102004

 

Monterey to Carmel to Big Sur, CA

Wednesday October 20, 2004

     4:41am  I woke up in front of the room those people were in at the Baptist church last night. I crashed out on the little rug in front of the door. I wrote Victor the Liberator on the door. I took a picture of it.

                   I crashed out at Saint John's Chapel in Del Monte. Oh yeah, I could've gotten to Carmel yesterday with that bus fare. The last bus hadn't come yet. I had looked at my schedule wrong. That Paul guy had given me a dollar fifty in quarters. I looked at my schedule. I looked at it wrong and went to go look for a place to crash. I should be in Carmel already.

                   Oh yeah, that church is over here by the Hyatt Conference Center.

     5:05am  I'm almost downtown again. I need to say my morning prayer. Please Great Spirit, please let some magical things happen to me today.

     6:25am  I went to the #2 bus and told him, "Hey, I only have eighty cents because I spent some money on a phone call. I don't suppose you would hook me up with a transfer in case the driver doesn't let me on for eighty cents. I'm trying to get to Big Sur." He told me, "We don't go to Big Sur." I told him, "I mean Carmel." He told me, "Put your eighty cents here," and he printed me out a transfer. Perfect, perfect.

     6:37am  Bob, the #24 driver hooked me up with a cigarette. I appreciate it, Bob. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     6:38am  Willie hooked me up with a pack of matches here at the plaza. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     6:47am  The #4 finally pulled up. I handed him the transfer the #2 guy had given me. The driver says, "This is yesterday's." I told him, "Say what? I just gave the #2 guy eighty cents for that and he told me it would work." He goes, "No, no, this is yesterday's." All bummed out, I went to the bus behind his and the driver said, "You're not going to catch that bus?" I told him the situation and he promptly printed me out a good transfer. I appreciate it, brother.

                    On my way to save the world.

     7:11pm  I hit this lady up for my story on the bus. She went, "No, no, that's ok."

     7:15pm  I am on Highway 1. I just got off the bus. I'm going to try and hitchhike South. I am thirty miles away from Big Sur.

                   Big Sur 26, San Luis Obispo 132, Los Angeles 337.

     7:24pm  Please Great Spirit. Give me a ride.

     7:31pm  I got my ride! Seymour Carter pulled over for me. He said I talked to him in Berkeley in front of the Mediterranean Cafe. I am recognized, awesome.

                   My presence is known.

                   When he pulled over he said, "How you doing, long-walker?"

     7:58pm  I just took a picture of these beautiful mountains close to Little Sur River.

     8:21pm  Dude, so much cool stuff has happened. Remember that prayer I made earlier to the Great Spirit? It was answered, man. This guy Seymour is cool. He told me, "I want to shake your hand, Victor."

     8:50pm  Holy shit, this Seymour guy is cool. He dropped me off at some bakery here in Big Sur. Seymour bought me a good lemon poppy-seed muffin and gave me half of his jelly-filled donuts. Dude, it's so awesome how I ended up here. This place is really isolated. Only like five hundred people live here. It's cool. He did tell me it was really hard to hitchhike around here. He said, "But you got that charm about you."

                   I am so excited.

                   And I just can't hide it.

                   I'm about to lose control and I think I like it.

     9:22am  I'm walking North on the highway from the deli I was at. I want to find a beach.

                    Just look at all the synchronicity with all this stuff that has happened. Last night I thought I read the schedule wrong and that I had missed the last bus to Carmel. I found that church to crash at. I looked at the schedule again and it turns out I hadn't missed the last bus. The buses don't stop running like until ten, so I could've made it to Carmel last night. I walked off, not that far and found that church to crash at. And then this morning I got dropped off in Carmel and in absolutely no time Seymour picks me up.

