morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-06-22
From: William Penn Shelter 

To: Eagles Nest Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: broken clouds

Oh, I forgot to mention- after I climbed that last mountain yesterday, the PA rocks started! I had a five mile ridge walk on rocks, with the additional challenge of pricker bush branches and poison ivy reaching out across the trail. I wasn't mad about it, but it made moving more slow-going and difficult. A lot of other hikers were mad, though, and they expressed their sentiments in the shelter registry. A lot of them wrote, "Thanks for the poison ivy!" Many of them strongly put down the maintainers of this section of the trail.   I had another late start because I was so tired from the day before, but I couldn't waste too much time with over 19 miles to hike. I knew that many of the people in front of me had made the 501 shelter their destination for spending the night as it was a shelter from which you could order pizza. It also had a solar shower and a caretaker. I intended to make it a break point, but ended up stopping several times along the way because I kept coming to beautiful vistas. When I did finally reach the shelter, I did not stay long. For some reason, I got a creepy feeling about it. I opened up the registry to find it completely blank, which I found odd. I ate a quick snack, collected more water, and moved on.   This day was marked by a lot of swampy mud! So much that, of all things, I wished for more rocks to step on!! I thought PA was going to be arid and rocky. None of us knew we would be tromping through swamp lands all day! There was even an alternate (slightly less muddy) path that paralleled the white- blazed path- weaving in and out for sections. As I came to PA 183, I found the road being re-paved. A construction attendant had to walk me down the road a bit to a section that was safe to cross. It was just after seven when I came upon the side trail to Eagles Nest Shelter-a third of a mile away. I collected water from the creek and headed up the shelter. Two men were in the shelter- one appeared to be in his underwear or European swim trunks. I quickly set about finding my own space to set up my hammock. They asked if I was a thru- hiker and introduced themselves as Tinman and Gaspard from New Brunswick. After I set up, I joined Gaspard at the picnic table while I cooked my dinner. Tinman had already prepared for bed with all of his ointments and had settled in for the night. I talked with Gaspard about why we decided to do this hike, what experiences we had to prepare us for it, and what challenges and surprises we have found along the way. He thought it was interesting that I started out alone and was so comfortable out here by myself. He said he never wants to be in the woods alone, and that if I ever find him in that position, to immediately get help!
Date: 2009-07-04
From: The Mayor's House

To: The Mayor's House
Miles today: 0.0

After breakfast, Butch told me that he¢d be back in about an hour- after he returned from dropping the slackpackers off. I hoped I wasn¢t the only one going to this party. Luckily, Kog, Pusher, and D.O.C all came along. There wasn¢t room for anyone else in Butch¢s car. The party was over 80 miles away-somewhere in New York! I had no idea where we were going or who was hosting this party. I didn¢t want to spend all day there, because I felt like I had so much work to do on my journal. If I take two zeroes in a row, I always get my basic needs taken care of on the first day, and spend as much of the second day journaling. My eyes were still really hurting, which disappointed me. It¢s not comfortable having such pain and being so sensitive to light. Whenever I¢m in pain, I don¢t feel like talking. Butch couldn¢t understand why I was not being more gregarious.   We finally arrived at the house, where we were greeted by Bill and Amy, and offered a pint of Ben and Jerry¢s! Wow! Apparently, they live about 0.2 miles off the AT north of where I was, and every Fourth of July, they host a party for section and thru-hikers. Many of them stay overnight, but our group had just come for the day. Another group of thru-hikers who were in Kent called Bill and asked to be picked up and driven back to the party. There were only a few of us early in the day, and the mood was quiet. Butch napped on the couch while we had our ice cream. Finally, he told us that he had to go back to Unionville to do a five minute job and would return later on to bring us back.I was able to write a bit on my iphone. I didn¢t know many of the hikers at the party and mostly stayed around the mayor¢s group. D.O.C was highly amused at my reactions to his and Kog¢s juvenile male humor.    Later in the day, Bill grilled hot dogs and burgers, and Amy brought out chips, salsa, cookies, and brownies. They built a giant bonfire, but we had to go soon after it was lit. It was too late to see any fireworks and Butch apologized. Every now and then on the way home, we caught a glimpse of some far-off bursting color. Kog and D.O.C kept talking about taking another zero tomorrow at the mayor¢s.
Date: 2009-07-05
From: The Mayor's House

