morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-14
From: Kent, CT

To: Stormville, New York
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light intensity drizzle

Day 94: Saturday, 14 June 2014 ZERO back in Stormville, NY"Hi Mom. I'm back at Chris' house in Stormville, NY. On the trail yesterday, I stopped at a shelter, I was feeling pretty tired and lousy, so I stopped to rest and fell asleep, although it was not comfortable and I still had a pretty bad headache and body pains. When I woke up, I was pretty miserable and decided to call Chris. She came to get me and take me back to their house. I'm not feeling hungry, but I did want to lay on the couch, and I fell asleep! Oh, and happy birthday!"I emailed Chris to get her assessment of his wellbeing:Marilyn,We stopped at a grocery store to get some yogurt and other items, but all he has eaten is the yogurt and some fruit. He does not have much of an appetite yet. Hopefully once the antibiotics kick in he will. Michael has spent most of the day sleeping, was up for a little while around dinner time but went back to sleep. He has a headache and a stiff neck. ChrisMarilyn,I think he is feeling comfortable here, I told him to make himself at home.   He watched some world cup soccer with my son Dan in the basement (then he fell asleep on the couch).   Hopefully between the meds and rest he will be feeling much better tomorrow. I will keep you posted.ChrisIt sure helps my mental state knnowing that my son is comfortable and well taken care of. This is the ultimate Trail Magic, and all because of some pizza and doggie kisses! (Thank you, Chena! Remind me to never again try to make you stop giving "kisses"!)Thank you Chris and family for being there for my son. Both FAHthur and I are beyond words as to our appreciation of your kindness.So, to all of you following along on this journey, although Buffalo is taking Zero Days, he is STILL on a journey to recovery! I have no doubt that he will eventually bounce back and power up to Katahdin! It'll just be a little later than he previously thought!The MUM
Date: 2014-06-20
From: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: clear sky

Day 100: Friday, 20 June 2014 Salisbury, CT (Mile 1494.6)"Hi Mom!""How you doing?""I'm hoping for 20-25 miles today! I'm not as hungry as I was, but my energy is back.""That's a good thing! Take it easy, but you'll be fine. You'll be breezin' soon!""Until I hit The Whites!""Met up with Prom Queen last night and Survivor Man and Machine today. They asked if I packed out any of that apple cake!""Hey, if they're at Katahdin the same time you are, Aunt Barb is planning to make another one for that trip!"We talked about where to send the next package. He planned to stop in Salisbury today and said not to send to Dalton, MA. So the next package we send will be in Vermont! WOW!We talked at GREAT length about the financing of this trip."This is coming out of my savings, right?""Well, this was going to be my trip so Dad and I are paying for it."After a lot of back and forth about how he wants to pay for it, or pay us back, I told him that with him doing Running Start in high school, getting his A.S. degree paid for through the school district, and wanting to figure out how to pay for the rest of college by himself, paying for some or all of these last two thru-hikes is our investment in his future, and we're getting off cheap!One of the things he wants to do when he gets home is to apply to Northern Tier for their winter program. Northern Tier is a Boy Scout High Adventure camp in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. He did two canoe trips there with his scout troop and loved it! I think he's a bit more focused than he was last year. I'm confident he'll find something over the fall, winter, and spring in order save enough for the CDT next year."Oh, and it sounds like Dad and I will get to help On Point get back to the trail when he gets the doctor's OK!""Cool! Thanks for doing that!""Hey, another Trail Magic Road Trip for FAHthur and me! Once we know a place and date, I¢ll sign Bison¢s Guest Book and tell him. Maybe we can offer a bunch of Trail Magic!"¢That would be awesome if you could meet up with Bison!¢¢Safe travels and take care of yourself!¢¢Love you, Mom!¢¢Love you too, Buffalo!¢
Date: 2014-07-16
From: Carlo Col. Shelter/Campsite

