morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-01
From: Caratunk US 201

To: West Carry Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.0

Greenie and I stayed at the Sterling Inn on Friday night and were up and out early to catch the first ferry over the Kennebec River at 9:00 AM Saturday morning it was a gradual climb from the river as we headed south bound to West carry pond shelter. We passed several NOBO hikers on their way to catch the ferry along the way.We stopped to take in the river several times as there were many places, including a magnificent falls to stop. We passed Pierce Pond and Pierce Pond shelter but did not stop. After Bates Ridge we were approaching a main logging road where we were thinking of having lunch, but opted to stop at a beautiful (new) boardwalk over a wet area near a small pond. The dragonflies were methodically cruising the area eating bugs near where we sat and ate our lunch. I related the story about dragonflies to Greenie that our minister told at my Dads memorial service. I guess my Dad was here with me at this spot he would have so enjoyed.We passed around East Carry pond passing a group of college students from Colby out for freshmen orientation. Some of them would be at West Carry Pond Shelter tonight while the rest would continue to Pierce Pond Shelter. We mad the shelter shortly after 3:00. I guess the pace was too fast for Greenie as one of his knees was painfully stiff. I was worked he would not be able to finish the trip, but after resting and taking some vitamin I he was ok. We bedded down before dark ending a long but fantastic day.
Date: 2012-09-02
From: West Carry Pond Shelter

To: Safford Notch Campsite 
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up and out by 7:30 this morning. We worked our way around the edge of the pond and started our first climb of the day over Round Top Mountain. We made Long Falls Dam Road in short order and stopped to stretch on the side of the road. Some lady came along in a Prius and gave us a odd look as we sat and stretched sitting on the side of the road ( or more accurately sitting on the road).The road has been recently re-paved, so some scratched in the road surface "2000 +/- " noting that this is about 2000 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia.passing Flagstaff Lake we stopped at a rocky beach area to take in the lake, but these strange white flies came in on us in mass and drove us back into the woods to avoid their bite. We stopped at little Bigelow lean-to for lunch. This is one shelter I must come back to and spend the night someday. We drew water from "the tubs" and moved on after lunch. The climb up little Bigelow Mountain gave some fantstic views of Flagstaff Lake which is massive. We thought we could see Katahdin as we looked north. The vistas of Bigelow Mountain put into perspective how hard but rewarding our hike tomorrow will be. The hike into Safford Notch reminded me of Mahoosuc Notch as you have to walk through a large boulder cave at the entrance of to the notch to get to the camp grounds. We selected a spot at the back of the camping area near the water source where there were tent platforms and some hardened ground pads. Greenie took a platform while I tented on one of the padsAs of this moment i am sitting in my tent at Safford Notch camp site getting ready to turn in for the night. Today was stellar. I hope tomorrow brings that and more as we work our way into Stratton and the ultimately to Rangeley.
Date: 2012-09-03
From: Safford Notch Campsite 

To: Stratton 
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

We were up and out on the trail at 7:30 AM. We wound our way around massive glacial boulders as we began our climb of Bigelow mountain. As we ascended we could see that all of the valleys as far as the eye could see were filled with clouds. The mountains appeared to be floating in an ocean of clouds. We reached Avery peak at about 9:00 and took our time to drink in the views. We stopped at the Avery camp site to draw water from one of the "water boxes" built around a water seep and then move on. This camp site is one place I need to visit again someday. We then summit the even higher west peak at 4,145 feet and started down toward south horn and the horns pond lean-to. When we reached south Horn it was noon, and I was absolutely famished so we stopped to have lunch and dry out our feet and shirts from sweating. At the horns pond shelter, the caretaker urged us to visit the pond which we did and then went on our way. The climb down was long and at times difficult with boulder jumbles and loose soil in places. Our legs took a pounding with the steep climb down, but the trail finally leveled off and we reached Maine 27 at 3:30. Both Greenie and I ran out of adjectives to describe all we saw today. This mountain range rivals the Whites in many ways. Tomorrow we are going to slack pack from Caribou Valley Road back to Stratton to avoid the predicted storm from the remains of the hurricane. We will figure out Wednesday when we have a better fix on the weather.
Date: 2012-09-04
From: Caribou Valley Road

