well, some section hikers are offering quesidillas and I just might have to take them up on it. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-11
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

1st Hut!!!8/11/2007 9:50pm We started at 1260 foot elevation and got as high as 4,832 feet. We went to the top of North Carter (4530'), Middle Carter (4600'), South Carter (4458'), Mt. Hight (4675'), and Carter Dome (4832'). At about 4 o'clock this afternoon we arrived at Carter Notch Hut and were able to get work for stay. This hut reminds me a lot of camp. The lodging is just small rooms with 2 bunks each and one outdoor privy to accomodate everyone. There is a dining room with 4 tables that seat 40 people and a regular-sized kitchen. There are 40 guests here tonight; $90 per person, to stay here. We stayed outside while they served the guests dinner and then came in and ate what was left over. Then we had to peel and dice onions as part of our work. We are now sleeping on the dining room tables. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-12
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Osgood Tentsite
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: fog

Wild Cats!!!8/12/2007 8:33pm We had to get out of the dining room while breakfast was being served to the guests. After they ate, we were given the leftover cream-of-wheat and some sugared cornbread stuff. Keisha did dishes and I swept out all the bunk rooms to complete our work-for-stay. We started hiking at around 9:20. We hit Wildcat Peak A, then Wildcat Peak B, then Wildcat Peak C, then Wildcat Peak D and last-but-not-least, Wildcat Peak E. We didn't really rush and spent a lot of time enjoying the scenery and talking to people. All the Wildcats had hit 'peak fun' (pun intended), so we made the decent to Pinkham Notch. After losing the trail quite drastically once, we made it to the visitor's center at around 3:15 and got some food. I ordered a meatball sub which the cook apparently forgot about for a while, so we both were given extra food because the lady felt bad. After Pinkham Notch, we went another 4.7 to get to Osgood tentsite where we are tenting. Tomorrow we'll hit the Presidentials, which is going to make for a really hard day. Sleep is calling. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-13
From: Osgood Tentsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: fog

Above Katahdin!!!8/13/2007 9:20pm Started the upward trek at 7:40 this morning. We went up from our 2550' tent site to 5363' Mt. Madison in 2.5 miles. Needless to say,it was a tough climb. At the top, dark clouds rolled over the mountain pushed by strong winds. At 11:30am we hit Madison Spring Hut where we got lunch. Both me and Keisha ate about the equivalent of a loaf of bread each as well as several bowls of soup. We continued the Presidentials by passing by Mt. Adams and Mt. Jefferson. The wind and dark clouds never really let up. The weather was amazing to watch though. You were, at points, not able to see but a dozen feet, you look down for a couple seconds and when you look back up the clouds would have been pushed away and you could see half way across the ridge. Because of the strong winds, the weather would change so often that it was like watching an entire weeks forecast in just a couple of hours. At around 4pm we got to the big daddy, Mt. Washington (6,288'). Claiming to have "the worst weather in the world". We were bombarded by 52mph wind gusts at the summit. But as we were approaching, the clouds that had been with us all day moved away giving us a spectacular view. We went into the summit house (which is a big overpriced tourist spot) and learned that it was 45 degrees with a 37 degree wind chill. After getting warm, we headed to Lakes of the Clouds. The dozen or so thru-hikers who are doing work for stay (including us) sat on benches as the guests ate. When it was our turn, we shuffled into the kitchen to get our plate of food. I felt like a homeless person doing this (and most of us look homeless) and then it dawned on me that I am homeless and am just begging and eager to get a meal and a place to stay. We have now spread out throughout the dining room trying to sleep. With the wind howling outside (probably at around 35mph), I think I too shall try to sleep OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-14
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Winter in August!!!8/14/2007 8:09pm Woke up in the hut with an inside temperature of 56 degrees and outside of 37 degrees. We ate breakfast after the guests, and I swept all of the rooms for my work for stay. We hung around the shelter till 9:30 then headed south. We hiked 2 miles in a cloud with 40 mph wind gusts, in 39 degree weather with wind chill in the mid 20's. I was not prepared clothes-wise and we had to stop behind a rock that shielded the wind so I could get warm because my body was starting to go into shock. But soon enough the sun broke the clouds and it was beautiful the rest of the day. We ate the all-you-can-eat soup at Mizpah Spring Hut before climbing Mt. Jackson. From that mountain we could see everywhere we had come from, including Mt. Washington. It was one of the most beautiful views of the whole trip. We then went up Mt. Webster and down to Crawford's Notch where we are stealth camping by the road. We have officially completed what they call the "Presidentials" part of the White Mountains (from Pinkham Notch to Crawford's Notch). OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-15
From: Crawford Notch