To: The Mayor's House
Miles today: 0.0

Unlike Kog, D.O.C., and Pusher, I had every intention of heading back out to the trail today. The only problem was that the men's Wimbedon finals were on that day! Another dilemma! After breakfast, everyone moved into the living room, drawn once again by a powerful, mysterious force to the television screen. The latest on Michael Jackson's death was being reported on just about every channel. After we'd had enough of that, someone popped in Lion King's AT video. I watched it up to the point I was currently at on the trail and didn't want to see anymore, so I went down to the basement and packed up my stuff. I decided that I would stick around to watch Wimbledon and then hike out to the first shelter. It seemed like the best compromise. Kog and D.O.C. were giving me a hard time. "You're going to zero again!"   "No, I'm not!" I adamantly told them.      Despite his intentions to fire us up and get us motivated to finish the trail, the mayor was actually succeeding in making us never want to leave his house. Maine? Who needs to go to Maine when we have everything we need right here! All we wanted was to be adopted by the mayor!      The tennis was excellent. Even though Nadal had not made it to the finals, it still took five tense sets (the fifth being the longest in the tournament's history) to declare Federer the eventual winner. I could not have been happier.      It was now 2 in the afternoon. Salty Dog was talking about listening to Pandora while he hiked. I wished I had that, too! It ended up taking an hour and a half to get it on my phone, however, because of a password problem. Salty Dog patiently helped me all the way through. After I tried it out, I reluctantly went downstairs to get my pack. Kog still taunted me about my inability to leave.      The mayor said I could stay if I wanted to. They were having burgers for dinner. Thank you, I told him, but I have to be on my way. As I passed Bill in the kitchen, I asked him what he was making. Stuffed portebello mushrooms with shrimp.   Really? Oh, my...   I brought my pack outside and started to agonize over what I should do now that the mushrooms had been brought into the picture... When would I have the chance to eat shrimp stuffed portebello mushrooms again? Was it really necessary to get to the first shelter tonight when I could hike past it the next day?   With my head hung low, I picked up my pack, brought it back down to the basement, and took the abuse the boys gave me. I would leave the following morning for sure.
Date: 2009-08-04
From: Hanover, NH

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Check-out time was noon, and I used all of the time allotted to me. I headed out to Lou¢s for breakfast at 9:40 and had two delicious whole grain blueberry pancakes with whey protein and real maple syrup (why can¢t more places offer food like this?). I wanted to order a bowl of fruit, granola, and yogurt, as well, but the waitress tried her best to dissuade me. ¢It¢s huge!¢ she said. I ate my pancakes first before telling her I still wanted the granola. I didn¢t eat it all, but I did quite well. I didn¢t see any other hikers in the restaurant, and felt a little bit lonely, but the quality of the food made up for that feeling.   I returned to my room to continue drying my still-wet clothes, taped my ankle, and packed up. I had to go to the post office to mail Erik back some extra things before I could head out to the trail. I saw MudD there, who informed me that most of his group was zeroing in Hanover. He wanted to get to the Whites sooner than later, but would settle with hiking two miles to the first shelter. I wanted to do at least 11 and get a little cushion for myself.   All day, I walked alone, and all I day, I felt great. I really like walking at my own pace. The beginning of New Hampshire seemed no different than Vermont, in terms of the mud, but soon, the climbing began, and the ground began to dry out. The pine forest was pretty and peaceful. I saw a southbounder running down the mountain with his pack and wondered why he had to do that. It didn¢t look healthy.    Later on, the trail took us through beautiful fields with wildflowers sprouting all over. I didn¢t expect this kind of landscape here. When I made it to the peak of Moose Mountain, I stopped to take in the view and do a little rumba on the flat rocks with flowers and an area of wetland behind me. Then I moved on, arriving at Moose Mountain Shelter at 6:12. Kog, Ahab, and a man named Roots were there. Kog kept wondering if Ewok was coming. They seemed to have really bonded the previous night, which amused me. I cooked some chili mac, which I enjoyed with some Kettle chips that Erik had sent me. It was good! Then, I went to find a spot for my hammock. A few other people came in later on in search of tent spots, which were quickly becoming occupied.
Date: 2009-08-23
From: stealth on way up Old Blue

