morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-04
From: Off trail at 1,820

To: Ethan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Only 0.6 miles to Galehead Hut this morning. Bear Bag, Hover, Gumby, and Snowy all did work for stay there last night. When I walked up, they were all out front with the crew, who were dressed up in various outlandish outfits. They took a bunch of pictures on the overlook there. Torch, Long Trail, Icebreak, and Wozzy¢s group all rolled in in the next 20 minutes or so. I got going first on the climb up Southwind and got passed by a bunch of them then saw them on top. It was totally socked in again. The trail to Zealand Falls Hut was very fast at first then slower as we went on the ridge. It looked like a whopper of a storm was going to hit up there, but it missed entirely. Zealand was packed, but they had soup I could eat, which I was very excited about: potato dill. I had three bowls and my cold lunch. Torch, Gumby, and I left there for here at about the same time. The five miles were unbelievably flat and smooth. I did it in 1:40, which is about as fast as I go. Gumby was able to get work for stay, Torch hit the shelter, and I got a tent pad with good trees. While I was getting water at the pond, Oatmeal and Chill came up. We all ate together under the cooking tarp. The rain started up sporadically as we were finishing then went insane right after I got in. It sounded like lightening hit about 10 feet away. I had to lower the tarp a bit and pull up my hammock sock, but am very dry and comfortable. I¢m not sure what¢s going to happen tomorrow. It¢s 3 miles to the road at Crawford Notch, then three miles down 302 to the campground where my drop boxes are. The bridge there is still washed out, so I¢m very likely walking. Best case, I get a ride there and back, pack, and make it to Mizpah Hut. Worst case, I walk both ways and they don¢t have my stuff. I figure it¢s likely going to kill the day, which is fine if I get my food. Even if I get to Mizpah, I can probably only get to Lake of the Clouds the next day. If I sleep in the notch, I can get there Tuesday anyway. Enough from me. Good day today. Got very lucky with the weather. I hope it¢s done raining by morning.
Date: 2011-09-05
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: light rain

Today was one of those days where it seems like the trail is looking out for you. I got going last at 10:30. The minute I hit the AT I got passed by a fast guy with a day pack. Turns out he was at Zealand last night with his brother, who was sick. The brother was taking a short trail to the road and this guy was getting his car. He said if I could keep up, he¢d give me a lift to the camp store. I just barely did, and we flew down the hill. He hiked in ¢99 and his trail name was Slowjourner. He¢s a newspaper editor in Maine now.The road was open to the store but pretty messed up. The downed bridge was a bit farther, before town. We saw Torch on the way and picked him up. It was such a huge help. Unfortunately, the store hasn¢t gotten mail since the storm and doesn¢t even accept drops anymore. They had food, but it was looking like a grim few days of PB&Js. I called Erica and she said my mom¢s friend Don had a place in Lincoln and was in town. I called him and after some calling card frustrations, he said he¢d come pick us both up and put us up for however long we needed. We hung out on the porch for about an hour while we waited. Oatmeal and Chill were there and had gotten a hold of a friend of a friend. They were going to meet them on the other side of the bridge along with a hiker named Francois Dillinger. Chill had gotten PB&J stuff, and I made the greatest one I¢ve ever had. Don got us early and drove us back to Lincoln. He pointed out a ton of interesting stuff on the way and took us through the Mount Washington resort parking lot and down by the bridge in town that washed out. After cleaning up, we hit the grocery, outfitter, then took Don to dinner. It¢s so amazing to have been rescued like this, I wish we could have done more. As usual, I bought way, way too much food. It was so strange to be back in the same grocery store as the other day. It completely felt like going back in time. Unfortunately the forecast is rain till Thursday. We were really hoping it would just be tomorrow so we could zero here. I can¢t complain too much. I¢m stuffed, clean, and have my own room for the night.
Date: 2011-09-06
From: Lincoln, NH

