morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-03
From: Gorham, NH

To: Carlo Col Shelter, ME
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

After a real brief stay in Gorham, it¢s back on the trail. And for the most part, it was a good day. The sun finally came out for a few minutes, and I got to have lunch sitting on a rock and not my normal snack in the rain. I took an afternoon break to eat and watch the clouds and then had a 5.2-mile stretch to finish the day. But as I started up Mt Success, thunderstorms came. With no real place to stop or go, I just chased after Bad Hummus and John over peak after peak and along a ridge. The lightning was close and loud. At one point I saw a strike hit a mountain across a gap. We then proceeded to drop down and bounce back up to walk across that very mountain. I was so tired, I eventually just had to give up and walk. The trail was bouncing up and down +100, -200, +300, -100, plus a bad spill on slick rocks would have been really bad. So as I crossed the HN-Maine line, I stopped and took a picture even though the lightning flashed everywhere. I had already spent over an hour on a ridge, why not take the extra 30 seconds to snap a photo of the last state crossing. So it really was scary today. But what is there really to do in that situation? Note: Why can¢t we just get 1 day without getting totally soaked! Everyday.Note: This morning as we left Gorham, Sharptooth drank a beer that was left over from the night before. Breakfast of Champions. It gets better. He then went down stairs and came back with a coffee in one hand, and a slushie in the other, drinking both beverages at the same time while reading a Popular Science magazine. He is hilarious.
Date: 2009-07-04
From: Carlo Col Shelter, ME

To: Speck Pond Shelter , ME
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

This morning we needed to get up early to get going through the toughest miles. But waking up to rain again made us stay in the bags an extra hour. Hiking was windy and slick but we did get to go through the Mahoosuc Notch. It was like a big playground. It was wet, but fun. See pictures. We boulder scrambled, hopped on and off rocks, fit through caves. It was awesome. But exhausting.John fell and bent a trek pole, an hour later fell and broke the other. (He has to buy a round of beer in the next town.) We all fell, it is impossible not to.So the day was cut short because we were tired of walking in the rain. But Tooth and John each packed in 2 beers, so the four of us each had a beer for the holiday. We also packed in sparklers so we had some firework action. I wish I could spend the holiday with friends and fam, but tonight is nice relaxing here on the trail. Note: I fell into a mud bog thigh deep, both legs were covered up to my shorts in dirty bog mud.
Date: 2009-07-05
From: Speck Pond Shelter , ME

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

We didn¢t really need to wake up early today, so we didn¢t. But it definitely dropped down into the 30¢s last night. The Georgia and Tennessee boys couldn¢t believe how cold it was in the middle of the summer. Today we hit a massive bald mountain called Baldpate and the wind and the rain whipped at 50ish miles per hour. The trek poles held by the straps pretty much dangled at 45*. We got pushed along the slick rocks up and over the mountain. There is actually an element of danger when hiking. It is really difficult to stay upright when nature and the law of gravity are really trying to knock you down. And when you fall, it is on hard cold rocks. Obviously I have felt the wrath of slick rocks, but even walking extremely slow, it is impossible to not go down at some point. The terrain is just too tough in parts.Andover is a really great little trail town. Everything I need is in 1 block. The food at the diner was amazing. The hunger is coming back. Note: Only 256 miles. Halfway done with the return trip. As much as the weather is terrible, it is really starting to go fast. I¢ve walked 1920 miles of the AT. That is a long way.
Date: 2009-07-06
From: Andover, ME

To: Bemis Mt. Lean-to , ME
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

No rain today. Lots of views and even a couple pictures. This was a tough stretch of trail and I had a ton of climbing to do. But things went well and made the miles by 5:15. I did get to hike with dry feet for about 8 miles. That was a real treat. But then a couple stream crossings and the mud filled the shoes and socks with water.Jon fell a bunch today, mostly on bog boards, which are really dangerous. He bent the already bent trek pole again. It was a funny scene as I looked up from the trail and could only see his feet dangling. Luckily with all his falls he hasn¢t been hurt.I went to a happy place today and listened to music for hours. I forgot how much it helps with the ups. But I think time goes slower because the radio hosts tell the time every 15 minutes.I want to note that me and the boys dominated both Moody Mountain and Old Blue today. But then the last few miles into the shelter gave me some fits. Mostly because my brain was asleep.
Date: 2009-07-07
From: Bemis Mt. Lean-to , ME

