Date: 2004-06-26
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Ironmaster's Mansion
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

This was to be a big day. Buick and I hiked together all day so we could share the big event. Today we would hit halfway at Pine Furnace State Park. This was only our 56th day on the trail. Unreal. We had a good day of hiking and talking. We passed by Milesburn Cabin. It was apparently private as it was locked. There was a creek just in front of the cabin and the trail crossed it. My recollection is that there were some apples left in the creek for us. Trail Magic is good.We stopped to eat some at Birch Run Shelter. This was a beautiful new shelter with bunks around the perimeter on the inside and a porch with a roof. Buick headed out while I was still writing in the shelter journal. We met up again before reaching Toms Run Shelter.At Toms Run we stopped for some lunch. With the idea of a half gallon of ice cream looming, there was some debate about how much to eat. Having been on the trail for so long it is tough to avoid eating the amount you know has been sustaining you for so long. Buick said to heck with it and ate his usual but I held back to only about half.We had deliberately cut the miles down for both yesterday and today. That was so that we would arrive at Pine Furnace State Park at a reasonable time. At issue was the fact that had we just kept doing our regular pace, we'd have arrived in the morning. After eating the ice cream, it would be so early, we would feel obligated to keep going. The feeling in our guts would, however, make us sick. We figured our best bet would be to arrive mid afternoon. That way we could eat ice cream, go for a swim and then move into the hostel. It seemed like a plan.It was less than 4 miles to Pine Grove State Park now. That should take us just about an hour in this terrain. We were excited, to say the least. We knew we were getting close when we started seeing day hikers in sandals and without packs. At one river crossing with a bridge we came across a little kid with her grandparents and took a picture for them.A little further along, Buick was in front. We were talking. We saw a dad and son hiking toward us. I spotted them around Buick and looked back at my feet while continuing our conversation. Then something clicked in my head causing a double take. These folks looked familiar. Hey, that's my brother Randy and my nephew Kyle. Wow! What a surprise. This had to be a three or four hour drive for them. I was ecstatic. This was so cool and unexpected. We kept on hiking to Pine Furnace, all 4 of us.We decided to go for a swim in the old quarry first and eat later. The water was cold and really deep. There was a sandy beach and lots of folks having fun. The day was sunny and warm. It was perfect.The new boots from the outfitter in Harpers Ferry were not making me happy. They were light trail runners but they were the only thing they had that fit. The sole was so soft, they might as well have been my Converse All-Stars. My brother had heard of my frustration through my emails and brought his old boots for me to try. I took one pair. It fit fairly well and was more rugged. These boot were old and tired. There was no way they were going to last more that a few weeks but they were greatly appreciated anyway.After a bit of relaxing we headed back to the camp store. Buick and I each bought a half gallon of Hershey's Moose Tracks Ice cream. The folks behind the counter wrapped it in aluminum foil to avoid a mess. We sat down at the picnic tables outside and began to eat with an audience of Randy and Kyle and whoever happened by. The bottom of my half gallon was loaded with fudge. That was very disappointing. It took about an hour but I finished it. Ya Hoo. It didn't feel real good but the thought did. Half way. I went back inside to sign the half gallon register and pick up my branded wooden ice cream spoon.Randy and Kyle left for home while Buick and I headed to the Iron master's Mansion hostel. It was a 17.2 mile day with a half gallon of ice cream and a frigid swim and a family reunion. Not bad for halfway.