Date: 2005-06-06
From: Quarry Gap Shelter, PA

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: clear sky

Thought I had the shelter to myself last night for the second time this trip, but Shera and Ranger rolled up round about dark. Stayed up a little longer and shot the breeze for a bit, since I wasn't getting any sleep until they settled. Slept terrible, woke up at midnight to the sensation that my feet were being squished in vice grips. Popped some vitamin I and waited for it to kick in. Managed to sleep eventually. Left late again, but not as bad as days before. I made sure to drink plenty of water before I left though. Sun was out, but it stayed fairly cool until around noon. I made several stops as I went. One at a PATC cabin and at another shelter. The hiking was easy, it was a flat ridge walk most of the day. The area was loaded with mountain laurel, and most were budding. Some were blooming already, but the folks that come through in a week will have quite the show. All the ferns are out too, nice and green. From time to time, there's a sweet smell in the air. In MD, it was mostly around the powerline cuts, oddly enough, but I've smelled it elsewhere. I haven't decided if it's the mountain laurel, the flowering blackberries, the ferns or something I'm missing. Oh well, it's nice anyway. Stopped and chatted with a big pack of kids about hiking the trail. They liked the kilt. Got to the shelter at 14 miles, it was looking like rain so I stopped and ate some lunch. The lunch was a mistake, but we're getting to that. Met up with Shera and RAnger again there and sat out a wave of thunderstorms. When the coast cleared, we made a dash for th park. WE weren't quick enough, though, and another wave of showers drenched us just before the park, too. Pine Grove Furnace State Park is home to the halfway point of the trail. To mark this momentus occasion, hikers stop by the general store for a feat of gluttony, or at least an attempt at it. It is known as the Half-Gallon Challenge. The goal is to eat an entire half gallon of ice cream at one sitting. All you have to do is pick it out of the freezer and grab a spoon. Now, I've heard plenty of war stories about the HGC, so I was on the verge of not wanting to bother with it. But I wasn't planning to hike any further and Ranger and Shera were talkin' it up and getting psyched. So there I was, sitting on the porch of the general store, face to face with one half gallon of Hershey's vanilla ice cream. Spoon in hand, I started my watch and dug in to that big 4 lb. block of 2400 calories of good ol' fashioned sugar, fat, and whatever else goes into vanilla ice cream. The selection in the freezer was slim, only vanilla, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, and peanut butter twist. Figured I had a fighting chance with the goody-free ice cream. So fight I did. As the rain fell outside, three wet hikers went after the ice cream. I tore into it like a freshman at a kegger. Fast and furious. Non-stop shoveled all that cold, icy goodness into my mouth. Spoonful by spoonful. Tunneled my way down to the bottom of the carton, then worked it sideways. Halfway through, the wind picked up and I got cold. It's damn hard to eat ice cream while you're shaking. I think there was some kind of subconscious self perservation mechanism kicking in, but I took care of that. Cursing and spitting, I plowed on through. Three quarters of the way, I started to churn. A shadow of doubt creeped over me, but I shoveled on. I had already spotted the nearest trash can. The last corner of the carton laughed at me. With the battle cry, "I ain't quittin' now", I buckled down and finished 'er off. Victory was mine. 25 minutes. And for the suffering then and of that which is surely to come later, I got a little wooden spoon. On it is emblazoned, "Member of Half Gal. Club". Oh sweet day. With the HGC accomplished, I waddled over to the hostel next door. First shower in a week and laundry machine that chewed a sock. Felt like I was going to die. I'm definitely glad I wasn't planning to hike more today, because it wasn't going to happen. Not even a little bit. Laid on a couch at the Ironmasters Mansion and watched a movie. Ate some ramen. Drank some tea. Good to be halfway.