Date: 2009-05-20
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: clear sky

Wed May 20, Day 71: SPOKES is HALFWAY!!Wow! Let me tell you about two big events that occurred today. I am so excited!First off, this morning I crossed over the Midway Point for the AT Class of 2009. That was at mile mark 1089.1 and there on the trail was a makeshift memorial composed of a rock cairn with a little note of congratulations by the Trail Club in a Zip-Loc baggie. It was simply amazing to know that exact point was halfway for the AT journey. More importantly, because of Wes and Carol Payne, who sent me a natural colored rotini noodle, I was able to do the traditional Toss of the Noodle Over the Shoulder just like I did in Kansas on the bicycle ride last year. That¢s right, reviving the old Italian Cyclist¢s tradition on the trail. It was pretty sweet! The second event was just a few miles after that. Walked into Pine Grove Furnace State Park where there is a hostel which was closed. More importantly there is a camp store there and that¢s where the legendary Half-Gallon Ice Cream Challenge takes place. Most every AT thru-hiker who goes through there gets a half-gallon of ice cream and eats it as fast as they can. Why? (1) To see if they can do it and (2) if they can, just to say ¢Hey, I ate a half-gallon of ice cream.¢ At first when we got there the store was closed. It was such a letdown. I said ¢Man, I¢ve been thinking about this ice cream all day.¢ Then, all of a sudden, the owner drives up and opens the store. Yay! I got a half gallon of vanilla ice cream as part of my strategy. I didn¢t think the Cookie Dough or Cherry Jubilee or Peanut Butter Swirl would go down too good, especially a whole half-gallon of it. I set the timer on my watch and finished my half-gallon in 28 minutes, 45 seconds. I¢m very pleased with those results. Now the walk out of there was a different story. You can imagine after having eaten that much ice cream how you would walk or hike. It was not pretty. The fifteen miles of trail from that point forward to the shelter was pretty rocky with some good climbs. I would describe it as hiking over a Stegosaurus' tail, if you can imagine that. Rocks sticking straight up, really brutal on the feet. My puppies are tired, let me tell you that. My left ankle is a little bit sore too after navigating and rolling and twisting my feet all day long. To be honest with you, I don¢t see how people do it in Trail Runners. I¢m so glad I¢ve got the Keen boots. Even with the boots it was tough hiking. The shelter we are staying at tonight is the Alec Kennedy Shelter, a nice seven person shelter a little bit off the trail. I understand the rest of the trek from here to Boiling Springs, PA (just under four miles ahead) and beyond is pretty tame. I hope to make it into Boiling Springs tomorrow, I¢ve got a mail drop there and will swap out some memory cards and send the photos toward home. Then we'll hike to Duncannon, PA (26 miles beyond Boiling Springs). I¢m trying to beat the Memorial Day Weekend Post Office closing because I have some mail drops waiting there. I think my Bounce Box is going there and I need some stuff out of it. It¢s been a fantastic day even though I¢m tired. I¢m getting ready to hit the hay and make it an early morning tomorrow and on into Boiling Springs and beyond. Thanks for following along. Click here for audio journalLast Page Note:This journal is updated twice - first from the audio posts (that happens fairly quickly) and then again when Spokes sends in his paper journals and pictures and video to be uploaded to the site. The second updates contain lots more detail but take a little longer - so keep checking back to see previous days that have been updated. It's worth the wait, there are pictures and videos on the pages for each day's hike. New update Wed 5/20: As of today, the full updates are current through April 12, Day 33. It's worth your time to go back and check them out, especially the video on April 10th!