RV Park in Scotia, walking, South Fork Eel River, Weott, Willits, Ukiah, CA
Tuesday December 2, 2003
4:20am I just woke up because I'm freezing. I put on my thermal bottoms and I'm laying back down. I'm going to try and get back to sleep.
5:40am I haven't really been able to get to sleep. I am having a big worry-bout. It's cold and freezing. I've got all my clothes on and I'm still cold. This sucks. I have to wait until the sun comes out and it gets warmer. I'm all worried about this whole STD thing and the smoking cigarettes.
6:57am I didn't get back to sleep at all since I woke up at 4:30am. It's freezing. I'm going to smoke my last hit of weed and a take a couple puffs off a cigarette. Then, I'm going to take off on my walk to Redcrest. I'm hungry.
7:05pm I just took a picture of the bench I slept on last night. The church pew.
7:11am I just took a shit in the bathroom they have out for the campers. I really should take a picture of the other shelter I crashed in before. It's got a big cross on top of it.
7:40am I am walking out of the RV park. I'm going to get a picture of the sign.
Man, I'm worried. My left leg is hurting bad. Like up near the pelvis. It felt fine on the walk over here last night. I probably slept on it wrong on that pew. It hurts bad. Maybe I didn't sleep enough and I needed more rest to fix my legs. But I didn't walk that far. It's only like five miles from Scotia to here.
Okay, I have to hop over this fence. I'm going to jump it in the same place I have every other time. Hmm, I can't find that spot. I'll just keep walking. My leg hurts like hell. I just walked a little and I am in serious pain. I don't know if I'll make it all the way to Redcrest. Even if I do get to Redcrest, walking on this hurt leg is going to make it hurt more. I'll just have to sit down and stick my thumb out.
Man, I can't believe I thought I was ready to do this walk again. I am so out of shape after vegging on Kati's computer working on my webpage for a whole month. Hell, the whole three months I've been in Arcata made me lazy and not as healthy. It sucks. I don't have any more weed either.
Damnit, I came to where the road the RV park is on turns left. I can't go any further. I know I missed the place where I usually jump over. Let me go back and look for it. My leg hurts bad. This is going to be a bitch.
7:56am Okay, I am on the other side of the fence.
8:00am I am here limping away on 101. My leg is killing me. I guess I should be sticking my thumb out while I walk . . err, limp.
Okay, my leg doesn't hurt as much. I seem to have walked it off.
8:26am I'm still walking 101 South. I'm at mile marker 46.00. On the ground I just found me a badass Law Enforcement knife. It's a cool police folding utility knife. It's a Barracuda blade. What a great groundscore.
8:30am I cleaned off the knife and I'm walking.
8:32am The side just ran out on the tape. I'm just going to use the same tape because I've already typed up the other side mostly. I can record over that.
8:40am Passing marker 45.50. 6 miles to Redcrest. 125 miles to Ukiah. 234 miles to San Francisco. A whole six miles to Redcrest. I'm tired.
I seriously don't remember Redcrest being this far. Whoa, I just remembered I have a Power Bar in my bag. I snagged it from Kati's roommate while back. I should eat that for the six mile walk then I'll eat breakfast in Redcrest.
Mile marker 45.41. I'm going to stop and eat my Power Bar.
I'm not going to eat it just yet. I'm still not really hungry. I should've taken the scenic route like last time. I'm up on the highway, though.
8:45am Mile marker 45.25.
Ugh, my leg is in serious pain. I'm still keeping my pace up, though. Thanks to my trusty staff. That which does not kill me makes me stronger. The human body gets used to any pain.
8:57am Whoa, some blue van just pulled over!
9:00am I already got a ride. What were your names again? Mike, Tommy and Dave were kind enough to pick me up. I appreciate it, guys.
9:05am See, when I got in the blue van it had some church sticker on the side of it. So I assumed these guys were part of a church. Before I knew it this kid hands me a loaded bowl. I like this church. They're giving me a ride. Not all the way to San Francisco, but part way there. I'm not sure where. It'll be a surprise.
Man, I'm all stoned.
