Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 85, Thursday, 6/9 – It was a beautiful day of hiking. No crazy views, but the Mountain Laurels are in full bloom. I hiked along listening to my audiobook all day.

Around lunch time, I ran into trail magic. Dennis and Marie had a grill set up and were cooking hot dogs and hamburgers. They pick a few lucky hikers each year and gift them with a surf and turf meal. Genie and Splitzy hit the lottery and ended up with a filet mignon and shrimp lunch.

We all officially passed the halfway mark, as well as the 1,100 mile marker today, so it’s all downhill from here!

We made it to Pine Grove Furnace by 4:00pm. Its the campground that hosts the half gallon challenge. The challenge is to eat a half gallon of ice cream in 30 minutes or less. It’s tradition for thru hikers and is a way to celebrate making it to the halfway point. Birthday Sandwich and I each got a half gallon of ice cream. He completed his half gallon in 19 minutes, I competed my half gallon in 23 minutes and 30 seconds.

Broadway joined us as we were midway through the challenge. She gave it her best effort, but the ice cream got the better of her.

The campground is next to a hostel, so I stopped inside to check the hiker box. I found some food, and ended up talking to the inn keeper. Missy was clearing out the hostel fridge and gave me some leftover chicken. Other hikers were grilling up some food, so I left with a hot dog too. Not that I needed any more food.

Half Time, Genie, Splitzy, Broadway, Birthday Sandwich, and I are stealth camping at Pine Grove Furnace State Park (18 miles total to mile 1105). We waited until it got dark to setup, and are planning to break camp early tomorrow morning. We took advantage of the nearby playground to hang our food bags.