July 14, Mile 1096.0

Just a quick post at the halfway point. The trail officially this year is 2192.0 miles long, so the halfway point means I’ve walked over (if you include blue blazes and town walking) 1096.0 miles to get here. Reaching the halfway point is a huge milestone for me and it feels like I’m finally starting to count the miles down instead of up. Shortly after that I also hit the 1100 mark. Getting to 1192.0 will mean my miles remaining will be less than 1000, which now seems actually possible. When sitting in Georgia looking at the numbers it’s almost impossible to imagine being here. Sitting here trying to imagine getting to the end seems only slightly less impossible. But I made it here, so why not go the whole way? The other advantage I have is that I’m starting the second half in hiker shape, with experience planning and hiking and camping, and if course an amazing beard already. I think this all adds up to the second half going much smoother than the first. But I guess we’ll have to see.

The ice cream challenge is a custom at the halfway point: eat a full half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. While it sounds disgusting, it is. But it’s a once in a lifetime thing to do, and since I’m burning 5000 calories a day I can afford it. Since Hershey made their half gallons less than a half gallon, we have to eat an extra pint just to make sure we get the full experience. I picked raspberries and cream for my tub, and apple pie for the pint. The apple pie ice cream was great actually. I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat raspberries and cream again. Mmmmm yeah I’m sure I will. It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought, though some people definitely can’t finish. In total it was about 16 servings of ice cream at 130 calories per serving, or just over 2000 calories total, 75 grams of fat, and about 330 grams of sugar. The sugar crash was rough. After wandering around the Appalachian Trail Museum for a bit I hit the trail and only made it about 7 miles. Most people didn’t make it to the trail at all, so I was pleased I made it that far. Good fun.