morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-08-18
From: Stratton ME

To: Monson ME
Miles today: 32.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The mountains in Maine are some of the most difficult to hike.  Long climbs up and longer wobbles down.  The danger of falling is always on my mind as I navigate the obstacles (rocks, roots, and muddy slick surfaces.  The scenery in ME is incredibly beautiful as many of the mountain tops have views of lakes and vistas that are so remote and undisturbed by people that they have a sense of an original calm landscape.  I could sit and watch the subtle changes for hours if it weren't for the damn mosquitoes!  Ha haToday I got up as I camped at the foot of Crocker Mtn and it was cold.  I had to take my warm down jacket off and put my damp shirt on.  It was one of those "screw-it" moments; just do it and get going.  I hiked about 2 miles and it started to rain.  Now, why the heck does it start raining at 8 am?  Why not wait until noon or two pm?  So I hiked wet for 7 miles to a road where a town was waiting a couple miles away.  And, a couple from Tampa were there waiting for a friend to drive them out. They offered me a ride and I considered hiking on ... but the lure of a warm meal and dry setting won over.  I estimate about 8 more hiking days to finish up the trail and then I will be settled with my trail commitment and able to head back home.  I'm sure the last few miles will be as challenging as all those beforehand but being able to see the end will be much more palatable.  Still I have a huge 180 miles to hike which will eat my feet and test my fortitude; but with the reward of making it home, I'm all for pushing forward with more miles and tougher conditions so I can finish strong!
Date: 2017-08-20
From: Shelter

To: 100 Mile Wilderness
Miles today: 37.0
Weather: few clouds

If you were ever curious about the word "rain" rhyming with "Maine" ... there is a reason.  About every day it rains in Maine.  The result is some incredible lakes that are really beautiful.  I passed a few today as I made my way to a canoe shuttle across the Kanabec River. No other way to get across it.  And, to make matters a little more stressful, if you don't make it by 2 pm, you have to wait until 9 am the next day on the other side!  Well I was motivated and hiked 21 miles in 8 hours.  I did make the canoe by 3 minutes!! And the reward was a shower, dinner, and laundry!  Ha ha. I am however getting close to the end as I estimate about 7 days before I reach the last mountain and the climactic endpoint of the AT.  This is the long awaited and anticipated finale and believe me, I'm ready to get this bad boy over and get back to the house!  Will keep the posts going until the end.
Date: 2017-08-26
From: Remote Wilderness Lake

To: Millinocket, ME
Miles today: 136.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The most fortunate weather imaginable and some tough but incredibly beautiful terrain lead from Monson ME to a small outpost called the Abol Bridge with 100 miles of wilderness between them.  Many tall and rocky mountains and several beautiful lakes laid along the trail.  I made it through in 4 days/3 nights with one being camp on the shore of a wonderful lake in the middle of nowhere!What a great path and, yes, I'm glad to be outta there.  The roots, rocks, and mud destroyed my feet and the sneaky mosquitoes attacked the back of my neck and triceps where I couldn't swat them readily.  Ready for a final push!
Date: 2017-08-28
From: Birches Camp

To: Mount Katahdin
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I couldn't sleep worth a dime!  Got up at 4:30, packed, dressed and put away my tent in the dark.  It was a short mileage day since the climb is so rough with so many rocks and all uphill!  I was walking up Katahdin at 6:00am.  The path wasn't bad for the first 2 miles but turned ugly!  And long!I took several pictures that will never do it justice but captured where I went.  A long climb above tree line and a nice ridge walk and I climbed the last bit of steep rock-mountain side to fine that ever elusive sign that I've seen so many times.  The journey's end...The beginning of another...God blessed me with a 2200+/- mile journey with nothing more than some sore feet, weight loss, and a scratch, no blood loss and no sickness or doc calls!  133.5 days from Springer to Kataldin.  P.S., I may be "King of the Mountain" but I serve THE King of All!
Date: 2017-08-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Had to come back and add the final day of my journey. So, when I arrived at the hotel in Millinocket, I had a Honda 1300 VTX waiting for me. I jumped off the trail for a day, found a bike for sale, bought it and parked it at the end of the trail in town! It was 2.5 weeks before I would end and gave me another motivation to make it to the end point.  I couldn't put this in my journal because I wanted to surprise my wife. I rode for three days back to GA on several back roads and parkways where I crossed on the walk up. It was so amazing to have the wind in my face sitting on the bike. What an exit strategy!
Date: 2017-08-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

