morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-21
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: 0

Didn't mention this in yesterday's journal so I'd better mention it now. The Hut system is a fee system where you pay for a bunk. Well, normally a thru-hiker can request a work-for-stay. In this Hut that wasn't a possibility but the caretaker told us we could stay free if we slept on the picnic tables in the common room. Only problem was that we had to wait until the "locals" went to bed. But that was a small price to pay for a dry and warm place to sleep.Meanwhile back to today . . . Woke up early and had to put our gear away before the guests showed up for breakfast. We packed up, ate our breakfast and were hiking by 7:30 AM. The hike today took us over 5 slopes that exceeded 4,000 feet. Now that's a lot of ups and downs. But the weather was great and the views were spectacular. Although the mileage was relatively low it was a full day of hiking. Weveral of the downhills were brutal and almost dangerous. The rocks were wet and so steep that the footing was precarious at best. I had a couple close calls where I had to grab a tree limb to keep from falling. so, the progress was slow but by 4:30 we got to the shelter. The temperature had already dropped and was supposed to dip into the 30s by nightfall. We didn't waste any time getting our dinner made and crawling into our sleeping bags. Tomorrow we hike into Gorham, NH for re-supply, a hot shower, and some laundry. I can hardly believe that I will be in Maine within a couple days. I've really come a long way.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-22
From: Imp Shelter

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

Had quite a cold night last night. Temps dipped into the mid 30s. That makes for a pretty quick breakfast and get away because no one wants to sit around freezing their patooties off.I was packed up and hiking before 7 AM. Had a pretty steep climb right out of the blocks to Mt. Moriah but then it was downhill all the rest of the way. That's both good and bad news. The good news is that there's no more rock climbing but the bad news is the knee pounding that comes along with a long steep downhill. Added to that challenge was the fact that the rocks were wet so you really had to pick and choose your steps carefully to avoid falling. As I have noted in previous journal entries, this is where hiking poles really come in handy. Despite the challenges I made the drop down in pretty good time. I covered a little over 6 miles in 4 hours. I took a break at the last shelter before the road and then headed on in.I am now in the town of Gorham, NH which is the end of the White Mountains. Of course now I enter the Mahoosuc Range and the day after tomorrow I tackle the infamous "Mahoosuc Notch." After that it's the Bigelows, and then on into Monson.I can hardly believe at times that I've come so far. The day after tomorrow I cross into Maine, the 14th and last state in my six month adventure. Guess I'd better get some sleep.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-23
From: Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: light rain

Made a bad decision today. the weather report called for rain but I really needed to get my butt in gear and hike. Ther other 3 people I've been hiking with (Firefeet, Chickflick, and Fickle) decided to do a slackpack. That involved an extra 3+ miles and I turned it down -- BIG MISTAKE.I started hiking around 7:15 AM and within an hour the rain came pouring down. At first I just hiked in my shorts and t-shirt but then the winds picked up and I got chilled. So, I broke out the raingear and kept on truckin'. The terrain wasn't terribly rugged but the rain made the rocks as slippery as silk and I fell at least 6 times during the day. There was no let up . . . it just came down harder and harder.At one point I passed the other 3 hikers, since I was headed north and they were slacking south. They were soaked too but were only carrying daypacks. They were headed back to Gorham for the night. I was pretty envious of them, knowing that they would be spending a dry warm night back in town. But little by little I accepted the fact that I had made my decision and now had to live with it. I arrived at the shelter around 4 PM and immediately got out of my wet clothing. I was the only person at the shelter so I had stuff hanging from every nail and hook. The worst part was that my boots had soaked out. In fact when I took them off I had to pour the water out of them. Now leather boots take a long time to dry so that means my feet will probably feel a bit squishy for a few days.With all my wet gear and clothing hung out to dry inside the shelter, I decided to whip myself up a nice warm dinner. That took the edge off things a bit. Ironically as the sun set the weather began to clear. Looks like tomorrow may be a better day.Hiking in the rain took a lot out of me so after dinner I got out my sleeping bag and got ready for bed, so to speak. Kinda weird being the only one here . . . and at the same time, kind of cool. According to the shelter register there are often moose at the adjacent pond so I'm going to crash and then get up early to see if I can catch a glimpse of one.Living the Dream . . . P.S. Tomorrow I cross into Maine!!!
Date: 2003-09-24
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: broken clouds

