morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-10
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Springs Lean-to
Miles today: 15.8

Weather: 70's, short rain in the morningLocation: Rainbow Springs Lean-toMileage: 15.8People: Dewd, Webb, Diesel, Sippi, Fat Agnes and group of Outward Bound kids Animals: Loons and frogs Food: AYCE (all you can eat) breakfast at White House, Pop-tarts PB crackers, Nacho Pasta and mashed tatersToday was definitely much prettier than yesterday. It was easy hiking pretty much all day and it was beautiful weather. We had a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, and english muffins. During breakfast a sudden downpour of rain moved over the lake and we all got worried that we'd have a repeat of yesterday's weather. The rain stopped in about 10 minutes and the sun poked through the clouds for just a second. Linda, who runs the hostel, said that it would turn into a beautiful day and she was right. We hiked about 6 miles and came to a "sandy beach" according to the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and decided to stop. I guess lots of small rocks is Maine's equivalent to sand. It was still a nice spot to swim and lay out for awhile. There were great views of Katahdin from the vista on Nesuntabunt Mountain. It's crazy how close it is. I'm pretty excited to get there even though I'm not going to be finished. It'll be cool to be with the guys when they finish and I can live vicariously through them for a day. There's a good sized group from the Outward Bound program camped out behind the shelter. They hiked to the AT from Moosehead Lake but there isn't a trail so they have been bushwacking for 3 days. It sounds pretty wild, but it seems like they're having fun. We changed our plans again like we always do and we're going to summit on the 12th. This means putting in a 25 miler to the base of Katahdin and summiting on Tuesday. The weather was really the deciding factor. We heard it was going to be nice for the next 3 days but they don't predict past that because Maine weather changes constantly. We also heard about a hurricane down in Florida, I think it's named Dennis. This means that there's probably going to be some nasty weather that will be headed my direction. I really can't stand hiking in the rain for more than a couple days, after that it just becomes demoralizing. I guess I'll be finding out next week. I calculated my mileage today and I have completed 832 miles of the trail, which leaves me with a whopping 1342 miles left. 832 miles done seems like a lot, but 1342 seems like a lot more. I'm looking forward to it though. I hope I meet up with some cool SOBO hikers to head back down with. I'm thinking I might catch up with some of the southbound hikers I've met along the way. That would be great because I've met some really cool people. The bugs are beginning to drive me crazy so I'm putting on my head net and passing out."In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" -Aristotle
Date: 2005-07-11
From: Rainbow Springs Lean-to

To: Katahdin Shadows Campground
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: light rain

Weather: 90's scattered showers in the afternoon Location: Katahdin Shadows Campground Mileage: 25.2 People: Dewd, Webb, Diesel, Sippi, Dewd's Parents and Sippi's parents Animals: Deer Food:Pop-tarts and chewy bars, ice cream and cheeze-balls, Calzone with Caeser salad and cheesecakeI'm typing today from inside a bug-free cabin at Katahdin Shadows Campground. Today we pulled a 25 miler to the base of Katahdin which is 5 miles from the summit. We met Nancy at Abol Bridge in the afternoon and with her were Sippi's parents. He was suprised to see them and we all hung out there for awhile. We still had 10 miles to do to get to the base so Dewd, Diesel and I threw our packs in the truck and started slacking. Sippi's dad hiked with him for the 10 miles and did the mileage extremely quick, I was impressed. Dennis had just finished the wilderness and made it clear that he had no desire to hike another 10 miles. We made it to the base and registered with the Ranger and then got picked up by Dennis and Nancy and Charolette (Sippi's mom). We all went out to eat at a place in Milinocket and watched some of the Home Run Derby. We got there just in time to see Abreu hit 24 bombs, very impressive. We didn't even stay to see who won, but it was still fun to watch some baseball for the first time in too long. We just got back to the campsite and we are all dead tired and ready to crash. Tomorrow is as Diesel refers to it "Summit Day." I'm pretty excited to see all the guys finish up. Until then I'm getting as much sleep as possible.
Date: 2005-07-12
From: Katahdin Shadows Campground

