Day 85: Halfway

Hiked 19.5 miles, tenting at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

We got up early today so that we could get breakfast somewhere before heading out of town.  A bunch of locals recommended a diner across from the Transit Center which worked out perfect because the latter was where we needed to end up to catch a bus.  Over breakfast we discussed a general idea of the mileage for the next couple of days and when we would meet back up with Srocket.

After eating we walked across the street and hopped on the bus.  The goal was to take the bus as far out of town as possible and then hitch from there.  A very solid plan until halfway through we realized we had gotten on the wrong bus and had to ride the bus until it got back to the Transit Center.  Well that was an hour wasted.  For round two we decided not to bother with the bus and just hitch from city center.  After about five minutes we were picked up by Don, a very nice computer repair man and were finally back on the trail around 9:30.

After passing through Caledonia State park and climbing a few hundred feet we came to Quarry Gap Shelter.  This shelter was hands down the fanciest shelter I've seen on the whole trail.  It even had a garden with a sundial and potted plants hanging from the shelter.  Apparently it has a caretaker who spends a lot of time on it.  So far Pennsylvania has some of the nicest shelters we've seen.

9 AM photo

Passing through Caledonia State Park

Welcome to Quarry Gap shelter

Fancy eating area

I stopped at Birch Run shelter for lunch and ran into Little Sass and Slim Jim.  After eating, Dip'n'sip announced he was done for the day, but seeing as how it was only noon, Why Not and I were not even close to finished walking for the day so we agreed to meet him and Srocket at Pine Grove Furnace tomorrow.

The trail this afternoon was the same as this morning.  Overall it was pretty flat with the occasional rocky spot.  We spent a lot of time all day following old road beds, or overgrown mining roads.  It was an interesting change from our usual root and rock covered trail.  With no views during the entire day, it was easy to just crank out the miles.

Quarry Gap shelter even had a garden with a sundial (that was in the shade)

 Today we hit another milestone, the halfway point!  1092.9 miles to both Katahdin and Springer.  Someone had built a 1/2 symbol out of stones, so we took some pictures and threw some high fives.  When Why Not and I reached the next shelter it was still early so we decided to continue on to the park.  Especially once we noticed Newton was just a tad ahead of us from one of the shelter registers.  We haven't seen that guy since our adventure on Whitetop.

Halfway to Katahdin!

Just after the shelter is the official midpoint sign (since the trail changes a little every year it is not always quite at the actual midpoint).  Again photos and high fives ensued.  After a bunch more miles we entered Pine Grove Furnace State Park.  The park is located on an old Iron ore mine and smelting facility.  The old Ironmaster's mansion is now a hotel, but they reserve two rooms as a hiker hostel.  Unfortunately they are closed Tuesday and Wednesday.  

Halfway point sign

The official halfway point sign (2 miles beyond this year's halfway point)

The halfway point had a register to sign located in the mailbox

There is a general store in the park that is near and dear to thru hikers.  It is the home of the half gallon challenge!  The goal is to finish a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting.  Invisible Man was still struggling with his when we arrived, he had picked the flavor Cookie Dough, a poor choice.  Especially because in his home country of Australia, this flavor means Oreo ice cream, not raw cookie dough and he wasn't enjoying the flavor.  So we arrived in time to watch his final battle and wait in suspense to see if he could hold it down.

The Ironmaster's Mansion

Invisible Man is struggling a bit

Our campsite tonight in the park

Also at the general store was Army Ant, Slim Jim, Little Sass, Clevergirl, Dumptruck, Whistle, Grim, Carpenter, Wolf and Brownie.  We hadn't seen Brownie since Damascus I don't think.  They all had done the challenge and were laying around unable to move, like snakes after a big meal.  Clearly they weren't going anywhere tonight.  We all camped at the park campground.  The office was closed so we assumed we could just pay in the morning and take a site.  After setting up we were informed by the caretaker we couldn't stay at that one and he signed us a site on the far side of the grounds, thanks for the extra half mile walk dude...

We spent the evening chilling by the fire and hanging out with Clevergirl and her crew.  They are a very fun group to hang out with.  Now I have to go to sleep and mentally prepare for my ice cream eating marathon tomorrow. Goodnight!