morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: overcast clouds

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox) We had a pleasant evening with Mud Diver, a nice young man from Maryland. He left before we did. We were on the Trail at 7:30 am on an overcast morning. On our way down from the Bemis Mountains, we ran into a distraught hiker by the name of "Uber Dude".   He had lost his dog "Soren" the day before. We were quite sympathetic and were on the look out for the rest of the day. We got to Route 17 and stopped for lunch at 12:30. Rocky was having a hard day with sore knees. (I had my bad day yesterday). We had the option of hitching to town, but decided to push ahead the 3.7 miles to Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to. It started to drizzle about 1/2 mile before the lean-to, but we were in before the heavy rain started. We were joined shortly by "Mountain Doer". Later "Tater" came in with the good news that "Soren" and "Uber Dude" had been reunited. We had plenty of time after dinner to trade hike experiences with our two shelter mates. It looks like the rain is slacking off. We are both aching tonight.
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

To: Maine Route 4 (Gull Pond Lodge)
Miles today: 9.4

Swamp Fox and I left the shelter at 7:30 am. Tater passed us on his way to town early on. We saw only one south bounder during the day. The woods lakes were beautiful. The Trail was very muddy in places. My energy was tapped. I was on a slow trudge to town. The weather during the day was unsettled and cold. It rained a couple of times, and hailed once. We made it to the road and walked west to look for the Rangeley River Camp which appears to be a con job. It did not appear to exist. We hitched into Rangely and went to the Information Building. They informed us that the Maine Road House was not in Rangeley--"another con job". They helped us call Gull Pond Lodge. Mr O'Brian, the hostel owner, shuttled us all over. We showered, ate at the Red Onion, got groceries and went to the local quilt show. Great time had by all. Tater and Mountain Doer are here as well as a few other hikers we had seen on the Trail.Life is good.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Maine Route 4 (Gull Pond Lodge)

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a lazy day. We got up late, but in time to have a continental buffet breakfast with our our fellow hikers--Bare Bear, Mountain Doer, Tater, and Mummy Toes. We hung around the hostel talking with our host, Mr. O'Brian. He is a nice 75 year old widower. Later he drove us to the laundry, run by a former thru hiker. We watched a Shriner's parade come through town. We went to a diner for lunch and were suprised to find Mr. O'Brian there. We enjoyed our lunch talking with him. Later I saw a bewildered looking SoBo on the Main Street and got Mr. O'Brian to pick him up to take him to his hostel. Finally, about 2:30 pm we started hitching out of town. After 10 minutes we were picked up by a bus! The bus was from the Kona Flag organization that had been in the Shriner's parade.   We hiked up to the Piazza Rock shelter by 4 pm. The shelter is awesome. It has a 2 seater privy with a cribbage board in between the seats. The maintenance work by the Maine Appalachian Trail Club is great. The shelter caretaker came by to visit. He is also a photographer and had us pose for pictures. The weather today was unsettled with occasional periods of rain.   It's 55 degrees at 6:30 pm, and its going to be a cold night. Tomorrow will be a hard day. We hike over the 4000 foot Saddleback Mountains. We will be above tree line much of tomorrow's 9 mile hike.(Guest entry by Swamp Fox: Later another hiker came in by the name of "Sleeper". He is an anestheologist from Georgia. He and Rocky exchanged medical war stories while I tried to sleep.)
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: broken clouds

What a day! We hiked over two 4000 foot mountains and one mountain that was mostly a rock slide. Saddleback Mountain and the Horn are both over 4000 feet. The views were clear. I'm pretty sure we saw Katahdin. The wind was so strong. Every step involved efort to not be blown over. It never got above the 50's either. Saddleback Junior was mainly a rock slide. Hiking was difficult toward the end of the day. I was totally worn out by the time we reached Poplar Ridge Lean-to. No one else is here tonight. Looks like another cold night ahead.
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.0

