morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-30
From: Stratton 

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

Ok- I am going to do a few daily journals entries and then do a couple of journal entries here that may cover a few days of hiking. It has been a while since I have had a chance to update- and A LOT has happened...bear with me and I hope you enjoy reading these last journal entries.Today we (Hurricane and I) hiked out of Stratton, ME and headed to the Little Bigelow Lean-To to meet up with Strides (and then come to find out, Norm and Waterbear had also decided to stay there). We did not leave Stratton until after 11AM. It was actually 11:11. In my mind all I could think of was, "There are the dreaded climbs over the bigelows and it is a late start...ugh." Well, that thought processing did not last too long. I immediately decided to ENJOY the day and not fret about unneccessary things, such as time and difficulty. The reality of it was I was going to have to hike over it eventually and the mountains weren't going anywhere- so why feel hurried. I just took my time over those climbs- really taking it all in. I had to restrict myself from looking at my watch, which was funny to me to have to enforce self-discipline in that regard. I wanted to just walk and relax- so I did!As I climbed over the mountain tops, I found myself stopping and crying....rejoicing in the moment and in God's provision. The sky was clear. The sun was brightly shining down on me. The wind was blowing across my being- cooling me off and reminding me of God's absolute presence with me in each and every moment. WOW- I truly enjoyed the Bigelows!I ended up at camp after 8 (it was still light outside). I did bust it crossing over the stream to the lean-to (slick rock!!). I was surprised to see the crew (minus One-Flop) back together again. I also met German Tourist there and she had a picture of Vagus, Dozer, and Brer Rabbit on the day they summitted Katahdin...we talked for a few moments and then I set up camp for myself. They all heckled me some for being 'late', but I just smiled... The things that mattered were experienced on my end and it was a great feeling.
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

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

HELLO FLAT LANDS!! WOOHOO... We CRUISED into this lean-to. What a feeling! Due to the timing of the Kennebec ferry, we had to stay at this shelter- shucks! Really- this was an incredibly relaxing day. I happily accepted this set-up for the day. I woke up at 4:40AM and saw the sun slowly begin to peer over ther horizon...so we all got an early start for one of the easiest days of terrain we'd encounter the entire trail. Toay we crossed over the infamous '2000 mile' marker painted on the road. We took a few photos and celebrated, although we had hit mile 2000 two days previously. It was still a cool milestone to see for ourselves.We arrived at the shelter at 2pm after swimming in some other lake and taking a few breaks. Pierce Pond was beautiful. The sun was shining- another day!! We had received a lot of crummy weather for several consecutive days, so repeat days of sunshine were a gift at this point. We all went swimming...we rested on the rocks and soaked in the sun to dry off...we goofed off and had a sweet afternoon of relaxation. It felt like a nero although we were at a shelter and had walked 17.3 miles. The no-see-ums were out...so were the black flies. The wind was going earlier in the day, but it died down as the evening came. As the wind died down, the bugs became irritants like no other. That ran us all into our tents. As I attempted to fall asleep, I just expressed gratefulness for the day. It was a good day and I had a great breakfast waiting for me the next morning....yes!!"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord." Psalms 103:33-34
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Pierce Pond Lean-to

