morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-01
From: Washington, DC

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Trail Day 101 - Trains, buses & a pick-up truck.Michael and I curled up on our train seats and slept fitfully through the night. The view at dawn was coastal Connecticut: New London, Groton. Ship-sized ferrys were docked in the harbor bound for Shelter Island and Long Island. In 1968, I rode a much smaller ferry from the tip of Long Island to New London when I was a VISTA volunteer in Greenport, NY. It would be interesting to return there and see how the area has changed. I have heard that the Polish potato farms have been replaced by grape vineyards. My project was helping migrant workers. We tutored children in the school and reported housing code violations to the town housing department. The migrant camps were outside of town and run by labor contractors. We were not welcome there. We detrained in Boston and took a subway from Back Bay to the North station. During a layover, we talked with a woman from Arizona who grows oranges on a farm in the desert with her husband. She is also a hiker and a fan of Edward Abbey. She is originally from New England and was visiting her sister.We got off the train in Portland to catch a bus to Bangor with a few hours to wait. We boarded a bus for downtown, had lunch and visited the Portland Art Museum. Featured was an exhibit of family portraits by photographer, Diane Arbus, that Michael wanted to see. I was more interested in the impressionist paintings. Portland is a large city and seaport with bustling downtown streets lined with brick buildings. Young people looking like students walked around and there were numerous arts and crafts shops. We wanted to stay longer but had to get back to the bus station.In Bangor we were met by a friend, Ed, who recently bought a house in Monson and moved there from Gainesville. We rode in his truck into the Maine countryside. Hills, farms and towns passed by, but we saw no mountains. As we neared Monson, a few ridges arose in the distance but they were not impressive. Maine's mountains were still mysterious and hidden from us.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: Monson, ME

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Days 102-103 - Recovery days in Monsondaily miles 0.0 on ATMichael and I relaxed with Ed and Sue for two long, lazy days. In Maine at this time of year it is light at 4:30 am and not dark until around 9 pm. Michael and Sue walked to a nearby lake for a swim while I mowed the lawn to get ready for a gathering the next day. Ed's son and family came over from Bangor for a visit. There was plenty of food and a fire outside that we sat around while grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. Ed took on all challengers at horseshoes. I finished reading my book on the Battle of Gettysburg so I would not have to carry it. On Friday night we walked down to the Monson General Store to listen to local musicians playing oldtime country music, a weekly event. There were fiddlers, a banjo, harmonicas and guitars. Ed played along on his recorder. Michael took some close-up photos of the musicians. We had a great time in Monson and really appreciate Ed and Sue's hospitality. By July 4th we were ready to get back on the trail to tackle the 100-mile wilderness. Little did we know how difficult that would be.
Date: 2004-07-04
From: Monson, ME

