The first 500 miles has flown by. It feels like I left just yesterday, but it was over a month ago.

It’s tough to remember specific days. I keep a journal every day, but even reading through it, it feels like so long ago.

It’s an odd feeling. The past days both feel like they were so long ago and not long ago at all.

My hiker hunger has kicked in. I’m burning 3000-4000 calories a day, and my body has started demanding a lot more food. In town I had 2 double cheeseburgers, fries, 2 cokes and ice cream. Within 30 minutes I was hungry again, so I had 8 tacos and some chicken tenders. I was still hungry the next morning. There seems to be no limit to how much food I can eat. Another hiker ate 10 chicken tenders, then a pint, followed by a gallon of ice cream. Then he had 6 more chicken fingers before the night was over.

I’ve also had my first injury, shin splints. Though quite painful, I was able to walk along the last 2 days to make it into Tehachapi. Here I’ll take a zero, and eat a lot of food. Hopefully that combination will heal my overworked body.

I’ve also started to so some bigger miles. After leaving Wrightwood and summiting Mt. Baden-Powell (Founder of Boy Scouts), I did some 25+ miles days to make it to the next town with a British Friend in time to watch his soccer team (Arsenal) play in the Champions League semi final (they lost 0-1 to PSG, much to Will’s disappointment).

Today, I’ve finished the southern part of california. Next is the Sierra’s, where I’ll be facing some much more serious elevation. I’m pretty excited for it, but I’m estimated to arrive a bit earlier than ideal for crossing the Sierra’s. This means that there will be more snow than when I enter, and progress could be slowed down a bit. I’m not too worried though.

I legitimately only plan a few days ahead at a time. Where is the next town I can buy food in, and how many days will Trying to plan more than that is nearly impossible, and very frustrating. There are so many variables up to change. Two weeks feels impossibly long away.

21% done today. Feeling good.

Thanks for being a fan, Noah