Date: 2003-05-22
From: Birch Run Shelter 

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park and Hostel 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

WUHUUUUUUUUU!!!!!! YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!!!!!! YEEEEEHAWWWWWWWW!!!!!! Now again but with twice the volume! YEEEEEEHAAAWWWWWWW!!!!!!!    Aloha! Do you have any idea why you're yelling along with me? Besides the fact that now and then it just feels good to yell that is. You don't? Well I'll tell ya. As of my arrival in Pine Furnace I can now say that I have officially hiked half of the Appalachian Trail. YIPPPEEEEE! An unbelievable 1086.3 miles. I am so excited. WUHUUUUUU! You can be too if you'd like. I won't mind in the least.   No, slightly to my chagrin, I did not do it as the thru-hiker as I had originally planned but it's still exciting for me. Possibly even a little more so because of the pitfalls I ran into getting this far. Bittersweet I guess. It doesn't matter though. The journey has been great and that's the important part for me. Maybe one day there will be a thru-hike in my future. But for now, I'm one hell of a happy long distance section hiker! YEEEHAWWWWW!   Alright, I've kind of started in the middle of my day so I imagine I should go back to the beginning. Always the best starting point for me. So let's go, shall we?   The first thing to tell you is that sleeping on a waxy painted shelter floor is not fun! I slipped and slid my way all over that floor last night. Had there been anyone else in the shelter I would have either kicked them or been snuggled up against them. With every turn of the body came a slide either to the right, left, up or down. Even woke with my head hanging off the edge one time! My final wake up found me on the exact opposite side of the shelter. Definitely time to get up.   The weather never did turn as nasty as had been predicted. It was about 40* and misty. It looked to have rained during the night but I never heard it. Except for the grey skies it was actually good hiking weather. As a matter of fact with the cool weather and decent terrain I made it 4 miles in less than 1.5 hours - unintentionally!   No, I'm not racing; just made good time today. As a matter of fact it took me 7 hours to make it the total of ten miles, four of which were the first 1.5 hours. Now that's meandering.   The truth is that I would have accomplished the 7 in a lot less time but upon my arrival at Tom Runs Shelter I met Anklebear and Sleepy Jean. Surprise of all surprises, Anklebear and I had met two years earlier when I attended my first 'PA Ruck' (a long distance hikers gathering held here at Pine Grove) in preparation for my '01 hike. It's a small small world indeed.   Meeting the two ladies was reminiscent of meeting Monya, Short Job and Pizazz in '01. As then, it took the ladies only a short time to convince me that since the hostel didn't open until 5p why bother rushing to get there to sit on a chilly porch and wait. Okay, coffee sounds good!   Anklebear and Sleepy Jean are out for 3 months and hiking from shelter to shelter. They're averaging somewhere around 6 to 7 miles a day and are quite enjoying themselves. They don't hike in nasty weather and are in no hurry on the good days. Now these are two gals that know how to "practice the art of meandering"! So after a total of 7 hours I arrived here.   Pine Grove itself contains an historic iron furnace. It and mining operations here produced firearms used in the Revolutionary War. The furnace ceased operations in the 1890s, but its remains are still visible from the trail.   The Ironmaster's Mansion Hotel (aka hostel) is a large brick building dating back to colonial times (1827). It was once used as a "stop" on the Underground Railroad and has a secret room. It's also been said that George and Martha Washington stayed over night in the original structure. Well now, for barely more than George and Martha paid, you get a bunk, kitchen and laundry privileges, a sleep sack, and a piano. Not to shabby.There is also a camp store located next door but unfortunately for me it's currently not open except on weekends. During the summer months I would have been permitted to join the thru-hiker tradition of buying and attempting to eat a half-gallon of ice cream as soon as I arrived and as fast as I could to mark my arrival at the halfway point. You are permitted to wash it down with hot coffee or soda if you have the stomach for it! Could you do it? Try the next really hot day. Brain freeze!   Our evening culminated with my attacking the hiker refrigerator and pantry to find that someone had just made a pot of spaghetti sauce for all to enjoy. Did you know that spaghetti tastes almost as good if you use ramien noodles? Well it does. I cooked up a big 'o pot of it for us. We're now all full and carbo-loaded for tomorrow. I even left lots for the two north bounders (Bono and Lion Cub) that came in later. Dinner is served! Okay, time for bed. Tomorrow is looking like a long day with an even longer one to follow. (To be explained then.) Or maybe not. We'll see. But for now I'll say aloha and 'don't let the bed bugs bite'...because they hurt! Think another one just got me!BS&T/A&P; nine miles in seven hrs? I don't think it's allowed.M&G: Why do washers always eat ONE sock or sock liner?Critter count: 4x chipmunks, 1x deer