morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Cranberry Stream Campsite

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: light rain

Got up and rushed to the road this morning, and called and got a ride from Sue and her poodle Knucklhead to Stratton Hostel. Sue's a former thru-hiker, so she's got her hostel set up well: a kitchen hikers can use and a VCR with tons of old movies on video. Stratton is a nice little town. No bigger than Monson but a great diner and a nice grocery store right across the street from the hostel. Nunchuks was there too, and he was on his way to Rangeley to take some time off after getting bad sun poisoning the day before. Later in the afternoon, we were happy to see Sue pull up with Frosty, Purple and Carnivore. We enjoyed some pizza, movies and great conversation the rest of the evening as it rained off and on. Beka's knees are still giving her a lot of trouble, and all the sitting around has caused them to swell and feel worse. Hopefully the day off tomorrow will help them ease off.
Date: 2011-07-05
From: Stratton

To: South Branch, Carrabassett River
Miles today: 8.4

Back out after a "nero" and zero in Stratton. Spent our second day in Stratton relaxing and eating as much pizza and Dew as possible. Quite a few NOBOs came to stay at the hostel and pooled their money for a big lunch. One of of them had a Husky that had walked the whole way with him. We got back on the trail despite Beka's knees still hurting and swelling. She's hoping that moving will help them. We came back out a little after Purple and Carnivore, and Frosty is staying another day to nurse a hurting knee. We leapfrogged with Purple and Carnivore throughout the day. The Crocker peaks didn't have views, but we did see Sugarloaf Mountain through the trees, a major skiing peak that we'll cross tomorrow.
Date: 2011-07-06
From: South Branch, Carrabassett River

To: Orbeton Stream
Miles today: 10.4

Last to leave camp yet again today. We started up Sugarloaf right away. They say you can see Katahdin from the peak some days, but it was very hazy so we didn't take the extra half mile to get to Sugarloaf's peak since it was already a tough climb. When we took a break at the lean-to on Spaulding Mountain, we saw a small snake eating an even smaller toad alive. The peaks today were the same as yesterday: challenging climbs with no view at the top. My pack is still staying in the 40-45 lb range, I gotta find a way to cut some significant weight the next town we come to, it's making these climbs way too tough. That kind of weight isn't that bad unless you're doing this every single day. Ran into a couple hiking a short section, Short 'n Sweet and Greybeard. They live in Norwich, VT and gave us their number so when we come through we can stay with them, big-time trail magic! They also told us bad weather was coming in, so we hustled on to Orbeton Stream where we heard there was good tenting. The last few miles were beautiful as the trail followed streams and waterfalls. We got to Orbeton, followed shortly by Purple and Carnivore, and we got our tents set up just in time for a bad thunderstorm to roll through with heavy wind and rain. A little after the storm passed some drenched NOBOs walked in to camp. They'd been on Saddleback Jr. when the storm hit with no tree cover. Today was tough hiking and tomorrow looks tougher. Beka's knees and back are hurting bad, these steep downhills can be brutal. Camping by a waterfall is pretty ideal for getting good sleep.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-07
From: Orbeton Stream

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Best day on the trail yet by far. Started late after 9 and had beautiful weather all day. Headed up to Poplar Ridge and took a break at the lean-to there, where we met a NOBO runner (not sure if he was going the whole way) named Gobbler who was taking a break too. Very friendly and positive and gave us some much-appreciated encouragement and advice. Headed up Saddleback Jr. and got our first great view of the day. The trip down the saddle and then up The Horn was pretty long and tough at points, and of course the one water source was half a mile off the trail. The final push up The Horn was very vertical, hands & feet climbing, but it was worth it once we got to the top. The view was amazing, and the trail from there to the peak of Saddleback was an open ridge out of the trees. It was nice to finally have a breathtaking view that lasted longer than the small point where you come up out of the forest. The wind was fierce along the ridgeline, and we could see Rangeley from the peak, where we're stopping tomorrow. We encountered enough day-hikers to realize that this is a very popular local hike. The trail down was a tableland first, similar to Katahdin, but then get very steep down to the lean-to. I actually carried Beka's pack for her come down some of the rough parts. Just before sunset Purple and Carnivore walked into camp too. Today was fantastic, but we're both hurting pretty bad, her knees/back and my feet. I think I may be getting plantar fasciitis in both feet now, and this could be a trip-ender if I can't address it. -Ryan
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Piazza Rock Lean-to

