morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-12
From: Newton MA

To: Imp campsite
Miles today: 13.1

It was a smart move to see the dentist: the tooth was abscessed and would have turned into a medical emergency. As it turned out, I needed a root canal, which the dentist wanted to leave open for a week for ¢good drainage¢ (you get the idea). I¢m glad I made it home for my son Greg¢s 16th birthday and some time with Sheila.Rather than lose a whole week, I drove back up to Pinkham (left home at 4AM) to hike Wildcat and the Carters. Before hiking I a had large breakfast and picked up my mail drop in Gorham. I parked at Pinkham and started hiking at 9:15. I walked past Lost Pond with eerie fog banks sliding by, then up the steep Wildcat Ridge trail, where I was not actually in the clouds but could look out at the side of a low fog bank. At about 3000¢ the trail rose above the cloud layer and had a panoramic view of the Presidential summits, which were all in the clear. Wildcat is a tough climb ¢ lots of jagged rock and some tricky ledges to creep up, and it keeps on coming and coming. I lost count of which of the five Wildcat summits I was at, but eventually made it to the last one around 12:30. I rested and talked to Triple 7, a NB flip-flopper, as we enjoyed the view straight down into Carter Notch. The descent to the notch was on easier trail than the one up Wildcat. I crossed the 19-Mile Brook trail and continued up Carter Dome without stopping at the hut. The climb up the dome was long and steep but less nasty than the climb up Wildcat had been. Come to think of it, the climb up South Kinsman a few days ago was the only one that comes close to Wildcat. I rested a while on top of Carter Dome, then went down the short descending trail to Mt Hight, and continued down to Zeta Pass (another neat name), a cool shady place that I have always liked. Not many people were on the trail ¢ I chatted briefly with a woman on Carter Dome and a couple on Hight, all dayhikers. It was around 3:30 and I was getting tired. I made South Carter by 4 and Middle Carter at 5. The long, steep descent from North Carter was tricky and I was too tired to have fun on the scrambles. There were beautiful views of the Presidentials and down to the Wild River from several lookouts along the Carter Ridge, which is one of the pretty trails in the Whites, and it was very peaceful and quiet on Middle and North Carter. I hiked this trail a few days after September 11, 2001 and will always remember the feeling of peace I had that day in a setting completely removed from the insanity that grips the modern world and completely unchanged by the ghastly events of the week that changed so much else.I got to Imp campsite around 6. It¢s getting dark at 7:15, and it¢s been a long day. I better eat.
Date: 2003-09-13
From: Imp campsite

To: Gorham NH and Newton MA
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

I got up in the cold (high 40s?) and headed out, going down initially and then steadily up to Mt Moriah. It was crystal clear, though I could see fog banks in the valleys below. The trail followed ridges with many views to the south and west. I scrambled up a steep rock face to the top of Mt Moriah, which has a good view of the Mahoosucs. The trail from Moriah is a long, jarring downhill most of the way to Rte 2. I stopped at the Rattle River shelter, found that several of my trail friends were not far ahead of me, and made it to the highway. I got a hitch to town from a Gorham High School teacher and another hitch to Pinkham from a mother/son hiking duo. Drove back home to get my dental work finished.
Date: 2003-09-16
From: Gorham NH

To: Gentian Pond shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: mist

Took the bus to Gorham last night and stayed at Hiker¢s Paradise Motel. As forecasted, it was raining lightly this morning. I got a shuttle to the trail. The first climb of the day over Mt Hayes was pretty easy. The rain was often no more than a drizzle but the trail was very wet. Unfortunately, my feet got squishy wet walking though the puddles and flowing water on the trail. I briefly lost the trail at Page Pond but backtracked and found it again. I made it to Gentian Pond shelter around 3. It was full of thru-hikers ¢ an even dozen, including people I hadn¢t seen for months: Reason, Mr. Pumpy, Very Small Animal, Superman, Last Minute et al. The clouds started to lift around 3:30 and we could see the hills across the Androscoggin valley. A couple of people moved on, so I got a slot to sleep in the loft under the eaves. Stuff is hanging and dripping everywhere and people are scurrying around trying to dry their tents.
Date: 2003-09-17
From: Gentian Pond shelter

