Date: 2014-09-12
From: Boiling Springs, PA

To: Pine Grove Furnace, PA
Miles today: 7.6

My next big milestone was approaching, the halfway point. This of course means the half gallon challenge too. For those who don't know, the half gallon challenge means eating an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. For the especially competitive it also means eating it all in just half an hour. Looking through my guidebook I had planned out arriving in Pine Grove Furnace so that I would be able to complete my half gallon challenge in the state park. AWOL said that after Labor Day the general store there (home of the half gallon challenge) was open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. When I arrived in the morning though I was incredibly disappointed to find that the general store is only open on the weekends, not Friday when I was there. I had scheduled time for this into my day though and had time to spare. To have the day not be a complete let down I decided to make the best of it and do some sightseeing around the park instead.The state park is on the grounds of an old ironworks and lots of relics of this still remain of historical value. Pretty neat to see and read about. The AT museum is also on the property, but it didn't open until noon. With time to kill until then I wandered over to the Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel. This beautiful brick home has been restored and converted into a hostel, one of the loveliest on the trail. I meandered around taking shots of the gardens and admiring the picturesque setting. It was then that one of the caretakers, Kathy, arrived. She asked what I was doing so I explained my dilemma. Kathy asked if I planned on staying there. I had not. Unexpectedly she then offered me a work for stay. When I hesitated Kathy stated that it would actually be doing her a favor if I would. She went on to explain that they have weddings booked over the next several weekends on the property and some gardening needed to be done to make sure everything looked good for the events. Kathy had just gotten a call saying that her mother was in the hospital out of state and needed to leave town immediately. This would not leave time for her to do the gardening but wanted to make sure the weddings, especially the wedding pictures, turned out well. I took a few seconds to calculate if I could make up the miles I had planned to do today over the next several days in order to get down to Front Royal in time to meet up with friends. Taking into account that the day was spectacularly gorgeous and gardening is something I enjoy I accepted her offer. Kathy sweetened the deal by throwing in dinner, breakfast, and the ice cream needed for me to complete the half gallon challenge that they had on site. For the next five hours I sat in the sunshine weeding, pruning, and dead-heading four large flower beds which Kathy said would be the most visible and photographed. It was such a great way to spend the day. I knew immediately how lucky I was to have had such perfect timing. In fact, I considered myself the luckiest girl in the world. Feeling no guilt at all for having hiked so few miles I relished in the novelty of the day and the unique opportunity I was being afforded. Kathy and her husband packed up and then left while I was still working but a respite caretaker came for the night. Two other male hikers showed up later that evening but that was all so I had the entire female bunk room to myself. After a pizza dinner I dove into my ice cream. The flavor options were limited so I ended up with chocolate moose tracks. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a huge chocolate fan so getting through the half gallon was way beyond a challenge for me. I made it, barely. My body was not very happy about it, and I paid for it dearly the next day. At the time though, I was happy as a clam.