morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-15
From: Sawyer Notch

To: Bemis Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: light rain

Today's weather wasn't the best. It was cold and rainy. Fortunately, it didn't rain all day. We did get a little bit of a view on top of Old Blue Mountain and later in the day, Bemis Mountain. Given that "Guinness" and "Nate Dog" were lagging behind for most of the day, I hiked with "Hopeful" and "Sweet Tea" for most of the day. We wanted to do more miles to make the trip into Rangeley a little easier but "Guinness" was experiencing a lot of fatigue. So we stopped short to give her a chance to recover with the hope that she would be fine tomorrow. We crawled into our tents after our usual evening routine.
Date: 2011-09-16
From: Bemis Shelter

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: broken clouds

Today was town day! We would be able to get a little dried out and get a good meal. It was also time to resupply. Everything was damp except for the sleeping bag and clothes which are stored in a dry sacks. So I guess it could be worst. I've been very careful about keeping those items dry especially with the cooler weather. We took off as quick as possible because of the distance we needed to cover. "Guinness" began to struggle with fatigue like the day before. She decided it would be best to get off at a road crossing about 5 miles into the hike and head to town. Her plan was to come back after summitting and hike the stretch she skipped. "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" and I continued toward the road crossing for Rangeley. The terrain for the rest of the day was downhill which made the hiking go fairly quick. We got to the road crossing just before dark and stuck our thumbs out. A guy in a pickup truck saw us but couldn't stop because of the traffic behind him. He was kind enough to travel up the road and turn around so he could come back to give us a ride. "Guinness" had already reserved a room for us so we knew exactly where we needed to go. Normally, we aren't sure because we haven't had a chance to make arrangements. He was traveling over to that side of town so he was happy to take us directly to the hotel. After dropping our stuff off, We headed to a nearby restaurant before showering because it was so late. "Guinness" and "Nate Dog" had already eaten so it was just "Hopeful", "Sweet Tea" and I that went to eat. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone in the restaurant except others from the hiking community. Thus, the lack of personal hygiene wasn't an issue. As it turned out, "Circuit Rider", "Sherlock", "Double Check" and others got a ride from where they were staying in Stratton to the restaurant where we were eating. We didn't expect to see them. We had a great time telling stories about our trail experiences since the last time we saw them. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, showered, hung up our wet gear and went to sleep.
Date: 2011-09-17
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Redington Campsite
Miles today: 8.2

We got up, pack our stuff and headed to the middle of town to grab some breakfast and take care of resupply. "Hopeful" just threw his back on and headed for the restaurant. "Sweet Tea" and I ended getting a ride several minutes after he left. The funny thing was that we passed him just as he was getting to the restaurant. The expression on his face was priceless. He really had that "put upon" look as we went by, waving at him. After a big breakfast, we ran around taking care of post office and gear related resupply. I had some food come by mail but needed to still go by the grocery store to complete the food side of the resupply. That would have to wait until we worked our way to that end of town. I also had to buy another fuel canister. I typically use the smaller canisters because they can be stored nicely inside my stove. Unfortunately, there were none that were available. So I had to go with the next larger canister. The nice was that it was big enough that I didn't have to worry about purchasing another for the rest of the trip. I also had to replace a pair of socks that were worn out. They were also in need of a hearty washing as they were both wet and nasty. So they got replaced with a fresh new pair. We didn't get to do laundry because of the time constraints. Fortunately, that was the only item that really needed attention. Everything else I could live with until the next town stop. After getting the down town stuff taken care of, we hitched a ride to the grocery store and purchased the food we needed. We then got a ride to the trail head and headed for our next stop. As we hiked toward Saddleback Mountain, we passed by a pond that a moose was standing in, eating vegetation. It was the first moose sighting for Maine. I have now seen moose in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The climb up Saddleback was long but rewarding as usual. It offered one of those 360 degree views that was just enough above tree line to be unobstructed. We spent a little time on top then headed down in a bid to make it to the next shelter. Unfortunately, we ran out of time so we decided to stop at a camping area. It had both platforms and undeveloped tentsites. With ground looking damp all over, we opted for the platforms. "Hopeful" and I took one platform with "Sweet Tea" setting her hammock up right between our tents. "Nate Dog" and "Guinness" setup on a nearby platform. It was a little cramped but workable. I told "Sweet Tea" to be sure to not fall out of her hammock on my side lest she land directly on top of my tent. Dinner was made and we all headed off to bed for the night.
Date: 2011-09-18
From: Redington Campsite