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: broken clouds

It was only 2 miles to the road so we took our time getting up and going. Saw Piazza Rock before leaving then headed out. Got to the road and decided it was time to try hitchhiking for the first time. Thanks to my wife's shameless smiling and waving at drivers as we thumbed, we got a hitch very quickly from a really nice guy that works at a local Navy base. Beka's parents had sent out a package for us to the Rangeley post office, so we got the supplies out of that box and packed it back up with more stuff we didn't want to carry anymore to ship home. Got some awesome pizza for lunch at the Red Onion then walked around the very tourist-y town of Rangeley nestled on Rangeley Lake, the shores of which are lined with seaplanes. We weren't going to stop here, but the movie theater here was too much temptation. I called REI and ordered some insoles to try to help my plantar fasciitis, but the soonest I can get them is in Gorham, 80 miles down the trail. I also ordered a gravity water filter, because that pump filter is getting old. We ate well and watched the new X-men movie. Despite this being a tourist town, everything is pretty cheap. We're even staying at a motel right on the lake with complimentary kayak/canoe use. As the sun set we could hear the loons calling on the lake, very eerie. Taking a zero here tomorrow.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Rangeley

To: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 9.3

Decided to just take a zero while in Rangeley as it's by far the biggest town we've seen in a while. We also resupplied at the first full-fledged grocery store we've come across so far. We met NOBO Raisins, a nice guy who stank up half of the store. Then we met Frosty while shopping and found out he was still staying with Sue in Stratton. The same knee injury that had ended his hike in Rangeley last year has come back. He's catching a ride down to Virginia so he can get out of this rugged up and down terrain and keep hiking. Sad to see him go, but glad he can stay on the trail. Caught a late ride out back to the trail after a diner breakfast this morning. A really nice Episcopalian minister saw us eating and came over to regale us with tales of his time as the local trail maintainer, then offered us a ride to the trailhead. There was a road sign just into the woods saying there was a roadwork detour ahead. We covered the first 4.8 miles in 2 hours, a good sign that we're starting to get stronger and faster. We came across a grouse on the trail that didn't run away, then noticed why: her chicks were scattered all around her. She let us take lots of pictures as long as we kept a healthy distance. Arrived at the shelter early and met Brother, another SOBO. Went down to Sabbath Day Pond to get some water, and sat on a rock for nearly an hour watching 2 loons and their chick swim around very close to us. We also noticed a few massive leeches in the water, and our guide says this pond is great for swimming. Nice day to get going again.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-11
From: Sabbath Day Pond Lean-to

To: Bemis Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

First uncomfortably hot day on the trail so far, and just a few miles down the trail we had the road construction detour we saw the sign for yesterday. Not my day as I wiped out 4 times before noon. We had contemplated a 17 mile day, but after all the falls, the heat and the harder-than-expected climbs up Bemis & Second Mountains, we called it an early day. Glad we did though, because everyone at the shelter was a Christian, a welcome break from the surprising amount of hostility to religion we've encountered most of the way so far. We had a nice evening of relaxing and giving our aching bodies a break. Brother was there, and we met a SOBO named Red Cowboy who just graduated from App State and is going at an absolutely blistering pace, already had a 28 mile day. We gotta start upping the mileage, though so far we've been sticking with Frosty's original plan: waiting till we get past the Whites to start pushing the mileage up.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-12
From: Bemis Mountain Lean-to

