Monday, July 13 8:10 pm 11.2 mi Half gallon challenge
AT 1104.8 Pine Grove Furnace → AT 1116.0 Stream and Tenting
Weather: Heavy rain overnight, hot and sunny today all day
Trail Conditions: Smooth trail and familiar sights around Pine Grove Furnace – saw the AT sign Bear and I took a picture with when he was just a pup. Beach was crowded and campsite tonight has had decent bit of thru traffic
My Condition: Belly full of ice cream but feeling surprisingly good!
Janne made eggs, toast, sweet potato and apple hash over fire for breakfast while I enjoyed some cold brew coffee. Took on the half gallon challenge at the general store, choosing neopolitan as my flavor – 3 in 1! I finished in about 36 minutes, with Jeremiah snoozing, Janne, Carter, Blue, Puddles, and Running Bear rooting me on. I had Eye of the Tiger and Jock Jamz Pandora playing as I downed bite after bite of ice cream. Puddles was live streaming updates to her mom while Blue filmed the whole ordeal on her phone. I did it, and I never felt all that bad! Never had the urge to throw up, lay down, or curl up in a ball and cry. I put on my pack a few minutes after finishing and getting my wooden spoon and started hiking after saying goodbye to Janne and Carter. Blue and Puddles stopped at an intersection, and Blue mentioned there was a store nearby and a cold soda with dinner would be really nice. They continued onward, and I peeled off, hoping to surprise Puddles with a Coke and Blue with a Sundrop or Sunkist Orange. I had the pops in hand when Blue walked into the store and spoiled the surprise! Was still able to surprise Puddles which felt nice. Running Bear is a Diet Coke gal for future reference. I really like my trail family, and I’m glad that my real life extended family got to meet them and see that I’m in good hands.
Post Trail Analysis
Ahh, the Half Gallon Challenge. It is an Appalachian Trail thru hiker tradition for the bravest among us to take on this particular challenge. Harper’s Ferry, WV marks the “spiritual” halfway point for many who have the opportunity to have their picture taken, which is added to that class’s “yearbook.” I hit the actual halfway point yesterday with Toy Story, which marked exactly halfway for the class of 2020 (the distance of the trail changes every year due to rerouting). To me, however, Pine Grove Furnace marked the “spiritual” halfway point, and I ate a half-gallon of ice cream to celebrate. There’s no time limit and no real rules, only that you need to get one of the big containers and one of the small containers since they don’t sell it in half gallon tubs at the store. You choose the flavor, and if you finish all of it, you get a wooden spoon to celebrate your incredible victory. Janne and Carter will forever be able to tell Jeremiah about that time he slept through Uncle Adam accomplishing this unthinkable feat of courage and endurance...and oh yeah, he also completed the AT! Neapolitan was the way to go – it’s a flavor I NEVER get, so I was at no risk of ruining it. Aside from the real strawberries which were a surprise and a delight, I wasn’t dealing with any chunks or anything that required additional chewing. I would simply need to fight through the brain freeze and get it all down, which I did with surprising ease!
Unfortunately, I would later learn that Hummingbird finished her half gallon of ice cream quicker than I did. I am by no means an ultra-competitive person, but this simple fact would be the beginning of a head-to-head pint eating competition for the ages!
Despite the relative solitude of much of the trail, it really is quite accessible. One of the major benefits of that accessibility is easy access to restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, and other town amenities. Not only did I get to pig out on ice cream early in the day, I got to grab some delicious snacks later in the day from one such store. I enjoyed a cold, refreshing Mountain Dew as I soaked my sore feet in a cold, refreshing mountain stream, hearing The Office theme song drifting from the direction of Blue and Running Bear’s tents.
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