To: Full Goose shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

A stellar day! It was clear when we got up around 6:15. I lay there a while wanting to get up and pee but I couldn¢t get out without waking the person next to me. I finally wormed my way out of my sleeping slot and packed up before anyone else got up; started hiking at 7:15. I climbed up Mt Success, down to the col and up to Mt Carlo. Both had steep climbs to rocky tops with 360 degree views. There is a very beautiful boggy area just down from the Mt Carlo summit. I came to my last state border crossing, which was decorated with a sign announcing ¢Maine: the Way Life Should Be¢, a slogan that is familiar to anyone who¢s driven into Maine on I-95. I met two SoBos, Bulldog and The Colonel. Both of them complained about belligerent NoBos at Carlo Col shelter, but I later heard that the Colonel was up at 4:30 banging around with his gear. ¢Why can¢t we just get along?¢It was a beautiful walk up Goose Eye Mtn, including a nearly vertical segment with a ladder in the middle and a couple of challenging scrambles. I had lunch on Goose Eye West Peak taking in the view back to Mt Washington. The lovely walk continued on the trail along the ridge from East Peak to North Peak. I got to Full Goose shelter a little before 3. I pitched my tarp at a tent platform ¢ I wasn¢t up for another claustrophobic night packed into the shelter like a sardine in a can. Reason and Cruiser arrived at 5:30, followed by Orbit, Indiana Slim, Mr. Pumpy and VSA. It¢s getting cool and the sky is clear, so we¢re expecting a cold night.
Date: 2003-09-18
From: Full Goose shelter

To: Baldpate lean-to
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a good night except for a persistent daddy-longlegs determined to walk across my face. The sunrise was blood red through the trees. An amazing 100% of the hikers were up by 6:30- a sign of adrenaline pumping at the thought of hiking through Mahoosuc Notch today. I got going around 7:20. The top of Fulling Mill Mtn was a pretty bog (that¢s not an oxymoron), and there were views back to Goose Eye Mtn. Mahoosuc Notch was all it was advertised to be: tricky scrambles, teetering on knife-edge boulders, slippery surfaces, bad purchase for your hiking sticks. I slipped or staggered several times and fell hard on my butt when a rock suddenly turned slippery on me. I slipped again and did a twisting fall that didn¢t hurt except for a little skin off my shin, but it would have been quite different if the rock I ended up straddling was a foot higher. I had several near-falls too. I had to wriggle under boulders twice and one of them required me to take off my pack and push it through ahead of me. (This vindicated my prediction to Last Minute that we would be doing some crawling on our bellies to get through the Notch.) I¢m glad it was dry today. I finished the notch in an hour and a quarter and wasn¢t sad to have it behind me.I climbed up Mahoosuc Arm in the morning sun, resting for a while at the brook crossing. I hiked down to Speck Pond and missed a sharp turn in the trail at the campsite. The caretaker saw me looking around for the trail and said, ¢It¢s the one with the white blazes¢ with no hint of a joke. I climbed up the high angle rock to Little Speck and then up to the summit of Old Speck via a side trail. Up on he summit, I climbed up a near-vertical ladder to the top of the observation tower, which afforded great views forward to baldpate and back to Mahoosuc Notch and Goose-Eye. I took an hour for lunch and talked with a woman my age from NH and a young couple from Pittsburg. They all had climbed all 48 4000-footers in New Hampshire and were now working on the ones in Maine. The woman told me about meeting a NB flip-flopper with a white beard who talked to her about the wild plants along the trail: it had to be Mountain Jack, and he was headed my way from not very far north of here.Down, down, down Old Speck on a trail that was much easier than I had seen in a long while. The weather remained sunny with some high clouds. I made it up the side of Baldpate to the lean-to by 4:30, and I was joined later by Feral and Triple T. I saw a peregrine falcon at the summit of Old Speck and a kestrel on the way down.
Date: 2003-09-19
From: Baldpate lean-to

