morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-19
From: Spaulding Mountain Shelter

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

We weathered a pretty fierce storm in our tent last night. Thankfully none of our gear (save one of Hush's socks) got wet. Luckily the soil is rocky so the trail wasn't muddy. We also got a gift at the Caribou River, a board laid across two rocks. Yay, nothing to ford. Tomorrow is our last of big climbing for awhile too. Trail life is good. Town life ain't. Someone took my new hiking poles. They were delivered on Wednesday to the Stratton Motel by UPS. When we arrived today they'd vanished. Our mail drop box and my new shoes were here but that nice box from REI was in gones-ville. We had to pay $35 for a shuttle to the next town where we bought a set of poles. Anyone want to volunteer to file the UPS claim for me? It's going to be hard to conduct business in the Maine woods. The trip to the outfitter ate up our afternoon, instead the naps we planned. It's nearly 7:00 and we still haven't been able to get our clothes in the dryer. This hostel has no air conditioning and it's packed with hikers half our age, none of whom we know. On the bright side, we had a couple of nice meals, a good trip to the supermarket and our phones are charged. Hopefully we can get back to the trail early. We are getting ready to hit the woods for a 74 mile stretch without resupply. Even with long days it's going to take five days. Hopefully I can conserve enough battery power to keep the blog updated. We haven't missed a day yet.
Date: 2013-07-20
From: Stratton, ME

To: Safford Notch campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: haze

Cooler weather is on the way! Instead of 80 degrees and muggy, tomorrow morning it will be in the low 50s, good hiking weather. We did not have a good morning. Someone at the hostel drank Hush's orange juice in the middle of the night, a night that was warm and sticky in the unairconditioned attic where we slept. Add that to the hiking poke debacle from yesterday and you have two hikers primed to kill someone, or each other. We climbed the last 4,000 foot peaks of Maine before Mount Katahdin (the Northern terminus of the AT) today. Above tree line the winds were so fierce that Hush was blown over three times. At the summit of  Bigelow Mountain she looked across a deep saddle at a bare and rocky tall pointy thing and angrily asked "What is that?" . Despite her intimidation, I bravely told her it was Avery Peak, the next item on the AT agenda. She was not amused. We are just so damn tired. The past few long days with big miles, the heat and the never ending surprise obstacles just stopped us in our tracks this afternoon. We hiked steadily for nearly nine hours today with two short breaks and covered exactly 10 miles. We didn't even make it to a shelter, choosing instead to pitch our tent in Stafford Notch. Then we gamely started eating our heaviest food. Tomorrow our packs will be lighter. Speaking of packs, I discovered one of the shoulder straps was ripped halfway off mine today. Hush used our tent repair kit to sew it back up. One of my new hiking poles got bent on a spill I took at the end of the day. I wish there was some way to convey the ruggedness of this terrain. It chews up gear and spits it out. We have to figure out how to make up for the five miles we didn't hike today. We have four days to cover 64 miles, certainly doable, but it doesn't fit the shelter placement. Stealth camping, here we come.
Date: 2013-07-21
From: Safford Notch campsite

To: Pierce Pond Lean To
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: clear sky

Loons are screaming across Pierce Pond as I write this. It's an eerie cry, particularly with a full moon and the absence of any other hikers in the shelter, something that's only happened one other time. A memorial to a 2012 thruhiker who drowned here sits in front of the shelter, only a few feet from the water line. What a tragedy and it happened only 11 days before he was to summit Katahdin. RIP Bryan (trail name - Parkside). Today was another milestone - 1000 trail miles since Harpers Ferry. Despite the difficulty, Maine is flying by. It seems unreal to be only days away from the 100 Mile Wilderness, the last push before Katahdin. There were only two mountains to climb today, Little Bigelow and Roundtop. The rest of the route was as flat as anything we've seen in weeks. The trail still presents a challenge with roots, rocks and bogs but  2.5 miles an hour was consistently achievable. I'll take 22 miles by 5:30 any day.  The five miles we lost yesterday are now accounted for and we are back on schedule. I hope I don't freeze tonight. The low is predicted to be 45. Tomorrow's high is 66. That's nearly 30 degrees cooler than just a week ago. This is more like what I thought Maine weather was going to be. The bugs are eating me alive. I'm the dinner selection for hordes of no-see-ums. I guess the deer flies, black flies and horse flies are dining on someone else tonight.
Date: 2013-07-22
From: Pierce Pond Lean To

