morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-29
From: Caratunk, ME (Caratunk House)

To: Bald Mountain Brook Leanto
Miles today: 14.7

We were all up at 6AM and downstairs at breakfast by 6:30. Wow, Paul really upheld his reputation as a good cook, eggs, potatoes, french toast, muffins, bananas, melon, coffee and Orange Juice¢¦ Yumm¢¦. After stuffing myself it was off to the Post Office to mail home my journal pages and film, and use the pay phone to call home. My new boots came in, they are on their way to Monson, Maine! Well, sort of¢¦ They are going via Monson Massachusetts¢¦ Sigh¢¦ UPS goofed up and sent my boots to the wrong zip code, so my overnight shipping will not quite be so overnight. But the bright side is, that they will now be shipped for free (we get back the money we paid to ship them), since they guaranteed the day they would be delivered by. Good thing my new boots are coming, I developed a serious pain in my foot (maybe due to the boots breaking down?) on the way back from the Post office, and it stayed with me most of the day (800 mg of Advil didn¢t even help). It was a sharp pain in my foot that hurt with every step, starting in my left heel, and stabbing up into my ankle. Tonight I will try Advil and Muscle relaxers, and cross my fingers that it will help. Today, I just hiked with the pain, taking as many breaks as I needed, untying and tying my boots, loosening laces, padding my ankle, whatever I could think of. The hike was nice, the climb wasn¢t bad out of Caratunk, but my mind was on my ankle. I was reminded that even at this late stage off my hike, that a simple injury could still keep me from finishing¢¦ I hope this pain goes away, I would hate to grit mt teeth and tough it out for the next 132 miles, I would rather enjoy them (but either way, I¢m finishing!). Maybe my new boots will help, it¢s only 20+ miles until we get to Monson and I find out. If not, I have 3 days off when Wench is at the wedding (September 5,6,7) to rest my foot. But enough whining¢¦. Today was OK, we took a break at the Pleasant Pond Lean-to and rolled into the Bald Mt Brook Lean-to at about 4PM, ready to relax and go to sleep early (we got in just before the rain started). At the shelter tonight, 2 other hikers have the Nomad light tent, and they agree with me, that it does everything they need it to do (theirs were older models than mine). Anyway, there are many people here tonight, a college group on an orientation hike (thanks for all the pepperoni!), coffee, Aloha Anne, Cee Bee, Don Quixote and his friend, Old Corpus, Recycled, Walkabout and her friend, Wench, and hotdog. Now it¢s raining, and we are all sitting around in the shelter cooking, eating, talking and such, waiting for hiker Midnight (8PM?) so we can sleep. Time to journal and take my Advil/muscle ralaxer cocktail, and sleeeep¢¦. Life is good! PS: Cee Bee saw a BIG MOOSE with a big Rack today!!! Wahoo!!!Life is good!
Date: 2003-08-30
From: Bald Mt Brook Leanto

To: Monson, ME (Shaws)
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: overcast clouds

People started stirring in the shelter at about 5AM, I started stirring at about 6. We had one big climb today, then some decent terrain all the way in to Monson. I was concerned about my heel, but the pain was less, and not as sharp as yesterday. Our goal, 18.7 miles to the blue blaze side trail just before Monson, ME. Phew, it sounded so far with a sore foot, but at least we weren¢t slowed down by good views (LOL!), it was a bit overcast. We hiked up and over Pleasant Pond Mt (not such a hard climb), then down to Moxie pond and Moxie Pond Mt (not much of a mt here either). We were amazed to find that we had done 13 miles by 1PM when we stopped for lunch. Next came some level, smooth trail, mixed in with some crappy, rocky, rooty trail, throw in a few river crossings (done ¢feet dry¢), and suddenly we were taking a break, not too far from Monson on an ATV trail (the AT followed it for a bit). Good thing we took the break off the trail, because an ATV came by while we were sitting there. During the break, we called Wenches parents cell phone & left a message about where we were coming off the trail near Monson (so we could get a ride, they got to Monson today). When we finally got to the Blue blazed cutoff to Monson and started towards the trail head, we were pleasantly surprised to see Mama & Papa Wench walking up the trail to meet us. What great timing! They had ¢just¢ gotten our message, and they had only arrived in town minutes ago. We hiked out & went to Shaws Boarding house to check in. Wench and her folks got a room in the main house, and I got a nice room in the converted barn, with a full size bed in it. Ahhhhh¢¦.. After a shower and a little rest, we all went into town for bar-B-Q and music. The restaurant had a band playing, and apparently a neighbor didn¢t like it so they had a stereo blasting Scottish music towards town to drown the band out¢¦ A bit weird¢¦ The guy seems like a bit of a jerk. It was an all you can eat for $10 Bar BQ , so I stuffed myself on Chicken, beef ribs, slaw, soda, beans, dessert, and beer. After all that food, I was glad to go back to Shaws and lie down on my bed and moan, ¢I can¢t believe I ate the whole thing¢¦¢. Tomorrow we will hike the 3.3 miles from the Monson Blue blaze trail to Maine Highway 15 (the last road before the 100 mile wilderness). Until then, nothing but relaxing and sleeping. Did I mention my new boots are here? Life is good.
Date: 2003-09-03
From: West Branch of the Pleasant River

