morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Pleasant Pond Lean To

To: Northern Outdoors Center
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to the coldest and wettest day on the trail. The temperature was in the low 40's, and the wind was wicked cold. Once we got going, we warmed right up - but it was sure hard to find the motivation. We had a short hike to US 201 where we hung a right and made our way to Steve Longley's place to pick up our mail drop. When we got there, Steve was just getting back from his (9-11:00 a.m.) shuttle duty across the Kennebec River. He's shuttled (paddled in his canoe) something like 16K plus hikers since he's been in charge of the ferry service! We asked him about lodging at his place but he was having trouble with a water main and recommended us to the Northern Outdoor Center. He even drove us there because of the inconvenience - what a nice guy! Samoa and I want to personally thank Paul and Emily Gray for sending us a care package. We sure enjoyed it - thanks a bunch! Tonight, we're going to get something warm to eat that doesn't require us cooking! This place is awesome. Hopefully we'll rest well as the next few days involve a good bit of climbing! Hope to be in Stratton by Saturday.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: Northern Outdoor's Center via The Kennebec River

To: West Carry Pond Lean To
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Last night was awesome! We sat in the Jacuzzi, ate hot meals, socialized with a few SOBO¢s that came in, and slept like babies. The SOBO¢s we hung out with were from Jersey and started a day after us. They have been following us for some time and finally caught up. Look forward to hanging out with these guys more. We got up early today to eat a hot breakfast and use the internet one last time before we made our way to Stratton. Steve Longely picked us up at 8:30 AM sharp and shuttled us back to the trailhead. He then paddled us in groups of two across the Kennebec River in his canoe. There is even a white blaze in the bottom of the boat identifying it as part of the AT. This guy was so nice and a pleasure to meet. After the river crossing, we then began our trek towards the West Carry Pond Lean To. Unfortunately, all the rain we¢ve had has turned the trail into a stream, so our feet were soaked all day. It was actually kind of fun splashing through the puddles, but we dread putting on cold wet socks and shoes in the morning. Oh yeah, about midway through our day this grouse came out of the woods and started squawking at me. It had tail feathers up and looked really mad. He tried to back me down the trail, but I swatted at him with my trekking pole and he backed down - It was hilarious! Tomorrow we¢re going to try to complete the Bigelow¢s. Probably going to be a tough 17-18 mile day! Better sign off so I can get the much needed sleep for this traverse.
Date: 2005-06-17
From: West Carry Pond Lean To

To: Horns Pond Lean To
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

Rain was our alarm clock this morning. Our plans were to be hiking by 6 AM since the Bigelow¢s stood in our way, but we didn¢t wind up leaving until 8:30. It rained off and on throughout the day, so the trail was a stream again; therefore, our feet stayed wet all day! My (Gills) shoes are really suffering! The shoe laces are broken and I've really got them rigged back together...Today¢s hike was tough since we traversed the Bigelow Range in its entirety. After we climbed Little Bigelow, we went straight up to Avery Peak on Mt. Bigelow. It was beautiful up there even though we were engulfed in a rain cloud. We were above treeline on Avery¢s Peak and the clouds made it seem as if the edges of this mountain led off into the abyss. After Avery¢s Peak, we headed over to the West Peak of Mt. Bigelow where we were above the treeline again. There were no views but it still felt awesome to be up there. We even made a quick call home to our families since our phone had reception. It was so good to talk to them even though it was brief. Well, we finally made it into the Horn's Pond Lean To around 6:30 PM and both of us are tired. Tomorrow we head into Stratton for resupply and relaxation. Oh, I almost forgot - as of today, we're officially less than 2,000 miles to go!
Date: 2005-06-18
From: Horns Pond Lean To

