morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-19
From: Rainbow Spring Campsite

To: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Yesterday evening¢s winds brought in heavy rains later that night. I could not sleep in the damp, and rose early to hike in heavy rain. I was disappointed to find only one person sleeping in the Rainbow Stream Shelter. Although I only encountered four thru-hikers yesterday evening, I expected that the shelter would be full as saw so many in Baxter State Park. Perhaps I should have pushed on.Around 8:00 I heard the howls of coyotes; although, I am not familiar with the beast, I though it was primarily nocturnal. Perhaps the heavy rains delayed their hunt. I also encountered a ruffed grouse, which I moved by relatively quietly, so not to startle it.On a bridge over the Pollywog Stream I nearly found my first trail magic. Placed on the South embankment was a cooler mark, ¢Hikers, help yourselves.¢ Inside was the remains of a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. Although there was no cake left, I was still enamored with the idea of it.The presence of a cake is just another thing that is slowly eroding the wild in ¢hundred mile wilderness.¢ Indeed, I spied four rowboats and five canoes, all chained and locked to trees along the various watercourses, indicating the owners ease of access. A state maintained campground also dashed my amorphous notions of a pristine land.As I adjusted my expectations, I took note of the better condition of the trail I hiked today. These trails have an unusual feel, with rock steps, hundreds of them, going up hills and across bogs. The greater degree of access provided by Jo ¢ Mary road allows for better maintenance. This begs the question, are the trails poorly designed or heavily used. Even though I encounter eighteen northbounders today, I am inclined to the former. But most of that inclination may be due to my ideal of what the hundred mile wilderness should consist of.I only encountered one other Southbounder today, I think a section hiker, but she might be completing a flip-flop. She noted that when she reaches Stratton she will complete all of Maine, and then on to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. I suspect that the eight-hundred dollars I have budgeted for transport is paltry compared with her transport expenses.
Date: 2012-09-20
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

To: Ridge over the East Branch of the Pleasant River
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: few clouds

Evidently the storms of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning were much worse in the Jo-Mary Mountain vicinity. Trees were down across the trail, especially on the East side of Little Boardman Mountain. The storm has also brought up the waters in Gulf Hagas to make the West Branch of the Pleasant River impassable. As such I walked into a mob of Northbounders, more than thirty were waiting to cross. I had planned to stay at East Branch Shelter, but that was full, so I set up camp off the trail about 30 meters. The corridor is narrow here, as the trail maintainers discovered a few years ago, when their rerouted decent of Little Boardman Mountain was closed¢because it strayed from trail land. The ¢temporary¢ replacement trail is already very eroded.
Date: 2012-09-21
From: Ridge over the East Branch of the Pleasant River

To: Chairback Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Long Day today with two fords and twenty-three miles. The fords were cold, but not challenging. Even though the West Branch was four times across as the East Branch was, I preferred the former, as the difference between a cold awakening and a refreshing foot soak seems to be dictated more by the air temperature than the water temperature, and thus by the time of day.I am actually writing this on day six, as I finished the last four miles to Chairback Gap Shelter after dark. Three by moonlight and the fourth by headlamp. The main reason I pushed the extra miles is that my pack is wet. On the trail I thought that I might have failed to tighten the cap of my water satisfactorily, but I also thought that question might be better answered at a shelter than a campsite. It turns out that my hydration bladder has a pinhole leak. Fortunately it is near the top, so if I fill it with only two liter of water, then it will not leak. It is also fortunate that I have an extra hydration bladder in my bounce box in Stratton, it holds more water than I prefer, but it is a platypus product, which I have generally found to be more reliable than the Nalgene bladder I am carrying now. If duct tape cannot hold me over until then, I have a one-liter platypus bottle rolled up in my pack.
Date: 2012-09-22
From: Chairback Gap Shelter

To: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Lodging
Miles today: 29.0