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

Southern Maine is incredible. The terrain is challenging, but if you can do decent days, there is potential to stay in a Hostel every 2 days. That means food, laundry and most importantly to me, showers. Also with towns so close you don¢t have to carry a lot of food. Light packs are always good. So today we had nice miles into Rangeley Maine, but it was wet and wild. The mud makes for such slow walking. You never really know how deep it is until you step in. If the first step doesn¢t sink in very far, the second step usually sucks you in up to your knee. So it is not really hiking, more like wading, slogging, swimming, trudging. But it does get tiring. And because you are constantly stepping in mud, lots of twigs and rocks get in the shoes. It would not be possible to stop and get them out every time you felt discomfort. Instead, what I would do is try to wiggle my foot around until the object makes its way up to my toes. Then I would cup the stone, or branch with my toes to keep it from moving around. When I couldn¢t hold any more with my toes, and there were a ton more making my foot hurt, I would quickly try to take the shoe off and dump them. It was a never ending cycle. Tonight we are staying at the Gull Pond Lodge in Rangeley, another great place to unwind after a couple challenging days. At a little sports bar I ordered some buffalo wings that honestly made me cry. I was so hungry and had to hand my meal over to Bad Hummus who could tolerate such insanity. Note: I thought I heard a moose in a lake I was walking by. So to see it, I dove through bushes and trees whacking my way to the bank.   It turned out to be a loon. What a racket that punk bird can make.
Date: 2009-07-08
From: Rangeley, ME

To: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 18.7

I can¢t begin to tell you how many times my mood swung today. I was all geared up for a day with a couple big climbs and some exposed ridge walking. And getting up to the ridge was no problem at all. In fact, I flew up the mountain. But once on top, the 40 degree wind blowing extremely hard combined with the rain made hiking a real pain. One might think I would be used to walking in the cold rain, but there really isn¢t any worse hiking than being on top of a mountain like Saddleback Mountain in those conditions. Not only that, but the weather robbed me of another beautiful treeless ridge that weekenders and day hikers get to enjoy when they hand pick their hiking days. This is honestly getting old. Now that I don¢t have sleeves, my hands and arms absolutely froze. I ended up having to put my fleece jacket on under the rain coat. Something I haven¢t done since those cold days a few weeks after Springer Mountain. When gearing up for the trip, I remember thinking, the fleece is a good choice because when it gets wet, it is still warm. That is fortunately true. But I had to wear a wet fleece for quite a while after that. Once back below treeline, the rain stopped, it got warmer and the spirits were lifted. Then climbing again, felt great, until the cold rain started again up on top. So after a long day of hiking and being so wet and cold, I really was looking forward to the shelter. When the four of us got here, it was full of summer campers out for a few days who decided to base camp for a couple days (seriously?). Not only that, but they are 15 and 16 years old. My first question: How much longer are you going to go to summer camp? I was very frustrated. But Hummus and I were able to squeeze in the shelter, the others set up tents. It is tight, but at least dry and warm. Note: there was a stretch today before climbing Lone Mountain when I felt unbelievably happy to be hiking. The bugs weren¢t bad, no rain, nice trail, beautiful woods. I didn¢t take any pictures, but it was a place I took a mental snapshot to have a good time to think back on.
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Spaulding Mountain Lean-to

