Hello to all. It has been a while since my last post. I have been on the move for four days. One hundred and six miles done and only around 2091 to go. I am covering 5 days in this blog and will try not to be too long.
Left Quarry Rock shelter early in the morning (5/3) with a 13 mile hike ahead of me. The trail was pretty nice, with not a lot of steep climbs. At the end is a snapshot of the elevation view that I look at when planning the days milage. Lots of climbing will definitely shorten your milage for the day. I completed my day around 4pm arriving at Toms Run Shelter. Five of the same people that were at the last shelter were already there. I am definitely one of the slower ones out here, but that’s ok with me. Ran into a guy name Toast for the first time and most likely will not see him again since he was heading south. I set up my tent and cook my dinner and crawled into my tent around 6:30. I was looking forward to tomorrow’s short day and a night at a hostel.
On Monday morning (5/4) I was up and looking forward to a short hike of 4.5 miles. Monday’s hike led me into the Pine Grove State Park area. The trail passes right by the hostel I spent the evening at. The building housing the hostel is known as the Iron Master Mansion.
This mansion was built circa 1829 by Peter Ege when he was ironmaster of the Pine Grove Iron Works, located nearby. Notable owners after Ege were Fredericks Watts, lawyer, Cabinet member in the U.S. Grant administration and founder of Penn State University, and Jay Cooke, an early American investment banker and financier of the Union during the Civil War.
After the Iron Works closed in 1895, the mansion fell into disuse. In 1913, the Iron Works and surrounding land, including the mansion, were sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which owns the mansion to this day. Eventually, it became Pine Grove Furnace State Park.
During the 1920s, the Appalachian Trail was laid out, passing through the park and close to the mansion. The mansion subsequently became a hostel for hikers using the trail.
Today you can get a bunk for thirty dollars a night and a hot shower if there is any hot water left when you get a turn. The place is run down but is a very interesting place to stay. There were 7 other hikers staying for the night and we had a good evening sitting around and talking.
When I arrived earlier in the day I went to the Pine Grove Store which is located next door to the hostel. I ordered a double smash burger, that was one good burger. The store is famous for the half gallon challenge. The challenge is a celebration for reaching the half way point on AT. While I was there a hiker named Rockhound, up from Georgia, took the challenge and finished his ice cream in 27 mins earning him a spot on the wall for his picture. I had two pints of ice cream during my visit. A bunch of us hung around for several hours eating and talking.
Next day’s (5/5) plan was to hike 7.5 miles to James Fry Shelter. Started my morning by passing the furnace that was used to heat the metal ore. Not too long after that I passed a lake that was created by the mining of the iron ore. It’s a beautiful lake and I saw several people fishing. The hike was not too hard even though there was lots and lots of big rocks to get around. Ended up at the shelter early afternoon. The shelter had 4 bunks and space on the floor for another 4 to sleep. I got there early so I claimed a bunk. The best thing about sleeping in the shelter is that there is no tent setup or taking it down in the morning. Rusty was at the shelter also, he is one of the guys I have been running into a lot. I always enjoy his company at the shelters. There ended up being five of us in the shelter. It was good night due to limited snoring.
Wednesday’s (5/6) hike took me about 8 miles up the trail to Alex Kennedy Shelter. There was a steady rain when I hiked out, I put my rain coat on and covered my pack and headed up the trail. There is the Green Mountain store about 1.5 miles from the beginning of the days hike which is known for good sandwiches. I had my stomach already for a morning sandwich. I had an Italian sub for breakfast and sat on the porch and ate it. Rusty showed up and joined me for a little while, he was heading to the same shelter as me. Done with breakfast and back out into the rain, the rain eventually stopped in about two hours. Went through some monstrous boulder fields. I walked up to one spot where there was a five foot boulder that I had to get up. I had to take my pack off and throw it up on to the top and then find me a good toe hole and pulled myself up. It was the most challenging rock scramble I have done yet. Arrived at the shelter and settled in. Rusty was there when I arrived and we would be the only two staying for the night . This shelter was about .3 miles off the trail in a secluded spot. I was glad to have the company.
Woke in the morning (5/7) ready to go. I had a twelve mile day ahead of me to Carlisle PA. I will resupply and get some needed rest. I was looking forward to breakfast at a cafe in Boiling Springs, I was not disappointed, had a big western omelette and hash browns. Rusty came by and sat for a little while. I finished my breakfast and got back on the trail, had 8 miles to my pickup spot. About 1.5 miles north of Boiling Springs I hit my first 100 miles mark, I was very excited for that. I watched my app so I would know when I hit that milestone. I wrote 100 on the trail and moved on, I have to do that 21 more times. A lot of this section of the trail skirted the farmland of PA, it was quite beautiful. I passed a graveyard along the way which was just a few feet off the trail. One of the gravestone showed the birth date of the deceased to be 1775. I later found out by my shuttle driver that the graveyard was part of a family’s plot that settle in the area around 1760. I got to my pickup point and my shuttle showed up to take me to hotel in Carlisle. That shower sure felt good and the bed, oh my.
Today is a zero day, no miles on the AT, but I did walk a 2 miles plus round trip to Walmart and resupplied. Other than that I been working on this blog and relaxing. The shuttle driver will be picking me up at 8 am tomorrow and taking me right back to the spot I was picked up. Supposed to be wet here for the next three days, but that’s the way it is. Until next time, Happy Trails!
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