morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Stratton, ME

To: Poplar Ridge Lean-to
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: broken clouds

As a former body care buyer it truly is a sin, the shape my lips are in. At home I have no less than 6 lip balms, tints, sticks going at a time. I had lip balm, but I lost it and so¢¦I¢d better hike fast to get to Rangeley if for no other reason than for my lips.Hitched out of town around 8:30am. First ride, a man and son from Oxford, England took us closer to the trail but only to a random spot on 27. We¢d planned to hike up Sugarloaf via ski trails and then to meet back up with the AT because the chance of us getting back to the trail where we left off was likely impossible. Caribou Valley Rd. is a rocky, almost un-drivable dirt road. So when the next car pulled over and asked where we were headed, we said Sugarloaf. They replied that they were only going as far as Caribou Valley Rd¢¦Suddenly we were right back where we¢d left off yesterday. I felt like a million bucks and quickly climbed up Sugarloaf. Finally I stepped ahead of Chance and cruised. Hiking alone felt great ¢ somehow I was doing 3 miles an hour up and over Spaulding until the lean-to for lunch. I enjoy having people to hike with but I admit that I could probably use more time alone during the day. Chance is out until Hanover. It¢s likely then that I¢ll have to miss all/some of VT to meet my mom in ASS to hike and then Nabor J will meet me in CT. After that I will have Northerner & Agent on occasion but will mostly be alone.Anyway, I enjoyed my hike today. After lunch, we headed back down & the clouds rolled in. It¢s been pretty damn cold the past couple of days with temps in the 40¢s at night. Brrr! Had only planned to do about 10 miles today but had plenty of daylight to continue on. Made it quickly up the steep, steep terrain to the shelter (which is full) where we had an AWESOME fire. Fun night chatting with everyone here around the fire. Super psyched for Saddleback and on into Rangeley. Hope the weather¢s good up top!
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Poplar Ridge Lean-to

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 10.7

Chilly night last night ¢ even slept with my feet in my back pack. Steep up on slabby rock most of the day ¢ kind of like a vertical sidewalk. On top of Saddleback Jr., my camera batteries went out. Very disappointing, considering Saddleback is in the top 5 of best stretches on the AT. Oh well...Thoroughly enjoyed the stretch above tree line from The Horn to Saddleback, despite having to wear my full banana suit to stay warm. Hoofed it down toward Hwy 4 passing many day hikers out for the 2 mile jaunt up to Piazza Rock. Many were shocked to learn that they had at least 1 more mile until the scenic overlook. I guess I forget sometimes that 2 miles can still be a lot for those who don¢t hike¢¦and it WAS steep.Got to the road just as 2 Nobo¢s were also trying to hitch into Rangeley. We shared a lift in with Brave Friend and Andy Dufrain & then met up with their friends at Sarge¢s for beer and pizza. Super nice group of guys, quite hilarious, and ready to finish just like most Nobo¢s we¢ve met this year. We called Bob from Gull Pond Lodge for a lift to his place and he ended up with a full house. Somehow we managed to miss the Simpsons but caught Family Guy. A good time was had by all¢¦Just wish we¢d thought to pack out some beer & chips from the convenience store before heading back to Bob¢s. Some other town¢¦
Date: 2006-08-14
From: Rangeley, ME

To: .1 before Maine 17
Miles today: 13.0

Slept incredibly well despite sharing a room with 5 guys. I dunno. I guess I expected to hear snoring & farting all night, but it was unbelievably silent at Gull Pond Lodge. Bob left us quite the spread of food for breakfast, but I only seemed to care about coffee.We all got shuttled into town and said our goodbyes. Chance & I wandered aimlessly trying to procrastinate hiking for as long as possible. Eventually, we ended up at the IGA where we sat on the lawn and watched everyone rush around. I consumed as much fruit & Pirate Booty as possible before the inevitable hitch out. OK 1:30pm rolled around. Now or never. Got picked up by the 1st car ¢ 3 Feathers, a local and 2005 thru-hiker took us back to the trail. Got hiking at exactly 2pm & moved along at a good clip through some uninspiring territory. Did see my 1st moose today ¢ a mama & her baby bathing ¢ very cute. Heard another moose later in the day but it turned out to be a guy in a red jacket trying to find a poop spot¢¦Didn¢t mean to, but hiked within .1 mile of Maine 17 and found a glorious spot. Perhaps then we should attempt to hitch to the Gingerbread house for breakfast. I am a sucker for some yummy breakfast. Not a bad day for having left at 2pm!
Date: 2006-08-15
From: .1 before Maine 17

