morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-17
From: Fourth Mountain, Bog

To: West Branch of Pleasant River
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

Moving day again...this time to the farthest point I will go on this adventure...Millinocket, Maine. There were lots of hiker friends at Shaw's before I left because hikers who stay at the other hostel in town come here for breakfast. There were lots of hugs and goodbyes and contact info exchanged because no one is sure to see others "up the trail" as we say. Lots of our friends are planning on summitting on Monday the 24th so they will be done before we get there. It feels strange to be this close to done. The drive to Millinocket was beautiful most of the way. The road goes thru several small towns, through lots of woods with occasional views of the mountains which are in the distance now. I stopped in Milo at a diner for breakfast. The waitress asked if I wanted regular whole wheat bread or homemade...of course, I had the homemade and it was thick and delicious! I was tempted to buy a loaf to take with me until I remembered that I will be alone for 3 days so would have to eat it all!....not that I couldn't...but I shouldn't...so I didn't! I also stopped for gas since I only had half a tank and like to keep it as full as I can since stations are few and far between....and it was cheaper than in Monson...it was 3.92 instead of 3.99...and it was a full service station so a man pumped it for me! My "home" in Millinocket was easy to find since it is right in the center of town...the Appalachian Trail Lodge which is being painted red with cream trim. My room, number 4, has a double bed,night stand with a lamp with a bulb and no shade and one chair....not glamorous but good enough. There is a large sun room down the hall and a kitchen area for use of the hikers. After moving in, I went out walking around the town to see what was there. The first place I went in was an art gallery with many beautiful things..expensive beautiful things. I got to talking to the lady who was manning the shop for her friend the owner. We talked a long time and I got lots of useful info for future reference. She had written a cookbook/poetry book/local pictures book. I bought a copy and she signed it for me. Many of the recipes sound very good and I can't wait to get back to cooking again. I am so tired of restaurant food. SOS called and said that he was done for the day and done, he thinks, with high mountains until Mt. Katahdin...smooth sailing from here, he hopes..I hope so too, for him. I am writing at the library which closes in 14 minutes so will close for now...back to the room, read a while and sleep is on my agenda for the evening.Road Name of the Day: JO-MARY ROAD This reminded me of our friends, Joe and Mary who came to hike with us a while back. Joe and SOS served in Hungary together back in the 90's and the 4 of us took a very memorable trip to Paris together. THANKS for the memories!
Date: 2012-09-18
From: West Branch of Pleasant River

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.4

Sunny day in Millinocket. Walked to the AT Cafe which is down the street a few blocks and had breakfast. Beside the cafe, there is a stairway which leads to the store and coffee shop upstairs. Someone has painted the entire map of the AT on the wall going up. It is wonderfully well done...hard to photograph but wonderful to see in person....lots of memories on those walls. Donna, who works upstairs, and I talked a long time while I was killing time waiting on Tagnalong to arrive in town. I made another trip to the library and read for awhile....started A Perfect Storm which I had never read before and got free at a library somewhere down the trail. On the way back to the hostel, I stopped at the wreath factory. The lady who owns it goes to the woods and collects all kinds of nature items and then makes wreathes of all sizes and descriptions. She gave me some yarn that her mother in law was getting rid of. Back at the room, I started on a new skinny scarf using the triangle pattern that I was making before. (that one isn't done...the ribbon I am knitting with is so slippery that it is hard to work with so if I get one triangle done at a time, I am pleased...there are 16 in the pattern and I have 7 done...no rush...)It is so quiet in the hostel...no one is around so I sat in the sun room with all the windows and just enjoyed the quiet. About 4 o'clock, Nancy (Tagnalong) arrived. She was tired after her long drive so we just sat and talked until deciding to go to dinner down at the AT cafe again. There were several hikers there that had summited that day. At this cafe, they take down the ceiling tiles (about 3'x2') and have hikers who have summitted sign their names. Then when a tile is full they put it back on the ceiling and get down another. It is fun to look at the names and see who is done with this adventure. We walked back to the hostel and talked awhile before bedtime. I didn't drive today (yeah!) so no road names. SOS didn't check in with his miles and stop point so don't know either of those things...will update when I know.
Date: 2012-09-19
From: East Branch Lean-to

