morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-08-12
From: Stealth Campsite

To: LIttle Swift River Campsite
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: light rain

Did I mention that the Whites annihilated the tips of my trekking poles? Yep, they were completely gone which meant I had no traction. It's all good though - for $15 I got them replaced in Gorham. And now they're back to being awesome. I love my trekking poles, and I wouldn't have survived this long without those babies!So I'm still not really feeling the hiking. I know, I know. I've come super far. Wags and I are totally whooping some A. The scenary is gorgeous, and I'm so lucky to not have to deal with the hustle and bustle of "real" life. But it's been over 2 months since I've seen James, and 4 since I've seen my pupsters. I'm tired and ready for the comforts of home. I really and truly am trying to enjoy every day and absorb all the awesomeness of this adventure, but some days are harder than others.The trail has been muddy recently, and we had this crazy descent today. I fell not once, twice nor three times...but FOUR times. Yeah, I'm not the most graceful hiker at times. We are seeing a lot more ponds and the vegetation is very green and lush. I can now understand why so many hikers love Maine.Wags and I came across this really pretty sandy beach that we hung out at for a while. I waded in the water some, and we enjoyed a nice snack. There was even a friendly little snake who hung out and enjoyed the sunshine with us.We also met who we've deemed the "Fab Four" - Flex, Wimbledon, Smile Train, and Junior. They're four guys in their early twenties who are also thru-hiking and are fun to hang out iwth. Flex is the only one on trail journals.We summit 2 weeks from today. AHH!
Date: 2009-08-13
From: LIttle Swift River Campsite

To: Poplar Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 15.5

Today's hike was gorgeous! We hiked up and over Saddleback Mountain and the Horn. There were beautiful views from the mountains, and we had the chance to see Katahdin but no dice - too hazy. That's ok. I'm hoping I'll get to see the Big K once we roll into the 100 miles of wilderness. Which is amazingly and surprisingly soon!We're hanging out at the shelter with Maggie, another NOBO. It's our first shelter in a while, and I was super excited to see the sign - today was a gorgeous hike, but once again I was feeling fairly exhausted. We split from Plunger, Mr. Right and Loon - I think they're planning on summiting a week after us so I think this split might be for good. It's really sad to see our trail family part ways, but I'm thankful to have met them and shared so much time on the trail with those crazy and awesome folks!
Date: 2009-08-14
From: Poplar Ridge Shelter

To: Stratton Hotel
Miles today: 21.5

Wags and I didn't sleep too well last night. I think we were both anxious for our big day. We decided to push ahead of schedule and try to make it into Stratton tonight for a hotel stay. If anything'll get me to make 21.5 miles over mountainous terrain, the promise of a comfy bed and yummy dinner will get me moving. The hiking was really pretty once again. We had some pretty views and some tough-ish climbs. We also got to ford the Carabassett river which was AMAZING! We even played in the water for a while to cool off. It's been getting hot recently. Then we climbed over North and South Crocker Mountain, and somehow made it into Stratton in time to shower and go to dinner with the Fab Four. We even drank Carabassett beer in honor of our day, and jammed to the older folks singing karaoke - one even wooed us with "Watermelon Crawl." Good grief. It was a very exciting, exhausting, rewarding and memorable day.
Date: 2009-08-15
From: Stratton Hotel

To: Staffod Notch Campsite
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

Wags and I had a delicious meal at the diner this morning. We both became members of the clean-plate club. Go team. Then we resupplied and packed up. Sue (the owner of the hotel) gave us a ride back to the trailhead and we got started on our 10 mile day. It was a suuuuper slow day. The beers from last night, heat, and lack of excitement at leaving town made it even slower. On the flip side, we hiked the Bigelows which were gorgeous and our last big climb before Katahdin. And we hit mile 2000!We got to camp and were happy to see the Fab Four already set up. We hung out around a campfire, drank rum that we packed out (Thanks Cayden!), swapped trail stories, and checked out the stars. I know that these are the kinds of nights I'm gonna miss the most when I look back on this wild ride.
Date: 2009-08-16
From: Staffod Notch Campsite

