morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-09-10
From: Perham Stream & Barnjum Road

To: ME Route 27
Miles today: 16.8

Last night I got out of my tent to use the bathroom, and I could see the Milky Way! It was absolutely stunning!! When we woke up in the morning it was raining. As it died down, we got out of the tent to tear it down. Then the heavens opened up, and it down-poured! It completely drenched our tent and ground cover! I told Moose Jaw that I wanted to push into town so we could have somewhere dry to sleep. He agreed with how soaking wet our tent was. As we walked we passed,¢¦2000 MILES!!! I am so happy!! It¢s been beautiful out, especially with all of the leaves changing color and falling. However, at the top of the mountain peaks we climbed today there weren¢t any views due to the mist/fog. We ran into Tropical Dr. Seuss. We haven¢t seen him since North Carolina! Glad to see he¢s still on trail. He took a selfie of all of us. When we were done, Jenn from the Maine Roadhouse picked us up to take us to her (and another Jenn) hostel/motel. On the way there, we stopped at a small gas station to get some ice cream and soda. After we got to the motel we took a shower, put on some loaner clothes, and walked across the street to the restaurant. The five of us (Stogie was still hiking) got some food. We ordered food for stogie to bring him when we got back to the motel and he made it in. I¢m so happy that we got to go somewhere warm and dry today!
Date: 2023-09-11
From: ME Route 27

To: ME Route 27
Miles today: 0.0

Today we got up early, so we could drive to the Roadhouse for breakfast. Jenn left one of their vehicles at the motel (the Maine Roadhouse hostel also owns the motel) so we could drive six of us 4 miles down the road to get breakfast and pick up our packages. I got new shoes!! My current ones were falling apart. My soles were coming off, which is why I think I was tripping and falling so much. So, we will see if I do any better with my new shoes. We saw a handful of hikers that we new at breakfast, and a handful of hikers that we didn¢t now. Sunshine and Miracle were there. Sunshine was so sweet to me. She told me I looked beautiful and then asked if I showered. I laughed. I told her I showered last night, but than thanked her for the compliment. It was very kind of her to say that! Breakfast was delicious. There were pancakes with bananas and other fruit, plenty of sausage links, eggs, and cheesy hash brown casserole. I was stuffed halfway through eating my food. But I took my time so I could eat all of it. We purchased some resupply items there before we drove back to the motel. When we got back, I walked across the street to the grocery store and finished resupplying. When I was done, I just basically did our chores: laundry, wash dishes, dry our tent out, add velcro to my shoes for my gaiters, packed our food, fixed some gear, etc. I ended up taking an hour nap in the afternoon. It was good that I took a nap, I just wish it was longer. After our nap I worked on uploading journal entries and made myself a root beer float. We purchased stuff for all of us to make a root beer float. It was delicious. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. Toaster wasn¢t hungry, so the five of us walked down the road to a small little restaurant that¢s part of a motel. It was pretty good. I just got a sandwich since I wasn¢t that hungry. After supper, I showered, packed my pack, and crawled into bed. I¢m not ready to hike tomorrow, but I¢m ready to be done. I¢m nervous about these hurricanes coming through towards Maine. I hope it doesn¢t affect us too much. I¢m just happy that today we had a zero day!!
Date: 2023-09-12
From: ME Route 27

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 15.3

After eating breakfast at the hostel, we were dropped off at the trailhead where we were picked up at. It rained for the first two hours while hiking, and then it misted for the following three hours. We were absolutely soaked. So, we walked in our soaking wet clothes for the rest of the day. Moose Jaw biffed it and wiped out in the mud pretty bad. Thankfully he wasn¢t hurt, but he sure was muddy! I fell a few times as well today. I scraped up my knee a bit and it was bleeding, because there was this section where you had to scramble up a giant boulder but it was too slippery to get any grip. So I had to get on my hands and knees and pull myself up. It was terrifying. I was like, this hurts, but it¢ll hurt worse if I slide down this giant boulder. Since the weather was horrible, we didn¢t stop at all. We were starving and exhausted. We don¢t normally push like this, but we wanted to get into camp before the storm. I did cry about the rain in the beginning of our walk. It¢s pretty demoralizing hiking and camping in rainy weather. We just constantly feel wet. Toaster, Moose Jaw, and I were complaining about the trail and weather. But I soon stopped doing that when we saw a hiker pass us in the opposite direction who had a broken nose and dislocated shoulder from falling. We asked what happened, and after he told us, he said he was still having a wonderful time. I¢m not sure I could have said the same thing in the moment. Me to Moose: Sometimes I just let hope through. Moose to Me: You need to shut that down. Toaster: I¢m not going to lie. Every morning is the worst. Because the sun rises then I¢m like f*ck, another day.We ate hot pockets for dinner, which is what we would have had for lunch. Everyone was chaffing pretty badly. I cried, because mine hurt so bad. It was burning, and unfortunately I got rid of our Desitin, so I just let it burn. When we got to camp, we set up our tent and then stayed there. No socializing tonight.Today was just rough. We tried to make the best of it, though.
Date: 2023-09-15
From: US Route 201