It was another chilly night. We slept quite well after yesterday¢s mountains. We were a little lazy this morning and didn¢t get on the Trail until 7:50 am. The Trail was easier today. We met a NH family of 4 southbound in the morning. The father is a dentist in Concord NH. Swamp Fox may use his services when we get home. We got to the Orbeton Stream Ford in late morning and found we could cross it on stepping stones. So far we haven¢t gotten our feet wet in any of the fords to date. From the ford it was uphill to the shelter. We enjoyed the waterfall where Sluice Brook meets the Orbeton Stream. Later we took a dip in Perham Stream. Was it cold!We met some neat people this afternoon: Mr. Blister and Rambo Ron are both older hikers. We also met an older couple from South Africa, on a flip-flop hike. Wish we could have talked to them longer. We got to the shelter before 5 pm, and met PhotoOp, a 69 year old retired civil engineer. We had a leisurely evening chatting with him and a young couple who came into the campsite later. The weather looks ominous tonight. Tomorrow¢s hike will be a function of the weather. At least tonight we hurt less.
Date: 2006-08-15
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to

To: Sugarloaf Mountain Summit House
Miles today: 2.9

We wrestled over how far to go today. We both wanted to stay at the Sugarloaf Mountain Summit House Ski Lodge at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. However to stay there meant a very short day as far as trail mileage. Realizing that we may only go this way once, we decided to accept a low mileage day. Plus we had enough food and my left knee has been an issue. We left the shelter at 7:50. Swamp Fox and I had a discussion about his packing up noisily next to hikers who had come in late and were trying to sleep. I think the discussion ended with us agreeing to disagree. We took the blue blazed trail to the summit of Spaulding Mountain soon after leaving the shelter. The clouds hung heavy around the mountain. There is no view from this over 4000 foot summit. The weather conditions made it so we could only see the trail in front of us. Then we hiked on to the next blue blazed trail to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. Luckily it rained last night to give us enough water from the spring on the trail. We arrived at the summit of Sugarloaf before lunch. We got settled in the large summit house and had lunch. There was a small yellow bird trapped in the Summit House. I talked softly to it and caught it with my bandana and let it go free. It was awesome to watch the bird fly away. The weather cleared and we had views of all the surrounding mountains. It is enough to scare us about what we have to climb in the next week. Swamp Fox hiked back down to the spring for more water and I climbed to the pile of rocks up by the towers to reach the summit. On the way back I picked up dead wood for a fire later. We both took a before dinner nap. Great day to get caught up on rest. We are totally alone tonight. It is like a private resort.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: It is hard to describe how spectacular the view is from here. The wind is ferocious. The building creaks and groans from the wind. Unfortunately the alpine environment at the top has been destroyed by human activity including the ski lifts and communication towers.)
Date: 2006-08-16
From: Sugarloaf Mountain Summit House

To: ME Route 27 (Stratton, Maine)
Miles today: 10.6

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox): When we woke up at 6 am, our mountain top perch was shrouded in fog. The sun soon burned though to restore our magnificent view. We started our descent of the 0.6 mile blue blazed trail back to the AT at 7:08 am. We were back on the Trail 33 minutes later. This was to be our longest day¢s hike in Maine so far. The descent down to the South Branch of the Carrabassett River was slow and steep. We had been anticipating a ford at the River, but found a makeshift bridge. Yet another Maine ford with dry feet! The climb up South Crocker Mountain was very steep and Rocky struggled.   The Trail became less steep as we approached the wooded summit. We had lunch at the summit and less than an hour later we were at the summit of North Crocker Mountain. The Crockers are our sixth and seventh 4000 foot mountains in Maine. Three more of these 4000 footers remain ahead of us including the Bigelows and the Big K. The descent down to Maine Route 27 was 5.2 miles long and seemed to take forever. A nice retired couple picked us up less than 5 minutes after we put our thumbs out. Soon we were at the White Wolf Inn in Stratton. We have a nice little room for $35 plus tax. We both ache tonight. We saw absolutely no one on the Trail today in either direction. This is the first time in almost 2000 miles on the Trail that we encountered no one. Tomorrow morning will be town chores, and back to the Trail in the afternoon. The Bigelow Mountains are waiting to beat us up next. Somehow, this is great fun and Rocky and I wouldn¢t want to be anywhere else.
Date: 2006-08-17
From: ME Route 27 (Stratton, ME)

