A few weeks in
Finally showered. Yeah, you read that right — first 15 days, just streams, no real accommodation, no shower. And now… bliss. Staying in a motel, feeling surprisingly happy about it. Also, here’s my 4 day resupply for the next stretch.
I was aiming for around 4000kcal per day at that time.
On the way to town, we actually saw a guy parked right by the trailhead — he had pizzas and a six-pack of Coke. Honestly, that was amazing. The day before, I’d been surviving on a tiny resupply for a few days, basically just trail mix for almost 24 hours, and my stomach was rebelling. So getting a proper pizza and a cold Coke… wow. One of the best meals I’ve had on the trail, no question.
Stuff like that makes me believe in humanity
Mid April and McDonalds
It was April 15th, and yet it froze overnight. Again. Just goes to show I wasn’t really prepared. I didn’t really know what that meant — the temperature drops so fast the second the sun disappears, like 10°C in less than an hour. I couldn’t believe it. But honestly… I didn’t really care. That day we were walking close to the road, passing it, and with less than half a mile detour you could hit McDonald’s. And that’s where my mind was.
Getting rid of that overnight frost
Big love <3
Wrightwood, California
The gang we met on that frosty night before McDonald’s continued with us onto Wrightwood. During those couple of days, I actually made one of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever taken. At least, that’s what I think — and now it’s my LinkedIn cover photo. Haha. On LinkedIn, I’m pretending to be some corporate weapon, but in reality… I never was. It was just a goal — to make it happen, save money, and travel.
I love this picture
Heat and Assassin
On trail, people go by trail names, not their real names. So yeah, these were the guys I was hiking with — Assassin and Heat, and a few others who were kind of close by at the time. Khris didn’t have a trail name. Me? I just went by Rocky. Easy to remember. People tried giving me another name, but it never really stuck — Rocky was simple, and it worked.
On the night we got into Wrightwood, I learned one of the key lessons of backpacking: always pitch your tent like the conditions are going to be the worst. I was packing up, tightening the corners, but one of the poles still fell in the middle of the night because of the wind. Had to wake up, put it back in, and then getting back to sleep was a struggle. Honestly, if I’d spent just a few more minutes — even one minute — setting it up properly, I could have slept through it. Lesson learned: don’t be a loser, take the time, always aim for a perfect pitch.
What’s so special about Wrightwood? That it has its own paragraph. Honestly, it’s a tiny town, but super hiker-friendly. We rolled in just before Easter and stayed at Jeff’s house. Jeff’s a trail angel — been helping hikers since 2006. By the time I passed through, that was 16 years of welcoming strangers. You just crash at his place and pay whatever you want.
We were planning to leave the next day, but it was Easter, so we got invited to the church. The priest was telling stories about how he did acid at 17 and found God. Classic. Meanwhile, Jeff had a pony in the backyard.
Those couple of days in Wrightwood were full of little moments like that. Just snapshots of life on the trail — weird, amazing, and totally unforgettable.
Heat, Jeff and Rocky at the church (yes, they serve beer)
Easter morning at Community center for all you can eat $7 breakfast 🙂 (it’s a great deal for hikers haha)
Jeff’s backyard
Activities in church
Trail legs and hiker hunger
You haven’t heard of trail legs or hiker hunger? Don’t worry, I hadn’t either. Basically, trail legs are when your body gets used to pushing all day, every day — suddenly you’re ripping 25 miles, 40 kilometers, no problem. Your legs don’t hurt, and you just keep going. Hiker hunger is when your body starts burning everything you eat — suddenly you can eat almost twice as much as usual, sometimes even more.
Usually, these two things hit at the same time. You get your trail legs, feel unstoppable, and then your appetite explodes. That’s exactly what happened when we were hiding out at Acton KOA because the weather was about to turn bad. A bunch of hikers showed up — some waited it out, some rushed — and for the first time I saw maybe 25 or 30 people in one place. The energy was new.
By the way, people do start looking trashy/homeless
LARV
Acton KOA was also known as LA RV Park — we called it LARV. The hikers who met there… you’d see them again in the next days, passing by at similar times, and suddenly doing 20, 25 miles a day started feeling normal. Just like that, a milestone was hit: 500 miles on the trail. If you haven’t heard the song 500 Miles, now’s the time to listen.
Wow, what a pose!!!!
And even though we’d hit 500 miles, we did come across some… questionable water sources along the way. Starting late March helped, so it wasn’t too bad, but every now and then, we’d come across something like this.
Tastes good after you filter it, I swear!