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 104 - Scary Maine woodsdaily miles 15.1 on ATEd dropped us off a few miles out of town at the AT trailhead. We entered a world completely unknown to us, but about which we had heard scary stories: clouds of biting black flies and mosquitos driving men mad, aggressive bears, huge dumb moose that charge people. We hiked slowly through a lush mysterious forest over a rough, twisting, tumble up and down trail impeded by roots and rocks. Ponds winked at us through openings among the trees. This was a lowland of hillocks and streams and bogs. Planks to balance on were placed over wet areas. Streams were crossed by jumping from rock to rock. We searched every pond for moose, but saw nothing. The forest was quiet. No chattering of birds or squirrels.After a few miles we reached the first shelter, in Maine called a lean-to. It looked just like the shelters in the South, three log walls and a wood plank floor, a register on the wall full of hiker entries. A few mosquitos drifted close to my arms, hands and legs and landed to bite, but they were easy to swat and kill. No threat there. Gnats buzzed my ears but did not bite. So far, so good. As the day progressed we grew more confident, but were still wary. We forded a few knee-deep streams just before the next two shelters. I took off my boots and wore my Waldies. Michael was already hiking in his Waldies so he did not have stop and change. He switched to hiking in camp shoes because his boots were wet. He tied a kerchief behind each heel to keep them on his feet.At the Long Pond shelter we found Roughrider, a section hiker going north. He had fallen into a stream three times that day and was drying out his toilet paper on the floor. His trail name comes from his propensity for losing his balance and falling into streams. Two recent college graduates from Minnesota also came in for the night. They were hiking south for eight months but were not thruhiking the AT. They started in Presque Isle and walked south along roads and trails, camping in the woods or in yards of homes with permission. They said they were worn out the first two days on the AT because they hiked over Mt. Katahdin with full backpacks. Nobody does that due to the difficulty of the rock climbing. They were just doing sections of the AT. We went to sleep that night reassured that we could handle these scary Maine woods.
Date: 2004-07-05
From: Long Pond Stream Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 105 - Climbing the Chairbacksdaily miles 10.9 on ATToday we would tackle our first high mountains in Maine, the Barren Chairback Range, a series of six peaks strung in a tightly spaced row. The next 15 miles would be almost entirely straight up or straight down. There are no switchbacks in Maine. It was a rough trail. We picked our way through entangling roots and pulled ourselves up over piles of rocks. There was no soft earth to ease the impact of foot upon trail. Every step had to be deliberately chosen to avoid a fall or twisted ankle. My progress was slow and labored, while Michael walked quickly and easily. I huffed and puffed behind as Michael very patiently waited for me to catch up. The first mountain climb rose 1750 ft. over a distance of three miles. The narrow trail was lined by a dense thicket of young firs which could not be entered by anything larger than a squirrel or rabbit. It rained all day, making the rocks and roots slippery. My left boot sole was split across the bottom, so water just spilled in and soaked my sock whenever I stepped in a puddle or rivulet, which happened frequently. On top of each mountain there were treeless granite domes where a vista could be seen on a clearer day, but today we walked in the clouds. We pressed on in the rain and did not pause to take the side trails to Cloud Pond or West Chairback Pond. We stopped for the day at Chairback Gap shelter between Columbus Mt. and Chairback Mt. after making six steep climbs and descents. Two hikers were settled in at the shelter: Publix, who I had met in Virginia and who had flipped up to Katahdin at Waynesboro, VA, and Allen, a southbounder who was nursing an ankle that was swollen to the size of a tennis ball. I was happy to see Publix again. I told the others about the day I first met him in a shelter north of Daleville, VA after he spent a miserable night in a storm and was rousted from a gas station by police. His comment was that day and this one were his worst days on the trail and I had been there for both. Allen was limping in pain and I gave him some aspirin as he was determined to continue south the next day. We all retired early that night after a wet, dreary day in the Chairbacks.
Date: 2004-07-06
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to

