morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-09-02
From: Cascade Mountain

To: Full Goose Campsite
Miles today: 15.2

I've got nothing for you again today. All of my concentration went into not getting hurt. Hiking was brutal which was expected because today I crossed into Maine. WOOT! The terrain was just an incessant jumble of rock scrambles. There was not a single flat part for even a brief moment. Also most of the rocks on the other side of mount Success seem to be in a permanent state of wetness. There's more shade so it doesn't dry out. That made the going really slow trying to take my time and ensure that I wouldn't slip and fall. A majority of the bigger boulders are smooth slabs That you've got to climb on at an angle going up and down. Sometimes without even a root, crack, or tree limb to take advantage of. There weren't any good views either. It was a smoggy day with tons of clouds.The campsite had a good amount of people though and I was in a good mood. However I didn't feel like socializing much and the one older guy who seems to be a SOBO appears to be in the same boat. I camped by him respecting both our bubbles of introversion. I dived into my tent to do some reading and am going to sleep meditating on this thought:"Everything in any way beautiful has it's beauty of itself, inherent and self-sufficient: praise is no part of it. At any rate, praise does not make anything better or worse. This applies even to the popular conception of beauty, as in material things or works or art. So does the truly beautiful need anything beyond itself? No more than law, no more than truth, no more than kindness or integrity. Which of these things derives it's beauty from praise, or withers under criticism? Does an emerald lose its quality if it is not praised? And what of gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a dagger, a flower, a bush?"
Date: 2014-09-04
From: Old Speck Summit

To: Sawyer Notch
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: light rain

I thought Maine was supposed to be getting chilly this time of the year. I've been sweating everyday like back in Connecticut. Unfortunately I already set my intent last night to do a bigger mileage day to help make up for the recent lower mileage days. Not that it matters but sometimes you just got to set intent and commit.Ran into a lot of people from Vermont as I descended towards Grafton Notch. Some of the younger women were openly venting their concern on chafing which made me realize I never got any chafing throughout my entire hike. Granted I don't have to deal with cleavage but the key area is your baby making area. Coming from a very dry part of the states with no humidity, I assumed the heat on the AT would destroy me but the only thing I got was a tiny patch of heat rash on the back of my shoulder blade in Pennsylvania. Investing in good underwear and hiking shirtless has been the key to my success. The marketing for Exoficio give-n-go briefs is actually truthful: it's the only underwear you'll ever want to wear from here on out.The day sort of dragged on since I ended up counting the miles after Grafton Notch. It was tempting to just hitch into Andover but I can't let myself take it easy all the time. Andover tomorrow... Haha
Date: 2014-09-06
From: South Arm Rd

To: Bemis Stream
Miles today: 12.4

You get used to things. I got used to hiking real quick. So much that these states kind of blended together. I mean there are specific differences in each state but it's fundamentally one collective thing. After all this is planet earth and borders are just an invention.Found myself sitting on a bench looking deeply at the silhouette of mountains off in the distance shrouded in a mysterious looking whitish blue and gray haze at 10 in the morning. It's was here while taking a break that it sunk in. I'm in Maine. Never been up here. Nor most of the states I've passed through for this hike. That helped me realize the reality of being so close to the end. There's so many things I look forward to getting into once I'm done. But wow. Really had to take a moment and feel the sense of amazement.Later on I stepped on a bird. A grouse to be specific. How did I not step on a snake so far?? I was watching every step too. Rock, big rock, roots, slippery rocks, moss, dirt, fallen tree, ???- *SQUACK!!!!* I must have jumped 2 foot in the air as a flurry of pure frantic flapping erupted from under my foot. Then I saw the other birds to the right and left of me dully staring at me not moving a single feather. They looked like wild chickens but camouflaged.This was when there were still blue skies. Rain was forecasted to start in the afternoon. Cut the day short because of that. However the rain started coming down before I made it to the earliest point I was willing to stop for the day. I was accounting for the extra slippery boulders and roots you have to climb down but I ended up cautiously traversing my way through some in the rain anyway. Instead of being hot in rain gear and getting soaked in sweat, I opted for shirtless and wet anyway as usual. For that reason I made it to my projected minimal destination and made camp when there was a break from the rain. Didn't want to get stuck hiking 5 more miles until the next lean-to and risk getting cold in the rain. Instead of using my para cord to hang a bear bag, I used it to string up my tarp over my tent like a super vestibule I could cook under. Also to hang my wet clothes on.
Date: 2014-09-07
From: Beamis Stream