To: East Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 16.3

Wow, who turned off the heat?!?! We woke up to a chilly morning, 42 degrees with a breeze¢¦ Brrr... (wimps¢¦). Wench, Notes and I broke camp, thankful that we forded the river yesterday when it was warmer. Last night after I journaled in my tent, I heard splashing in the river, and saw a couple headlamps. I wonder who it was, fording the river in the dark? Probably people going home late from a long dayhike. Now we are at the East Branch lean-to, and GUESS WHAT? Wench saw a MOOSE!!!! And I didn¢t, sniff, sniff¢¦ She was journaling by the river when a young male with a small rack came down to the other bank. She snuck back to the shelter to get her camera and tell us, but by the time we got back to the river it was gone. This moose has been seen by many people according to the shelter register, so I still have a chance. Now back to today¢¦ We started out with a steady 5 mile climb to the first shelter, where we stopped for a snack and water break), then it was up Gulf Hagas mountain, then UP West peak (both steep climbs), and then a break (damn my dogs were barking). But you know what? The next 2 mou8ntains weren¢t as steep, so I didn¢t mind them so much. Hay Mt and Whitecap Mt (3,700 feet)were easier to climb and easier to recover from. We took some pictures on the peak of Whitecap, then went to the sheltered side to eat lunch with Notes, and yes, I finally see Katahdin now, it¢s so big you can¢t mistake it for any other mountain. It was a WINDY, but mostly sunny day, I still feel the chill, as I sat there eating lunch, but was it from the wind, or from seeing Katahdin for the first time? We had already hiked 11.3 miles by lunch (it¢s 2PM), and we only had 5 more miles to hike to the next shelter. It was a 16.3 mile day over 4 mountains and we were done by 4PM, I¢m loving this, lots of rest time. Tomorrow we have a fairly easy 11.8 miles to Jo-Mary road where Papa Wench will pick us up. We will only have 2 500 foot climbs and smooth sailing the rest of the day. Yee ha! Maybe we¢ll be at McDonalds by 4PM!! Yes, it¢s all about food¢¦ I can¢t wait for our zero days, I think our last ¢real¢ zero day was back at Gorham, NH (where we took a zero at Suzies house in North Conway). So it will feel good to have a few days to relax, see some movies, eat, sleep, eat, sleep and have a couple of beers before I get back on the trail and head to Katahdin. Wench saw the Moose here by the water, and then I walked around trying to find him for about an hour, and I walk back to the water every half hour or so, but no sign of him yet. At least Wench got to see one, now I¢m the only loser here (LOL!!! No Moose, no bears..). I can¢t believe it¢s 6:51 and I¢m already tired and thinking of sleep. I hope I shake that habit after the trail¢¦ It was nice spending time at the shelter talking, it was only Wench, Notes and I. After tonight, we won¢t see Notes again (we get off the trail tomorrow for our break, and he will continue on). I¢ll miss him.Life is good!
Date: 2003-09-04
From: East Branch lean-to