To: East Branch of Pleasant River
Miles today: 0.3
Weather: clear sky

No word from SOS yesterday after a call at about 10am. So the mileage is wrong and I don't know where he is. According to hikers who are in from the wilderness, there is no cell reception for anyone. Nancy and I went to the at cafe for breakfast and then walked around town. The library was next for several hours. I worked on my scarf (which goes very slowly on small needles) and read more of my current book, The Perfect Storm. The rain stopped around noon and the sun came out. Nancy finally heard from Tim...he had been waiting at White House Landing for 2 days hoping that SOS would catch up. He is hiking on tomorrow after finding out that SOS won't be to White House Landing until Thursday. A very nice thing happened today when we went to the Artisan Gallery that I had visited on Monday. Georgia,(the lady who wrote the cookbook/poetry book that I had purchased) said, "I have a present for your birthday!" She then gave me a jar of Maine wild blueberry jam with a bow around it. I didn't remember that we had talked about birthdays and I think she had that confused with someone else...but she gave me the present! THANKS GEORGIA! I will remember your kindness with a smile when I eat this jam and cook from your book! We changed restaurants for dinner based on the advise of a local man that we talked to on the street. The local pizza place also serves pasta so we both had pasta with roasted veggies on top, It was good! Back at the room, we talked a bit and then went off to our rooms. I finished my book and went to sleep.
Date: 2012-09-21
From: Cooper Brook on Jo-Mary Road

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 10.3

This will be short. The library is closed...only open on Mon. thru Thursday so Nancy and I are at McDonald's so I can write in the journal. After the 4 of us had breakfast at the AT Cafe, Nancy and I took SOS and NL upstairs so they could see the beautiful art work on the walls. Then I drove them 27.1 miles to Cooper Brook trailhead. SOS pointed out that this is the last time I will be doing this...a sobering thought. There were several logging trucks on the road today. (It only cost me $10 today since they don't charge for hikers.) I was hoping to see a moose since I haven't seen a live one yet but no moose. Back at the hostel, Nancy and I shared a load of laundry and went to the cafe to see if we could see some hiker kids that we knew had summitted yesterday...their names were on a ceiling tile but we didn't see them. On to McDonald's to write so now I have and won't add more today. SOS and NL will hike into White House Landing today. I was supposed to stay with them there for 2 nights but am not sorry to miss the adventure of hiking in with lots of stuff! So I will be at the AT Lodge in Millinocket until Monday morning when I will move to the campground inside Baxter State Park and the end will really be in sight! All for now...
Date: 2012-09-22
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Shelter
Miles today: 15.6

