Short of Middle Ridge Road to Alec Kennedy Shelter---May 24th

I stood at the middle of my journey today.
1,090.5 miles each way.
A turmoil of feelings, but not much to say.

What I'm Thankful For

Mossy round boulders, the shade of tall trees,
A wildflower patch, a fine summer breeze,
Fields of green ferns, crystal clear springs,
The strength in my stride among other things.

A great weather day and wonderfully nice trail made for a thoroughly enjoyable jaunt through the woods.  Birch Run Shelter, where I stopped for second breakfast, had a picturesque setting while the land around Toms Run Shelters looked like the mountain had sprung a leak, so many little streams and rivulets running down the slope and across the trail.  Halfway Spring came flowing cool and clear, cutting a gravelly path through waist high ferns.  Then, just off to my left the Midway Marker.  As people say with tongue in cheek, "It's all downhill from here".  Forty days to reach the halfway point, moving up from the back of the pack to somewhere past the middle of this year's thru-hiker hopefuls.
Had a celebration lunch at the picnic tables of Pine Grove Furnace State Park and checked out the original midway marker at the Appalachian Trail Museum.  The trails in the state parks are in near perfect condition and it's a real pleasure striding on their surface and looking at the nature all around you.  Sometimes I came across small cabins tucked away beneath the trees that must surely be visited by weekenders eager to escape the rat race in order to enjoy some peaceful down time.
The last bit of trail up to Alec Kennedy Shelter had plenty of rocks, which required some boulder hopping and a smidge of crawling.  Frank was the only one there, but we were later joined by No Cello.  Frank doesn't have a trail name because he got on the A.T. in Harper's Ferry and hasn't been out long enough to have picked one up.  On a whim, he'd decided to take on the challenge.  One day he's sitting in his residence in Arizona and less than a week later, it's backwoods time!  Inevitably, with lack of planning, gear issues involving pack weight and perhaps more importantly problems arising from inadequate mental preparation need to be overcome.  Certainly not impossible to do, but it undoubtedly makes the initial stages of an attempted thru-hike tougher than they normally would be.  Talking with him about this, I was unsure if he'd stay on the trail.
In the fading light, the mosquitoes came out in a frenzied flight for blood.  They became so bothersome that for the first time I broke out the DEET to deter their impetuous ardour.

Halfway Spring

Midway Marker

Pine Grove Furnace

Lovin' the Trail

Hello Toad