To: stealth past Moxie Pond
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

I figured that I had climbed about a third of ¢Old Blue¢ last night, so I still had a good two thirds to go this morning. I wasn¢t that far ahead from the big group that had stayed another night in Andover, so I felt I had to get moving in order to maintain my own space. My head was filled with thoughts of things that had occurred the night before (telephone conversations I had, etc) and I felt a bit down. I guess the name of the mountain I was climbing was somewhat appropriate. By the time I reached the summit, where we received no view after all that hard work, I let some of my emotion spill out. I sat down on a rock and made a call, and then got going along the ridge of granite rock, lichen, evergreens, mountain views, and an occasional body of water. It was a nice break from the forest.    I stopped in at the Bemis Mountain Lean-to to get some water and read the registry, and as I was packing up, I heard some people coming in. It was Minnesota IPA, MudD, and Canteloupe. They were thinking about staying there for the night, as rain was again imminent. I had the idea of camping near Moxie Pond, so I said I would see them later.   As I descended down the rocks, I saw something that caught my eye- a thick, bright green worm. Right away, I instinctively knew it was a hornworm (even though I had never seen one before). I took a few pictures of this unusual creature and continued my descent.      I got a couple of hours of hiking in before the skies began to get dark. Canteloupe had told me about a possible camp spot near a river, but I wanted to get farther than that, so I pressed on. I climbed up the hill to ME 17, where there was a nice view of the mountains, but by that time, the rain had begun, and I had to move on without taking any pictures. About twenty minutes in, I came across a big group of people making their way out to the road. They wanted to know how far away they were, and I felt a tiny bit envious that they were about to get out of the rain and into the comforts of civilization, but it was only a slight twinge. I kept my spirits up and pressed on. I found a little stream to collect more water and wondered where this Moxie Pond was. I finally came upon it, only to realize that it was a funny idea of mine to want to camp somewhere that I knew nothing about! There really weren¢t any places to tie up my hammock near the water! So, I kept hiking until I found a little clearing in the woods, and quickly set-up my tarp and then my hammock. I cooked dinner and ate it in the dark and gloom, and felt a little bit alone, but still I was fine. I cleaned everything up and got inside my cocoon. Tomorrow, I would reach my second town in Maine!
Date: 2009-08-26
From: Eddy Pond