Well if today was 9.6 miles then one of two things is true. either I have lost all perception of distance or the miles are bigger in Maine. I hiked my heart out today from 8 AM to 5 PM and only covered 9.6 miles. Actually, it was the terrain that threw me off. I got a little taste today of what Mahoosuc Notch will be like.But hey, speaking of Maine, I entered my 14th state today -- 14th and LAST state. As the saying goes, "No Rain, No Pain, No Maine." And I've had a lot of both (rain and pain, that is). It's hard to believe that I've finally gotten here. This is an unusual time on the trail because pretty much everyone is ready to be done with the hiking but at the same time we all dread the adventure coming to a close. From all indications this last state is going to be a "wooliebooger." Then again, after almost 6 months and almost 1,900 miles of hiking, I think I can handle it.The temperature is dropping like a bomb tonight and I'm going to crawl into my cozy sleeping bag and call it a day.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-25
From: Full Goose Shelter

To: Speck Pond Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: clear sky

Well I knew going into today that I wasn't going to do big mileage. The combination of Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm. The notch was a mile long and it took us 3 hours to get through it. Then came the 2 mile near vertical climb up Mahoosuc Arm -- Whew!Five miles may not seem like much but this little hiker was mighty pooped when he got to the shelter. I had allt o do to gather water, make dinner, and crash.Did get some great pictures today though in the notch. Have to get those posted on the website so everyone can enjoy them.Hopefully we'll hit Andover tomorrow for a shower, laundry, and re-supply. All for today.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-26
From: Speck Pond Shelter

To: Gratfon Notch
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: clear sky

The original plan today was to hike 15 miles and head into Andover. But we talked to a southbound thru-hiker in the shelter last night and she suggested that we hitch into Andover from Grafton Notch. She explained that the hostel owner would drive us back out to the notch in the morning and we could pick up from there. that sounded pretty good to me since my boots and most of my clothes were wet from the rain over the last 3 days of hiking.The hike down to Grafton Notch took quite a while, despite the short mileage, mainly because the trail was almost solid rock. The rock was mossy and wet so I had to go pretty slowly.Eventually I did make it to the parking lot at Grafton Notch. the others had fallen way behind so I left them a note indicating that I had gone ahead and hitched into town.I went straight to the post office and worked through my mail. After that I went and checked into the hostel. Within an hour or so the others (Chickflick, Firefeet, and Fickle) had arrived at the hostel too. We all got in and settled and then walked to one of two restaurants in town for dinner. The town of Andover is very small and pretty much consists of a single street, so getting around isn't rough.After dinner we all walked back to the hostel and worked out the plan for tomorrow. It's shaping up as a 10+ mile hike and we will again stay at the hostel. All for today. Life is good.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-27
From: Gratfon Notch

To: East B Hill Road
Miles today: 10.3

Got a ride back to Grafton Notch from the owner of the hostel (Paul). As we got out of the van he gave each of us a "Maine Apple" as a snack on our hike.We set out on the trail at around 9:30 AM. Normally a 10-mile hike would take 5 hours or less. But the terrain in south Maine just won't allow that type of progress. We hiked at a good pace and only took a few breaks but the hike took 6.5 hours. Whew . . this terrain is rugged.The trail took us up and over the east and west peaks of Baldpate Mountain. The peaks were above treeline so we were fully exposed to teh rain and high winds, both of which were present today. The visibility at that elevation was about 10 feet. If it wasn't for the rock cairns we wouldn't have been able to find the trail.After Baldpate Mountain we had a serious downhill that lasted 2 miles or so and then we hiked out onto the road. Paul was there waiting with a pitcher of cold lemonade -- what a guy! We drove back to the hostel,got showers, did laundry and ate dinner -- all in about 2 hours -- that just about did me in and I called it a day!Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-28
From: East B Hill Road

To: South Arm Road
Miles today: 10.1

Went over two major slopes today: Moody Mountain and Old Blue. Ten miles might not seem like a full day but it took me almost 8 hours to cover the iles. Aside from the steep ups and downs, the major obstacle was mud. We've had so much rain lately that there is nowhere for it to go. There are stretches of trail almost a mile long at times that have over ankle deep standing water. The trail is so wide that you can't straddle the water and mud so sooner or later you were forced to give in and slog through it. Once you do that though, your feet are soaked and you have to hike that way for the rest of the day. With all the rain that has fallen on us this year you'd think we'd be used to it. Truth is that we all pretty much accept it as a matter of fact but none of us like it. Plus, with the temperatures starting to drop, hiking when you are wet is a very chilly experience.That's what a thru-hiker's life is all about. Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow and start to dry things up.Living the Dream. . .
Date: 2003-09-29
From: South Arm Road

