Date: 2006-08-10
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 65.0

We lazed about Duncannon till after 11AM to take advantage of the Doyle's Room and to ensure that the liquor store was open. We got our food and picked up a bottle of Southern Comfort on the way out of town. There has been a longstanding vision of The General and I walking down a country lane in the evening, enjoying a beverage, in our boxers. It was time for this vision to be realized. We hiked through the afternoon and reached the Cumberland Valley by dinnertime. Cumberland Valley is a 10 mile wide flat bowl filled with rolling farmlands. During dinner we talked with an employee of the Appalachian Trail Conference and enjoyed the cool temperatures. Around 7:30 we set off across the valley with the intent of hiking 10 more miles to Boiling Springs. The night was beautiful and the moon was near full. We hiked through corn, cows, and small wooded lots. In one such wooded lot jon pointed out the presence of a large amount of bird sign which is when we noticed thousands of softly cooing birds in the canopy. As we proceeded the raining bird scat increased and soon we were running to escape the toxic rain. It was a surreal experience and reminiscent of a scene from "Hitchcock's The Birds". Still we had found the ideal time to hike a section of trail that is known to be sweltering hot in the direct sun. The plan was going perfectly till the lightning began to light our path. After half an hour of distant flashes the wind abruptly picked up. Soon it was raining and we rushed to set up the tent. The rain soon blew past however we were already comfortable and well on our way to sleep.   In the morning we set off under clear blue skies to complete the last 1 mile into Boiling Springs. In town we visited the Regional ATC(Appalachin Trail Conference) office and ate lunch while relaxing in a european styled green space. At this point we are approaching the halfway point and our rendevous time with family in Caledonia State Park. This had led to a relaxed schedule and as a result we didn't push on that day till around 11:30AM. The terrain was more classic Pennsylvania and the miles went quickly. Around dinnertime I was hiking a bit behind jon and heard a rustling in the leaves. I had already seen a 5 foot long black snake slither across my path, so I was on guard. Pausing for a moment I scanned the underbrush and got a good safe look at a coiled Timber Rattlesnake. This snake was undisturbed and it is the second rattlesnake of the trip. In the evening we camped at the James Fry Shelter and relaxed. On the ninth of August we woke up and prepared to cross the halfway point of our journey at mile 1087.9. The morning passed lazily and we rolled into Pine Grove Furnace State Park in the later morning. The park has a beach, an old iron furnace, and a General Store that is almost exactly 1/2 way from Maine to Georgia. The store is also the home of a spectacle of Gluttony known as the half gallon challenge. The challenge is meant to celebrate our journey and is a competition to consume a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. The current record is set at 2 minutes and 35 seconds to eat the whole carton. The General and I read accounts of other consumptive feats in the register as we leisurly enjoyed our pints of ice cream. Neither of us felt compelled to punish our bodies after that much walking and we celebrated in a more moderate manner. As we left the park we entered the section of trail maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club which is known for its immaculate trail grooming and spectacular shelters. We arrived at the Birch Run shelter early in the evening and slept there in anticipation of a short ten mile day into Fayettville and two days off, in a hotel, with our respective families. Caledonia State Park was nice sprawling facility and we passed the day reading and playing on the swingset. In the late afternoon The General's mom showed up and whisked us off for a weekend of cleanliness and good meals. I will reserve a full entry for the weekend itself.