The Sprout Day 26 (Friday, April 22nd)

I woke up with the mindset of being a champ and completing the half gallon challenge.  I didn’t even eat breakfast (I had some apple leather).  I was worried that the Pine Grove Furnace General Store would not be open.  While walking to Pine Grove we came across a second halfway point.  There are a few halfway points on the trail because the length of the trail changes almost every year.  There was a log book there and we signed it.  We also saw some entries from people who we followed on youtube last year.  That was really cool.

Looks like a little faerie

Box for the logbook

Halfway mark

Could be a "famous" youtuber?

As we were walking into the park we came across houses.  I wasn’t sure if they were state park employees or if people actually live within the park boundaries.

I thought this sign was funny.  It's such a dead end the sign has almost been taken over by foliage

Who gets to live in this state park?  Pretty cool!

Relaxing brook

Bubbles being a goof

We were excited when we got into the park and the general store was open!  I was able to do the challenge!  All the flip flop hikers that we met yesterday were there.  No one else was doing the challenge but I was ready for the battle.  I picked moose tracks even though I knew I shouldn’t have because of the chocolate and because it is so sweet.  I picked it because I know we are going to see a moose in Maine and the carton of ice cream was eyeballing me!  I thought we connected.

I was the third person to complete the challenge this year!  Towards the end of the half gallon it was getting really hard.  Then, two thru-hikers showed up and I got my second wind.  I felt like I ate the last pint in half a minute!  I got my wooden spoon and I’m part of the half gallon club.

Trying to finish the MooseTracks

Still have a pint to finish!

I did it!!

Third one this year!

My Half Gallon Challenge Club Member Spoon!

After I ate we walked an additional 7.7 miles to Fry shelter.  We hung out there waiting for our ride!

Bubbles by a lake

Almost to our pick up spot!

Found a spring

Day:  26

Miles hiked:  10.9

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  247.7

Bears:   0

Butterfly:  8

Chipmunk:  2

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Really Big Dog:  1

Mouse:  1

Nest of bugs:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake:  1

Squirrels:  11

Trout:  2

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Vulture:  6

Woodpecker:  1

Bubbles Day 26 (Friday, April 22nd)

We woke up and were super excited because A:  The Three Amigos are going to be reunited.  B:  My dad and sister are picking us up on the trail today, and C:  New shoes are in my near future!

It didn’t rain last night (just sprinkled).  We were looking forward to getting to Pine Grove Furnace Shelter today.  We wanted to go to the Appalachian Trail museum but it was closed.  Not everything on the trail is back to regular business hours yet because we are ahead of the bubble (hikers leaving from Spring Mountain Georgia.)

It was the quickest that we packed and got out of camp (we were still the last to leave camp though!)  We walked 3.7 miles to Pine Grove Furnace Park.  The walk into the park was awesome for me because there were evergreens everywhere.  My heart was jacked.  When we got to Pine Grove we were really excited because the General Store was open!

Sprout was jacked to complete the traditional half gallon challenge. (Side note: The General Store sits in the valley where the halfway point of the AT is. Hikers who stop through the General Store are challenged to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. You can pick from the Hershey's ice cream they sell in the store. When you finish with the carton you still have another pint to go! Since hikers can burn up to 5,000 calories a day you can pretty much eat whatever you want without gaining weight.) I knew that I couldn't eat half a gallon of ice cream and finish my hike for today so I got the cowboy burger (in honor of all the cowboy coffee) and fries.

We sat at the picnic table out front and started the stopwatch for Sprout's challenge.  Like a true hero, Sprout ate some fries before he started the challenge.  All morning we had been talking about our Viking characteristics and how they would help him overcome this challenge.  There were a bunch of people around when Sprout started.  They were super negative and were saying that he wasn’t going to be able to finish.  I felt like I needed to encourage him.  I had to pull out the big guns (I told those Negative Nancys that they could get off the porch if they weren't going to encourage my hubby!) I got to the point where I put on the Rocky Theme song.  I’ll let Sprout's blog tell you if he was able to finish.

After resting for a few hours we started back on the trail.  We walked past three facilities while hiking out of the state park.  As soon as we got back onto the Appalachian Trail, out of the state park, I had to take a dookie.  I contemplated walking one mile back to the nearest bathroom but I didn’t have time!  To make matters worse, the destroyer (Sprout) broke our trowel.  Have you ever dug a hole with a stick when you really need to go?  #stressful!

After that debacle we made it to James Fry Shelter where we met two brothers who are walking from Harper’s Ferry to Maine.  We had a good time with them until we had to walk down to the road to meet the family.  I hope to run into them again on the trail (I think their names were Rocky and James).  They were carrying a bunch of stuff that their grandma made them pack.  One of them had a kit for if they lost a cap on their tooth!  He said, “My pack is 50 pounds but I’m carrying stuff in my pack for my grams!!”  Talking about their grandmas made me miss my Nanny!

Dad found us around 8:00 just after it was getting dark.  We had our thumbs out.  It was our first attempt to hitchhike and can you believe it, a family member picked us up!

The Sprout starting the Half Gallon Challenge!!

Two other thru-hikers joined The Sprout