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 20.3

Mood: °It was just Moose Jaw and I today, and I was really thankful for that. It¢s nice to have each other to ourselves for a bit. We ate breakfast at the inn before we got a ride back to trail. It was rather cruise-y terrain today with some incline.We stopped at a big rock for lunch today. It was a neat little area! There was moss everywhere, so it was green overload. It felt like a mystical wonderland. And in this mystical wonderland, we ate hot pockets with some chips. The rock was also really nice, because it shielded us from the wind, so we could stay warm while we weren¢t moving. We had to ford a river today, which was a bit scary. I do NOT like fording rivers, and this water was at and below my knees. The current was strong, but thankfully the river wasn¢t very wide. Maine has gotten record century rain this year. Most Mainers have never seen as much rain as this. It has really shown on trail. Not sure the last time I have had dry feet and dry shoes. My feet are a permanent prune. We hiked until we got to an old logging road. We decided to set up there about half a mile before another river crossing. It was a nice little spot! Moose Jaw cooked us dinner tonight, and it was just super peaceful. We will be in Monson, ME before we know it! We hope to get in before the hurricane rain, but we will see how our hike is tomorrow! Today was a good day, and for as many miles we put in today, we both felt really good!
Date: 2023-09-18
From: ME Route 15

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 16.5

We woke up from a good night¢s sleep a little too soon! We got up and got our things around, and Capt. Bill took Moose Jaw, Little Bear and I to the trailhead! We gave big hugs, and then we headed into the 100 mile wilderness!! Here they recommend hikers having 10 days of food. We plan on making it through in 6 days! We had to take a reroute today, because one of the river crossings was way too dangerous to ford. Plus, the additional rain from today won¢t help anything. On our hike before the reroute, Moose Jaw and I saw Jellybean! We haven¢t seen her since Virginia! It was so nice to reconnect!! We exchanged numbers and took a selfie! Then we were on our way. We wanted to out-hike the rain. We did have some gorgeous views today while hiking! I love how the leaves are changing colors on some of the trees!It started to sprinkle about an hour before we made it to our campsite for the evening. We were booking it and made it to camp by 3:30!! And just before we made it to camp, we hit our last milestone¢¦2100 MILES!!! YAHOO!!!!! It¢s a little sickening thinking that we have walked 2100 miles in less than 6 months; however, we are so proud of ourselves!! I can¢t believe that we have made it this far!! It¢s pretty amazing when I actually sit down and think about it. It¢s pretty chilly now that it¢s raining, but Moose Jaw and I are safe and dry inside our tent. So that makes us happy!! We will be bundling up tonight. It¢s supposed to rain until noon tomorrow, so it¢ll be a rough morning. But it should be sunny for a few days afterwards! Looking forward to better weather, and completing this hike!
Date: 2023-09-19
From: Stealth Site