To: Stratton, ME
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night was horrible. It rained and was freezing most of the night. I woke up at around midnight and felt terrible. I¢ll try to explain it, but I doubt I can do this feeling justice. I felt like I needed to throw up, eat, get a drink of water, run to the privy, and lay in the fetal position. I wasn¢t sure which of these options would alleviate the discomfort. Because there were so many people in the shelter, I wasn¢t able to sleep with water very close, it was up in my pack. So I very carefully had to get out of the shelter, find water in my pack, get a drink and see if it would help. I then started towards the privy, but didn¢t make it because it was so rainy and cold. I just walked about 100 yards in the mud, then turned around and headed back to the shelter. Before I got there, I gave myself an opportunity to throw up, but couldn¢t. Got back to the shelter, wiped the mud off my feet with my fleece jacket (pillow), and laid back down. I fell asleep and I think I was just dehydrated, but that midnight adventure was not fun.Today I hiked Sugarloaf Mountain and the Crockers. They were fairly large mountains, with some steep ups. But it was a nice day, and there were not many miles to walk. So once over these mountains, the crew decided it would be a good idea to run the last 3 miles into Stratton. It was fun to have a decent pace going and tick miles off quickly chasing the guys. I had great motivating tunes going all afternoon which helped me run/walk faster. The rock station was brought to me from high atop Sugarloaf Mountain which was very proud to have the biggest stick (radio tower) in Maine.   To get into Stratton, we needed a shuttle. So we called Sue at the motel and she came and picked us up. When she came, there were 4 passenger seats, one for each of us, and room for packs in the trunk. But she also brought her massive standard poodle Knucklehead (seriously, she said that was all he responded to). This dog was hilarious. And listening to Sue yell, ¢Knucklehead, get out of the mud, Knucklehead, stay out of the road, Knucklehead, don¢t eat those weeds¢ was even funnier (Obviously he didn¢t respond very well to anything). Knucklehead ended up climbing all over us as we road in the SUV, eventually settling on Bad Hummus¢ lap. I don¢t think he was too happy about the situation, but we were all in hysterics.
Date: 2009-07-10
From: Stratton, ME

To: Little Bigelow Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I will remember today as one of the most relaxed, emotionally easiest days of hiking. There were big mountains climb, like every day, but the temperature was right, the winds weren¢t whipping, and it didn¢t rain a drop all day. It was also a day were there were a lot of exposed ridges and wonderful views. It reminded me why people like to hike, and that it is not always unbearable on top of mountains. So the Bigelow range was really something special and I have a lot of pictures from this stretch. Even though words and pictures don¢t capture the feelings I had finally being able to experience what the guide books had been describing since the White Mountains (hundreds of miles ago). So enough about that.Because we all spent so much time today hanging out in the sun, and it is a weekend, we expected to be shut out of the shelter. And when we arrived there was another summer camp adventure with a dozen boys all crowded around the shelter. Luckily (they obviously know what they should be doing), they all had tents set up. One thing I had noticed about nearly every group I¢ve seen that puzzles me is that when it is dinner time, the leaders boil one large pot of water and either cook a large batch of noodles, or distribute the hot water to each of the boy for their Mountain House (really expensive, not worth it, only weekenders carry, dehydrated meals). What is interesting is that it takes nearly an hour, to boil an unknown amount of water, in a huge pot. Meanwhile, Slickwood gets his stove going and has boiling water in two minutes. I guess the guides want to save weight and not let the boys cook their own food, but it seems so inefficient. And even after all the hassle of cooking for an hour, each kid only got a cup of noodles. They all looked extremely hungry even after dinner was over. Officially I went over 2000 miles today. But the mark on the trail will be passed tomorrow morning. I really can¢t believe how far I¢ve come.
Date: 2009-07-11
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to, ME

To: Pierce Pond Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Unofficially yesterday I crossed over the last big mountain range until Katahdin. And as a reward, the miles today were extremely nice. And I would have done many more today, but the crew and I were held up by the Kennebec River. We got a good early start, and were really happy to open up the stride. The pace was definitely back up in the 3 mph range, and when we arrived at Pierce Pond lean-to, it was 12:45. So today was about rationing food and recharging the engines. There was a lot of discussion about pushing on and trying to ford the river (highly discouraged). But the problem is, once we push on the three miles, if the river is too high, there really isn¢t any place to camp. Also, the word from many of the southbounders is that the level is really high (they can¢t always be trusted, their opinion about what is passable is very different than ours). I¢m not sure if I¢ve mentioned this yet, but this year there have been records set for amount of rainfall in the Northeast. It has been unbelievably cold and wet. So the fact that we¢ve already had a dozen or so river fords that are usually rock hops, makes the Kennebec especially worrisome. The decision was made to stay, swim, and bake sun instead of risking pushing ahead. I passed the road marking the 2000th mile of the trail today. I took some pictures and a facedown break. When Bad Hummus and I were swimming, we saw a leech that was enormous, probably six inches or more. We ended our swim after that encounter.
Date: 2009-07-12
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to, ME