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: fog

I was hoping for a weather reprieve this morning either in today¢s or tomorrow¢s forecast, but no luck. Don gave us a ride back at about 7:30. It was so great to have been able to stay there. It was raining all morning, but once we got under the trees, it wasn¢t bad at all. I actually took my rain gear off almost right away. The climb up the Webster Cliffs was tough, but the views were great. There were a ton of clouds, but they added to it. After Webster, we went over Mount Jackson and then stopped at Mizpah Hut for a late lunch. There was only one crew guy there, and he wasn¢t super friendly. We got going at 4:00 and made good time over Mount Eisenhower, Franklin, and Monroe. The views started getting really amazing. There were a million types and layers of clouds and they were blowing over the ridge, which you could see forever. The sun was going down behind Mount Monroe and right as we came around it, you could see the whole sunset and Lakes of the Clouds Hut in the little gap. It was incredible. We saw Diamond Dave right outside. Long Trail is staying in the dungeon with Padma, and Mojo, Dr. Pepper, and Woodstock are upstairs. As are two southbounders, Bear Bait and another guy whose name I forget. We checked in with the hut master, Ben, and he said working for stay would be no problem, then kicked everyone out to watch the sunset. It was unbelievable. He said it was the best he¢d ever seen and I agree. Everyone was laughing at how much our cameras were not capturing it at all. Back inside we hung out until the guests were done with dinner, then got to eat in the kitchen with the crew. There was salad, green beans, bowtie pasta, and even an amazing vegan chocolate cake. All the crew were super nice and friendly. Me, Torch, and Mojo got put on morning duty, but the guy, Adam, said we¢d be out by 9:30. After dinner, I went to check out the dungeon. It¢s an emergency shelter in the basement that hikers can stay in for ten bucks, and I¢ve heard it¢s horrible. Ben was outside and showed me where it was. You get in through this huge metal door. Padma was there by herself and looked miserable. The room is tiny with stone walls and a few very tight bunks. I sat with her and pet her until Long Trail came down with leftovers for her. It was pretty cold down there, so I got my underquilt and brought it down for her. We were all going to sleep in the dining room so I didn¢t really need it. I wish I¢d brought my camera down because Padma looks super adorable wrapped in camo. Most of us are sleeping on the dining tables. I¢m on one right near the windows, and the wind is howling. What an incredible day, though. Chill said the other night that he didn¢t really care about sleeping in a hut, but work for stay was an AT experience. I totally agree, and this is definitely the one to do it in.
Date: 2011-09-08
From: Perch Shelter

To: Osgood Tent Site
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

Another angry night. I was going to head into Gorham from Pinkham Notch today, but I got going too late and then absolutely crawled down the north side of Madison. I got here at about 5:00, which was just a little late to shoot for town. The beginning of the day was beautiful. I stopped in at Madison, and the cook there was super nice. They had vegan chocolate cake but with butter frosting. She let me cut some pieces out of one of the cakes they hadn¢t frosted yet. I felt fantastic up Madison and along the ridge, and the views were spectacular. The downhill didn¢t even feel terrible, but it went almost as slow as Moosilauke.
Date: 2011-09-09
From: Osgood Tent Site

To: Carter Notch
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a first. The plan was to hit Pinkham Notch and go into Gorham. I got to the visitor center and decided to see if I could take care of extending my insurance and getting a bit more food so I could push on into the Wildcats. The insurance took forever, but I lucked out with the food. I ordered a couple of veggie burgers to go then bumped into this guy I¢d met at Zealand. He was going from Port Clinton to Katahdin, but decided today to go home. He had a drop here and let me go through it, which got me over the hump. The climb up and out was really, really steep with a ton of hand-over-hand. It was beautiful, though, and the weather was great. At the top of the last descent, I met a southbounder, Reboot, who told me there were 11 thru-hikers at Carter Notch Hut. I was planning on camping nearby anyway and wound up here right near AAA, Stitch, and Francois Dillinger. It¢s incredibly windy, I wouldn¢t normally set up in this, but it¢s been a while and it¢s not super cold or going to rain, so I thought I¢d reacquaint myself.
Date: 2011-09-10
From: Carter Notch

