Date: 2006-06-23
From: Pine Furnace State Park

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It stormed for a while last night, but we managed to get our tents set up before the rain hit and most of our gear remained dry. This morning we ate breakfast at the store and discussed our plans for the day. We were only 15 miles from historic Gettysburg and some of us wanted to go and visit if we could. Mouse, Donkey Love, Baro, and I decided to try and hitch a ride there, so we stood out on the street with our "Hiker to Town" bandana just hoping someone would feel sorry for us and give us a ride to town. We waited for about 20 minutes as a few cars drove by, but no such luck for us. ( Can you really blame them though? Who really would want to pick up 4 smelly hikers? ) Just as we were considering moving on, a lady came riding by on her bike. Just jokingly we said, " Hey! Can you give us a ride?" She saw our sign, pulled over, and we told her our idea on visiting Gettysburg. Her response gave us hope as she said she could probably take us at least half way there if we could give her time to go home and get her car. She left and we still sat on the rode waiting for her to return. About 5 minutes later, she came back in her "OFC" (as she called it) the "Old Fart Car" which was a Buick LeSabre with leather seats. The four of us piled in and she took us back to her house to meet her husband. We spent a couple of minutes there talking with them and then she gave us an alternate plan. She and her husband said, " Instead of us driving you to Gettysburg and you having to hitch another ride back to the trail, why don't you all just take our car, enjoy your day, spend as much time in Gettysburg as you want, and just bring it back to us with a full tank of gas." What?! Were they joking?! Did they just say....Take the car?! We were all shocked and could not believe the amount of trust they had in us after only knowing us for less than 5 minutes. Graciously we took them up on there offer. We all had a license, but none of us had driven a car in over 2 months now, but the adventure continued. Mouse took over as the driver while Baro served as navigator. We pulled out of their driveway and immediately went back to the store where the rest of our friends were waiting. They doubted our chances on getting a ride to Gettysburg, so we had to go and "show off" our prize. We pulled up to the store, honked the horn, waved, and drove off with huge smiles on our faces, leaving them with the shock and questions of how that happened....with no explanation. They would have to spend the entire day wondering how we ended up getting a car. We completely taunted them......and the looks on their faces were priceless! We spent some time taking a history lesson as we visited the historic town of Gettysburg, walking through the town, museaums, and battlefield. It was a pretty neat experience with a ton to see, but we crammed in as much as we could in about 4 hours. After filling up the gas tank, we returned the car and thanked the couple for entrusting us with their vehicle and with helping us make our trip even more memorable. It was around 3:00 when we hit the trail, but we still managed to hike over 15 miles to the next shelter. What a day! A huge thank you to the Kent's for an unbelievable experience and a memory of a lifetime!