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 13.7

Mood: °Moose Jaw and I slept in today! Mostly because it was still raining, and I wanted to sleep more since I had to blow up my sleeping pad a few times (I¢ve had a slow leak for over a week now). It rained all through the night! The forecast called for 2¢ of rain, and we surely got 2¢ of rain. Maybe even more¢¦ We finally got our tent torn down and started hiking around 10 in the morning. Thank goodness we found the awesome stealth spot that we did, because everything flooded around us! It was crazy! When we got out of our tent, we were shocked. Water was everywhere! And then when we started hiking, the entire trail just had running water. It was like we were hiking in streams. It was wild! On a side note, we knew that the spot we chose to camp had to be good, because there was a giant smiley face drawn into the soil. So, when we left, we drew it back!As we were hiking today, we got to one spot where we are a assuming a small brook turned into a roaring river/waterfall. Honestly, we couldn¢t believe our eyes. We hiked upstream in order to ford this obnoxious waterfall looking spot, and it was crazy! The water was flowing like what water looks like coming out of a dam, and the water was up past our knees in the shallow spot we crossed. Thankfully it only took us about ten steps to cross! It was WILD!! We have to ford a river tomorrow morning, and we are hoping the water levels go down enough to make it safe to ford. I want to make sure that all hikers are safe. ¢Road walking is better than drowning.¢ - MATC. I agree with this!!When Moose Jaw and I took a lunch, two hikers happened upon us and it was Oil Change and Loaf! We were so happy to see them and they were happy to see us! They joined us for lunch and it was a lovely time! Another hiker joined us not much later. His name is Lucky. He¢s really kind and soft spoken. These three camped with us at the end of our day as well! We all crawled into our tents rather quickly since the sun went down and it started to rain. Again. And our tent is soaked. Again. HA! Pretty typical on this trail!Unfortunately, Moose Jaw¢s trekking pole broke today. This is a BIG bummer. It¢s safer for him to have two since that¢s what he¢s used to. He said he¢ll probably just move slower now. We are going to ask the place that¢s doing our food drop if they can grab a single one out of a hiker box for us to have. Moose Jaw and I are in really good spirits despite the crummy terrain, crummy weather, and both of us falling. We are doing this thing and we will be done before we know it! We are so proud of ourselves and each other!!2 days completed in the 100 mile wilderness!
Date: 2023-09-22
From: Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 18.2

Mood: °Today is Day 5 in the 100 mile wilderness. Another really cold morning! It was hard to get out of our tent, but it didn¢t feel too bad once we got out and got moving. As I was taking down our tent, I noticed it was completely dry. I couldn¢t believe it! I can¢t remember the last time our tent was dry when we were tearing down camp in the morning. This was awesome!! It means a dry tent tonight!!The first half of our day felt pretty long. Less than a mile into trail we got a wonderful view of Katahdin by a lake. It was gorgeous! We took some photos. We also had to ford another river today. I¢m getting pretty tired of fording rivers, but this one wasn¢t terrible. Stogie found a good spot to cross and it only came up to just above my knees. We had a late lunch today, so I could feel myself getting hangry. But once I started eating, I was in a much better mood. Plus I felt like I had more energy for the second half of the day. The second half went much quicker! Not long after lunch we climbed up a mountain and got an AWESOME view of Katahdin! It¢s crazy that we will be climbing this mountain in three days, and that¢ll be the end of our hike! At the top we saw Journey, Leaf, and Twig. Outside of the hikers at camp, we didn¢t see many people today. Especially at the shelter/camp this evening. It was only Stogie, Moose Jaw, and I. This is kind of rare to be alone at a shelter. BIG difference when compared to Georgia where everyone was competing for a tent site. Us three had a really nice dinner together. I¢m so happy to be here and to spend this time with Stogie and Moose Jaw. I¢m really going to miss Stogie when we are done. At least I know we will stay in touch!!
Date: 2023-09-23
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Abol Bridge Campground
Miles today: 15.1