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

Tough day today, but satisfying. The plan was Rattle River Shelter just outside of town, but you know what happened. I ended up getting to the road at about 8:00PM after passing a huge group at the shelter. I really wanted to zero tomorrow because I feel beat up. Several times today I just felt like I had nothing in the tank. As I was taking a break up high, I got a mighty funny surprise. Who should come up out of the woods but Sundance and Pacemaker. I haven¢t seen him in like 1100 miles and have never met her. Fortunately, he¢s at least as much of a bastard as ever. I was really dragging the last couple miles to the shelter, but the trail really smoothed out around there and I made great time to the road. I got my first after-dark hitch, which was from two ladies in a Prius. I got a room for two nights, which feels great.
Date: 2011-09-13
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: few clouds

Managed to get out of town, albeit later than I wanted. I hit the outfitter for a blaze orange handkerchief [Ed. note: To keep the big game hunters from shooting him . . . seriously], then got food, then back for a new compression strap buckle for my pack. 1,200 miles later I realized an easy way to fix it. The hike here was fairly crappy. Days back after zeros always feel like that. I overlapped some people for most of the day. There was Slay, who I¢ve met before, and Habitat, a girl I saw in VT in the middle of that horrible rain. I also met James, who started shortly after me, for the first time. And a few others whose names I didn¢t get.That¢s about it. I¢m trying to write today off as just getting back on the trail rust. The weather was beautiful at least. Maine tomorrow.
Date: 2011-09-14
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The bad news is that I wanted to get going early today so I could knock out Mahoosuc, but I woke up late. It¢s supposed to rain tomorrow, and I really didn¢t want to do that wet. The good news is that all of today was a crawl, so the extra hour or so wouldn¢t have mattered anyway. Other than not hiking the last mile in the dark again.Actually, I guess the good news is Maine. I¢m happy to have crossed that final line, but there¢s still so much to go. 271 miles to the foot of Big K, which I¢m viewing as the mental finish line. I¢ll be happy to get that done in under four weeks. And that¢s assuming things pick up a bit when we cross 2,000 and come down out of the mountains.This terrain continues to be brutally slow. We¢re still climbing and descending thousands of feet, and the downs are increasingly wet rock faces. I tried to do a controlled slide down part of one today and took a much longer ride than intended, which scraped my leg up a bit.I overlapped Patrick and Ohio this morning. I met them yesterday. There are a million people here, but I came in late, so I didn¢t really see who¢s who. I did see Clutch and Red Stripe at the end of the day. I haven¢t seen them since the beginning of Vermont.I do feel better today than yesterday. My feet didn¢t hurt much at all, although my left knee continues to be a real problem. Anyway, the famous Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will hold off until after. Haha.
Date: 2011-09-18
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Frye Shelter
Miles today: 6.0

