morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-08-26
From: Barnjam Road

To: Caribou Valley Road
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Can today really have been a day of Warren Doyle's hiking group??? After a couple of weeks of very tough hiking, we have two consecutive easy days in a row (to be followed by four very long, tough days) We hiked an easy 10.5 miles. I finished at the astonishingly early time of 1:30 in the afternoon. We started at the decadently late hour of 6:00 AM, in daylight, no headlamps needed. I had all afternoon to lounge around and chat with the other Warren Doyle hikers. What luxury! People who live in Maine ( Mainers) are very quiet and reserved. Many Mainers have lived in Maine for many generations, and they are very proud of that. If you move to Maine from anywhere else on the planet, Mainers will say you are from "away." The following story was told to me by a man who moved to Maine five years ago. This man attended the funeral of a 92 year old man.That old man was born in the state of Maine, but he spent the first year of his life in a different Maine town from the town where he spent his remaining 91 years. At his funeral, it was noted that he was a very fine fellow, even though he was from "away!"
Date: 2016-08-27
From: Caribou Valley Road

To: Stratton, ME, Route 27
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: light rain

Yep, as easy as yesterday was, today was even easier. We did a measly 8.8 miles. I am hiking with a gentleman ( and I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt by referring to him as a gentleman) who has seen me doing this blog, and he has constantly teased me about putting him into my blog. I told him he could not be in my blog unless he insulted me, or made me the butt of one of his many jokes.He had no trouble meeting this goal, so I am putting him into my blog. This man told me he knows another fellow who went to his eye doctor, because he was seeing "floaters"( dark spots in his vision.) The doctor knew of this other fellows plans to hike a 400 mile section of the AT, and the doctor told this poor fellow to wave goodbye to those plans, because the poor fellow was suffering from a nearly detached retina in one of his eyes. The fellow nodded his head sadly, and went on the hike anyway. I would give this fellow very high marks for listening to the doctors advice. He's not very good at heeding the doctors advice, but he can tell you exactly what the doctor said to him. I am not sure that being in Marshmellows blog is always a good thing (be careful what you wish for), but I have to say that my new friend tells EXCELLENT jokes, even if those jokes can't be repeated in mixed company.
Date: 2016-08-28
From: Stratton, ME, Route 27

To: East Flagstaff Road
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: scattered clouds

It took me 13.5 hours to hike 16.7 miles.I did LOTS of climbing and descending today. I climbed three mountains Bigelow Mt. West Peak, Avery Peak ( named after the man who created the AT), and Little Bigelow Mt. One of the people I am hiking with for a month on this Warren Doyle expedition is a man who slackpacked the entire 2189 mile AT last year with Warren Doyle's organization. The trip lasted 140 days. There were only two zero miles days during the entire trek. It was an INCREDIBLY intense experience. This man told me the following story. The first nite he was home in bed with his wife at the conclusion of his hike, he woke up at 2:00 AM with an urgent need to urinate. He was still sound asleep, but neither he or his wife were aware of this. He walked to the corner of his bedroom.The next sound his wife heard was the sound of a liquid hitting the bedroom wall. Realizing what was happening, his wife shouted out to him to go to the bathroom and use the toilet. The still sleeping man whispered to his wife that she needed to lower her voice, lest she wake up the other sleeping AT hikers. At that point, the sleeping man awoke and shuffled off to the bathroom to finish his chore. Usually, a post to this blog is meant for all who read this blog. While everyone who reads this posting will be amused by it, this posting was made exclusively for my wife. Ginny, darling, sweetheart, love of my life, I have a very small favor to ask of you. Can you please hire someone to install some rubber matting on the floor of our bedroom? It doesn't have to stay there very long, just long enough for me to get house trained again!
Date: 2016-08-29
From: East Flagstaff Road

