Date: 2009-06-06
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept horribly last night! I was so tired and wanted to fall asleep so badly but all the noises in the woods made it hard to. I know the noises were just rain drops dripping from the leaves but for some reason I wasn't able to fall asleep. I stayed up late reading the new book I picked up in DC...David Sedaris' new book When You Are Engulfed In Flames. It is great!I kept checking my watch through the night but it was always just 20 minutes from the last time I checked. It was going to be a long night! I know I slept between 1 and 4am, but I was itching to get up when I saw that it was 4 but knew I should try to sleep until 5. I couldn't fall back asleep so I got up just before 5, packed up in the dark, and started hiking just before 6am. I was almost positive that Hot Sauce, Plunger, and Mr. Right were at the next selter 6 miles north so I was going to try to catch them before they left for the day.The morning hike went by pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at Quarry Gap Shelter at 8am. Woohoo! I was psyched to see Hot Sauce (and her friend Aaron who I actually know from college), Plunger, and Mr. Right! They knew I was close behind and would probably catch up today but weren't thinking it would be as early as breakfast time!I made a quick breakfast, rested my feet, and hiked out with Hot Sauce and Aaron. It was foggy in the morning but cleared up by 9am and was a gorgeous day! It was just what we all needed after 2 solid days of rain. The trail surprisingly wasn't too wet (only in some places) so my feet stayed dry all day which was good for the ol' trench foot. The 3 of us hiked together all day which was fun, but I was having some serious issues - foot pain from a few long days in a row, the chafage from wearing wet clothes, and some weird rash that was forming on my back that felt like I was getting eaten alive by red ants (so painful!). We took lots of breaks througout the day before we knew it we crossed the OFFICIAL half-way point at mile 1,089.1! Hot Sauce passed out pop rocks chocolate bars to celebrate which was a nice treat We just had 3.7 miles left to hike until we got to Pine Grove Furnace, which is known for the Half-Gallon Challenge. It is an AT tradition for hikers, once they cross the half-way mark, to purchase a half-gallon of ice cream at the Pine Grove Furnace market and eat it as fast as possible. When we got there, Mr. Right had just finished his half-gallon, however Plunger barely made a dent in hers so she saved it for the three of us for when we arrived. It took 4 of us to finish a half-gallon of mint chip, I couldn't even imagine eating a whole one myself! The hostel was closed (apparently the owner put up a "hostel full" sign and left town!) so we weren't exactly sure where we'd stay for the night. Around 7pm we ended talking with some nice folks and they offered to let us camp in the yard of the cabin they had rented out for the weekend. Perfect! We set up our tents then walked down to the public showers/restrooms to get cleaned up. You know you smell bad when a 2 year old that has just learned how to talk makes a comment to his mother about how bad it smells in the bathroom. She told him that that is how most bathrooms smell - little did they know we had been washing our smelly socks in the sink! Hot Sauce and AaronHalf-way!! Woohoo!Priceless...5 smelly hikers getting a ride to town in a convertible