morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-26
From: South Arm Road

To: East B Hill Rd
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

Sorry about not getting this out yesterday. I'm writing this a day late, I'll explain later. After examing the hiking route and talking with our shuttle driver and other hikers, we decided to do this section SoBo. There are 2 climbs, Moody Mountain and Wyman Mountain. After climbing Wyman, there is a long, gradual descent - a good way to end a day. The profile also shows a very steep descent from Moody, but others have advised that it is difficult rather than treacherous. So we elected to go southbound. Most of the week the weather forecasters had predicted rain on Sunday. As it turned out, the forest was wet from overnight rains and we got wet from tree rain, but we never got caught in a downpour. And it was more chilly than we expected. The first climb up Moody was long and steady, but very few really steep sections. I tried to conserve my energy for the subsequent climb and I probably went slower than necessary. It was almost 2 miles to the top and it took me considerably longer than an hour which is pretty slow. The view at the top was obscured by clouds, so we proceeded to the steep downhill. The downhill was indeed very steep. But the good news was that the trail maintainers had installed a lot of provisions. A number of places had rebar steps, wooded footholds, ladders, and even rebar handrails. So we made it down without incident. Wyman was higher and the climb was nearly 3 miles and at least as difficult as Moody. There was a shelter 2/3 of the way up and we took time to rest there. Roadside and Banana Boat came into the shelter from the opposite direction, and complained about the condition of the trail. They said it was overgrown, with blowdowns and lots of roots and mud. As we headed out towards the Wyman peak, we agreed with them. It was really overgrown and we got soaked from pushing our way through. Plus it made it hard to see the rocks, roots and mud. Princess said it reminded her of parts of PA. Eventually on the descent from Wyman, the trail improved, as well as the weather. The sun was peeking out when we finished. So we never needed our ponchos. Spartacus has been working with our shuttle drivers for several days so that his truck is parked at our finishing point. That makes it easy to get back, since we don't have to try to call or coordinate a time with them. I rushed too hard in the final descent and didn't feel very good when we got back. I slept for 3 hours, had supper and then went back to bed, so I didn't get the journal done last night. I may have been somewhat dehydrated, or maybe I had a short-term bug. I didn't take any pics during the hike. If I get something from one of the others, I'll post it later.
Date: 2015-07-29
From: Woods Roas (NoBo MM 1983.6)

To: ME 4 (Rangeley)
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Our hike today provided some good views, and was also very tiring for me. We crossed 3 peaks, mostly above treelike. We hiked SoBo with Focus and Spartacus. Spartacus left his truck at our endpoint and joined us in the shuttle van as we drove to our starting trailhead. Ranger chose to camp last night at a spot near the end of our hike today and he hiked NoBo. So we met him partway through the hike as he was descending from The Horn. He will camp again tonight and hike NoBo, and we may see him in the morning. Regarding the hike, our starting point today was where the AT crosses a logging road. The actual crossing is closed to vehicles, so our shuttle driver let us out at the end of the logging road and we walked the last mile to the trailhead. After about a mile and a half of downhill, we had to cross Orbeton Stream. The AT Guide says that it's a ford, but the weather has been dry and the rivers are low, so we hoped that we could rock hop across. Otherwise we would have needed our camp shoes (Crocs) to keep our boots dry. The stream is wide, but shallow and we were able to get across with some jumping. From about that point, we started climbing. We had some level spots, but about 4 miles later we reached the top of Saddleback Junior at over 3600 ft. elevation. From there we descended 600 ft and started climbing again. The initial climb was long and steep at the end. The next climb to the summit of The Horn, was shorter, but very steep. It involved a lot of technical climbing as well as scaling up rock inclines. Fortunately it was dry. The view from the summit of The Horn was impressive, but dark clouds were appearing, and we were very concerned that thunderstorms might materialize. So we headed down quickly, about 500 ft. and then started another steep climb to the summit of Saddleback. We were lucky that the storms passed over since we were very exposed on the bald rock near the summit. The views were extraordinary, but hazy, so the photos weren't great. We could see a portion of some of the ski runs. I was wearing out from the climbing and going through a lot of water. When the sun was out it was very hot. We rested briefly, got a quick bite and some water, and then started the long downhill (5.7 miles) back to Spartacus' truck. The downhill became tedious. There were some very steep sections where we had to go slowly, otherwise it was just a lot of roots, rocks, and mud. But we finally made it, hopped into the truck and headed back to The Farmhouse. Tonight is our last night here, so we had a do to get ready to leave early tomorrow. We had dinner in town and now it's late and time for rest.
Date: 2015-07-30
From: Woods Rd (NoBo MM 1983.6)