To: Horns Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today we stayed in Stratton, ME until 12:30 pm, finishing up our town chores. Laundry took the most time. We ate breakfast at the local diner and lunch at the White Wolf Inn. The fries and burger were awesome. We met Grits, a hiker we knew from hiking in Virginia last year. Grits is a Willie Nelson look-alike and it was nice to visit with him. He is on at least his third thru hike of the AT. We got a ride back to the Trail by a fellow hiker, The Professor. Many thanks to all who help us.The climb up to horns Pond was steep and long. The Pond is beautiful. The caretaker tells me that the Pond is stocked with fish. The sun felt so good as I rested on a rock near the water. A rabbit just hopped in front of the shelter, as I write this. Nite all!(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Once again we are the only ones in this shelter. We saw only two day hikers on the Trail today. Where is everyone? Our legs are feeling a lot better today, thanks to a short day. Tomorrow we go over the Bigelows, the eighth and ninth 4000 footers in Maine. Easy sailing afterwards?)
Date: 2006-08-18
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox): This promised to be a long and difficult day. The weather was excellent for hiking over the Bigelow Range. First, we climbed the horn and descended and then climbed the West peak of the Bigelows. We next went over Avery Peak. The West Peak and Avery Peak are the last two 4000 footers on the Trail, except for Katahdin, at the very end. We descended from Avery and had lunch at an overlook. Later at a water stop we met an English hiker, Don Quixote (aka English Redcoat). We enjoyed talking with him as he had some interesting perspectives on Anglo-American history, going back to the Revolutionary War. We struggled over the Little Bigelows and started down to the shelter. We were passed by Grits. We had a chance to talk with him, and then he was on his way. We are not likely to see him again, as he is a speedy hiker.We are sharing the shelter tonight with Don Quixote. Three women are tented outside.
Date: 2006-08-19
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox): We awoke with the knowledge that the big mountains are behind us. The two climbs this morning were fairly mild, compared with past days. We crossed a road marked with ¢2000 Miles¢ at the middle of the road, later in the morning. Rocky has now hiked over 2000 miles on the Trail. We did quite a bit of mushroom collecting for tonight¢s dinner. rOur lunch stop was on the shore of West Carry Pond, at the West Carry Pond Lean-to. We decided to proceed 10 miles to the next shelter, rather than stay at this one. A section hiker, Kim, caught up with us at lunch, and we enjoyed hiking with her the rest of the day. She lives in the next Trail town, Caratunk. We enjoyed a refreshing dip at a sandy beach on East Carry Pond. The water is surprisingly warm. The day was cloudy, and a thunderstorm was brewing. The rain hit us about 3 miles short of the Pierce Pond Lean-to. The 3 of us were thoroughly soaked by the time we got to the shelter. Don Quixote was already there and quite dry. We cleaned ourselves up while sitting on a rock by the Pond. Suddenly, Rocky started screaming in panic. A leech was coming up out of the water after her. No damage done, however. When we got into our sleeping bags, we were nipped at unmercifully by no-see-ums. As it is quite warm, we can¢t stay bundled up in our bags. It will be an uncomfortable night. Kim is better protected in her tent.
Date: 2006-08-20
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Caratunk, ME (Kim and Mike's House)
Miles today: 4.0

(Guest entry by Swamp Fox): It rained heavily during the night, and continued into the morning. We were mosquito and no-see-um food during the night. Rocky woke up with a swollen face from the insect bites. It was a miserable morning to hike, but we had been invited to stay at the home of Kim and Mike in Caratunk. The hike to the Kennebec River was along the raging Pierce Pond Stream. Along the way we had a very hairy crossing of a ravine by means of a slippery log bridge. Rocky was able to walk across without slipping, but Kim and I had to cross on our hands and knees. At the River we were ferried across by a canoe. After a short walk from the River, we were at the home of Kim and Mike on the only street in the small village of Caratunk. We were able to get out of the rain, shower, and do laundry. Later Kim took us to a store owned by Steve Longley, the canoe ferry operator. We needed a new fuel canister for our camp stove. We enjoyed a great dinner with Kim and Mike.We have met the most wonderful people on this 2000 Mile trek from Georgia to Maine. Thank you, Kim and Mike, for everything. We will sleep well tonight.
Date: 2006-08-21
From: Caratunk, ME (Kim and Mike's House)

