Zero miles.
A rest day in Tehachapi. I tried not to leave my bed as much as possible. But I wake up at 5am anyway as I do on trail.
The name of the game is calorie intake. It's nearly impossible to carry enough food to not have a calorie deficit - we're burning at least 4,000 calories a day, probably more, and I'm probably only getting 2,000-3,000 calories. I can tell I've already lost a lot of weight but I'm not sure how much. The more food you carry the heavier it is and the more calories you burn… so calorie-dense food is important, and I always check the labels to pick the highest calorie option. Luckily the freeze-dried meals I have are around 550-650 calories each.
I had 2 breakfasts: an early bowl of keto cereal with almond milk, strawberries, and peanut butter bites. Later I made scrambled eggs and sausages with cheese. Throughout the day I continued to eat whenever I could, trying to finish the box of cereal, making quesadillas, eating salami and cheese, pork rinds, and berries. But when I'm not hiking I'm less hungry and it's hard to eat so much…
Old Yeller and I did some yoga, and in the afternoon I went to a hotel nearby to check out their hiker box. I refiled my fuel can from half empty ones, and found a new tip for my hiking pole which I had coincidentally just broken. I got super glue at the gas station, (the cashier commented on how much super glue the hikers have been buying), and caught a ride back the couple blocks to the AirBnB from some hikers who had rented a car (genius). It turns out the pole tip I found was too short, so I duct taped mine back together for now.
We chose the closest restaurant for dinner to avoid being stranded on the other side of town again (and also avoid the mile walk) - sushi. I got a light meal because I still have so much food from the grocery store to eat, but can't pass up some tuna tataki.
One of our group members (Roo) left today, heading back on trail and doing bigger miles.
I packed my bag, somehow making everything fit, ready for an early start tomorrow.