Another change of plans... after I wrote yesterday...Now I am meeting up with SOS and NL tomorrow at Abol Bridge campground where we will spend the night in a tent. Then they will hike on to Baxter and I will drive to Baxter to wait on them to come in Monday and for Courtney and Jon to arrive on Tuesday. (Actually they will spend a short night outside the gate to Baxter and not be able to drive in until 6am on Tuesday. Is sleeping in the car after a long flight and then a long drive the way to prepare to climb Katahdin?...probably not but that is the reality of the situation. I added several new pictures for yesterday. Nancy and I went looking for the "kids" yesterday afternoon and found them at the Katahdin Inn. Indy, Scooby, Sleeping Beauty, and Loop Hole were outside and Tickle Monster was sleeping in the room so didn't get to say goodbye to him. Indy went back inside after we talked and took pictures, but the other 3 wanted to go to the post office and to Subway so Trail Mama took them. Scooby called later to ask if TM would take him to the airport to meet his Dad who was flying him home. So I picked him up later and off we went. It was .9 mile to the airport! It is a little local one and the plane he was flying in was tiny. (see pictures in photos for the 21st) I hugged Scooby goodbye, took pictures of him in the plane and off they flew. He was so nervous about the flight so I called him later to see if he got home...of course, he did and said the flight was good!Then Loop Hole called and wanted a ride to the bus station in Medway for today so I promised to pick him up today at 9am. Tim, Nancy, Steps, Jane and I were at the AT cafe at 6am for breakfast...so was half the town so we didn't get any food for 45 minutes. We ate and then all went to Abol Bridge Campground where Nancy,Tim and Steps were going to start the days hike to Baxter State Park. I made a reservation for a campsite for Sunday night and then Jane and I came back to town. I drove to the Katahdin Inn to pick up Loop Hole and discovered that Sleeping Beauty was going also. Trying to get accurate info about where the bus stopped in Medway was difficult so we just drove there and we found it on the first try! We stood and talked until the bus arrived. So more hugs and goodbyes and off two more of our "kids" went. It had started raining so I drove back to town in the rain but when I got to town it was barely misting. I found Jane and we went to the cafe to use the computer and to try one of their famous squash donuts. They are huge and homemade and were served at a dinner in Washington D.C.honoring a general. Jane drove back to Baxter to pick up the hikers and I knitted a while. No Sweat arrived at this hostel so talked to him a bit. Soon after the 3 hikers and Jane arrived back here so we made plans to try a new place for dinner..Ruthie's
Date: 2012-09-23
From: Rainbow Shelter

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I have had no service so no pictures put on or journal written. I drove to Abol Bridge to pick up SOS and NL. We were camping there so I checked in and got our campsite. I decided to hike in to meet my hikers since I was sure of the way this time! The view from Abol Bridge of Mt. Katahdin is awesome. I am too tired to put pictures on tonight.I hiked into the woods for 1 hour and 15 minutes and never found them...so I left him a note on a rock and turned around. He caught up with me before we got out of the woods so we got to hike together for a little ways. Back at the campground, we ate dinner and decided to sleep in the car since SOS was chilling so we moved the things in back to the front and made our beds in the back and went to bed early.
Date: 2012-09-24
From: Abol Bridge

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Still catching up the journal. Pictures coming when I have the time and energy! SOS and NL hiked into Katahdin Stream Campground which is where you start the climb up the mountain. Meanwhile I moved us from Abol campground to Baxter State Park. I waited in the campground most of the day for SOS and NL whose friends Mark and Diane were meeting her there. Overdrive and Peach were summiting today so Overdrive's Mom was waiting also so we talked while waiting. Steps was also summmiting today and his wife Jane was there so we got to know each other better.Overdrive, Peach and Steps got down the mountain and finished their journey. There were hugs and congrats and goodbyes all around. Nice Lady invited us to eat with her friends at their lean to so we did before heading to our cabin. The cabin turned out to be 11 MILES from where the climb starts tomorrow on a narrow dirt road (what's new!). We found our cabin which was back in the woods. It won't rank as one of my favorite places...in fact it will be very near the bottom but there was nothing to do but stay all night so we did with little sleep. TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!!
Date: 2012-09-25
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Top of Katahdin Mountain
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

WE ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DETAILS AND PICTURES LATER. I AM VERY PROUD OF MY GUY'S ACCOMPLISHMENT....2184 MILES ON FOOT, 14 STATES, 200 DAYS. IT WAS VERY SPECIAL TO HAVE COURTNEY AND JON GO UP THE MOUNTAIN WITH SOS. COURTNEY GOT HIS TRAIL NAME FROM FATHER MAN (WHO GAVE ATM HER NAME). IT IS "HELPING HANDS" BECAUSE HE WAS HELPING OTHERS OVER THE HARD PARTS. HIS OTHER NAME WAS "KODAK KID" BECAUSE HE WAS THE PICTURE TAKER OF THE 29 HIKERS AT THE TOP AT THE SAME TIME. MORE LATER...WE ARE BACK IN "INTERNET ACCESS" LAND. NO HIKING TOMORROW BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO WRITE FOR A FEW DAYS AT LEAST...STAY TUNED.
Date: 2012-09-28
From: Rockland, Maine