To: Stratton
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

So today we caught a shuttle from Sue to Caribou Valley Road where we slack packed back to ME 27 and ultimately back to Stratton.As it turns out Sue (not the same as Susan that owns the motel) used to live on the Cape and is dating a guy originally from there. We got on the trail around 10:15 AM and began with a moderate climb that became a stiff climb after the Crocker Cirque campsite. There were some boulder scrambles but nothing too difficult. We made the summit of South Crocker mountain before noon and after descending into the col between the north and south peaks we stopped for lunch in a small glade along the trail.At the north peak I commented that one of the cloud formations looked like a shark. Greenie humored me telling me that I had been in the woods too long. This section of trail could have been anywhere given there were not many views and the hemlocks had grown into the trail. As we made our way north we started catching glimpses of the twin peaks of Bigelow mountain to which Greenie comment that he thought they looked like a perfect set of boobs. It told HIM that I think he has been in the woods too long....we chuckled about our "visions" in the woods for a long time after. For a while the hike was easy and we both got into our zones as we wound through the forest. We finished by 2:45 and called Susan for our ride back to the motel. Tomorrow we will head out around 10:00 and we have a short day to the next shelter where we will stop for the day. It looks like the worst of the weather should be out by around 11:00 so I expect that even if it is raining it will be short lived.
Date: 2012-09-07
From: Reddington Stream Camping area

To: Rangeley
Miles today: 8.0

I don't know what it was last night, but Greenie and I were both awake at odd hours and actually had a conversation at about 5:00 in the morning. We finally bagged trying to sleep and got up at about 5:45 AM. We broke camp before eating breakfast as we always do and as we were taking down our tents I looked up and saw that the moon was big as day right over our heads - a beautiful sight. We hit the trail by 7:20, saying goodbye to the two hikers that came in late in the day the night before as we passed their tenting spot.The climb up the horn was about 750 vertical feet, and we reached the summit at about 8:15. The peak was covered in clouds and the wind was blowing fairly hard. As we made our way toward Saddleback the clouds started to break up and we started to catch views of what lay ahead - miles of alpine zone hiking!As we passed through the col between Saddleback and the Horn, we met two thru-hikers heading north that had spent the night on the porch of a warming cabin at the summit of the ski area. They were reveling in their good fortune as not only did they have a prime camping spot, they had electricity with which to charge their phones.As the day progressed, the views got better and better and Greenie and I were at a loss for words to describe what we saw. I have been in the alpine zone before and have logged many miles above tree line - and still to this day find those places magical - but this topped all that I had seen before. The stretch of uninterrupted beauty went on for miles. This land is truly a special place to be protected and preserved.We stopped at the summit of Saddleback to take a break, dry off from our sweat and enjoy the view. The clouds being ushered over the mountain just north of us was like a flowing stream as the wind propelled the white mass from the depth of the valleys below up and over the col between Saddleback and the Horn.We finally had to be on our way, and left the summit with reluctance yet extreme satisfaction. As we made our way toward the Piazza Rock lean-to, we discussed the possibility of extending our hike two days to complete the section between Caratunk and Monson. I started off the discussion by saying to Greenie that this trip had been so fantastic, that I thought that we should end the hike with today Vs taking the chance of jinxing things by extending our hike. The trip had been so perfect that anything else would be anticlimactic. I had made the mistake at one time of going for miles Vs going for the smiles - I did not want to go down that path again.So we decided to end our hike today at Rangeley and go home on Saturday. In the end, we awoke on Saturday to rain and bad weather so we know we made the right decision.We stopped at Piazza Rock lean-to for lunch and then pressed on to Greenie's car at the parking area at the AT in Rangeley.As we made our way back up to Caratunk to spend the night and retrieve my car, we spoke with extreme satisfaction about our trip and how we had made all of the right decisions for us on this hike - and all had turned out well.
Date: 2013-03-18
From: Home