To: Site at 1982 near Sugarloaf.
Miles today: 12.9

We awoke to the oddest sound this morning. Something past over us at a pretty fast speed. We couldn't tell if it was a meteorite or maybe some sort of small aircraft. There was a military base nearby so the latter is quite possible. We talked about it as we ate our breakfast and packed up. We got on the trail at the normal time with the goal of reaching the next shelter. Tomorrow, we plan on getting to Stratton for resupply. As it turned out, the more miles we did today, the less we would have to do to get to Stratton thus giving us more time for resupply, showers, laundry and such. Saddleback Junior greeted us with its stout climb bright and early in the morning. It wasn't too long, just long enough to get the blood flowing through our veins. From the top, we could look back at the previous two mountains that we climbed. After staying up there for a short while, we continued on our way. Today we expected to do our first stream ford of the trip. When we got there, we found enough rocks and a strategically downed tree that provided a way across without wading through the water. We got to the shelter early in the afternoon. Since there was enough daylight, we decided to continue on for a while to a camping area along the trail. That would make tomorrow as little bit easier because of the reduced miles. The terrain through Maine has proven to be a little rougher than I thought it would be my estimates of how many miles I could cover turned out to be optimistic. Oh well, not a big deal. I not out here to hit all my goals. I just out enjoying the company of my trail friends and the experience of hiking the trail. We got to a spot on the trail that was flat enough for us to make camp. We each found spots, setup camp then gathered around another clearing and had dinner. Afterwards, we all headed for our tents (or hammock in "Sweet Tea"s case) and called it a day.
Date: 2011-09-19
From: Site at 1982 near Sugarloaf.

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

We got up after a great nights rest. The nice thing about stealth sites is that the ground is usually soft and free of mud. That along with the cool evening made for a perfect environment for resting. We got packed up, had breakfast and were on the trail in no time. I looked back at where I had the tent set up to evaluate how well I did in terms of minimizing damage to the spot. The only thing that was obvious was all of the vegetation was matted down. Not bad I thought. I try my best to not impact the area in which I tent when at a stealth site. There was a side trail to Sugarloaf mountain that we decided not to take. We wanted to get to town and the view off of Sugarloaf just didn't seem worth the effort so it was down the trail for us. After hiking just for a little bit, we were heading down a steep hill toward our second river ford. There were the usual rock scrambles that made the going a little slow. The last river ford was easy because there were rocks and a tree we could stay on to avoid getting wet. This one as different. It was off with the boots and socks. I put my Crocs on to protect my feet and headed across the river. The rocks were very slippery so I just took my time. The last thing I wanted to do was slip and fall into the river. I probably won't have gotten hurt but my pack would have gotten wet. Everything's in dry sacks but I didn't want to temp fate. Once across the river, I let my feet dry off a little bit then put the boots and socks back on. We immediately greeted with the climb up to the top of Crocker Mountain. A another hiker, named "Book Hawk", who stayed with us at Rangeley, caught up with us near the top of the mountain peaks. He hiked with us for a little while. At some point, we realized that we would getting to the road crossing after the post office closed. "Sweet Tea" had to pick up a package with food so she took off. "Book Hawk" asked if it was possible to catch her. We told him good luck as he headed down the trail in a bid to catch up. "Sweet Tea" is a very fast hiker so we had my doubts about him catching her. She got to the road crossing, got a ride into town before the post office closed and before "Book Hawk" caught up. We stayed at a hostel in town. There wasn't much at that town but it was what we needed for resupply, showers and laundry. Of course, we at dinner at a nearby restaurant...with dessert. By the time we got everything done in terms of dinner, showers and laundry, it was time to head to bed. Resupply had to wait for the morning.
Date: 2011-09-20
From: Stratton, ME

To: Horns Pond Lean-tos
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

As usual, it took us a little while to finish up with the resupply and get back on the trail. The hiking for the day was all up hill with the usual difficulty that one would expect on this part of the trail. Between the late start and the slow hiking, it was a short day. It started to rain at the beginning of the day. It never was very hard but enough to get everything wet. Fortunately, there wasn't any downhill stretches with rock scrambles. That's always a recipe for a fall. "Sweet Tea" decided that we were each allowed two falls per day. She never did say what the penalty for going over was. Probably just a little extra soreness along with some ridicule. The lean-tos, as they are called in these parts, were right next to each other. One group had pretty well filled up one of the shelters. Since the other was empty, we just grabbed it and did the usual pack explosion that "Team Yardsale" was known for. A little while after we got established in the shelter, two section hikers decided to join us in the shelter. We were all in a good mood so there was much silliness. After dinner, "Guinness" was brushing her teeth. Somebody said something that got her tickled. She did a great job of not spraying out the tooth paste even though we kept making comments that just got her tickled even more. With all of the silliness, our two section hikers were not sure about us. They had aspirations of thru-hiking the trail but probably wondered if doing so would cause them to go insane like it seemed we were. I hope they realize that doesn't happen. We are just a fun loving group of hikers. We headed for the sleeping bags, still being silly as we went to sleep.
Date: 2011-09-21
From: Horns Pond Lean-tos