To: North Hampton, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Today we woke up still in Maine. We left Rockland after eating breakfast at a bagel shop. We drove to the Moody Diner in Waldoboro. It specializes in pie so we had a piece with a glass of milk. They have a sign which says, "Pie Fixes Everything". On to Bath where I checked out the yarn shop while SOS went to a coffee shop to use his computer. Our destination for today was North Hampton but we stopped on the way in Freeport at LL Bean. We finally arrived in North Hampton after driving in the rain, stopping at the only Cracker Barrel in Maine (south Portland) to rent a book on tape (John Grisham's Innocent), and stopping at the visitor center to get new hotel coupon books since our others had expired. It was really raining when we arrived in N. Hampton so you couldn't really see the Atlantic Ocean which was right there beside the highway. We found a hotel and then drove a little farther to the Beach Plum which was the reason we are here. SOS wanted a lobster roll to celebrate our amazing journey. We had to eat in the car since the rain was heavy at this point. This restaurant also has wonderful ice cream so we both had some. Back at the room to work on putting pictures on the computer. (I put 16 on tonight so check them out in photos). We are continuing to get congratulations from friends and strangers. We appreciate all the good wishes.
Date: 2012-09-29
From: North Hampton, NH

To: Williamstown, MA
Miles today: 0.0

Today we are on our way to Williamstown, MA to my cousin Tom and Judy's house. We stopped at a fun little cafe for breakfast in Exeter, NH. Stops along the way included a yarn shop with an antique/thrift store behind it...nothing like 2 favorites in one stop! Also nothing like wool yarn at 50% off! I have been collecting old postcards of Cincinnati for several years...so I was also looking for something to display them in. Well, I found it at the shop behind the yarn shop...a rack which I will spray paint black and hang on the wall of the Cincinnati house. It will hold lots of postcards....one more project for when I get home. Our favorite stop of the day was in Vermont but close to the Massachusetts line. It was a huge pumpkin patch with a 200 year old barn and hundreds if not thousands of pumpkins all nicely displayed. Some pumpkins on the hill spell our VERMONT. They also make their own maple syrup, sell cider, honey, apples (we bought some favorites, Cortlands) and other fall things. We got to Tom and Judy's house about 4:00. The evening was spent having a good dinner fixed by Judy and visiting while watching the Ryder Cup. Tom and I spent time looking at old family pictures. He had several of my side of the family that I hadn't seen before. We tried to name people in some of the old pictures and were moderately successful. My Dad could have named them all, of course. THANKS, TOM & JUDY for another night at your B&B! (You are now THREE visits to Fort Wayne behind...:-) We'll leave the light on... Thoughts from finishing the trail:1) I can't believe its over...how can 6 months go so fast...2) Hearing from hiker friends makes me happy....and sad...3) I LOVED being Trail Mama4) I know for FACT that it is possible to LOVE smelly grungy people5) I have been to the mountain top literally and figuratively6) I can drive anywhere now with no fear7) I can't believe that I drove over 15,000 miles in 6 months8) Honda Pilots are great cars...9) People who hike 2184 miles are VERY SPECIAL people if they take 6 months or 5 years or more10)I LOVE small towns and small town people11)I am over-the-top proud of SOS for completing his mission...12) I KNOW that God is Good...All the Time!
Date: 2012-10-01
From: Cooperstown, NY