To: Sawyer Notch, Sawyer Brook
Miles today: 15.4

WARNING: Do Not attempt this at home or under any circumstances other than severe hunger and/or insanity.Woke up at 6:30¢¦slowly packed up without eating any Peanut Butter Bumpers (the cereal I had chosen to pack out for this section of trail). Hiked .1 (maybe not even that far!) down to Maine 17. Attempted to figure out where to stand since there was no shoulder for a car to pick us up. As we are debating this, the first car comes by. I stick out my thumb and mouth the words BREAKFAST, BREAKFAST, BREAKFAST! The car stops. ¢Hey, we¢re trying to get to the Gingerbread House for breakfast,¢ I say.¢Oh yeah, I used to manage that place,¢ guy in the car replies. ¢Hop in.¢Done¢¦And done. Moments later I was enjoying a fresh baked cinnamon roll & an egg sandwich.It took 2 hitches to get back to the AT crossing by 10am. We¢d heard that the Bemis Stream Trail was a nice alternative to the AT here from Orca & Yeahbutt & decided to give it a shot. Hike .5 down 17 to the parking lot & immediately found the very well marked, blue blazed trail. It was awesome.Started out as an old road next to a stream & gradually came up to meet the Bemis range right at Elephant Mountain. Because it wasn¢t the AT, the trail was obviously less used and seemed less muddy, less rooty and just all around nice. The climb up didn¢t even suck. Eventually we popped out on the AT (where apparently there is an abandoned shelter nearby!) where we enjoyed a snack. We continued on over Old Blue and then down the steep descent towards South Arm Rd. I¢d forgotten about the old rebar on Old Blue. Funny how rebar ends up on mountains where it is unnecessary and is unavailable where we really need it.Hit South Arm Rd. & joked about going into Andover for dinner. Planned on road sitting for a while (I LOVE me a good road sit!) when suddenly a car stopped.¢Need a lift into town?¢ the man said.¢Only if you¢re coming back here to drop us off tonight,¢ Chance said, jokingly.¢Yep. Coming back in about an hour and a half,¢ the man replied.The man, named George, who was staying at the campground nearby, was headed into Andover for dinner & then right back out¢¦So¢¦we went to Andover for dinner and ice cream and then George brought us right back to the trail. We now had the time and energy to hike over Moody Mountain ¢ a 1000 foot climb in about a mile and then back down. La la la la¢¦calories surged through us as we bounced up the mountain with ease. And although the profile showed a ridiculous straight down¢¦I don¢t remember it being so bad. And best of all ¢ there was an AWESOME camping spot just across Sawyer Brook (turns out there used to be a shelter here!).And that, dear readers, is how Chance & I managed to have 2 full meals in 2 separate towns and hike 15.4 miles in one day¢¦Only professionals can pull off stunts like this.
Date: 2006-08-16
From: Sawyer Notch, Sawyer Brook

To: East B Hill Rd. - Andover
Miles today: 7.4

No one should be sweaty at 8am. Especially me, makes me grumpy! 1500 foot climb first thing in the AM up to Hall Mountain Lean-to. By the time we reached Surplus Pond, we had decided to try to hitch in and out of Andover just for fun. At East B Hill, a north bounder arrived just as we did and then a man pulled up in a pickup. He was looking for a slack packer but said he¢d bring us in for lunch. Even the Nobo, Shell Shock, decided to go in. The man with the pickup was Earl, or Bear, from the Cabin, and while we waited for the slack packer, he told us of all the opportunities at the cabin. Movies, slack packing, breakfast, dinner, a swimming hole¢¦We were determined to just do lunch and come back out. Where was this slack packer? Finally we couldn¢t wait any longer, so we hitched in with another car. As I was enjoying my grilled cheese on homemade bread, Earl popped into the general store. ¢Just wanted to let you know I¢m back in town. Just give a call if you need a ride back to the trail.¢We enjoyed ice cream and the start of a good conversation with Shell Shock until he was whisked away by another offer for a ride back to the trail. It was early in the day but Chance & I admitted we did not feel like hiking.I rang the cabin ¢ Earl said he¢d be right down to get us. As I was given the tour of the super nice hostel, I felt immediately at home. Rambunny, who I knew from ¢01 was care taking here and her boyfriend Aqua, we had met at South Arm Road yesterday. He¢d offered us a lift then, but we¢d just come back from town then.And then there was Honey ¢ a beautiful woman who has section hiked much of the trail, who told me stories of meeting the hut boys in the Whites before women ¢ like me ¢ were ALLOWED to work there. There was something about this place¢¦I knew¢¦I wouldn¢t be leaving soon.After a HUGE dinner of fresh veggies from the garden and some fun conversation with the many section hikers staying there, I turned in, dreaming of slack packing¢¦
Date: 2006-08-17
From: East B Hill Rd. - Andover