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean To
Miles today: 18.9

As an information junkie, I'll never be able to hike without studying the guidebook, the map, the elevation profile. I wish that were not the case. What looked like a gradual descent from a modest mountain ended up being an exhausting trip down a sawtooth ridge - up and down up and down. The ridge was also dry, no water in six miles of trail. No one ran out but it was close. When will I ever learn that there are no easy parts?One of the iconic experiences of the AT is the canoe ferry across the Kennebec River. It is the official way to make it across. There's even a white blaze painted on the side. We were the first hikers across the river this morning. Back in the day you had to ford it but the construction of a dam upstream ended that. Sudden releases of water cause the river level to increase two to four feet within minutes. No thanks. For the second day on a row we pushed  big miles. If all goes well we will do the same tomorrow. We will be a day ahead of schedule and can take a ZERO in Monson before the trail enters into the 100 Mile Wilderness. I'm ready to get to Katahdin. Maine is beautiful but it's long.  Every NOBO is expressing roughly the same sentiment. Folks at home are thinking "Savor the moment". We are. At the same time, after a three hundred miles of extremely hard trail, it's time for sone relief.
Date: 2013-07-23
From: Bald Mountain Brook Lean To

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 22.0

One of the many things that makes Maine different than other states is the fording of rivers. We've waded across many creeks, some of the fairly wide but in Maine you come down a river bank, peer across the way looking for a white blaze on the other side and then you abandon all common sense and step into the flowing water. It's not a fear of drowning that makes it nerve wracking as much as the fear of wet gear and falling on rocks just below the surface. Still, it's part of the AT experience, like the rocks in Pennsylvania or the hellish (but beautiful) White Mountains of New Hampshire. Of the two rivers we forded today, at least one had a rope to hold onto. Fittingly, it was the shallowest and slowest moving of the two. After a good long stretch of dry days, it rained and rained all day. Maine goes from zero to swamp in about five minutes. Given the minimalist nature of the trail here little niceties like bog boards are a thing of the past. This means a good portion of the hike today involved our feet being submerged in some kind of muck. At times our ankles, shins and once, spectacularly, my knees were submerged in pure Maine mud. And yes, we banged out 22 miles today to get to Monson, Maine, the last trail town on the AT north of Harpers Ferry. I'm full of cheese steak and Pepsi, indoors, dry and there are even sheets. Hush is happily planning the attack plan for the 100 mile Wilderness. Life is good.
Date: 2013-07-24
From: Monson, Maine

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 0.0

Our big mile days bought us a much needed ZERO day in Monson, Maine. This gives us a chance to do all our town chores: laundry, grocery shopping, charging electronics, showers and believe it or not rehydrating. It's almost impossible to drink enough on the trail, especially if it's hot. Taking 24 hours off also let's our bodies store up a full day's worth of glycogen, sugar stored in the liver, basically energy that comes from some place other than the food we just ate. We can also ice our knees and shrink the swelling some. We said goodbye to a lot of our friends this morning as they entered the 100-Mile Wilderness. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was complaining about how much food they had to carry. We usually pack out four days worth but most hikers only do two or three days at the time. Leaving Monson we are all carrying six or seven days worth. Our packs will be heavier than ever before. For all my griping, Maine is an awesome state in which to hike. It's beautiful and it's tough. At the end of each day the sense of accomplishment is tangible. We have so much confidence now. The rains, the rivers, the mountains, the rocks create a feeling new to me, a feeling that no matter what happens, I can handle it. I've heard and I believe that feeling stays with thruhikers even after they summit the last mountain. Neither of us are the same people we were 10 states back.
Date: 2013-07-25
From: Monson, Maine