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 0.0

So I am off for a business meeting down toward Atlanta, and could not resist getting out on the trail, meet some of the AT class of 2013 and get away from this winter that doesn't know that spring is almost here!After getting shuttled north from Atlanta by a good friend and her Husband, I will overnight at Mountain Crossings and do a two and a half day SOBO hike back to Springer before heading back home. I will overnight at Hiker Hostel along the way to keep my load light by not carrying extra food, spending only one night tenting on the trail. My friends husband will pick me up near the summit of Springer Vs my having to do the approach trail given the time constraints I will be operating under.With the hike later this week, and the other hikes I have planned, barring any physical issues I will easily clear the 1,000 mile mark this year - making the idea that I will finish the trail (2014?) more and more of a possibility. For once this adventure feels achievable - and I cannot wait to be hiking in the south!
Date: 2013-03-23
From: Neels Gap

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 10.6

Adrienne and Pat dropped me off at Mountain Crossings last night at about 5:15 after driving up from Atlanta. My gear was already there where I had shipped it down to the outfitter last week. I settled into the Hostel which felt like a cross between a submarine and a dungeon in terms of aesthetics - but at least it was warm and dry. In all there were 16 of us in the bunk room.A local church group brought in a (free) fantastic dinner for the hikers of Spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, salad, sweet tea and brownies - YUM :>).Among the hikers staying at the hostel were a couple of guys from Germany here to hike for about 30 days and a number of thru-hikers, mostly in their early 20's. One hiker was from Pelham, Massachusetts. I was up at 6:00 this morning - Pirate (the keeper of the hostel) as already up and making breakfast. The coffee was already made!Being toward the western side of the time zone it did not get light until 7:30 - which was when I left the hostel heading south. It was raining lightly as I headed up the trail. I made the summit of Blood Mountain in an hour and 20 minutes. Stopping at the shelter at the summit for a few minutes, I headed on south.It was raining and cold, but as I descended to lower elevations it gradually warmed. The rain slowed and eventually stopped altogether.Along the way I met a young NOBO hiker from Vermont. She greeted me with "hello Yankee" when she found out I was from the Boston area. We spoke for a while and then walked on.I ran into Mother goose, who was hiking with an older couple. After they were out of ear shot, she asked me about the summit conditions on Blood Mountain - and then she said that they were "newbies" and that she would bypass the summit to avoid the tough footing and weather conditions.I pulled into Woody Gap at about 12:30 and caught a ride from two men that had just finished resupplying a friend heading north. They drove me to the Hiker Hostel which is where I am now. This place is a beautiful log cabin structure with all the comforts of home.I need to check the weather for tomorrow and figure out my game plan as the word I heard on the trail from other hikers was heavy rain and possible thunderstorms in the morning followed by clearing and much colder weather. My goal is to reach Hawk Mountain shelter - 13 miles and about 2600 feet of elevation change.In all it has been a beautiful day on the trail. The trail in Georgia today was without the rocks and roots like we have up north, so the hiking was easy going and fast paced. I could not see much due to fog at elevation - but the sun did try to make an appearance more than once and the fog lifted at the lower elevations. Not a bad first day covering 10.6M and 4,600 feet in elevation change.
Date: 2013-03-24
From: Woody Gap