To: ME 4
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

There's really something about the day after a rainy one that makes it extra special. It actually seemed like the picture perfect version of Maine today. It's the day that photographers come outside for taking pictures. Kind of like why your McDonalds Big Mac rarely looks like the Big Mac on the wall. Today was the first time Maine looked like it does on television. And this stretch of the trail wasn't so rugged!I like the gloomy days with overcast skies and all, but this is why if you're having a tough time in the beginning you need to follow a strict 1-2 punch rule: never quit on an uphill and never quit on a rainy day. But by the end of the thru hike, the uphills are much easier than the downhills... (personal opinion of course and I don't even have terrible knees.)I'm having a really hard time picking a favorite state now so I'm just not going to. It was Virginia at first. Then I loved Vermont... And so on. But So far Maine is what I imagined what the AT would be.I slept over 12 hours straight last night since I took advantage of a break in the rain to pitch my tent while I could. Was asleep by 7pm and didn't wake up until nearly 8am. For the first time in a long time I breezed through the trail because it leveled out a little and there weren't as many rocks or slippery roots. Of course this is where I let my guard down and slipped off a log resulting in my foot sinking into a bog up to my knee. Somehow my foot didn't get wet. Took this as an opportunity to imprint my hands and sign it like it was wet cement. Made a few fake ones and signed them as Bob Peoples, Buddy Backpacker, and Fat Bastard as if it was the AT Hollywood blvd. I was tempted to leave a face imprint but couldn't figure out how without falling in. Same problem for leaving a bare butt mold. If someone pulls that off, hats off to you good sir or ma'am. When I got to ME 4 I started contemplating what I should do. The decision was easy because a big truck owned by a new hostel called Farmhouse Inn pulled up. So I hopped in and was glad I did! This is a beautiful place facing the river and they've got everything a hiker wants. Plus they're still renovating the place so it'll be even better next year. They're not in the guidebook yet but the place is a half mile before the IGA grocery store. Perfect for me since I need to send myself a food drop for Monson, ME when I get to the 100 mile wilderness. So the plan is enjoy this beautiful town and borrow a bike tomorrow morning. Wahoo! I'm in the home stretch!
Date: 2014-09-08
From: ME 4

To: Piazza Rock
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: light rain

First one awake in the hostel today. I had almost 13 hours of sleep the other night so naturally I didn't need much. I slept really well even though I wasn't tired. Stacey wasn't kidding about this hostel having great mattresses. Spent most of the morning procrastinating, reading, chatting with Sundiver about the Air Force, and typical hiker chatting with Styles and Corrine. Turns out Corrine was attempting a southbound thru but looks like this won't be the year. Now she's being an awesome hand to the Farmhouse Inn. It was past 9am before I knew it so I jumped up and borrowed a bike and day pack to check out Rangely, ME. First thing to do was hitting the grocery store so I could pack up a food drop for the 100 mile wilderness. From then on out I kept running into thru hikers all day. Seems like everyone has spent at least 2 days here and I can see why. I didn't leave town until after 5pm so I only went as far as Piazza rock. Mostly so I could check out the caves. It wasn't really a cave (the one marked with blue blazes) but I did find an actual cave by Piazza Rock. There's a giant rock kind of like the one in The Lion King and nearby there I found some keyhole entrances which is the kind of hole you have to crawl in and contort your body a bit to get through. I went to check out the caves up the hill and crawled right in with my headlamp. I was only in shorts and did not want to venture too deep in with a headlamp that's low on battery and where no one knew where I was. Well I did want to go farther in but there was a spring inside that I'd have to crawl through. Freshly laundried and just out of town, I didn't feel like getting muddy with the temperature dropping tonight so I explored other parts and gave up trying to find an alternative route through.Now that I'm laying in my tent I'm starting to get excited about Katahdyn. Hiking for 6 months has been really monotonous but somehow I'm not sick of it. However, it makes the prospect of moving onto what's coming next in life very exciting. There's so many things I want to jump into but I've got to take it one step at a time.
Date: 2014-09-09
From: Piazza Rock

To: Spaulding Mt
Miles today: 16.9

I'm in Maine and still meeting new faces everyday. We're all apparently NOBO thru hikers too. Very strange but then again these new faces I'm unexpectedly running into are other solo hikers or people who were hiking in groups before.The past couple days I got acquainted with Spruce Lee which I had to mention because of the impressive ingenuity of the trail name.Since meeting Mr Lee, I've also run into quite a few odd SOBO sectioners. And one particularly eerie NOBO that has apparently been traveling all over the place for the past 10 years. Since I never got the vibe that I was going to get stabbed, it's all good in the neighborhood and I carried on as usual.Today's hiking reminded me of Maines version of the Grayson Highlands minus the ponies. Have not had to ford any streams yet because the water is kind of running low but I'll have to wait and see about the rivers coming up. No one gets through Maine with dry feet all the way. NOBODY.
Date: 2014-09-12
From: ME 27

