Day 3 Boiling Springs, PA

After breaking camp the three of us left Pine Grove Furnace and set out for Boiling Springs, PA., our next meeting destination. We were fortunate enough to have a GPS and take all back roads to our next stop. THe scenery along the way was beautiful, with farms scattered along the rolling hills and barns that were all built in the same design. The barns were extremely large with towering silos attached to the ends. Wide grassy natural ramps were on each high side to allow cattle or wagons to enter easily. Most of the crops planted consisted of corn which would be used for feed for the cattle.

Once we entered Boiling Springs we were somewhat surprised to see the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) nestled in the midst of town right on Main Street. We soon discovered the trail actually comes directly through the town. Boiling Springs was a small, quite and peaceful town that seemed to be one of the best kept secrets in PA. We soon found the actual Boiling Spring from which the town was named - the locals called it "The Bubble." It "bubbles" out over 12 million gallons of water each day. The water temperature in the spring and the lake stays at 53 degrees year round.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the ATC we noticed one hiker already there. He didn't look familiar to me but as soon as Beth saw him she asked, "Are you Chewy?" "Yes, I am!" he exclaimed. Beth introduced us as DarkStar's family and explained she had heard alot of stories about "Chewy" and assumed him to be the one. Chewy is probably the most frugal hiker we have seen. No high tech walking sticks - just two wooden sticks. No expensive backpack with inner frames - just an old green military back pack - one that looks like it came from WWI. No special outer wear - just an old pair of pants with patches and a thin shirt. Chewy was amazing! If there has been anyone we have seen along the way with more passion than Will has exhibited this may be the guy! He loved the trail and was excited to talk about it.

We loved the small town so much we decided to just hang here all day while the hikers made their way in. We expected them to arrive somewhere around 5:30pm. We had about 7 hours to enjoy the town. Beth set up her "hospitality station" out of the back of her truck. As hikers arrived she fed them, each of them. Chewy finished off the Zucchini Bread. Afterwards we met two older gentlemen who were section hiking from Harper's Ferry to Delaware Waters. One was from Alabama the other from Asheville, NC. Neither knew each other and were actually hiking separately. Red Velvet cake for these two. Soon after came Maple and LongShanks. Maple is from California and Longshanks is from Montana. Both knew DarkStar and spoke well of him. Beth feed them as well. No more Red Velvet cake - its gone now! More hikers would arrive throughout the day. The Traveling Circus and their film crew spent alot of time interviewing the ATC director and filming around the lake. Beth fed them as well. Eventually we needed to head into a nearby town to re-supply our food. Beth whipped up some homemade Pimento Cheese to spread on sandwhiches and veggies. Tasty! Around 5:30 pm DarkStar arrived with 3 other hikers. Soon after Bowtie, Castore, Turkey, Thrasher and Spatchula arrived. Tanner and I were trout fishing and all of them stopped to join in. Beth got busy back at the hospitality truck and soon fed all the hungry hikers.

Bowtie and DarkStar said their goodbyes to the other hikers and loaded the truck with us - headed to Gettysburg for a lot of History and a little R&R.