To: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to, ME
Miles today: 22.8

Today was fairly uneventful.   Just another day mindlessly walking through the woods. This morning we did cross the Kennebec River, by canoe. It is the way hikers are supposed to get across. The river was monstrous, we definetly made the right decision yesterday to stay put. I guess I didn¢t explain things well yesterday, but the issue with the river, is that there is a guy with a canoe to take you across. But he is only there between 9 and 11 in the morning (at this time of the year). So if you are there outside of those times, you are stuck. That was why we couldn¢t move on yesterday. Anyway, we made it today. If I am not mistaken, and I¢ll have to go back and check the miles, today is my first day above 20 since I¢ve gotten back on. I felt really good all day, and am looking forward to cranking 20s straight to Mt. Katahdin. There were a couple little burner climbs today, not anything the body couldn¢t handle. But I am getting frustrated because even though there are fewer and fewer mountains, bumps and miles between us and K, there has not been a positive ID. We even ran into some southbounders today and asked which it was, there response was that they had no idea. We¢ll find it, just gotta keep following the blazes.The shelter is nice (mostly because we have it to ourselves), and I spent about an hour this evening sitting by a pond. Actually I was pretty much in the pond because I rock hopped a good way out into it. But it was so peaceful, and the bugs were virtually nonexistent. I wish I had more time to sit and think, enjoy, reflect. But right now, I am having a blast running with Sharptooth, Bad Hummus and Slick Wood. It wouldn¢t be worth it to drop off to spend more time by myself. Right now I¢m just riding the momentum we all give each other.
Date: 2009-07-13
From: Moxie Bald Mountain Lean-to, ME

To: Monson, ME
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was all about speed. Without any hills, and a good early start, the goal for today was to make the 18 miles by noon. Which we were able to do. Getting into Monson has been a mental checkpoint for me for a long time. Two years ago my dad and I walked from Abol Bridge south to Monson on a week hike. When we came out of the woods, I looked across the street and saw a group of Thru hikers sitting on a rock wall waiting to be shuttled into the town. They looked tired, unkempt, and dirty. For me getting to sit on the same wall and try to hitch into town was incredible. As we stood at the road deciding if we should call for a shuttle or hitch, Slick Wood decided to throw up a thumb, as he saw a line of cars coming. The very first car pulled off and picked two of us up. It was a 10 second hitch. Amazing. And actually, 10 minutes later, as me and Hummus weren¢t having any luck, the same car decided to come back to the trail and see if we still needed a lift. Thank you.Hiking is a very selfish thing to do. You hike for a number of reasons, but there is a lot of personal fulfillment. In order to be able to pull off a hike like this, it takes the good will and kindness of so many people. There is no way I would be able to repay everyone for their kindness and help along the trail. I just hope, with a lifetime ahead of me, I can pay the favors forward. Here in Monson, the guys got a shuttle to an outfitter that was able to replace all the mangled trek poles they had been carrying. I stayed behind to do chores, sit by the lake, and eat. Monson really is a beautiful town in the summer, and it is my last trail town of the hike. So after all the expenses today, I am set to get home.
Date: 2009-07-14
From: Monson, ME

To: Chairback Gap lean-to
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: broken clouds