To: Little Bigelow
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero'd yesterday. Just about every hiker was getting ready to head out but rain was forecasted. By 10am it became clear we were all zeroing at both the Wolf Inn and Straton Motel. By the end of the day we packed the place and consolidated our new hiker bubble. The people avoiding big bubbles and hiking alone or in small groups. Soon enough we will all be dispersed amongst our own solitary confines seperated be a mere few miles.Last night I was last in bed after killing time at the bar playing everyone in pool since it was free. This morning I was first up. I guess everyone laid in their bunks holding their phones above their faces well past midnight. Since I didn't want to wake everyone up by packing up in a dead silent room full of potential vampires (don't ever disturb tired hikers from their deep slumber). After having breakfast and waiting around it suddenly went from uneventful to a fury of activity as everyone got up at the same time. It was freaky like watching a hive come alive. There was no room to move around as the packs started getting stuffed in but I managed I catch a ride back to trail by 9:30am. It was really chilly too - my breath was still showing in the air around noon. Will see how the night goes...
Date: 2014-09-14
From: Pierce Pond

To: Pleasant Pond Mtn
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The wind was howling this morning. So much that the pond looked like it turn into a rapid. The first thing on the trail I had to pass was right next to the edge of this now rowdy pond. Felt like I was on the show Deadliest Catch or something because of the slippery rocks that happened to be the trail. A wood barrier was the only thing holding the water back to keep the trail from being submerged but the waves were vaulting right over. Luckily I was already wearing rain pants because it was so windy. Still got wet but I was more concerned about getting swept over or slipping than getting chilled.After that it was a real easy 4 miles to the Kennebec River crossing. Pretty glad you don't have to ford this one otherwise this would have escalated beyond wet and wild. I got there right at 9:00am and was the first hiker of the day. Paddling across in a canoe was quick and easy. As soon as I got to US 201, a woman pulled over and offered me a ride before I could even step onto the pavement. Naturally I made best friends with her dog and inquired about hitching around in Maine. She enlightened me that I'm not a hitchhiker. She doesn't pick up hitch hikers. Only hikers. Funny because I just wrote a little something about the difference between hobos and thru hikers. Unfortunately thru hikers probably stink more but her dog loved me nonetheless.Turned out she lives in a cabin outside of town and drives in for supplies and a hot shower once in awhile. Jumping into the ponds around here is not bad at all right now but who doesn't like a hot shower? Ironically I didn't take advantage of the free hot tub and shower temptation at Northern Outdoors. I was still relatively fresh coming out of town not too long ago and I'll be in the next trail town soon enough. Just came in to grab a hot and calorie filled breakfast then resupply just enough to get me to Monson. Don't know why I didn't just pack enough food all the way to Monson but I'm not always 100% on point when it comes to forward thinking.My intent for today was to keep hiking. Figuring I could get a hitch easily in this area, I started walking towards Sterling Inn for a resupply. Should have taken advantage of the free shuttle because I ended up walking the whole way. Not aware that the free Northern Outdoors shuttle includes Sterling Inn, I ended up walking back the entire 3.5 miles too. Those could have been trail miles Even though it was a beautiful day, I'd say just take the dam shuttle! That was a lot of wasted time in Caratunk when I was hiking out anyway. Should have jumped into that hot tub too... Oh well. Onwards and forwards.
Date: 2014-09-15
From: Pleasant Pond Mtn

To: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To
Miles today: 20.7

Actually made it out of camp before 7am. Yes I surprised myself too. Don't know what to tell ya about anything. I suppose this is the time to go down an introspective rabbit hole. Haven't made time to do that since probably before I started this trek. But the end is near so I'm primarily just tuned into simpleminded routine behavior. I'll talk about that instead. I hiked 20 miles today. It was cool. The endI'm in between hiker bubbles at the moment and it's exactly what I tend to strive towards. There's hardly any hikers on this stretch of trail and the thru hikers around my general vicinity have the same mentality - just stay in front of the last big bubble and lag behind the people trying to finish. I'm sure a few people pulled ahead when I ended up meandering around in Caratunk but today I kept on leap frogging Stormy, Chair, and Redbeard. We actually had to do some water fording finally but water levels are still low enough to get away with rock hopping in some places. Came into Maine expecting I'd have to do the ole Oregon Trails fording thing holding my pack above my head and risk loosing wagons and stuff because that makes total sense. (Flash backs of that ancient game where you just want to go hunting every chance you get and end up in scarce lands). No one died of a fever today.
Date: 2014-09-16
From: Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To