To: Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 9.9

Trail Day 106 - Playing in Gulf Hagas Brookdaily miles 9.9 on ATAnother cloudy day, but the rain stopped during the night. Our first challenge was a long and precipitous 1000 ft. drop from the Chairbacks to the Pleasant River. One towering boulder pile was so steep that there was no discernable footpath, and we searched for white blazes painted on the rocks to find a way down, jumping and stretching all the way. Looking back up we were amazed by the jumbled rockface we had just descended. Views opened up on a land of hills and ridges flowing with white clouds and dotted with silvery ponds. We were chased into the evergreen forest from exposed ledges by bursts of wind and rain, but we loved every moment. The trail bottomed out on the banks of the Pleasant River and the skies began to clear. The river was well named, as it was a peaceful, shallow, rippling wide stream with a sandy, rock strewn bottom, easy to ford and cool on our feet. There were several groups of day hikers crossing with us, looking very out of place in the 100 mile wilderness. One woman, who had legs as large as an elephant's, stumbled and fell into the water twice, but she just laughed about it. A group of teenage girls eyed us warily as though we were possibly dangerous. One especially callow girl questioned us about our activities and asked whether I was the 85-year-old who had thruhiked the trail, a question which did not warrant an answer. The day hikers had come here by car on a logging road to walk the Gulf Hagas Trail, a 5-mile loop passing over a rushing stream bounding down a narrow 500 ft. gorge in series of picturesque waterfalls. Michael and I stashed our packs in the woods so we could run the trail unburdened. It felt so good to hurtle down a trail without a pack. We took each side trail to view several falls and returned to the first one, for it had a great swimming hole at the bottom. We stripped to our shorts and eased into the burning cold water. We could not stand it for long, but the dip refreshed us for miles as we climbed the slope beside the creek to the next shelter.At Newhall Lean-to, we found another group of girls camping by the stream. They were led by a guy who looked like the world's coolest camp counselor. I waved to him as he sat on a rock mid-stream leaning back in a camp chair with sunglasses perched on his head, and I asked the girls if this was so and they eagerly agreed. Probably they all had a crush on him. Double Nickels and Endorphin were cooking dinner, a mother and son duo who were finishing their northbound thruhike. They were the first of only a few finishers we would meet in Maine. Endorphin told me that the Kennebec ferryman had counted him as #17 to cross the river northbound this season. Several southbounders were also in the shelter. As dusk approached, the camp counselor came over to ask if his girls could use our fire ring to make smores, but the northbound duo were already asleep in the shelter. Their work ethic in hiking the trail was much stronger than mine.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: Newhall Lean-to

To: East Branch Lean-To
Miles today: 10.8

Trail Day 107 - Our mountain in sight.daily miles 10.8 on ATOur second mountain range, Gulf Hagas to White Cap Mt., loomed before us. This series of four peaks rises like ever higher waves on a stormy ocean. The peak elevations are 2680, 3178, 3245 and 3654 ft. with a deep trough separating each one. On this range we were blessed to have a smoother footpath of earth and pine straw instead of roots and rocks. We were also treated to a glorious blue sky day. On White Cap Mt. we reveled in a wonderful vista for miles and miles around, with so many lakes, large and small, and mountains popping up in isolation from the lowlands like green thrones set there for giants. We saw Mt. Katahdin for the first time, a long scarred ridge massive against the horizon, distanced from us by a flat land of rivers and lakes. Our goal was in sight.We descended to Logan Brook Lean-to, stopping for a leisurely lunch and to cool our feet in the stream. Then we continued down to the East Branch Lean-to in the buggy lowlands. There was nobody else at the shelter that night. I built a fire to smoke away the mosquitos and gnats. After dinner, Michael retired early and I sat up until 10 tending the fire and watching the stars begin to glow. I could have worked on my journal, but for that night I was content to have nothing more important to do than tend a fire and listen to the sounds in the forest.
Date: 2004-07-09
From: White House Landing Wilderness Camp

To: White House Landing Wilderness Camp
Miles today: 0.0

Trail Day 109 - Rest day on Pemadumcook lake.daily miles 0.0 on ATLast night we indulged in a pizza piled high with green peppers, black olives and onions. This morning we feasted on eggs, home fries, OJ, and blueberry pancakes. At lunch I devoured a one pound hamburger. Basically we ate and ate and rested. The lake was long and narrow with rocks jutting out in the middle. We could not see either end. We paddled a canoe around a bend at dusk and quietly watched the sunset on the water. The reflections of rocks on the dark water appeared as real as the rocks themselves, making them look like symmetrical round boulders. Michael took some photos as we drifted. We heard the yodeling cry of loons from way across the lake. We could not ask for a more peaceful setting.We met Pickle and Peanut, a young couple from North Carolina finishing their northbound thruhike. Several excited southbounders came in and grilled Pickle endlessly for advice on gear, foot care, food, etc. They were trying to get their pack weights down. He was very patient and helpful. They were a jittery, jumpy group and I was happy they left me alone. At dinner we feasted on pizza again. By the end of the day, we were recharged to go back out on the trail and battle the bugs again.
Date: 2004-07-10
From: White House Landing Wilderness Camp

