Date: 2009-07-02
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnance State Park
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Ok so we've been doing a lot of 10 mile days lately. Today we had planned to do 17, but oh well. Better things ended up happening, and the way I see it, as long as Matt is happy with only hiking 10 miles, I am happy too.Today was huge, because Matt crossed the halfway point! YAY!!! It moves every year, because the AT is always being re-routed. It is hard to pinpoint the exact halfway point, but someone had already done this. And so after resting up at a shelter 7 miles in, we met up with Flatlander and Flicka again and hiked the last 3 miles together. A little ways from the shelter, someone had marked the halfway point by taking sticks and made a "1/2" in the middle of the path. YAY! I can't imagine how Matt must feel, making it all this way. Although this was very exciting for both Flatlander and Transition, we discussed how discouraging it also is to know that they have gone so far, and have done so much, but are only halfway. More than a 1000 miles, more than 2 months of being on the trail, to know that you have another half yet to complete is sometimes hard. Matt has been going back and forth about this for the last week. Some days when we are hiking he is a little under the weather, thinking about how he has made it 80 days in, but has another 80 to go. Other days, like today, he was more happy to realize that he is closer to Katahdin than Springer, and that it would be faster for him to continue on the path north than to head back the other way.To commemorate this awesome day, Pine Grove Furnace State Park has for the last 25 years hosted the "Half Gallon Challenge". This entails thruhikers eating an entire half gallon (4 pints) of icecream and logging their time in a register book. This sounds absolutely disgusting to me, since dairy has never been easy for me to consume. 4 pints? GROSS. But we made it to Pine Grove and Flatlander and Transition, along with Flicka (who just really wanted icecream!) purchased their half gallons and sat into the challenge. Flatlander had moose tracks, Flicka had chocolate and Transition opted for cotton candy...YUCK! I on the other hand ordered a cheeseburger, perfectly content with watching the madness ensue. Flatlander quit after about a quarter of a gallon, and Bubbles and Birdie arrived and finished it off for him. Flicka quit after her chocolate icecream turned into soup. Matt on the other hand, finished his with flying colors in 55 minutes. The record is 10. How in the world someone could consume 4 pints of icecream in 10 minutes is beyond me. He did it though in under an hour, and received a little wooden spoon for his scrapbook. Sweet.So let's just say that it wasn't me who didn't feel like hiking another 7 miles to the next shelter. We stayed put, checking into a hostel with Flatlander and Flicka, and spent the night watching movies and relaxing. So proud of Transition, and all of the other thruhikers that have made it this far. It is amazing, I admire each and every one of them for dedicating themselves to such an undertaking.Song of the Day: "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICECREAM"Kick: a rough night's sleep in the shelter (another thruhiker snored the entire night. The noise was unbelievable. We were all kept up all night except for Matt, who slept through it all. Jealous! The ipod would not turn up any higher to drown out the noise)Kiss: Hiking with Flatlander and Flicka, hanging at Pine Grove, and the hostelMuch Love,Bow