After a couple days of scrambling for supplies (food and stuff sacks mostly), physically preparing (cut my fingernails, saw my PT one more time) and mentally freaking out, I think I'm ready.My Ursack (animal proof bag) is loaded with 5 days of food. I will have a box waiting for me at a store by the AT Metro North Station and a box in Becket, MA. On the move resupply between them as well as a couple zero days planned. Currently waiting for water proofing to dry before packing everything up. Not much left to do but eat a good dinner.Cheers.
Date: 2017-08-10
From: Brooklyn, NY

To: Greymoor Spiritual Center
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

This morning started early. Well...city early. Out of bed and in the shower by 7, on a train at 8...which barely got me to Grand Central to catch my preferred train up to Peekskill, NY around 10:30am.From there, I walked to the Camp Smith Trail (aptly named for the military camp it runs along) and started my hike along blue blazes. **For friends and family members that don't have context for this, blazes are the markings on trees or rocks used to tell you where the trail is. On the AT, the markings are white. Along the 2000+ miles, there are ocassional places to go off trail to see something cool. These are often Blue. Why Blue? Who knows.So, the Camp Smith trail is part of an AT Blue Blaze (as well as it's own thing). It's peak is called Anthony's Nose. It overlooks the Hudson directly across from Bear Mountain. On a blue bird day like today, the view was gorgeous. Past the Nose, it was another 0.6 miles until I hit my first white blaze signifying I had finally reached the official beginning of my AT journey. Roughly 5 miles further (and many ups and downs), I hit another Blue Blaze taking me to my first overnight location. After a cold shower, an entire box of couscous, some amusing conversation, and several games of in-hand solitaire, I'm tucked into my hammock and likely drifting off to sleep with darkness only recently falling.My muscles are sore, but they're ready for more.
Date: 2017-08-12
From: Fahnestock St Park - AT Campsite

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Didn't sleep great but nothing got wet. I'll place blame on the super delicious Pepsi. Up early to pack and try to keep things dry.  Joe made another 3 egg sandwich (on white bread) and I was off.The ground everwhere was wet, so going was a little bit slow from time to time. Slipped going downhill 3 times. The nice thing about having a pack on your back is that it helps protect you.Started getting a shin splint on my right shin. Will be sleeping with an Icy Hot patch on it tonight. All other leg muscles are just tired. I think I have to find a way to ditch some pack weight...and I'm about to get a resupply the day after tomorrow. Guess I have to eat more.Just did the math on average miles per day for the rest of the trip. Lucky 13. A day off in Kent coming up Wednesday.So tired. Hopefully will sleep better tonight.
Date: 2017-08-15
From: Schaghticoke Campsite

To: Mt Algo Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up around 6am to the soothing sounds of rain above my head. Glad I've started defaulting to putting the rain fly on every night. Slept a couple more hours, crawled out around 8 and took my time getting ready. No rush today - the goal was Kent, CT a mere 4 miles away.Due to the rain, lots of wet rocks on the trail again. No falls this time. Lots of slips. Took my time on a lot of downhill chunks to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. And to try to go easy on my still sore shins.Made it into Kent around noon, right behind another pair of NOBOs. Heading down the main drag, trying to decide what non-trail food I wanted to eat, I came across Uconn (the dude I chatted with a couple mornings back) sitting outside a coffeeshop. After catching up on the last couple days, we decided to find food and try to secure a place to crash in town instead of pushing on 7 more miles (spoiler alert - Kent is expensive and not very big).Quick recap of time in town: Had an awesome burger with avocado and chipolte mayo sauce; did a tiny resupply and found another NOBO by the name of Lakes; took hot showers at Kent's new hiker welcome station (many locals very excited about it being used); did a team load of laundry; tried to find an Air BnB and failed; coffee shop; liquor store; back out.We decided to backtrack to the nearest shelter - 0.3 on the trail and uphill all the way. Lakes (a fellow solo NOBO chick) and I set up camp, cracked open a couple Sixpoint Crisps, and headed over to the shelter to hang out for a while. In the end, 5 of us (4 NOBOs and 1 SOBO in a kilt) stayed up a little too late.I should have done some planning and was kind of hoping for a bed, but this option was certainly more what this adventure is about. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep (even though it could have been 8 hrs if I'd been able to), but my shins are feeling better, and I just watched the woods turn from black and white to full color. Might kick it with Lakes on the trail today, might not. At the very least, may have found a new adventure cohort for the future.Til later...
Date: 2017-08-16
From: Mt Algo Shelter

