Date: 2016-06-16
From: Quarry Gap Shelters

To: Campsite north of Pine Grove
Miles today: 19.6

Jun 16, 2016 - It started to pour when I woke up this morning around 6. JJ Don't Play was already gone - he really doesn't play around. His hike must be lonely though seeing as he doesn't stick around long enough to get to know anyone due to his consistently long days.Peach and I took our time making coffee and chatting with Tumbleweed, Jingle, Husker, Buff and Little Red. We didn't leave camp until the rain stopped around 8. However, we walked quickly today knowing the Half Gallon Challenge awaited us. The sky threatened rain all day, but, luckily, we managed to avoid literally all of it. Around 17 miles into our hike, we entered Pine Grove Furnace State Park - home of the Half Gallon Challenge. Thru hikers traditionally purchase a half gallon of ice cream and attempt to eat it all in one sitting. Oddly enough, the general store doesn't really care about the challenge at all - all they do is accept money in exchange for ice cream, have a notebook on the counter for hikers to sign and allow hikers to grab a small wooden spoon with a pitiful stamp on it saying "Member of Half Gallon Club". They don't even keep the spoons behind the counter so any hiker that fails the challenge can still take one. Anyway, I chose chocolate chip cookie dough for my challenge and completed it easily, to be totally honest. I proceeded to order chicken fingers and fries afterwards. The ice cream alone was 2850 calories so, needless to say, I ate a lot. The only person to fail the challenge was Tumbleweed and yes, we gave him a lot of crap for it. Husker was on point with Eye of the Tiger whenever someone had a few bites left. Great P actually ran over to the grass - we thought he was going to throw up, but he merely slammed the empty carton against the ground triumphantly. I don't know if I've explained my spoon issues yet, but I broke my 9th spoon (I lost some, too) on trail today on the still frozen ice cream. This includes plastic spoons, wooden baking spoons and a homemade spoon that I actually carved out with hot coals from the fire. Until I could obtain a metal spoon, my solution was to purchase a pack of 24 heavy duty plastic spoons from the General Store for my pack. Peach and I tried to wait for Steel and Survivor, but after nearly 5 hours, we needed to hike the remaining 2.5 miles to our campsite. Our schedules are completely off so I haven't hiked with Survivor in several days. As I set up camp tonight, I was so hot, sweaty, and filthy that I had a difficult time accepting it mentally. It's only been 4 days without a shower or laundry, but the humidity from the last two days has been stifling despite the fact that the sun hasn't even been shining. My situation is bound to get worse as the summer approaches. During moments like tonight, I can either freak out or just calm down and accept how gross I am. I just tell myself that it can and will get much worse. Even as the rain pelts my tent, I remind myself how much fun I'm having, how beautiful and comfortable the woods are even in a thunderstorm, and that I could be setting my alarm for work in an office building tomorrow. If this experience is teaching me anything, it's to appreciate the moment where you are no matter the circumstances.