Date: 2018-06-07
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Campsite North of Pine Grove State Park
Miles today: 19.6

DAY 93Woke early to the non-stop song of a whippoorwill right in the camp area. It is amazing how loud they can be. Cold this morning, and I needed to put on my long pants, fleece top and down jacket. The trail didn't have a lot of views today, but the footing was good and it was pretty flat so we made good time. We pushed to make the ten miles to the halfway point by lunch as we wanted to eat there. We made it, but no sign, so we pushed on looking for the official sign for quite a while. Finally, we just stopped by a stream for lunch. Fluff was sitting next to the stream enjoying his lunch. Turns out we were just shy of the Tom's Run Shelter, just about 4 miles past the halfway point and only about 3.6 miles to go to Pine Grove Furnace and the Half Gallon Challenge. So, as Mary soaked her feet in the stream I headed for the picnic table at the shelter to eat lunch. When Mary finished soaking her feet she joined me to have her lunch, and then we headed down the trail.Shortly after leaving the shelter we came upon Wheat and Cannonball who were at the Midpoint sign, which is actually at the same spot it was in 2011. There is a mailbox there with a log book to sign in on. We got our picture at the sign and signed the log book.Now we were heading toward Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the half gallon challenge.  We knew Kingsman and Papa Dale were slack packing north about two miles behind us, so we figured we would wait for them once we got to the park.We arrived at the store to find many hikers were skipping the Ice Cream Challenge and having burgers and fresh cut fries instead. That combo looked delicious, but as a matter of tradition we were committed to eating ice cream.  Mary, myself, Cannonball, and Wheat were all going to do the challenge and we knew Papa Dale wanted to also.  We all decided to wait for the other two to arrive so we could do it together.  Sharon, Kingsman's wife, was already there waiting for him and said they would arrive shortly. Once they arrived we all selected our flavors and gathered at the table.  Hershey¢s ice cream doesn¢t come in half gallon tubs any more, so you have to eat a one and a half quart tub then eat another pint that they scoop into a cup.  I opted for the chocolate tub with a pint of banana  caramel foster.  Mary chose a Neapolitan tub with a black raspberry pint.  We got out our titanium hiking spoons as this was serious business and no wimpy plastic spoon would do.  A timer was set and we were off and eating.  Several strategies were employed.  A couple chose not to purchase the scooped pint in case they couldn¢t finish the tub.  Others, like Mary and I chose to get the scooped pint initially as it was softer.  This meant you could power through  the soft stuff and allow the tub to begin to soften.  Everyone started with great gusto, and it was quite a sight as the ice cream was being shoveled in.  At one point as Mary was taking a particularly big bite I was trying to be funny and some how knocked her arm which caused  a big chunk to fall off her spoon and land on her arm and shirt.  We cried foul if she didn¢t eat it, which she did, but it also left her arm and shirt covered in chocolate ice cream. My money was on Mary, but ultimately Cannonball was fastest with a stunning time of just over 17 minutes.  This came at a price though as he suffered several boughts of painful brain freeze, and seemed to be in actual pain when he finished.  Mary was second with a time of 26 min  02 sec besting my 2011 time by more than a minute and a half.  I was next with a time of 32min 02 sec. Both Wheat and Papa Dale finished at a more leisurely pace seeming to take more time to actually enjoy it.  We got some great pictures, and had some laughs doing the challenge, but it¢s not something either of us want to repeat in the near future as our stomachs were a bit queasy for some time.The other drawback to the challenge is the cost.  It cost  $20 to buy the ice cream for the both of us. We all headed our separate ways after the challenge, some going to the hotel, some to the hostel, and some like us just heading out of the park a couple miles to find a campsite.  We stopped at the bathhouse for the beach and each took a shower and had a slice of pizza to help settle our stomachs before we hiked up the hill and found a campsite.