Date: 2016-04-24
From: Tom's Run

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up this morning and it was very cold. But not as cold as it had been earlier in our trip and so I was thankful for the little things. It got me thinking about a very little boy who taught me a big lesson on the the GDT last year.   I'm posting those thoughts here as a reminder to myself, and anyone else who may need it lol."Have you ever noticed how young children find extreme joy in the simple things in life? I was reminded sharply of this a couple weeks ago by a small boy of about 6 or 7. We were sitting in the parking lot at Maligne Lake on the GDT. Below us was a grassy knoll. A car pulled up beside us and a little boy jumped out. He took one look at the hill and he started yelling "I gitta run down the hill! I gitta run down the hill! ". He proceeded to do so yelling "wheeeee!" all the way down. And then it was "I gitta run down the hill again!". You get the picture. And I wondered, when did I lose this simple all out joy of a child? So I started tuning in. When we had been out on the trail for many days and came into town to get a room, I would suddenly fling out " I gitta sleep in a bed! I gitta sleep in a bed! Wheeeeee!" Or if we had been slogging through the bogs with no trail and we finally made it to the trail, I would sing out" I gitta walk on trail! I gitta walk on trail! Wheeeeeee!" Or if we were car camping and I got to have a real pillow " I gitta have a pillow! I gitta have a pillow! Wheeeeee!" It may sound a bit corny but somehow it helped me tune in to the small joys of life. Try it, you'll be glad you did."We were a couple of miles out from the Pine Grove Furnace State Park. This is where they have the half gallon challenge.   Since it is in the vicinity of the halfway mark for the trail.   The challenge? Eat a half gallon of ice cream down, all by yourself in a 30 minute time frame and you have met the challenge. It's a hiker/ hunger thing so don't worry if it doesn't make sense to you. We were there too early to try it though, even had we wanted to. The park was chock full of people dressed for running. Today was the Ironmasters 50K race. This was a really nice state park. Nicely laid out and nicely maintained. I was a little concerned when I saw race markers along the AT. Did I mention that there were a whole bunch of runners? I could imagine us being practically bowled over as they raced by. But as it turned out that was a false alarm because we hiked through the marked section and the race course split off from the AT. Whew, disaster averted. Time to pick up the pace! Next stop Green Mountain general store, where we ate a huge cheeseburger with a side of fries. Very filling and yummy to boot. By way of resupply we just picked up some snacks cause guess what? We plan to eat dinner at a restaurant in Boiling Springs.   I could really get used to this arrangement.   Let's see....lunch and dinner out vs. packaged rice, dehydrated potatoes or refried beans. Perhaps some couscous. Yep, I don't have to think about it very hard, eat out wins!We hiked until we neared Boiling Springs.   That's when the whole trail through the pasture thing starts. I guess there is about 14 miles of that. And since they spray it with some pretty nasty pesticides they want you on the narrow trail and nowhere else. Hmmmm. Once we got into Boiling Springs we got a few more things by way of resupply.   Then we found the only restaurant open on a Sunday, and place called Anile's. Pizza and Italian food. Very good. I recommend the lasagna. We put in 27 miles but it felt even longer since we spent several hours off trail eating today.   I'm ready to get some rest so I can go at it again tomorrow. Catch you later!Road Runner