7/1: Oregon

So ready for California to be behind me now! I slept WAY too late in my soft grass, and didn't rise until 10:30 or so. Eric and Marine had taken a hike down to the beach and had been up for awhile, so I hurriedly packed up and we hoofed it out of there back to the car.

My cell phone was still dead , and I had no idea where I'd stay once we got to Portland, so I really needed a library. I also needed a lift in my spirits. The feelings that I'd hung on with these guys, despite the fact that they'd not indicated it, were really starting to set in too. We got out of Crescent City and headed toward the state line. Eric stopped when we reached Oregon so I could hop out and take my picture. That really helped. I had spent 18 days in California, had some great times, but now I was in new territory- a place I'd never been. My energy level skyrocketed.

We stopped in Brookings, just over the border so Eric could get gas which was MUCH cheaper here. One of the funniest things happened here. In Oregon, unbeknownst to me, it's illegal to pump your own gas. Eric didn't know this, so when the guy approached his car to pump it for him, he thought he was in trouble! I believe the guy scared the shit out of him!

I got some coffee, cigs, and even found an outside plug where I could finally charge my phone and make a phone call or two. We probably spent 45 minutes at this little gas station, then got on the road again. Eric had two days until he had to drop his rental off in Portland, so we had to get a little ways into the state. I felt better about my decision to stay with these guys too because the 101 is a mile or two inland- away from the coast with numerous roads leading off the highway to the innumerable State Parks.

We stumbled, completely by accident onto a library in Langlois, OR where I could get online to get some Couchsurf requests sent off, and charge the cell phone a bit more. We spent some time in there, about an hour, and through conversations with the librarians, VERY nice people, I got more free maps including my Rand McNally Oregon map. I was pretty happy about that.

We continued on, stopping less frequently than before and went through some interesting little towns, and over some terrific bridges.

Along the way after the library, we spied Sunset Bay, SP on the map and decided to check it out. We again did the Safeway trip where I grabbed a single steak this time, and Eric grabbed a bottle of wine.

The state parks are a bit cheaper here, $16, and the locale seemed very nice. We got there after the Ranger station had closed, so we proceeded in and found an open site. This place, AGAIN, was infested with children. I encouraged Eric to wait to see if anyone came around to collect money, remembering Florian's experience in Big Sur. While we were setting up though, a guy came along and collected from Eric.

After we got set up, I had a bit of a surprise when Eric expected me to pay $5 for the campsite. No big deal, just wasn't expecting it. I may not have gotten the steak had I known that, but hell-- I probably would have!

I got the fire going with what little wood I could find, and we finally used a bit of the bundle he'd bought a couple days earlier. I also learned that I had a positive response on a Couchsurf request, from a guy named Dave who lives at a marina in NW Portland. I was thrilled to learn that! I already liked Portland much more than SF!

I again tried to let them do their thing, and disappeared in search of a cell signal to return a call to Friar Chris while getting a slight glow from the wine. We chatted for a bit, and I vented a few of my little frustrations.

I found my way back to camp where we all sat and drank a bit of wine and had another rather lengthy bull session. I stayed up a while after they went to bed, and just chilled; looking at the sky and thinking about things. One more day with my new friends, then Portland the next day.

Oregon

6/30: Crescent City

I got up quite early after getting so much sleep the night before, and proceeded to pack up before Eric and Marine awoke, so as not to delay the now every- day late departure! I was quite refreshed after spending a full day to recover, and decided that if I could, I would use every Sunday as an 'off- day' to just kick back and chill out. We'll see...

As we got closer to Oregon, I'm began to think I'd try to ride with these guys to Pelican Beach, then continue on into Oregon from there. Oregon's always been the focal point of the trip and it seems a shame to get there and only see it from the car. But, the further north we get, the colder it gets and I HATE the cold! In the end, I'll probably just stay with these guys to Portland if all works out.

We left the Elk Prairie Campground, without seeing any elk, and headed north again toward Crescent City. Eric wanted to stay one more night in the Redwoods so we decided to check out Mill Creek Campground; another State Park, but never actually went in. I had noticed on our handy little brochure that there was a "primitive" campsite listed near Crescent City called Nickel Creek. It looked like it was a short hike from the trail head to get to it, but it was also FREE and apparently isolated, which was no small thing after dealing with kids on a regular basis.

*Commentary Alert*

Parents: Harness your damn kids or leave them at home. Send them to summer camp... SOMETHING! People like to relax to peace & quiet when they camp rather than having the pleasure of hearing "You suck! Nuh- Uh... YOU suck! You suck MORE!!" for an entire evening while they ride their damn bikes through my campsite! Why the HELL are you bringing BIKES to a campground anyhow? HIKE! And about that damn inflatable furniture you lug along... CAMPING... in that battleship you call a 'camper'... I digress...

*You are now leaving the Commentary Hazard Zone*

Along the way, I managed to finally get a cell signal and talked to Shalain for the first time in a couple of days. We found the parking area and did the quick half- mile hike to Nickel Creek finding it COMPLETELY abandoned! YES!! We loved it instantly, although there was no water available, save Nickel Creek itself. I also discovered that I'd been reunited with an old pal: the Coastal Trail. Nickel Creek was just off the "Last Chance" section of the CCT. I had to laugh, and was staggered when I thought how long it would have taken me to get here taking just the trail!

I asked Eric if we could go into Crescent City, 7 miles up the road so I could get some real food, and the possibly charge my cell phone which was now completely dead. He obliged, and we wound up the Safeway from where I emerged proudly with 2 HUGE pork chops that were to be ecstatically cooked over a blazing fire we we'd make out of driftwood from the nearby beach. I never did get the cell phone charged however... that was getting annoying- trying to figure out why I never bought a car charger made it worse.

We headed back toward Nickel Creek after taking a quick look around Crescent City and finding the library which was CLOSED of course. Monday, of course! We also stopped at the little harbor and snooped around a bit.

When we returned to Nickel Creek, we loaded ourselves down like pack animals and headed down to set up. I immediately began the now familiar task of collecting firewood, which here included a HUGE log someone had tried to burn before. There were piles of driftwood already gathered at various places around the campground, so I consolidated these and began our pile.

We had neglected to get water in Crescent City, so it was finally time to use Friar Chris's MSR filter. I had no clue what I was doing, so thankfully it was pretty self- explanatory! We traipsed down to the creek, and proceed to gather about 5 liters of fresh, clean, cold, & CLEAR stream water. God, that tasted good in the fact that it had NO taste! Mmmmmmm.....

Then it was off to the beach to check it out. We had finally begun to get a little sun after almost NONE since I'd met up with them on Friday. The beach was very cool. Tidal pools, and the fresh water pool where Nickel Creek drained onto the beach. There was also a memorial set up there as well; a tribute to someone. We hiked over the rocks all the way to the other end, enjoyed the vibe, then gathered more driftwood for the fire on the way back to camp.

We got the fire going, and I proceeded to cook the best piece of meat I've ever eaten! It was damn good, and even better because I'd eaten nothing but cold food forever. I REALLY enjoyed that meal... both HUGE pieces!

The rest of the night was spent building and tending the fire, chatting, and enjoying the lack of children. I listened to some music, and slept like a baby in my tent in the thick grass.