To: Stratton
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: light rain

Super T and The King left this morning at 6:30 AM in order to get to the P.O. before it closed. It was raining when they left, so we decided to hang out to see if it would subside. At 9:15 it was still raining, but our ¢town fever¢ had taken over so we decided to pack it up and make our way down into Stratton. We arrived at ME 27 around 11:30 and got a quick hitch into town by this super nice guy. He dropped us off at the Stratton Plaza Hotel where we picked up our mail drops and were delighted to find a very nice letter from Billy Chism, Paul and Emily Gray, and also a package sent by my wonderful mother! After we opened everything, Super T and The King came over to tell us about this awesome place just across the street. Don Lema and his partner Susan just opened this motel in April and really specialize in catering to hikers. They have free internet, free long distance, tons of TV channels, and even allow you to use his kitchen and gas grill. All this for $15 per person and a free shuttle back to the trail! Wow, we highly recommend this place. There are, including Samoa and me, 8 SOBO¢s here tonight, Spud and Nemo - 2 guys from Asheville, NC, Stumbles - from Lilburn, GA who knew a friend of my brother¢s, and the rest of our family - Super T, King, and Auggie. We all ate dinner in Don and Susan¢s living room while watching Galaxy Quest. Fun was had by all and we plan on heading out of here tomorrow morning and making our way towards Rangely, ME.
Date: 2005-06-19
From: Stratton

To: Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Lodge
Miles today: 10.6

After a wonderful nights rest and a delicious breakfast at the Stratton Diner, Don gave us a ride back to the trailhead. Immediately, Crocker Mountain welcomed us back with not a cloud in the sky and perfect temperatures. We climbed five miles while gaining 2878 feet in elevation as we made our way to the North Peak of Crocker Mountain. We then began making our way over to the South Peak where we descended another 2000 feet into Caribou Valley. There was a ford at the bottom that was quite fun crossing. After the ford, we began our LONG & STEEP climb to Sugarloaf Mountain! Our group decided over breakfast this morning to stay at the Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Lodge - an empty building atop Sugarloaf Mountain that the resort allow thru-hikers to stay in at no cost. However, it¢s .5 miles up a blue blaze trail (off the AT), so we¢re not on the official trail tonight - which is too bad since we're camped out on Maine¢s 2nd highest mountain - elevation 4237 ft. This place has wicked 360 degree views, and we you can even see up to Katahdin and down to Mt. Washington in New Hampshire - approximately 1/6 the length of the entire AT. We look forward to seeing an amazing sunset and sunrise!
Date: 2005-06-20
From: Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Lodge

To: Poplar Ridge Lean To
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: clear sky

We woke up this morning to see a spectacular sunrise over Sugarloaf Mountain which complimented the sunset we saw last night. This place was definitely worth the .5 mile blue blaze we had to take to get here. While we were here we found out the lodge had power which ran a radio and microwave - there was even a phone that worked, too! Midnight, Auggie¢s new trail name, built a fire in the fireplace so we could roast hot dogs that he lugged up here from Stratton -they were delicious! Today and yesterday make the two best days of hiking we¢ve had so far. The weather has been perfect and the bugs have been minimal. We stopped for lunch at the Orbeton Stream ford and winded up hanging out there for two hours! I (Gills) played in the stream for the majority of our stop... It was so refreshing! We¢re here tonight at Poplar Ridge Lean To. This sets us up for an 11 mile day tomorrow into Rangely! However, Lisa¢s package that her mom sent to Stratton didn't make it there before we left, so Don offered to drive from Stratton in order to pick us up and bring us back to his place - THANKS! Then he is driving us back to Rt. 4 so we can hook back up with Super T and Don King on Wednesday. Our group plans on being in Andover by this Thursday or Friday! I can't believe we'll be out of Maine by next week. WOW! P.S. We ran into ¢Hydro Heidi¢ today- the first girl NOBO of ¢05 we¢ve seen. It was a pleasure talking to her. I imagine we will hit the masses of NOBO¢s in NH. We look forward to that!
Date: 2005-06-21
From: Poplar Ridge Lean To

To: Rangely
Miles today: 11.7

This morning we were hiking by 6:30 AM because the Saddleback Mountain Range was calling our names. First, we climbed Saddleback Jr. which was awesome since we could see our next two major descents and ascents. When we got to the 2nd mountain of the range, The Horn, we were above treeline and could see 360 degree views as well as the 3 more miles South over to Saddleback. Once we reached Saddleback, Midnight, Samoa, and me hunkered down behind a man made pile of rocks seeking refuge from the gusting wind. We chilled there for at least 30 minutes just taking it all in. We all had smiles from ear to ear and loved every minute of it! At Route 4 we got another easy hitch into Rangely where our group met at Sarge's Pub for brews and burgers. Then we called Don, with Stratton Motel, for a ride back to Stratton. We're staying at the Stratton Motel again tonight (the coolest place to stay in Stratton), and are about to grill some steaks and get a well deserved nights rest.
Date: 2005-06-22
From: Rangely