To: Pierce Pond Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: light rain

Wags and I had yet another challenge for ourselves - the 22+ miles to Pierce Pond. You've probably noticed that we were doing fairly low mileage during the rough terrain, and now we're a little gun shy when it comes to attempting bigger miles. But that won't stop us from trying! We got an early start today, and climbed Little Bigelow. We met some weekenders at the top, and one of them had packed out oranges in case he met thru-hikers. We were so excited!Wags and I hung out at the Little Bigelow lean-to where they have the 2000 miler book where folks write their opinions on the best shelter, best hostel, best whatever on the trail. We read through other folk's entries, Wags came up with some good places, and we enjoyed our delicious oranges. Then we headed back down the trail until we got to a road where Ken and Cindy were waiting with wonderful trail magic - beer and burgers! How exciting! We hung out with them for a while and found out they thru-hiked in '00 for their honeymoon. They were super cool and it was great to chill with them. At the next road crossing we found some weekenders who were waiting for their ride - they offered us some Jack Daniels in order to help us celebrate the 2,000 mile mark that's painted on the road. The hiking was gorgeous and flat, and we hiked in happy spirits all the way to Pierce Pond. We even saw our first porqupine on the way to the shelter!We made it in time for a nice, cool swim and a gorgeous sunset. Wags got a fire started and we thought we might have the shelter to ourselves. Just after dark, though, the Fab Four pulled in. We stayed up late, again, chatting, enjoying the stars, and listening to Loons! I was excited because I've never heard a loon in the wild before - just on the recordings we learned for undergrad.
Date: 2009-08-17
From: Pierce Pond Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 18.7

Wags and I slept in and decided to take it nice and easy this morning. We took our time packing, eating breakfast, hanging out, enjoying the lake. We thought we only had 1.7 miles to hike to the Kennebec River. We had to be there between 9 and 11 in order to catch the ferry canoe across the river. At 9:20, just as we were getting ready to leave, Junior mentioned that it was actually 3.7 miles to the river, not 1.7 (tisk, tisk AT Companion - you lied to me!). "Ah, hell." We kicked it into 5th gear, and made it to the river by 10:34!Hillbilly Dave paddled us across, and Wags and I chilled on the other side for an hour. We were recuperating from our sprint hike and were boiling in the heat. Maine is apparently in the middle of a heat wave. I'm super glad we're getting heat at the end of our hike - I can't imagine what it must have been like last year. We took multiple breaks throughout the day but the last 3 miles to the shelter were an absolute breeze. This terrain is just what I need to boost my ego. We shared the shelter with The Phoenix, and we're looking forward to an easy 13 miles tomorrow!
Date: 2009-08-18
From: Bald Mountain Lean-to

To: Horseshoe Canyone Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Birthday June! My pup is 3 today! We hiked up Moxie Bald first thing this morning. It was too hazy to see much of anything, but the guide book says we could see Katahdin. Uh, not so much. It's all good. No worries. I'll see the Big K when I see it. It might not be until the day I climb it, but no worries. She ain't goin no where!We had a gorgeous lunch at the shelter on a lake and then forded Bald Mountain brook. It was so hot, that Wags and I just sat in the brook for 20 minutes cooling off. It felt great! Later we forded the Piscataquis River and I paddled around in that baby too. We're super lucky that it hasn't rained lately and that the fords aren't scary at all.We got to the shelter early and were the only ones there. I pumped water while Wags went swimming in the river. She came back and told me how awesome it was, so I checked it out myself. Wags was 100% right. You know you're a thru-hiker when a swim in a yellow river (the tannins from the birch trees are apparently the cause of the discolored water) with some Dr. Brauner's makes you feel all new and sparkley again.Wags and I collected firewood, and got a fire going. Ok, Wags got the fire going and I sat and watched her. We talked around the fire about what life might be like when we get back to the real world. As exciting as it is to go back home, it's kind of scary too. This has been an amazing trip, but I'm still going to be Nevena when I get back - I haven't metamorphized into some Gangsta of the Jungle, and my life back home is more or less the same (minus a trailer park). I know that this trip has changed me in some ways, and I'm thankful for that. But a year from now, I'll be frantic about an appointment I'm late for, or a job interview or something. Life is still life.
Date: 2009-08-19
From: Horseshoe Canyone Lean-to