To: Flagstaff Lake Camping
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: few clouds

I awoke but didn't get up right away. For whatever reason, I wanted to sleep a little bit more but couldn't. The morning was a little cool so that kept me from wanting to get up early like I normally do. I lifted my head to see if anyone else was awake. After I put my head down, I noticed that "Nate Dog" who was on the other side of the shelter picked his head up to look in my direction. "Nate Dog", "Guinness", "Sweet Tea" and myself the engaged in a game of peek-a-boo. One of us would lift our head up then the others would do the same. We then put our heads down. I noticed that the section hikers were awake. At this point, I'm sure they thought we were crazy. We didn't care! We were just having a good time. We got up, did the usual morning ritual then headed down the trail. Today was a big day for a couple of reasons. We crossed the 2000 mile point and we put behind us the most difficult 150 miles of the trail. Avery Peak was the last big peak until we got into the 100 mile wilderness. The peaks in the 100 mile wilderness weren't nearly as tall so really, it was the last big peak until we got to the end. The first climb got us to the top of a peak called North Horn. We could actually see the lean-tos and the lake beside them from the top of the peak. It was a neat view. we continued on and got to the top of Bigelow. We had done it! The first 2000 miles were complete. 181 miles to go! We were a little closer to completing our journey. Avery Peak was the next peak that we climbed up. It wasn't a difficult trek over to that peak from Bigelow because it was close and there wasn't much of an elevation change getting there. From the top of Avery, we thought we could see Katahdin. It was still far off so we weren't sure. Still, the thought that it was getting closer both excited us and bothered us. We were excited because we would complete a journey that is very difficult. It really is a worthwhile accomplishment. We were bothered because it meant our journey was coming to an end. We had been on the trail for months. It seemed as if this was the life we knew. When we finished, we would go back to our previous lives and not be with our trail friends. The friendships that were forged during our time together are simply incredible. We continued down the mountain to the camping area. I decided to stay in the shelter again just to let my stuff dry out a little bit more. It was a wonderful day of hiking with lots breath taking views and good clear skies.
Date: 2011-09-22
From: Flagstaff Lake Camping

To: Pierce Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

With the most difficult section of the trail behind us, we started to look foreward to nicer terrain on terms of hills. We woke to the sound of loons on the other side of the lake. Today was the first day of trail that was primarily flat. There were two moderate climbs at the start of the day followed by trail that had nothing more than bumps. With this, the mountain top views were replaced by ponds. The first milestone of the day was crossing the road that had the 2000 mile line painted on it. It is really not the 2000 mile point anymore because of re-routes but it is still maintained as such because of tradition. We spent time taking pictures with each of us laying on the ground in front of it, doing different poses. Afterwards, we hiked on enjoying the new landscape and the ponds. Normally, we don't get worked up over our pace but out did feel good to average more than 2mph and not get completely worn out doing it. It was also one of the longest days in a while. The only longer day I can remember is going into Rangeley where we had a long downhill stretch into town. We got to Pierce Pond to find the shelter fairly full. Tent sites were hard to find but we were able to all get a spot. One option was to stay at Harrison's camp, just a half mile from the shelter. If it wasn't so expensive, we probably would have gotten a cabin. For must of us, funds were running low so we were trying to keep expenses down. We did decide to have breakfast there. Their pancake breakfast sounded good so we made reservations for the morning. After getting tents setup, we cooked dinner, chatted awhile then head off to out tents.
Date: 2011-09-23
From: Pierce Pond Shelter