To: Long Pond Stream Lean To
Miles today: 15.1

In the past two days we met seven people from North Carolina, including a mother/daughter (14y/o) and a couple older than us both doing Katahdin and the 100- Mile Wilderness as a vacation. We also met a Chapel Hill couple doing a Southbound thruhike and an absolutely amazing hiker from Greenville doing his third thruhike in four years. Tarheels representing for sure. Our first day in the Wildyerness required the fording of several waterways including one thigh deep stream. None of them were too scary.This  morning was about as perfect as anyone could hope for, cool temps, low humidity and abundant sunshine. The forest was beautiful. The area surrounding the trail was open, not choked by undergrowth. Light brown fir needles carpeted the area. For miles it looked as though a gardener tended the trail. "This 100-Mile Wilderness is going to be a breeze", I thought". And of course, right then the world exploded. The trail began to repeatedly go over steeply angled slate outcroppings, climb 100 feet, descend 100 feet - for miles. We crossed two rock slides that brought back memories of Pennsylvania. Hush would rather climb a 3000 foot mountain than cross a boulder field. I had a pretty good scare during this section. With all the extra food, my pack is heavier than normal. I keep my food bag in the top of my pack. Not being used to this, it didn't take much for me to learn my center of gravity wasn't where I thought it was. I was balancing on an angled ledge, leaning against the rock face with a good 30-foot drop off to my right. My pack shifted. I moved to compensate for the shift, only to realize my pack's extra weight had things off. Luckily, I balanced there just long enough to try again to compensate for the unexpected movement. Since I'm writing this, I obviously didn't die, but I had visions of doing so.
Date: 2013-07-26
From: Long Pond Stream Lean To

To: West Branch of the Pleasant River
Miles today: 15.2

Our visions of putting in big miles today were washed away by the rain. The rocks in this area are slate, huge blocks of angled slate. Shoes just won't grip on the stuff when it's wet. Additionally the trail is covered in the roots of fir trees. Sometimes the slate is covered in roots. Generations of hikers have worn the bark from the roots. When wet, they are slippery to the extreme. Instead of doing 25 minute miles, we ended up doing 45 minute miles. We both fell several times. Ever since Mount Washington the summits we cross are buffeted by strong winds. We are no longer under the jet stream. These winds come out of the arctic. We get real cold real fast. It doesn't help when you reach the mountaintop wet from sweat or rain. All day long it was jacket on, jacket off. If the weather breaks, we may catch our first glimpse of Mount Katahdin tomorrow from the top of Whitecap Mountain. We will have to take a short side trail. Normally I wouldn't go down a side trail to see a dragon fighting a unicorn but I'm going to make an exception. From the banks of the Pleasant River, we are Lefty and Hush, footsore and tired but determined.
Date: 2013-07-27
From: West Branch of the Pleasant River

To: East Branch of the Pleasant River
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

In the past two days we climbed nine named mountains, including Whitecap, where we got out first glimpse of Katahdin. Tomorrow we climb exactly one, some worthless little 2600 foot runt of a pimple on Maine's butt. There's only one mountain left to think about here and we are focused on it like lasers. The trail between where we are now and Mount Katahdin is as flat as a landing strip, save for a couple of the aforementioned pimples. We will probably encounter all kinds of annoying rocks, roots and mud, but hey, that's hiking. Northbound thruhikers can barely slow down. The end of the trail is a magnet. For us of course, there isn't just the next four days in Maine. We still have 1,018 miles and four states in the South to hike. There was a milestone in our day though. We crossed the halfway point in miles on top of West Mountain. We've hiked more miles than there are left to hike. Our goal tomorrow is a 22.5 mile trek across the wilderness. It's gonna be a good day 'Tater.
Date: 2013-07-28
From: East Branch of the Pleasant River

To: Nahmakanta Camp Site
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: light rain

