morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-08-16
From: Stony Brook Shelter 

To: Barnard Brook
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I reached a lookout today that in addition to providing great views, it also was a good place for lunch, and functions as a good shelter. Located on private property, it's a cabin with stairs to a rooftop deck. A local day hiker stopped by while Slider and I were having lunch and he told us about how the owner had just rebuilt the cabin, which was a surprise to all the locals due to the owner's ornery nature.As a potential stopping point for my day, I reached the On The Edge Farm fairly early in the afternoon. I got ice cream and soda, then laid my tent out to dry. When I started packing it back up, I realized I forgot my tent stakes at the shelter this morning. I walked back over to the river/road crossing to wait for other northbound hikers that may have picked them up. Slider and Blue Kazoo came by on their way to the farm, but they had both left the shelter before me. I sat there waiting and waiting, and finally Lost Boy came through to confirm that I wouldn't likely be seeing any of the other hikers that day. Blue Kazoo was nice and gave me four stakes that she's not using. That should get me by, and maybe I'll meet up with the other hikers in Hanover to learn the fate of my tent stakes.In addition to that problem which I made for myself, during the night, my air mattress burst a chamber. It's the same thing that had happened in Georgia, just this time I didn't really notice until I rolled over during the night and fell off the "bed". Since it's the weekend I'll have to wait till Monday to call and get a new sleeping pad sorted out.Fitbit-------------Miles: 18.7Calories: 4500Stairs: 438
Date: 2015-08-17
From: Barnard Brook

To: Hanover 
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

There was a bucket hanging by a rope across the stream when I came to the first road crossing this morning. Turned out that the bucket was full of soda cans. It was a nice bit of trail magic to prelude a day of steep up and down climbs.I finished the Christopher Moore audio book I've been listening to. I've actually been mixing up my listening since finishing the Count of Monte Cristo. I start the morning with a German lesson (usually repeating the first two lessons to help imprint the words I'm learning). And then every other day I'll add another part of Awol's book to cover the upcoming sections I'm going to be hiking. And then the remainder of the day will typically be the slightly humorous Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.I reached the Hart Family's house at the peak of the afternoon. This trail angel house provides hikers with a place to stop and relax. If you spend the night you're usually offered pancakes in the morning. In the afternoon they provide hikers with sodas. There were about six other hikers milling about when I arrived. The house is also located across from a bridge that is famous for jumping off of. I chose to swim in the river, but didn't jump off the bridge. If everyone else was jumping off the bridge I'm sure I would have.As enticing as the prospect of pancakes was, I chose to push on to Hanover. And I enjoyed the music and the miles (I listened to the playlist I've been working on). Another enjoyment of the evening was the trail magic along first street in Norwich. Residents of Elm St set out coolers and "compete" with sodas and baked goods. I got a soda, cookies and some chocolate banana bread for the remainder walk into town with Backlash.Once in Hanover I was joined by Chesapeake, Horse and Tink while heading straight to the pizza shop that offers a free slice of pizza for thru-hikers. Brewery and Backlash also showed up.I didn't spend long, nor eat much, cause my goal in town was to meet up with my uncle's friend Terri. She picked me up and we drove out to her place. I had naively thought that she lived in/around the town of Hanover, but instead it was a thirty minute drive to the "suburb" of Enfield. No qualms from me though, cause I'm here to rest; and I was provided with the necessities of a shower, dinner and good conversation.Fitbit-------------Miles: 24.1Calories: 5500Stairs: 526
Date: 2015-08-18
From: Hanover 

To: Enfield 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I officially came to the decision that I will skip New Hampshire. Since entering CT, maybe even before, I've been wondering if my ankle pain was going to prevent me from finishing the trail. As the thought became more and more prevalent, due to the pain getting worse, I started setting my goal to hike through Vermont and then let what ever happens happen. After the first doctor appointment, and related four days off, I felt ok and thought I'd make it. But that was because it was mostly flat through the middle of MA, and once I started on the hills again, my ambition changed. Through VT I thought, "I'm doing ok now, but I don't know how long ok will last". Along those lines of thought I realized that being able to summit Katahdin is an important climax to this adventure, but hiking the challenging terrain in the Whites is a risk to even the healthiest of tendons. So...I'm going to skip ahead to southern Maine this weekend. I'll hike the 280 miles to Katahdin. Then, with plenty of time on my side, do some rehab and physical therapy, and come back to piece together sections of NH.Fitbit-------------Miles: 0.9Calories: 1900Stairs: 3
Date: 2015-08-23
From: Enfield 