Mood: °Today was a really good day! We finished the 100 mile wilderness!! We woke up and had a great start to our day. We crossed a small river over two horizontal logs, and then for a couple of miles it was smooth sailing. Then of course¢¦ mud! But that¢s okay! The sun was shining bright today, and temperatures were cool in the morning. It was gorgeous out! We walked by several lakes and ponds today! We stopped for lunch at the top of rainbow ledges. It was a nice one hour break. We always love lunch time! Then from there we ran into V6, Optimus, and Slug. We chatted for about 15 minutes before we kept walking. It was good to see them! It¢s so funny when other hikers expect us to be way ahead. Moose Jaw and I really like our zero days, and we made sure we took them in the second half of our hike! Stogie and I chatted for quite awhile after lunch. We only had 6.1 miles left of the day to get to the Abol Bridge camp store. And boy did it fly! It only took us 2.25 hours! I couldn¢t believe it! We haven¢t walked that fast in ages! Mostly because the terrain has been terrible! I imagine it would have went faster if the trail was dry! Before we knew it, we were at the camp store. Donald Duck greeted us and gave us the ground rules for heading to the Birches shelter tomorrow. Unfortunately, people decided to zero today, so they have created a bubble at the birches for tomorrow. It can only fit 12 hikers, and there are more than 12 of us wanting to head there. But, I guess it¢ll get figured out in the morning! After he gave us the low down, we bought all of the snacks. We were starving!! We ate sandwiches, ice cream, etc. It was AWESOME!! Today was just a great day! We bought some firewood and made a fire that the three of us hung around for a couple of hours. We just chatted and messed with the fire. We all also got showers!! We decided to share the tiniest cabin for the night at the Abol campground. It¢s a cabin that has three bunks. That¢s it. No electricity or anything! But the showers were so nice!! Clean! And plenty of hot water. We were pretty happy about about that! Our clothes may smell, but at least our pits no longer do! Well¢¦ at least until we hike again. HA! I also got bit by something today, so my forehead by my eye is completely swollen and squishy. It¢s quite disturbing. I feel like Sloth from the Goonies. HA!Our hike has been incredible, along with this last stint. I¢m so happy with how things are going! I feel so absolutely blessed. ¢o
Date: 2023-09-24
From: Abol Bridge Campground

To: Birches
Miles today: 9.7

Today we woke up really early to sign up for the birches. We hear that there¢s normally a line before the sign-up sheet is posted, so we wanted to arrive an hour before it¢s posted (it¢s posted at 7). So, in the dark, Moose Jaw, Stogie, and I walked half a mile to the sign-up kiosk. After 7 hit and we were all signed up, we walked back to camp to have our free breakfast and to finish charging some of our battery banks. So, we packed our hiking bags, and walked to the main building for breakfast.At breakfast, we met a couple of other thru-hikers. We chatted with thru-hiker named Titus for awhile during breakfast. From there, we started our ten mile hike to the birches. We had two stream crossings, but we were able to rock hop across after taking time to analyze the best area to cross (water levels are still high). Today we took a side trail to see a waterfall. It was pretty. We took some photos, and then continued on with our hike. The miles seemed to drag, but I think it¢s because we are so excited to get to the base of Katahdin! When we arrived at the birches, Moose Jaw and I made and ate lunch. Another hiker started a fire, so Moose Jaw, Lucky, and I started to help collect firewood. We had to get our permit from the Ranger Station to stay here, but the station was closed until 2. Since we arrived early, we hung out at the Birches until the station opened. We walked down the road to filter water and get our permits to summit Katahdin. As we were walking down the road, Toaster, Bandit, and Bob Ross passed us in vehicle. They had summitted today. They decided to stop at the Birches and chat with us for a little while and take one last photo of all of us together. It¢s been over a week and a half since we had seen Toaster, Bandit, and Bob Ross. At the fire, we hung out with Lucky, Icy Hot, Todo, Todo¢s mom, Stogie, and Cheater. There were a lot of chuckles about things that happened to all of us individually on trail. Soon, the ranger stopped by to tell us how to summit well. Apparently, Katahdin is on sacred land, and thru-hikers have to share the summit sign with day hikers. That¢s basically it. During his chat, I made Moose Jaw and I dinner. We finished burning the firewood we had collected, and decided it was time for bed. Stogie was going to get up early with us to meet my parents in the morning. My mom and dad drove to Maine to hike Katahdin with ys. I¢m so excited to share part of this journey with them! So, for the last time on trail, we crawled into our tent and went to bed.One. More. Day. I¢m very happy and very sad about it. °Quote of the Day:Build-a-Bear: ¢It¢s a luxury to sit down when you poop.¢
Date: 2023-05-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

All the big ideas are finally coming to fruition. It's taken more planning than I'd prefer to get here, but we made it. I know this trip will put me to the test emotionally, physically, and spiritually, all I'm hoping for at this point is survival and a bit of humor.I'll write down my why's so I can see and read them when all I want to do is quit.To see the beauty in nature and enjoy it For my uncle who wanted this just as much as I do and was unable to complete To meet like minded peopleTo enjoy the simplicity of life Change my perspective of the worldWe can't wait to get started.
Date: 2023-05-14
From: Edward carvey shelter