To: Pleasant Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up and got packed without eating breakfast in camp. The previous night, we made arrangements to eat breakfast at Harrison's Pierce Pond Camp which was very good. Pancakes were the main thing served but bacon and eggs were also available for a an extra charge. The camp is normally used by anyone who wants to fish. There are weekend going packages available which include a cabin, meals and use of boats. The owner makes special provisions for the hiking community. After a hearty breakfast, we finished our packing and headed down the trail from there. Our goal was to get to Caratunk for resupply and head to shelter. The first part of the day's hike got us to the widest river that had to be forded. It deep enough and fast enough that out must be crossed by canoe. Since it a dam controlled flow, the depth and flow is unpredictable. We had to go across two at a time do it took a little while for all of us to cross. At the road crossing is the town of Caratunk. There isn't much there so it is wide to have food and other supplies mailed to the post office. Down the road a bit, is Northern Outdoors. They have cabins and other facilities for an overnight stay. We did do laundry and take a shower but decided not to stay because if the expense and the impact out would have on our hiking schedule. There was a sense that we would get to Katahdin late if we took too much more time. Ite wasn't that we needed to hike extra long miles. We just could waste anymore time. Had lunch there before going back to the trail. "Sweet Tea", "Guinness" and "Nate Dog" managed to get a ride right near Northern Outdoors. "Hopeful" and I decided to walk the two miles back to the trail head with our thumbs out. The mesquitos were the worst I've seen on the trail. "Hopeful" and I were attacked by a swarm as we tried to hitch back to the trail. There was literally a cloud of them behind us as we walked down the road. We were finally spared the road walk and mesquitos by a kind soul who have us a ride. We got back on the trail at around 3 pm and headed for the next shelter. When we got there, "Snake Hips" and "Spud" whom I haven't seen since my first stop in Gorham were sitting there. "Rain Pants" also showed up. He had flipped and was this heading south. I stayed in the shelter while the rest of the crew set up their tents close to the pond. I made and ate dinner at the shelter so that I could talk to everyone there. I then went over to where the rest of group I was hiking with and talked with them until bed time. Except for the mesquitos, was a nice day. We got to spend time at Northern and still got in a decent amount of miles.
Date: 2011-09-24
From: Pleasant Pond Shelter

To: Moxie Bald Shelter
Miles today: 13.1

We continued our push toward the end. Tomorrow, we'll be in Monson which will put us at the southern edge of the hundred mile wilderness. The anticipation of completing the thru-hike has been growing each day. Today's hike was relatively easy with only two hills to climb. The skies were overcast the entire day but there wasn't much in the way of rain. About halfway into the hike we crossed a dirty road that was adjacent to Moxie Pond. We met a couple of guys who drove in to fish in the pond. They had obviously seen thru-hikers before because they didn't ask the usual questions. They have us a little encouragement before we headed down the trail. Also on the venue for the day was fording the edge of the pond. It was a relatively easy ford. We got across switched back to the boots and continued on. Even with the easier terrain, I still felt tired at the end of the day. We all decided that maybe a rest day in Monson would be worthwhile even though it added another day to the trip. I have taken so many days off because of illnesses and injuries that I have gotten to the point where I don't like to take anymore than I have to. Yet, I welcomed the idea because of the much needed rest.
Date: 2011-09-25
From: Moxie Bald Shelter

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we got to hit a major milestone in the hike - the start of the hundred mile wilderness. The sense of accomplishment was growing. At the start of the day, we had just 140 miles left to go. The goal was to get to Monson for resupply and rest. Got up and did the usual morning routine of packing, breakfast and such. We started as a group but ended up hiking individually for most of the day. Weather was nice, no clouds and warm. Terrain was mostly flat with only two small climbs. With terrain like that, there simply wasn't a lot of grand views like we experienced in the more mountainous stretches. It was long stretches of wilderness with an occasional gravel road. There were lots of bogs to plod through. My boots seemed to stay damp all of the time. I was careful to change socks routinely to keep my feet healthy. Still, the day was fun because we able to maintain a fast pace once again and cover a lot of distance. Though it's not my emphasis while hiking, it was a nice change from the slow days in the White's and the Mahoosuc's. Accumulated fatigue was evident as it was difficult to do the miles. I thought about Virginia and how I could hike 20 miles for several days in a row and not be as tired as I got at the end of today's hike of 18 miles. The rest day tomorrow would help a little with this but I knew I wouldn't last. It probably contributed to the greater frequency of falls that all of us experienced toward the end of the trip. We all trickled into the parking area one by one and waited for a shuttle to the hostel, Lake Shore House. While waiting, a young couple pulled up and offered us drinks. We hadn't had trail magic in quite awhile so out was appreciated all the more. Our shuttle finally arrived and it was off to the hostel for showers, a real meal and clean dry clothes. The hostel had beds upstairs and a restaurant and laundry downstairs. It was a mini reunion with many hikers that I had met along the way. Miss Janet was also there. She has been following our group, supporting us along the way. Her help has been awesome. It was off to bed to get some much needed rest.
Date: 2011-09-26
From: Monson, ME

To: Monson rest day
Miles today: 0.0

Headed down to Shaw's for a breakfast that was great. "MissJanet" took us to a nearby town for us to get resupplied. We had to buy enough food so that we had seven days of food to get to Baxter State Park. Since "Morning Glory" was going to join us in the hundred mile wilderness, we decided to have five days of food delivered by the lady who is going to drop off "Morning Glory". The rest of the day was spent just cleaning up gear and relaxing. We haven't had a day off for quite a while. Everyone was tired and sore so the rest was welcomed even though it meant summitting a day later.