morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-03
From: 302 Crawford Notch

To: Lakes in the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: fog

Got up to be one of the first to the buffet breakfast at the Highland Center. Ate big trays full while chatting with the other guests who treated us like celebrities. Packed up and decided that it was time to replace my hole filled socks. They were also soaking wet so I gladly chucked them and purchased a new pair. Went out to the road and hitched but while we were waiting it started to rain. We managed to get rides in two cars and got on the trail by 9am. At this point it was only partly cloudy with patches of sunshine which was great. We had nice views com$ing up the Webster Cliff Trail and a southbound thru named strider warned us of some "feisty chicken up the trail". Birdman got excited as he knew it was a spruce grouse. Sure enough we ran into the bird and it was merciful enough to let us pass unscathed. It was willing to stand on the trail as we walked by. The next group of southbounders we saw told us about how (in Maine) you can feed gray jays on the palm of your hand. At the top of Webster we ran into a group of these birds spotted by 40. We tested the theory and had gray jays eating crumbled cheez-its out of the palms of our hands in no time. We got to Mizpah Hut around 1pm and while having lunch Squeak caught up. We all set off for above tree line with excitement as the weather was still nice. As we started up the south Presidential RIdge we got to see ashington in the clear and views in all other directions. We walked the ridge slowly enjoying the experience and got to Lakes Hut around 4pm. Managed to get work for stay and then looked around. Soaked our feet in a cold mountain stream whili basking in the sunshine. Because the Dans had never been here before and the weather for tomorrow is promised to be bad we decided to try and hike to the top while it was still clear and be back in time for post dinner meal. As we were running up the last 1.5 miles we noticed a dark cloud moving our way and realized we were not going to beat it to the top. For safetys sake we gave up and turned back. At the hut the four of us played trivia pursuit for over an hour while the paying guests ate. At 8:30 we got to eat a nice meal and then do the dishes. Tired from a long day we waited sleepily for the guests to clear out of the dining room and the lights to go out at 9:30. Fell asleep fast.NH birds: 3 New species: 1 Spruce GrouseNH list: 64 Trip list: 150
Date: 2009-07-05
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Carter Notch Hut 
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: fog

The weather was still bad when we woke up and the temperatures were actually colder. We figured we better just get going and hope the valleys had nicer weather. With wet gear (boots, rain gear, and wool socks for gloves) we set off up Mt. Madison. It was very windy and cold again forcing us to hurry down an exposed ridge. Battered us around a bit and I realized that I had snapped the carbon tips off of both my poles. Once we got down to tree line though we dropped below the clouds and actually saw some sunshine. It took us until about midday to get to Pinkham Notch. There we had lunch, picked up a mail drop, got new tips for my poles, and most importantly laid out all of our gear on tables in the sun to dry. Once we were all dried up we started a big up to get to the top of the Wildcat Range across the notch. The Dans took a swim in a cold beaver pond and then we started up steeply. Got great views to back to a cloud covered Washington and were able to see into Huntington and Tuckerman's Ravines. When we got to the top we found that the lift for Wildcat Ski Area was running with little Gondolas on it. We talked to the operator and he said he would let us ride down and back up for no charge. It was a great time to be able to go down and up a mountain so easily! the four of us took lots of pictures of the nice view and thanked the operator when we got off. As we were hiking along the ridge Cabot caught up to us...he had been behind us since the Delaware Water Gap. The five us reached the upper ridge of Carter Notch at around 6:45pm and had a nice look down onto the hut. Squeak decided it was time to get rid of the soccer ball he has been carrying since New York. He proceeded to punt the ball (on video) off a cliff and cheer as it disappeared. We then went steeply down to the hut and had a great surprise. Despite already having two work for stays the hutmaster (a mall woman named Lindsay) said we could all get work for stay, sleep in a bunkroom, and she would cook us dinner as they only had four guests. We were thrilled and ate heartily. Slept very well on a mattress with a real pillow.NH birds: 2 NH list: 66
Date: 2009-07-06
From: Carter Notch Hut 