To: Jo Mary Road (then a hotel in Augusta, ME)
Miles today: 11.8

No more moose sightings, but lots of rain. It¢s cool and wet, so we stayed in our bags a little longer than usual before getting up & ready for the day (it feels so good to sleep late once in a while at a shelter). When we hit the trail, there was no more rain, but lots of mist, and no views at all. We started the day with a couple of decent climbs over 2 mountains, then some down, rocks, roots, bog bridges, and then lots of sweet, sweet trail (level, what a concept). Wench Notes and I stopped for lunch at the Cooper Brook Falls lean-to, too bad it was cold and misty, this Lean-to has a sweet swimming area in front of it. And since this was our last break together, we talked to Notes, then said our goodbyes as he got up from his lunch. He responded, ¢Huh?¢¢¦ It hadn¢t hit him that he wouldn¢t see us again on this hike. We¢ve said goodbye to so many people since Monson¢¦ Coffey, Aloha Anne, Cee Bee, Thirsty Boots, Tom, Walkabout, and now Notes. We are ahead of most of them, so maybe we will run into some of them when we get back on the trail in a few days. It would be nice, but not likely, we are taking too many days off to catch them again. But who knows? Anything is possible (Ted, work on this for us), their summit dates and ours are close. But today, it¢s no worries, we got to Jo-Mary road by 1:25 and got picked up by Papa Wench at 1:45 (dang, we had great timing on this hike.). And today is my 8th wedding anniversary! After leaving some trail magic for the hikers behind us, we headed out of the Wilderness and to McDonalds!! I managed to put down a few burgers, some fries, a drink, and soon after that I was at my hotel in Augusta , and Wench and her father were headed to BoothBay harbor for the wedding. It¢s amazing, I looked forward to this rest, but was sooooo bored. I saw 2 movies, ate lots of food, drank beer, went shopping, watched TV, but didn¢t get much sleep. I will have to recover from my rest days (as usual) once I get back on the trail¢¦ Tonight, I ate snacks for dinner from a convenience store (and beer), tomorrow I get my car and will see the town. Life is good!Note (typed in at the library in Augusta): Wench is at the wedding in BoothBay Harbor Maine, so I am relaxing in a hotel in Augusta until sheias able to come back to the trail. After hiking with her for so long, I don't want to climb Katahdin without her!
Date: 2003-09-05
From: Augusta, ME (Econolodge) 

To: Augusta, ME (Econolodge) 
Miles today: 0.0

I was up late last night watching TV and reading a book. Nowhere to hike today and nowhere I have to be. I went to the movies and saw ¢Pirates of the Caribbean¢, and ¢SWAT¢, and ate too much popcorn. I drove all over Augusta, went to Burger King, McDonalds, Applebees, WAL-Mart (bought some non-trail clothes that fit), Barnes and Noble, the library (internet access), all in a rental car who¢s name I can¢t pronounce or spell. Today was a busy zero day, tomorrow will be too. I¢ll break up my journal entry and put some in for each day. Don¢t get excited, the paragraph above is most of what I did the whole time I was here. More tomorrow. Life is good!
Date: 2003-09-06
From: Augusta, Maine (Econolodge)

To: Augusta, Maine (Econolodge)
Miles today: 0.0

I met a couple guys this morning at the hotel, they were touring on a pair of Harleys. They also hike and backpack, so we talked about hiking the AT and Motorcycle touring across the USA, before they hopped on their bikes and hit the road. Another one of my dreams, to ride my motorcycle across the USA. They want to hike the AT some day, they already hiked in New Zealand for a month (last year I believe). Another thing for my list of ¢things I want to do¢ in my lifetime. These 2 guys live life, no watching it go by for them, they do something exciting every year! Sorry guys, I forgot your names, or I would put them in my journal (if you read this, sign my guest book & tell me). But this is not unusual, I forgot most of the names of the people I met on the trail¢¦ Sigh¢¦ Old age¢¦ Hope you enjoy your ride guys, wish I was with you. I hope to do some bike touring next year, nothing big, just enough to put that smile back on my face. But first I need to finish my hike, then get on with my new life¢¦Typed in from Augusta:Well, the end is in sight. We hiked into the hundred mile wilderness & got off 56 miles from the end at Jo-Mary road (logging road), so Wench could go to her cousins wedding in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I am resting my body (and feeding it), for the last 56 mile push to Katahdin, but am bored & ready to hit the trail already. We should summit Katahdin on September 12th, if all goes well, and I'll be home again around September 20th. So far: Still no bear or moose sightings, but WENCH SAW ONE (moose)!!!!! I'm very happy for her, maybe I will be famous for not seeing any the whole trip... Anyway, hi to all!! See some of you at the Gathering this year in Hanover.
Date: 2003-09-07
From: Jo-Mary Road 