To: Monson, Maine!
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

MONSON BABY! I woke up in a great mood this morning. Isn't it funny how I'm in awesome moods on town days? Today is our LAST town day, though, so hopefully it won't be my last great mood. It's crazy that we're actually heading into Monson today. It's unreal. It's like the last day of school when you're a senior in high school. And I've had senioritis! The hike was gorgeous. Nice and flat. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of home. I miss the flatwoods. It's so funny how every time I leave Georgia I realize how much I love it. Georgia isn't a showy state in terms of its beauty. But the woods I grew up in are home to me and always will be. I'll never forget the pictures of Jellybean and me taken when we were little - we were barefoot, dirty and happy and someone snapped a photo of us squatting next to the intermitten creek that ran by our house. I told Wags about those pictures on our hike today, and how it's the epitome of what my childhood was: dirty, simple and happy. And that is what I've been recreating every day of this hike.
Date: 2009-08-20
From: Monson, Maine!

To: Cloud Pond Lean-To
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: broken clouds

"You sure have a lot of mail," Dawn said when I checked into Shaw's. My mom sent me a package with peanut butter cookies and backpacker pantry dinners (YUM!). I also got letters from my dad, sister, Ashley, Pops, Kerrie Anne, Grey and Hayden (Boss - I'm getting your letter forwarded to Athens). Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to send me such wonderful, thoughtful, heartfelt letters. I cherished each and every one.We had a great dinner at The Lakeshore House last night. Hardcore joined Wags and me, and it was great to have some regular girl time. Hardcore is from Charlotte, NC and will be completing the trail in 4 months.We hit the deck running this morning - a nice couple who stayed at Shaw's gave us a ride to the trail. After some last minute phone calls we gave the hand to the sign warning us of the treacheries of THE 100 MILES OF WILDERNESS - carry 10 days of food? Are you kidding?!After an entertaining river crossing (hopefully I'll figure out how to post it onto Wag's youtube at some point) we got cranking. Hardcore hiked with us, and we had a great time enjoying the scenery. We also ran into some trail maintainers - Wags got to paint a white blaze and was super excited. I was proud of her!We hiked up a mountain in time to catch both a gorgeous sunset AND the three amigas. We all arrived at the shelter together and are like peas in a pod all lined up. Today we hit 100 miles to go, and I made sure to take a picture of the three amigas who each held up a 1, 0 or 0. We were with them when we hit our first 100 mile mark, and I took a similar picture then. It was awesome to come full circle and take a similar picture at the end.I am truly enjoying myself. Nostalgia is certainly creeping in, and I'm hoping to soak up every minute of the end of this journey.
Date: 2009-08-21
From: Cloud Pond Lean-To

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: overcast clouds

24 miles was our goal for today. Twenty minutes in we realized that would not be a realistic goal. No biggie - flexibility is key to happiness! The terrain was more challenging than we thought - it was kind of reminiscent of the whites but on a smaller scale. Chairback ridge had an interesting descent, to say the least. Those friggin rocks.We enjoyed some trail magic at the Iron Works logging road - whoopie pies and coke, yum! My first whoopie pie. How exciting.It rained during the last hour of our hike, and we were all in our tents by 7:15. I got totally drenched pumping water and setting up my tent. Wags and I both decided to not worry about cooking our dinner, and ate fun treats out of our food bags. After settling in my tent, I looked down at my soggy, dirty self and thought, "Hey, this isn't so bad. Only a few more days. I can handle it." Just hope ya'll can handle my stench when you see me at Baxter!
Date: 2009-08-22
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