To: ME 17
Miles today: 13.3

Decided to push teh envelope today and up the mileage a bit. After all, today marks my 6-month anniversary.Yup, that's right . . . 6 months ago today I set out from Springer Mountain, Georgia. Seems a lot longer to me than 6 months.The challenge today was something called Bemis Mountain, which consisted of 5 separate peaks. That's a lot of ups and downs in one day!Amazingly enough, we were able to cover the 13 miles in about the same amount of time it took to hike the 10 yesterday.As we reached the top of West Bemis, we found ourselves above tree line and in high winds and rain. If it wasn't for the rock cairns on the peaks it would have been nearly impossible to follow the trail. It had been warm on the climb up Bemis Mountain but when we hit the summit things changed dramatically. The temperature dropped abruptly and everything, including the mountain, was wet and slippery.But as always, we took our time and eventually reached the road. Sure was nice to hit the hostel for a warm shower before eating and hitting the sack.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-09-30
From: ME 17

To: ME 4 (Rangeley)
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was another 13 miler but the terrain was a lot less brutal. The climbs were more shallow and didn't last as long as they have in recent days. That said though, the trail was still soaked and muddy. So it was a virtual obstacle course trying to stay out of the mud. I was successful at first but then just as I was getting my confidence and established a decent pace I slipped off a bog log and found myself in knee deep cold, brown mud. Yuck.No choice but to carry on though and in some ways things got a bit easier. Once you give up and just start plodding through the mud it just doesn't seem to matter any more.We hiked through an area that was rumored to be a hangout for a large number of local moose. We keep our eyes peeled and did see a load of moose tracks in the mud -- BUT NO MOOSIES.The good news was that we had called ahead and made reservations at a hostel in Rangeley -- so, when we walked off the trail the hostel owner was sitting there waiting for us. We drove through town and hit the grocery store and outfitter on the way to the hostel.Once at the hostel, I got a shower and had some dinner. Warm, dry, and with a belly full of food I sat and caught up with my journal. I managed to watch a little TV in the hostel and then drifted off to sleep.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-10-01
From: ME 4 (Rangeley)

To: Poplar Ridge
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

Today was another one of those days that felt a lot longer than it really was. We had 3 major slopes to climb -- Saddleback, the Horn, and Saddleback Junior. the day started out cold and overcast. But as we started the climb the winds picked up and you could feel moisture in the air. Above tree line though the temperature was a lot lower. Just about the time I reached the sign at the summit it started to snow -- what a sight!! I was all alone at the time but managed to snap a "self-portrait" at the sign. Then I had to tuck my camera away to keep it from getting wet. The weather really closed in at that point so there wasn't much to photograph anyway.The snow mixed with rain made the rocks as slippery as a greased pig so the descents between climbs were pretty slow going.But it was the final climb of the day that did me in -- Saddleback Junior. I don't know . . . maybe it was just late in the afternoon and I was tired, or maybe I was in need of some fuel (food). Regardless, that climb kicked my ass. As if that wasn't bad enough, the last 2 miles were a steep downhill to the shelter. Temperatures were in the 30s so there wasn't much time for socializing. Everyone focused on gathering water, getting a hot meal, and crawling into a warm sleeping bag.Looks like the rest of the hike is going to be cold.Enough for one day.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-10-02
From: Poplar Ridge

To: Spaulding Mtn Lean-To
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: light rain

The original goal today was a campsite called "Crocker Cirque." That would have been a good 14 mile day. The only catch was that there was no shelter at that site, which meant that I would be in a tent. Now normally that wouldn't be an issue but with the temperatures now falling into the 30s at night I didn't want to get caught in any rain if at all possible. As I hiked in the morning I listened to the raio and learned that the weather report called for rain in the afternoon -- BOO HISS!I decided to wait until I got to the next shelter to make the decision regarding going any further.After a stiff uphill I reached the shelter. I looked up and saw a mixture of rain and snow beginning to fall. I dropped my pack inside the shelter and within a few minutes the sky opened up. The temperature was dropping so the precipitation turned to a combination of hail and snow.That pretty much made the decision as to where I would stay for the night. There's no way I was going to hike in freezing rain. So, with that decision made it was time to get water, make dinner, do a little journaling and hit the sack. Because we fell short of our goal today we will have to go 14 miles tomorrow to reach the town of Stratton and stay on schedule. All for today.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-10-03
From: Spaulding Mtn Lean-To

To: ME 27 (Stratton)
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

When all is said and done I'm darned glad I didn't hike any further yesterday. The temp dropped into the low 30s and it snowed quite a bit during the night. It was hard getting motivated to crawl out of my nice warn sleeping bag but we had 14 miles to hike and they weren't going to be easy ones.This was the first time since early in my hike back in Georgia that I had hiked in snow. It added a little challenge to an already slick and muddy trail. The snow on the evergreens was really beautiful though and I took several pictures (which should be posted on my website soon). Once the sun rose high in the sky and we dropped to lower elevations the snow all disappeared and the trail turned again to mud.It took the entire day to get up and over Spaulding and the Crocker summits. The final 3 miles was a hard pounding downhill. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I've actually come to like the uphills more than the downhills. The ups drain energy but in the long haul they're easier on this rapidly aging body.As always, perserverance won out and we reached the highway. Of course it was almost 6 PM and we were rapidly losing daylight, so we had to get a pretty fast hitch into town. The first several cars sped by and we started to get concerned. But just then a little white station wagon pulled over. The driver hopped out and apologized for the smell inside his car -- said he had just smoked a joint. We cracked up because the 3 of us put together smelled worse than any car could ever smell!He drove us right to the hotel where we very quickly dropped our packs, ate dinner and then turned in for the night. We were all very tired puppies.Living the Dream . . .
Date: 2003-10-04
From: Horns Pond Lean-to