To: Rainbow Spring Campsite
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Trail Day 110 - The end is near!daily miles 19.6 on ATAnother long day with high miles for us. We headed for Rainbow Spring Campsite so that we could reach the base of Mt. Katahdin tomorrow. The day was cloudy but there was no rain. We hiked up a rushing stream for five miles and then passed by a long lake with narrow sand beaches. We climbed one steep mountain rising 750 ft. in a mile. After 14 miles we took a break on a road bridge where a young man with a truck was fishing. He was just passing the time waiting for his passengers to arrive. They were kayaking down Pollywog Stream and he was shuttling them. The kayakers came in looking very cold in their wet suits. We hiked more steeply up Rainbow Stream, which had a long series of falls. We were tired by now but pushed ourselves to the Rainbow Stream Lean-to. The Jersey Boys were there. We had heard stories about them from southbounders. They carried 75 pound packs loaded with things like a wood saw, a CD player with CD's and speakers. They had stacked a pile of sawed logs by a campfire. Michael wanted to stop and tease them but we had to keep going to make camp before dark.We did not make it to the camping area until 8 pm. There were no campsites left as there were already six tents set up in an area meant for two. I found a grassy strip right next to the AT big enough for one tent and put mine up there. It is a 2-man tent so Michael and I both slept in it. I put up a tarp outside to keep our boots and packs dry. I thought the tarp might also help keep condensation from forming inside our tent as I did not have to extend the front door vestibule. I found out in the morning that I was right about that.We were too tired to cook, so we ate cold, put up the bear bag and went to sleep. The hike had been hard but we were happy we had met our goal and would be able to summit Katahdin the day after tomorrow.
Date: 2004-07-11
From: Rainbow Spring Campsite

To: The Birches Campsite
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 111 - At Katahdin's basedaily miles 21.1 on ATWe walked along Rainbow Lake for 3.5 miles on an easy trail, then climbed up to Rainbow Ledges and down to Hurd Brook Lean-to. We stopped to rest but were set on having lunch at Abol Bridge Campground in 3.5 miles where there is a store. We emerged onto the Golden Road from the 100 mile wilderness at about 1:15. We could see the sky and there was open country and light once again. We crossed the Penobscot River on Abol Bridge and could see Mt. Katahdin up close in all its glory. We wondered how we would climb up and down such an awesome mountain in one day. We pigged out on lunch snacks and ice cream from the store. Michael called his girlfriend from a pay phone at 33 cents a minute. We high fived to celebrate our accomplishment and hiked on to Baxter State Park. It was 10 miles on a very pretty trail to the Birches shelter, where thruhikers stay before summiting. The AT looked very much like the Florida Trail along the Suwannee River as it followed the Penobscot River. It was a warm day so when we came to Nesowadnehunk Falls we took our boots off, forded above the falls and dived into the pool below. There was some uphill climbing further along the stream but it was a soft pine straw path. Pickle and Peanut passed us as we entered the campground area of the Park. They had been delayed by some other thruhikers who had a cabin at Daicy Pond and wanted to celebrate with them. I fell on my back crossing a pond on a log that rolled but fortunately landed on another log instead of in the pond. Michael helped me up and a few minutes later Peanut pointed out a large moose on the edge of the pond.We signed in with the Ranger for the Birches shelter. There were two southbounders and a flip-flopper who had already summited, as well as Pickle and Peanut, at the shelter. We had a campfire but went to bed early excited about going up Katahdin in the morning.
Date: 2004-07-13
From: AT Lodge, Millinocket

