Day 103 – It’s Official: Halfway Day is an AT Holiday

Day 103

Start: Birch Run Shelter 

End: James Fry Shelter 

Miles Hiked: 17.1

Miles on AT: 1112.6

Today was a HUGE day, full of milestones and celebrations. It was so fun! The day started like any other day. I chatted with the other hikers as we ate breakfast and got our things ready for the day. Mosey had camped a few miles back, but got an early start, so we caught up with her as she stopped to get water.

I left soon after she did, around 7:30 or so. The shelter area was so nice and cool this morning, but I immediately hit a layer of warmer air as I climbed out of the camping area. So much for a cool morning hike.

On the bright side, the trail was nice and smooth this morning. No rocks! I was beginning to think Pennsylvania’s rocks were over hyped, but then again, I was still new to this state. I did like that the scenery had changed a bit. Since being in PA, there were a lot more areas of bushes rather than trees, allowing me to see more of the sky while I hiked.

At my first road crossing, I was blessed with trail magic, woooo! It was an ice cold Gatorade and it really hit the spot now that it was warm out again. The only downside was that it was a zero sugar Gatorade – I need the calories!

Anyway, I sipped my electrolytes as I hiked and caught up with Mosey on the trail again. “We’re almost there!” she said. 

Huh? We still had miles to go before we hit an upcoming state park (with a beach), which is what I was looking forward to.

She saw my confused look. “The official 2024 halfway point is only 0.2 away.”

Ohhh! That was completely off of my radar, but I was happy to hear it nonetheless. Sure enough, we came to the placard after a few minutes. Wow, I was about to cross into the true second half of the trail. With so many miles left, it seemed a bit surreal. There was still a lot of work to do (and fun to be had), but we were now on the backend of the trail – crazy!

After we took each other’s pictures, I continued on, passing another amazing PA shelter complete with Adirondack chairs, a covered porch, and separate fire pits – nice!

Next, Mosey and I met at the historic AT halfway point, which was much more festive and exciting-looking than the official halfway point. The log book was full of familiar names, whether I had actually met them in person or not. It was special to share this milestone with so many other hikers even though they weren’t there with me in the moment.

Like I said in the beginning, this day was full of celebrations, so the next event on the agenda was the Half Gallon Challenge! That’s when hikers try to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. The current record is 3 minutes and some change, but it takes most hikers 30 mins to an hour. 

When I arrived at the general store where it takes place, it was like a hiker convention! There were so many people there, even a few I hadn’t seen since the Smokies. I had a great time catching up while I ate my burger and pint of ice cream. I already knew I wouldn’t be able to get a gallon down, so I didn’t even try.

The hikers who I had been camping around for the past couple days showed up shortly after, and I observed and encouraged while they ate (and regretted almost everything.)

While they recovered, I made my way to Pine Grove Furnace State Park, where I was eagerly looking forward to the beach. And, geez, was it packed! Everyone was out today. I changed and got in the water, floating around with more hikers who were already stationed at the beach. Not only was there swimming, there were also cold drinks and snacks – what more could a hiker want?

Being in the water with others enjoying their summer, seeing families come out to be with each other, really made me feel American. I mean, I am an American, but this felt like a truly authentic American Summer experience; I just loved seeing everyone having good, simple fun outside.

I stayed at the beach for a couple of hours, got a blog post written, did some trail laundry in the showers in the changing room, and ate more food before getting my things together to head out. It was a little after 3 pm and I wanted to get a few more miles in so I could either reach a food stop that night or set myself up for a good breakfast the next morning.

I said goodbye to everyone and continued on. The trail to the next shelter was pretty flat and easy going. I stopped at a blue blaze view for a while and then finally reached the shelter. It was a ways off the trail, so I didn’t go all the way, instead stopping at the tent sites near the turn off. It seemed like a storm was going to come through so, I did all of my camp chores to make sure I wouldn’t have to get wet if it really started to pour.

It was about 6:30 when I got to camp and I could’ve pushed more, but the falling drops made me secure in my choice to just stay put. The rain only lasted about 30 minutes before petering out, which was perfectly fine for me.

Worn out from all of the excitement of the day, I was happy to be dry and laying down in my tent. Today was such a great day. I saw more hikers today than I had in a long time. I loved catching up, relaxing, and having fun on trail. I’m really liking the second half of this thru hike.

And that’s day 103.

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