Nahmakanta Stream Campsite23.8 milesDamn I'm tired. We haven't had a day this big since our first few days on the trail. We are taking advantage of the level terrain. As I knew it would, the trail threw its usual assortment of obstacles our way, rocks of all sizes, roots and mud you have to be knee deep in to believe. One thing I didn't count on were the swarms of mosquitos. We are used to them, as are most people who spend any time outdoors. But these are just nuts. They bite through clothing. They get in your hair. God forbid you have to answer nature's call. This morning we ran into our first and best trail friend, Tenderfoot, hiking Southbound with her daughter, Lucy. The two of them climbed Katahdin on July 23 and are now hiking back to their home in Vermont. We stood on the trail trading stories and laughing. It felt good. Tenderfoot is one of those people with an innate knack for making other people feel good about themselves. I hope our paths cross again someday. Sadly, one topic of conversation was a missing hiker for whom there is an active search. Tenderfoot knows the woman who is missing. She was last seen shortly before Stratton. There are signs up asking for info, even out here in the 100-Mile Wilderness. The authorities used dogs, horses, planes etc. in the first couple of days of the search. There are people moving in both directions on the trail. I hope someone comes up with some sign of her soon. Tomorrow is our last full day in the 100-Mile Wilderness. Our food bags are light now, which is good. We can get the food we need to finish at Abol Bridge in a day and a half. Our clothes are pretty disgusting. A shower would' be nice too. There are three more days of hiking before we can take care of those two things though.
Date: 2013-07-29
From: Nahmakanta Camp Site

To: Hurd Brook Lean To
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: clear sky

We managed to hike our way through the 100-Mile Wilderness in five days. I'm pretty proud of that. Only three miles of trail separate us from food we haven't been carrying in our backpacks for what seems like forever. The only food I have left, two honey buns and a Clif Bar,  left I will eat for breakfast. We plan to be sitting on the front porch of the Abol Bridge store when it opens in the morning. They have a grill and groceries. I want nothing more. It rained last night shortly after we fell asleep. I scrambled out of the tent, grabbed our sweat soaked clothes off our makeshift clothes line and threw them in the tent. Hush was already having a rough night dealing with some fierce bug bites and a bee sting. The weather chaos served to rob her of even more sleep. Nevertheless, she was up and ready to hike in the rain before 5:00.Although there were more rooty, rocky, muddy sections of trail today, there were enough mild stretches to make the miles fall away. We even did better than 20 minute miles along Rainbow Lake. Part of our energy comes from the magnetism of the north end of the Appalachian Trail. We are just hiking machines. Wind us up and point us in the right direction. Only 13 miles to hike tomorrow. That will put us at the foot of Mount Katahdin.
Date: 2013-07-30
From: Hurd Brook Lean To

To: Birches Lean To
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

13.5 milesWell, here we are at the Birches Shelter at Baxter State Park, Maine, less than five miles from the summit of Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. For the past couple of hours we've been sitting around a fire with the other thruhikers who are also summitting tomorrow. As expected, there's been plenty of nostalgia but there's also been laughter and the enthusiastic energy that makes me so happy to have these people in my life. We left the Hurd Brook shelter this morning with visions of a home cooked breakfast in our heads but it was not to be. Three miles down the trail at the end of the 100-Mile Wilderness, The grill at the Abol Bridge store was closed. We were able to buy enough convenience store food to get us through tomorrow. The prices were the highest we've ever seen. The cashier looked embarrassed as he rang us up. Hey buddy, don't be ashamed, that's capitalism, comrade. Anyway, we paid up, said goodbye to Smokey and Johnny Blaze and hiked the rest of the way here on some very sweet trail. If only it was always this nice. Scratch that. If it was that easy, everyone would want to do it and it would be way too crowded. The privies would be disgusting. Later in the day we met Blue Moon, Kermit and Newton after they'd made their descent. They advised us to leave our hiking poles behind tomorrow. It seems like most of the day will be spent doing hand over hand rock climbing. Whatever.  We got this.
Date: 2013-07-31
From: Birches Lean To