To: AT Lodge, Millinocket
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Trail Day 113 - A Simple Plan.daily miles 0.0 on ATYesterday we hitched into Millinocket with lifts by Park Service Rangers in pickup trucks and by a man on vacation with his two sons in a van. We stayed two nights at the A.T. Lodge, which is more like a rooming house than a hostel. The only other hiker there was a southbounder who had knee pain and was going home. There wasn't much to do in Millinocket but eat at the cafes and use the street phone. There were good restaurants, a great soft serve ice cream store with 26 flavors and a homemade donut shop. Michael wanted a book to read but there was no bookstore. He had to settle for Oliver's Story, the sequel to Love Story. That's how desperate he was for reading material.Donna's excellent idea was this: I would travel with Michael by bus and train to the BWI airport and continue on to D.C. and Harper's Ferry. I would then get back on the A.T. at Harper's Ferry to resume my northbound hike. This would not be a flip-flop hike because it is all one direction. Instead I would call it an "Eat the bun first" hike or just "Bun first" hike. The antithesis would be a "Lick the filling first" hike or just "Filling first." I don't expect these hikes to become common, but there are certain advantages. "Bun first" takes the pressure off to get to Katahdin by October 15. You can have the excitement of starting with the crowds in Georgia, and then jump up to Maine and experience the first northbounders summiting Katahdin and the southbounders starting out. Then you can go back south and take your time doing the middle in uncrowded shelters.   This plan allowed me to see Michael safely to the airport (for my peace of mind) and then hike on more familiar and friendly terrain than Maine. I could hike all the way to Monson, or I could get off and go home if I just could not get enthused about finishing. It felt right so I made the travel arrangements to accompany Michael. Now I could look forward to hiking. I just was not ready yet to face Maine's bogs and bugs again. Thank you, Donna, for your creative problem solving and all your support.
Date: 2004-07-15
From: AT Lodge, Millinocket

To: Harpers Ferry Hostel, Harpers Ferry 
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: few clouds

Trail Days 114-115 - Travel days.daily miles 2.2 on ATWe were on bus and train from 9:30 am on the 14th to 7:00 am the following day. The train is better than the bus but it is still uncomfortable and very hard to get any sleep. Michael and I walked around Boston and browsed in a music store. Michael showed me CD's of artists he likes: Bonnie Prince Charlie, Will Oldham, Calexico. I bought him an LP vinyl album of early Beck. Boston is a really vibrant city with streets crowded with young people. If I were young, I would want to live there. I had a layover in D.C. for 10 hours, so I checked my backpack and took a tour bus to get an overview of the city. I had no energy for walking around and was falling asleep on the bus. I got off at the Library of Congress, but had no patience to tour with a docent led group. I wanted to go into the reading room and roam the stacks but it did not look like that would be permitted. I viewed the exhibits and the promo film and left to wait for my commuter train to Harpers Ferry. It was after 6 pm when I arrived at Harpers Ferry so I walked along the C & O Canal to the hostel. I met a thruhiker called Papparazi, so named because he takes photos of hikers, something I often forget to do. I went to bed early as I was exhausted by the journey. Tomorrow would be a rest day.
Date: 2004-07-16
From: Harpers Ferry Hostel, Harpers Ferry 

To: Harpers Ferry Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Day 116 - Rest day in Harper's Ferry.daily miles 0.0 on ATI walked back to Harpers Ferry to visit the ATC office where my photo was taken and placed in an album of this year's hikers. I saw photos of all the northbounders I knew who had passed me. It was sad to think I would probably not see them again. Maybe next year at Trail Days in Damascus. It's not easy hiking your own hike. But hiking somebody else's hike or not hiking at all are alternatives that are not even worth considering.I picked up the boots my wife had mailed to the post office. Then I walked down the hill to the Armory Pub, where Michael and I had waited 3 hours on a lazy afternoon two weeks ago for the Amtrak train to D.C. The bartender, Richard, recognized me when I opened the door. I sat on the patio a few minutes to recall that time, and then took my beer inside to join Richard and D-Bone, a thruhiker who was staying there in exchange for work. D-Bone had been there for five days and had earned enough money to buy a pair of sandals to hike in, which he sorely needed because he had developed a large bunion on one foot and his hiking shoes were worn out. D-Bone is a young guy with blonde hair in dreads. After an hour of good conversation over beers with him and Richard, I walked back to the hostel on the C & O Canal road (which joins the AT) pleasantly toasted. That night Jaybird played his guitar and sang tunes by James Taylor and John Prine while I packed up. Tomorrow I would restart my AT adventure.