Halfway

Day 88

We woke up to find our shoes dry enough that, combined with our second pair of socks we kept dry, our entire selves were completely dry for the first time in several days! We hiked up, across, and down a mountain  ten miles to where the Trail took us through Caledonia State. Here there was a pool and small snack bar where we got lunch and cold drinks. It was hot. We hiked on, up another small mountain and across it a long ways. Toward the end of the hike we celebrated with dancing passing the official halfway point for this year. A small, makeshift sign had been erected to mark it. After resting there for a bit we pushed on a couple miles to Toms Run Shelters where we spent the night.

Miles hiked today: 25.8 Total AT miles completed: 1094.6 Total AT miles left to hike: 1090.7

Day 89

We woke up and only ate half our breakfast, one poptart instead of two, in preparation for our upcoming challenge. We got hiking, slightly downhill a little over three miles to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. We walked into the small general store, home of the half gallon challenge. It is traditional for thruhikers to consume a whole half gallon of ice cream in celebration of making it halfway on the Appalachian Trail. We had been excited about this for a couple of days and I was sure I could easily do it. The selection was a bit slim, but Nepsis chose Moose Tracks and I chose Chocolate Peanutbutter. The carton looked bigger than I remember them being. We took the ice cream outside to a picnic table with a stopwatch and the logbook for others who have come before us to tackle this challenge. We were off and I immediately knew I was in trouble because I only had a flimsy plastic spoon, whereas Nepsis had the spork. I also didn't realize that my ice cream would have big, hard-to-chew swirls of something they called peanutbutter in it. I thought there would be small peanutbutter cups. I regretted my decision and Nepsis was soon further than I. After about twenty minutes I don't think I'd even eaten a third and was feeling bad and didn't want to eat any more ice cream. I ate a spoonful every couple of minutes. Nepsis began to feel bad too, but she was already more than halfway done. We decided to visit the nearby AT museum and then get back to the ice cream. Nepsis asked to store hers in the freezer, but I kept mine out, knowing I was done anyway. The museum was small, but cool and had lots of memorabilia of the earliest, famous thruhikers and one of the earliest shelters broken down and was remade for the museum. After putting off the inevitable we went back, Nepsis to finish her ice cream and me to admit defeat and throw the rest of mine away. They gave Nepsis a commemorative wooden spoon with "Member of Half Gal. Club" stamped on it. We bought a few items for resupply and tried to let the ice cream digest a little before continuing on. We went slowly and even though the terrain was pretty easy, Nepsis was feeling bad. We decided to cut the day short and after ten more miles, including passing the 1100th mile we got picked up by the owner of Holly Inn, Restaurant and Tavern in Mt. Holly Springs where we got a room. It was nice to shower and rest and we even got to watch half of a World Cup game while we had dinner and beer at the tavern.

Miles hiked today: 14.1 Total AT miles completed: 1108.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 1076.6

Day 90

We got a ride back to the Trail as early as we could. After a couple of miles we went up a little and had to maneuver through a rock maze before going up and down a few more small mountains. We went back down and the Trail passed through through Boiling Springs where we had a great lunch with an awesome smoothie and gourmet cupcake at a local cafe/bakery. While there I watched the live written updates of the first German World Cup match of the year. We resupplied at a gas station across the street and started hiking. A hiker from across the street ran over and asked if he could hike with us. We agreed and he told us his name was Neckbone from Georgia and we talked with him while we hiked fast on very flat farmland, through fields and meadows. After several miles he told a story from his life that lasted an hour. It was a great time to pass the time. We parted ways when he got cell service so he could call his girlfriend and shortly after we discovered we were out of water. Anf it was hot, with little shade from trees, and we were hiking fast. I had forgotten to fill up in town and there wasn't any more water on the Trail for miles. So we hiked a bit further to a road and walked down it a half a mile to a Flying J Truckstop. We bought two Gatorades each and I downed one immediately. We then went to Duncan Donuts next door for some treats and just to sit down to rest for awhile. When we were ready we started walking back and Nepsis decided to try hitchhiking, but a state trooper pulled over and told us it was illegal to hitchhike in Pennsylvania. So we got back on the Trail and hiked on the flat terrain again for many miles and had one last push up a mountain to Darlington Shelter. We got there late and made dinner and got ready for bed, but it got dark before we were ready. When we did get under the sleeping quilt, we could hear thunder around us, but none ever reached us.

Miles hiked today: 22.1 Total AT miles completed: 1131.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1053.5

Day 91

We began the day with an easy hike, with one small climb and along a ridge before descending the mountains in the late morning. The Trail led us through the outskirts of a town before taking us to the center of the small town along the main road. There was a construction crew blocking the way and the Trail was diverted around it through a park. Once we were back to the road we found the Doyal Hotel, a large, rundown building. Through the entrance was a small bar with a couple guests sipping drinks at the bar, and an old couple behind the bar. We sat as the wife slowly checked us in, with her small-town combination of friendliness and sass. We climbed the giant spiraling staircase to the third floor and our corner room, which was small, with no central air, but a small, creaky bed, a table, and a dresser. The whole place was run down, not just the hotel, but the whole town. All the houses were shabby or broken. Most of the town center storefronts were empty or boarded up. We went to the local pub for lunch where they were out of over half the food we tried to order. Our hotel had a computer with slow Internet in the barroom that Nepsis used while I blogged on the phone. After awhile we got incredible ice cream at a little kiosk, before heading back to the hotel where an employee from a grocery store came in a van to pick hikers up for resupply. We ate dinner back at the hotel and soon went to bed in the sweltering heat, trying to decide whether or not to shut the windows to keep the screaming noise of the nearby trains at bay.

Miles hiked today: 11.3 Total AT miles completed: 1143.1 Total AT miles left to hike: 1042.2