I got to Third Mountain and took some great photos before the mist moved in. Downhill for there I met a pair of hikers from Germany. After four days they didn¢t want to continue, and planned to hike to West Branch and then to Katahdin Iron Works, and finally hitch to Baxter. They only want to see Katahdin, several days in the Maine woods have crushed their confidence in their ability to climb it.The abandoned fire tower on Barren Mountain was pretty cool. In spire of the tree-bent stabilizers and crumbling concreted footings it did not sway in the strong winds. However, the turnbuckles were all the way together and the cables were still lax. It may have swayed quite a bit when the cab was still on top. The remains of the cab are just downhill, and while the roof is hard to miss, you can see the spruce novelty siding if you look closely.The rain was evidently heavier in the North, as the Long Pond stream was way up. Just as the West Branch was a few days ago. It was a difficult crossing, bracing against the current. With that mind, I detoured Big Wilson Stream. Big Wilson is supposed to be knee deep, and if the proportions are relative to Long Pond Stream it could be dangerous in addition to difficult. I walked the Long Pond Tote Road to a big gravel road for two and a half miles, before using a county bridge to cross near Big Wilson Falls, and heading Northwest back to the trail.I nearly hit thirty miles to reach Shaws¢ at around 20:00, it is friendly and informal. I usually write while I dry off from the rain, but it is quite different to write while drying from a warm shower.
Date: 2012-09-23
From: ShawÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Lodging

To: Bald Mountain Brook Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: clear sky

I ended up having the seven-bed bunkroom to myself last night. I think the cost would have been worth it for the shower alone, given the half hour of warmth it provided. I started back on the trail late, since it took some time to sift through my mail drop. I met two hippies at Shaw¢s and I saw them again on the trail. They are section hiking, but staying at hostels and shuttling to the trailheads. They seem perpetually stoned, but I don¢t think they are. It might just be an aftereffect of the 1960s. But with names like ¢peace¢ and ¢love,¢ the mushrooms in their packs probably did not sprout from spending a week out in the rain of Maine.
Date: 2012-09-24
From: Bald Mountain Brook Shelter

To: Pierce Pond Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

With a shelter up as high as Bald Mountain Lean-to, I woke up cod this morning. Ordinarily I would have skedaddled to warm up, but I spent nearly a half-hour speaking with an older fellow about gear.With a heavy mist hiding the sun, I did not feel warm until a 2,500-foot ascent. My feet are aching around the heel, not from an Achilles injury, but rather from the perpetual damp. As such, I stopped at the shelter just after the ferry. I think I should have pushed to the next shelter, even at nine miles, or at least tented a little further. Mostly this is because the four Northbounders already at the shelter are of the partying temperament. They are not BDs or anything, but I expect their revelry will keep me up tonight. I gather that these guys spend a few nights in each town they pass through, which probably is why they are moving slowly. Of course, the weed, alcohol, and opioids, probably don¢t help. At least the pair of stoners at Bald Mountain Brook were low impact campers. I think I am pretty chill, but in future I may pull the ¢just stopping for dinner¢ line. I occasionally hear people talking about endangered trail services, and with the stories I heard tonight, I expect the party crowd has something to do with that.Similarly I encountered some trail magic in the first ford today, with a dozen cans of PBR in the water. Nice, but I passed. The trail offers people an immense amount of freedom, but how they use it varies.
Date: 2012-09-25
From: Pierce Pond Shelter

To: Avery Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

I did not get to sleep until 22:00, and it was an uneasy sleep. I usually learn something from the experienced Northbounders, and I did yesterday. Unfortunate, I learned who to avoid and I also learned some things about the drowning in Pierce Pond that I probably should not write down.Even though I got on the trail at 6:00, I did not reach a place that offers better rest. Avery Memorial Campsite is a cold, windy, forsaken place. I might stay here to see a sunrise or sunset, but I imagine this place only gets used during the busy season. I missed the sunset, but saw some beautifully colored clouds from Avery Peak. I hope the photos come out.
Date: 2012-09-26
From: Avery Memorial Campsite

