Saturday, July 5, 2008

Ice cream cools hikers at midpoint

As if walking 2,175 miles, mostly over rugged mountain terrain, is not challenging enough, through hikers on the Appalachian Trail face another daunting test when they reach Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

The unofficial halfway point of the Georgia-to-Maine trek is the front porch of the park's general store. There, hikers traditionally celebrate by consuming a half-gallon of ice cream, a feat known as the "half-gallon challenge."

"Eighteen miles I hiked for this," said James Davis, 59, of Wilmington, N.C., as he downed his half-gallon of chocolate Tuesday afternoon. Davis, whose trail name is "Brush Strokes," left the Quarry Gap shelter near Caledonia State Park, intent on making it to Pine Grove Furnace.

"I didn't even stop for lunch. I wanted the ice cream," he said.

By late afternoon, nine through hikers were gathered on the porch, all but two taking the challenge. It's become a goal for many hikers since the challenge began 27 years ago. Back then, it was free if you finished it. These days, hikers have to pay for their ice cream, but those who finish are rewarded with commemorative wooden spoons and get to sign the store's half-gallon challenge book, similar to the registries hikers sign at stops along the trail.

"Two shelters back, everybody was saying, 'I'm going to destroy the ice cream.' Every entry in the registry was about the ice cream," said Rachel "EZ Does It" Farmer, 25, of Johnson City, Tenn., as she struggled to finish her half-gallon of Moose Tracks.

"Moose Tracks is the hardest flavor to finish because of the candy and the fudge chunks," said Jennifer Hoffman, 19, of Gardners, who is in her third summer working at the store. "The easiest is Neapolitan, because there is no candy to weigh down your stomach and the three different flavors keep you from getting bored."

Some variety-seeking hikers opt for four pints instead of a single half-gallon. Most take between a half-hour and 45 minutes to polish it off. The fastest this summer has been just under 10 minutes, which pales compared with the record of less than four minutes. On the store's counter, Hoffman displays a picture of "Marley," the hiker who holds the record for most ice cream consumed, at least since Hoffman has worked there.

"He ate three half-gallons, with three hot dogs between each one," Hoffman said with a laugh. "Somehow he kept it all down."

The store gets a delivery of 42 half-gallons of a variety of Hershey's Ice Cream flavors every Friday. If it runs low, employees head to a supermarket to resupply midweek.

The trend toward smaller packaging could threaten the challenge's future. Hershey's Ice Cream is one of the few brands that have not switched from half-gallons to smaller 1.75-quart packages.

"Hopefully, they won't change," Hoffman said.

Hoffman enjoys the tales she hears from the hikers who stop at the store, but don't expect her to succumb to the trail's allure.

"I can't see myself taking off work for six months to hike from Georgia to Maine," she said. "I kind of like my showers in the morning."

Not even the lure of a half-gallon of ice cream can get her to change her mind.

"Ironically," Hoffman said, "I'm lactose intolerant."