To: Shelburne 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was my last day of zero miles. I've spent nearly a week hanging out in Enfield/Hanover. It was one of the best places I could have been. The house was on the lake and provided a great place to relax. But I was also able to take a few trips into Hanover and hang out with some of the hikers coming in behind me. That and my uncle came up for a visit and brought his Tarptent so that I could switch out from my recently leaking Big Agnes.Today Terri drove me out to Gorham on her way to a week trip of outdoor fun in Maine. Tomorrow I'll get a shuttle ride out of the White Mountains Lodge (which is a really good hostel) to join the trail in Maine. It was nice to meet up with some of the hikers who were ahead of me, including Snowta, Timothy, and Goats Beard. There's also Loner Boner, a 75 year old northbound thru-hiker working on his 3rd AT thru-hike.Fitbit-------------Miles: 4.1Calories: 2500Stairs: 10
Date: 2015-08-24
From: Shelburne 

To: South Arm Rd 
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I got a shuttle ride back to the trail from Bruce. He had made an attempt at a thru-hike in 1987, then completed it via sectioning in 2000. For the past few years he's been spending his summers living just outside of Gorham and providing shuttle service to needy hikers at a price to cover the fuel. After having seen the amount of work that goes into running a hostel for hikers, I think given the choice I'd rather be a shuttle driver.As I began my hike this morning, walking uphill on the trail in Maine for the first time, I found myself regretting that I hadn't hiked through the whites. I had no comparison to the beauty nor difficulty of the trail. I also developed a bittersweet feeling about being close to Katahdin. I'm really excited that this epic adventure is coming to a close and I can begin starting on the next phase of my life. But it's equally sad to know that my time here on the trail is reaching the end, and I won't be this immersed in nature for a long time.After the 1400ft, six mile climb to the shelter, the trail then dropped and climbed back up 1600 feet in two miles. There may have been elevation changes like this in the whites, but otherwise there was nothing at all like this elsewhere on the trail. And it soon became clear that my ankle wasn't happy about this either. The pain was rather dull and not nearly bad enough to consider not hiking, but I probably should have started off farther north in Maine. I should be ok though, after tomorrow the terrain is supposed to easy up a bit more, and I should be able to finish in just a bit more than two weeks.Other things to note from yesterday:I talked with Timothy about the tendon problem I have and he had the same thing a few years ago. It hasn't come back to bother him on the trail, but it was reassuring to hear someone else describe the pain and difficulty this injury causes. It's also good to know that it can go away and stay away.I managed to arrange a place to stay in Boston when I finish. It may only be a week or so while I sort out something else, but thanks to Goats Beard I don't need to spend time dealing with that these last days on the trail.Fitbit-------------Miles: 15.4Calories: 4100Stairs: 305
Date: 2015-08-25
From: South Arm Rd 

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to 
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: clear sky

The morning started off with a long steep climb. Well actually it started off with being swarmed by no-see-ums (or was it flees?) while eating breakfast. Needless to say, my morning wasn't the most pleasant. But even with with the overcast sky, lack of views, and intermittent rain, I kind of enjoyed my hike. Maine really is quite beautiful. After a while I started listening to an audio book (Off to Be the Wizard), and when I rolled into the shelter at 1:30, I contemplated the option of hiking on to the next shelter. It'd be another 8 miles which didn't look to challenging, but when it began to rain again my mind was made up. I think my ankle probably approved of the decision.I shared the shelter with Fiddler, Uhaul, and South Paw. And when the sky cleared for a little bit, Fiddler and I went back to the trail and collected blueberries.Fitbit-------------Miles: 14.3Calories: 3800Stairs: 328
Date: 2015-08-26
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to 