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0

I was the first up, and tried to be as quiet as possible. My camera had gotten water inside it last night and was only able to capture blurry images, which was upsetting, as the evening was so beautiful! I tested it out this morning only to find that it was worse than last night! No matter how many times I wiped the lens, I could not get the water out! Today would be another day with no camera. As I took off my crocs to put my socks on, I noticed the base of my dead toenail was lifted up, so I tried to see if it was ready to come off. It was! It had taken this long to release itself! Andy woke up and emerged from his tent, so I told him the exciting news!      I headed off before Poptart even woke up. I had a big climb up Saddleback Mountain ahead of me. As the morning progressed, the clouds grew thicker, and the sky turned grey. On the exposed rocks, the wind created a chill. I couldn¢t stop for long. By the time I reached ¢The Horn¢, I had no views at all.   As I was descending a steep, rocky section in the woods, I heard someone behind me, and hoped it wasn¢t the big group already. It turned out to be 4 northbound guys that I had never met before.       I stopped in at the Poplar Ridge Lean-to, which was directly on the trail, and the first of the ¢baseball bat¢ floor shelters, for lunch. The four guys who had passed me were there as well, taking an extended break. The skies opened up, the rain fell, and we all started shivering in the cold! We didn¢t know how long the rain was going to last. Minnesota IPA soon came in, followed by Andy and Poptart. Luckily, the rain let up, so I collected some water and took off, trying to warm up. We had another big climb ahead of us, to Lone Mountain.    We all ended up at Spaulding Mountain Lean-to that evening. Some section hikers had already taken the shelter space, and the four northbound guys were tenting behind it. One hiker had a dog named Blue, that wanted to play fetch with anyone (girls, in particular) that came to the shelter. I found a spot in the woods to set up my hammock, and saw Shorty and Sneaks come in. I expected Mississippi to come in at any moment... I went to sit on the edge of the shelter to cook my dinner and read through the registry. The last entry was signed by Minnesota IPA and read, ¢RIP ¢ssippi¢ next to his name. I wondered what that meant... When Sota came up to the shelter, I asked him. ¢He went home yesterday morning for reasons I don¢t understand. He gave me excuses that I don¢t believe. He said he wasn¢t having fun.¢    Wow!! I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders and felt like singing, ¢Come out, come out, wherever you are...¢ The wicked witch is dead!      We sat around the fire bundled up in all of our clothes. The air was very cold, and we all retreated to our shelters soon thereafter in an attempt to warm up in our sleeping bags.
Date: 2009-08-28
From: Me 27, Stratton, ME

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Canteloupe¢s alarm went off early and she got ready in a few minutes. In a little while, she returned to the room to throw my clothes on my bed, and as much as I still wanted to sleep, I knew I had better get up as well. I took a shower and headed over to the diner for breakfast, and then returned to my room to pack everything up. Sue was not around and I was not sure about when or how I would get a ride back to the trailhead, but when she arrived and other hikers gathered, we hurried to get ready and threw our packs into the car. It was almost 9 am! Knuckles, the dog, came with us as always, and licked my arm. I was the only northbounder to get dropped off. The trail was quiet and peaceful, and the first couple of miles were relatively flat and enjoyable.    Today I would climb over the Bigelow range and I lucked out with the weather! It was a gorgeous day! I wondered when I would see Canteloupe and the other hiker, who would be headed towards me. As I was climbing up to the west peak of Bigelow mountain, we finally met! She said she was just thinking about me! This was the first chance we had of seeing Katahdin, and I asked them if they knew which one it was. They had an idea, but we could not see it from where we were standing. The views on top of the Biegelows were spectacular. In every direction I looked, I could see big, blue, beautiful bodies of water, and mountains as far as the eye could see. I came across a southbounder who pointed out Katahdin to me. It was just a small silhouette in the distance, but still, it was now within sight! I sat on the peak and snacked and took in one of the best views I had had on the trail. It was windy and cold, though, and I still had eight more miles to hike, so I had to get going. I could see a little tower on the other side of the range and wondered what it was. It looked military-like. Although it was less than a mile away, it took quite some time to get to along the steep, rocky sections. The four boys I had met a couple of days ago passed me again on the descent (I was surprised by this as I assumed they were far ahead).       As the hours passed by, I seemed to be hiking slower and slower. It took me forever to get to Little Bigelow Mountain, and the sun had already begun to set! I still had over a mile and a half to get to Little Bigelow Lean-to! I pressed on, and in the darkness, I could barely make out the sign for the shelter. I collected some water on the way and made my way up the very muddy path, hardly able to see.   Gaspard and Tinman were in the shelter, and the four boys were sitting around a fire. One of them said, ¢You made it just in time!¢. I went behind the shelter to find a large group of campers, and found a little spot for my hammock. I joined the boys at the campfire to eat my dinner and then got ready for bed. Heavy rain was expected in the middle of the night.
Date: 2009-08-29
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

