051207

                                                          Yreka to Etna to Eddy's Gulch to Black Bear Ranch, CA

Saturday May 12, 2007

     7:55am  Me and Aaron, we crashed at Maxwell's camp. In a big field right across the street from the Raley's and the Burger King. Right now Maxwell is going to treat us to breakfast. He's got food stamps. Maxwell, some dude I met in Ventura a while ago, on the pier. He's a Vietnam Vet, ex-marine.

     8:34am  Man, we got sooo baked in front of Raley's. We smoked my last bowl with a big chunk of hash in it. We're all stoned. Maxwell is going to go get us some food with his foodstamps. Good thing we got a rich Uncle Sam, hehe.

     10:26am  Aaron and I started attempting to hitchhike. We walked past the Walmart sign. We had a good little morning session at the Raley's.

                     Please Love, mobilize me.

     10:44am  We walked like half a mile from the Walmart, around the curve. There wasn't any shade anywhere. Right across the street there is, so I proposed to Aaron that we take shifts thumbing.

     10:46am  Two minutes later we already got a ride to Etna, hell yeah.

                     Two minutes later Kevin pulled over for us. We were out here not that long at all. I appreciate it, brother. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     11:18am  Kevin just dropped us off in Etna, close to the library. I'm going to go check my email.

     12:12pm  We just got a ride to Sawyer's Bar. We walked only like half a mile or something.

     1:01pm  We are on our way to Sawyer's Bar. I just wanted to take a moment and make a plug for Papa G's organic tofu. That shit tastes just like meat. We don't need to eat meat anymore at all. All you have to eat is this stuff. It's all natural!

     1:06pm  We just got dropped off at Eddy's Gulch. I think some guy told me it was eight miles to the ranch.

     1:45pm  We stopped to rest in a shady spot and ate a little bit of mushroom. I can already feel it already.

     4:00pm  The guy who brought us here, his name is Herb. We've been walking the dirt road for a couple hours. I don't think any cars are coming to give us a ride. We're going to hoof it all the way to the ranch.

     5:30pm  We are stopping for a break. We walked a lot. We got to the sign that says Cecilville forward. I think that's where we're supposed to turn left and go up the grade, not straight if my memory serves me well when I first came here with Carol.

     6:21pm  We just hiked all the way to the entrance of The Black Bear Ranch. I don't see the sign that says YOU MADE IT. I wanted Aaron to see it. Him and Hank are pooped.

                     Cecilville 14 miles away. Eddy Gulch 5 miles.

                     They have the best signs up everywhere. "Now take a deep breath and remember how beautiful everything really is." We're walking into the ranch now.

     7:48pm  We are almost there. I just walked by the tree that almost crushed the Subaru. They cut the tree. There's glass on the ground. That's the only way I knew where it was. This place used to be covered in snow. This tape is almost done. I need to switch out to a new one.

     9:54pm  I just finished the operation of switching the tape out. I was up in the thrift store room, over the kitchen. I had to go downstairs and get my pack. I had to go barefoot, because I am treating my boots with ShoeGoo. I thought I could walk back easily with just socks, but boy was I wrong. My feet hurt like hell. They are so damn sensitive since I'm always wearing boots. I was all tip-toeing. It was painful. It's kind of weird being back here again. Guess where I am crashing tonight. In the same bed where Carol and I slept. Carol's still here. Carol is all different. It seems like she's gone back to her old ways. I'll try and elaborate more on it when I type it up. Oh yeah, Aaron is having a blast. He's having the time of his life.

                     Oh yeah, the Internet is down here, so nobody's using the computer upstairs, so I can do all my typing here. I don't even have to go back to San Antonio.

Next day..