                    Oh yeah, and this morning I only had eighty cents because I had called that Interim place last night. I went up to the guy driving the #2 and asked the guy if he would hook me up with a transfer because I only had eighty cents. I gave him my eighty cents and he printed a transfer out for me. But, when the bus came finally, the transfer he had given me didn't have the right date on it. He wouldn't let me on. Then I go to the bus behind it and talked to the driver and I told him the situation. He printed me out a good one and then I got on. And in no time Seymour picks me up. He recognized me from Berkeley! I'm famous. That's the most awesome feeling in the world to get recognized like that.

                    I am on the right track for sure.

                    I did get a little freaked out that I heard George Bush was talking about me. I'm surprised he didn't mention the tennis ball. I need to get on the Internet and see if I can look that up.

                    I want to do a Google search for "walking-stick", "compass" and "long-distance walker."

     9:27am  I walked up to the Pfeiffer Cyn bridge. 44-60001mon4552. Oh yeah, Seymour told me that the only dry places to crash around here was under bridges. He didn't tell me where any where, but I think I found one I can crash at. Let me check it out and see what the camping conditions are underneath.

     9:35am  I changed my mind about checking out the other side of the bridge. It was too treacherous a fall. I was lucky I was able to climb back up. I went to the other side to see to see if there was a way underneath from there. There is. There's all this graffiti under here. Here it says, "Peace and Love to my traveling family." I'm going to take a picture of it.

                   I saw some young dude with a beard walking across the street. I crossed and told him, "Hey brother, can I tell you a really interesting story? I just want you to listen." He immediately said, "No, I gotta go."

     9:42am  Now entering the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

                   Oh yeah, Seymour had given me an extra jacket. It's better than the one I had. It's kind of the same kind of jacket that I used to have, except on my other one the zipper didn't work. On of the zippers on the one Seymour gave me doesn't work. It has two sets though. It's hard to squeeze into the spot where I rolled up my other one, in the top handle of my backpack, because my old one was a little smaller.

     10:05am  My pack has evolved once more. I was able to keep that new jacket I was just given. I did not have to compromise my old. It can stay stuffed in the top handle. I figured out I could just wrap up the new one and it would hold with the elastic cords that are part of it already. I remembered I had bought an extra caribiner in Arcata. They had a small one for two dollars that I bought. I knew I could find a use for it someday and I just did. I've been wearing it on a belt loop this whole time not holding anything. I was excited when I realized I could use it to hold my new jacket very conveniently on my backpack, and I could carry all my stuff and still travel with it.

                      Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. At the deli. Right before I left I hit the guy working there up for my story and gave him my presentation. This one girl walked in and said, "Oh, this guy says everything the same." Whoa, somebody else who recognized me that I've told my story to. This one girl who recognized me from Santa Cruz.

                       I'm famous. I'm everywhere.

     10:24am  I forgot to tell you. I walked to some park entrance and there's trails. I sat on a bench and took some layers off. I meant to read the description of the place. Maybe I'll do that when I come back.

                      I'm going to wander of on some trail. There's a big fence.

                      I just jumped that fence and I am on the Pine Ridge Trail. There's a sign here that says Venta Camp 5, Barlow Flat Camp 6, Slice Camp 10, Redwood Camp 12. Hopefully they're miles.

     10:35am  I just took a random shot of this trail right here. These woods are beautiful. I can do five miles of this easy.

     10:39am  I just took a picture of the water flowing down these rocks. This is a great hike. I'm having a blast.

     10:46am  I just went down this big muddy hill. I am so lucky I didn't slip. I made it down carefully. I didn't think I was going to. I went through this little valley and saw park benches and stuff. I thought maybe I'd find somebody to tell my story to.

     11:22am  I'm wandering around the campgrounds. It's closed, but I came and used the bathroom. They have a fire-hose outside and I filled up my big backup bottle with water. It's cloudy water, I don't know if I should drink it. It'll keep me alive, I'm sure.

                     Oh yeah, I tagged both the men's and the women's restroom with Victor the Liberator.

