morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-09
From: Poplar Ridge

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: scattered clouds

(Parental alert--today's entry may not be suitable for younger audiences. The young Cheese should be OK, though.)I made two wildlife sightings today, a moose and a bare. Yes, a bare, not a bear. First the moose. A young bull in full velvet turned and ran up the trail right in front of me. But he left his cloud of flies to join my cloud of flies. His was bigger.Then, as I approached the Spaulding Mountain Lean-to, I could just glimpse a naked woman, fully frontal. I made some noise, something like a gasp, and stayed in the woods as she dressed. She was sitting on an air mattress and her trailname was "Quickie". I'm not making this up, I couldn't if I tried.I'm not sure why a woman would a) sit naked on a public trail, and b) use "Quickie" as a trail name. It would be like a guy naming himself "Foreplay". Now that would be a meeting I would like to see.After Quickie, we had a lot more energy (we had to get out of there fast!) today's climbs of Spaulding and Crocker went very well. We had more water and had a rain shower, and that helped (it was hot and humid again today). Our original plan did not include going all the way to town, but the hiking went so well we made it easily. But we did get hammered by a very heavy rain storm as we approached the road. We were lucky to get a hitch as easily as we did (leased vehicle).
Date: 2008-07-10
From: Stratton, ME

To: Safford Notch
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

Wow! We're almost at mile 2000! Today was a short day, though because we left town late and decided to take our time climbing our last 4000 ft peak (until the big guy at the end). The Bigelow range is worth taking a little time - it's beautiful, breathtaking, and it's a perfect day, 70s, dry, clear - the hazy humidity of the last sweveral days is gone with last nights rain. (We're happy once again that we timed our town stop for a big storm).The town stop in Stratton went well - good sleep, good meals, good grocery, internet access, and I even mailed home a down vest I'd carried for the Whites and the 4000'ers.Now we hope the next several days to Monson won't be too strenuous and we can rest a bit.We're at least looking forward to a trail profile that we can measure in vertical miles rather than horizontal feet!
Date: 2008-07-11
From: Safford Notch

To: Pierce Pond
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Pretty fantastic day today. We crossed the 2000 mile mark by 0630. It was another perfect weather day, cool and breezy, which kept the biting bugs at bay. (My only problem was that for some reason the last mile my feet felt really heavy! I think I didn't eat well this afternoon - I had a lot of cheese at lunch and nothing else until 5 pm). We also met a bunch of friendly and interesting people today. And the trail got level and mostly small climbs. We got here at 5 pm and can't go any farther because of the Kennebec River ferry - a canoe ferry that only runs 9-11 am this early in the season. It's only 4 miles from here, downhill.A funny thing has happened to my feet. I had built up some callous on the heels and now it appears to be gone. That's the first time that's happened on a hike - usually it's a painful process involving cracking and peeling over the winter. Everything, physical and mental, is a "go" at 2000 miles. I feel more healthy and confident that I did at this point in my last 2000+ mile hike.I've lost all the extra weight I slowly gained during the PA to NY deli-a-day tour. But I put it go good use on the climbs of the last two weeks. I never once hit "the wall", always seemed to have some reserves.So we're just two days from Monson, our last town stop, then it's one more push to the terminus.
Date: 2008-07-12
From: Pierce Pond

To: Moxie Bald Mt. Lean To Area
Miles today: 22.8

What an over all excellent day today. We started with a fantastic breakfast at Ken Harrison's camp, 12 fruity pancakes and two eggs - yes 12 pancakes. Five hikers were there and there wasn't a scrap left. Then came a 4 mile cruise down to the Kennebec and a fun paddle across, in an "Old Town" canoe of course. The next 18 miles in perfect weather carried us over two scenic peaks and past beautiful ponds and rivers.My energy level was good today, I made it a point to eat better in the afternoon, We found good water in springs in this traditionally dry area, too, soo there's a benefit to be out here in the mud season.No biting flies today but more mosquitos, we had one feet-wet ford, and mostly avoided the deep mud in the trail.We hiked a little with Nemo who we met last night, section-hiking Maine, a very bright college student. He stunned us with a Ben Franklin quote at breakfast. I didn't know "Nemo" is Latin for "Nobody".We met only a couple of SOBOs today. Yesterday we met over 10, I think.
Date: 2008-07-13
From: Moxie Bald Mt. Lean To Area