To: Moxie Bald Mtn Lean-to
Miles today: 22.8

I had a very tasty breakfast feast at Harrison's Pierce Pond Campground...pancakes with apples, raspberries, and blueberries; scrambled eggs; sausage; juice; coffee....mmmm. It was a good start to the day. I actually couldn't eat all of it and therefore warrented harassment from my fellow NOBOS... I apparently was not representing the 'AYCE crazy appeitite of NOBOS" very well...disappointing my friends. haha... What can I say?? We walked 4 miles to then hit the Kennebec River. FERRY TIME! It was one of those moments that I found myself (and everyone else) talking about as we hiked north- something to look forward to...and here it was. I was actually doing it. STRANGE! Strides and I canoed over with the new fellow who has decided to take over the ferrying. Everyone else went into Caratunk and I simply kept walking. This allowed me to mosey along at a moderate pace- not worried about anything stressful.Going up Pleasant Mtn, I ran into a good number of high school students (all a part of a camp). I stopped to allow them to climb down past me. In the process of it all, we started talking about my thru-hiking experience. I ended up talking to about 10 students for about 10 minutes. Some of them were literally amazed. Others were so pumped for me. The rest thought I was crazy...but they all were encouraging. It was a cool exchange for me. One girl asked, "How far until the shelter?" and this young man (who had known what the AT was before we talked) looked at her and said, "You are talking to a woman who has walked from Georgia!!" (as though her question was ridculous because it wouldn't be too far from my perspective...but perhaps it would be far for her). I left those kids and smiled...There was a good river ford- swift current and deep enough. I, for once, took my shoes off and put the crocs on. I took a lunch break here..and the fellas caught me here- and then passed me! haha... We all met up again, though, due to a thunder storm that rolled in. All of us independently decided it would not be good to go on top of Moxie Bald in the storm. We all ran into each other under this boulder. Hurricane, Strides, and I sat under this HUGE rock for a good 30 minutes as lightning and rain and thunder filled the air. We snacked, laughed, and shivered some. Eventually the storm passed and we progressed northbound...and we were treated to an INCREDIBLE view of the surrounding area once we got to the top of Moxie. The sky was painted an array of shades of pink. The clouds were illunimated and silver-lined. The mountains in the distance lined the horizon with a majestic boldness. WOW! We splashed through the mud puddles..goofed off...laughed. It was a lot of fun.
Date: 2008-07-03
From: Moxie Bald Mtn Lean-to

To: Monson- Shaw's
Miles today: 17.9

Our last stop in a town before the END- the 100 mile wilderness awaiting. The last time a hitch would be needed. The last hostel of the trail. The last resupply point. I cruised solo for most of the day. It was muddy. I listened to music and apparently my legs took off. I was town-bound and ready for a shower! Because I walked alone most of the day, I found myself at the road towards Monson by myself. I could have waited for everyone else before attempting to hitch into town, but I wanted to see what hitching by myself would be like....so out went my thumb. There is a lot of speculation that because I am a chick I have it easy with hitching... After the first 3 minutes I became skeptical of this- being slightly impatient as the folks drove by and kept waving at me. What does a wave do for me? Don't wave- pick me up! haha.. Well, as minute 4 rolled up, a truck pulled over and picked me up. THANKS, BARRY! Four minutes for a hitch... I count it a good one! Anyway, I got dropped off at the general store, bought some chips and ginger ale, and then hobbled down to Shaw's. It was packed with section hikers and a couple of SOBOs. Hurricane, Strides, and I ended up sleeping in the bunk room all by ourselves...everyone else stayed in the house. I think we faired out better than everyone else!AYCE tacos were ok. The service at Lakeshore Pub was strange, but I got full...off of 5 tacos. Everyone else put me to shame- AGAIN! The hiker hunger subsided when the heat came out and after I took my 3 weeks off in May. WHERE DID IT GO?! Nonetheless, we enjoyed our meal the best we could and eventually headed back to the hostel to get some rest.I called my sister- she turned 22! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRITT!
Date: 2008-07-04
From: Monson- Shaw's