To: Grafton Notch - Andover
Miles today: 10.3

On trail we¢re at Grafton Notch ¢ but we¢re still at the Cabin again tonight. Oh, and actually we hiked Nobo over this, so really we started at Grafton this AM and finished at East B Hill. Get it? No?!Awoke hoping I hadn¢t missed breakfast. Luckily I hadn¢t, so I had the best blueberry pancakes & biscuits and gravy (Elmer¢s recipe!! Sooo good ¢ Mmmm¢¦veggie gravy!) EVER! Things get confusing quickly when attempting to figure out shuttles. I could tell Earl felt bad because he¢d say take your time & then something would change & he¢d say we gotta leave in 5 minutes! Grabbed water, cantaloupe and a banana without time for a proper tooth brushing, and we were off!Grafton Notch was just as I remembered it from 5 years ago¢¦It¢s where I spent the night (in the parking lot) on September 11. Chance & I quickly passed up the section hiking ladies and hiked straight up hill, up Bald Pate. We stopped at the shelter to sign in and check for tp (we promised Earl we¢d take care of this) and quickly pushed on. Bald Pate was amazing! We were lucky to have such a crystal clear blue-skied day for it. It¢s so much fun to be on open summits in good weather, and it doesn¢t happen often on the AT, so we sure appreciate it. All too soon we were down below tree line again.We cruised down, stopping only to check the other shelter and making it to East B Hill 10 minutes early for our ride. Because it was now only 1pm, we had the rest of the day to lounge. After checking my e-mail, I decided to ride one of the hostel bikes to the local swimming hole. What an amazingly beautiful area this is! Little farms set against big ole mountains, yellow wild flowers in an open field¢¦and the cute covered bridge above the swimming hole. There were some folks vacationing from MA swimming here. They didn¢t seem to understand the concept of the trail, but did offer me a lift back to the Cabin, placing the bike in the back of the pickup.I was chilled for hours after my dip in the cool, cool water and some local kids had reassured me that the leeches were further up stream ¢ so not to worry. Yeah, right. Dinner was fantabulous. Rambunny made veggie lasagna & Swiss chard, salad, green beans, oh, and brownie & ice cream for dessert. (Honey had the night off to spend an evening with her family in one of the AMC huts!)What a perfect day! Now if only we could slack pack through the Mahoosuc Notch, up the Arm and over Old Spec tomorrow. Nighty night.
Date: 2006-08-18
From: Grafton Notch - Andover

To: Mahoosuc Notch Trail - Andover
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

It¢s like a dream come true, really, when you learn that you can slack pack through areas such as the Mahoosuc Notch. After stretching out my stomach and the resting a bit after breakfast, the family we¢d be sharing a ride with showed up. They wanted to go one side trail further than us on Success Pond Road (a dusty, rocky, logging road) so things worked out perfectly. The Mahoosuc Notch Trail was a gem ¢ easily graded, followed a stream ¢ 2.5 miles took 40 minutes and we questioned the mileage. The side trail dumped us onto the AT just at the beginning of the Notch heading north. Let the fun begin!Without a full pack, the rock scrambles were fun and ¢ safe ¢ imagine that! We chatted, and before we knew it, the 1 mile notch was done ¢ in 1 hour, 10 minutes. I was actually sort of disappointed because I never took any photos, thinking I would have opportunities further up¢¦but there it was, done, without a single photo!!Onward. We cruised up the Arm much more easily than I recall in ¢01 ¢ in my memory ¢ you need ropes and rappelling equipment ¢ but it was nothing worse than stuff we¢d already done this year. Because we¢d decided to slack this section, Earl asked us to bring along some goodies for the caretaker at Spec Pond.¢Knock, knock! We come bearing gifts!¢ we shouted outside the caretaker tent.Out stepped a familiar face.¢Huff?!¢ I said.¢Teatree?!... Chance!?¢ he said back.I knew from working 3 past season s in the AMC huts that Huff-n-Puff of the PCT ¢03 worked in the shelters, but I never had a chance to go visit. Still¢¦I certainly didn¢t expect to run into him today, either! We took at least an hour catching up and then asked if he¢d like to hike up Old Spec with us.What a lucky, beautiful day we had to be up there! Chance & Huff climbed up the fire tower while I opted to stay on the ground. It was getting late though and we still had 3.6 steep miles to come down to Grafton Notch for our ride. We practically ran down and eventually we made it to the parking lot where Earl was waiting with ice cold water ¢ it¢s like he reads my mind sometimes¢¦Back at the hostel, I gave the new hikers the tour and as I walked into the family room I saw yet another familiar face. There sat Pop Pop from the AT class of ¢01, who was joined later by Happy (AT ¢01, PCT ¢05). It was one giant reunion. We caught up a bit, but I was too sleepy and had to turn in early¢¦.ish.
Date: 2006-08-19
From: Mahoosuc Notch Trail - Andover