To: Rangeley 
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I didn't expect it, but listening to the audio book today really slowed my hiking pace. I got to the next shelter, which is an 8.3 mile distance, and it took me five hours. Sure, some of the terrain was tough because of the wet rocks and roots, but but my pace before VT was typically twice that speed. The good news was that I only had another hour of the book left, so the rest of the afternoon went by quick enough.I left Gorham with enough food that I didn't need to stop in Rangeley, but this is the last town with a big grocery store, and there were two reasonably priced hostels. I also didn't really need the hostel, since I slept in the shelter last night and most of my stuff was still dry. So I got to the road crossing, decided I'd at least top off my food bag, and I'd check out the Hiker Hut to see if I'd be a good place to spend the night.The Hiker Hut is indeed a good place to spend the night. Maybe a tad expensive for what it provides, but it makes up for that with rustic charm. The owner, Steve, has a small cabin with six bunks, and the only guest when I arrived was Beetle, a northbound hiker who had already finished and came back here to hang out. The other buildings on the property are an A-frame house that Steve lives in, a small cabin for couples to stay in, and an even smaller cook house. There is no running water or electricity, but there usually isn't on the trail anyhow. There was a good swimming hole in the adjacent stream that provided me with one of the best baths I've had on the trail. While I soaked, a homemade dinner was prepared for me, of hamburgers and a big bowl of pasta. Then they brought me in to do some grocery shopping, where I got a quart of ice cream for dessert. And we ended the night sitting around the fire having a pleasant conversation. Steve takes all the profits from the hostel and uses it to help people in India who are suffering from elephantitis, enabling them to get surgery. So that tad extra I paid goes to a good cause.Fitbit-------------Miles: 22.9Calories: 5200Stairs: 376
Date: 2015-08-27
From: Rangeley 

To: Sluice Brook Logging Rd 
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

The climb up Saddleback Mountain was long, but not nearly as challenging as I had expected. The payoff for getting above treeline was fantastic. 360° views of beautiful scenery and only a slight sprinkling of civilization mixed in. It was incredibly windy though, so not a good spot to hang around for long. The challenging terrain arrived during the decent and then climb up The Horn, as well as the decent then climb up Saddleback Junior. If I was really ambitious I possibly could have done a 19 mile day and made it to the Spaulding Mountain Shelter, but I chose to have a solo stealth camp next to a waterfall.I've done some preliminary calculations and I think my summit date will be September 10th.There's still about 200 more miles to go, but I think Maine is likely to be my favorite state. Till now I would have said Georgia, because I really liked how straight and to the point it was about going up and down mountains. There were very few switchbacks in Georgia, and when you got to the top of a mountain, all you had to do was look around for the next tallest mountain and you knew exactly where you were going. Maine on the other hand is simply beautiful. It's totally remote. When the wind isn't blowing it's completely silent. Not even the birds I've seen dare to disturb the quiet nature.Fitbit-------------Miles: 18.8Calories: 4500Stairs: 447
Date: 2015-08-28
From: Sluice Brook Logging Rd 

To: Stratton 
Miles today: 18.8

I started off on the trail this morning as the only hiker. That meant I needed to make use of my spider web clearing device. But when I reached the height of the mountain the terrain leveled off for a rare moment of easy walking and some southbounders had cleared the way for me.I don't know if it's cause I'm so far north or also because it hasn't been sunny all day for so long, but by 3pm I was so tired and the sun felt like it was setting, though it stayed out for another 4 hours.I hitched into the small town of Stratton, with its two stores and three hotels. I got a bed in the hostel, and arrived just as a group of hikers were sitting down to a big pasta dinner with wine. I also arranged to slackpack tomorrow over the Bigelows.I wonder if now when I smell Christmas trees I'll think of the AT instead of ChristmasFitbit-------------Miles: 23.9Calories: 5400Stairs: 593
Date: 2015-08-29
From: Stratton 