To: Mt. Katahdin Summit
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Weather: 70's windy, beautifulLocation: Katahdin Shadows CampgroundPeople: Dewd, Webb, Sippi, Diesel, Webb's parents, Dewd's parents, Sippi's parents Mileage: 10(5 up and 5 back down) Animals: Crows Food: Mcdonalds breakfast, Sub sandwich, Lobster Bisque, Caeaser salad and Fried Lobster taleToday was a big day. We summited Katahdin and Diesel, Webb, Sippi and Dewd all finished their Northbound thru-hike. It was really cool to be there with them at the end. I'd just like to again congratulate you guys for doing it. After seeing how happy you guys were when you were done has really got me determined to finish. I'd also like to give a huge Thank-You to my Aunt and Uncle, Dennis and Nancy. Whether it was reprovisioning us, shuttling us, slack-packing us, cooking for us, or cleaning our absolutely disgusting socks, you guys always managed to enjoy it. Hiking with Fat Agnes through the Wilderness was definitely one of my trail highlights so far. I'd also like to thank Suzanne and Tommy Webb for a fantastic dinner tonight, that fried lobster tale was unbelievable. I'd also like to thank Mississippi Alan's parents for agreat dinner and breakfast and also for letting me crash in the cabin at the campground. Now that I've said that, I'll tell you about our climb on a little mountain they call Katahdin. We woke up this morning out about 7:30, almost 1 and a half hours after the parents left to begin their climb. We knew it wouldn't take us long to make it up so we didn't hurry to get ready. We went and bought lunch and got some McDonalds. I ordered a lobster roll with my breakfast and then found out that they cost over $5 and I canceled my order. They only reason I ordered it was so I could say that I've eaten lobster at McDonalds. We drove to the mountain and started hiking about 10:15, we met up with the parents after 3 miles. We posed for pictures for a little and then Diesel, Sippi, Dewd and I all hiked the last 2 miles together. No one said anything to each other the whole way up. It was extremely peaceful and I think it was still a little surreal for the guys to actually be finishing. We met Webb at the top and Dewd, Diesel and Sippi all stood and just stared at the terminus sign. It was pretty breathtaking from Baxter Peak. You could see miles in every direction. The parents made it up about an hour afterwards and Nancy took about 500 pictures of us at the summit. I couldn't imagine why southbounders would ever want to finish at Springer after seeing how beautiful Katahdin is. There was a huge banner at the campground that was congratulating the guys for finishing and I got an honorable mention. Nancy did a great job with it. We all had a hot shower and relaxed for awhile, then headed out for dinner with the Webb's at New England Outdoors. I'm absolutely exhausted and need sleep badly."Wake up Taylor! It's Summit Day! It's Summit Day!"-Diesel
Date: 2005-07-14
From: Mt. Katahdin Summit

To: Summit House on Sugarloaf
Miles today: 10.5

Weather: 80's rain in the evening Location: Summit House on Sugarloaf Mileage: 10.5 People: Slack Jaw, Moose Tracks, Niko, Aqua, and Mr Natural. Animals: 0 Food: Waffles with eggs and bacon, Bagel with pepporoni and cheese, Spaghetti and snickers Today was the first day of my Southbound hike. I stayed in Stratton last night at Don's and it was a good time. When I got there, I see Niko, Stonepasser and Mr Natural sitting on the couch. I met these guys at Shaw's in Monson and glad I caught back up with them. We got a late start out of Don's and I didn't hit the trail until after noon. It should've been a pretty easy 10 mile day. But it was straight up with no switchbacks and my leg muscles were so tight. I think it was from taking a zero and giving my legs a day rest. The first 4 miles I was really struggling because my calves and shins were killing me. After I got back in the groove, the mileage flew by and I was on top Sugarloaf in no time. The Summit House was definitely worth the half mile hike straight up. It's an old, abandoned ski lodge on top of the mountain that still has working electricity. There was a toaster, microwave, electric grill and radio. In the basement there are old gondola cars hanging from the track. It is prety foggy up here but the clouds are starting to clear out. The sunset is beautiful and can be seen perfect from the large glass windows in the lodge. There's even a phone up here that has free long distance calling. It's getting kinda dark and I'm getting sleepy so I'm off to bed."I'm southbound baby, Lord I'm coming home to you." -Allman Brothers Band
Date: 2005-07-19
From: Summit House on Sugarloaf