To: NH Rt. 2
Miles today: 15.2

Got to sleep in as we had our own bunkroom. Came down for breakfast at 7:45 and found a table set for us. Lindsay (the hutmaster) had made us a huge serving of oatmeal, some eggs, bacon, apricot scones, and fresh peaches. We ate ourselves sick and the went and did some work. We didn't leave until 9:40 and partway up the very steep climb out of the notch we stopped for awhile to enjoy a nice view and the sun. We stopped again at the summit of Carter Dome for Squeak to call about his pack and his sneakers. We caught to Birdman around 11:40 sitting on top of Mt. Height enjoying a 360 degree view that included Washington. It had been a while since breakfast and I was still feeling nauseous so I started to get worried. At lunch I had no appetite and a very upset stomach. My heavy pack made it feel even worse and my pace slowed down. The dans had to get to the road early enough to get a hitch to Gorham, so they pushed ahead. Pop had arranged for us to meet cousins of ours that live in Maine and stay at there house for the night. I pathetically staggered through the last 8 miles of the day and to add insult to injury it started to rain. Our cousin was there to meet us and I jumped in the backseat and was asleep for the whole hour plus drive. When we got to the house I went to the bathroom for quite some time, took a shower, and crashed on a fold out couch before dinner was served. Pop tells me the grilled food was delicious.NH birds: 3 NH list: 69
Date: 2009-07-07
From: NH Rt. 2

To: Trident Col tentsite
Miles today: 6.9

Slept like a log on the fold out couch at our cousin Lucy's house. Woke up for a little brakfast but was feeling bad enough to stay in bed. Birdman chatted about the trail and the family all day while I slept. We had planned to leave by 11 but it was not until 3pm that we actually came to making a decision. I didn't want to fall more behind schedule so even with a little bit of fever chills I got up and packed. Unfortunately it was raining when we hit the trail at 4:30pm. It was also pretty cold but our spirits were lifted by a little trail magic in the form of tootsie pops in a cooler near the road. The hike to Trident Col was that difficult but we didn't get there until 8pm. I was very cold and wet at this point and pretty much stood there shivering while pop set up the tent on a pad (circle of rocks with dirt filled in). I went and got water and then got in the tent and in my bag. Pop was nice enough to sit in the rain and cook dinner which I ate a little of as it included warm soup. Once finished he jumped in the tent and we both slept soundly with the drum of constant rain on our thin little tent ceiling.New Hampshire Birds: Rock Pigeon, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, American Crow, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ovenbird, Black=throated Green Warbler, Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Blackpoll Warbler, American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Parula, Gray Catbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Winter Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black&white Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Black=capped Chichadee, Common Yellowthroat, Turkey Vulture, Swamp Sparrow, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue Jay, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, White-throated Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tananger, Northern Waterthrush, Roughed Grouse, Blackpoll Warbler, Peregrine Falcon, Song Sparrow, Broad-winged Hawk, American Robin, American Redstart, Veery, Common Raven, Swainson's Thrush, Common Loon, Yellow Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Belted Kingfisher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Chimney Swift, Bald Eagle, Purple Finch, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Common Merganser, Boreal Chickadee, Bicknell's Thrush, Gray Jay, Magnolia Warbler, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Spruce Grouse, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, American Crow (68 species)
Date: 2009-07-08
From: Trident Col tentsite