To: Hall Mountain Lean-to
Miles today: 12.8

Today was a bad day for both of us, the first time I actually started thinking about going home. Rained in the early morning and stopped by the time we took off, but a heavy fog stayed on Bemis Mountain. The humidity lingered all day. We're beginning to hate seeing roads in mountain stretches, because it means more up and down. We had tough climb up Old Blue with no view at the top. Then we descended 2000 feet down to a road and then 1000 right back up Moody Mountain, the most annoying mountain so far. It has no view, a steep climb going up and an eroded mess coming down. What was really torturous was the bug that has been tormenting me increasingly the past several days: the Maine deerfly. It has a low-pitched hum, and will just hover around my head in front of my eyes for literally miles. Usually there is only one, though if I ever can manage to escape it or kill it another one instantly replaces it. However today I had no less than 3 and as many 8 tormenting me a majority of the day. My trekking poles can only take so much more angry slamming on the ground. We also had a realization today: our diet is seriously lacking. We both had headaches and were running on E the whole day. In lightening our food weight we have neglected to keep enough nutrition in our diet. Rice or noodles is a good lightweight meal, but we need something more even if it adds weight. We stopped several times in the last few miles exhausted, and finally dragged into camp just before sunset. Of course there were a big group of NOBOs claiming the shelter and two large youth wilderness "death march" groups taking up almost all tenting space. We found a semi-flat spot right in the middle of them and scarfed down our food and laid down. And of course the water source was a stagnant pool 1/4 mile away. Glad this day is over, hope we don't have many more like it.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-13
From: Hall Mountain Lean-to

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Feeling better today after passing out as soon as we laid down last night. Heading up and over Wyman Mountain was pretty gentle, but the worst blazed section we've seen so far. My socks are already wearing out, and the holes are causing blisters. On the way we met Hersh, a tall skinny guy from Memphis doing his second thru-hike. He was overflowing with enthusiasm and encouragement, very excited to be out there. When we got to the road to get to Andover, we thought we'd try thumbing for a while even though there hardly any cars at all. Walking downhill I fell and skinned up my leg bad on the pavement, and instantly pulled out my phone to call for a ride. However, just at that moment Sue from Stratton came driving up with Frosty and Knucklehead on board and offered us a ride. Frosty has decided to start hiking again in Duncannon, PA. Had a nice ride to Pine Ellis Lodge in Andover, an ever smaller town than Monson but very quaint. First thing we did was head to the general store/grocery store/diner/gas station (all one store) on the main street. We had a large meat lover's pizza, hoping to get the protein we have been desperately needing. Hersh stopped by and joined us at lunch for a bit to chat. He left early and we watched him thumb for a ride; it was pretty entertaining, you can tell he's done this a lot. Went by the post office to pick up some stuff my parents sent us and then stopped at the library to check our e-mail. I got the message: I passed my final test I took right before starting the hike and I'm a college grad (again)!Very cool night at Pine Ellis. One of the proprietors. David, is a native American and very cool guy. As we sat around on the front porch he played some traditional kind of flute. We met John and Mike, a couple of section hikers from Augusta who teach at the same school as our friends Adam and Whitney, talk about a small world. Also met McFane from Greensboro and Milk Carton. Purple and Carnivore are here too. Purple is recovering from a bout with giardia. Heading back out tomorrow and starting into the Mahoosucs, the mountain range in western Maine we've been hearing horror stories about. Hopefully it will be overrated like the other "tough stretches" have been.-Ryan
Date: 2011-07-14
From: Andover, ME