To: Little Swift River Pond Campsite, ME
Miles today: 4.8
Weather: broken clouds

Weather: 80's Extremely humid with rain in the afternoon Location: Under a canoe at Little Swift River Pond Campsite Mileage: 4.8 Animals: 0 People: Mr Natural, Aqua, Castaway Food: Bananna, cereal, watermelon, spaghetti, combos and snickers It feels good to be back on the trail again. I have been in Rangeley, ME since Saturday night battling some sort of bacteria. It might have been Giardia but I'm not sure. I am sure that it wasn't very much fun. I went to the health clinic in Rangeley yesterday and they prescribed an antibiotic called Cipro. It's the same medicine they'd give you if you had anthrax - they don't mess around in Rangeley. I stayed 3 nights at Gulf Pond Lodge with Bob O'Brien. He was a great guy and carted me around town anytime I asked. When I woke up this morning I was feeling much better, so I loaded up and hit the trail. I had planned to hike about 9 miles to the first lean-to but didn't make it that far. I hiked about 4 miles and there was a great campsite and Mr Natural and Aqua were both sitting there. They had left Rangeley two days before and had taken a zero day at the campsite. I was really suprised to see them, I thought I was going to have to put in some big miles to catch back up. When I checked out the campsite I realized why they took a zero. It's a beautiful spot on a pond that has a great spring and even has 3 canoes and paddles. We chilled out all day and kept a fire burning. Around dusk we tried to go fishing in the pond but had no luck. It rained for a few minutes earlier but it's clear skies now. I wasn't sure if it was going to rain tonight so I built a little shelter for myself. I took a canoe and turned it upside down on top of two logs and I'm camped underneath it. I am going to take my antibiotics and get some sleep.
Date: 2005-07-20
From: Little Swift River Pond Campsite, ME

To: Campsite near Maine 17
Miles today: 9.2

Weather: Beautiful, 70's windy Location: Campsite near ME17 Mileage: 9.2 People: Mr. Natural Animals: Big bull moose Food:Pop-tarts, Kudo bars, salami sandwich, Steak sandwich with fries and pasta salad Today was all-around a fantastic day. We slept in until about 9 and just sat around for awhile. Then we decided to take the canoes out and relax on the lake in the sun. It was such a beautiful spot, it was really hard to leave. After about a mile of hiking I ran into Ranger and Shira, two girls headed north. I said hello and they told me to be quiet and pointed to the woods on the left. About 15 feet off the trail was a huge bull moose with a good sized rack just standing there. He didn't seem to be bothered by our presence and posed while I got pictures. I hiked 4 miles to the first shelter and had a snack then took a nap. When I woke up I looked at my watch and realized I slept for almost 2 hours. Mr Natural was a few feet away passed out as well. We got up and started hiking not really knowing where we were going to stay. We crossed a road and saw a couple cars go by. We weren't really sure where it went but I stuck my thumb out and a nice lady pulled over. She asked us if we were trying to go to Oquossoc(spelling?). I said sure and off we went. She dropped us off at the 4 Seasons where we ate. The trail was about 12 miles from town and it was getting to be late. I thought we'd have trouble getting a hitch back out. But we didn't, a couple was driving up to watch the sunset and took us right to the trailhead. Natural and I threw on our headlamps and started looking for a campsite. We found a nice one near a brook and just set up on the ground. I am going to bed tonight feeling very content.
Date: 2005-07-23
From: Campsite near Maine 17