To: Monson ME (Shaw's)
Miles today: 17.9

Today's 18 miles went quickly - we got to Monson by about 2:00 and got a private room at Shaw's. The Piscataquis River, which we forded twice, provided most of the day's entertainment- some nice white water, a beaver, birds. By the way, we've been hearing loons almost every night lately - eerie and beautiful sounds. Lots of SOBO hikers today too.Well we need to go shop for our final resupply, the hundred mile wilderness.If all goes well, we hope to summit Katahdin next weekend!
Date: 2008-07-14
From: Monson ME (Shaw's)

To: Barren Mountain Ridge
Miles today: 19.1

We left Monson in a great mood and well-rested, quite different from our tired, aching arrival yesterday. We've been getting good rests in towns on this trail, the only exception being Erwin, TN.We're excited to be in the 100 mile wilderness. So far we've met only one SOBO who said he'd enjoyed the area. He said it was like going back in time, and I think that's a good description. Everyone else has complained about mud, water, mud, bugs, mud, and bugs and mud. We're still in a higher area, so no problem yet for another day or so. The fords today all went well, and bugs didn't bother us until black flies swarmed us at our tent site just now.GreasePot bought new shoes for me and I got them in Monson. What a feeling! I made an error in judgement trying a slightly used pair for the last 500 miles. The terrain in NH and ME really tore them up.Less than 100 miles to go now. I think that is keeping our spirits up more than anything now. I think we'll even trudge through mud and bugs with smiles on our faces now.In comparison, several SOBOs we met today weren't smiling. They'd had a really tough time in the wilderness. One was actually angry and aggressive, maybe a little crazed.
Date: 2008-07-15
From: Barren Mountain Ridge

To: Logan Brook
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We hoped we'd make 24 miles today, but at noon we really doubted it. The morning was really tough going, rocky, muddy and rooty, very slow and fatiguing. By noon we'd only had 10 miles and we were tired out.But then we got a morale boost at the Pleasant River ford. We met a large group of SOBOs, and they were just full of admiration and congratulations for us. And we just soaked it up. In fact, Pickle even got a marriage proposal from a young woman--for her mother, though. And she guessed Pickle's age at 48. So he was on Cloud 9 for the afternoon hills.And we did have some hills, the only real ones in the wilderness today, 3650' White Cap and its neighbors. It was perfect day and we got our first view of Katahdin.We we ended up with good progress after all and are pleased with the day.I had a few problems--I fell three times and hurt my self twice, once in the rear of the pelvis and once in the ankle. Clumsy day. I think the injuries will be OK tomorrow or the next day. It's funny how a hiker can come to judge these things.
Date: 2008-07-16
From: Logan Brook

To: Nahmakanta Stream
Miles today: 26.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a classic case of perception vs. reality. Usually it's a case of expecting a pleasant little cafe at a road crossing and getting a filthy convenience store instead. This time, as we headed into the "low country" of the 100 mile wilderness, we expected to start swimming in the mud and bugs. Quite the contrary, though. We found excellent smooth dry trail, the first we've seen in weeks. Wow! So it was a great day in that regard.What wasn't so great is that today was Pickle's turn to be clumsy. And he injured his thigh muscle on a fall. My injuries from yesterday are much better today. We hope Pickle will be OK tomorrow.We stopped a little early (1830) at a nice stream-side campsite, soft with pine needles, the best such site we've seen in weeks. We went far enough today and can use the rest. We also think this is our longest mileage day since PA, over a month ago.We hope to have another good day tomorrow and get within 5 miles of Abol Bridge, the end of the wilderness. Then Friday we'll have a shorter day into Baxter Park and the Katahdin trailhead, then summit on Saturday!Lots of bugs today. I wore my headnet for the first time while hiking. I still got one nasty fly bite and the mosquitos really attacked my hands, but they're small bites and don't hurt. Pickle is pretty amazing in that regard. The bugs hardly seem to bother him. He'll put a kerchief under his hat and hang it down over his neck to keep the bugs off, and that's it. He never complains.We took a really nice afternoon swim break on a sandy beach on Jo-Mary Lake. We rinsed our clothes off, too. Ahhhh. I also took a short break at "Fort Relief", probably the most interesting privy on the AT. I loved that.It was warm (80s) and muggy today. Before our June heat spell, I would've called it hot today. Compared to that, this was air conditioning.
Date: 2008-07-17
From: Nahmakanta Stream