To: Rangely
Miles today: 0.0

Today, we got up and decided to zero since we had to wait for the post office to open, and also because Lisa's left quad needs rest. Thankfully the package that Samoa's Mom sent to the post office was there this morning. Thanks for the care package, Jeanne! After our P.O. stop, we got Don to shuttle us back to Rangely so we could shop around and arrange a stay at the Gull Pond Lodge. Once we arrived in Rangely, we stopped by an outfitter to see if they could fix the end on one of my trekking poles. He couldn't, so I mailed it home; consequently, I am now with only one pole. Then we ate lunch at the Red Onion which was outstanding! Afterwards, Bob, with Gull Pond Lodge, picked us up at 1:30 PM and took us (Auggie, Samoa, and I) back to his place to chill. We are going out for dinner tonight and look forward to getting back on the trail tomorrow. Hopefully, Samoa's leg will feel better.
Date: 2005-06-23
From: Rangely

To: Bemis Mountain Lean To
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

We woke up to a continental breakfast at the Gull Pond Lodge that Bob prepared for us. Lisa and I ate to our stomach's were content. Over breakfast, Samoa decided her leg felt better, so we decided to hop back on the trail this a.m. Bob dropped us off at the RT.4/AT trailhead by 7:30 AM we were SOBO'n again. When we got to the first shelter, 9.4 miles in, we ate lunch. Lisa was feeling good and felt like pressing on the other 8.3 miles to Bemis Mtn Lean To.Unfortunately, just before Route 17, 13.1 miles in, her left quad started acting up again. After we struggled over a very difficult decision, we made the call to "the Cabin" and Earl gladly said he would come and pick us up if we needed. Lisa felt like she should go on to "the Cabin" and rest up today, tomorrow, and Saturday so she could heal, and also prepare for the upcoming Whites. She also insisted that I finish up the 20 plus mile section from here to East B Hill Road and that we could reunite tomorrow. When Earl arrived at Rt. 17, thousands of things were rushing through my head, and at the last minute I decided to push on and meet them in Andover tomorrow. So, here I am alone and sad in my tent, at the Bemis Mtn Lean To, missing my partner. Not sure if I want to do this without her, but I am sure she will be fine with plenty of rest. She's a trooper! My adrenaline should be kicking in in the morning as I can't wait to hike the 18 plus miles from here to East B. Hill Road (Andover) so I can see her again. It's currently 7:32 PM and I'm going to try and drift off so I can be out of here at first light.
Date: 2005-06-24
From: Bemis Mountain Lean To

To: East B. Hill Road- Andover
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: overcast clouds

As I planned, I was up and hiking by 6:00 AM. The weather was perfect and I was focused on getting to East B. Hill Road by 3 PM since that was the time Earl had agreed to pick me up. After some hard ascents and descents over Old Blue Mountain, Moody Mountain, and Hall Mountain I finally arrived at the Hall Mountain Lean To at 12 PM. I stopped there for lunch and was pleasantly surprised to chat with a few NOBO's who were taking a break. After a 30 min lunch, I was walking again. I made it to East B. Hill Road, 6 miles later, by 2:30. Earl, aka Bear, was there waiting on me. He said he figured I would be early since seeing Lisa again was my motivation... Now I am here at "The Cabin" and boy does it feel like home! Lisa was waiting on me with a huge smile and she feels like her left quad is much better. We're going to zero tomorrow, and slackpack (hiking with only food and water in your backpack - thus making it super light) from East B. Hill Road to Grafton Notch. Hopefully with this time off and the scheduled slackpack, Samoa's leg will recoup! We are sure hoping that it will! Tonight at The Cabin there are two section hikers, The Singing Sisters - who really sing?! - and two NOBO's, Otter and Tadpole, a father and son team who are really friendly with lots of good info about the trail South of here. Spaghetti is tonights supper followed by a night full of movie watching... Glad to be here!
Date: 2005-06-25
From: Andover- The Cabin

