Song of the Week: Staying Still by Noah Kahan
May 11, 2026
364.4 miles walked
Today marks exactly one month of being on the road. Dirt has permanently settled in the folds of my palms and desert dust lives between my toes. There have been many days when I have lost track of whether tears or sweat are running down my cheeks, but the wind dries my face anyway, in the end it is all salt water.
Hiking at sunset – my favorite time of day!
In the month I spent here, I realized how much more this path is than fair hiking; Being here requires you to burn for something more. Maybe it’s the idea of finding your limit and surpassing it. Maybe despite the stifling heat and the dust in your throat and the impossibly vast mountain looming in front of you, you keep walking. Maybe it’s the people; the friendships that appear with people you meet on the street, but here you always have something in common; Everyone here is burning for this. This inner fire can only be attended to with the sensation of throbbing feet at the end of a long day; a testament to the miles traveled and the strength I didn’t know I had inside me until I did the damn thing.
My favorite photography subject: the moon :))
As I write this, I watch the sunlight begin to peek through my tent, on the morning of my 32nd day on the trail. A month and a day and we are already in the middle of the desert. I have cursed this barren, sandy landscape during the midday heat, as I crawled through its unforgiving mountain landscape. Their beauty has also made me cry, the sunrises and sunsets that have painted my days, the cacti illuminated by the persistent sun. The sun: always the first to arrive and the last to leave the desert party; His presence is always known and never lost. Sometimes the heat lingers well into the night, unwanted company in my tent as I try to sleep.
Mood after facing Jacinto!
This new existence has given me more things to be grateful for than I ever thought possible. I am grateful for the water I drink after my morning coffee, with its opaque clouds watching me; the way water is reminiscent of powdered milk and instant coffee when I swish it around in my mouth, always desperate for a hint of flavor. I am grateful for my swollen feet in the morning, the kilometers traveled the day before still throbbing in my soles, the rhythm of my heart palpable with each beat. I am grateful for the reservoirs of water hidden deep in this arid desert, and grateful for the angels who drag gallon after gallon to the desperate hikers on the trail. I appreciate the dinners at the end of each day, side by side with new friends, each of us huddled for warmth around our camp stoves, eagerly awaiting our steaming meals.
The stars wish me goodnight on my 31st night on the trail.
I appreciate the encouragement, I appreciate the company and I appreciate the legs that have brought me here.
ada
These flowers smell strongly like grape candy!
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