To: A Road Just Past Pierce Pond Lean To
Miles today: 16.6

One of the reasons people hike the AT is to learn some important life lessons. In a zen moment, i got an insight today about one of those very important life lessons. The lesson I learned today is that it does absolutely no good to set your alarm clock to the correct awakening time if you do not also switch another button to the "on" position. I awoke at 5:20 AM to the sound of hiking boots walking past my tent, and a great deal more daylight than one would expect at 5:00 AM. This meant I had 40 minutes to dress, take down my tent, eat breakfast, and be ready to hike, or face the wrath of Warren Doyle. The irony is thst Warren, who does not hide his acute dislike of the military, or any other form of government authority, would have made my army boot camp drill sargeant look like a gentle kitten. In Maine, there are several shallow rivers that you ford (walk across). Today, we crossed the Kennebec River that is thigh deep, with a VERY strong current, and lots of very smooth, slippery rocks on the bottom. Years ago, all AT hikers forded the river but now there is a FREE canoe that will ferry you across the river. I rode the canoe across the river. The AT is marked by thousands of rectangular splotches of white paint on trees and rocks. These white paint markings are called blazes. Just so you would know you were still on the AT, there was a white blaze painted on the bottom of the canoe. After I crossed the river, I came to a paved road. A sign informed me that the Sterling Inn was just a quarter of a mile down that road.The temptation was too great, and I headed down that road in search of some REAL food. I discovered that the Sterling Inn has been in continuous operation for 200 years. I dined on a large, everything on it pizza. How many people can say they have eaten a meal at an inn in the USA that has been in continuous operation for 200 years? Later in the day, I paid dearly for my lengthy rest at the Sterling Inn, as I had to hustle to arrive at camp before it got dark. For some reason, it does not bother me to begin my days hike in the dark, but I do not want to end the days hike in the dark.
Date: 2016-08-30
From: A Road Just Past Pierce Pond Lean To

To: Shirley Blanchard Road
Miles today: 18.5

Today was a long day in terms of mileage (18.5 miles) but the terrain was much gentler in terms of both less rocks and roots on the trail, and less elevation gain or loss. The result was that I finished hiking at the gentlemanly hour of 5:30 PM. However, due to the fact that the van carrying my gear did not arrive until after 7:00 PM, I still ate dinner and set up my tent in the dark. One of the cruel ironies of life, I guess. Today I learned the difference between a pond and a lake in the state of Maine. It has nothing to do with how large the body of water is. Whether a body of water is a pond or a lake depends on how deep it is. If a person can see to the bottom in all parts of the body of water, it is a pond. If this is not possible, it is a lake. Based on this criteria, my guess is that the number of ponds vs lakes in Maine is a function of both a person's eyesight and the clarity of the water. A nearsighted person could justifiably claim that there are far more lakes in Maine than a person with 20/20 vision would claim. Also, a shallow but very murky body of water might be a lake, while a much deeper body of water with clear water would be a pond. Yep, it's no wonder people say that people from Maine are a little bit different. On a different note, I have met hundreds of other hikers on my AT hike. We exchange pleasantries and chat, but few of them make a lasting impression on me. I met a young man today who made a very lasting impression on me (and nearly everyone else who has encountered him.) This young mans trail name (nick name) is Omega. What catches everyone's attention about Omega is his garb. In terms of clothing, I would classify Omega as a minimalist. Omega wears shoes, socks, and underwear. He wears nothing else. I had to ask Omega the obvious question: Why??? His answer: He fears overheating. I assured Omega that given the fact that he is in Maine, and given the fact that he was wearing nothing more than underwear, the chances of him overheating were remote at best. I suspect Omega may have an ulterior motive for his scant clothing. If his motive is to attract the affections of the opposite sex, his attire may chase away the ladies he is attempting to attract. If, on the other hand, he is attempting to attract the attention of other men, this may be an appropriate strategy. One other comment that myself and other people had was that Omega has underwear that is remarkably clean and white, and on the AT, NOBODY has clean clothes. My other memorable hiker encounter was with another young man I met at the summit of Moxie Bald Mountain. The young man told me he was going to finish the AT on Sept 6, and on Sept.8 he is going to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army. I am an army veterean, and I was going to caution this young man that life in the military would be VASTLY different from life as an AT hiker, but then he informed me that he had been an enlisted man in the army for 8 years,so I knew he was going into this with his eyes wide open, so I just told him that I wished him luck
Date: 2016-08-31
From: Shirley Blanchard Road