To: Gentian Pond Campsite
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: broken clouds

After 3 glorious days at The Cabin with huge hiker meals and wonderful company, it was time to go. Earl shuttled 3 thru hikers and Happy and Pop Pop to Grafton Notch and then continued on down Success Pond Road to drop us off at Mahoosuc Notch side trail again. Parting ways was sad. We¢d really enjoyed the company of Honey, Aqua, Rambunny and especially Earl.The sky was grey and the air heavy as we started up the Mahoosuc side trail again. Our topic of conversation was heated and passionate as we discussed the importance of not only Leave No Trace ethics on the trail, but having them in towns, too. We¢d heard through the hiker grapevine that some bad stuff had happened in towns along the PCT this year and I was PISSED. I may write more in the future about this but for now I¢m just coming up with thoughts and ideas of what we can do ¢ because it¢s NOT okay that this is happening. It¢s just NOT. My anger helped to push me more quickly up and over some pretty tough terrain and I got even angrier. We¢ve met hikers enjoying the trail ¢ but we¢ve met more and seen more evidence that many hikers don¢t like it out here. They hate the trail conditions, they hate different hostels, they hate the AMC, they hate the huts, the weather, the terrain, they hate purists, they hate blue blazers, yellow blazers, go lighters, Sobo¢s, heavy packers¢¦WHY? When did this happen? Most importantly, if you aren¢t enjoying it, why don¢t you go home? Why be so negative ¢ when you have a choice ¢ either Hike or Go Home ¢ because there are many of us who love it so much that it IS our home. And quite frankly, if you don¢t like my house¢¦Get Out.Okay, back on topic. We lunched at Full Goose Shelter where we dispelled more rumors that Mahoosuc Notch sucks. Those 3 Nobos seemed to procrastinate going through because they heard it sucked and would take 7 hours. Who is making this shit up? We informed them that the notch is a blast ¢ a giant playground ¢ they cheered up a bit by the time we moved on. These guys were so stuck on the negative stuff, they forgot to mention how BEAUTIFUL the next section on Goose Eye was. Loved it! Lots of ups and downs and in betweens and at last ¢ the Maine/NH border!! Woo Hoo! Took a nice break here before moving on.Eventually we reached Gentian Pond campsite just as it started to rain. Apparently my first night in a shelter on this hike would be tonight. I ran down to the pond to see if there happened to be any spots for a tent and didn¢t see a one, but there was a big ole moose taking a bath. I watched him for a good long time ¢ God I love it out here.
Date: 2006-08-20
From: Gentian Pond Campsite

To: Gorham, NH via the old AT
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: fog

Just as we were about to nod off, 3 Nobo¢s showed up around hiker midnight. We had a great time with them chatting and I ended up telling hut ghost stories ¢till about 11pm ¢ maybe I¢ll get a good night¢s sleep some other time. Woke up to rain ¢ pouring rain. It was nice to sit in the shelter and watch it. Eventually we began hiking around 10. The rain felt nice and cooling on my skin and the hiking felt easy for the first time in a while. When we reached Trident Col tent site, we realized we were too close to town to camp out in the rain. I cooked up my dinner to warm up and to be sure I¢d now be out of food and have to go into Gorham tonight. We kept making up poems for the dinner I¢d just eaten as we hiked along.¢Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat, the closer to spending the night in a dry motel room in Gorham you get.¢The rest of the day went pretty quickly with the occasional slip & slide on a root or rock. We decided to take the original AT into Gorham ¢ even though it¢s a bit longer, it¢s more direct. It was very nicely graded as far as downs go and felt less trampled. When we reached the dam that you walk across though¢¦there was a fresh brand new fence at either end. I¢m not proud to say it¢¦and it¢s not the first time, either¢¦but trespass your own trespass.We had to step into shallow water into the reservoir to step around barbed wire, but we actually did follow blue blazes (old ones) right across it. The trail then followed an old road next to the river right into town. Even cooler was a pedestrian bridge underneath a railroad bridge that we walked across, following yellow blazes. Gorham! As soon as we got into town, the sky let loose. Only one other time have I been poured on like this, and that was on the Long Trial. Even though I was soaked, I was super psyched to be here. After a trip to the grocery store ¢ why is it so cold in grocery stores! ¢ I found us a great rate at the motel I always stay at in Gorham ¢ the Royalty Inn ¢ complete with hot tub at the health club next door. Zero day fo¢ sho¢ tomorrow ¢ gotta before the whites!!
Date: 2006-08-21
From: Gorham, NH via the old AT