To: Caribou Valley Rd. 
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

Today was close to a Nero for us. My energy level has been low and Princess indulged me by splitting a planned longer day into 2 shorter days. We actually did closer to a 10 mile day since we had to hike a mile from the shuttle drop point to the trail and a half-mile from the trail to the pickup point. We started with a climb up Lone Mountain and then continued up Spaulding Mountain to 4,000 ft. It was actually a shoulder of Spaulding, there was a side trail to the summit that we didn't take. As we descended about 400 ft. from Spaulding, we passed a bronze plaque mounted on a rock. It commemorated the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp in completing the Maine section of the AT, and making the final link to the entire AT in 1937. The trail continued on for about a mile and a half around 3600 ft. There was less mud and it was a pleasant hike with short ups and downs. Then we passed a trail that turned east toward the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain about 0.6 mile away. The AT doesn't cross the summit, but begins to descend instead. Initially the descent was tame, but partway down it turned into our challenge for the day. It became a difficult descent down a long series of rock fields. Some we were able to rock hop through, others took more time and caution and we had to examine several possible routes down. But we made it through and at the bottom we came out on a branch of the Carrabassett River. The river flowed through a rock jumble and made a lot of noise on the process, we heard it from above while we descended. There was no clear path to rock hop across, but someone had thoughtfully put a long 2x8 plank across two large rocks midstream, so that you could rock hop to the plank on each side. It wasn't anchored at either end, so the hardest part was walking the plank. The plank was also tethered with a steel cable so that it could be retrieved and repositioned in case the river rose and it floated off the rocks. Once across the river, it was a short hike to our gravel exit road, Caribou Valley Rd. The road was a logging road that is not currently being used, so it's gated and closed to vehicles at a point about a half mile from the trail. We walked the half mile where Susan, our next shuttle driver picked us up a few minutes later. While we were waiting on Susan, we noticed a plastic-coated flyer attached to the gate. The notice was related to the disappearance in this area of Inchworm, a female thru-hiker, in 2013. Since then, no trace of her has been found. Tonight, we're staying in the Stratton Motel, managed by Susan, our driver. As far as I can tell, Stratton is pretty small. We had a late lunch and dinner at the White Wolf Inn, shopped at the general store and used the laundromat. It rained this afternoon and evening and we hope it stops by morning.
Date: 2015-07-31
From: Caribou Valley Rd. 

To: ME 27
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: broken clouds

My second short, easy Nero day. Only 8.3, but we got an early start as usual. There was rain last night for a while, at least all our gear was dry at the start. Spartacus and Focus hiked this section yesterday (added it on to the previous section) and they drove back to Spartacus house to take take a zero today. They will reconnect with us in Stratton this evening. Ranger camped on the trail again last night and he also plans to rejoin us again tonight. The logistics of this are complicated. Our starting point was the same as our end point yesterday, so we had a half-mile walk to get to the trailhead. There were more puddles, but the ground wasn't water soaked as we feared. The climb up Crocker Mountain started almost immediately. It was gradual for the first third, steep for the second and more gradual again near the top. There was at least one interesting section of jumbled boulders that looked ominous, but wasn't that hard.South Crocker Mountain took us over 4,000 ft. A strong chilly wind was blowing at the top and we didn't linger. We headed down several hundred feet, then up again to the North Crocker summit at about 4,200 ft. We did stop there for a couple of photos with the summit sign, then started down again. The only really unusual thing about the second summit was the extraordinary amount of moose feces. It was hard to miss, literally. The rest of the day was all downhill, long but not particularly difficult. About halfway down we stopped for a snack break, looked up and Ranger was coming down the trail behind us. He camped out near Carrabassett River and started just a little behind us this morning. He stayed with us the rest of the way. When we finally reached ME 27 at the bottom (just after 11), Princess called Susan for a shuttle back to the motel. Ranger joined us, but our motel was full so he got a room at the White Wolf Inn next door. We had lunch at the Wolf and after chores, Princess and I managed to get a good afternoon nap. We went back to the Wolf later for their Fri fish fry, a big plateful to start and seconds are free. Spartacus and Focus drove in and joined us, they have rooms at the White Wolf tonight. Several other hikers we met a couple of days ago have asked Spartacus if they can join in and slack the rest of the way. The arrangements get much more complex as the group gets larger. Spartacus agreed to help them tomorrow, but not sure beyond that. Tomorrow will be an interesting experiment. We're trying something a bit different., but not new. If it works OK, I'll describe it. As a footnote, we crossed the 2,000 mile mark just before the end of the hike today. I'm surprised that there wasn't some indication on the trail. So now we have 188.2 miles left to go. One step at a time.
Date: 2015-08-01
From: ME 27

To: Long Falls Dam Rd. 
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: clear sky