To: Long Pond Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

morning of July 4- BReakfast at Shaw's was pretty good. I enjoyed the food. I ate 'four'...meaning, I had four pancakes, four eggs, four pieces each of bacon and sausage, and four portions of hashbrowns. Strides ate 'ten'!! For $6.50 we got a good meal!We got a ride into Greenville to resupply. It was a good place to do that...of course I spent $40. That seems to be my magical resupply cost everytime I go into town. It could be for 3 days or 6 days...always $40. We were all ready to go back to the trailhead, but we got caught up at the outfitters because a SOBO needed a pack repair. Then the parade held up traffic. Then the car wouldn't start! At least the weather was favorable. We eventually hit the 'wilderness' after 11...ready to roll with heavy packs! Yippee...We forded a couple of rivers. The day before we forded three rivers...one in which Waterbear got swept downstream. haha..it was too funny. Our feet stayed dry on trail today, though, which is a big deal. The wilderness was not muddy like the previous sections of ME. Waterbear bought sparklers...our celebration of the 4th was not too crazy because we got to camp later than usual. It was still a good day. At the end of the day, we have less than 100 miles to go (99.4 to be exact)!
Date: 2008-07-05
From: Long Pond Stream Lean-to

To: Carl Newhall
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: clear sky

Today was our last up and down day concerning the elevation changes. Not much I desire to say about this day... I had a tough day due to a couple of phone calls I had made back home in the middle of the day- mistake to call home at that point. Live and learn, I suppose. I survived, but I sure enough had some venting to do while I walked. I wasn't sad to see that day come to a close as I fell asleep...
Date: 2008-07-06
From: Carl Newhall

To: Cooper Brook Falls Shelter
Miles today: 18.9

Only 59.7 miles left. WHAT?! I saw Katahdin for the first time today as I climbed White Cap. She's in the near distance...I can see her. WOW!It hits me- only three more nights on trail after this one. Is this really coming to an end? Will I really see this Mt Katahdin up and close in a matter of days? Will I be saying bye to these people sooner than later? Oh my- yes...it is true. Blood, sweat, tears...I have truly been headed northbound- getting closer to my 'goal' day by day, step by step.We went swimming several times. The sun still shining and the air warm enough to convince us a 'cool off' in the water would be comforting. The waterhole at the shelter was a good one to play around in and get 'cleaned up'. Whitehouse Landing tomorrow... 1 lb burgers on everyone's mind as we get to sleep. Early rising to do 15 by noon so we can catch the meal time....
Date: 2008-07-07
From: Cooper Brook Falls Shelter

To: Nahmakanta Lake
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We actually did an additional 2 miles to that distance listed. We walked the blue-blaze trail to the dock for the Whitehouse Landing detour for food and then had to walk it back. We all agreed it was a worthy detour!I did get to see Katahdin again today as I overlooked a pond. It was bigger today and majestic looking. Anyway, We pumped out some miles early and much faster than we anticipated. We got to the blue blaze intersection at 11. We ditched our packs in the woods and headed to the dock. There we met two section hkers... Bill picked us up in he boat and took us to his place. The first thing he said to us was, "I hope you weren't hoping for the 1 lb burgers. We only have enough for two burger and only two pizza doughs thawed out." WHAT?! There are seven of us waiting to eat and only 4 things to eat...and we walked a mile OFF TRAIL and had dreams about this burger the night before... we all looked at each other and said, "We'll draw straws!" haha... Come to find out, his wife went into town to get more hamburger and if she made it back by 1, we could buy some burgers.. Thankfully she showed up with 20 minutes to spare! Everyone got to eat.. I had a burger, a root beer, and a pint of ice cream. MMMM... I spent $20 on food!Since we pumped out those miles before lunch, we only had 7 to do. We decided to camp out on the beach of this lake since it would be our last night "on trail" considering we will be at Abol Campground tomorrow and then the Birches the last night... The set-up on the lake was really cool. We set up our tents, ate dinner, were ENTERTAINED by Strides and Hurricane as they swam. GOOFBALLS! We had a fire. We swatted at the relentless bugs! We laughed and reminsced.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: Nahmakanta Lake

To: Abol Bridge Campground
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: few clouds

