Date: 2009-07-16
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: PA 94 (Mt. Holly Springs)
Miles today: 10.6

Due to the sugar rush of the half gallon of ice cream I consumed the evening prior, I was a bit slow moving when I woke up. Not that any of you reading this actually cares about my bowel movements, but I had to make three trips to the loo, all just to rid myself of the Neapolitan. Yuck! We made a quick stop at the General Store again - me for a breakfast sandwich and Guernsey for a morning coffee. The temperature was already incredibly hot - roughly 85 degrees - and it was only 10 o¢clock in the morning. It was going to be a bit of a confusing day, as I needed to figure out from my cousin John Henssler, where he and his brother, Alan, were going to come meet me the following day. The key is that they wanted to come out and hike with me for a bit, but if I continued all the way into Boiling Springs, then the terrain after that would just be cornfields. If I stopped at PA 94 Mt. Holly Springs, we would be able to hit a few bumps and they would have a much better feel of the Appalachian Trail. After calling one another, John helped me figure out how I could avoid doing the 9-mile section before Boiling Springs by hitching my way into Mt. Holly Springs and then over to Boiling Springs. Complicated, I know. Guernsey was a bit excited to get out of the heat and head into town for a cold beer. So, once we reached the road crossing of PA 94, we started sticking out our thumbs, trying to get our hitch. A young man pulled on over and took us all the way up to the Sheetz. It was still incredibly hot, so I headed inside and asked the cashier for some cardboard. I had to explain that we were hoping to hitchhike to Boiling Springs; she looked at me quite strangely, but opted to help me out with some cardboard and a permanent marker. So, outside, Guernsey and I designed our sign, headed out to the road and caught a ride with a man named Frank, who dropped us off directly at the ATC Mid-Atlantic Office. We were in town by 4 pm. From there, we found a great deal at the Allenbury Resort .4 miles up the road. $25 for a double at a place that has air conditioning, cable TV, a bar/restaurant in the hotel, a swimming pool, a hot tub and free apples and oranges. Aside from this, the place was beautifully ornate. I immediately headed over to the swimming pool, where I then alternated between the coolness of the pool and the warm water of the hot tub. It was absolutely lovely. My clothing had completely stunk up the room, but there was little that we could do. Guernsey did have an extra clean non-stinky shirt, which I threw on as we headed out for dinner. We first made a trip to the bar downstairs where we had a pint and then it was off to the tavern down the road. On the way, we met up with Blue Eyes, who joined us for dinner. The tavern was a bit of a disappointment, as we were expecting inexpensive beer and a larger food selection. We chatted with a few people at the bar, due to our ¢celebrity status¢ and, maybe, for me wearing my bright orange flashy crocs. Since Guernsey is a bit of a beer drinker, we opted to get a six pack and head out by the manmade pond to share some brews with Blue Eyes. It was a beautiful evening and I enjoyed listening to some of Blue Eyes¢ stories of life in Blacksburg, VA. By 10 pm, we were all tired and had finished the beer, so we tramped up the PA highway back to the hotel. I went to bed knowing that my two closest cousins would be coming out to visit tomorrow and join me in hiking a 9-mile section of the Appalachian Trail.