To: Andover ME
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I awoke at 6 to a pretty sunrise. Ate a bowl of granola outside the shelter so as not to wake up the others, then packed and hit the trail at 7:10. I climbed the rest of the way up Baldpate¢s West Peak. From the summit I watched a curtain of clouds move swiftly across the sky from the south. I walked down into the col, which was mostly open, and up the bare rock dome of East Peak while the wind gusted up to 40-45 mph. I called the Pine Ellis B&B from the summit. The trail down was in good shape and had a minimum of ledges and obstructions. As I reached the lower half of the mountain, the grade became less steep and I was able to freewheel for the first time in I don¢t know how long. (Freewheeling is scooting along with your legs bent in a sort of crouch, using your hiking sticks to control your speed- you can cover ground pretty swiftly and with a minimum expenditure of energy.) I¢m beginning to think the worst trails are behind me now. Birch, beech, and maple leaves are beginning to fall, though the color is not very well developed.I got to Dunn Notch ahead of schedule for my pickup, so I detoured down the side trail to the base of the big waterfall. Returning, I continued on through a nice grove of hemlocks to the road, where Paul was waiting for me. He gave me some new apples to eat during the ride, and stopped at the Andover Post Office while I picked up my mail drop, and then took me back to the B&B. I ate at Addie¢s restaurant-- homemade chowder, Jordan¢s red franks with beans, and a slice of A++ apple pie baked by an 83-year old blind grandma, according to the waitress. (I¢ve noticed that the odds of getting excellent pie are very good at most small towns and truck stops in Maine, one reason why it¢s the way life should be.) I returned to the B&B and listened to the Red Sox game, which they won.
Date: 2003-09-20
From: Andover ME

To: South Arm Road campsite
Miles today: 14.6

I had a good breakfast at the B&B with Pipes and Phlegm, who are from the Boston area. There was light rain this morning, a heavy burst during the shuttle, and light again to start the hike for the day. The rain soon stopped, and the sun even broke through for a couple of minutes around mid-day. However, the trail was flowing and I tried in vain to keep my boots semi-dry by skirting the brooks and puddles and hopping from rock to rock and root to root. Ultimately I gave up, which was just as well because I had to ford two brooks in the afternoon. I saw P-nut and Peach Monkey a couple of times, and Indiana Slim was there at lunchtime at Hall Mtn lean-to and again at camp. He¢s out of cash and low on food, so I gave him some extra food. The trail over Wyman Mtn was easy apart from the water on it, but Moody Mtn was a steep son-of-a-gun to climb, even if it was only a 1300¢ elevation gain. I forded Black Brook, got water at the spring recommended by B&B owner Paul (who I saw again when he showed up to pick up a slacker), and camped by the road rather than cross back over the brook to the larger campsite on its west bank. Indian Slim arrived soon after, and we talked for a while before crawling into our respective shelters for the night. It¢s getting dark now at 6:47.
Date: 2003-09-21
From: South Arm Road campsite

To: Sabbathday Pond lean-to
Miles today: 17.0

I heard a moose wading in the nearby brook at 4 AM. I got up at 6:30 and left at 8:10 with Indiana Slim. It was a bit of a grunt getting up the steep trail to Old Blue. At the top there were nice views and the weather was mostly sunny, though clouds were gathering. The walk over to Elephant Mtn and Bemis was less fun ¢ all roots and mud puddles. From Mt Bemis to the eponymous lean-to (that means it has the same name, like the REM CD of several years ago) was better, walking on moderately sloping granite ledge. I was feeling tired and a little low, but lunch rejuvenated me. After a long debate with myself, I decided to go on to Sabbath Day Pond ¢ it was just after 2:00 when I started this leg of the day¢s hike. I made much better time because the trail was easier. The lower peaks of Mt Bemis had nice views ahead with lots of pretty mountains in the distance and the foliage changing color at lower elevations. I crossed Bemis Stream almost dry ¢ just a couple of the steppingstones were under water¢and made it to the highway at 4:30. On the way I talked to Kunga (¢much joy¢ in Nepalese) who hails from Cambridge MA, Mud Elephant (GA-ME ¢96), and ¢ lo and behold ¢ Mtn Jack, who was heading south on his flip-flop. I pushed on up the hill and past Moxie Pond and Long Pond to Sabbath Day Pond, arriving around 6 PM. I¢m all alone at the shelter as I write this. Rangely tomorrow.
Date: 2003-09-22
From: Sabbathday Pond lean-to