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: light rain

Another cheerful day on the trail. At least the weather was consistent today. Yes consistently raining, foggy, windy, and about 45 degrees. It helped that when we started the day around 9am our boots and clothes were already wet from the day before. Our first five miles were mostly full of mud, slippery roots, and branches that hung out into the middle of the trail. The branches were great because they always seemed to block your view or distract you just as you went over a section with difficult footing. I guess the good thing was that by the time we got to the shelter for lunch I had only fallen twice and had broken no poles. We ate lunch at Gentian Pond with a group of kids who were about to go maintain the section of trail we'd just come through. The afternoon was rewarding in that we went over lots of bald peaks that would have afforded great views but instead greeted us with cold wind that pelted our faces. The good news was that today was a milestone day. All negative sarcasm aside we were slogging through the rain when we came to a little blue sign that read: "welcome to Maine, the way life should be". With a sure sense of pride we took two big squelching steps into the last of our 14 states. To top that off we also passed 1900 miles a little after. The day wore on long enough that we didn't come to the shelter until 7:30. It looked very full as there was a camp group of girls there but people were willing to squeeze over and fit two more. Grateful, we cooked dinner, removed our sopping wet gear and went to bed.ME birds: 5 ME list: 5
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Baldpate Lean-to
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up to sunshine! The ground was still soaked but the weather was good for our attitudes. Big day today as we started with the toughest mile on the whole AT. Mahoosic Notch is a narrow valley between two cliffs that forces the trail to go over, under, around, and through huge boulders. Snow stays in the notch all year round and sections require hikers to remove there pack. It is also incidentally not a good place to have to go to the bathroom...but that is another story. Took us about two hours to get through and then we had a killer climb straight up Mahoosic Arm. At the top we took a very long lunch in the sun where I managed to get some food down and we dried some gear. Continued on to Speck Pond Campground and talked to Achilles, Postman, Gumby, and Mowgli. Had another 7 miles to finish starting at 3pm so we started to pick up the pace. Decided not to take the .3 spur to the top of Old Speck and instead descended into Grafton Notch State Park. Took a break at the road there trying to put off the final 2000 foot climb of the day up to the shelter. Set off around 6pm and were making good time. I got ahead of Birdman and in my great wisdom did something I've never done before. I passed the shelter we were staying out without seeing the sign. I did not realize my mistake until about a mile and 1000 feet later. I turned around and made it back to the shelter around 8:45 or just before dark. Felt a lot like the tortoise and the hare as Birdman had been there an hour and was in good spirits. I was still feeling crummy and skipped dinner to go to bed.ME birds: 26 New species: 2 (Nashville Warbler, Black-backed Woodpecker)ME list: 30 Trip list: 152
Date: 2009-07-10
From: Baldpate Lean-to

To: East B Hill Road (Andover)
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: few clouds

Woke up early but took forever getting going. I ate my dinner that I hadn't touched the night before and had some breakfast. I then sat in the sun wishing that Maine was a warmer place. We set off around 9am and went over west and then east Baldpate Mountains. East Baldpate had absolutely gorgeous views and was fun to summit because the top was one big sheet of rock you had to walk up. From the top of the mountain we arranged our ride to Andover with the owner of the Pine Ellis Lodge where we would be staying. Got to the road by 2:45 after a long downhill. Were greeted by Dave (owner) who was also giving Postman, Gumby, and Mowgli a ride to town. He gave us all cold lemonade once we were in the car which was awesome. Andover is a small town but between the hostel and the general store/diner we had everything we needed. Showered, started laundary, and got some internet time before heading off to lunch. Had good burgers and calzones and returned later for dinner. Also rented a movie to watch in our bunkroom with the two southbounders also in there. Gran Torino was a great film that Birdman was able to stay up past 8 to finish! ME birds: 12 ME list: 42
Date: 2009-07-11
From: East B Hill Road (Andover)