To: Dahlgren backpackers campground
Miles today: 10.9

Day 2. Been a much longer day.  More up and down, but not too bad. Some aches and pains but that's expected. Starting to meet interesting NOBOs(northbound trail hikers).  They are the fast ones so we don't talk long. We don't have the trail legs to keep up with them. Met some short term hikers who stayed at our shelter. One was a PA and she gave us some Lyme disease meds which will be good to have on hand. Another woke us up in the middle of the night with their night terrors, which was odd. Graham broke his spoon on the peanut butter at lunch. See you tomorrow. M&G
Date: 2023-05-15
From: Dahlgren backpackers campground

To: Annapolis rocks
Miles today: 7.5

May 15, 2023Made it to Annapolis rock campground. And it is quite rocky. Walked past the original Washington monument which was cool and lunched at Pine Knob and chatted a bit with a section hiker. Hiked over I70 which was frightening to see the semis going so fast. Then passed some awesome volunteers who were doing trail maintence.  Melissa fall count : 3
Date: 2023-05-16
From: Annapolis

To: Raven rocks
Miles today: 10.5

Hard hike today. Lots of boulders to climb over. Grahams blister popped. Saw 2 snakes, one of them wouldnt even move out of our way and we had to walk over him. Filled up water today at some very pretty waterfalls. I think my brain is as tired as my body is. Hiking is hard.Melissa's fall count: 4
Date: 2023-05-17
From: Raven rocks

To: Waynesboro pa
Miles today: 5.8

day 5Our first stop for a resupply. The trail went right through a city park where we rested a bit and of course, tried out their zip lines. Set up a shuttle from an old thru hiker who drove us to the Walmart. The ice cold vitamin water was delicious. We all bought long pj's so we could do some laundry. Then off to a restaurant for a real dinner and beer. Sleeping in a bed tonight!! Melissa's fall count: 4
Date: 2023-05-19
From: Falls creek campground

To: Rocky Mountain Ridge
Miles today: 11.3

Day 7Beautiful weather today. Lots of big rocks, had lunch at tumbling run shelter, which had two shelters, one for snorers and one for those who don't snore. We decided to push on and stealth tent camp. We weren't going to have a water source so I made Graham carry an extra 3 liters up so we would have enough.
Date: 2023-05-20
From: Rocky Mountain Ridge

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 8.0

Lighter day after yesterday's long haul. Did 8 miles by noon to get to Caledonia State Park. Definitely one of the nicer state parks we've been to(do better Texas). Charged up and showered. Had lunch/dinner at a diner/bar that was about what one might expect in rural PA. Rain from later afternoon to evening keeping us tent bound. Belated update:Snake CountBlack Rat - 3Garter - 2Unknown Baby(non-venomous) - 1
Date: 2023-05-22
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Ironmaster mansion
Miles today: 19.5

Day 9Stayed at birch runFirst part of the hike today was all uphill and hard, but it was like we were all in a lovely green tunnel. We took a short break at what I think is the best shelter so far. Quarry gap shelter had a little garden, stream, and two buildings. Trail then had lots and lots of little rocks, but then so much sand, everywhere. Melissa's fall count:5Day 10Today was a good day of firsts. We had our first real trail magic! A group of ladies were day hiking thru and gave us oranges, granola bars, and battery packs to charge devices. All they wanted in return was some good conversation.  We also saw our first venomous snake, a good 3.5 foot timber rattlesnake right off trail. Last we are staying in an old haunted mansion that's been converted to a trail hostel.  Looking forward to home cooked pancakes in the morning.
Date: 2023-05-23
From: Ironmaster mansion

To: Tom fry shelter
Miles today: 7.3

Got a late start today from the hostel today, we needed a little more food and wanted a burger from the general store that didnt open until 11am. I'm sad to report no weird sights or sounds from the supposedly haunted mansion. It was nice to have a bed and tonight back to a shelter. My feet still are throbbing by the end of the day, but my legs feel okay. They say hiker legs take 4 wks(or more) to get. No falls or snakes to report today, but the days are starting to run together.
Date: 2023-05-24
From: Tom fry shelter

To: Alec kennedy
Miles today: 8.1

day 12Early start today to get some good home cooked breakfast at a local general store 1 mile in, followed by a tough 7 miles through boulders. Met some interesting thru hikers. As well as a homeless "hiker" who was rambling to himself. Thankfully he moved on and we had a good group of through hikers at this shelter.  Fall Count Update: 6