Day 1: The Journey into the Wasteland

 MILE APOCALYPSE 2026 – DISPATCH FROM THE WASTELAND

Day 1 | January 1, 2026 Blood on the Asphalt

The suburbs didn’t let me go quietly.

Less than one mile into the sacred northern vector—pack heavy with jerky that still carried the smoke of last night’s final BBQ—the desert sent its welcoming committee.

Two coyotes. Lean, mangy, eyes glowing like embers in the pre-dawn gray. They came fast and silent from both sides, drawn by the scent of meat and weakness.

I’ve lived on the edge of their territory long enough to never walk unarmed. The hammer—cold steel, familiar weight—came out of its loop in one motion.

The first lunged high. I caught it mid-air, hammer crashing into skull with a sound like splitting firewood. It dropped without a yelp.

The second clamped onto my backside. Teeth found fabric, not flesh—thank the 30 pounds I burned off in 2025. Those lost inches bought me life today. The pants, already loose, gave way with a violent rip. The coyote flew backward, a ragged chunk of black cloth in its jaws.

I spun. He charged again, balls swinging like a pendulum counting down my last seconds. My boot caught him under the jaw; the hammer followed, downward arc ending in a wet crunch. He lay still, steam rising from the body into the cold Nevada air.

I stood over the corpses, chest heaving, hammer dripping. Pulled it free, wiped it on the dead thing’s fur, slid it back into its case.

Then I looked at the damage: a gaping tear from waist to thigh, cold wind already knifing through. Two spare pairs in the pack, but light travel means every tear matters. Walk like this and the desert will bleed the heat out of me long before Goldwell or the Bunny Ranch.

Three choices:

1. Ignore the rip and freeze.
2. Burn a backup pair now.
3. Detour. Resupply. Live to walk another day.

I chose survival.

Course corrected east along Blue Diamond—straight to the Walmart cathedral of consumerism, 3–4 miles off the true path. New pants. Durable ones this time. Then back to US-95 to resume the pilgrimage.

It costs me forward progress. It sets the odometer back a day.

But the wasteland taught its first lesson: Adapt or become carrion.

Day 1 Numbers – Paid in Blood and Steps

• Steps: 15,687
• Miles Logged: 7.53 (including the fight, the detour prep, the grind)
• Bodyweight Tribute:
  • Sit-ups: 10
  • Push-ups: 2
  • Plank: 10 seconds
• Mercy Bank: Building (those Walmart miles still count toward Step Surge)

Progress Tracker – Ashes to Iron

Date	Push-ups	Sit-ups	Plank (sec)	Miles	Notes
Jan 1, 2026	2	10	10	7.53	First blood. Coyote skulls. Pants sacrificed. Detour earned.

New armor acquired soon. Then north again—hammer cleaned, eyes sharper.

The old me would have turned back after the attack.

The exile walks on.

Mile Apocalypse Total: 7.53 / 2026

The road is stained now. It knows my name.

What does tomorrow demand? I’ll pay the price.

Keep walking. Or join the coyotes in the dust. 💀🏜️🔨