Date: 2011-06-17
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs PA
Miles today: 19.6

i slept marvelously well in the hostel. i quietly gathered all of my gear and tip-toed down stairs. i had a couple of bowls of cereal and left at 6:30 am. the first few miles were simple in the cool morning. the rain came again later on, in anoying intervals again. i knew there was a road crossing coming up with a small shop on it around 0.2 miles east. i must have missed it, because i turned and walked about 0.2 down a road that looked like it had a shop on it. it turned out to be just an advertisment sign. oh well, never mind. the water souces were not the best looking. i found one that wasn't too bad that i stopped at for lunch. Glide and Marathon caught up to me during my lunch break and they pushed on. i forgot to give Marathon his spoon. i wouldn't be able to catch up with him because he was slack packing. now that i think about it, i don't think that i've seen Marathon with a full pack at all. no matter, i'll see him soon enough. the last couple of miles were in open fields - hot and exposed. as i was coming into town i had to wait for the damn train. that's the first time that's happened to me on foot. i walked into town with Glide as i caught back up with him at the end. we walked past a gorgeous spring fed lake. it had crystal clear water with heaps of trout and wee ducks bobbing about. it was such a nice scene and there were little kiddos with little snoopy fishing poles and old couples walking hand in hand. this town had a nice feel to it. after a bit of investigation it turns out that the spring that feeds the lake is refered to to as "the bubble" it's a high pressure aquifer that produces what looks like a large boiling bubble hence the name of the town. i ran into young Forrest for the first time in months. his mum was hiking with him and his sister Goldy Locks. they are ages 13 and 15. they are hiking the trail by themselves! mum and dad come in and hike with them every two weeks or so. but don't get the wrong idea. these two are really sharp and extremely mature for their ages. they are more trail savy than most thru hikers. it's really cool to see them doing something that most adults can't. they inspire me to keep going. Forrest and mum gave me a ride to Allenby. Allenby is a nice resort with an amazing hiker discount. the rooms were really nice. when Forrest's mum gave me a lift it cut off another 0.4 of the trail again. i still had time before dinner so i hitched a ride back to the town center. i stopped in for a cheeky pint before heading to the epic seafood buffet at Allenby. Glide was in the tavern having a bite to eat. i offered him the spare bed in my room. he gladly accepted and agreed to split the cost with me. we walked back the 0.4 of the A.T. on the road ad hitched the last little bit. a nice girl picked us up and happened to be going to an A.T. banquet at Allennby. she was early so we offered her a beer that we just picked up. i finished up my laundry and we dropped our stuff off in the the room. Glide had already eaten, but was really excited about the seafood buffet. i was very impressed. they had lovely shrimp, scallops and muscles, cod, crab cakes, prime rib, roast turkey, raw oysters and heaps of choice desserts and puddings. we plowed plate after plate. i ate far too much. i felt miserable for an hour or so. on the way back to our room we passed Gene Epsy (the second man the ever hike the entire A.T.). i recognized him because i saw him talk in Damascus at trail days. we asked to have our pictures taken with him. it was pretty neat. my stomach was still upset from eating all of that food. i decided i should just get it over with. i went to the bathroom and gave it a couple of good barfs. i managed to keep most of it down though. good times. lol. Goldy Locks cameover to our room to say hello and also offered to take our gear to duncanon tomorrow so we could slack pack. nice. yes please. another easy 25 miles, excellent.