The rain started around 3 in the morning and did not let up. There was no need to get up early this morning! When I did get up, I took a few of my things to the shelter, so I could cook my breakfast in there and read through the registry. Tinman and Gaspard had left, so the four boys and I moved in. We had passed the official 2000 mile mark yesterday, and someone had left another notebook at this shelter for hikers to record their best memories of the trip. So, we had double the reading available to us with the regular registry! The boys got comfy after they hung up their rainflys to dry and talked about taking a zero in the shelter. They had umbrellas like the one I had, but did not have rain pants or extra clothing to keep warm. My pack was big and heavy, but I had all that I needed to keep warm!   I bid them farewell, and got moving. My camera was finally working better, but I took no pictures today because of the rain! I crossed the road with the 2000 marker painted on it, but my camera was deeply buried in my pack, and no one was around to take a picture of me lying down on the road, exhausted, in any case.       I passed several of the huge Maine ponds, but had no need to stop at these cold, grey bodies of water. It was one of the few days on the hike where I felt like I could not warm up even when I was moving! I stopped at West Carry Pond Lean-to for lunch and saw the chipmunk that won¢t leave hikers alone when they bring out their food! There was still one hiker there from the previous night. He was having a hard time getting motivated to go out in the rain. I told him it wasn¢t that bad.    It was a fairly easy and flat 10 miles to Pierce Pond Shelter. Three section hikers, Gaspard, Tinman, and Veggie Steve had taken up all the shelter spots, but I didn¢t mind setting up my hammock and having my own space, even in the rain. They had built a fire, but unfortunately and very sadly were ripping out entire juvenile evergreen trees for wood to burn! It was such a waste. For a couple of hours of heat for a few humans, they were erasing the lifetime of growth of these trees. My rain pants dried off, but my boots, socks, and gaitors were soaked. Veggie Steve put his boots close to the fire and almost got them melted. Gaspard and Tinman made a great deal of fun of him, and Veggie Steve began to lose his patience...   Andy and Poptart came in after dark, and after chatting with them for a few minutes, I retreated to my hammock.
Date: 2009-08-30
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: US 201, Caratunk
Miles today: 3.7

Veggie Steve stormed off in a huff before anyone else had left, as he was fed up with Tinman and Gaspard¢s condescending jokes. It looked like their friendship was over! Andy and Poptart left fairly early, as well. They planned on getting breakfast at Harrison¢s Pierce Pond Camps. I had heard that you had to sign up ahead of time (which required hiking north of the shelter), and because I needed all of my remaining cash, I chose to bypass this opportunity. Supposedly, he fed each hiker 12 pancakes, along with eggs, sausage, bacon, orange juice and coffee. I wasn¢t even hungry enough for all of that food! While I broke down my hammock, Tinman and Gaspard took off, and finally the section hikers left as well. I enjoyed the solitude of the shelter and pond for a bit. The fog was lifting, and the water was turning a pretty blue. Everything looked so different than it had yesterday.    I made my way onto the AT, over the rocks and roots, through the moss and trees, and beside the water. There were several side paths to waterfalls, but I just didn¢t have the energy or need to go see them. My goal was to get to Caratunk. The three southbounders that I stayed at Madison Hut with had told us about the hot tub and blueberry beers in Caratunk, and I wanted to experience this as well!   The Northern Outdoors wouldn¢t accept my credit card number, so I had to wait for a nice hiker to loan me some cash before I could get a room. Luckily, Andy came along and let me borrow $40! The big group was zeroing here today after arriving yesterday. I felt dehydrated and tired again, so I got some water, and sat down in the restaurant for a burger while I waited for my room. There were 2 double beds and a bunk bed in my room and I had it all to myself! I was so tired that I had to take a nap before I could take a dip in the hot tub. It wasn¢t as effective as the one in Hot Springs, though. My body didn¢t feel any different after sitting it in. Maybe I wasn¢t in it for long enough. I labeled my pictures and then got another burger and the beer with blueberries floating in it for dinner. I chatted with Canteloupe while I did my laundry and then went to bed!