Date: 2004-07-21
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Iron MasterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mansion Hostel 
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Iron Masters MansionStart: Quarry Gap Shelter @ 0913Finish: Iron Master's Mansion @ 1553Miles: 17.4Weather: Sunny, Humid and Hot (mid 80¢s)Breakfast: Strawberry & Blueberry GranolaLunch: Snickers, 2 Starcrunch, Fudgeround, Dried PeachDinner: 1/2 Gallon Moose Tracks, Fried Egg Sandwich, Egg McMuffinTrail Conditions: Super Easy and Flat. Several rocky spotsAnimals: Deer, Chipmunk, Big RattlesnakePeople: Goofy, Terrapin, Jen, Hi-Trailer, John, Slider, Mickey & Mallory, Kiwi, Kate, Donna, hot lady in the woods, Hoods in the Woods Quarry Gap Shelter was a great place to stay and really well maintained. Kudos to the caretaker for his/her great work. It¢s not every day that you come across a shelter with hanging baskets and a privy with an air freshener. Everyone got out of camp early and I straggled behind with Terrapin and Goofy. The profile map showed ridiculously flat terrain, which meant fast walking to (drum roll) the half-gallon challenge!!! An event we had been talking up for several days.The day started with a quick and easy climb and remained a raceway the rest of the day. I was really hauling the mail and covered the five miles to Milestown Cabin in 1 hr 20 min. I stopped briefly with Terrapin and Goofy. Terrapin found a can of Dr. Pepper in the stream, and after some cajoling was nice enough to share it with us. Then it was off to Birch Run Shelters. RattlesnakeI just missed out on the action when I got there. Some Boy Scouts rustled up a rattlesnake as they hiked by and it struck at some of them. None were hurt fortunately. However, Mickey found a mouse and tossed it to the snake, which made short work of devouring it for an afternoon snack. When I got there it was just coiled up and rattling it¢s tail. It was neat to see and I took some good photos.Once again we resumed a blistering pace of over 4 miles an hour. I rested for about an hour at the final shelter before Pine Grove Furnace and plotted my strategy for the conquest that lay ahead.Terrapin, the self-proclaimed king of food eating contests was going for the new AT record although the ALDHA Guidebook says the record in 4 minutes 27 seconds, the store owner confirmed that it was actually 7 minutes and change. With his half-gallon selected and somewhat thawed (which is acceptable to contest rules) he dove into the frozen goodness. In a mine boggling 6 minutes 4 seconds he had polished off the entire container and set a new record for the event. It was perhaps the greatest spectacle of intestinal fortitude I have ever witnessed.But perhaps the true miracle and enduring story of triumph can be best recapped in my battle with a half-gallon of Moose Tracks ice cream. Me and the MoosetracksThere are times in life where ones manhood is put on the line, a test of the ages, a David versus Goliath battle. I walked into the PGFSP General Store, knowing already what lay ahead, a once flavorful desert turned stomach wrenching nemesis¢¦.a half gallon of Moose Tracks Ice Cream. Armed with only my hiker appetite and a lexan spoon I reached into the Frigidaire, withdrew the box of sugary evil and initiated battle. I was met with hardened resistance as I viciously thrust my utensil into the frozen mass. The lone peanut butter cup, obtusely angled at the surface, stared back at me as if to say ¢is that all you have!?¢ A voice from deep within me said, ¢be not afraid Rowboat, for all you have to give is everything it will take to succeed.¢ Slowly, methodically, I began chiseling into the chilly block. Scoop, eat¢¦¢¦scoop, eat¢¦¢¦scoop, and eat. The surface layers of ice cream making there way into my belly revealed the rich veins of chocolaty fudge lacing the fearsome half gallon together. I knew that to win the war I would need to overtake the fudge in a valiant stand opposed only by the minions of peanut butter cups¢¦..TO BE CONTINUEDOne Year Reflection