To: Andover, Maine
Miles today: 24.4

Day 126: Wednesday, 16 July 2014 Andover, Maine (Mile 1927.3)1:30pm Pacific Standard Time¢We went through Mahoosuc Notch! It¢s either interesting or arduous, depending on how you look at it! (For those of you reading, if you are unfamiliar with Mahoosuc Notch, you ought to Google it for photos and a Youtube video. It is a deep-cut notch, not even a valley, in the Mahoosuc range, just as AT North Bounders enter Maine. The stretch is a little over a mile long but takes almost 2 hours to get through!)¢I tried calling Uncle Dave, but neither of us had good cell coverage. I told him I¢d try from the next town.¢¢Yesterday, we had 10 miles of rain. The trail was really muddy and we hit more rocks. I didn¢t want to climb anymore so we stopped at Speck Pond Shelter, a really nice spot! It¢s nice today, and the elevation profile is getting better ¢ no ridiculous climbs!¢¢We still need to resupply and pack. We¢re going to try to hitch out of Andover, but it¢s a really small town with not too many cars going and coming! If we don¢t get a ride, I guess we¢ll be spending the night in Andover! I should be in Rangeley in two days.¢¢Well, I better get your next package out!¢(It was a short conversation since Buffalo still had to get some stuff done AND try to hitch out of town. I hope he has some great photos of Mahoosuc Notch. I am happy to experience that area vicariously!! I would like to ¢see¢ it but not necessarily try to go through it, unless I had LOTS of people and wood planks to help me get through!)Thanks for following!The Mum of ¢¦¢¦.
Date: 2014-07-20
From: Rangeley, Maine

To: Stratton, Maine
Miles today: 32.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 130: Sunday, 20 July 2014 @ 11:12am PST (2:12pm EST) Stratton, Maine (Mile 1996.0)(FAHthur and I left for church at 10:15am PST and didn¢t come home until 4:30pm PST. We did a little shopping for Buffalo¢s LAST drop box ¢ Whoo Hoo! Then we went to Lakefair to check in at our troop¢s parking lot fundraiser and helped for a couple hours. See 7/18/2014 for explanation of ¢Lakefair¢ and the fundraiser. When we got home, there was a message from Buffalo. How I DO hate missing his calls, but at least this entry will be short and sweet!)¢Hey, Mom and Dad. You¢re probably in church but I just wanted to call and check in. I made it to Stratton, Maine and I¢ll be getting back on the trail soon, depending on how long it takes me to hitch. Caught back up to The Herd! They were all in town when we rolled in! I think we¢re all going to finish on the first, sounds like that¢s their plan as well. The Trail Magic from Aunt Barb and Uncle Dave will be pretty awesome! I¢ll call from the next town. Love you. Bye!¢(According to past updates, the original Herd was Violet, Gentle Spirit, Bright Side, and West. A couple updates back, Buffalo said that Joules and Canary had joined that Herd. It also sounds like Buffalo¢s been hiking with Thirsty, Boot Burner, and Moose. It could be quite a Buffalo Herd on Mt. Katahdin on August First! There may be 2 or 3 others that had woven in and out of either Herd, but I think these comprise the core groups. What fun!)
Date: 2014-08-02
From: KATAHDIN!

