Date: 2014-06-20
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: James Fry Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: few clouds

Considering how wet everything was when I went to sleep, I had a remarkably good night. A front with cold, dry air pushed in overnight, and by morning my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag were just about dry. I tied my bear bag line between two trees and hung them in the breeze during breakfast to finish the job.Once again, I was one of the last ones out of camp, hitting the trail at just past 9:00. I suspect everyone was excited to get to the half-way point less than 10 miles north. At five miles, I came to a laminated cardboard sign attached to a small wooden post with the words:"This is the Halfway Point of the AT for 2014 / Official length 2185.3 / 1092.65 to Springer / 1092.65 to Katahdin"At that moment, I had another visceral reaction like the one two days ago at the Washington Monument, but today the emotion was pure joy. The anticipation of reaching the half-way point had been weighing on my mind for several weeks, and I let out a Yee Haa, even though no one was around to hear.The location of the official half-way point took me by surprise, as I was expecting it to be a few miles farther north. It turns out the midpoint changes each year as work is done along the trail. Recent relocations and the addition of switchbacks in the south have pushed the midpoint in that direction. After passing a more permanent and conspicuous half-way sign another mile up the trail, I reached Pine Grove Furnace State Park, location of the traditional half-gallon challenge.The challenge requires thru-hikers eat a half-gallon of ice cream in under 30 minutes. By the time I arrived, several had succeeded, including Morning Wood, who was today's current record holder at 16:47. Thinking I shouldn't pick something too heavy, I chose vanilla, pressed go on my stopwatch, and began eating. I sat in the sun to soften the ice cream and help me along. 23 minutes and 30 seconds later I, too, had succeeded and found only the last few minutes to be arduous. Derek, a section hiker heading across Pennsylvania had his own unique style; instead of using a spoon, he stuffed his face into the carton, eating the ice cream as a dog would. His technique seemed to work, as he finished in just over 20 minutes. The eventual winner, however, was Global Leader, who showed up late and polished off a half-gallon of moose tracks in 12:45, then let his dog lick the leftovers out of his beard.I lounged around the shaded deck of the park's general store for a couple of hours, letting the ice cream settle until I was able to wash it down with a cheeseburger and fries, then took in the AT museum located in the park, before heading out for the final seven miles to the next shelter.Leaving the park, the AT follows a bike/foot path for the first mile or so. About half way along the path, I passed a woman in her late 20s who seemed reluctant to make eye contact, so I said hello and kept walking. When she was about 20 yards past me she turned and asked me over her shoulder whether I was a thru-hiker. When I answered yes, she did an about-face, ran up to me, and asked whether I would mind if she walked with me. She said she always wanted to hike the AT and peppered me with questions, including what was my scariest moment (tenting in the thunder storm two nights ago), whether I was hiking alone (yes, but I often hook up with other hikers for weeks at a time), and how much my packed weighs (currently 35 pounds but it fluctuates with resupplies). She said she would want to find a female hiking partner before attempting the trail, and I countered that the best place to find a compatible hiking partner is on the trail itself. I suggested she read Becoming Odessa, an excellent book written by Jennifer Pharr Davis, one of the AT's preeminent hikers. As we reached the point where the AT left the bike path and entered the woods, she asked me my trail name (Slim). Then she gave me a high five, turned, and resumed walking in her original direction. Now it was my turn to ask a question over my shoulder. Turns out her name Is Kristin.It's all part of the AT experience: looking like a homeless person but, for brief periods, feeling like a celebrity.My brother, Tom, who lives in Philadelphia, joins me on the trail for the weekend, so I've chosen to stay tonight at the James Fry Shelter, a short distance from tomorrow morning's rendezvous point.