To: Antlers Campsite 
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I started the day with a last big town breakfast at AHOP (Augusta House Of Pancakes), and lots of coffee. Then it was back to the Airport to return my rental car, and a taxi ride back to the hotel to finish packing. I have too much food again, my food bag is too full! Sigh, but it¢s the last time my food bag will be full, this is my last 3 day resupply (my next resupply will be for only 1 day at Abol Bridge campground). And my pack will only get lighter every day¢¦ So I finished packing, left piles of garbage (food wrappers and beer bottles) in the room, checked out, and sat in the lobby top wait for the Wenches to come. I talked to the woman behind the counter about Moose, to the woman working in the breakfast area about hiking and Maine, then I watched thousands of motorcycles converge on Augusta for the next hour or so. There was a big ¢toy ride¢ that day, and motorcycles by the hundreds (maybe thousands), were co0ming to town from all ponts of thr compass. Lots of cool choppers, sporty bikes, criuisers, and my favorite¢¦ Biker babes! Gotta love 'em¢¦ Once the Wenches picked me up it was off to Jo-Mary road, with a McDonalds stop thrown in again (I took a 1 hour nap on the way to McDonalds). We got back on the trail for our push to Katahdin at about 4:30 and were at the Antlers campsite by 6PM. What a great campsite this is, right on the Lower Jo-Mary lake. A beautiful place with the water shimmering, and the sunlight shining on the trees along the opposite shoreline, the nearly full moon shining on the water, at night, and a bed of pine needles as a mattress to sleep on. I have to go back and stay here again, it was so peaceful and beautiful. One bad thing happened, as I put my hiking poles inside my tent (they are the support poles the tent uses), the floor gave out & the pole handle went through it. Luckily I was still able to set the tent up, and there was no rain in the forecast, so no water would seep in through the hole. It seems to be a weakness/design flaw in this tent, but one I can live with (I was able to fix the holes after my hike was over). Wanderlust gear (Kurt), if you are listening, you need a better reinforced corner in the Nomad light.Going out to pee, under the near full moon, with the moonlight shining across the pond¢¦ Perfect¢¦ I didn¢t want to go back to sleep, I wanted to sit and soak in the beauty here (for a few days). And the privy here¢¦. Cool. It¢s big, with windows, curtains, a fake sink, a door with a door knob. 5 star! Tomorrow, on to Wadleigh Stream Lean-to, no more big mile days (or so we thought¢¦), just enjoy the final days to Katahdin¢¦ Life is good!
Date: 2003-09-08
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Rainbow Stream Leanto
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: clear sky

Talk about a day that didn¢t go as expected, we planned a 13 mile day and hiked almost 22! My knees are beat, my muscles are tired, maybe it was a dumb idea, but it lets us summit Katahdin a day earlier, and with friends (we caught up with Thirsty Boots, Tom, Coffee, Aloha Anne, Walkabout & Carrot Slayer, and Old Corpus!), and now we summit Katahdin on September 11th (9/11). Today started out nice, a beautiful sunrise over Lower Jo-Mary Lake, a trip to the fancy privy, breakfast and an easy hike planned. We took our first break at Potaywadjo lean-to, then there were fantastic views of Katahdin from Pemadumcook lake. Next we arrived at the trail to Whitehouse landing (hostel), and saw all our friends hiking out from the hostel, just starting their day. We caught up!!! We all screamed, took pictures, caught up on the latest trail gossip, and then hiked on past Nahmakanta Lake to the Wadleigh Stream lean-to for a late lunch (1:30). This was our original stopping point for the day (at 13.8 miles), but Wench and I talked it over and opted to continue on with the group and go to the rainbow Stream lean-to (making it a 21.7 mile day). I hated to do a long day this late in the hike, I wanted to enjoy our last days in the woods, but it enabled us to summit on September 11th, and to do it with friends. So I guess it was a good decision, as long as my legs don¢t give out. We had 3 great views of Katahdin today, all clear, and all of the mountain with no clouds on the top. Whoever summited today had a great day! Now I have to call home and tell Shari that I¢m going to be there a day earlier than my schedule, and call Wenches parents and tell them about the schedule change too. Tomorrow we hike to the Abol bridge campground, a 15 mile day. The second view of Katahdin today, was from an overlook on Nesantabunt mountain, the 3rd view was from on the AT north of the Mountain (we took a break here and just looked across the lake at Katahdin). So it was a nice day, but a long one. We hiked almost 12 hours, and didn¢t get into camp until about 7PM. Everyone else was tired, and they did 4+ less mile than we did. I was very fatigued, and did my share of stumbling towards the end of the day, but was very happy to be here. We sat around and talked more as we cooked, then climbed in our bags to journal. Tonight was another 4 Advil night, I got pretty tired and beat up today, my body needs to recover from the beating. What a nice cool night, great sleeping, great dreams. Life is good!
Date: 2003-09-12
From: The hike is complete, the journey continues.