To: Hurd Brook
Miles today: 26.4
Weather: few clouds

Unbelievable! Dry feet all day! The mud is really drying up quickly in this warm sunny weather. The quicksand consistency is now more like thick clay, much more pleasant to walk on. You don't worry about loosing your shoes as much. Bugs aren't too bad, either, no head net needed today. I think we're just hitting the good time to be hiking in Maine, just as we finish.We caught up with a group of NOBOs today--Spruce, Yap, and Bigfoot. We plan on finishing on the same day. Maybe we'll have company for our summit celebration.Pickle's injured thigh is OK today. My injuries are gone. But we're both very tired. All my fat reserves are now gone, and I have to eat more often to keep going. It looks like we both have the exact amount of food needed for this last 100 miles--all that's left is breakfast tomorrow. We really like it when we plan it that well. We didn't carry any extra weight at all.Beautiful Maine woods and ponds and streams today. We saw our first bear scat in a month or so.We also met Tammy and group, from Golden, CO, flip-floppers we met back in VA. I was just wondering yesterday if we'd meet them before we finished.There was a brief thunderstorm last night, and it was a little cooler and dryer today, very nice.We were in mostly low country today, but we got a great close view of Katahdin from Rainbow Ledge.Less than 20 miles to summit! And I'm on the last page of my 159 page guidebook. What a feeling!
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Hurd Brook

To: The Birches 
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

No more 20 milers, I realized last night. Today's 13 miles got us in position to summit tomorrow. Weather is sketchy, rainy today, showers forecast for tomorrow. But it's not awful.We got food at Abol Bridge store. We had practically nothing left when we arrived.We registered as successful through hikers at the ranger station here, and we are in the top 40! Not bad, since over 750 left Springer before us and 130 made it to Harpers Ferry before we did.As Pickle said this morning as we got here, now all the preliminaries are done and we're qualified to perform in the main event, a climb of Katahdin. I keep trying to tell myself it's just a 5-mile hike. But it's so much more than that to us.It's nice and cool today, I have a jacket on. We sure had great weather in Maine. It only really rained on our town days.Baxter State Park is interesting. It's left pretty wild--no power or phone, no potable water or sewer systems, no cable TV or cell towers anywhere near here. How refreshing!
Date: 2008-07-19
From: The Birches

To: Katahdin!
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: light rain

Finished! At just before 1000 this morning, Pickle and I summited Katahdin in blowing misty rain and claimed our 2008 through hike. Since we started from Springer at 1000 on April 4, I'm claiming 106 days (well, 24 hour periods) for the hike. We far exceeded our own expectations for pace.We were sort of bummed out at first, we were the only ones there, not much of a celebration. But about 5 minutes later, we had about 30 people there for company, including three other successful NOBO hikers. So we had a short coronation ceremony for my Triple Crown, including the cardboard Burger King crown (which I carried from Gorham), a Tyvek ground sheet as a cape (with help from a British hiker on how to properly wear a royal cape), and my trekking pole as a scepter. It'll be a few days before we can load photos.As well as feeling regal, I had the whole range of emotions. Mostly what ran through my mind was the incredible experiences Pickle and I shared on this trip--what a trip it was.We took a different route down the other side of Katahdin, the Saddle Slide route. That was a strangely wonderful feeling, hiking a non-AT route just for the fun of it. With no car waiting at a trailhead, I felt about as free as I've ever felt, I can go wherever I want. We paused at Chimney Pond and ended spending hours there, talking to other hikers there about our achievement. It was a really great afternoon.We're in Millinocket now at the AT Lodge, working on travel arrangements. When I get a chance I'll back fill the previous days' entries. We had a wonderful hike through the 100 mile wilderness, all went very well with great weather.I'll also work on some post-trail entries, costs, and gear reviews when I get home in a week or so.Thanks to all for your support and warm thoughts along this trail. It was an unparalleled experience for me.
Date: 2008-07-23
To: Heading home
Miles today: 0.0