To: E Flagstaff Rd 
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

Last night I made arrangements to cut the cost of slackpacking with Mr Pink and come back for a second night at the hostel. Mr Pink got a head start on me and I struggled to hitch back to the trailhead, but after a few miles I managed to catch up. The good news though was that today will be the last day (other than Katahdin) above 4000 feet, and the elevation change till reaching the 100 mile wilderness will be insignificant. So from here to Monson the walking should be a breeze (though I'll bet that some new problem arises).So many parts of my body are hurting. But nothing, including the ankle, is feeling bad enough to even consider not finishing. In fact the problem ankle really hasn't hurt much at all. There's been a few times that I'll get a twinge of discomfort to remind me that it once was really bad, but otherwise I'd be inclined to say that it's "healed".There's been a lot of school groups on the trail the past few weeks. A lot of colleges up in the north (I can only speak to this area because it's where I am right now) send out their freshmen on orientation outings that are guided by seniors. I think that's pretty neat. When I was sitting around in the midst of one particular group today I saw a hiker wearing the Brooks Cascadia 10 shoes. I've been wearing last year's 9 model on my hike and they have been great. But the problem I've seen with the 10 series is that the toe area starts ripping after about 100 miles. So I asked this college guy how long he's had his shoes. As he begins telling me his story of already having had them replaced, he paused, and said "nah, it couldn't be". That was when I realized I met him before and heard this same shoe story when he was day hiking in VT just before Rutland. Small world.Fitbit-------------Miles: 22.4Calories: 5200Stairs: 600
Date: 2015-08-30
From: E Flagstaff Rd 

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night Mr Pink and I arranged for the shuttle back to the trail for 7am. And Mr Pink offered to make bacon and eggs for breakfast. And I slept in later than I should have, and had to rush in order to get packed before the shuttle left without me. But breakfast was delicious.The guide showed an almost entirely flat day of hiking. But as soon as I hit the trail, it went up about 50 feet, and that elevation change with a full pack was tough. It just goes to show that no matter how many mountains one climbs, it's still tough when an obstacle is placed in your path. The good thing was that it was pretty much the steepest climb of the day.The even better thing was that the trail went by four great swimming ponds today (It should be pointed out that Maine has a lot of "ponds" that are quite large and lake-like). The second one I took a quick swim in. The third one I was getting water from and accidentally dunked my foot in, so I hung out for a while to let the sun dry my socks/shoes. I was listening to the audio book, Brilliance, as I came to the fourth pond that also had a shelter along its shore. Mr Pink was there and we walked over to Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps to arrange for a pancake breakfast in the morning.I've made an effort on this hike to try and visit as many shelters I walk by as I can. Partly because so many of them are architecturally unique, and partly to give me something to do. Almost every shelter has a log book where you can write a little note to the other hikers behind, or to no one in particular. Often it's just an equivalent of "Toes was here", but sometimes people writing long messages about their day/life, and sometimes there's fun drawings/cartoons. Some people don't write in them often or at all, but many enjoy reading through and seeing who/what is ahead of them. By no means do I write in all the log books I see, but I usually try to add something funny when I do. Lately I started to become more aware of the occasional large gaps people sometimes leave between theirs and the previous message. Today I had a great idea on how to fill in the gaps: a choose-your-own-adventure story. So instead of writing "8/30 Toes was here", I write "8/30 You've been attacked by a bear! Are you going:   Northbound: turn to 8/13   Southbound: turn to 7/24". And then on the pages with log entries from those dates, I fill in the gaps with the next part of the story. The story is pretty simple, but I think it's a great idea, and now I can continue the story at the following shelters.Fitbit-------------Miles: 19.2Calories: 4400Stairs: 237
Date: 2015-08-31
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: broken clouds

