Date: 2018-05-11
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Stealth/Unofficial Campsite 3.1 N Pine Grove Furnace
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: clear sky

I hadn¢t paid for my campsite, so I sought out the campground host. I inquired about the host from a woman at the campground and she directed me to him. She then stopped at an RV where a woman (who I would later find out was Wanda) was cooking breakfast for several people. Wanda said ¢there¢s a lot of bacon over here¢ as if she was encouraging people to take more. I had already eaten breakfast but was still hungry and bacon sounded good, so I walked up to Wanda and politely asked if I could buy some bacon, after explaining about being a hiker. She told me I didn¢t need buy it, I could just have some. I insisted on paying she said to take some, then asked if I wanted breakfast. Someone at the table invited me to sit down. I again offered to pay and she wouldn¢t have it. I ended up eating two eggs over easy, two scrambled eggs, toast, hashbrowns, orange juice, and several slices of bacon. There were 13 family members and friends who were staying at different campsites, but met for breakfast and dinner at Wanda, Bill, and Lucy¢s (their dog) campsite. Family and friends rotated in and out, eating their breakfast. There were some teenage girls who were curious about my backpacking trip. They stopped by my campsite later and we chatted a bit more about it. A man later showed up dressed in camouflage, who had been turkey hunting. He was getting questioned by Wanda about where the turkey was for dinner. I hung around for a bit after breakfast, taking to family members, then returned to my campsite. Thanks for breakfast Wanda, Bill, and Lucy!I spent some time with Puddles and Roaming Ambassador Dorothy. I got a ride out of the campground from Lee, who was slack packing Wind Eagle. She dropped me off at the general store where they have the half gallon ice cream challenge, this being the half way point of the trail. Field Trip was there opening his resupply box. I had a burger and picked up a few necessities for a short resupply, and hung out with Field Trip and other hikers. We talked about storm the day before. Everyone who had been in the woods saw a rainbow after the storm. It didn¢t matter where anyone was, even miles apart, we all saw a rainbow.I left the general store and stopped at the A.T.Museum, then hiked for a little over 3 miles, before having an incline up some boulders. When I got to the top, Field Trip was there. He found a nice stealth tenting spot. He invited me to set up camp, and after chatting for a few minutes, I looked at the map and decided to stay there for the night. It was too late to get to the next shelter at a decent time. We had also heard through the grape vine that there was a couple of hikers not too far behind us who were creating havoc along the trail. I thought it was best that I didn¢t go on and end up at a campsite by myself, and we both felt there was strength in numbers. Besides,he¢s great company. He¢s a retired elementary school teacher from Ohio, looking for lady¢s slipper flowers and butterflies during his hike. I didn¢t know what a lady¢s slipper was until I met him. It¢s also known as the Pink-and-white Lady's-slipper or the Queen's Lady's-slipper, and is a rare, terrestrial, temperate, lady's-slipper orchid native to northern North America. I love spending time around him. I was a little nervous about being away from a shelter for camping. He had been backcountry camping several times and reassured me that we would have no problem getting through the night without any issues with bears. We hung our food bag lines, then had dinner and great conversation. It was my first time actually hanging my line. Whenever I¢ve been backpacking, my friend Jo (Hummingbird) always hung the food bags. I found a great branch that stuck out and away from the tree, which was perfect. I threw rock bag over the branch but didn¢t unwind all of my line, so it went up off the ground. I pulled the line down, and my second throw went up and over the branch perfectly. After dinner we hung our food bags. I clipped my bag onto the carabiner and pulled it up. I was attempting to do the PCT method of hanging the bag, which requires the use of a stick, and a clove hitch knot. I was in the middle of putting the bag up,and couldn¢t remember howto do a clove hitch. I referred to a diagram on my phone, and got the clove hitch correctly, then realized I had pulled the rope out of the carabiner, which is required to lock the food bag in place. Field Trip had been assisting me almost the entire time, but wasn¢t familiar with the PCT method of hanging a bag. I ended up tying my line on a nearby tree. I knowvnext time I hang my bag, I should be able to do the PCT method.  Field Trip and I settled into our tents after talking for a bit, and I mapped out some possible scenarios for mileage for upcoming days. At about 2:40 in the morning, I awoke to hard rain and gusty wind. Fortunately the wind was blowing through the treetops and wasn¢t effecting my tent At home I would never wake up during a storm like this, I always sleep through them. Not this night. I laid there thinking ¢is there any dead trees near my tent? Is there any dead branches above me? Is water going to gush into the tent?¢ I stayed perfectly dry and comfortable the entire night.