To: Baldpate Lean-to
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Had one last hearty meal before leaving Andover today. We're both feeling much better physically than before we got to town, our bodies actually have enough fuel to do a thru-hike again. Still decided to head out at a leisurely pace. We'd been hearing about a couple of NOBOs from Chattanooga, and we finally met them today, Stormsong and Treebeard, really cool guys. The Baldpate Range was really great, an open ridgeline much like Saddleback but a little more challenging. When we got to the top of Baldpate's east peak we looked back and saw a rain cloud heading our way. It was a pretty warm day, and the light rain that started soon felt pretty good, and made it even more scenic. There was a recently finished stone stairway coming down the west peak of Baldpate, extremely impressive work by the Maine ATC that looked like it was pretty badly needed because of the erosion. At the shelter we looked through the register and saw Mike and John had gone farther today. However, we had discussed with them yesterday how we still hadn't gotten trail names, and in the register they had suggested names for us. Townie for Beka because she (self-admittedly) loves stopping in town as much as possible, and 2-packs for me since we'd told them I'd carried Beka's pack down some steep places so far. Sounds good to us, so I think we finally have trailnames. - 2-Packs!
Date: 2011-07-15
From: Baldpate Lean-to

To: Mahoosuc Notch, North End
Miles today: 9.2

Surprisingly cold night last night, down around 40. Plus Doc, one of the section hikers in the shelter with us, could wake the dead with his snoring. Ready to get going. Headed down into Grafton Notch and started the Mahoosucs in earnest. Old Speck wasn't bad at all, a very long gradual climb and a watch tower with a killer view on the peak just a little off the main trail. We had heard Peregrin Falcons hang out up there, and we were lucky enough to see one. Headed on to Speck Pond, a beautiful little mountain pond with some camping areas well-maintained by the caretaker. Then made our way the rest of the way up the hill where we looked almost straight down the Mahoosuc Amr. We've done a lot of steep rocky stuff, but this was by far the steepest, and it was solid rock most of the way with some lingering moisture. Yet again, difficult but overrated, except that it was rough on Beka's needs. We're at a nice little tenting site just north of the Mahoosuc Notch that we'd heard about. Beka looked down and has some funky thing on her heel, looks like a spider bite, and it's draining something nasty.   She finally put her massive first aid kit to good use, and we'll see how it looks in the morning. Tomorrow we head into the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, described in the book as "either the most difficult or the funnest mile of the trail." -2-Packs
Date: 2011-07-16
From: Mahoosuc Notch, North End

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

Had free pancakes for breakfast this morning thanks to the nice young couple who camped with us last night and brought too much food with them. Beka's spider bite (or whatever) is looking much better, no more draining. We started out and reached the Notch right away, which we both agreed was one of the funnest miles of the trail so far. The Mahoosuc Notch is basically a little valley piled up with massive boulders that you have to go around, under or over to get through. You can only get through some spots by taking your pack off and squeezing through. It's the middle of July, and there are patches of ice that look a foot thick down in some of the crevices. This is nice because it creates pockets of cool air every little bit. We refilled our water in a stream along the way and it was icy cold. It was really cool where these streams flowed under the boulder piles, sounded like huge underground engines. It was an almost vertical climb out of the Notch up Fulling Mill Mountain, and we finally got our first view in the distance of Mount Washington. The dreaded White Mountains are already here. Another great walk along the ridgeline of the Goose Eye peaks, and we're passing through a lot of alpine meadows in this area. We're both getting excited about Gorham and the White Mountains Hostel that practically every NOBO has been raving about. Beka's knees and back continue to hurt bad, especially after all these ups and downs, and the plantar fasciitis is getting pretty bad in my feet, excited about getting those insoles. It's very tight in my soles even after lots of stretching, and when I take a non-flat step, like on a rock or thick stick, I get a tearing sensation in the middle of my foot. We FINALLY start a new state tomorrow!- 2-Packs
Date: 2011-07-17
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Got an early start expecting a rough day, but not too bad. We were looking for the marching band to welcome us into New Hampshire, but all we got was a sign. Still exciting, we finally feel like we're making real progress. All the ups and downs are adding up though, so we decided to call it an early day at Trident Col instead of pushing all the way to Gorham. Nothing too crazy today, but McFane is camping with us tonight, the guy we met in Andover, along with Joe, another SOBO. A huge group of NOBOs showed up in camp later in the early evening, a lot of younger guys with tons of energy. They're very excited that they're entering their final state. We're going to roll out as early as we can tomorrow and head for Gorham.- 2-packs
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: fog