Soooo . . . . Did the Mahoosuc Notch the other day. Sure enough, it rained the whole time. Followed by climbing Mahoosuc Arm. Then a very cold, windy night where I pretty much didn¢t sleep. The only reason I got up and hiked was to go home. Which was reinforced by the trip over Old Speck: sleet, snow, and wind so bad it was very hard to stand. I got to Grafton Notch about 4:00, along with Holy Cow. We were greeted by the ranger, Soda Mike, who gave us root beers. I waited for Holy Cow to leave, then asked Mike where the nearest Greyhound or Amtrak station was. I could tell he was trying to keep me from quitting, but I wasn¢t interested. I had a really hard time with the weather in March, and the thought of three more weeks of it now after six and a half months was too much. I got a ride halfway to Gorham with a day hiker, then the rest of the way with another guy. I felt horrible when he was giving me the usual questions. I wound up at the same motel and found out there¢s a bus to Boston every day at 8:00 AM. I barely slept again and got up at 7:00 to pack up. I had shoes in the trash can, but when I started to take the hip belt off my pack, I couldn¢t do it. I finally called Erica and told her what was going on. We talked a long time, but two minutes in, I knew I wasn¢t quitting. She completely saved the day. It was just like Rocky II.I did laundry, ate, and got some more cold weather stuff at the outfitter. I got about halfway to where I needed to be in two hitches to Bethel, Maine, but it was late, so I got a motel and got back on trail today. Which took three hitches and several hours. A super nice couple got me at 26, which was the hardest part. They were day hikers farther down, but drove me all the way to Grafton and hiked from there instead. I¢m almost off my current map, so I gave it to them.I was happy to see Soda Mike there talking to Hover and Bear Bag. He¢d just told them I'd quit, so he was happy to see me, too. I did a pretty leisurely six miles here. I talked to a lady up on West Baldpate for at least 40 minutes. Her family was coming back from East Baldpate and we could see and hear them the whole way. On the other side of that, I met Bounce, who flipped in New York. I do not envy her going into the Whites now. Right after, Yoga Boy and Engineer caught up. They¢re here along with two section hikers who had a fire going and gave us all extra food.It¢s chilly, but clear. Today was beautiful, with some amazing views. It was just what I needed.
Date: 2011-09-19
From: Frye Shelter

To: Sawyer Campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Today felt like actual hiking. I even made about 2 MPH, which, despite not doing it since the very start of New Hampshire, is still what I think of as my normal pace. I considered going into Andover from the south end for lunch, but I started a little late, so I pushed on. I¢ll hit the north end after a couple hours tomorrow. I have four boxes there thanks to finally tracking down the ones that got stranded near Crawford Notch. Unless the weather is terrible, I¢m going to just resupply, run some errands, eat, and get out of town. Rangeley is only a couple days past, so I¢ll probably spend a night there.I saw almost no one today. James got a ride into town with last night¢s section hikers. I met Flying Turtle, who¢s going from Katahdin to Bennington, finishing a hike he started in 2005. He has a friend of a friend who knows Torch, so he¢s on the lookout for him. I¢m a little alarmed that he hasn¢t seen him. I¢ve been caught by a few northbounders who haven¢t either. I¢m wondering if maybe he flipped. I haven¢t seen Team Indecision in the registers in a while. I thought maybe Torch saw them in Gorham and they flipped together.The only steep bit of the day on the profile was down from Hall Shelter to here, but it was actually very fast. On the way, I met Flex, who has to be the last southbounder I¢ll see. Very nice guy with a lot of useful info. We must have talked for half an hour. The last forecast I saw had rain tomorrow, but it¢s clear and still right now. I have my little digital thermometer back. Last night was 40, and it¢s 44 right now. Coming back from my freakout, I was really trying to be ready for bitter cold, but the last two days have been fine. I¢m mostly okay with cold anyway. It¢s the cold and wet that get me.
Date: 2011-09-20
From: Sawyer Campsite

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: light rain

Took a while to get to the road today. There was a trail re-route I didn¢t trust, so I stuck with the white blazes. There was plenty of pack-off scrambling. When I got to the road, James was right there. We met two awesome 2008 thru-hikers, Old Buzzard and Catfish, who had a pick-up full of trail magic. It was fantastic. I¢d just been thinking I¢d probably never see trail magic again. Buzzard was also hilarious and telling us some great stories from his year. There was no traffic at all from that road, so I borrowed his phone and called the shuttle. I got all my boxes sorted out and forwarded, ordered new shoes, and got settled in the Pine Ellis hostel. It¢s a nice place with only one other hiker, Steady. This is a guy, not the girl.Turns out there¢s no AT&T go-phone coverage in Maine pretty much, so I need to find another phone in Rangeley. My shoes will also probably not be there in time, so I¢ll likely have to kick them up to Stratton. I saw a ton of people in the general store, but they¢re all jumping forward [ed. note: i.e., skipping a huge chunk of Maine -- slackers!]. People are definitely burning out, which is frustrating. It¢s going to be a lonely couple hundred miles.
Date: 2011-09-21
From: Andover, ME