     11:32am  Oh cool, I found a little cabin I can crash at if I'm here all day. Over by Oak Grove Trail. There's a picture of a mountain lion.

                      It says: "Mountain lions are important members of the natural community and maybe found in this area. Although these animals are seldom seen, they are unpredictable and have been known to attack without warning. Keep children close. Mountain lions seem to be especially drawn to them. Avoid hiking alone. Make plenty of noise while you hike, so as to reduce the chances of surprising a mountain lion."

     11:34am  I just saw some family hiking in the woods. I came up to them and saw this guy had his hand out to me. I thought he was saying peace, but he was telling me not to come any closer. There were these deer really close by and he was taking pictures of them. I took a picture of them too.

                     Passing a sign that says, "To parking lot #3."

                     Some other bathroom I tagged Victor the Liberator on.

                      I just wrote Victor the Liberator on the sign that has an arrow pointing and says, "Big Sur River Gorge, Homestead Cabin, Oak Grove Trail and Mount Manual Trail."

     12:45pm  I had a very productive conversation with this couple.

     12:50pm  I came by the Big Sur Medical Facility. There's a sign that says, "Valley View Trail," this way. I'm going to follow this trail.

     1:05pm  Barney hooked me up with a banana over at the cabins. I appreciate it, brother.

                   Oh yeah, I had seen all these lodges. Like rooms they rent out. I walked by and I saw this guy and a girl through a window. I asked him, "Hey, can you spare any food?" He gave me a banana.

     1:14pm  I walked up to the Ernst Ewoldsen Memorial Nature Center.

                   Please Love, spare me a cigarette.

     1:34pm  I passed a sign that says Pfeiffer Falls this way and Valley View the other way.

     1:37pm  I just took a picture of Pfeiffer Falls.

     1:44pm  I climbed up to the top, where the Pfeiffer Falls are. I wrote Victor the Liberator with my white marker. Hopefully it will stay there. The wood's all wet.

                   I put a peace sign on either side of it.

                   I came to the Valley View path. There's a wooden bench up here. I sat down and tagged it with Victor the Liberator and a peace sign. Everybody's going to see this.

                   Oh wow. What a view.

                    Looks like the trail lived up to its name.

                    Oh yeah, I think I've decided I'm going to go. As beautiful as this Eden is, it's giving me more motivation to save it. I have to get my webpage up and come back out here with somebody else. Hopefully a girl, hehe. I'll show her how beautiful Big Sur is.

                    I'm walking back the way I came. I ended up over by some lady with her two kids. They were all crossing these logs. She asked me if I could take a picture of them.

     2:45pm  I'm at the road already. I'm going to stand here and stick my thumb out.

                   Oh yeah, the park where I changed my clothes at earlier was Big Sur Station.

     2:57pm  Please Great Spirit or Love, give me another ride please. Umm, I shouldn't be pushing my luck. It'd be two in a row if I am granted one.

     3:22pm  This gay dude(I think) came out to his van and I asked him for a cigarette. I gave him my intro and stuff, but he's busy. He said he didn't have a cigarette, but he said, "I might in a little bit when I come back." He's going to try and get me a cigarette. Oh yeah, he told me there was a public library like two miles away. Perfect.

                    I want to get on the Internet and see if I can find anything about George Bush mentioning me.

     3:34pm  The guy at the park came back and gave me a cigarette. He gave me some food too. Thanks a lot, man. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     4:06pm  That dude gave me a one pound bag of Trader Joe's sunflower seeds. Yummy.

     6:18pm  Scott gave me a fifteen mile jump. I appreciate it, brother. From Big Sur. Everybody gets credit, thanks.

     7:00pm  Guess where I ended up. I'm at this Esalen Institute. This place is weird. Scott is dropping off a car here. I'll tell you about it later.