To: Rangeley ME
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Kunga came in about 8PM last night, well after dark, which was a good trick considering the rocky terrain above the shelter. We chatted about various topics this morning, including the evils of Dick Cheney. I got going at 7:40. It was a cool, mostly cloudy morning. The hiking was easy today, starting with a short climb over the hill to Little Swift River Pond camp, where I took a break sitting on one of the sawed-off tree trunks they had provided as stools. Near the top of the first hill, I heard something crashing around in the woods ahead and then saw a rack of antlers through the trees. I thought about how it¢s good to have a tree handy to jump behind when you meet a bull moose on the trail, especially during rutting season, but the sides of the trail were bordered with spruce trees so closely interwoven that I would have had to drop my pack and worm my way between them on my hands and knees, and that would have left a great target for the moose to kick a field goal. As it turned out, I heard him trotting away from me on the trail, so I never had the confrontation. My legs are still feeling tired from yesterday¢s 17-miler over three peaks. There were some nice sections of trail that were less rooty than usual. Dry socks did feel good. There was an excellent lookout toward Saddleback at the top of the last pitch. I talked to two sisters from New Hampshire and Damariscotta ME and learned from them that the forecast is still calling for rain on Tuesday. I scored an eagle hitching into Rangely with a guy hauling firewood in his truck (i.e., I barely had stuck out my thumb when he came along and stopped). Checked into the Rangely Inn. The forecast is for half an inch of rain tomorrow, so I¢ll do a zero here, reading a mystery I bought at the local bookstore. Did you know Rangely is equidistant from the equator and the north pole? That¢s what a sign on one of the stores says.
Date: 2003-09-24
From: Rangeley ME

To: Spaulding Mtn lean-to
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I had breakfast at the same place, a joint called the ¢Stones Throw¢ where lots of local folks eat. I got a hitch back to the trail from a woman who had just taken her daughter to school. I started hiking at 8:15, just as Reason, Cruiser, and others arrived in a shuttle van from the Gull Pond Inn. The trail went up gradually at first past some small ponds and then up more steeply to treeline on Saddleback ridge. It continued up the bare rock ledge to a pretty summit with views in all directions. It was a bit windy on top, but not too bad, maybe 35-40mph. I continued down into the saddle and back up to the Horn, and then down and up again to Saddleback Junior. From there it was a mile and a half down to Poplar Ridge shelter, where I had lunch. I decided to continue, so I went down the hill to Orbeton Stream (named after rock and roll immortal Roy Orbeton), which I forded in sandals. The trail went up steeply to a flat area following a pretty stream in a natural stone channel. I looked around for a decent campsite but didn¢t find much so I went on to Lone Mtn. I made it over the mountain and down to Spaulding Mtn lean-to at 6:20. I cooked as it got dark, talking to Texas Jack, the only other person here.
Date: 2003-09-25
From: Spaulding Mtn lean-to

To: Stratton ME
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

It was clear last night ¢ I could find my around the campsite to pee by starlight alone and even saw the Andromeda galaxy with my naked eyes. In the morning I quickly made it to the Spaulding Mtn side trail and ran up to tag the summit. It was a sunny morning. I didn¢t go to Sugarloaf, because I didn¢t think I had enough gas in the tank to do that and make it to Stratton today. The trail is interesting and scenic as it goes down the edge of the ravine toward Crocker Mtn. I stopped to chat about gear with a couple of short-distance hikers who were coming up. There was a pretty stream at the bottom, sun-dappled and garnished with yellow maple leaves. A single loose plank bridged a fast-moving chute of water between big rocks. I met Triple-T and Feral on the way. We crossed a talus slope, which reminded us of Colorado. The trail went down a long way from the north summit of Crocker Mtn to the road into Stratton. I got a ride into town with a hiker from Pittsburg named Load. I picked up my mail drop and got a room at the motel, which turned out to be their last vacancy. It seems that a large group of hikers form New Hampshire had taken most of the rooms in town. I offered to share with Feral and Triple T when they came up empty, but they found a room a little further from town. I had had a little bout of diarrhea earlier today and wasn¢t feeling great, so I crashed right after dinner at the local diner. I woke up a little later and watched the Sox clinch the Wild Card.
Date: 2003-09-26
From: Stratton ME