To: Baldpate Lean-to
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Weather: 70's windy and beautiful Location: Baldpate Lean-to Mileage: 14 People: Goldilocks, Biscuit, Chairman, Jaybird and 7 MATC members Animals: 0 Food: Poptarts chips, lots of Little Debbie snacks and broccoli rice Today was a great day. Except for leaving my knife in the shelter this morning and not realizing it until 6 miles in. But I'd rather not talk about that because it upsets me. My batteries are running low in my pocketmail so I'll be brief. Baldplate mountains were beautiful and not as tough as some made them out to be. I've got to make these batteries last for two more days until Gorham so I'm signing off.
Date: 2005-07-25
From: Baldplate Lean-to

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: fog

Weather: 70's rain in the morning, beautiful afternoon Location: Gorham Mileage: 22 Animals: Bull moose People: Mr and Mrs Stark, Flannan and Mark Food: Little Debbie's, Salami and Turkey sandwich, chicken wings and milkshake Today was a long day. I left the shelter about 7 this morning which is an early start for me. There were dark clouds hovering above me as I climbed over the Goose Eye mountains. It started raining at about 10 but only lasted a few minutes. I met two Nobos - Snail and Teabreak. Teabreak had just come from Gorham and told me he stayed with a family in town. He gave me their phone number and told me they were really nice people. I crossed the Maine-New Hampshire border at about noon and got a picture with the sign. There were patches of wild raspberries all over the trail and I was stopping constantly to munch on them. I stopped at Genetian Shelter for lunch and met a couple who were day-hiking. They gave me a delicious salami and turkey sandwich and a granola bar. It was so much better than the oatmeal cream pies that I was planning on eating. I still had to do another 12 miles to town so I headed out. I came to a lake that you have to cross a beaver dam to get across. I looked out while crossing and there was a bull moose up to its chest in the water playing around. I got a picture and moved closer to him. He didn't notice me so I just watched him for awhile. Then I yelled at him and he slowly turned his head and just stared me down. I made a quick move towards the lake like I was coming after him and he took off swimming. Those things can swim incredibly fast for such a large animal. I hiked the rest of the mileage at record speed with the thought of real food and a milkshake instilled in my head. I made it to the road and was exhausted, I got some chicken wings at a little diner and tried to hitch the 2 miles into town with no luck. I called the number that Teabreak had given me and got ahold of Mrs Stark. She told me that they were in another town and wouldn't be back for a few hours. But she told me where she lived and said I could hang out there until they got back. I finally got a ride with this guy who dropped me off at their house. They had a tent set up in their backyard that I could stay in. I dropped my stuff off and walked down main street to get a milkshake and some reading material. The Starks showed up a couple hours later and invited me in their house. I met their two boys Flannan and Mark who are really cool kids. They are 9 and 11 and right when I met them they tried to sell me an alcohol stove that Teabreak had taught them to make. They're quite the business men. I hung out inside for awhile talking with the fam then took a much needed shower and headed out to the tent. I am pretty worn out and want nothing more than a good night's sleep.
Date: 2005-08-03
From: Hanover, NH

To: Unknown
Miles today: 0.0

I am writing from the Dartmouth Outing Club in Hanover. I was dropped off today by Rod and Maugeen Stark. I have been in Gorham since last Monday staying with the Starks. First of all I'd like to send a HUGE thank-you to Maugeen and Rod and their two boys Flannan and Mark. They put me up in their home and treated me like I was part of the family the whole time. It was without a doubt the best trail magic I've experienced thus far. It was great spending time wih Mark and Flannan, we went hiking, played mini-golf, rode (and fell off) bikes and even did a day-hike up to the AT. I am going to miss the hospitality you guys bestowed upon me and I will definitely keep in touch. If you're ever near Atlanta you know that you've got a place to stay. Well, I will start my final stretch of trail today. And this sretch is roughly 1200 miles... I got a package here in Hanover from my Mom with an Enormous bag of beef jerky, Thanks Mom! I guess it's about time I do some hiking, since I haven't done any in about a week. Hope all is well,
Date: 2005-08-03
From: Hanover, NH