To: Daicey Pond (revisited).
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, the hike is over, but the comeraderie continues.I'm writing this 4/14/04, it's a beautiful spring day in SC.I will give a list of the high points of the day, and fill the details in later (because now I'm going out to work in the yard and enjoy the Sun).Breakfast at the Appalachian Trail Cafe with other hikersDrove to Baxter State Park to see Moose, ended up at Daisey pond eating lunch with the Governer instead (it was Percival Baxter day, a new holiday). There were speaches and lots of free food! We ended up on TV for about 2 seconds.Looked for Moose and beaver at Stump pond (nothing today, but Shari saw them yesterday).Pizza at the hotel in the lobby with Wenches and Tom and Pat.More to follow.
Date: 2002-11-09
To: Background
Miles today: 0.0

My Appalachian adventure started with a phone call from my boss, saying I was getting laid off. Getting laid off is a shock, it forces you to take stock of your life, and decide what to do next. I thought it over and decided that someone was giving me an opportunity and I¢d better make the best of it. Many people thru hike the AT at some transition point in their lives, like loss of a job, death of a loved one, etc. After 20 years in the Information Technology (IT) field, I was finally at a stage my life where my dream to Thru hike the AT could become a reality. Now on to the planning stage¢¦ Which direction should I go? My dream was to hike with spring from Georgia to Maine, so Northbound I shall go. What should I do to get in shape? Well, foot surgery is out, I had that last year¢¦. Knee surgery? Nope, already been there, done that (twice). How about disc surgery¢¦. Nope, saving that for after the hike. How about shoulder surgery? OK¢¦ Maybe not the first step in most thru hikers plan book, but it seemed to be a good idea at the time. So October 30th, I had a Rotator cuff tear repaired, a bone spur removed & a little shaving done so I had more room in the shoulder joint. No big deal, since I¢m staring my hike March 1st, that gives me 4 months to heal. Hmmmm¢¦. Surgery.. Rest 10-14 days, 4-6 weeks of passive motion, 2-3 months of PT & strengthening, then I¢m 100%. No problem, I can fit that in before my hike (well, mostly¢¦)¢¦ Use my practice backpacking trips & gear testing trips as PT, work out as I hike¢¦ I can do this¢¦ Now lets see what gear I already have & what I will need. Since I¢m trying to go ultralight, I¢ll just ignore most of sets of backpacking gear I have piled in my closets & research new lightweight gear. How do I do that? Well, the first step was to go to the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA) Gathering in west Virginia and talk to people who have already hiked the AT. After sitting through many great classes on lightweight backpacking & how to set up mail drops, I knew everything I needed to know to hike the AT (well, at least enough to be dangerous). Now on to the fun part¢¦. ORDERING GEAR!!!! I love this part¢¦ The UPS man is my friend.As for physical conditioning¢¦ I¢ve been a couch potato since surgery, but for the 4 months before surgery I was walking 4-5 hilly miles, 5 days a week. Working out my Ab & back muscles, shoulder & arm muscles (until I tripped in my garage & tore my rotator cuff¢¦. Hey, we all have our bad days¢¦). I rode my bicycle 62 miles last month with a torn rotator cuff, so I¢ll be hiking again in no time. Part of my conditioning is going to be the hike itself. I¢m starting early and giving myself 7 months to finish. I plan on taking my time for the first couple of weeks, to get myself in shape slowly, let my body adapt.Enjoy a slower pace of life for a while, before I up my daily miles.
Date: 2002-11-10
To: Out of the house...
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I¢m still sitting around, waiting to get the staples out of my shoulder Wednesday. I hate being inactive. I went for a 4.7 mile hilly walk the other day. It felt good, but my arm was sore the next day. Think I¢ll try it again tomorrow (gotta get out of the house!)..The UPS man delivered my sleeping bag from REI (Yahoo!)¢¦. A Mountainsmith ¢ Vision long + 15 down bag. It weighs 2 pounds 4 ounces & got a good review in Backpacker this month (except for the breezy part¢¦). Looks like a keeper. I keep the UPS man busy¢¦ The other day he delivered a Dehydrator from CAMPMOR, and a FoodSaver sealer from QVC. Once I have the use of both arms, I may even try them all out (Couldn¢t even get in the sleeping bag¢¦ too sore¢¦). My next order will be for the Leki Super Makalu COR-TEC PA poles. Good for keeping pressure off my old knees, and needed for setting up my Tent, a Nomad lite from Wanderlust Gear. I need a life. I spend all my time on the Internet checking out AT related web sites, lightweight gear pages, and chatting with other people hiking the AT in 2003. We¢ll see how I feel after my walk tomorrow. I¢ll keep you posted.