Co-option of the Death March

Over Memorial Day, my friends from college had our annual get-together. Somehow (I think through this blog), many of them have started to use the term death march to describe our annual hike which, admittedly, Neilson and I badger people to participate in. Now, I'm not sure if they really understand fully the nature of the Family Death March, as sometimes they seem simply to be referring to a relatively easy and pleasant activity that happens to take place outside. This year's hike, though, did approach death march territory. It wasn't long, but we hiked down into a valley, instead up a mountain, meaning the second half of the hike was uphill. But what really earned it the DM seal of approval was that when we were at the half-way mark, standing on top of a dam, totally exposed, it started to pour. The kind of rain that makes you instantly drenched. Luckily everyone involved embraced the death march way of life and thought a little rain made it more fun, or at least a better story. You can see pictures at Salt, Butter, and Bacon.