To: Off trail
Miles today: 12.0

Got going at 8:30 today after getting the shuttle out with David from Pine Ellis. He gave me an apple. I caught up to Walking Home, who I¢d met on Mt. Madison, after an hour or so. We wound up hiking together all day, which was very nice. He¢s from just up the road, so he knows everything around here. It reminded me of Curahee and Jerry Garcia from the beginning.We heard hounds all morning, then met three weird hunters later. They had no maps or real gear and didn¢t really know where they were. While we were showing them the maps, the one guy was just holding a big revolver in his hand, which was uncomfortable. We saw maybe eight flip-floppers today, most of whom Walking Home knew. I think I¢d met two altogether before that. We¢re shooting for Rangeley tomorrow, and Walking Home is going to flip from there.The forecast is rain for days starting tonight. Today was gorgeous. It¢s 10:00 PM now, totally clear and with no wind. It in no way seems like rain, but I¢m sure I¢ll be waking up to it.
Date: 2011-09-22
From: Off trail

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

[Editor's note: this is me writing these from here on out and doing so close to a year later]Well, I'm halfway between the equator and north pole. Walking Home was gone when I woke up this morning, but I had hopes of catching him before town. I got to the parking lot just as he was getting a ride and they were nice enough to turn around for me. As I was getting out, I realized I'd lost a Croc on the trail. I keep them under the bungee on my pack and have never had a problem with one falling out. I was heart-broken because I've had them forever. But Walking Home was incredibly nice and gave me his. He's gonna flip from here, so has a few days at home. I'm sad to have lost mine, but the story of the new ones mostly makes up for it.The hiking today was okay. It was really overcast most of the day, but better than the rain that was forecast. The last five miles were nice and fast. The highlight of the day was that the Little Swift River Pond Campsite had a couple of beat up canoes at the edge of the pond. I couldn't resist that, of course, so paddled one around for a bit. It really brought a smile to my face.
Date: 2011-09-23
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Poplar Spring Shelter
Miles today: 11.0

Got stuck in town a little longer than I meant to today, but that was partly because my new shoes arrived. I couldn't believe it. They're the same kind, but they look comically new. I got a photo wearing one of each.I got a hitch immediately, yet another one from someone going the other way. My front must look a whole lot better than my back. I took a break at Piazza Shelter and was very excited to see that there are quite a few people just ahead. Including Velvet and Bumblebee, who took several zeroes. I'd really like to catch them. It would be a pleasant surprise to have folks around these last couple weeks.I saw Wiggles and The Dude on the way up Saddleback. It was gorgeous out, but got overcast as I went down. By the time I hit Saddleback Junior, things were completely socked in. I got off that before dark, but did the last mile or so by headlamp. Today was a lot tougher and slower than it looked.
Date: 2011-09-24
From: Poplar Spring Shelter

To: Campsite by the Carrabasset
Miles today: 13.0

I no longer have hundreds of miles to go. I went under 200 at the end of the day and am sitting on 196 now. It's very strange.It rained last night, but pretty much stopped before I left today. I had breakfast under the tarp. A big puddle had formed under me, but only one sock got wet. The weekenders who were here evidently got soaked. Oh, and one of them gave me a wooden necklace pendant from Yak and Stitch that they'd found. I never met them, but have seen them in the registers forever. Hopefully I can get it back to them.It's raining again now. It started right as I was cooking dinner so I had to move everything under the tarp. I heard tomorrow's suppose to be really nice, so hopefully this is just night rain, which I really enjoy. It's still weirdly warm, even more so than last night, although I am better than 2,000 feet lower.Today was another long one. Tons of descending, including a killer to here which had me out after dark again. And crossing the river by headlamp using a rope and submerged plank. I did see my second porcupine, though. He was shuffling along the trail at the top of the descent. They're either real dumb or know that no one will mess with them.Big climb up Crocker first thing, then what looks like a very long, fast downhill to town.