To: Ceasar Brook Campsite
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Lakes and I started out a little behind schedule this morning. 9am off the camp site (it's harder to pack up and go in the morning when people are up and chatty). We had 17.3 miles in our sights and it was a blue bird day.Coming down from our 0.3 the wrong way, we hit the road and started off strong across a field and some flats. In no time, we were headed up again, just like every day...It's nice to be able to hike with someone. Even nicer when you quickly discover you have a fair amount in common. There were some nice stretches of flats throughout the day so we had a few hours to chat about everything from families to places we've traveled to years spent playing softball growing up. However, anytime the terrain started to go up, most talking stopped and we worked our way slowly over rocks, up steep inclines, and thru switchback after switchback. Around 2pm, we found ourselves near another river. Lakes has been battling poison ivy so we stopped for her to apply some more medicine and put our feet in the water. If we'd had the time, that strecth would be a great spot for a near zero day. Alas - onward. We crashed thru another 1.5 to a shelter where we were able to do a little work rolling muscles out on the bottoms of our feet - Lakes with a bouncy ball (which I think I need to look into) and me with my tennis ball. Around this point, we decided we weren't doing our full 17, but instead shooting for a tent site which would put us around 14 for the day - with a little blue blaze excitement added in.We'd been informed by one of our SOBO cohorts last evening that when we got to Cornwall Bridge, we would find a blue blaze to go down to the Package Store. Signing the register granted you a free beer. We stashed our bags behind some rocks up the train a ways and headed down. And then promptly turned left instead of right to go to the Citgo for soda, ice cream, and gas station breakfast food (pop tarts for me, crossoints for her). Back up the hill - super easy without our packs - and then another couple of miles to our campsite for the night. All in all, a good day. My pain has shifted from my shins up to my knees - all this up and down (and with extra weight) is not something they are used to. Ibuprofen tonight and tomorrow and we will see what happens.
Date: 2017-08-17
From: Ceasar Brook Campsite

To: Limestone Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 2 on the trail with Lakes. Felt like a lot of uphill today. On the trail at 8:15. Lakes took the lead and it felt like we were two ends of a slinky. She would get pretty far ahead during uphill sections and I could catch up during flatter parts or when she stopped for a breather.Today we had 2 goals: make it into Falls Village, CT for a cold shower and a soda. And get over Mt. Prospect before stopping for the day. We accomplished both.Let's pause here and acknowledge that ever hiker has their things they cannot pass up or go without. I believe I have already stated that showers are one of mine. This is something Lakes and I agree on wholeheartedly. We would walk further out of our way if we know there is a shower involved. It doesn't matter that, at most, you get to feel that clean for an overnight. Even an hour of feeling that good and being able to scrub off a layer of dirt is totally worth it.Most places that have showers have enclosed spaces for them. In Falls River, however, it was a spigot on the side of a work shed for a power plant. No privacy. In fact, near a fairly well travelled road for the location. So - not a full super exciting shower, but still down to underwear and able to wash out a shirt and my bandana.Also found a really great hiker stash at the spigot. I scored a tiny recharger (a little bit bigger than a lighter) and a small dry bag. Rolled out our feet, went to the Package Store (which we learned today means liquor store...silly New Englanders) for a soda (Lakes' first experience with Stewart's Soda) and some charge on the phones. And at 4:30, we headed out to conquer our last task of the day - Mt. Prospect. He's a slow lazy kind of mountain. The up stretches out longer than you want, but it's not full of rocky trail like so many others. Around 5:30 we were up and by 6:15 we had chosen our home for the night. Tomorrow wants to be a very big day - 17 miles and a lot of elevation change. No in-town diatractions, just walking. However, the radar also looks like rain. We'll see what we can jam out. We have a day in Great Barrington in our sights for Saturday if everything works out.The pain came and went a lot today. Transferred back to my right shin when we hit pavement in Falls River. Sticking with Ibuprpfen, more Icy Hot tonight, hoping to get a basic knee brace in GB on Saturday, and a down day to let things calm themselves.Keep your fingers crossed - we're hoping to accomplish a lot in the next 48 hours.
Date: 2017-08-18
From: Limestone Shelter