Perhaps this section of trail looks flat on the profile, but it was not flat. Granted, we had the climb up Nesuntabunt Mtn first thing in the morning that we all anticipated, but the rest of the day had hidden ups and downs...lots of roots..rocks... and the 23.9 miles were strange. I ended up at our destination at 4:30 (which is early), so I was able to walk quicker than the previous few weeks had allowed, but it still seemed like a long day. I was tired at the end of the day. I hit the first climb by myself...sweating like crazy, but focused and in a good mood. I did not stop and I did not allow myself to become discouraged in the least. It was a good feeling to hit the top, drenched in sweat, and confident in my ability to hike strong.The heat was rising as the time passed... SWIMMING!! We finally found the east end of Rainbow Lake as a place to swim. I ran into Stormennorm there and decided to stop myself. Hurricane then caught up and swam as well. This lake was clear and beautiful. It had a rocky shore, but the swimming was great. The cooldown and wet clothes helped the climb up Rainbow ledgese be more manageable, although it wasn't bad at all. Up there, on Rainbow Ledges, I saw Katahdin once again.. almost missing the viewpoint. I was walking with a purpose (meaning swiftly) and I saw something in my peripheral vision. I halted myself, backed up, and looked to my left. There she was... surrounded by a haze, but still standing strong! I smiled and proceeded northbound. As I hit the end of the 100 mile wilderness, I was attacked by mosquitos. I tell you...the 'wilderness' was a joke to us. The trail was drier in the wilderness than anywhere else in ME. We had better cell phone reception in the wilderness. The trail was better maintained in the wilderness than other parts of ME. We ran into more people, saw cars, heard chainsaws in the 'wilderness'. The bugs were worse outside of the wilderness... Bizarre how it all worked out... the wilderness terrain was also more mild than the rest of ME. Go figure.I hit the road that took my to Abol Bridge. I caught up to Waterbear and Stormennorm here. We three stood there and gazed at Katahdin with amazement...knowing we'd be there so soon!! The campground store was our next stop. We paid for our campsite, bought out the store and put a dent in their inventory, our wallets, and our appetites! I ate 4 ice cream bars, a sub, 5 hot dogs, chips, drank a liter of gatorade, a liter of ginger ale, 3 brewskis... We got showers (for $.50)..set up our tents and enjoyed our night.. heat, bugs, and all! WE WERE AT ABOL BRIDGE!
Date: 2008-07-09
From: Abol Bridge Campground

