After scooping my way through more than a dozen options, it was clear that not all vanilla ice cream is the same.

Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Zeke Meddock, trail name Petroglyph, attempts the half-gallon ice cream challenge at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Hershey's Ice Cream delivery driver Sam Sattazahn delivers ice cream to Pine Grove Furnace general store, home of the half-gallon ice cream challenge, at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in ...

The texture was so creamy and decadent, we thought it tasted like an Oreo McFlurry, one of our all-time favorite McDonald's ...

Midway up the Appalachian Trail, a little country store in Gardners, Pennsylvania, invites hikers to take on an additional challenge: eating a half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting. So ...