We had a really beautiful hike and an interesting day today, but the elements conspired against us. After several nero days, this was a long hike for us. We also incorporated Spartacus' truck into the plan for the day. We tried a "key swap" where Spartacus and Focus drove the truck to our end point, locked it, and hiked SoBo for the day. Meanwhile, Susan shuttled Princess, Ranger and I to the starting point just outside Stratton, and we hiked NoBo. When we passed Spartacus on the trail, he gave his keys to us. Then when we finished the hike, we had his keys and drove his truck back to the starting point to pick up Spartacus and Focus when they finished. It's an old plan that hikers have used for a very long time and it worked quite well for us today. Also, slack-packing seems to be gathering converts. Last night, several other hikers approached Spartacus about it. The end result was that he ferried 5 hikers to the end point of today's hike in his truck and they slack-packed back to Stratton today. But there's no plan for continued support. The hike today took us over several peaks in the Bigelow Mountain Range in ME. Two of the peaks we crossed (Bigelow West and Avery) were over 4,000 ft elevation. The peaks were above tree line and the views were impressive. Climbing Avery was somewhat daunting for me. I had to climb a rock ridge to get to the summit. After Avery, we had a long descent and then a climb up Little Bigelow, followed by a long traverse along the ridge line. I mentioned the elements conspiring against us earlier. The weather forecast included the probability of thunderstorms building up around midday and continuing in the afternoon. Early afternoon, around 2:00, several local thunderstorm cells crossed the Bigelow peaks, and they caused trouble with hail, high winds, lightning and drenching rain. Spartacus and Focus got the worst of it. They were near the highest Bigelow peaks. Focus ran ahead to get below tree line, and Spartacus retreated downhill also to get to tree line. Both experienced the hail? The windchill and the rains. Princess and I had crossed most of the ridge line and had only one short exposed rock face to cover. We missed the hail and we were already below tree line. So it became a "memory" of the AT Adventure. We are all safe, although Spartacus did suffer cuts and bruises from a trip. It could have been a lot worse. Spartacus said he was on top of Avery when a lightning flash was essentially coincident with a huge reverberating thunderclap. I think we all felt the danger. So that was the story for the day. When we got back and cleaned up tonight we celebrated our survival with a first-rate dinner at the Coplin Restaurant. Tomorrow we have a 4:45 shuttle, so we need the sleep. Lights out.
Date: 2015-08-03
From: Moxie Pond Rd. 

To: US 201
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was 11.9 miles for the team, but 0 miles for me. I've been plagued with a persistent cough and it appears that I have a nagging cold that won't give up. I've been taking some cold remedies, but I was persuaded to take a zero and try to sleep it off. So Ranger is back in the woods, and Focus and Princess were shuttled out to Moxie Pond Road early this morning. They hiked SoBo back toward Caratunk and finished shortly after lunch. Meanwhile, I slept in. When I woke, I took my boots out to dry in the sun and started packing. When Princess and Focus finished, Eric (from Sterling Inn) was to shuttle us to Shaw's Inn and Hostel in Monson. Everything went as planned. We piled into Eric's van, drove the hour or so over to Monson, and checked into Shaw's. About 2 or 3 hours later, as I was packing for the next hike, I realized that my boots were still drying in the sun back at the Sterling Inn in Caratunk. Not a good day. It was already too late to rescue the boots today, and chasing around trying to find another pair of boots didn't seem like a good solution. So I resolved to take another zero day. And now we have a plan for tomorrow to get my boots back. I didn't hike today, but Princess did take a few pics and I've included one. Apparently the hike was fairly benign, the only hill was Pleasant Pond Mountain. And tomorrow is boot retrieval day.
Date: 2015-08-04
From: Bald Mountain Rd. 

To: Moxie Pond Rd. 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I enjoyed a second zero in a row today, while Focus and Princess conquered Moxie Bald Mountain. I rose early with them and we had breakfast at Pete's in Monson - one of the few places along the trail that opens as early as 5:00 am. After breakfast, Gary picked them up at Shaw's, and I took a short nap. All the rest is helping my cold. Next came the important part of the day for me. I called the Sterling Inn, our last lodging in Caratunk, yesterday and Zack confirmed that my boots were left on the lawn. He agreed to bring them inside and keep them for me to pick up later. So later this morning, when it was nearly time to pick up Princess & Focus at the end of their hike, Gary (their shuttle driver) picked me up and drove me back to Sterling's to get my boots. Starlings is in the same direction, but a bit further than Princess' pickup point. The bottom line is that I got my boots at Sterling and then we picked up Princess and Focus at Moxie Pond Rd. on the way back to Caratunk. We were back at Shaw's by 12:30. Princess and Focus had a good hike across Moxie Bald Mountain, the weather was great. There was a threat of thunderstorms, but nothing materialized until later in the day. They had a couple of fords, some were low enough to rock hop, but a couple invoked walking in water. They said the trail was so muddy, they just left their trail runners on and it helped wash off the mud. Given all that they finished ahead of time. The drive home was great, we talked Gary into a pit stop at the Bakery on Rt 15 a few miles before Monson. They have fabulous pastries and ice cream. I left with a whole strawberry-rhubarb pie (my favorite). Back in Monson, we had a late lunch and dinner at the Lakeshore House Pub. Monson is small and has only a couple eateries, I think the Pub has the best menu. Now I've got my boots back and tomorrow I'm finally ready to go. Princess has a short easy hike planned, so it should be a good warmup for the upcoming 100-mile Wilderness.
Date: 2015-08-05
From: Bald Mountain Rd. 