To: THE BIRCHES
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh Boy...this is really happening to us... We're walking to the base of Katahdin. We got up late (7:30AM), lounged around, ate boxes of cereal, drank juice, goofed off until about 10...then I packed up. Leaving the campsite at 11 or so, we knew we would be taking the day with ease. WHAT A GREAT DAY! We swam in several waterholes..played in waterfalls and on rock slides...we seriously took in the beauty of the day...the water playtime was good because the day was pretty warm. There was this river we could have easily hopped rocks to get over. I followed Strides over and I was ALMOST successful..ha. As soon as my foot hit this log, I was IN the river. Apparently I was moving slow motion...my feet hit first, and then I was on my knees, and then on my butt, and then on my side. All I could think about was my IPOD and keeping it above water. In the process, all other concerns went out the window and I was progressively getting deeper and deeper into the water..then my trekking poles were beginning to float downstream. It was a mess for me and entertainment for everyone else. Forget the dry shoes for a week streak I had going on. My pack, all my clothes, and my shoes were wet.. BUT THE IPOD STAYED DRY!! haha...We hit the ranger station and waited for the ranger..who never showed for us. We read the trail journal entries of the previous hikers who had signed in... I, of course, looked for Vagus' entry...and all of the other people we all knew in front of us...we looked at each other in utter amazement that this was happening! Eventually the sky started to change and the clouds were rolling in..and still no ranger. We had .25 miles to walk to get to the shelter..and we had water to gather and then carry to the shelter..we decided to wait no longer and walk on.. As soon as we arrived at the shelter, the rain poured down! It stopped for a bit and then started again... It cooled the air down a bit, but the mosquitos still buzzed around the rest of the night. No worries though..we had rain gear to cover our bodies and deet to protect the other areas. HA..We met Strides girlfriend, Elizabeth... nice, chill chick. She brought us baked goods. MMM.. Thank you! As Hurricane and I sat in our tents in the lean-to, the others sat on the edge of the shelter and we all hung out. Apparently two other NOBOS caught up to us and were going to also summit the next day- HAmpton and Nitro. They eventually walked up to the shelter- Hamptom carrying a cooler full of beer. We all hung out, talked, and attempted to grasp the moment... Too crazy to me...I couldn't sleep too well, but it did not matter... The 'Big Kat', 'Mother K', 'THE MOUNTAIN', the northern terminus of the AT...she awaited..and we were ready... In my personal journal I wrote, "My shoes are done. My body is done. My spirit is lifted. Tomorrow is exciting. It is steadily raining now. I hope it cools everything off and clears the sky..."- simple as that...
Date: 2008-07-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I wanted to put at least one photo up. I sent this to myself via the cell phone, so I was able to upload one of my summit photos for you all to see. I will be posting photos soon...and yes, I know this is the same story you have read before. I have been busy with camp and getting things situated. I am busy from 5:30AM til 11:30PM, working with campers...computer time is limited. ANYWAY, no more 'sad' stories from me. Things are good. It has been a couple of weeks since I climbed Katahdin and returned home. The first week back was very strange- emotionless about the trail. I have had a good number of opportunities to share with people as they ask. I don't necessarily want to talk about the trail all of the time, but I am encouraged that people are interested in asking about it.I am tired. I cannot focus. I do appreciate the messages you all have sent. If you have any specific questions, please email me. If you would like to hear more specific details, feel free to contact me. Thank you, folks, for following my journey. There may be more to come in regards to journal entries..but the pictures are going to be coming soon.
Date: 2008-11-11
From: Athens, GA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I uploaded a slew of photos from VT to ME! Check them out if you're interested. Titles and captions will come later. It has taken me most of the day to upload this pictures and I am done with the computer. Still thinking about the trail everyday...missing it and the people! Wondering which trail will be next because I am certainly not done with thru-hiking.
Date: 2007-11-26
To: Update # 2
Miles today: 0.0

I'm going to try something different for writing my journal this year. I'm not using or taking my Pocketmail Composer on this walk. I'm letting my contract with Pocketmail expire and I have no intentions of renewing it. As technology improves and cell phones are more and more common, the old payphones are disappearing or not being repaired. I've upgraded my cell phone to accept the Internet. I also upgraded the cell phone to one that has a QWERTY keyboard and a 2 mega pixel camera. I've been playing around with the cell phone and although it's not like having a laptop, I can still get some things done on the Internet. Typing is definitely slower...but I may pick up speed as I get more used to the smaller keyboard. I doubt I'll be as long winded with my journaling....but that might be a good thing for anyone who reads it!! :-)) Two things that it will allow me to do....at least I think it will, is have my journal updated daily and have a same day picture of the Trail posted along with the entry. That picture thing might be fun, especially for some of the winter conditions I'll be walking in. It's another new year and I'll have yet another new transcriber for my journal. The other transcribers all charged too much, so I started looking for cheap help. ;-)) I found one!!! My new transcriber told me not to worry about the cost....I like that!!! Her name is Mrs Gorp. (I'm not sure why, but she insisted I give her my PIN # before she agreed to transcribe for me.) Hummmm.....could be this will be an expensive thru hike. 8^) I'll make further comments abut my new transcriber/Mrs Gorp as my bills come in. Ha!! :-)) It looks like I'll have the rest of my new winter gear in by next week, just in time to try it out in the Smokies. Hammock Hanger has just that part of the Benton McKaye Trail in the Smokies left to finish up and has invited me to go along. She said something about not wanting any problems with bears and that she wanted me to tent at least 100 feet away from her....then she said something about how I always smelled like I've just eaten fried chicken....... I'll think it was a good walk if the weather turns cold and I wake up each morning and see icicles hanging off her hammock....and the chicken bones gone that I tossed her way. :-))