To: Laurel Ridge Campsite 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

Woke up this morning to rain overhead. Nothing terrible but enough to keep me in my hammock longer than I should have been.I also packed up while in my hammock - that's a first for this trip. Not the easiest, but with the gear sling under my hammock it's not terrible.Parted ways with Lakes today. Hopefully we'll catch each other once more at Upper Goose Pond, but who knows - anything can happen. Hit the trail solo at 10am (wicked late) and felt like I was racing the rain all day. I didn't buy much in the way of legit rain protection (I have no rain cover for my bag, I'm using a garbage bag for a liner inside my bag, but my stuff sacks for my hammock and sleeping bag are both somewhat inherently rain proof as well as sprayed down with rain proofing) so I just kept my fingers crossed for the day. The liquid was definitely hanging in the air - any time I got a peek off a ridgeline, there wasn't much to see in the distance. I stopped just before Bear Mountain to eat a late lunch and ended up chatting with someone whose brother started working at The Huntington (as overhire) this summer - crazy small world even out here. Rain started spitting as I got going again - I practically ran the 0.9mi to the top and picked my way back down as quickly as possible. Thankfully the trail out here has a pretty dense canopy when you're off the peaks. It was certainly raining but I didn't get hit too badly. Got to the site I was shooting for and set up in record time, just beating a set of downpours. Had dinner (dehydrated Pad Thai that was better than I expected) and have been planning out my next few days. Pending any unforseen disaster, I am right on track for where I want to be. And will even potentially sleep in a bed tomorrow night. (CRAZY)My knees are still not crazy about what I'm making them do, but they're getting used to it. And no shin splints - likely because I kept the Icy Hot patch on for my 8 hr day. Time to go throw my things in the old bear box, play some solitaire  (thanks Mom), and let the last of this rain storm lull me to sleep. Another 13 ahead of me tomorrow.Til next time...
Date: 2017-08-21
From: Shaker Campsite