To: Little Bigelow lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

There was rain during the night, but just fog in the morning with blue sky above. The motel owner took me back to the trail. I climbed up Bigelow Ridge and then to the South Horn, down past Horns Pond, up to West Peak, down to the col and up to Avery Peak. The trails were pretty good and the views were beautiful. I met two 50-ish hikers on the way down; one gave me some grapes. I soon ran into CC and Chicken Legs. I continued down to Gifford Notch and up to Little Bigelow ridge. I saw CC and CL again at the summit after a long series of up-and-downs along the ridge. CC gave me a cheese sandwich, which tasted great. It was getting cloudier now. Avery Peak had been in the clear but was cloud topped when I looked back from Little Bigelow; it looked for all the world like Mt Olympus (classical allusion). I reached the shelter at 5:10 after a pretty strenuous day.
Date: 2003-09-27
From: Little Bigelow lean-to

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

It was a warm night with fog in the morning. I left at 8. It was a fairly dull hike, though it was nice to skirt the edge of Flagstaff Lake, where four kingfishers flew off chattering. The trail went over a couple of low hills, varying from smooth and fast to rooty, rocky, and annoying, but I did 17 miles in 7 hours so it was mostly fast track. I got to Pierce Pond lean-to at 3:30. The lean-to has a beautiful view of the pond, which is only 30 feet away. The clouds cleared for a little while before sunset, providing a dramatic view, and a while later the stars came out briefly. CC, Chicken Legs and two SB section hikers arrived around dinnertime. When we climbed into our bags it was very cozy to say the least, and rather warm.
Date: 2003-09-28
From: Pierce Pond lean-to

To: Caratunk ME
Miles today: 4.0

I got up and out at 7. It was a fairly easy walk along a brook with many cascades. It sprinkled for a while but no more. I reached the Kennebec around 9, ferried, and walked to Caratunk House. Which is just off the trail. I met Jay, who was last seen at Tinker Cliffs, and his mother Jane, who was hiking for a couple days with him. Paul took me to Northern Outdoors (river guides) for lunch, the Patriots game, and dinner. There were a bunch of thru-hikers at Northern Outdoors including Doc and Llama, Phlegm, Pipes (and her mother), Sleepy Floyd, Backdraft, Torch & Superman, Fuman and Chu. Reason, Cruiser, Very Small Animal and others were at Caratunk House when I returned.
Date: 2003-09-29
From: Caratunk ME

To: Moxie Bald lean-to
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

We all had a great breakfast at Caratunk House, sitting around a big round table with a Lazy Susan in the middle. After breakfast I picked up my mail drop and got back on the trail just before 9. It was mostly cloudy, but there were no showers. I made good time on some fast trail and climbed Pleasant Pond Mtn after a rest at the eponymous lean-to. I caught up to Superman on the way down to Moxie Lake. We waded and rock-hopped Baker Brook at and stopped for lunch at Bald Mtn Brook lean-to at 3:30. We climbed up Moxie Bald, which has a great view from the top, especially to the Whitecap and other mountains to the northeast, but it was cloudy and we couldn¢t identify Katahdin. I was glad Moxie Bald is made of granite, not that extremely slippery slate. We met Widget and Gray Matter slacking south on the summit. We got to Moxie Bald lean-to by just after 6. Light rain started about 7. Monson tomorrow.
Date: 2003-09-30
From: Moxie Bald lean-to

To: Monson ME
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: few clouds

A clear night and morning, but not too cold. Superman and I got on the trail at 7:50. There were some wet sections, but mostly good trail. We forded Marble Brook and both Piscataquis River crossings; the West branch was a little more than knee-deep but the current was easy. I walked along the river looking at the rapids, and thinking, ¢That would be a nice Class 2 paddle.¢ However, by Horseshoe Canyon it was a roaring Class 4. This was an outstandingly pretty piece of trail, carpeted with yellow pine needles on top of the colored leaves. Black water, blue sky. I met Very Small Animal, Mala, Jay, and Jane at the road crossing, and Superman and I hiked together for some sections and separately on others. I¢m feeling a little sore in the left hip, but I hope it¢s just one of those pains that comes and goes, which I¢ve been having since Georgia. I¢m so lucky (and somewhat surprised) that nothing has lingered and gotten worse. I feel tired, though. I walked on past the road into Monson to end the day¢s hike at Route 15, where I got a ride into town. I went to Shaw¢s ¢ I had met Keith Jr. at the earlier road crossing where he was doing a shuttle. I settled into the place after taking a shower and watched the Cubs game while sipping a beer with Baltimore Jack and Jester. We tried to explain the rules of baseball to Very Small Animal, who lived in France until a few years ago. Quick, what are the seven ways to get to first base (I mean in baseball)?