To: ME 15
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm back, boots and all. Today was a good day to return, great hiking weather. It was a little chilly (mid-50's) when we started and overcast so it never got hot. The afternoon/evening rains over the past couple of days have wet down the trail, so there's considerably more mud than last weekend. Dodging the mudholes really slows us down. After a while you develop a sort of skill at finding rocks in the mudholes and sometimes roots that you can hop across. But it's always dangerous since everything is wet and slippery. And we've learned that even solid looking ground can actually be mud with pea soup consistency maybe a foot or more deep. Anyway, all went well today and we made it back early. After cleaning up we had lasagna for lunch at Pete's, took a nap, and then dinner at the Lakeshore Pub. The temp never really got out of the 60's today and there always seemed to be a chance of rain. Princess has spent considerable time setting up our slacking arrangements for the 100-mile wilderness. The wilderness isn't such a wilderness anymore. There are a number of ways to get various levels of support through the wilderness. We hope to go through in 6 days, basing 3 days out of Monson and then switching to Millinocket for the rest. But it takes planning and working with the support folks at both ends. We'll see if we can do a good job of it. Ranger still hopes to spend most of the time camping, and Spartacus is exercising his knee and hopes to rejoin us soon. With luck we'll have a the whole team back together before we finish. We spent some time this evening packing our slack-packs and getting things ready. Our first day tomorrow will be a SoBo back to the trailhead at ME 15. If things go well, we'll have time after the hike for showers and dinner.
Date: 2015-08-06
From: Otter Pond parking access

To: ME 15
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

Yippee!!! One down and five to go - days hiking the 100-mile Wilderness. For our first day, Dawn shuttled us to the Otter Pond parking lot and Princess, Focus, Ranger and I hiked up the access trail to the AT. The AT Guide says it's 0.8 miles, but Ranger thinks it's more like 0.4. Once on the AT, we hiked SoBo back to ME 15. All of us except Focus hiked this same section NoBo last year, but except for a few distinctive spots, we couldn't remember any of the details of the hike. There are no mountains in this section although there are numerous short & sharp ups and downs. At the end of the day, my legs were tired. It was a pretty awesome hike with a lot of variation in terrain. We passed a number of ponds, usually near the edge. In a couple of instances we circled around part of the pond and often across planks above bogs adjacent to the ponds. We hoped to see moose, but never did. We also crossed over several rock ridges that provided views and vistas of the surroundings. Typically the rocks were rough enough to provide good traction and we could easily walk over the ridges. Some of the more dramatic events were the river fords. We could rock-hop across most of the streams, but in three cases there were no rock paths across - or the water was too high to expose the rocks. Our only recourse was to ford the streams. We knew ahead of time that this was likely, so we brought our "camp" shoes with us. These are either Crocs or sandals that we put on to wade through the streams so that we don't get our boots wet. Two of the streams were wide and deep enough (with a definite current) that the trail clubs provide a rope or cable across the stream. Hikers hold on to the cable to keep their balance, and to avoid falling completely into the water if they slip. I've included a photo of one of these crossings. The third stream didn't have a cable and it was the most difficult for us. The current was strong, the water was deep enough that it was hard to see the bottom, and the bottom rocks were irregular and slippery. We used our hiking poles to keep our balance and it was difficult. Ranger is the most skilled among us at making his way across the rocks and he helped all of us get across at one point or another. Otherwise, there were a lot of roots and mud, but it was still fun. Parts of the woods here seem very old and moss-covered, which creates a sort of surreal environment. It took us about 8 hours to cover the distance, so the terrain slowed us down considerably. The hike tomorrow will be different since it will include several mountains. Not high or above tree line, but several thousand feet of elevation change. After cleaning up, we went out for a dinner, then got our gear ready and now we're in bed. Seven more day hikes to the top of Katahdin.