To: Shaws Hiker Hostel, Monson Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

After four hard days of hiking, we had a "nero" ( near zero) hiking day today. We hiked a measly 6.3 miles into the tiny hamlet of Monson, Me.We will have a rest day there tomorrow, then begin hiking the famed Hundred Mile Wilderness, summiting Mt. Katahdin on Sept 10. Katadhin is the end of the AT, and while I will leave the Warren Doyle hikers at this point, I will not yet be finished hiking the AT. I will get a ride in a van to Glencliff, NH and begin hiking south, hoping to reach the NY/NJ border before it gets too cold to continue to hike. If cold weather forces me off the trail prior to reaching the NY/NJ border, then I will complete my AT hike next spring.
Date: 2016-09-01
From: Shaws Hiker Hostel, Monson Maine

To: Shaws Hiker Hostel, Monson,ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today is a rest day. My sole two things to do today are two very pleasant chores:1) catch up with journaling in my blog 2) phoning my wife (I hope she was able to get that rubber matting installed on our bedroom floor). We (Warren Doyle hikers) will end our hike in Baxter State Park (BSP) in Maine. BSP is like no other state park in Maine. It is a very beautiful, very wild state park that was donated to the state of Maine by a very wealthy and very eccentric former governor of Maine, Governor Percival Proctor Baxter, who was Maines governor fron 1921-1924. Governor Baxter donated the land for this state park on the condition that BSP be permanently governed by a three person board, and be exempt fron the rules governing other Maine state parks. A trust fund pays the expenses of BSP. The AT and BSP have a strained and rocky relationship due to the fact that in the past, a small minority of AT hikers have not heeded BSP rules. The AT has been put on notice that further infractions of the rules may result in the AT losing the right to conclude its hike in BSP. Preservation of the parks wilderness, and not recreation is the number one goal of BSP. Governor Baxter had a well deserved reputation as a kindly but eccentric man. He had a succession of Irish Setter pet dogs, all named Gary that he was extremely fond of. While he was the governor of Maine, one of his Gary dogs died. The grief stricken governor ordered flags in the Maine state capitol building to be flown at half mast. Mainers did not think this was a good idea. If this is the worst thing that can be said about a man who donated a magnificent state park to the people of Maine, I am more than happy to overlook this one little lapse in judgement.
Date: 2016-09-02
From: Shaws Hiker Hostel, Monson,ME

To: Long Pond Stream
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

I want to apologize for the lapse in postings to this blog. Maine (except for the coast) is HORRIBLE for cell coverage. Today we entered the famous Hundred Mile Wilderness. It is the most remote part of the entire AT. A sign warned us that for the next 100 miles, there are no services of any kind available, and to not attempt this journey unless we had adequate supplies of food.This will be a very tough and challenging section of the AT, but we have had a "Nero" (i.e. near zero, just 6 miles) day followed by a Zero miles day, so we are well rested. Zero days are so luxurious, but they rocket by very quickly. I am always eager to resume hiking the next day. I have read about this area in other hikers reports and wondered what this area is like. I guess I am about to find out. I got an enormous rush of adrenaline as I read the warning sign. We went to the only grocery store in town yesterday and stocked up. While in town, a hunter pulled up with a bear that he had shot.The bear was in the back of his truck. He said it would provide about 50 pounds of meat.The other major sighting of the day was a porcupine that one of my hiking buddies spotted. The porcupine became alarmed that a human was nearby and climbed a tree. I did not know porcupines could climb trees. We passed Little Wilson Fall, the biggest waterfalls on the AT today. It was pretty impressive. You might be asking yourself why the biggest waterfalls on the entire AT is called LITTLE Wilson Falls. If so, I have the same question, but no answer for you.
Date: 2016-09-03
From: Long Pond Stream