To: Andover- The Cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast was ready at 6 AM this morning and what a spread it was. Bear, the hostel owner, and Honey his wife, really know how to make hikers feel welcome! This has been another amazing place to stay. After breakfast, we reprovisioned our food bags for the next 4 days to Gorham, and went to the P.O. to mail home our camera's memory stick. Then we came back to the Cabin to veg for the rest of the day. Tonight, CJ, Mel, and Becky, section hikers from Southern Maine, came in for a night's stay. They even knew Samoa and me from our trailjournals website. Crazy! We enjoyed their company and we had another wonderful night's stay here at The Cabin. Tomorrow we plan to slackpack from East B. Hill Road to Grafton Notch. Should be a good test for Samoa's leg and also a good time to try out my new "used" trekking pole that Honey and Bear gave me. We are so amazed with the kindness of these people!
Date: 2005-06-26
From: East B Hill Road

To: Grafton Notch via The Cabin
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: few clouds

Forgot to mention in yesterday's entry that Super T and Don King showed up last night, too. They decided to slackpack with us this morning. Breakfast was served at 6:30 a.m. Again, we were overwhelmed at the spread that Honey and Bear prepared. There was AYCE (all you can eat) Blueberry pancakes, omelets, saut©ed onions and potatoes, bacon, biscuits and gravy, fruit and OJ. You wouldn't believe how much we ate! After b-fast, Bear shuttled us to the East B. Hill trailhead and we were all hiking by 9 AM. He told us to be at Grafton Notch by 3 p.m. so he could give us back our gear we weren't hiking with today. We started out today's hike by climbing up Surplus Mountain and the East and West Peaks of the Baldpate Mountains which provided magnificent views. The rest of the days terrain was awesome! We flew without the weights of our full packs! BTW, Samoa had wrapped her left quad with an ace bandage today and she never had the first twing!Once we got to Grafton Notch, Bear was waiting on us with our gear, cold water, and beer. He convinced us to come back to The Cabin again for one more night's stay! He made a deal we couldn't refuse! When we returned to the Cabin, he gave us the keys to his truck and told us we could take it down to the local swimming hole. We obliged and it was awesome! Cold beer and a swimming at the end of the day is the perfect mix.
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Grafton Notch Cabin

To: Full Goose Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

After another glorious night at The Cabin, we (Super T, The King, Samoa, and I) were ready to get back on the trail. But, before I elaborate on today's hike, I must say again how impressed I am with the genuineness of the owners of "The Cabin". And, for that matter, I've been amazed with the smiles, unselfishness, and hospitality we've been shown from perfect strangers since day 1 of this journey. Unbelievable! Bear dropped us off at the Grafton Notch trailhead at 9:15 AM and we were hiking by 9:30. First, we climbed Old Speck Mountain where we ran into Midnight who was taking a snack break. He stayed just north of Grafton Notch last night and plans on slowing down, so we may not see him again for a while. When we got to Speck Pond Shelter, we all ate lunch and talked with some NOBO's that were there for lunch too. Among the NOBO's I recognized two from www.hikerguys.com. Samoa and I followed their journal before we left for Maine. They were both from Marietta, GA and we found their site from a link off of trailjournals.com - it was cool to meet them in their last state of their NOBO journey! After lunch, our group headed down the steep Mahoosic Arm and into the infamous Mahoosic Notch - supposedly the hardest mile of the AT. It's basically a huge boulder scramble. It was like a playground for us! There was still snow and ice in the crevaces which made the temperatures through the notch a good 30 degrees cooler. It felt so good to go from 80 plus temps to 50 degree temps almost instantaneously. It took an hour and 20 minutes to navigate through this section. In some places it was so tight we had to take our backpacks off just to get through! Now we are at Full Goose Pond Shelter - the last shelter we'll be staying at in Maine! It's so hard to believe we're finally finishing up the with this beautiful state. Samoa and I will be definitely coming back here again! We never imagined it would be so wonderful - even with the bugs!Tomorrow, we should be crossing into New Hampshire around lunch, so we are real excited. We're all pumped about hitting the Whites. BTW, Samoa's leg is doing much better! It was obvious since she worked us today going through the Notch. Glad to have her back!
Date: 2005-06-28
From: Grafton Notch Cabin