Garlic here. I'm making my way slowly home to Colorado, visiting family along the way. The hardest part of the trip home so far was parting company with Pickle in Portland, ME, as he headed south to PA. When we met back in April, I was really looking forward to the next four months or so in his company. Hiking partners like Pickle don't come around very often.Everything about the AT pretty much exceeded my expectations. I was concerned about my state of mind, worried that I'd be too driven by the Triple Crown attempt to really enjoy the AT experience. But within a week of starting the hike, I fell in love with the AT and never lost that feeling. I hope I never do.The question I've heard the most is how would I compare the AT to the other two trails, the PCT and CDT. Since I hiked those trails first, I can't really give an answer that would mean anything to anyone who hasn't hiked those trails, too. My experience on those trails shaped my hiking style so much, it's pretty foreign to the AT. But for me, the AT was slightly easier on the whole. I never felt much extreme risk on the AT, as I did on the high snowfields and icy swollen stream fords and long desert crossings out West. Water and food sources were very seldom a concern on the AT--they were almost negligible at times.But the AT has its own unique challenges, to be sure. Before I reached New England, I thought the AT was a real pussycat, no challenge at all. After Mt Moosilauke, everything changed! Wow! And I enjoyed it tremendously. Sustained Class III climbing on a 'footpath'? What fun!Pickle and I are amazed that two guys in their 50s and 60s could hike the AT with a 20 mile-per-day-plus pace with zero time off for illness or injury. We certainly didn't expect that to happen. I attribute that largely to our paying close attention to hydration, nutrition, and rest, and prevention of small problems like blisters. And that only comes from long experience, I'm afraid. How's the saying go? "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement"?We are also very pleased that we had absolutely no problems with gear performance or loss. Most of our stuff is tried and true from other long hikes, though in different climate and trail conditions. The single-wall tents, down insulation, and lightweight packs performed beyond my expectation on the AT. So did the non-cook diet and resupply strategy.I'll add some more information on gear later. Happy trails to all!
Date: 2008-07-27
To: What's next?
Miles today: 0.0