To: Katadhin Iron Works Road
Miles today: 16.5

Warren Doyle, the man who has organized the 400 mile hike that I am doing with him, also does 140 day long trips that hike the entire 2200 mile long AT. On his 2015 trip, he took hikers the entire length of the AT. One of the men who did that hike is also on this hike, and he told me the following story. It was Sept. 8, 2015, the birthday of a woman who was also doing the entire 2200 mile hike with the Warren Doyle group While doing her daily hike on the AT (on her birthday) she lost her footing and fell, breaking her wrist. (Quite a birthday surprise, wouldn't you say?) At that point, she had already hiked over 2000 miles, so she was a seasoned hiker.The other hikers from her group found two suitable sticks and that became an emergency splint. Another hiker had some duct tape, and that was used to fasten the splint to her arm. Another hiker had a bandanna, and that became an emergency sling. She never shed a single tear ( until she reached the vehicle at the end of the days hike, and those were tears of frustration, because she was less than 200 miles from the finish.) The vehicle transported her to a medical facility, where her wrist was set into a plaster cast. To the astonishment of everyone, she decided to continue the hike. During these 140 day long Warren Doyle hikes, some incredibly strong bonds of friendship are forged among the hikers, and the other hikers rallied around her. Friends set up and took down her tent, and did various other chores for her. Recently, we ( the members of this 2016 trip) did a very long day, involving an incredibly steep and dangerous descent. I was very freaked out doing this descent. This woman did that descent in pouring rain, after dark, arriving at camp at 10;30 PM. My friend, who was with her that day, is a very strong hiker and could have finished the days hike hours earlier, but he refused to leave her side until she arrived safely in camp at 10;30 that night. That woman also ascended and descended Mt. Katadhin, arguably the toughest one day of the entire AT with her broken wrist in a sling. She did not miss a single day of hiking due to her injury, and she completed the entire AT hike. That story just blew me away.
Date: 2016-09-04
From: Katadhin Iron Works Road

To: West Branch Ponds Road
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

Warren Doyle is one of the most famous and iconic figures of the AT hiking community. He has hiked the entire AT an astonishing 17 times, and is closing in on completing his 18'th AT hike. I have heard that he is one of the co-founders of ALDHA (a hiking organization), and at one time he held the record for the fastest completion of the AT. Warren loves pastries and jelly donuts, and being a very generous man, he shares those treats with the hikers in his group. Warren is not out to make a quick buck, and his hiking trips are very reasonably priced. Warren's other passion in life (besides hiking) is dancing, and I have heard that he is an incredibly skilled dancer. Having said all those nice things about Warren, I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that nobody has ever referred to Warren as Saint Warren. When he becomes upset, Warren can be quick tempered, and Warren is no shrinking violet, being not at all shy about expressing his sometimes very blunt thoughts. One day, one of the hikers committed two infractions that highly displeased Warren. The next morning, at our daily hiking briefing, Warren cut loose and in my opinion blasted the entire group for two infractions that only one person had innocently done. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could swear I saw steam pouring out of Warren's ears! At the end of Warren's steamy sermon, he asked if there vwere any questions. No sensible person, after hearing Warren's tirade, would have asked a question. Incredibly, one of the hikers DID have a question. Before I reveal this person's INCREDIBLE question, some additional background information woild be helpful: 1) Warren is a fanatic about hikers beginning their hike exactly on time. 2) Warren has expressed his opinion that cooking breakfast is a waste of very valuable time. Our brave (but not very diplomatic) hiker asked Warren if he (the naive hiker) had enough time to cook up some oatmeal before starting the day's hike. It got even quieter for a very long moment. Warren, to his credit, calmly told this hiker that was not a good idea. Had Warren been wearing a blood pressure cuff at the time that breakfast question was posed, I think it would have given sn impressive reading.
Date: 2016-09-05
From: West Branch Ponds Road

