Day 79: Half gallon of alienation.

Firstly, let me state that we finally found the weird halfway place holder. But not only is the mileage wrong and not matching what it reads, it's not even in the correct spot for the halfway point this year.

So there you have it, more invisible pseudo progress.

Besides that, today was uneventful. We did 25 miles (a pretty big day), but it was on easy tread and didn't seem like a whole lotta work. As of now I'm jamming some Grimes on spotify (cause I have baller service at this campsite) and eating way too much oatmeal (carb load every day yo).

The only thing of note today was that we made it to Pine Grove Furnace State Park (where they have the AT museum and do the half gallon challenge).

For those who don't know, the half gallon challenge is a tradition for thruhikers, one in which they consume (or attempt to consume) a half gallon of ice cream in one go. Needless to say, we did not partake in this tradition, as is often the case, and it got me thinking about the various ways in which we're alienated on this trail.

1) We don't party.

At least not in the way that most do. You know, smoking, drinking, drugs, rock and roll. That whole bit. Well, maybe we can get down on some rock and roll, but not the rest. You see, none of us partake of any substance, and partying is a huuuuge part of the trail for some (if not most) people. Also, trail angels typically offer us beer... Which we politely decline.

2) We don't eat animal products (obvi).

There's a million and a half ways that this isolates us from the rest of the group. Trail magic is mostly burgers and hot dogs, trail towns offer us nothing in the way of restaurants (with few exceptions), we can't yogi (a hiker term, v. to panhandle food from other hikers), hiker boxers rarely manifest much in the way of vegan food (if it's even labeled), and I have to spend a thousand hours every day declining food from polite strangers which leaves me feeling exhausted and bitter (but is obviously not their fault).

There are other less apparent ways in which we don't quite belong with the AT community (ultralight being frowned upon mostly), but those are the big two. Sometimes I'm less conscious of being alienated, but sometimes I'm hyper aware, and watching hikers devour homogenized flavored cow's milkfat by the gallon whilst passers by continue to inquire if I've eaten my gallon yet and what flavor to get makes for an incredibly alienating experience.

Just sayin'.

On a side note, my hair is finally long and awesome and my shirt is badass.

I'm going to lay down, listen to the somewhat distant roar of water, and try to ignore the dozens of frogs jumping around my tent that at first was entertaining and novel and is now just obnoxious.

Peace y'all.