To: Pleasant Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: light rain

Last night was so awesome. I enjoyed visiting with Kim. She and Mike made us burgers for dinner. I love burgers! I colored with their children and loved being part of the family. I¢m a little homesick for Maine after our evening. (I am originally a ¢Maina¢). Both Swamp Fox and I slept well in a comfy bed. Kim and Mike cooked bacon and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. It was so good.   The rain continued all night and we watched it through breakfast. We decided to hike out only one shelter because of the weather. Kim took our pack and dropped them off for us at the road crossing before the Pleasant Pond lean-to. Thank you Kim and your whole family for all the hospitality. She left banana bread on top of my pack, which we shared with our shelter mates. It was sooo good. She placed packets of coffee for us, also. I am so psyched for a cup of coffee in the morning. Life is really good.The pond is 0.2 miles from the shelter. It is a huge lake. They have a dock and everything. Swamp Fox and I watched a couple of loons and enjoyed a rest on the dock. We set up our tent in the shelter to keep the bugs away. There are 3 Northbounders here and one southbound section hiker. One of the nobos is Tex, an Australian. He didn¢t want a trail name that sounded Australian. Laughter and trail stories are flying about. Night all.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: It doesn¢t get any better than this. Meeting great people and seeing beautiful sights. We¢re closing in! Monson is only 3 days away-then the 100 Mile Wilderness. Then the Big K.)
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Pleasant Pond Lean-to

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 9.0

Today was a laid back day. Both Swamp Fox and I were low on energy. I started the day with a cup of coffee (Thanks, Kim).We didn¢t leave the shelter until a quarter to eight. We climbed up Pleasant Pond Mountain and enjoyed the view. We rested on top and had a snack. We fell a few times trying to descend the mountain. It was a slippery, wet trip down the mountain, due to the day before¢s rain. The roots and rocks had a glazed coating that made the descent difficult. In the afternoon we picked blueberries at a power line crossing the Trail. The bushes were covered. We arrived at Bald Mountain Brook lean-to before the night¢s rain began. All Good!We are sharing the shelter with Twinkle Toes from Oklahoma.(Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Sometimes trail names don¢t fit the hiker. Twinkle Toes is anything but. He is big and brawny and a welder. Last year we hiked for awhile with Tinker Bell. He was also very big.)
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was to be a long day. We started with a climb up Moxie Bald Mountain. The profiles on the map looked relatively flat after that. What the map didn¢t show were several mini-rollercoasters of maybe 100 foot ups and downs along the West Branch of the Piscataquis River. The river ford was knee deep and no problem. Lunch was at the Moxie Bald Lean-to, which is on a beautiful lake. If we had more time I would have loved to spend more time here. Ole Man is at the Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to with us. It is a cool night, probably in the upper 30¢s. I am comfy in my sleeping bag.
Date: 2006-08-24
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to

To: ME Route 15 (Shaw's Lodging in Monson, ME)
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

We hiked out to resupply today. The trail was gradual and we made good time. We got a ride into town in less than 5 minutes. We went to Shaw¢s in Monson. Swamp Fox is joyful about being in Monson and the fact that we will shortly enter the 100 Mile Wilderness. We were happy to see Upload and Stitches, his wife. They have a Trailjournal also. We met them on April 4th of this year at Elmer¢s in Hot Springs, NC. There are many other section, northbounders, and southbounders here as well. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: It is hard to describe my excitement and elation about being here in Monson, the final Trail town. I have been reading about Shaw¢s boarding house, where we are staying, for years. Finally we are here and on August 26th we will enter the 100 Mile Wilderness.)
Date: 2006-08-25
From: ME Route 15 (Shaw's Lodging in Monson, ME)