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

A good day!!!8/15/07   We headed out from Crawford Notch where we were stealth camping. We walked across the road, through a parking lot and saw a cooler with a sign that said "for thru-hikers". Trail Magic!!! It was loaded with plums, peaches, apples, bananas, and entire watermelon, and candy bars. After a candy bar, plum, peach and half a banana, we were off again. We hit Zeeland Falls Hut for lunch where they had some delicious mushroom soup. We then went to Galehead Hut where we ate a real good meal and I did dishes for my work. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-16
From: Galehead Hut

To: Liberty Spring Tentsite
Miles today: 10.4

Lovin' Liberty!!!8/16/2007 9:16pm So our stays at the huts are over. I really am going to miss this time of our trip. We will eat at the last hut tomorrow for lunch and that will be it. All the day hikers we met and all the workers we met these past couple of days will always stay as a special memory. This last hut had the nicest people and after breakfast it was a shame to say good-bye. We left the hut and climbed Mt. Garfield where we had a snack then on to Mt. Lafayette where we ate lunch. This had to be one of our best views so far. Then to keep with the Presidents, we finally hit Mt. Lincoln. We arrived at Liberty Spring Tentsite around 5pm where we met the caretaker Allison. She allowed us to do work for stay by spreading humus for an hour. She was a SOBOer last year and was really cool. She cooked us dinner and we talked with her and section hiker Roadster for a while. This was a big relief because it was raining and it would have been miserable if we had to cook and eat in the rain. I like New Hampshire. In a couple of days we'll be out of it. It feels like we just got in. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-17
From: Liberty Spring Tentsite

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

Pancakes and Honey!!!8/18/2007 8:14am Yesterday we got a little late start and left around 10am. We got to Lonesome Lake Hut which was 5.6 miles for lunch. They had a pan full of free pancakes and honey to put on them as well as cream of mushroom soup. After that combination, we were both feeling pretty sick. With lots of breaks and slow going, we finally made it the next 6 miles to Eliza Brook Shelter where we spent the night. Right now it is cold and rainy and we are not motivated to get out of our sleeping bags. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-18
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Zeroing It!!!8/18/2007 5:02pm The sun never came through. The rain never really let up. And it only got colder and colder. At noon we started to pack up and go, but just then it started raining again. We then decided it wasn't worth it and just stayed put. This is the first time this trip that I've spent 2 nights in the same spot. we are still planning on getting to Glencliff tomorrow (which we were planning on doing anyway). but that is going to call for a hard 17 plus mile day. We'll see. OK, bye
Date: 2007-08-19
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Glencliff
Miles today: 17.0

A Pasture?!!!8/20/2007 8:33   I was not able to write yesterday so I'm now going to have to write 2 journal entrees. So yesterday we finally got out of Eliza Brook Shelter. We started at 6:40 in the morning and hiked over Mt. Wolf and down to Kinsman Notch by around 11. We then went from 1,800 ft. elevation to 4,800 ft. in 3 miles. Mt. Moosilauke was the last time we will be above treeline for our hike. The view was good but it was cold and windy so we didn't stay there long! At the bottom we saw our first pastureland. The climb down was easy and we got to Glencliff at around 4:30pm. We went to "Hiker's Welcome Hostel" and set up our tent. Then me and Half Brew (a fellow SOBOer) took the shuttle to the grocery store in Warren where we went in together to get food for dinner. We came back to the hostel and cooked our hot dogs and baked beans. We ate our fabulous dinner while watching the movie 'Blood Diamond' and then went to bed. So that is that day. OK, bye