Day 76
~ Zero Day ~
Miles on AT: 744.1
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Zero day! Today was a special zero day. My grandmother and a relative drove over to have lunch with me. Unfortunately, Janitor couldn’t make it because he had meetings all day, but we still had a great time.
We had a delicious brunch at Cracker Barrel’s, but I disappointed myself by not being able to finish my pancakes. Oh, well. While it was good to see someone from my “normal” life, it felt a bit odd at the same time. The trail is already changing me in ways I haven’t yet noticed because I didn’t feel like the same me from before trail.
This same phenomenon happened after my CDT thru-hike, although it was more drastic. That first thru-hike experience is so life-altering that you can never be the same person you were before you thru-hiked. I had so many unique experiences that it was impossible to relate to my family and friends in the same way.
At lunch, I felt a little bit of that unfamiliarity creeping back in. Regardless, we had a great time; they also gifted me some goodies from Trader Joe’s, including dried mangoes – yum!
I also saw a group of hikers that I hadn’t seen since somewhere in Tennessee. It’s surreal knowing that there are people on the trail only a few days ahead of you, but you’ll likely never see them again or even know they’re still there.
The rest of the day was spent as I usually spend zero days – working on the blog and moving as little as possible.
And that’s day 76.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.