To: ME Route 15 (Shaw's Lodging in Monson, ME)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today is our first zero day of the Maine segment of our Appalachian Trail hike. We got up at 6 am for Shaw¢s traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and homefries. We each ordered a 2 by 2 breakfast (two of each). It was still a gigantic breakfast. The rest of the day will be the usual town chores of laundry, resupply, gear clean-up, and internet access. And, by the way, we will also eat plenty of town food. Later in the day we went to the Lakeshore House Pub for a snack and ended up talking with the owners, Jeff and Rebekah, for quite a while. It is so interesting to talk to local people. After our snack at the Lakeshore, we went to the town library for internet access. The librarian was especially kind, and stayed past her closing time to allow us to pay a bill.   Later that night we went back to the Lakeshore for a second meal. On the way back to Shaw¢s we had one of those Magic Trail Moments. As we passed the tiny Monson General Store, we heard music inside. A group of 11 townspeople were putting on a blue grass concert for about 20 spectators. The musicians were all ages, and do this every Friday night in a corner of the little general store. It was wonderful. We were fortunate to be in Monson on a Friday night.
Date: 2006-08-26
From: ME Route 15 (Shaw's Lodging in Monson, ME)

To: Wilson Valley Lean-to
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Today it was time to get back on the Trail after a very enjoyable Zero Day. We were dropped of at the Trail by Dawn, on of the new owners of Shaw's. Thus we entered the famous 100 Mile Wilderness with 7 days food. (Guest insert by Swamp Fox: Actually we only had 5 days food, due to a miscommunication between Rocky and I. T think we're going to be hungry in the next week.)It was a nice, clear day for a hike. We crossed the first two fords with dry feet, as it has not rained much lately, and the streamflow lever is down. We were fortunate to find a large number of chanterelle mushrooms to supplement our dinner. Abut the time we reached the third ford of the day, we were passed by five yunger hikers. This ford required changing into wading shoes. We are at the shelter with 5 young people, all of whom are thru hikers: Tree Fingers, from Waynesboro, VA, Ork and Bean, a couple from Alaska, and Rip and Tree Hugger, a couple from Massachusetts. The Alaskans shared their hot dogs, bread, and cheese with us over a campfire. It has been a very nice evening, sharing the fellowship of the Trail. Unfortunately we are not likely to see these people again, as their young legs move much faster than ours.
Date: 2006-08-27
From: Wilson Valley Lean-to

To: Cloud Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Storms are moving in. We hiked from Wilson Valley Lean-to to Cloud Pond Lean-to knowing that rain would be moving in as the day wore on. Our shelter mates started a fire this morning, which helped warm us up. It is chilly this morning. We enjoyed hiking along Long Pond Stream. The climb up Barren Mountain was long. It started to rain lightly just before we reached the summit. The wind was bone chilling. We continued to hike as quickly as possible to the shelter. The high mountain pond is beautiful. Too bad it isn¢t warm to enjoy it. We are alone in the shelter, so we put up the tent inside to cut the night¢s chill.
Date: 2006-08-28
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Chairback Gap Lean-to
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

It rained on and off all day. The rocks and roots were so slippery. I am happy to have made any progress on a day like this. We had our tent pitched inside the Cloud Pond Lean-to for warmth. It was sooo hard to get going in the morning and leave the comfort of the tent. I didn¢t start to stir until 8 am. This is very late for me. We crossed paths with Ole Man, who was hiking a southbound section today. The Professor passed us and is our shelter mate at Chairback Gap. He is a 69 year old retired professor of business from Kentucky.   I enjoyed Third Mountain Bog today. There was a plant growing there that eats bugs, called ¢Pitcher Plant¢. It is green and red. I enjoyed learning about it. I feel it is such an honor to see these unusual plants. I shared a chanterelle mushroom with Tree Fingers a couple of nights ago. That was a booboo on my part because I could find none today. I knew better than to have someone faster than me know about them.