Date: 2009-06-30
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pole Steeple Vista, PA
Miles today: 19.8

After a few late night showers Bark and I woke up to a beautiful blue sky morning. We had planned the night before to make it out early knowing we had a 6:00am the alarm went off and we went to work packing up our things, scarfing down some pop tarts and hitting the trail (rocks) by 6:45am. The weather was great and the trail has been beautiful through PA. It is just amazing what a state line does for the landscape of a forest floor. So far the trail in PA takes you up a nice climb to the ridgeline and then you can cruise pretty easily along the tops of the ridgeline. We have only run into a few rocky patches thus far, but everyone is warning us about Duncannon, PA northward; sounds like the boulder fields are only a few days away. With an early departure and some smooth sailing Bark and I made it 13 miles to a shelter for lunch by 12:15. At that point we were a mere .6 miles to the halfway mark. During the morning hike we did take a few extra breaks to give Bark's shoulders a good rest. With a broken pack strap the weight is shifted to one side and is causing some shoulder, neck, and back pain. After crossing our halfway point on the AT there was one last goal for the day, as if that wasn't enough. Only 3.7 miles north of the shelter was Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the General Store- home of the "Half Gallon Challenge." This challenge is a tradition on the AT and this year marks the 25th anniversary. The challenge involves purchasing a half gallon container of ice cream from the store and eating it as fast as you can. I knew I would not be participating in this one and opted for 2 scoops in a cone for my celebration snack. But Bark had ice cream on the mind all day. When we arrived at the store several hikers were already going at it, 10 minutes into their half gallon they started putting on their rain gear jackets because the cold was getting to them. Bark had promised Free Bird and Otter that if we arrived first, he would wait for them to share in this momentous occassion. After a delivery from the Hershey Ice Cream man and the arrival of Bark's competitors, each hiker picked his choice flavor and the boys sat down to go to work. Bark and Otter chose chocolate chip cookie dough while Freebird chose Moosetracks. Well, only 22 minutes later Freebird had cleaned out his container, completely smoking Bark and Otter. Bark was next at around 45 minutes with a very full stomach and slightly nauseated look on his face. It took Otter a little longer at 1 hour and 22 minutes. We all had to cheer him on while he took a few slow laps around the covered porch before having to drink the remaining melted ice cream from the container. It was honestly a little hard to watch. The large group of hikers who had hobbled in to the store were all beginning to disperse to different campsites or heading back out to the trail. Bark and I decided to head back to the AT in order to get a couple more miles in making tomorrow a slightly shorter day than planned. Bark has been wanting to find a good vista to camp beside and tonight was our night. About .5 miles off the AT was a blue blazed trail leading to Pole Steeple. We decided to take the trail and about halfway to the rocks stumbled across a large group of teens camping out as well. The outcropping of rocks overlooked the state park below, the sunset straight ahead and the pink tinted rocks on either side. We enjoyed a small camp meal and watched the sunset together. It wasn't long before the teens from the campsite below had joined us for the spectacular view. They asked lots of questions and quickly apologized for "ruining our moment." We laughed and said it was no problem. So far, we are really enjoying PA... rocks and all.