Packed up the tent and took off early this morning. We had an easy time thanks to a flock of crows nearby that wouldn't shutup. Beka took the lead, and she was going faster by the mile. It was a relatively gradual descent down to Hwy 2, and about halfway there I literally was struggling to keep up with Beka, she was just short of running. We heard that White Mountains Hostel takes a shuttle to Gorham's main street at 10, so we wanted to get there in time to check in, shower and get a ride. McFane caught up with us and we all raced down the hill. When we came to a dirt road, we went right when we should have gone left, and went a mile before we realized we were going the wrong way. It's well marked for the NOBOs, not so much for us. We eventually did find Hwy 2, and the hostel is literally right on the trail. Best hostel we've seen by far. It's an old funeral parlor gutted and made into a nice hostel with lots of bunkrooms and nice clean bathrooms. This is the owners' first year and they have worked hard to make it one of the best on the trail. We got cleaned up and they held the shuttle back long enough for us to get a ride. We got to town and went straight to the first McDonald's we've seen so far. Beka and I both had a large 20-piece McNugget combo, then walked across the street for a couple Dunkin Donuts. Headed down to the post office to pick up the insoles and water filter, plus a hat for my bald head for all the above-treeline hiking coming up. After this we went to Pizza Hut and split a medium pizza. Clearly we have started getting the ravenous appetite we'd heard about. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around the town. Purple and Carnivore got here yesterday, and we hung out with them most of the evening back at the hostel. Beautiful back yard with lots of seating, a small fish pond and a fire pit that was roaring. Lot's of NOBOs and SOBOs here. There's one NOBO couple here who are apparently always looking for an argument and go around telling people what they're doing wrong on their hike. Apparently they got into it earlier with Purple about some really stupid gear-related issue. It's a wonder people like this are still on the trail, because trail society has a way of weeding out the unpleasant people.- 2-packs
Date: 2011-07-19
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Took a nice zero here today. They make breakfast and dinner here at the hostel for a little extra, so we had a nice hot breakfast and socialized until catching the shuttle at 10. A word about Wal-mart: it can be a dangerous thing for thru-hikers. There is exponentially more selection there than anywhere else you'll happen upon on the trail, and as your appetite is raging, you buy WAY more stuff than you need. When we took stock later that day of all we'd bought, we literally had enough to send ourselves 2 food drops along down the trail and still eat like royalty over the next few days. Spent the afternoon in town where we both had 20-piece McNugget meals again. We went to the library and bought our plane tickets online for our trip to Florida in 2 weeks for Beka's grandparents' 60th anniversary. Pretty surreal to think about being back in our regular life for a little bit. After a fantastic dinner back to the hostel I ate almost a whole 1.5 quart tub of Oreo ice cream, and it felt awesome. We're both excited about getting back on the trail tomorrow, I think because we're entering into a really exciting, challenging leg of our journey. - 2-packs
Date: 2011-07-20
From: Gorham, NH

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 8.0

Had another nice breakfast and took off. We left some stuff at the hostel because we're coming back from Pinkham Notch in a couple of days. Nice easy hiking early on, and at Rattle River Shelter we saw One-armed Jack, the guy we met and saw last in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. There were lots of great swimming holes at the shelter, but we pressed on and slowly made our way up Mount Moriah. We bought a couple of footlongs from Subway yesterday and had them for lunch on the peak. We chatted with 2 very friendly older couples while eating, one of them 73 and 78 and working on their 3rd section hike of the whole AT. We didn't really linger long on the summits today because it was too hazy to enjoy them much.We are now in Appalachian Mountain Club territory, sometimes referred to as the Appalachian Money Collection. They maintain this area and there is a fee at most tent sites coming through here, usually $5-10 per person. Luckily the caretaker here let us do work-for-stay by picking up "microtrash" around the site for an hour. Used the gravity filter for the first time, looks like a solid investment. My new insoles are definitely providing much more support, hopefully the plantar fasciitis will start fading away.- 2-packs