To: Still in Cooperstown, NY
Miles today: 0.0

We decided to stay in Cooperstown today because there were 3 places we wanted to visit. It was raining again this morning but we didn't let that stop us from going into town to a coffee shop first of all. It had an intersting antique coffee storage system on the wall. We wrote 20 postcards and mailed them at the post office....and bought more postcard stamps...I would hate to guess how many I have purchased in the last 6 months! We are doing our part to keep the postal system in small towns going! The first place we visited was the Fenimore Art Museum. I was so excited to see that the Tasha Tudor exhibit was opening today! That is the first gallery we went to and then we visited all of the other galleries. One featured a display of Indian artifacts. It is a well done museum that we thoroughly enjoyed. Don't miss it if you are in the area. Next was the Baseball Hall of Fame...where we were delighted to see a banner outside with Ron Santo's picture and the date (this year) he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. We went to the theater to see the multi media presentation. The seating looks like the old Comiskey Ball Park. You sit in wooden stadium seats. At the end of the show, we all got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" with Harry Carey leading the singing...such fun! We got to see all the plaques honoring the players who have been inducted over the years. Another place not to miss in you are nearby anytime. We went to the Cooperstown Diner for lunch. It is very small (see photos)and has been in operation for years. The food was good. Our last of the 3 places was amazing also! It was the living history Farmers Museum which is across the street from the Art Museum. It is a working farm with many interpreters in costume. We visited the weaving lady, the pharmacist, the spinning lady, the storekeeper, the carousel man, and the blacksmith. All of them were fascinating to talk to and full of information about the history of their part of the museum. We learned many new things. We would highly recommend that you visit this museum also!! The last thing on our plan for the day was to do our laundry. We finally found the laundry, got our things out of the car..and then discovered that although it is usually open today until 9...it was closed for 2 days while they re-tile the floors! So no clean clothes until tomorrow! A stop at the grocery provided some dinner back at our room where we relaxed after a very fun day in Cooperstown! (Relaxing, that is, if you consider spending hours putting pictures on this site and writing a journal...which is what I have been doing for the last 3 hours!) Off to bed...
Date: 2012-10-03
From: Batavia, NY

To: Elyria, Ohio
Miles today: 0.0

After reading about the Jell-O Museum in LeRoy, New York, we decided to take a side trip and visit this town. Upon arriving we found a wonderful restaurant housed in an old train station. The inside was very nicely decorated. In each of the dining rooms, there are tracks around the center light with a train that goes around periodically. In the room we were in, the train was upside down and was circling around the upside down Halloween decorations...sounds tacky but really wasn't! A little girl about 2 came in with her parents for breakfast. She had obviously been there before because she immediately was looking up for the train. Everytime it stopped for awhile, she would announce that it was "hiding". We found her delightful and enjoyed watching her while we ate. After a good breakfast, we went looking for the Jell-O museum. We found the museum and it was delightful! First we learned the history of Jell-O which didn't start selling until the 2nd owner (who bought the rights for $450) sent salesmen to a town where they gave away either a box of Jell-O or a booklet with recipes for Jell-O. Sales took off when people got together because two people had what the other needed. There was a corner with a TV that was showing all the TV ads for Jell-O. Bill Cosby was starring in many of them because he was the spokesperson for Jell-O. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Again we headed west but this time on the interstate so we could bypass most of Cleveland. Our stop for the night was in Elyria at the Best Western. We wanted to be settled in to the room in time for the debate tonight and we are! Tomorrow we will arrive back in Fort Wayne. We will have been gone for almost 7 months since we left home on March 8 and will return on October 4. It has been a fantastic adventure!
Date: 2012-10-04
From: Elyria, Ohio

To: Fort Wayne, IN
Miles today: 0.0

After an uneventful day of mostly driving...except for a coffee shop stop in Norwalk, Ohio...we arrived back at home in late afternoon. 3 of the 14 grandkids were at our house so we got to see them first. Then we went to another son's house to babysit 3 more grandkids.We are getting calls and emails about speaking engagements so part 2 of the fund raising plan will start with these. We plan to tell our story and hope that more people will see the need to help update our United Methodist church camps. We are trying to adjust to the busy-ness of life at home again. It will take days to sort out all the stuff in our car after basically living out of it for 7 months. We miss the mountains,the woods, the quietness of life in small towns and our hiker friends.