To: Bemis Mt. Lean-to
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

Got up at 5:30 am as we had a big day in front of us. Walked down to the diner and had a nice breakfast that included blueberry pancakes. Packed up and caught Dave's 7am shuttle back to the trail. Pack was heavy from resupply so the start was slow but the sun being out helped. Took a break at the first shelter and then hiked down into Sawyer Notch. Getting up the other side over Moody Mountain was particularly difficult as there had been a landslide that wiped out the old trail. The relocation was not complete and a mess. To get across to the next road we had to cross a significant stream with no bridge...so for the first time on the trip we removed the boots and sported the crocs. It was actually refreshing wading through knee deep ice cold water. In the afternoon we had a long hike up Old Blue Mountain that afforded us our first real views of the day. At 4pm we started down the Bemis ridge which would take us 6 miles to our destination. It was a viewless, muddy, up and down 6 miles but we arrived at 7:15 in one piece. Shared the shelter with three southbounders, Achilles, and a father son team section hiking from Boston.ME birds: 2 ME list: 44
Date: 2009-07-12
From: Bemis Mt. Lean-to

To: ME Rt. 4 Rangely
Miles today: 17.7

Left early around the same time as Achilles and had about 4 miles "down" to Rt. 17. Sometimes when we switch maps we can't look ahead to the profile and see whats coming up. Today we were at a map switch and the next one was buried in pops pack. What we weren't able to see was that the trail went down to a stream and then up 1000 feet to get to the road. So the 4 miles were a lot tougher than we thought they would be. The rest of the day was pretty easy though as it was over generally flatter terrain. The sun was out all day which put us into good spirits. Around noon we were thinking lunch when we came down to the edge of this big lake and there was a natural beach. Some trail maintainer had done a glorious deed and put a picnic table on the beach. We could not pass up the perfect lunch spot in the sun so we stripped down and went skinny dipping before eating lunch. It was an interesting sight for Achilles when he came up to the beach and found us sitting eating sandwichs in our birthday suits. The temperature was so nice it was hard to get hiking again. But eventually we did and the miles in the afternoon were muddy. At one point we were walking along on water bars (elevated walks for wet areas) and I stepped on one that looked nice and sturdy. Turns out it wasn't and the board actually rotated sending me into two feet of mud. It took me 15 minutes to remove the mud from inside my boot by hand. This made the feet a little heavier but we still managed to reach Rt. 4 by 6pm and were met there by the owner of the Gull Pond Lodge. Robert was a nice older man who runs a lodge at his home for a good price. He picked us up and took us back to the house to take showers. He then drove us back to Rangely where we enjoyed a nice Thai dinner followed by big banana splits at the ice cream place next door. Robert picked us up and on our way back to the lodge we had a great sighting. Standing in the middle of the road was a young male moose. It just looked at us as we pulled up slowly and waited for us to take a few pictures. It even turned as if to give us the side profile for a minute and then slowly meandered off back into the woods. A great accomplishment to check off the trip goals list. Slept well in beds with lots of wool blankets.ME birds: 6 New species: 1 Palm WarblerME list: 49 Trip list: 153
Date: 2009-07-13
From: ME Rt. 4 Rangely

To: Spaulding Mt. Lean to 
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

Had a nice breakfast at Gull Pond with a huge selection of cereals and got in the car around 7:30 am. Made a stop at the IGA grocery to pick up some odds and ends. Hit the trail around 8:30 and found Postman, Gumby, and Mowgli camped just off the trail near the road (long night obviously). Decided to let them sleep and started up the Saddlebacks. Stopped at first shelter to check out the huge boulder there called Piazza Rock and then headed up above treeline. It was mostly sunny but the breeze made it quite brisk. Got some great views perhaps all the way back to Mt. Washington and had lunch on top of Saddleback. Could see little rainstorms moving around off in the distance and then noticed that one of them was headed our way. We were up in an exposed area so we tried to hurry down and then over Saddleback Jr. Didn't beat the rain but luckily hit a gap in a quick storm and it only sprinkled. Took a break at the shelter of the shoulder and realized we had about 8 miles and 2000 feet of vertical to go and it was nearly 4pm. Depressed we set off at a pretty good pace and managed to make it to the lean to by 7:45. Postman and a few section hikers were already there but we fit fine in the shelter.
Date: 2009-07-14
From: Spaulding Mt. Lean to 