I want to start by describing the challenge. In order to summit Katahdin on the 18th with some of Bad Hummus¢ friends, we need to be at the base of the mountain in four days. That basically means an insane number of walking hours. As we left Monson this morning, 110 miles stood between us and the base of the mountain. As I was walking and doing a few calculations, I discovered, 1) we¢ll be averaging 27.5 miles per day this week, 2) If averaging 2 miles per hour, that means 55 walking hours out of the next 88 total hours. (For every sleeping/eating/drying out hour, I have to walk 2 hours) And 3) this is crazy and will probably push my body right to the limit hopefully without breaking it. This final push for Mt. Katahdin has been called the Four Days to Freedom Campaign. Day one of the 4DF Campaign has been exhausting. With a 7:20 a.m. start in Monson ( we didn¢t even get the all you can eat breakfast at Shaw¢s) we made the shelter by about 7:15 p.m. When looking over the maps for the next few days, I tried to explain (having walked this stretch before) that this will be the most challenging day even though it is close to the fewest miles. And we all got worked going over the Chairback Range. The last 7 miles were steep and slow. We never gained or lost a lot of elevation, but it was the old AT rocky roller trick that sucks all of your energy. When we made it to the shelter, there were 4 high school kids who were southbouding.   It was really amusing to see how far we had come as hikers. They were so full of questions and clumsy with their new gear. I can¢t believe I was ever that inconsiderate in a shelter, but I guess there weren¢t many crowds when I started. Jon dubbed that night Amateur Hour in the shelter. There were clothes everywhere (it hadn¢t rained that day) missing socks, cooking in sleeping bags and spilling all over our stuff, tracking mud, noisy stoves left to blow in the wind all night, and me having to physically roll the guy next to me over as he decided it was ok sleep laying on top of me. It was hilarious, but a little frustrating at the time. Lastly, when I hiked this stretch a couple years ago with my dad, we ran into a Thru hiker 15 miles north of Monson. We were camped for the night, and expected him to do the same. But he decided to push another 4 miles up a mountain to camp. I was shocked. Wasn¢t he tired? How could he hike that far? This year, I stopped for a snack at that same shelter me and my dad camped at, then pushed another 11, 7 tough miles further than that thru hiker I met years ago. It makes me feel like I have become a hiker.
Date: 2009-07-15
From: Chairback Gap lean-to

To: Cooper Brook Falls lean-to
Miles today: 28.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was wonderful this morning waking up at 4:30, teaching those boys a lesson about doing big miles. In order to walk all day, you have to get up before dawn. Although, I¢m pretty sure me and Jon (Sharptooth and Bad Hummus camped last night, smart) didn¢t even wake most of them up. I know they had a really tough day the day before, and were exhausted. (Sarcastic, they were shooting for 10 days to Monson from K).   So the miles were nicer today, hit some trail magic (woopie pies, oh no, and Mountain Lightning soda), and went up and over White Cap mountain, the last big range before Mt. Katahdin. The body doesn¢t seem to have any lasting damage from yesterday or the miles today. Where I am sitting right now, is 55ish miles into the wilderness, halfway done with the 4DF push. I got a great view of Mt. Katahdin from White Cap. I have read in the guide book for the last week that there have been views of this mountain. And I have looked and debated with the guys about which one it was. It is really strange that after days of debate and discussion really having no idea where it is, we walked out to a viewpoint and it was the only mountain left.   The southbounders today told us it was not possible to do the Hundred Mile Woods in three days. Naturally when faced with a hiking challenge, Northbounders step up and dominate. So Slick Wood (Jon) decided tomorrow he is going to try and push out of the wilderness doing a 45 miler. I however, already pushing myself pretty hard, and really, really wanting to get home healthy, have decided to stick to the original plan and ONLY do 30. I would be so mad if I got hurt on this stretch that I¢ve already done, and being forced off again with 14 miles to go. I rinsed by legs and feet today in Cooper Brook. Where my shoes hit the side of my legs when I walk fast, I have open wounds that get mud smashed into them.   So I try to get the mud out every once in a while. But when I went back to the shelter, I noticed and unwanted companion. A leech had decided I would be a good snack (everything out here wants to eat you). So the Southbouders at the shelter were thrilled having never seen a leech before. I couldn¢t pull it off because it was too slick, so I torched it, then pulled it off (it didn¢t break the skin). Sharptooth asked if I was going to eat it. Maybe I should have, just to horrify the Southbounders even more.