Start of the Trail Days parade
To honor the hikers themselves, the current year like me, as well as thru hiker alumni. The Parade hikes down the main streets of Damascus from the north end of town back to the south end (where we hiked in). Each year carries a banner, to hike with ones own 'class'. The town law enforcement lead the parade. And I have to say, these cops are seriously mellow.
Unless a town resident complains or someone is abjectly stupid or in bad form in front of them, the cops largely look the other way. One arrest for drunk in public (we were ALL in a party mood, so that hiker must have been seriously plowed). One arrest for public exposure (hiker beauty contest participant neglected to notice kids in the audience? -- THAT was in bad taste as much as bad form). And that was all I heard -- 'though I suspect we didn't earn many friends in town through a lot of silly behavior. It was greatly complicated by the large turn out by those not hiking or hiker alumni -- groupies and partiers. My mood started shifting. I'm not sure if it was the surprise news from Chaos that she had lost Order to an accident, the lack of sleep from the night before, or just what.