To: Horns Pond Lean to 
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: light rain

Started the day by hiking over Spaulding Mt. with overcast skies. It never really cleared up all day but the weather was never nasty. Hiked over the shoulder of Sugarloaf and decided we did not need to summit since it was off trail. Headed down into a notch where we crossed the Carrabassett River on a shady looking board that was just propped between some rocks. Ate lunch in the little valley and then started hiking the 2500 feet to the top of the Crockers. They were treed in summits without views but count as 4000 footers. Coming down of the Crockers to ME Rt. 27 took a long time and we weren't at the road until 5:20. We still had 5 plus miles to go and they were all uphill. But we had heard that Horns Pond was a cool place so we pushed on to check it out. It rained a little on our way up but we again arrived around 7:45pm after getting a nice view of the pond from above as we hit the top of the shoulder we'd climbed up to. Postman was there alone in the shelter and we gladly took the extra space. The caretaker came by and talked to us for awhile giving us some good information on the trail ahead. It got very cold and we wore all of our clothes as we cooked and ate dinner.ME birds: 1 ME list: 50
Date: 2009-07-15
From: Horns Pond Lean to 

To: West Carry Pond Lean to 
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Started late as the friendly and probably lonely caretaker talked to us for way too long. Our first climb of the day was over the Horns that were above the pond. They gave us great views across the valley to Sugarloaf and back towards the pond. We then hiked down into a shallow gap and up the Avery Peaks. On the first Avery which was above treeline we had a nice view in every direction and were excited to go over to the second peak. Unfortunately you need to drop down a little ways and by the time we got over to the other side clouds had moved in and there was no longer a view. Dissapointed we started down a long down. Partway I checked the book and saw that we had just hit the 2000 mile mark! A huge accomplishment that we have been looking forward to. We ran into three southbounders who we had take our picture and then had some lunch right there. After lunch we still had 12 miles to go so we hurried over Little Bigelow and down into a valley. Went along a bunch of ponds in the afternoon with the sun now out. Along one of them we went out on a rock to check out the view and over on another shore pop spotted a mature bald eagle sitting on a rock eating a fish. A very cool sight. Only had a few more miles to go and arrived at 6pm to a lean to right on the shore of a big pond. We learned from the Southbounders there that the ferry across the Kennebeck the next day only operated from 9 to 11 am and we were still 14 miles away. The decision was to keep hiking into the night or get up early. Birdman being the early bird chose the latter.ME birds: 2 ME list: 52
Date: 2009-07-16
From: West Carry Pond Lean to 

To: US 201 Caratunk, ME
Miles today: 14.0

Got up very early, like 3:30 am early. Ate in the dark and put the head lamps on to get hiking. Heard lots of loons along the ponds as we trudged through mud. Determined to make the ferry we took advantage of pretty flat terrain. We did the ten miles to the next shelter in a little over 3 hours and took a break for a snack there. Then hiked downhill to the Kennebec River along a stream that had a lot of cool waterfalls. Arrived at the river around 9:30 and impressed the ferry man who couldn't believe where we'd come from. The ferry was nothing grand as I'd envisioned. It was in fact an Old Town canoe and we went across one by one. The man was very nice though and I have respect for the fact that he does that every day. Once we got across the road was right there and we got a hitch 2 miles down to the Northern Outdoor Center where we planned to spend the night. It is a nice resort type place that is mostly designed for people on rafting trips but they gave us a great deal for "walking in". The bonus is that they had a nice restaurant, pool, hot tub, big fire place, brewery, and many other amenities we took advantage of. Had a great day there as we got there around 10 am. Managed to get another hitch to the post office to pick up a mail drop and the store to pick up odds and ends. All in all a nice rest day.ME birds: 6 New species: 1 Evening GrosbeakME list: 58 Trip list: 154