To: Spaulding Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

The temperature probably only dropped to 30° F yesterday evening, but with the wind it felt a lot colder. I did not get the sunrise I was hoping for, as the mountain was covered in fog. Although I don¢t think of Avery Memorial as an ideal campsite, it did leave me close to Stratton for today¢s resupply. I spent about an hour at the post office, which is less time than it took me to get organized at Shaws¢. Hopefully these times will continue to go down. My greatest mileage so far, but nearly ten of those miles were on roads. The last three were slow over Spaulding Mountain.
Date: 2012-09-27
From: Spaulding Mountain Shelter

To: Piazza Rock Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

While today started off cold, I was able to open up on Saddleback¢with three miles of open rock faces¢views for miles, no roots, no mud. I put my pack down a little hard when I stopped to photograph the lakes, and my camera no longer turns on. I brought an older point and shoot, since I was not sure if I could maintain electronics on the rugged land. Evidently that was the case, but I hope I can get it working again. Today¢s weather was not clear, but there was no real rain, perhaps ¢fierce mild.¢
Date: 2012-09-28
From: Piazza Rock Shelter

To: Bemis Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today¢s terrain was friendly, and I would have continued, if it were not for the rain and the twelve additional miles to the next shelter. The pair I stayed with yesterday were the friendliest people I have shared a shelter with so far. Jim ¢Google¢ and Bryan are section hikers from Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively. We talked for many hours.Some day-trippers trampled through looking for Piazza Rock, twice. Bryan showed them back to the trail when they wandered into the woods. I suspect they are a high-risk group, and might not make it back to their cars.
Date: 2012-09-29
From: Bemis Mountain Shelter

To: Baldplate Shelter
Miles today: 27.0

Made excellent time today, twenty-seven miles. The trail was not too difficult, except for the decent of Moody, with lots of slides and many of those iron rods that first appeared on Saddleback. The trail down West Baldplate was very slick, and not exactly the sort of thing I enjoy in the dark. I am so through with Maine, especially the weather. If I really push hard, I may be able to reach New Hampshire tomorrow. I spoke with a MATC member somewhere before Surplus Pond; he said that sometimes the fall in Maine can be as wet as the spring. I suppose that my worries about lack of water were unfounded.
Date: 2012-09-30
From: Baldplate Shelter

To: Gorham
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

Today¢s rain recalled my last day in the one hundred mile wilderness. Fortunately, just as then, the unpleasant dampness ended with a warm shower. The third day of wet socks motivated me to push the 33 miles into Gorham, and wash off the grime from Mahoosuc Notch. Of the three hostels in Gorham, one was closed for the season, The Barn did not take my credit card, and it was too late to keep looking for the third. I checked into the Northern Peak Motor Inn, a place the makes Pamola Motor Lodge look up to date. However $46.87 for a shower and a bed in a private room seems pretty alright. The Post Office here opens early¢by Post Office standards¢so I can sleep in a little bit and still get on the trail early.
Date: 2011-12-20
To: The start of a new Adventure
Miles today: 0.0

Well here it is December of 2011 and I am planning a thru hike of the AT. All of this only one and one half years after my first backpacking trip and at 68 years old. I am so excited I can hardly wait for March. If interested you can read my other journal to get more information about how I got started backpacking at such a late date and about my backpacking trips over the past year and a half. I live in North Georgia not far from Amicolola Falls State Park and therefore not far from the start of the AT. This affords me easy access to some great hiking trails. One of the things I like to do is hike up to the Len Foote Hike Inn. It is a rustic lodge that you must hike 5 miles up to. I frequently hike up and back in the same day to get or stay in shape. I have gone up there so many times that I know everyone up there and have now become a volunteer and work up there on occasion. As a matter of fact I am heading up there this morning when I finish writing this.After completing a hike from Franklin, NC to Erwin, TN in May I decided that in 2012 I would start in Erwin and just see how far I could make it, maybe all the way to Maine. Sometime this summer I was contacted via my trail journal by a hiker, trail name "Jarhead", who was just getting started and is 70 years old. He was interested in doing a thru hike in 2012 and wanted to talk with me about my experiences as an older hiker. After emailing back and forth a few times we discovered that we live only about 5 miles from each other. Since then we have been doing a lot of day hiking together and a backpacking trip. I have since decided to start with Jarhead at Springer instead of starting in Erwin. So at least in the beginning we will be hiking together and maybe all the way through.
Date: 2011-12-24
To: Len Foote Hike Inn
Miles today: 0.0