To: ME 27 (Stratton)
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: moderate rain

Got up early to do some laundry and hit the Post Office before heading back out to the trail. As fate would have it, the rain started to fall on my way to the laundramat. It was a cold rain and could almost have been snow.Got my chores done by 10 AM and was ready to hit the trail but it was really pouring rain now so I decided to have some lunch in Stratton in the hopes that the rain would let up. Guess what   ...I finished lunch and it was raining even harder. It would have been nice to call off the hiking for that day but I felt like I needed to make some progress north so I decided to head out in the yucky weather anyway. FireFeet felt the same way so we hitched a ride out of town to the trail head together. Given the time of day and the weather we decided to shoot for the first shelter. It wasn't too bad at first. Once we got started hiking our bodies warmed up and the tree cover blocked some of the rain. However, as we climbed higher and higher the temperature began to drop. By the time we reached the shelter we were hiking in an absolute downpour of sleet/freezing rain and high winds. Temps had fallen into the low 30's. At first it appeared that we were going to have a problem at the shelter because they (there were 2 of them) appeared to be full. But several hikers recognized our situation and offered to make room for us. Thank goodness too because it wouldn't have been too long and both Fire Feet and I would have gone in to hypothermia. It was early evening and we were totally soaked. You know   ...the rain gear only holds back so much water. There was really no room for us to spread out our wet gear and clothes so we just got changed into warm/dry clothes as best possible and made dinner. After dinner I started to spread out my sleeping mat and bag, only to realize that the wind was blowing the rain through the spaces between the logs in the shelter walls and my sleeping spot (next to the outide wall) was soaked. So, now what was I supposed to do? First step was to hang a tent fly up against the wall of the shelter to block the wind and rain from blowing in any more. Then I spread out my waterproof ground sheet. Now I was ready to lay out my air mattress and sleeping bag. After that exercise I was totally exhausted and was very happy to just crawl in my sleeping bag for the night. Needless to say I kept my water intake down to an absolute minimum that night to avoid the need to get up in the middle of the night to answer nature's call.Living the Dream   ...
Date: 2003-10-07
From: Caratunk, ME

To: Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0

Woke up to a knock at the door from Paul at the Caratunk House B & B. I had told him the night before that I wanted to get an early start and he obviously took me very seriously. I was already pretty much packed and ready to go so I got dressed, threw some water on my face and headed down for breakfast. Paul had whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast - - YUM !! I ate in a hurry and was on my way by around 7 AM.My choices today would be either 15 or 20 miles. I decided to keep my options open and see how the day went. There were quite a few ups and downs and I was still feeling some of the exhaustion from yesterday. I stopped for a break at the 6 mile point (Pleasant Pond Lean-to). I planned to stay only a few minutes but ended up taking a longer break. I guess I needed it. Once I resumed hiking I had pretty much decided that I would shoot for the Bald Mountain Brook Lean-to, which would be a 15 mile day. I wanted to do more but honestly felt as if I was pushing it way too much. Another reason for this decision was that Moxie Bald Mountain comes right after that shelter and I wasn't too sure I would have that much of a climb left in me at the end of the day.As it all turned out I reached the Pleasant Pond Lean-to around 4 PM. A little early by normal standards but I was pooped and decided to just call it a day, get dinner, a good night's sleep and hit is fresh in the morning. I wasn't sure if my hiking partners would try and catch up so just in case   ...I started a nice campfire. I then set out to make dinner and get ready for some much needed sleep. As darkness fell it was obvious that no one else was going to show up. I went ahead and let the fire die out on it's own. Around 9 PM I walked outside the shelter to make sure the fire was completely extinguished and found that the sky had cleared and there was a full moon. It lit up the sky light a search light. In fact, once I crawled back into the shelter and got in my sleeping bag I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep because of all the light outside. But little by little my eyes got heavy and I was off to La-La land. Tomorrow I would have to cover 22 miles in order to reach ME Route 15 and hook up with my friend "Shaman", who had agreed to meet me there.All for today !!Living the Dream   ...