5:30 am wake up call. Not too bad really. Daylight is becoming a factor with the sun setting earlier, and we had a big day planned.No Nails, Wags and I hiked up Whitecap Mountain where we dried our tents and enjoyed the cloudy but pretty scenery. I was really hoping to catch a glimpse of Katahdin but I guess she was feeling shy. Gotta see her some time or other.Today's hike was awesome - No Nails is one of my favorite trail folks, and I'm so glad we'll be summitting with her, Moonwalker and Skittles (The 3 Amigas). We forded our last (hopefully) river and felt really llucky that they were all calm crossings.The campsite tonight is gorgeous! We're right next to a pond, and Wags and I took a little dip to wash the sweat of the day away. The mozzie's have gotten a little fierce, but it's nothin the ol' G can't handle!It's very hard to fathom that we have a handful of days left on the trail. Everyday someone else summits, and our trail community shrinks. It's such a bittersweet reality. I guess the funny thing about dreams coming true is that it's not only amazing, it's also kind of scary. So I'm going to make sure to enjoy this humid night as much as I can - just relax and listen to the loons.
Date: 2009-08-23
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: light rain

We relaxed this morning and took it slow getting out of camp. By that, I mean we were hiking by 7:45 - the sun rises sooo early here that it's hard to sleep much past 6. I checked out Wag's guidebook to see if we might have the opportunity to see Katahdin today. Sure enough, about 4 miles north we might get lucky. I was super excited. I have day-dreamed about my first view of Katahdin for months and months, and I was itching to experience it in reality.We past the first shelter and eventually came across an MATC (Maine Appalachian Trail Club) sign that read, "View of Katahdin." This might be it! Sure enough, I scrambled across some rocks along the shore of a lake and there she was, draped in clouds. I was amazed. It wasn't the picture perfect view story tale view, but it was reality. What an amazing feeling.The rest of the day was fairly long. We met back up with Moonwalker and Skittles for a while, and they were around to witness my fall off of a bog bridge. Bog bridges are thin, wooden bridges that form the shape of an "I" and are about 8 feet long. Trail maintainers lay them down, one after the other, through boggy areas of the trail. Because they're place in wetland areas, they tend to be wet themselves. And so they tend to be slick. And surrounded water. And I happened to slip off of one, and fall directly backwards into stagnant water. "Help me up," I moaned to whoever was nearby. Wags held back giggles while No Nails offered some common sensical advice: "Take off your pack." Later in the day I hiked with No Nails, and was glad to have her company. Sometimes it's great to have a person in front of you, leading. You just kind of follow their feet and don't think much about anything. When you're tired, it's the perfect antidote for not sitting down in the trail, pitching a fit, and refusing to move. Tonight's my last night in the wilderness. Tomorrow we're going to stay at Abol Bridge campground before we complete the final 10 miles into Baxter State Park (minus the 5.2 summit miles, of course). I have so many contradictory feelings running through me - excitement of seeing James tomorrow, terror of what I'm suppose to do with myself when this is over, pride of accomplishing an ambitious goal, saddness at the thought of saying bye to my trail family (Wags, what am I gonna do without you?!?), etc etc. I guess I just have to take it as it comes.
Date: 2009-08-24
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Abol Bridge Campground
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

I woke up before 6 and was on the trail before 7. It's been 2.5 months since I've seen James, and that was all the inducement I needed to get crackin early. It was nice to hike alone (not that I don't enjoy the company of my trail friends!) early in the morning. I saw a beaver at a distance and it didn't eat my face off (a definite surprise!), a fledgling chick of some sort or other, and all sorts of other random woodland creatures. I eventually turned my ipod on and rocked out. In the middle of Zac Brown's "Where the boat leaves from," I heard a strange noise to my left. "What the *%#!??" I yelped. It was big. And I was surprised. Is that a bear? Nah, I see a hoof. Wait, is that a....? OMG! A moose! I finally saw a moose! Ok, I saw four hooves and some ears. But I can imagine what the inbetween looks like. I crossed over the top of Rainbow Ledges, signed the register in the shelter, and kept hiking. It was 11am, and I had just over three miles to go. About a mile from the road, I rounded the top of a hill and as I was coming down the other side I noticed a handsome day hiker headed my way. "HEY!!" I was so surprised to see James southbounding.We hung out at the campground and waited for No Nails and Wags to show up. Then we set up our tents at a campsite with a GREAT view of Katahdin, and drove into Millinocket to get some food. The mozzie's here are the worst they have been on the ENTIRE trail! You cannot even imagine how feisty these things are. James and I are sharing my Hubba tent which is hilarious, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my day.
Date: 2009-10-15
To: Final Sound Off
Miles today: 0.0