I met Jarhead on Tuesday the 20th at 9:30 at the Len Foote Hike Inn parking lot at the top of the falls in Amicalola State park and we took the AT approach trail up to the side trail to the Hike Inn. There is a slightly shorter and less strenuous Trail to the Hike Inn but we like the approach trail up as it gives us a little better workout. After lunch Jarhead hiked back and I stayed up to work as a volunteer through this morning. I work in the kitchen mainly doing all the things I hate to do at home but for some reason love to do at the Hike Inn; washing dishes, scrubbing pots and pans, sweeping, mopping etc. I have lots of time off during the day so I was planning on hiking up to Springer Mountain (4.5 miles one way) at least once while there but it rained everyday all day. I know I will have to hike in the rain on my thru hike but on my day hikes I prefer a little better weather. At any rate I had a great time and hiked back this morning in beautiful, crisp, sunny weather. My plan for getting in shape for my thru hike is to do two day hikes a week of at least 10 miles each in January and three day hikes each week in February. Each hike with a 20-30 pound pack. That is how I got in shape for my May hike and it seemed to serve me well.
Date: 2011-12-28
To: Len Foote Hike Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Today I headed up again to the Len Foote Hike Inn to work for 4 days. The weather was great and the hike up took about 2.25 hours. I hiked up with Jarhead and we took the approach trail about 4 miles to the cutoff trail over to Len Foote. We arrived at the Hike Inn just as the staff started lunch. Since I was up to volunteer I was included in lunch and they invited Jarhead to have lunch also. The Hike Inn serves breakfast and dinner to guests but not lunch. Guests can request a trail lunch for an additional fee. After lunch Jarhead hiked back down and I started my "tour of duty" We had a full house tonight so I was kept pretty busy in the kitchen. I finished my chores about 7:15 and joined the guests for a program about snakes in Georgia which I found very interesting; then it was an early night for me as I had to get up around five the next morning to help with breakfast.
Date: 2012-01-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I worked 5 days at the Len Foote Hike Inn and I have to say I am really tired. I am not used to getting up at five am every day. Last night was a full house for New Years Eve even though there was nothing special going on at the HI. I went down to the Sunrise Room about 9:00 to see if there was a party going on but only found about 10 people playing cards and board games. A pretty sedate crowd. Went back to my room to read and fell asleep about 10:00. Boy am I a party animal. Completely missed ringing in the new year. Oh Well it arrived just fine without me.Up at 5 again this morning to work breakfast and then I hiked out the 5 miles to my car. Even though it sometimes can be hard work I really enjoy volunteering. The people up here, both the staff and the visitors, are fun to be around and always make my time up here enjoyable. Especially the staff. They make me feel like I am one of them.
Date: 2012-01-06
To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Jarhead received a note through Trail Journals from Cowgirl and Bigfoot that they would be staying at the Lodge at Amicalola State Park and were going to hike the approach trail up to Springer Mountain. They invited him to go along and since he and I were planning to hike that day anyway I was invited too.We left the lodge around 9:00 in weather that was a little cool and overcast but not bad. It took us about 3.5 hours to hike the 7.5 miles up to the summit. It was a very pleasant hike up. We had some good views at the top since the weather had cleared so we ate lunch and stayed about 45 minutes and then headed back down.I didn't know Cowgirl and Bigfoot so I spent a lot of time talking to Bigfoot on the way up and Cowgirl on the way down. I really enjoyed getting to know them and what great people they are. They are avid hikers and have done as much as 40 miles for fund raising events. WOW!!!All in all a great day and I was not too sore that night or the next day. I hope I am starting to get into shape because March is right around the corner.
Date: 2012-01-13
To: Cowrock Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Jarhead and I had planned on a hike from Neels Gap up to Cowrock Mountain and back today but were having second thoughts when we found out the temperature was not going above freezing and the wind chill would be about 3. After talking about it for awhile we decided that this would be a good time to check out our winter gear so off we went leaving Neels Gap around 10:00. I was pretty chilled by the time we got started but I seemed to feel it in my hands the most. I had on gloves which were supposed to be good down to 25 degrees and I had on glove liners. My core and legs warmed up really fast and I was very comfortable except for my fingers. Actually I started to go back to Neels Gap and buy another warmer pair of gloves but decided against it. I put a pair of socks on over my gloves and that seemed to help a little but made it difficult to hold my trekking poles. After about 45 minutes my hands warmed up and were fine the rest of the morning.The hike up went well but we did have to be very careful because there was some ice on rocks and under snow. Some areas were pretty treacherous. We got to Cowrock Mountain in about 2 hours and the sun was out and the wind was down so it was really nice. The view from Cowrock is great. It was our plan to go to Tesnatee Gap so we moved on but only got a short way when we said "Why are we doing this" We would have to go down 700 feet to the Gap and then eat lunch and climb 700 feet back up so we turned around and ate lunch on top of Cowrock Mountain with its great views and weather. I have a couple of apps on my phone for backpackers so I wanted to try them out as a test. Two of them worked well the third I had to fool with a long time but finally got it to work. The apps work off of GPS so you do not need a cell signal if your phone has GPS.The entire time I was on top of the mountain I did not have my gloves on and my hands were fine. By the time we left I was starting to get a little cold and once again my hands got numb. I put my gloves back on and in about 30 minutes my hands were fine again. I have a theory which I am sure is not original but it is with me. I know that when your body gets cold your brain shuts down the blood supply to your extremities ie your legs and arms. I think the reason my hands are cold is not my gloves but rather that my core is cool and the blood flow is diminished to my hands. When my core heats up through hiking the blood supply returns to my hands. Would love to hear any comments or insights you might have on the subject or how you keep your hands warm.At any rate the hike back was fine and I stayed warm. It was a good exercise and I was happy with my cold weather gear with the possible exception of my gloves and maybe a warmer pair of socks.I have decided to start doing an extra hike each week for the rest of this month to get in better shape. I know it will help.
Date: 2012-01-18
To: Len Foote
Miles today: 0.0