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Home again.Hey folks, it¢s Buffalo! As my mom wrote, I summited Katahdin on August 1st, and after visiting with Aunt Barb and Uncle Dave (mom¢s brother and sister) and my cousin and his family in New York, I flew home and immediately hit the PCT with my Boy Scout troop (and mom!). Descending Katahdin, knowing that I would be leaving this amazing group of friends, was one of the hardest things I¢ve ever done. The beauty of the thru hike is the transient nature of the experience. We wasted no time forging close friendships with people we¢d only just met, and the main thing we had in common was we were going the same direction. You can¢t cling to the past, so live for today!I can¢t imagine ending the trail any other way. Surrounded by friends new and old (I¢m talking weeks vs. months since I first met them) on top of a stunning mountain girded in a sea of clouds and bathed in sunlight, I took a picture of a sign of the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. We thru hikers walked 2100 some odd miles to get here, which made it all the more beautiful. Most of the Herd opted to do a sunrise ascent. I had spent the previous night in a different campground with Dorothy, Rocket Girl, Legs, Texaco, Santa, Snowbunny, and Longlashes, and we decided that we just might be awake by sunrise! Dorothy (a guy so named for his ¢ruby slipper¢ crocs) had met up with a friend who worked at Baxter State Park, and Texaco and Santa, friends of Legs who had finished a week before while succumbing to giardia and norovirus respectively, drove back to summit with her and actually enjoy the climb! A park ranger drove us to the trailhead around 7am and we began the climb. Five months of daily training with loads much heavier than our light summit packs and recent short days that allowed much needed recovery meant nobody passed us despite the crowds of dayhikers on the trail. Someone asked us if we had climbed this mountain every day for a week. No. We¢re Thru hikers.And just as we became full fledged Thru hikers, we were through hiking. Over. Done. Going home. We had been working for this moment since Springer, back in the cold southern late winter, but it still felt abrupt. If this was the end, I would have cried. However, I am not done. I was sad to leave this family of hikers , but the trail goes on. Maybe not the AT, not with this specific group, but this is my chosen life. Next year, after a winter of Zeros, I will continue on the Continental Divide Trail. A week after Katahdin, as I hiked south on the PCT with friends from my Scout troop, I saw dozens of PCT thru hikers nearing the conclusion of their journey, and I was happy. Five months of blood, sweat, and tears, and even more joy and friendship and massive thigh muscles and a raging appetite earns you a unique title and membership to a small but rapidly growing group of crazy awesome folks- Thru hikers.
Date: 2014-05-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The departure on Saturday is just around the corner and I am in the final throes of trying to reduce pack weight, practicing putting up the tent, and worrying about stuff that probably won't matter even a little bit. In the midst of all this prep work, I made what I thought was a critical run to Hobby Lobby. I had to bling up my trail hat, poles and pack just a little. I spend so much time with gardening, horses and hiking, it's easy to lose that inner girlie-girl. So I put some sparkles and flowers on my gear and feel like it will help me not take myself too seriously.   I'll try to post a photo of everything before it gets beaten up on the trail. On the home front, I am making sure all of my four-legged friends will be cared for in my absence. I will go out to ride my new horse, Bucky, today. I thought about canceling the lesson because I have so much to do, but the time on a horse always sets my spirit right and helps me relax. I won't bore everyone with the silly details of getting ready (take the gloves, leave the gloves, take the gloves...) or share my ridiculous attempts to reduce pack weight. Yes, I am taking half a toothbrush and maniacally weighing everything single thing. The Tabasco sauce made the cut, just so you know where my priorities are. Hope I can occasionally get a signal and upload using my Smarter-than-me-Phone. I am taking a solar panel, which is much lighter than it sounds. I was sad to learn that you cannot use it to run a hair dryer. That's okay. I understand I will not be able to take a shower for days on end and styling my coif will not be a necessity. I also could not figure out how to take half a hair dryer. Happy Trails!
Date: 2014-05-09
To: dinner :)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I arrived at Dulles airport and had lunch with a good friend. I have been in my hotel room waiting for an equipment shakedown and hoping it would not be as nefarious as it sounded. It was no big deal, although they did take exception to my solar panel and my rationale (it's for charging my phone so I can read at night) seemed to hold little sway. It weighs less than a book. Okay. It weighs less than a big book and I have to read at night to fall asleep. Considering the discussions we just had about rodents and bears, I might have been better off bringing a stash of morphine to put myself under at night. Literature may be woefully insufficient and morphine would have been much lighter. We will see how the anxiety level is tomorrow night and if I found a way to justify the solar deal. I hope I have included a photo of my blinged out gear. If I was unsuccessful in using their app and my smarter-than-me phone to upload a photo, just imagine if Barbie went hiking, what would she wear and carry. A girl can be tough and cute! And speaking of dichotomies, when Bo dropped me at the airport, I grabbed the duffel bag holding my backpack and promptly hailed a porter to carry it into the airport for me. That sucker is heavy and I have to carry it for two weeks. I see nothing inconsistent or incongruent with that choice. I'm sure Bo drove off thinking, "she'll probably be back by Wednesday."So, I can tell from my sarcastic tone that I may be suppressing a little anxiety, but it's the good kind. It means this is a stretch and that's always a good thing. I will own that my prayer last night was "Please don't let me be the oldest and fattest person in the group." Probably should have asked for safety, personal growth and spiritual connection. Definitely room for self improvement on this trip. Happy Trails y'all!
Date: 2014-05-11
From: Rockfish Trailhead