Today is the last day of the season up at Katahdin so I thought it'd be a fitting day to draw my journal to an end. It's definitely a hard thing to let go of, but in one way or another this adventure will always be with me. It's been one of few defining moments (or in this case, a series of moments) in my life. I'm so grateful to have had the love and support of so many folks and the courage and strength to attempt it. I guess from now on, no matter how much of a sissy I feel like I'm being I can always say, "Yeah, well, I thru-hiked the A.T. Put that in your pipe and smoke it buddy!" I mentioned in an email to somebody yesterday that it feels like the thru-hiker community is fairly similar to the AA community - we all have this addiction, this obsession and it haunts us, and only other hikers really and truly understand why it has such a hold on us. I guess the upside to that is it's ok for us to go back out in the woods and backpack again. In fact, it's a necessity.It's been almost 2 months since I've slept in a tent or a sleeping bag or cooked a meal over my stove outside. I've got DVR at home with all my trashy reality shows, a nice comfy bed and a hot shower every day if I chose to use it (eh, I'm still pretty bad at showering on a regular basis). I get to hang out with James every day and walk my dogs. I don't have to worry about my cell phone battery, and I can talk to my friends and family as much as I want. But I don't have the woods to roam around in or the excitment of the next turn in the trail. I don't have the smelly, fun-loving trail community surronding me. I don't have the allure of an adventure waking me up every morning. But I do have my memories.
Date: 2010-02-23
To: The Itch
Miles today: 0.0

Almost six months have passed since that glorious day on Katahdin so it's just about that time again - NOBO thru-hiker season kick-off. Crystal Weaver (not meth) warned me about The Itch. It's not that I didn't believe her. I just didn't know what it would mean. So now I've got it. And although I've experienced a mild case of since the beginning of September, I think it's finally reached noteworthiness.Today I missed the trail so much that it was palpable. The feeling wasn't just a happy memory or funny remembrance from last spring and summer. It was more like an ache. Don't get me wrong - this isn't like a breakup gone bad. I have moved on both literally and figuratively (we moved to Mississippi last week). But I now realize that once you get bit by the hiker-bug, you're done for. There's no cure for it. No getting past it. Nope. Once you fall in love with the simplistic, nature-ridden, family-style friendship life...well, it's like a mistress you want to keep going back to.      Wags and I chatted the other day about our strange fascination with bad weather - I feel this innate, Pavlovian need to be outside when it's raining these days. When it's cold and foggy, my legs ache to climb a mountain. I sit on my front porch and observe it's shelter-like construction. "We could fit plenty of hikers out here." And then I daydream about folks showing up right around dinnertime to sit around a fire, cook a delicious pot of mac-n-cheese and chat it up until the stars come out. The hiking culture has thoroughly saturated my blood.Yep, Wags and I are still bosom-buddies. Facebook is a great way to keep up with all of my trail friends (except for Hermes who refuses to cave in to it...I send him emails every now and then). I'm even planning to meet up with Mr. Right in a few weeks. The friendships I made help keep all the wonderful memories from the trail alive. Or maybe it was the trails way of bringing all these amazing people into my life. Who knows. I do know that I went out to Springer for a solo overnight earlier this month. My goal was to be totally alone on the trail, and I was (ok, June was with me). It was great to be back out there, in the cold, foggy snow, but it was kinda like pizza without the pepperoni's - filling, but not satisfying.The Class of 2010 is getting ready to head-out on their adventures. I hope they have tons of wonderful memories and new friendships at the end of the trail. And I hope they update their journals often.