June 6 - 19.9 / 1,092.8

Woke up to the smell of breakfast. DS's parents eggs, bacon, and sausage. Too bad it isn't like that every morning.

Tanner, DS's younger brother, joined us on our hike for the morning. While DS and Tanner hiked at a little slower pace, Castor, Spatula, and I hiked ahead. We got to a road crossing about seven miles in and waited for them to catch up. Shortly after they arrived, the Traveling Circus and Prophet showed up. They were slack packing for the day. Super Feet is sponsoring their documentary so each of the TC had small Osprey packs with Super Feet's logo. DS also got interviewed by them while at the road so perhaps he'll make it into the video.

After a break we headed on. We were just short of a shelter when we saw DS's parents hiking southbound. Castor, Spatula, and I took a break at the shelter while the Rhyne family hiked back to their car. While at the shelter, a girl asked if we had seen Menno and Mexico. She said that they couldn't be too far behind us. I haven't seen either of them since Fontana Dam. I wasn't sure if they were still on the trail or not. It's good to know they are.

We hiked and met the Rhyne family at their car for a sandwich and snacks. Tanner stayed with his parents as we hiked for the rest of the day.

A milestone was made at 3 in the afternoon. I reached the halfway point. We took a few pictures and videos. We had to go off the 2009 halfway marker since one for 2010 was not on the trail. Someone had either stolen it or one had not been placed yet. It was a good feeling to know that I've made it this far. I know a few people doubted I would. Those people probably aren't keeping up with my blog, but if you are, I have proven you wrong.

We got to Pine Grove Furnace State Park about two or so miles after the halfway point. That is where we stopped for the evening and where the Rhynes met us again. This is also the location of performing the half gallon challenge. The challenge is to eat a half gallon of ice cream in a sitting. People prepare in all different ways...eat or don't each before hand. I went with the don't eat much opinion as I had only eaten a half sandwich and gummy bears since breakfast. I had a few options of ice cream flavors. I ended up choosing neopolitan (sp?) in order to mix up the flavors as I ate. The 2010 record is 13 minutes and the days record was 23 minutes. After taking a deep breathe and letting my ice cream melt a little bit, I started. Ten minutes in, I was feeling good but still had a long way to go. At 15 or so in, my whole body was cold and shaking. My legs were bouncing up and down just to keep my body warm. At 30 minutes and 53 seconds, I was done! I completed the half gallon challenge.

The rest of the evening was spent going to the lake to swim, throwing a baseball, and sitting around camp. The Rhynes cooked dinner for us again. This time it was chili, beans, rice, and salad. The camp was full too. There was DS, Prophet, Thrasher, Turkey, Castor, Spatula, Lightning, Monkey, Ring Leader, and myself.

The night was cool, especially for this time of the year. I got cold in my summer bag, but it felt good. I would take a cold night over a hot night any day.