Day 68 - Hot day in Hamburg

July 22 - Eagles Nest Shelter to Eckville Shelter - 24.0 miles

Re-supplied in Hamburg today. Hit up Walmart and immediately went to the dairy section, grabbed three pints of chocolate milk and checked out. 600 calories of chocolate milk later we bought our groceries.

Visited Cabela's for some gear and lunch. Apparently, this particular outfitter is the nationa's largest... we were a little overwhelmed.

Stayed at the Eckville Shelter, where the caretaker came out of this home and gave us all freeze-pops. No one is ever too old for a freeze pop.

Oh, it was 105 degrees today...

Day 67 - 501 Shelter

July 21 - Campsite to Eagles Nest Shelter - 27.0 miles

Took a 5-hour midday break at the 501 Shelter to beat the heat. Took a refreshing cold shower and hunkered down with a handful of magazines for a few hours.

Started eating Nutella and granola wraps. Man, they are fantastic. I cannot believe we have gone 995.7 miles without Nutella in our arsenal.

Day 66 - MC trail magic, heat wave

July 20 - Peters Mountain Shelter to Campsite - 23.6 miles

Woke up, walked 2 hours to a parking lot where Bob, also known as MC (Master Chief), had prepared a feast for hikers. Turkey pasta with peaches, pears, chocolate cupcakes with PB frosting.

The heat wave hit us pretty hard. I'm talking extreme humid weather, through the PA rocks, with limited/sparse water sources. Last night we were laying in the tent, not moving and still sweating as if I was running a marathon. It was miserable.

Oh, Caboose is now known as "Sweet Tea," primarily because he leads the pack quite often and drinks copious amounts of sweet tea. It is much more fitting for him than Caboose.

Day 65 - PA rocks

July 19 - Duncannon, PA to Peters Mountain Shelter - 11.2 miles

Ran into 2-cents again! He was out hiking/camping with his family and we almost missed him by a few seconds. He left four cases of soda down in the spring for us hikers. What a great guy.

More PA rocks...

Day 64 - Doyle Hotel

July 18 - Boiling Springs, PA to Duncannon, PA - 25.7 miles

• Hiked 25.7 miles by 3:30pm
• Introduced to the notorious PA rocks
• Doyle Hotel
• Chuck Wagon burger
• Tröegs beer

Day 63 - Happy Birthday Caboose!

July 17 - Pine Grove Furnace State Park to Boiling Springs, PA - 19.2 miles

Caboose's Birthday today! He turned 22. Samwise and I tried buying him a beer but Pennsylvania does not sell beer on Sunday... I guess chocolate milk will suffice for now.

Bought new Wigwam socks from the Outfitter in town. They are made in Sheboygan, WI!

Ate my first Mountain House (freeze dried food). It was Lasagna and it was fantastic! Thank you Lor.

Day 62 - Halfway!!! 1090.5 miles done!

July 16 - Rocky Mtn Shelter to Pine Grove Furnace State Park - 22.9 miles

Statistics:
To reach 1,090.5 miles it took us 62 days, an average of 17.58 miles per day
There are 80,000 white blazes along the trail
It takes approximately 5,000,000 steps to complete the trail
Lately, only 28% of the hikers have been completing the entire trail

Starting pack weight: 35 lbs (with food and water)
Current pack weight: 11.1 lbs (no food and no water)

Stumbled upon the 10th anniversary of the Appalachian Trail Ministry (ATM) providing gourmet camp food for hikers. It was their last day (and last meal) and we just happened to be there for biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs with salsa and cheese, chicken sausage, onions and steak and a delicious fruit salad.

We offered ATM our services in preparing the food but they politely refused, stating they wanted us to have a nice, relaxing time with them. They were so king, generous, gracious, I could go on and on about this group of people. The world needs more individuals like John and the ATM crew.

After a nice 4-hour break we did the next 18 miles to Pine Grove Furnace State Park for the half-gallon challenge. Samwise consumed his 1/2 gallon in 37:35, Caboose: 39:58, Me: DNF (Did not finish). My downfall was choosing Peanut Butter Swirl... I had a hankering for some PB, which did me in.