To: Monson
Miles today: 9.0

Yesterday I stopped at the closest campsite before Monson. No point getting to town at night when you can have a restful sleep in the woods and enjoy town all day. It rained last night though and kept going into the morning. There were only 3 other people here including Teabag, Firewalker and a Hungarian section hiking. I think we set a record because after chatting for a while and having dinner, we were all asleep well before 7pm.I woke up at 5 but everyone was still asleep. It was still pitch black and pretty cold but I was wide awake now. Still in a mindless state. Well I shouldn't say mindless, actually more mindful than anything. Kind of meditative in the way that I had zero thoughts going through my head. I was just being. I understand most people have trouble quieting their mind but I love to indulge in this state. Thinking back about my day to write about, this was the moment that really stood out in my mind -- Quietly cooking oatmeal in the dark, listening to the purr of the alcohol flame and the sound of the woods gently being patted down by light rain. I stared into the stove flame in fascination since it was the only thing I could see. You don't need to think about what you're doing today. You don't need to figure out how you're doing what you're going to do. You don't need to plan out when and how to eat. You don't need to do anything. Just be. It all comes as it does like water coming down the mountain and flowing into streams. Your path of life has already been set in motion and I've been at this for a good while now. At the beginning it may have been unclear but the destination is all the same. Paths may diverge or complications may come unforeseen but it's all part of the flow. I hope I can apply this more directly to all areas in my life. Before backpacking, flow was limited to making lines in movement. Movement such as when you ride a bike, longboard, drive, run, climb, etc. Flow so that you don't have to hit the brakes or waste energy. You can fly with minimal acceleration if you can master harmony. But flow is so much more than that. The problem is that it's hard to keep the flow going when interrupted. In fact, interruption is the opposite of flow and you have to learn to flow around it. The ancient analogy to this concept is water flowing around a rock. I hate being interrupted which is why I love this long distance backpacking thing so so much. There's no rocks out here that I have to acknowledge or pay any mind to.I got to ME 15 after fording some more streams barefoot instead of getting my shoes wet. A kind older couple caught me walking the wrong way to town and scooped me up in the back of their pickup.
Date: 2014-09-17
From: Monson

To: Long Pond Stream
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

The beginning of the end starts today - the 100 mile wilderness. Bitter sweet day for me because honestly it would be really cool if I could adventure travel the rest of my life like this. Living out of a backpack has been an invaluable experience that actually has appealed to me for a long time. Well before the concept of minimalism began to get around. Of course hiking the AT is very different than living out of a backpack. There's a lot more to deal with when you add hiking into the mix and I love every bit of it.To get some perspective, think about how insignificant the act of a daily shower is compared to your first shower in 2 weeks of trekking mountains.How rewarding that feast of a dinner is when you've hiked all day famished.Running into a total stranger and connecting on a deeper level than anyone you've ever had the pleasure of meeting in a "civilized" context.The examples could go on indefinitely. I just want to say that in this modern age there are so many things that accumulate into our American lives. These things are meant to make life easier. To save time, money, and bring value. I'm talking about microwaves, cars, lights, etc. They do make things really fast and easy but where is all this extra time that it saves you? You're still rushing to work and getting to bed by a specific time so you can get up and make your schedule.I was going to go into excessive detail about how all of that robs you of the inherent enjoyment of the basic pleasures of living. The point I wanted to make is that there's no foreplay anymore.Eh, this isn't for everybody.Everything was wet and slick today as I entered the 100 mile wilderness. The going was slow and I had to be careful with my heavy pack. How much would that suck to get injured at this point?I forded 3 water crossings today. The first one was incredibly cold.
Date: 2014-09-18
From: Long Pond Stream

To: Carl A Newman Leanto
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: broken clouds

Finally in the 100 mile wilderness and this is where I start thinking about all the Mexican food places I'm going to visit once I'm back in California?! Great. Makes sense though. Once that final mountain is finished I could be having California burritos within 24 hours. Another reason that I may be thinking about all this food would be that I am kind of conserving food. I don't exactly need to ration - I've got a lot of food. But I'm not resupplying until Abol Bridge. The ruggedness of this part of the trail has slowed me down a little and it's been getting cold. So it's nice to be able to feast when you really need to at night. Today's hike felt extra monotonous with that in mind because there's only so little left to do hike. The distance is not daunting at all. I also was set on finishing solo as well so it's not like I had a companion to chat the miles away with anyway. Chances are that even if there were other thru hikers with me, we'd be contemplating the end of our hikes.