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: fog

Good Lord I needed a zero day. Special thanks to F-Troopers Agent, Potato & Freefall for all the fun gifts¢¦especially the 5#¢s worth of pennies. Thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in & watching bad movies. It¢s almost 5pm and I¢ve accomplished as little as possible ¢ though it is about time to switch the laundry. We¢ve decided to bring gifts to all of the AMC huts and tent caretakers ¢ so we¢ll make a mad lib run later & probably have a couple of Tuckerman Ravine Ales & some foods. The Weather Channel is promising some isolated T-storms with high winds tomorrow which automatically puts me into plan mode. Luckily there are many, many bail points with excellent towns nearby. Oh yeah¢¦and plus the huts. I¢m so, so, so psyched to be here in my stomping grounds again!
Date: 2006-08-22
From: Gorham, NH

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 7.6

Wow¢¦I¢m so psyched to be here! We got hiking around noon. Locating the Carter Moriah Trail took a minute but when we did¢¦how cool. I love, love, love to retro-blaze. Today I saw faded blue, yellow & white blazes on this side trail. Even cooler, I saw an old tin AT marker with bullet holes in it¢¦how cool is that?! The tin markers are rare enough, but to find one on the old AT is way neat. Really enjoyed the hike up here. We decided to stay put at Imp since 7.1 miles to Carter Notch were perhaps possible, but we¢d be pushing dark. Turns out Dingle (AT ¢04) is the caretaker here and I know him both through the thru-hiker community but more so the AMC community. He was composting poop when we got here so I asked if we could help. I wasn¢t really looking for a work for stay but instead a new experience. We had such a great time helping him, such a nice conversation! Later, after washing up with anti-bacterial soap, we joined Dingle for dinner in his caretaker tent. A man, John, came up to pay for is tent site and actually recognized me from my stints at Madison & Greenleaf huts. Too cool¢¦I am so excited to be in the Whites and in AMC land ¢ sure wish other thru-hikers could see that they can enjoy it here too¢¦Such a shame that they are so negative about their experiences through here. The huts, shelters & camps here are full of fun, learning experiences. I am so happy that I was able to work for the AMC ¢ I learned so much about cooking, systems (such as solar, wind, composting), and most of all, myself and what I am capable of. I¢d recommend it to any thru-hiker looking for a way to be back near the trail ¢ and get paid for it. Anyway, I¢m rambling, just excited to be here.
Date: 2006-08-23
From: Imp Campsite

To: Camp Dodge via Wildcat Gondola
Miles today: 9.6

Slept marvelously in the shelter last night. Said our goodbyes to Dingle and his super cute dog, Lilly. This morning¢s hike was tough with many steep ups and downs to contend with but the Carters were beautiful, as always. Took a nice long break at Carter Notch Hut. Tomorrow is Fall Croo swap, so all the hut Croo will be brand new and smiling! Decided that we¢d take the gondola down Wildcat (This was my 3rd hike of the Wildcats ¢ I felt no shame here). Hiked very quickly over all lettered peaks (A, B, C, D) until we reached the gondola. Before we traveled down the mountain, I made a call to Camp Dodge to see if we could do a work for stay. They said to come on down. After our gondola ride & paying $6 for it at the bottom, we hitched a ride to Camp Dodge. Natalie, the cook who was on her days off, showed us where to put our stuff and what we could eat. We gorged ourselves on Annie¢s Mac-n-Cheese, carrot cake, ginger snaps & awesome twice baked potatoes. Our work consisted of cleaning the bathrooms and the floors, sinks, counters in the kitchen. Not bad ¢ I¢d do it again in a second. The Fall Croo newbies are here¢¦I¢m so jealous¢¦I probably should¢ve worked for AMC this fall. Tomorrow Madison Hut & my friend Melissa!