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Let's talk about animals out here. They have been very low on my list of things I'm worried about. As previously mentioned, I have a gear sling that keeps my stuff off the ground at night so mice can't get into it and racoons can't run away with anything. Snakes aren't great, but out here, they're usually running away when I see them. I've stopped for a pack of wild turkeys to cross the trail. I've now seen 2 bear cubs and 1 full size - all from a decent distance. No big deal. Animals are a known quantity and for the most part, I'm totally cool with them.Last night, however, I woke up around 1 or 2am to the sound of a pack of coyotes going crazy in the near distance. Not just howling, but making noises like they were maybe going after and taking down some sort of prey. They were having a good night. At an undetermined time later, I felt something stick it's nose up into my backside thru my hammock. I turned over and it was gone. Here's what I know: I hang my hammock pretty high - my backside is around 1.5 - 2 feet off the ground. I do not know if this was a dream or real. There were no track marks to be found in the morning. Who knows...Cold morning, slow day. My left shoe started breaking in its heel and slipping around. Have to investigate getting new shoes, but at this point might have to settle for finding a pair of Superfeet insoles to get me thru. The ones I tossed in yesterday weren't full inserts and started sliding forward also on my right foot. Some cool people at this shelter. It's one of the highlights on the trail. Full bunk house tonight with some weekenders from Boston around. Good people and really great company from dinner on. Made friends with a hiker from Chicago out here with his awesome pitbull mix named Rosco. Hes SoBo so I won't see him again, but I want to steal his dog... (no surprise there) Looking forward to some pancakes made by the caretakers in the morning and maybe going to find a burger down in Lee for lunch. Hopefully a swim during the day at some point as well.Til next time
Date: 2017-08-22
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Waking up to hike no miles is an interesting feeling on the trail. It's almost vacation but at the same time, it's hard to stop thinking about what the next move is. At Upper Goose Pond Cabin, the caretakers make pancakes in the morning around 7am. It's one of the draws for hikers to stop here (aside from it being a generally awesome location, on a lake, with 12 bunks that have mattresses). I was up in the morning with the rest of the group, ate breakfast, and said goodbye to everyone from yesterday. For a few hours, it was just me and the caretakers - a nice older couple, Paul (who hiked the AT a few years ago) and Wendy. Paul found some Guerilla Glue to try to get my shoe back in working order for tomorrow. I started trying to plan out my next section, and attempted to write down all of the "next time notes" I have at this point.Around 11am, today's batch of hikers started to show up. A few SOBOs and then later in the day a small pack of NOBOs. Good to finally put some faces to names of people I have heard about and read in the logbooks. Played an amusing game of Monopoly in the afternoon with a couple SOBOs and won (getting all the railroads is key). Took a canoe out for a little paddle around the lake in an effort to do something active. Washed some socks... the knees are also liking the day off - life is pretty good. I'm looking at 17 miles tomorrow to land me right outside Dalton. Mostly flats, aside from the first 3-4 miles out of here. Hoping after a day off, I can knock it out pretty easily.Storm's rolling thru. The bunk loft is warm but hopefully this breeze will help cool it out a little bit. Strangely tired after a day of mostly nothing. Gotta try to sleep so I can get up for another round of pancakes, hopefully out the door by 8.
Date: 2017-08-23
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: Key Wood Shelter
Miles today: 17.5

Key Shelter - 17.5milesAfter two mornings sleeping on a twin bed camp mattress, I was ready to get back to the woods and sleeping in my hammock. Really - I kind of love my hammock. If I could hang it in my room in the city, I would seriously consider it.But let's get into something more interesting: food. We eat a lot of it out here. And I've been having a lot of conversations about what people have gotten tired of, what they can, and what they cannot eat out here, and what they crave.Most people that I have seen out here have camping stoves and we can do a decent variety of things. But you don't want to use it for every single meal due to time and fuel usuage. It tends to be a dinner all the time and ocassional breakfast, depending on if you are a coffee/tea person.But I digress. Hot foods we all seem to eat: -Ramen-Instant mashed potatoes-Pasta sides-Rice sides-Couscous -Stuffing -Mac & Cheese-OatmealCold foods:-Packaged tuna (thankfully now Bumblebee makes flavors of tuna as well)-Deli meat/Cheese -Lots of people use tortillas. I use pita.-Peanut butter/Nutella-Various barsLet's get real- there aren't a ton of options due to weight, shelf life, and ease. That I can make mac and cheese out here is possibility the best possible situation. I've only done it once so far (pasta is heavy), but it will definetly be on my must have list for next times. Being able to go into towns for resupplies also can be a game changer. While we know we can't walk out of the store with a lot, I have certainly found myself walking up and down every aisle to check for anything that might jump out as new and exciting. Anything that could add "excitement" to dinner. There is also the factor here that at the end of the day, a lot of hikers can eat just about anything. When we think about things like a package of couscous or mashed potatoes, generally we are talking about something that is support food. Not out here! We can't  (or don't want to) carry leftovers. That's ridiculous. You eat all of what you make. And that's the end of that. The more you eat, the lighter your pack is. And if you're good at it, you can plan out exactly what you need to do between resupplies.Foods that I miss:-Bananas-Cereal -Sushi-Burritos -PizzaTomorrow I get to go into Dalton for lunch and I'm hoping to find something delicious. Just a couple more days out here and it's a good thing because it's starting to get chilly.