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Weather: 80's and humidLocation: Happy Hill ShelterPeople: Buddah, Jason's MomAnimals: 0Mileage: 6.2Food: Bagel, Bacon egg and cheese sandwich with home fries, Chicken enchiladaWell I left Hanover today after being off the trail for 8 days. I only did about 6 miles and my legs were feeling it. The first 2 and a half miles out of Hanover was road walking and it wasn't much fun. My calves were very tight and hurting as I went up the roads. After I got to the trail it was much better. I didn't feel like pushing on much further so I stayed at the 1st shelter, despite there being no water here. I knew this when I left, so I was careful to conserve it until I arrived. I met Jason's Mom when I got there, she's an older woman who has hiked sections over the years and is finishing in about 100 miles south of here. Buddah, another sobo arrived not to much longer after me. I am trying to finish the book I'm currently reading so I can leave it here. I packed three books out of Hanover. One I was reading, one my Mom mailed me and the other is an Elmore Leonard book I bought at the used book store in Hanover. When I get to Killington I think I'll have another one in a mail drop so I plan to mail the two I'm not reading ahead. I'm also getting a new pair of shoes in Killington from Montrail, which I'm looking forward to. The inner fabric on my shoes is all torn up and I called Montrail in Gorham and they said they'd send me a new pair. I think I had planned to do a 22 tomorrow but I read in the register that there's a man who lets hikers stay in his barn about 16 miles south of here and I might end up doing that. I need to continue my reading so I'm signing off.
Date: 2005-08-04
From: Happy Hill Shelter

To: Barn on Vermont 12
Miles today: 16.6

Weather: 90's Extremely hot and humidLocation: Barn on VT12Mileage: 16.6Animals: Deer and hummingbirdsPeople: Moose Charmer, 2 Obtuse, MacGyver, Just Passing Through and Professor Food: S.O.SToday was...miserable. I got out of the shelter at about 10 this morning and already it was hot. But it didn't compare to later in the afternoon. It reminded me of being down in Statesboro, hot and humid. Even the smallest uphill was a difficult task because of the heat. Every creek I got to I soaked my head and sat and drank a couple litres of water. There were lots of PUDs(Pointless ups and downs) today, the trail would go up every large hill and never was there a decent view. I'm staying in the upstairs loft of a barn right off VT12. The man who owns it has converted it into a hiker lounge. I'd like to continue typing but bugs are flying into my face and eyes due to the light from the pocketmail. I HATE GNATS! Good Night.
Date: 2005-08-05
From: Barn on Vermont 12

To: Stony Brook Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: broken clouds

Weather: 80's humid and hotLocation: Stony Brook ShelterMileage: 13.7Animals: 0People: Moosecharmer, BuddahFood: Ice cream, jerky and OJ, brownies, granola bars and snickers, chicken enchiladasToday was definitely a better day than yesterday. I woke up at about 9 and hung out in the barn for awhile until the store across the street opened at 10. Moosecharmer and I went over and bought some goodies. I got an apple, some ice cream and a 1/2 gallon of orange juice. I saved the apple but ate the rest and a bunch of jerky. I sat around the shelter until about noon because it was looking pretty dreary outside and the forecast was for thunder showers. I finally left and my stomach was killing me for the first 4 miles. I got to the first shelter and punished the privy and laid around for awhile. A group of women came up and they had brownies, grapes and coke. It was too hard to turn down so I scarfed it down. I sat around for another hour but decided to push on. Mostly because I am getting new shoes and a mail drop from my Mom in Killington. It's about 7 miles from here and the P.O. is only open until noon so I can't sleep in tomorrow. I also need to send some of these books I have ahead to another town. Buddah gave me another book that I wanted by Patrick McMannus. I'm carrying 3 books again plus my Wingfoot. I think I'm planning to get into Rutland tomorrow to stay at the 12 tribes community. I don't know what to expect but I've heard it's cheap so I'm there. Buddah has a fire brewing right now which is nice, I think I'm going to sit and enjoy it.