I prepared for this morning two nights ago. Both the guide book and Shane, the owner/shuttle driver at Stratton Motel, informed me of Tim Harrison's 12 pancake breakfast at Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps. So the night before leaving Stratton I bought myself a small bottle of pure maple syrup and carried it the 16 miles just for this occasion. It was worth it. I ate my 12 pancakes and had half of Quirky's too. That and some eggs. The sugar rush/carb overdose made it easy for me to fly down the hill and reach the Kennebec before the canoe service started. The Kennebec river is the wildest unbridged crossing on the AT, and there has been a free ferry service in the form of a canoe since the 80's (after a hiker died trying to ford the river; and several others since have come close to death because the water level can rise rapidly and without warning). I got into a good hiking zone the rest of the day, and even managed to continue the choose-your-own-adventure story in the shelter log. But as the day wore on, it was well rewarded when Pokie-hontas was providing trail magic at the road crossing. It made the next 3 miles the easiest I've done in the state of Maine.Fitbit-------------Miles: 21.3Calories: 4900Stairs: 389
Date: 2015-09-01
From: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to

To: Monson
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I had my first river crossing today. As in the first river I had to ford. Ok, there was one way back in North Carolina, but this is the first time in Maine that I had to take my shoes off to get across a river. Based on all the talk I've heard from southbounders, this fact surprised me. I think I've mostly been lucky that the weather has been so dry the past week. I'm getting so close to the end that I can smell it. It smells like Christmas and mud.I arrived in Monson, the last town till the end of the hike, and got a bunk at Shaw's. Shaw's is a nice family run hostel in town, and the other place to stay is Lakeshore. Lakeshore has a restaurant where you can get a tasty dinner (which Mr Pink and I did), but Shaw's provides a breakfast to look forward to. Fitbit-------------Miles: 23.5Calories: 5400Stairs: 327
Date: 2015-09-03
From: Wilson Valley Lean-To

To: West Branch Pleasant River
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: clear sky

I started my day in silence. Jade woke up and had her own conversation with me (it was quite cute). The first hikers I saw going by said good morning, and I just smiled and waved. The night before I had wrote on a slip of paper: "Vow of Silence through the 100 miles", and I figured I'd show it to any hikers I saw. But these two walked right by before I was able to get it out, and so instead I kind of felt rude for not saying good morning back, particularly since I don't think they saw me smiling and waving. But no big deal, I hiked on in silence.Yet another reminder that this isn't "wilderness", I came across a sign pointing to trail magic 1/4 mile down a logging road. I wandered down there to a cabin and was greeted by a guy on the front porch. I pulled out my slip of paper and handed it to him. He read it, handed it back and said, "Really?" I nodded my head in the affirmative. He said, "well, there's soda & beer in the cooler there. Have a seat and relax." After I sat he asked if I'd like a hamburger or hot dog. I again nodded my head in the affirmative, and began to wonder if maybe this idea of not talking was a good one. As I sat there in awkward silence while he cooked me two hamburgers, I thought "well I'm not in the 100 mile wilderness right now if I'm off the trail. And this choice of not communicating was entirely arbitrary. The reason he's probably doing trail magic is to share stories and connect with people." I broke my vow of silence. We chatted for a bit while I ate and I had another soda before heading back to the trail. The next hiker I saw heading southbound I didn't even bother with the vow of silence and just talked with him as normal. I did tell him about my attempt at a vow of silence. There were only about 5 other people I saw on the trail today, most of whom I barely said anything to, so it was close enough to being a silent day. Fitbit-------------Miles: 24.5Calories: 5300Stairs: 550
Date: 2015-09-05
From: Crawford Pond

To: Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: clear sky

It was cold last night. Probably dropped down into the 30s. I slept ok, but I probably would have slept better if I'd been wearing warmer clothes. I probably also would have slept better if I didn't wake up at 5:30am with the intention of hiking 33 miles today.The morning miles flew by as I cruised along at a good pace. The trail was easy going, flat, and with very few roots and rocks to step around. I got through the first 20 miles in 7 hours, and was on pace to reach my destination before nightfall. Then it got a bit more rooty and my ankle started hurting. I'd been getting a little bit of pain the past two days as well, but this seemed like it was only gonna get worse the more I went. So when I got to the lake and took a swim, I decided to call it an early day. I managed to get enough miles that the days will get progressively shorter for me till the end, while still having a summit date of the 8th.Fitbit-------------Miles: 23.4Calories: 5100Stairs: 154