Garlic here. I just uploaded a few more photos, including some summit shots.Everyone has been asking, "What's next?" I don't know. Pickle and I had made concrete plans for the AT hike just a couple of weeks into our CDT hike last season. But this time we finished the season without firm plans for the future. Pickle is planning some more hikes this year, some "shorter" trails in the East.We're both intrigued by the Pacific Northwest Trail, and by the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier if we're out there. I have my eye on the Arizona Trail, sometime, maybe. It sounds like a few older hikers have been encouraged by our success on the AT. I'm so happy to hear that. They say that unsolicited advice only benefits the person giving the advice, but I can't stress enough the need to lighten up. An older person's pack should really be under 15 pounds base weight (no food or water). On the AT, whenever I approached a hiker from behind and saw a pair of Crocs hanging from the pack, I immediately thought, "This person is carrying too much." Ditto for anything attached to the outside of the pack, like a Nalgene bottle on a carabiner, both of which are too heavy for their functions. And usually those hikers were suffering from some sort of pain from the heavy load, which is the reason we caught up with them to begin with.One more piece of advice: If you're thinking of a through hike, why not get ready for it? Come out on the trail ready to hike, both physically and mentally. The trail is lousy place to loose weight, to find out that you don't really like to hike every day after all, or to learn how to camp in snow, for instance.And one final reflection: On the train ride I took from Boston to Chicago, I met a group of Amish farmers from Minnesota. We shared a table in the cafe car and got a chance to talk a bit. One man asked me what I did for a living. I get that a lot on the trail, other hikers wondering how a 51 year-old could take the time for a through hike. My stock reply is that I figured out a way to live with very little income. I live in a very small paid-for house, drive a very old car (never had a car loan in my life), don't have a cell phone or DSL bill, don't have a TV or cable bill, heat mostly with wood, carry my garbage to a friend's dumpster in return for some work so no garbage bill, etc. It's a pretty simple, low-expense life. The Amish were smiling indulgently, before I figured out I was preaching to the choir. We all had a laugh about that. Then I wondered, is my life possibly closer to theirs than it is to my neighbors'?Best of luck, especially to the AT Class of '09!
Date: 2008-02-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Since moving back to Pennsylvania from Alaska almost nineteen years ago, I have found my self suffering from what one author recently called "nature deficit disorder," with one of the primary symptoms being the replacement of green space by screen space as the occupier of your free time (see the book "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv). The stars have so far aligned nicely to allow me some time to treat this disorder. I'll be heading northbound on the AT on March 15th, about a month today, starting with the Approach Trail. I'll have about two months to wander before getting off the trail for my middle daughter's college graduation, then I can access how all is going on the home front before deciding if I can return for some more treatment. Looking forward to meeting many others who, in their own ways, are battling this disorder. The directions for this journal say I need three entries to start, so I'll move on.""Not all those who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien
Date: 2008-02-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This third entry should get things started with this journal. I went on a little eight mile shakedown hike on the AT with a full pack back on Monday. My home in Mt. Top, PA. is just 40 miles north of the AT where RT.309 crosses Blue Mt. It was a brisk day, only nine degrees when I started, with wind chills from 15 to 20 below zero. There were a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, and being a Monday and so cold,I found no other hikers around for the day. I had a nice walk out to the Allentown Shelter, one of the nicest shelters I have seen on the trail. It was great to make some fresh tracks in the snow and to see the tracks of critters that crossed the trail. Made a hot lunch at the shelter - I really am starting to like my little alcohol stove - very quiet compared to my pocket rocket. Ran into a flock of a dozen turkeys on the way back. No real elevation gain to speak of on this little jaunt, but it was good to get the feel of a full pack on my back again. Need to do as much of this as I can with the month I have left."Not all those who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien
Date: 2008-02-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"It's Not About the Bike"Some thoughts on equipment. Hi. My name is Tom. And I am a gear addict. Like many hikers, I'm a bit of a gear junky - I confess that I always look forward to the Gear Guide issue of Backpacker. But as Lance Armstrong points out, it's really what is under the hood that counts. I made my first backpacking trip on the AT trail more than thirty years ago. It was the end of my freshman year of college, and I convinced a high school buddy that I worked with at the local KFC that we should walk across our home state of PA on the AT trail. We both had limited money, and little true backpacking experience, but we were young, and fearless, and in ignorance there is bliss. We didn't know about any specialty stores for gear, so I bought a cheap nylon pup tent from the JC Penny catalog (actually quite good - 5 by 7 by about 3 high, coated nylon with long mesh netting down each side for ventilation), a Hillary Series mummy bag from Sears, and an army style rucksack on sale from a local department store that was going out of business (it had been marked down to $8.88, but I got if half off for $4.44!) Boots were bought from a friend's uncle basement who sold work boots part time - a hefty pair of very high top leather Red Wings. My raingear was a $.99 plastic rain poncho, my clothes a pair of denin overalls and work shirt, and my varsity jacket for warmth. We made cook pots from various size empty food cans from work , and I picked up a Primus stove that used a propane tank for fuel. I had an AT guide book with maps for PA, and after raiding our houses for food, we found a ride to the Maryland border. Another guy begged to go with us at the last minute, and who were we to say no? Well, the boots ate both my heels off on the very first day, one of my packs shoulder straps tore off two days out, and we made it about 100 miles before our late addition did his ankle in terribly on the infamous PA rocks (yes, they are for real). We had made a pact that we would all finish or stop together, so at the next highway crossing we were abble to hail down a passing Greyhound bus, and had just enough money to get a ticket home. And I had loved every minute of it (except for maybe the blisters!), and I'm still hooked to this day. I'm sure better gear would have been helpful, but more important was the willingness to get out there and give the trail a try. As someone wrote, "Try and fail, but don't fail to try."