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a nice stay at the Hiker Hostel and I was glad I did so where we had some crazy rain with thunder and lightening last night. For the most part, the rain cleared out by about 8:00 and I was not dropped off to the trail head until 9:00.There was a fog that hung in the trees as I made my way southbound. I passed several NOBO hikers as I worked my way south. Passing through Gooch Gap there were a number of hikers still breaking camp which I surmised to be a church group or something given their numbers. I stopped at Gooch Mountain shelter at about 11:30 where I took an early lunch and drew water at the spring. Razor, a ridge runner came into the shelter as I was preparing to leave. We had a nice conversation about LNT and the "newbies" on the trail.Not far after Justus Creek I ran into "Don's Brother". We stopped to talk for a few minutes and he told me about the passing of his brother who had recently succumb to ALS. Don's Brother is on the trail walking in memory of his brother and trying to raise money for ALS research.I passed through Coopers Gap and Horse Gap and by the time I reached Hightower Gap my legs were starting to tell me "enough". I had hoped to be into camp at Hawk Mountain by 3:30 or so, but I was not in camp with my tent set up until 4:30. In looking back I had under calculated the elevation change on the day not counting for Sassafrass and a couple other peaks en-route (stupid on my part). I would have set camp along the trail if I had not needed water (there is none after Justus Creek until the shelter).It was raining when I put into camp. After filtering water and other things I set about getting dinner together at the shelter. There was some dude there with a strange camera contraption that takes 360 degree pictures every so many seconds...which looked heavy and on top of it crapped out in the bad weather.After dinner I went back to my tent to settle in for the night and found that the tent was LEAKING! I guess my old Hubba finally failed me after the many nights on the trail and I had to rig the piece of Tyvek I carry over the tent to keep the rain out (and had to cut my new bear bag cordage in the process).Overnight, it was blowing like crazy and the temperatures dropped from in the 40's into the 20's with snow.I am glad I have all of the full-on winter condition hiking experience I gained this year as it all came into play on this hike. There is something to be said about climbing 4,000 footers in winter conditions that gives you an education you will get nowhere else!
Date: 2013-03-25
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: USFS 42 near Springer Mountain
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: moderate rain

It was blowing and snowing like crazy when I finally got on the trail at 9:00 AM. The sun rising so late here (7:30ish) with being so far west in the time zone still puts me off balance. I was awake at 5:30 but did not feel like moving until light.I spoke to the other hikers at the shelter about how to keep their water from freezing and drinkable given that none had winter hiking experience. It seemed to be getting colder by the minute so I hustled onto the trail to keep warm. The snow was blowing almost sideways where the wind boomeranged through the mountains.The trail was easy and the elevation change mild as I largely descended for the first few miles. The trail started a steady incline at about three forks as I passed through some beautiful rhododendron forests and walked past long creek falls. The Benton MacKaye trail crossed the AT in several places. I met several hikers along the way and stopped to talk. I had anticipated I would see Guru and Dyer Straights, and before too long ran into them heading north. It always amazes me how you can meet someone on the trail and feel like you found your long lost brother when you see them again down the trail. I hope to see them again up north later this year.I also met Fahmah who I expected to find based on his journal. We stopped and spoke for a few minutes.I will say that I found it distressing seeing so many people hiking north wearing blue jeans or inappropriate footwear for winter conditions - but I did - and it makes me wonder if one of these folks is going to get themselves into trouble with hypothermia, frostbite or worse. VERY Scary.When I reached the USFS 42 at 12:15, I had intended to hike on to the summit of Springer - but I was behind schedule with 45 minutes until my ride would arrive, my legs were spent and the conditions were horrible (40 to 45 MPH winds/25 or so degrees and snow). I opted to call it and wait. Springer will still be there when I climb it with Greenie, so I felt it better to save it for that moment rather than push on.I can see from this walk why so many people drop out by Neels Gap given the big swings in weather and the rolling terrain. While the tread ways are smooth and wide I could see the look in many hikers eyes saying "what the hell am I doing" or worse. Moreover many do not appear to be mentally prepared for how hard the trail can be
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Shippensburg Road, Pa

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 11.3

Short series of entries as I have not had cell service and will not be able to charge my battery until Sunday. Jen, Bill, Greenie and I did our first day in PA hiking from Shippensburg Road to Caledonia state park. The day was beautiful and the terrain easy. We made fantastic time finishing early afternoon and were back at the cabin by 3:00. Met a few hikers today including Snow Frog who OS from Massachusetts as well.
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Shippensburg Road, Pa