     7:25pm  Oh man, I'm all freaking out. The coolest shit happened. I had a great hike today in Big Sur. It was beautiful place. Then I decided I wanted to leave. That I wanted to bring a pretty girl back here and show her this place. I went to the library and printed out Fawn's Message to All. I went to the road and stuck my thumb out and eventually Scott brought me to the Esalen Institute. It says, "By Reservation Only," on the sign outside. It's like a commune of people here. They've got like a gatekeeper. Scott was delivering a VW bug here. I'm going to get a sneak peak inside because he's dropping that car off. I'm stoned too. Scott smoked me out and he kicked me down a nug. Awesome.

                    Let's go see what happens.

                    I just need to know how they do it. They drive cars here and it seems to be all about money. It's weird. I don't know if I should be nervous.

                    Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that my script has evolved too. I'm going to walk up to these people and tell them that I'm a self-employed long-distance walker/photojournalist, then I'll go from there.

     7:45pm  Dude, the people here are real ignorant. I'm already back on the road. I'm fifteen miles away from Big Sur and there's absolutely nothing out here. I am stranded out here in the middle of nowhere. I can't hitchhike right now. There's not even a light post anywhere. I don't know what I'm going to do.

                    Oh yeah, that place was way ignorant. After Scott dropped me off, I walked up to the gatekeeper. I went up to him and asked the kid, "Do you believe in synchronicity? Do you believe things happen for a reason?" I tried telling him my introduction, but this guy didn't let me get anything out. He told me right off the bat, "I'm not the one to talk to." Then I tried telling this girl that walked up and she didn't let me get anything out either. They were all ignorant. I turned around and now I don't know where I'm walking to. I'll find somewhere to crash and hitchhike in the morning.

                    Maybe I came on too strong up there. Screw it. It's my rules I'm playing by. I want to read this brochure they gave me, but it's too dark.

                    Please Great Spirit, will you give me a hand? Let something magical happen. Make my story interesting.

                    I haven't even sat down and read this thing because it's all dark. I'm so away from everything. This place is all secluded.

                    This one girl there was coming up with all these bullshit excuses. She was all, "Oh, I'm tired."

                    When I was leaving, that girl asked me, "Do you need anything," and I told her no. She said, "You're self-sufficient, right?" I told her, "That's right," and walked off.

     8:05pm  I saw some lady walking the opposite direction with a flashlight. I thought maybe she was meant to come talk to me. I asked her if I could tell her my story, but she didn't even slow down. She totally ignored me, saying, "I'm going to go around you. I'm late. I'm almost home."

                   Man, this place is ignorant as hell.

     8:10pm  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that earlier Scott had told me, "You're the first person I've ever picked up." Dude, that happens all the time now. I'm the first person people give a ride to. That's so awesome.

     8:20pm  I had another ignorant encounter with another guy walking down the street. He had a flashlight too. This place is weird. Hehe, it was cool how I got to sneak in and look around. I entered undercover.

                   Oh yeah, earlier, I don't know if I mentioned it, but my compass was telling me wrong directions. It was like exactly the opposite. Then, like ten minutes later it was right again. That's so weird.

                   The poles are shifting.

     8:25pm  I'm walking up to this side of a cliff, it looks like. There's like a room. I see a light inside.

                   As if somebody built a house in the side of a cliff. There's like a window with a light behind it. Weird.

                   This place trips me out, man.

                   Please Great Spirit, give me a sign to know what to do. Should I pursue this again? Should I just find a place to sleep? I want to see this stuff in the daytime. If it's weird at night, it should blow my mind in the daytime. I've got fifteen miles to any civilization. This place is all secluded. Nobody's picking me up. They're just driving by. I need to find a place to crash. It's already 8:35. I want to see this shit in the day though. Crazy.

     8:55pm  I finally found a little spot real close to the highway. I'm just going to put my rain poncho down and go to sleep here. This sucks. It's alright though. I want to see this place in the daytime and take pictures. I've got like ten left.

                   Man, it's sooo cold. I wish I had a sleeping bag.

Next day..