To: Gentian Pond Lean To
Miles today: 9.6

This morning we slept in so we didn't start hiking until 9:00 AM. While we were taking our time getting packed up, we enjoyed socializing with a NOBO section hiker, Rock, who is finishing up the AT this year. He was a real nice man who has been doing 300-500 mile sections each year since 1997. Good luck on your last section, Rock! Shortly after the start of our hike today, we summited Goose Eye Mountain and saw The Whites. They looked so beautiful - especially Mt. Washington. Hopefully we'll be there by the end of this week. After we descended Goose Eye Mountain, we made our way to the New Hampshire border. Once we reached the state line, we took pictures as well as giving each other congratulatory hugs! It was an awesome feeling to make it out of our first state! This afternoon we ran into more NOBO's including Diesel, Mississippi, and Chino. We read about these guys too through other on-line trailjournals before we left. Perhaps we'll start meeting lots of NOBO's soon, as they are due to be in New Hampshire. Currently, we are at Genitian Pond Shelter and decided to call it quits for the day. We all plan to get up earlier tomorrow so we can make it into Gorham, NH for resupply. Hopefully, we can get in and out of town without too much delay. Oh yeah, once we get to town I have to buy a pair of shoes (Maine destroyed mine- you should see them) and also another trekking pole. My other MSR pole broke literally at the line today - what are the chances? We were all laughing about that for the rest of the day! Well, I wasn't. I¢m sure New Hampshire will be as challenging and beautiful as Maine was. Samoa and I are having the times of our lives and are so happy to be out here! We miss everyone and hope all is well.
Date: 2005-06-29
From: Gentian Pond Lean To

To: Gorham
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

Last night, our group of four (Super T, Don King, Samoa, and I) decided on a group name. Since we all still joke about the day I tried to ford Joe's Hole (see 6/14/05 antecdote), we decided that The "Joe's Hole Posse" would be an appropriate name. Going forward, I will refer to our group as the JHP respectively. The JHP woke up this morning early as our plans were to get in and out of town for a quick resupply. However, when we got to town, plans changed... We wound up spending a lot of time at the P.O., outfitter, and the library. After all of our town chores, the JHP met at The Birche¢s Grill for a few quick refreshments before making our way back to the trailhead. As soon as we sat down, the bottom fell out which dampened our plans to head out.Super T made a quick call to the Royalty Inn and procured a room for our group at a low cost of $45. We checked in, did laundry, and headed out for a nice dinner. Hey, the trail teaches you to be flexible¢¦Tomorrow, our plans are to hike to the IMP shelter since it¢s only $8 to camp. The AMC, Appalachian Mountain Club, manages the White Mountains through New Hampshire and it¢s customary for each site to charge hikers for stay. There is mixed emotions throughout hiker circles about these fees, but "it is what is" in my opinion. They use the fees to manage the trail as well as pay the caretakers who stay in the designated sites. The JHP is going to try and get through this section as economical as possible by working for stay and only camping in the ¢no fee¢ sites. Either way, Samoa and I are pumped about traversing The Whites.
Date: 2005-06-30
From: Gorham

To: IMP Campsite
Miles today: 7.0

Today was one of those late starters for two reasons: #1, we left town late. #2, we only had 7 miles planned for today's hike. We started hiking around 10 AM and made it to the Rattle River Shelter by 10:30. Here we decided that we should swim at its water source since we¢ve heard so much about it from the NOBO's. And, you know I can¢t pass up an opportunity to get my ¢Gills¢ wet! There was a rock slide, and a nice cliff that you could jump off of into a swimming hole. It was awesome!After we reached the summit of Mt. Moriah, we ate lunch and admired what little views of the Whites we were granted. The sky was very cloudy which complimented the hot and muggy temperatures. We eventually finished up our lunches and made our way down to camp.Once we got there, we set up our spaces by laying out our sleeping pads and bags and proceeded to cook supper. While at the shelter, Boomerang and his wife (a NOBO from the ATL, GA area) showed up. His wife joined him in NY to finish up the trail with him. Samoa and I followed him through trailjournals before we left - too cool!Presently, the JHP, Spud and Nemo - two fellow SOBO¢s we met back in Stratton, and 1 NOBO inhabit this shelter. It¢s late and we¢re all tired. So, goodnight!