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

Hmmmm. How do I describe today? We drove two hours south of Herndon to the trailhead. That part was pretty easy breezy. The day's hike sounded reasonable. Seven miles with an 800 foot climb is not intimidating. What I didn't realize is we would do that 800 feet over and over. I also did not factor in the rocks. I did not anticipate the heat. I did not have experience with my heavy pack on rocks on hills that go up and down over and over in the heat. I did not know the trail was 2 feet wide with a 45 degree bank to roll down if you slipped. I did not think about hiking with a group at a pace set for you over the hills and the rocks and the hills again and the scary drop off in the side in the heat. And finally, after hills and hills and heat and drop offs and a pace that challenged, I did not I also anticipate getting to the shelter and hearing two 20-something thru-hikers describe said day as like hiking in kiddie land. Sigh! Youth really is wasted on the young. So, despite the training, I had to reach deep several times to make the day and am reminded that I have a long way to go, literally, physically, and existentially. But the truth is I loved every challenging step. I'm in the middle of the woods in my little tent and life is good! We will see how the body feels in the morning and just put one foot in front of the other. Over and over. Up and down and up and down. On the rocks. In the heat. With a smartie pants thru hiker ready to rain on my parade.
Date: 2014-05-12
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: dispersed camping at Calvary Rock
Miles today: 9.3

In my tent at hikers midnight (8pm) and wondering why today was so tough. I won't dwell on it except to say we lost one of our group with an ankle injuryband will probably put another one off the trail for at least a day with a knee injury. The weather ranged from 90+ to thunderstorms so heavy, I got rain in my ear! It was tough with hard ascents, but it felt so good to make it to camp and have a feeling of such accomplishment. My secret to staying with it on the trail is to think of pie. I get so tired and overwrought with the exertion that I can't generate a deep thought. So, I think of pie. Coconut pie. Apple pie with ice cream. I think about every detail. Like how sugar beads up in a brown syrupy goo on top of lemon meringue. So on that note, I thought I would share our fitpacking menu. So far we had tofurkey wraps with cheese, toasted flax seeds, and broccoli slaw for lunch. Brown rice with stir fried veggies for dinner. Tofu sausage and hashbrowns made up the mornings repast. Cheeses on some kind of Swedish cracker that was, let's say substantial, for lunch. And tonight was the best with quesadillas with tofu chicken or beef. I will pay expenses and $1000 American dollars to someone willing to deliver some fried chicken, and a cold Diet Coke somewhere on skyline drive. Oh and please bring pie. Just kidding. Anything you get to eat after all this work tastes fine. I am rather certain there will be no tofu on the menu when I get home. Hear that? That was Bo breathing a sigh of relief. Good night and thanks to those supporting this grand adventure.
Date: 2014-05-15
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

We left Pinefield Hut and climbed 500 feet. Then we went down 600 feet. Then we went up 750 feet. Then we went down 750 feet. Then somewhere in the last 2+ (emphasis on the plus) miles of our hike and a final 800 foot climb the skies opened up. I'm talking about a five inch rain, howling winds, lightning and thunder, and a trail turned into a river. Now, I'm a bit jumpy around lightning and will go out of my way to make sure I am not outside in a thunderstorm. I really would not plan on ascending a mountain into a thunderstorm. We discussed lightning safety with our guides earlier in the day and one of them showed us a crouched posture we should assume. I figured I could stay in that position for at least 5-15 seconds tops. The other guide said the research showed that position to be of little help and it was basically a crap shoot as to whether or not you get hit. I have been known to buy a lottery ticket now and again. My theory being that someone will likely win. It might be me. That thinking transfers equally well to lightning. Someone may be hit. It might be me. So, imagine the scene. In full death march mode, we are headed up this ridiculous climb. Rain is pelting us and has turned the trail in a river. I didn't bother to get into rain gear because I wanted something dry to wear in camp. I am soaked to the bone and lightning is literally crackling all around us. It is dramatic. It is frightening. It is Biblical. I am praying and swearing and questioning, once again, what the heck I am doing out here. Finally, we get to the shelter and it dawns on me, I have to sleep in that small, dark, rodent-infested building or set up my tent in this howling storm. I sat down and cried. Again. I never cry. But it was all just a little too much. With one phobia behind me, I figured I could handle the mice. I set up my bag, wolfed down dinner and went to bed at 7:30. We had 11 people in a 12 person shelter and I don't know what I felt run over my arm during the night. But somehow I got through it. I felt pretty good the next morning and decided over my bowl of oatmeal that I might be growing more than blisters on this trip.
Date: 2014-05-16
From: Hightop Hut

