Chantz Rivera is now roughly 87 miles from San Francisco after walking more than 2,500 miles from New York.
Rivera, 29, a Bronx resident who had barely left the Tri-State area before this year, began his cross-country trek on May 31 and reached the California border last Thursday, day 137 of his journey. He has been documenting every step on TikTok, where his videos have drawn hundreds of thousands of views.
“I am trying to just be more free-willed. Just getting out more and being more adventurous,” Rivera told KRON.
On a typical day, the New Yorker walks between 15 and 30 miles. He told the station he chose to make the journey on foot for a simple reason.
“I chose to walk because I feel like you can see more like that, even though I know it’s pretty extreme. It helps mentally and spiritually, I guess,” he said.
Before this trip, Rivera’s travel experience was almost nonexistent. “When I was 18, I went to Florida for a week. When I was 24 or 25, I went to Washington, DC, for a weekend. Other than that, I have just been in New York, the Tri-State area,” he explained to KRON.
The journey has exposed him to natural wonders he had never encountered. “The coolest thing I have seen is probably like natural rainbows. You don’t really get rainbows like that in New York. It was pretty cool seeing those, and the mountains were pretty cool. I have never seen mountains before… It’s like I don’t have to see it on TV no more or YouTube; I’m like in it,” Rivera shared.
Strangers have rallied behind him along the route. “A lot of human kindness… Almost every big city I go to, somebody reaches out and wants to support and help me out,” Rivera said. Supporters have given him free housing, haircuts, and shoes. He also launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $10,000.
Rivera posted videos over the weekend showing his arrival in Sacramento, putting San Francisco within reach. He told KRON he plans to spend several days in the city once he arrives.
“I just think I am just going to be a tourist; I am going to get there and probably get a motel or hotel and just see the city. Go to the beach, chill in the crib, hang out with the people,” he said.
Rivera’s trek began in late spring with no prior long-distance hiking experience and no significant travel history beyond those two brief trips to Florida and Washington, DC. The decision to walk rather than drive or fly was driven by his desire to experience the country directly rather than through screens.