To: Mount Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2

Everyone at the thruhiker's campsite was up well before dawn. Hush and I were the first to head up the mountain. About two miles up the Dutchmen passed us as we took a break by the last spring below tree line. Those two are practically professional adventurers so we didn't feel bad to see them disappear. Katahdin has the capability to break your heart. No other mountain throws so much at you. There are sections that look impossible. In one place, pieces of broken (!) rebar stick out of a boulder at rude angles, pretending to be climbing aides. You can't use hiking poles because you must use your hands (and knees, butt, back and in one case my head) to leverage your way ever upward. Thankfully you can see the summit from nearly two miles down the mountain. Fueled by adrenaline, you don't feel much pain in that long third hour of climbing. We made it to the northern terminus of the AT at 9:30 AM. The Dutchmen took a few pictures for us as they drank the beer they packed to the top for the occasion. We started back down the 5.2 mile knee jarring descent, wishing we had gloves for the rocks. Three and a half hours later we were done. A couple we met on the mountain delivered us right to the hostel in Millinockett, 24 miles away. We've pretty much done nothing but eat since we got here. I'm not sure how much weight I lost in the 100-Mile Wilderness but I'm working on adding it back on. Hush's entry: today was a great day. The hike up Katahdin was hard but fun (mostly). We did manage to hit the scariest section during some high winds. It was a steep section with rebar to keep you from falling off the mountain. The wind made it even scarier. It was bad enough going up. I was worried about having to go back down that section. But luckily the wind had died down by the time we were descending. We were in great spirits climbing the mountain, although I know Lefty was anxious in some sections due to his fear of heights. We even met a couple on the way up that said they would give us a ride to Millinocket after we finished. And true to their word, they did.I have enjoyed spending the afternoon in Millinocket. My great grandmother was from this town, but it is the first time I have been here.We have another trail angel helping us tomorrow. A friend of Lefty's father is going to give us a place to stay and then a ride to the airport in Bangor on Friday. The kindness of so many people these last 3 months has really amazed me.
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Mount Katahdin

To: Roger Ek's Camp
Miles today: 0.0

A day that starts with a hot shower is a good day. We are more used to days that start with a rain shower. Instead of fumbling around in the dark boiling water on our alcohol stove while Hush stowed all the sleeping gear, this morning we strolled up the street for a pleasant breakfast  at the Appalachian Trail Cafe in Millinocket, Maine. Shortly after breakfast, my father's friend Roger Ek, who lives nearby (by Maine standards) picked us up from the hostel. It was a real treat learning about this state from such a knowledgable man. Roger told us about log drives, sled dogs, Maine land laws, snow mobiles, marksmanship, the Revolutionary War and more. Not to be outdone, his wonderful wife Pat regaled us with tales of wilderness canoe camping, wildlife, the local church's bean hole bean feed and more. To top it off we had a fantastically delicious turkey dinner, even though the bird was prepared in an old trash can. True story. Our next step is a flight from Bangor to Washington, D,C. We have to check our backpacks because of our hiking poles and the small Leatherman I carry. One of Hush's hiking poles won't collapse so the airline may refuse to let her check it. We don't have these issues in the woods.
Date: 2013-08-02
From: Roger Ek's Camp

To: Teahorse Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Although it is not even close to the coolness of Maine, the Virginia weather isn't the inferno we were scared it would be. The forecast for the next few days is for high 70s to low 80s with overnight lows in the 60s. There are some lightening bolts predicted but the chance of them doesn't go over 40%. Sunrise however, now comes nearly an hour later than we are used to since we are now much further west. That's going to be hard to get used to. Oh the changes we are to see. Waking up close to Canada and lying down below the Mason-Dixon Line requires some major league mental adjustment. Time passed quickly today. A nice breakfast with Roger and Pat, our Maine hosts was followed by a ride down Interstate 95, which, if followed far enough would put us only a few miles from our home. Instead we went to Bangore International Airport, RayGun National and Union Station in D.C. Finally we took the 4:05 train to Harpers Ferry. We had so much go, go, go today that we didn't have a chance to eat much. When we got off the train, we made a bee line for a barbecue joint where we scored some sweet tea. Finding some grits is our next task. Tonight Hush sewed some extra padding around the waist belt of my pack. My weight loss keeps the size large from fitting snugly any more. We stole the idea for the padded belt from Joe the Hiker and Smokey. We only have 54 miles before Front Royal, our next mail drop. We will be taking it easy the next few days. We had to mail our stove and one of Hush's hiking poles there and we need to give them time to arrive. This hostel has a good breakfast. We will do some hearty eating in the morning, tie up some logistical loose ends and start the journey to Georgia.