To: Bearfence Hut
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

We passed 50 miles today. Yay! We left Hightop Hut and surprise, surprise, we started out with a climb. Then we dropped about 1200 feet. Then we climbed 800 feet and rested at a spot with a real bathroom and a place to drop off trash. Luxuries! After something on flatbread, our guide said, "Well, we have about six more miles and apt of uphill." I wanted to smash in his face with a rock. Six more miles?!?! I forgot it was a 12+ (emphasis on the plus) mile day. I stomped off mad and determined to burn those six miles. I was on fire. I started counting to 1000 to get into a two mile an hour cadence even on the climbs. I was an animal! I did not stop. I did not whine. I did not hurt. I pushed mile after mile like a hiking machine. My inner athlete was in charge and kicking butt! And then a little root or rock or something caught my toe and I face planted. I mean I fell straight onto my face and had just enough time to think, "This is really going to hurt." It did. I lay still for a moment and one of the other women came to me asking me if I was okay. I did a quick inventory. Airway-check. Breathing- ragged, but check. Circulation- I see blood dripping so I am going with a check. I then noticed a terrible pressure in my back and chest. Oh no! I can barely move my arms. What is that? "Do you want to take off your pack?", my fellow hiker asked. I rolled over and undid the belt so she could help me out of it. As I lifted my head, I could tell the blood was coming from my nose. The guides were behind us and arrived with a look of "Oh no! Her again!" No, they were great. Asked all the right field medicine questions. Gave me stuffing for my nose. I got up and put the pack on and walked (uphill of course) the last 2+ miles into camp. No longer a hiking machine. Just a gimpy old gal with a bloody nose and a bump on her head. But for a brief shining moment, I felt invincible and strong. It was worth the bump on the nose and head, which I am pretty sure will need Botox and fillers to fully recover.
Date: 2014-05-17
From: Bearfence Hut

To: Big Meadows Campgrounds
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: few clouds

The tent site last night was awful and had slopes in two directions. I slid all night long and woke with my face crammed into the corner of my tent gasping for air. So I started out on today's hike tired and with a sore face. We hiked up, of course, from camp and had a really great day. So we get to the Bearfence Rock Scramble which was optional. After lightning, rodents and a faceplant fall, I figured I could handle anything. I put down my pack and poles and scrambled up a big rock formation and sat out on the edge of a rock with a 1000 foot drop or more. Seems like with all the ups, we should be at around 20,000 feet or so by now. But maybe the drop was a few thousand. It seemed very high, but I felt no fear at all. None. The girl who hates ski lifts climbed up and out onto rocks hanging high above a valley. So. Very. Cool. The group has formed a tight bond. One of the girls really loves to hike with her iPod and it died. So one of the other girls began to sing the most random collection of songs. Stuff from commercials, Disney movies, every decade and genre you can imagine. It was great fun and made a long stretch of trail go by quickly. We hiked to Big Meadows Campground where we had reserved tent sites (some grass with less slope). Best of all. Wait for it.... Showers, laundry facilities, soda machine and a small store with candy and potato chips. Seven straight days in two sets of clothes and no bath. I can't even think about it. But we got all of our clothes washed and dried and restrained ourselves from overindulging in snacks. It seemed all was right in the world, but such is not the case with backpacking. I had a nice shower and washed my hair just before dark and the temps plummeted. No hair dryer, so I stuck a wool cap on and got into clean long johns, liner, and sleeping quilt. I woke to my body shaking violently and realized I was way too cold. So I put on another shirt, gloves and pants. A couple of hours later, I woke up to the same l-body shivering. I realized my rated to 38 degrees quilt means at 38 degrees you become miserable. So I tucked it around me tightly and pulled the hood over my slightly damp wool cap and finally got warm enough to sleep. What else are we going to endure? Severe heat, rain, cold. It's like we're living outdoors or something. Anyway, I am excited about tomorrow. We only hike 8+ miles to a lodge with a dining room, more showering, and real beds. Heaven!