To: Mary Jo Road
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was Labor Day, a legal holiday. Warren, perhaps in recognition of that momentous occasion,, had a low mileage, easy terrain day. As a result, we began our hike at the decadently late hour of 7;00 AM. As a result of this late start, I have a picture of the hiker (who in my last posting asked Warren if he had time to cook up some oatmeal,) seated on the ground and very happily munching on his beloved oatmeal! Yesterday, from the summit of White Top Mt. we caught our first glimpse of Mt. Katadhin, the terminus of the AT. Gene, who hiked the entire AT last year with Warren, had a picture of Mt. Katadhin that he carried with him on that hike and looked at it every day to keep himself motivated. My motivation trick was to draw a picture of a mountain on an index card with the word "Katadhin" written on it. That index card sat on my bathroom mirror ledge for months prior to the start of my AT hike. So for both Gene and myself, the first time we actually saw Mt. Katadhin was a very powerful experience. I ate my lunch at the top of White Cap Mt, looking at Katadhin. Apparently, seeing Katadhin for the first time was also a very motivating experience for the two twenty somethings who ate lunch directly behind me. They celebrated the occasion by "smoking a bowl." As an old fart, I was not offered a courtesy puff, but that's ok, I would have declined had I been asked. Today we passed Cooper Brook Lean To (in Maine, shelters are called Lean To's) which gets my vote for the best shelter of the entire AT. There is a magnificent waterfalls right next to the shelter, which provides a deep pool at the base of the falls, which provides excellent swimming opportunities. I ate a snack there just to give myself an excuse to linger. If a person chose to spend the night at that shelter, he/she would have been lulled to sleep by the very soothing sound of the waterfalls.
Date: 2016-09-06
From: Mary Jo Road

To: Logging Road Near Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: few clouds

Today should have been a relatively easy day, as we had no mountains to cross. However, lack of elevation gain or loss is not the only factor in determining how tough a day will be. Rough terrain can also make a no mountain day very tough. That's what happened today. We hiked several miles over an incredible jumble/tangle of roots and rocks. It was so bad that for miles, my feet never touched the ground. It made for very slow, uncomfortable walking,, and it put me into a very bad mood. I was passed by Gene. Perhaps he sensed my bad mood, I don't know, but he engaged me in a lengthy conversation about his favorite topic; food. Gene is a foodie, and he described in great detail his favorite meal. I responded that such a meal should be topped off with a dessert of pumpkin pie, with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. Gene disagreed, saying such a meal should end with strawberry shortcake (with homegrown fresh strawberries), and we argued about the merits of our respective desserts. The end result was that by focussing on something other than the misery of those endless miles of rocks and roots, my mood improved immensely when I concentrated on something else!
Date: 2016-09-07
From: Logging Road Near Nahmakanta Lake

To: Polly wog Stream 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Tomorrow is going to be a very long and tough day of 18.1 miles. As a result, Warren scheduled today to be a very short day, of just 8.3 miles. However, I spent a long time just sitting on a mountaintop forgot which direction I came from, and descended the tough mountain I had just climbed. It was 2 miles later when I discovered my mistake, which meant I climbed a very tough mountain twice, and added an extra four miles to my hike the day before a really tough hike. Boy, did I feel foolish! Early in the days hike, I was hiking with my friends when we came to the Wadleigh Stream Lean To. There was a plaque on the wall of that shelter in honor of "Buffalo Bobby", who on Sept. 29, 2011, died very close to that shelter, just 38 miles short of completing his third AT hike. There was an abandoned and weathered back pack at the shelter that we surmised might have been "Buffalo Bobby's", and left there as a momento by Bobby's loved ones. There were also ashes from an extinguished campfire at the shelter. One of my hiking buddies suggessted that we fill the abandoned back pack with campfire ashes and attach a note to the abandoned back pack saying those were Buffalo Bobby's ashes, thus insuring that the backpack and the ashes would remain there forever. My question is: Does hiking the AT make a person twisted and perverse, or is it only twisted and perverse people who hike the AT? When I got turned around on that mountain top, and ended up back at the shelter with a plaque to Buffalo Bobby, I realized my mistake. I arrived at camp at 5:00 PM, hours after evryone else. Warren, in front of everyone else, told me I was a complete idiot, and thank goodness he told me that, because otherwise I would have had no clue that I had made a dumb mistake. Everyone in the group knows I am keeping a blog. Steve, with a mischievious grin, asked me if I was going to tell about my blunder in my blog. Hell no, I replied. None of the readers of this blog is ever going to know about my foolish mistake. I had one startling wildlife encounter today. I startled a grouse today. The beating of its wings as it hastily flew away sounded like gunshots. The deep, deep silence of the Maine woods often put me into a reverie, so I don't know who was more startled, me or the grouse.