3/19: Cambria, CA- What Would Jesus Sell?

Friday night was more of what I expected from this quick layover in Cambria, while it also introduced the theme for the immediate future. With Nick (’08) and Rael (Slab City), this was the never-before-seen opportunity of melding two of my distinctly separate experiences into a third, and I was curious to see what conversations, thoughts, and ideas spawned from the three of us.

3/19: Cambria, CA- Moonstones & Battlelines

I finally exhaled Thursday night and slept like a corpse. The Sierra Designs tarp shelter performed admirably on its first night of active duty, keeping the dew and Pacific moisture off of me and the backpack while providing the privacy and space not offered in a bivy alone. For the gearheads, the Origami is a lightweight, floorless tarp shelter utilizing five equilateral triangles and a telescoping pole/ walking stick/ guy line as a center support. It looks like a little teepee. The Origami can be set up in countless configurations depending on terrain and doesn’t weigh much, so I envision it as both a compliment to the bivy and as a replacement for a full tent.

3/17 & 18: To the Coast- Melody & Marci

I originally contacted Melody via her Craigslist ad around the first of March. She was to be moving from Austin to Portland, stopping in Taos to see friends, then continuing on toward San Francisco. I had also been in chatting with Rael since Slab City, and discovered that he was in fact still on hiatus from his walk, and would be heading to the coast toward San Francisco instead of Yosemite due to climate concerns! It would be a bit warmer along the central California coast, and a good time to see some of the southern portions of Hwy. 1. Between the two, it was obvious that this was an alternative to a dreaded trip east and a partial repeat of 2008's West Coast Run- one of my favorite's to date. It would also presumably provide an opportunity to dig deeper into some of the "Camel Ideas". This could be quite cool indeed...

6/18: San Simeon State Park: Day 2

Wednesday

At $2 a day? Hell yeah I'll stay another! Nick got up at about the same time the sun turned my tent into a sauna and pushed me out. We exchanged info, I got a picture, and he was off on the 50 mile ride home. A good guy; glad he was there.

Nothing much else to mention other than the fact I took my first shower since the day I left Santa Fe. To me anyhow, that was a MAJOR development. Another bike tourist came thru and stayed, an older guy who I tried to chat up but seemed to me to be an old paranoid hippie. The rest of the day was spent tending to my feet, collecting firewood from the unused campsites and the beach, rather than paying the Wood Nazi $or a bundle! I charged my cell phone at his little setup, and he went on and on telling me how the wood was brought in by a contractor and that's why it was so expensive. Typical. I wanted to laugh at him and ask why exactly I should be expected to pay for something I can just walk around and pick up. I let it go.

The full moon rose at about 10:00 while I was tending my fire, and it was AMAZING! I even got my little point- and- click to get some photos of it.

I chatted briefly with the neighbors about the abundance of law enforcement driving thru the campground (Well, 2 cars- I needed a conversation starter) and went to sleep.

6/17: San Simeon Beach State Park

I woke up at what appears to be my new usual time: 8:30. I slept well but woke up still pissed off at myself for my field- folly and losing SOG. I made a cup of nasty coffee then got up to answer nature’s call. I took about 4 steps to the other side of the bush, and guess what I saw…

SOG!

I had slept literally 10 feet from it! There was NO way in heck I should have found that thing. NONE! Considering where it could have been lost AND my aimless wanderings and inability to find my original trails, it should have been gone. I know some people think life is full of silly coincidences. I’m not one of them. Remember when I said that when I met Pat, I wasn’t making a conscious decision? The same thing happened with my meandering path back to the SOG reunion… and would recur later in the week.

A great start to the day.

I got out of Cambria pretty much as expected, after charging my cell phone and taking my time getting out of town. My feet were bugging me quite a bit with blisters after wandering around in the fields the night before with feet soaked by the river the night before, so I set the modest goal of getting to the Hike & Bike supposedly a couple miles up the road. I wasn't really sure rather to trust the info and some people had said that many of these handy little outposts were shut down, so I packed extra water making the pack heavier and bugging the blisters even more. Just a nuisance really, but a constant one!

It occurred to me as I started out that I was FINALLY getting on to Hwy 1. I wasn't going to hitch; just walk no matter how long it took. The scenery and sounds/ smells of the ocean right off the road was hypnotizing. I stopped several times to take pictures and just enjoy it. The weather on the California Coast is surprisingly cool. Low- mid 70's for the most part because of the north- to- south currents bringing colder water from Alaska as cooling things. This is especially true in the evening and at night. It's as though there's a natural air conditioner!

Eventually, I had gotten far enough that when I 'crossed the bridge' the guy had told me about, the right turn was into a State Park. I initially thought the guy was a´n idiot for not simply saying there's a park up there and that there would indeed be NO Hike & Bike, but to my pleasant surprise there WAS one there. For $2 a night! Two fricking dollars! Plus ´there were showers and access to the ocean. I was quite pleased.

I set up camp enjoying the fact that I wasn't stumbling thru a field to do it nor was I hiding from anyone!

Shortly after I was settled in, a bike tourist came in and began setting up his camp. We got to chatting and I learned that he was from Arroyo Grande, which is 50 miles south, a bit past San Luis Obispo. His name is Nick, and it turned out we had a lot in common. He had recently decided to quit his job with a map company because he simply hated the 9-5 life. When he tried to resign, the owner asked him if he just wanted to do it 6- months out of the year- giving him Spring/ Summer off. Good for him! So, he's off until October and was at San Simeon on an overnight bike trip. I built a nice fire from the extra wood people had left lying around, and we just chatted and watched the nearly full moon until midnight or so. A VERY enjoyable night, no doubt.