To: Pine Grove Furnace
Miles today: 11.1

Today we did a northbound hike from Shippensburg road back to Pine Grove Furnace, had lunch at the cabin and then jumped up to the Pole Steeple side trail and walked back south bound to Pine Grove. Again the terrain was easy and we reached the cabin for lunch just after noon. We passed the AT halfway point late morning after having stopped at the Toms run shelters for a break.
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Pole Steeple side trail

To: Back Packers camp site near Boiling Springs
Miles today: 16.2

We left the Paymasters cabinet this morning, said our goodbyes to Jen and Bill mar started up the pole steeple side trail to the AT shortly after 8:00. Greenie and I had intended to stealtdh camp in the woods before boiling springs but opted to push on toward Boiling Springs. We are tenting near the train tracks at the backpackers camp site which o was warned about trains running all night ....but here I am. We just had one go by which was so loud that Greenie said even ear plugs would not block that out. It is raining lightly but tomorrow promises to be beautiful.
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Back Packers camp site near Boiling Springs

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

So last night was an interesting one to say the least. The trains came through almost all night but in spite of the noise Greenie and I did manage to sleep. At one point Greenie quipped " maybe the next one will be the polar express and Tom Hanks will step off of it to take us to the north pole" .We got up well before 6:00 in time to see the full moon set, had some coffee and broke camp. We were at the 101 in town in no time and chowed down a hearty breakfast before heading out of town.The hike today was full of sunshine and pastoral views of the Cumberland valley. We made great time with the easy hiking and reached the ATC Scott farm training center for lunch. With only four more miles left, we were in camp by 2:30 and set camp. The spring was running which meant we did not have to lug water the last mile or so which given the climb was a beautiful thing.. Snow Frog is here too and will also hike into Duncannon tomorrow. Now we can hang out and enjoy the afternoon. Pictures will have to follow as I did not use my phone for photos today.
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon - The Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: broken clouds

We were up and out early this morning. In fact, I was ready to get up at 3:00 AM since I could not sleep. Last night was cool but not as cold as the previous night. We made a steady pace as we worked our way down off of the ridgeline into the valley below. We passed through large pastures and tall grass. Thankfully we have not had issues with ticks so far and this morning was no exception. It was a steady incline to the Cove Mountain ridge line and we were in the woods almost all day that between the wind and tree cover it was almost cold. We passed several hikers today including a group of Scouts heading south. We made it to Duncannon and were at the Doyle by shortly after noon. After checking in we checked in we pigged out at the Doyle for lunch, took showers and did laundry. We ate dinner at the Doyle as well, and for all of the shortcomings of the hotel the food is darn good and the folks are friendly.We seem to be falling into a pattern with some thru hikers in terms of our schedule and were joined by Snow Frog and PaPaw as well as Taco and Rooster ( the later two were two hikers my sister fed at Pine Grove).Tomorrow will be a similar distance and the weather is grand.
Date: 2013-05-27
From: Duncannon - The Doyle Hotel

To: PA 325 Clarks valley campsite
Miles today: 17.9

Short entry update. We pushed out of Duncannon after breakfast with the intention of only going 11.2 miles to Peters mountain shelter, but given that today bodes good weather and it is going to rain tomorrow we pushed on to a beautiful camp site near PA 325.
Date: 2013-05-28
From: PA 325 Clarks valley campsite

To: Rausch Gap shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up to light rain which turned to heavy rain most of the day. We were on the trail by 7:00 and in the shelter at 11:30. Along with Greenie and I in the shelter is Dog Whisperer, Darth and Snow Frog. We hang out all afternoon and bed down early. Tomorrow promises to be a hot one.
Date: 2013-05-29
From: Rausch Gap shelter

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We were all up and packing before 6:00 this morning. It was foggy when Greenie and I ur the trail at 7:00. Had some excellent hiking today with some rocks, but made the William Penn shelter by 12:30 leaving us only 4.1 miles to finish the day.Went in town for dinner and am getting ready to bunk down for the night. We have 15.1 miles tomorrow and providing that the rocks are not too bad we should be in the shelter by early afternoon.