Today was another preparation hike just to get in shape. I picked up Jarhead at his home about 9:00 and we headed up to Amicalola Falls State Park and were on the approach trail by 10:00. It was a little cool but otherwise a beautiful day for hiking. We made good time and were at the Hikeinn by a little after 12:00. There were no guests there but as always we enjoyed visiting with the staff. After lunch and a little rest we headed back down.I am testing out my new Motorola Bionic Cell Phone as a device for updating my Trail Journal entries from the trail. It works just fine but boy it is slow or maybe I should say I am slow. I may just wait and update my Journal every 3-4 days as I get into towns. Time will tell.
Date: 2012-01-22
To: BMT Day Hike
Miles today: 0.0

Today I joined a group from the GATC (Georgia Appalachian Trail Club)for a day hike on the BMT (Benton MacKay(sp)Trail) Jarhead and I met the group at the new Dawsonville County Court House around 8:15 and we headed up to the Springer Mountain Parking lot on USFS 42. The weather forecast was for good weather with highs in the 50's. It was not to be. The higher we climbed the more socked in it was. Very, very foggy and wet. I am not sure if it was drizzling rain of dripping off the trees but it was wet and the wind was blowing pretty hard. Fortunately I had clothing for this kind of weather having learned my lesson on other hikes.We started off by hiking the .9 miles up to Springer Mountain, the official start of the AT. The BMT starts just North of Springer Mountain so we took that trail on the way back down. The BMT was not too difficult and we soon crossed the AT again. We stayed on the BMT for about another hour of so and crossed the AT once more and then finally ended at the AT at Three Forks. Three Forks is a pretty area with plenty of camp sites and a beautiful river which was flowing strongly because of the rain we had the night before. We stopped here to eat lunch and by this time the rain had stopped and it was a little warmer but still very overcast. After a short break we headed back on the AT to the parking lot. We arrived at our cars about 3:30 which made for a nice day. Thanks GATC for letting me join you. I really enjoyed it.