9:11am Oh shit! I just left my water bottle in their van! They pulled over at South Fork Eel River, where I had been last time right before I got a ride to Oregon. I was so amazed that I was brought back to where I had been before. I got out of the van and dropped my bags out of it. I got out and was arranging my stuff and they started taking off. I realized I didn't have my water bottle but by the time I noticed they were already taking off. I jumped and yelled and swung my stick in the air, but in the end they just took off. Holy shit. In my water bottle pouch I always kept my metal one-hitter.
Dude, this sucks so, so much. I had been so proud of myself for having kept my water bottle and one-hitter combo for so long. Since June. All the way from San Antonio. I wanted to go back to Flipside Records and show Lorraine that I still had the pipe she had given me. I wanted to show my mom how I still had the bottle she had given me too. What a devastating loss. More importantly, I'm walking on the highway without water now. And, I don't have a smoking device. That sucks so hardcore.
Those guys just took off down this road. I'm going to just follow it and hopefully they'll be parked somewhere.
I was so amazed that I got dropped off on South Fork Eel River. I've been here before. I've been to this intersection. This sucks. I'm just going to walk down this road and hopefully I'll see their van parked somewhere.
9:17am Man, I don't know what to do. I lost my water bottle! That's my life-line! I am walking out here without water. I had been yelling at them to stop, but they just kept going.
I have no idea where this road leads. I have no water. I'm just going to walk. I have a Power Bar. Hopefully, they will drive back soon.
Man, I don't know where this road ends. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I can't believe I lost my water bottle. Shit!
Oh yeah, I missed breakfast at the Eternal Treehouse Cafe in Redcrest. That sucks.
Dude, I don't know how far I should go down this road.
9:32am I've done a lot of thinking. I'm thinking maybe I was brought here, to the exact location I went the first time, so . . . I could take pictures of it! This is where I was in my story I tell everyone. I get to prove it now. That it really, really happened. I've changed my mind about going down this empty road. I don't know where it goes. I'm probably not going to find those guys in the van again, so I'm heading back. I'm taking a little tiny bit of comfort(I know it'll never happen) on the chance of them realizing I left my stuff and are driving back to return it to me. Yeah right.
I have to go photograph the part where the road turns left and where Tony and Molly's truck had been.
Okay, I am on task now. Even though I lost my water bottle. That resource will somehow fall into my lap soon. Ugh, I was so proud of having that water bottle/one-hitter combo for so long. It pisses me off so much.
Oh man, this sucks. I am in some chronic pain here.
Damnit, I just realized I left my binoculars in their van, too. Well, now I am traveling lighter, I guess.
9:57am I just stopped where I stopped and rested my feet last time. South Fork Eel River. I walked down the road here and walked into the forest. The Avenue of the Giants.
Okay, I'm going to take a picture
of the access road and the entrance to the forest. Then I'll walk down and take a picture of where the road turns left. I need to find a place to sit down and rest my leg. It aches.
10:08am I'm getting up from my rest.
10:15pm I just took a picture
of the access road to the highway. The Freeway South sign. Let's see how long it takes my limpy ass to walk where the road turns left. I tell everyone it's a ¼ mile, but I'm sure it's not that far. Let's see how long it takes me to limp over there.
It's a great thing I have this stick.
Dude, I totally was not prepared for this walk. After a month of just sitting around I get up and walk South thinking I'm as healthy as I used to be. But I'm not. Like I always say, nothing sparks happiness like good health, and nothing drains it like bad. At least my tooth isn't hurting. Knock on wood(knocks on redwood tree).
10:18am I just took a picture of the road.
Why is it my left leg? Why not my right? My right leg is fine. I think it's because I slept awkward on that church pew.
Mile marker 20.39.
There's a sign here that says, "No dogs on trail, except seeing eye dogs." Now why would blind people come to the forest and walk on the trails? Well, I guess to take their dogs or something. If they're seeing eye dogs.
There's another mile marker. 20.28
I'm coming up to where the road turns left turns left
and I see the highway. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a truck there again?.
Or if it was raining and I needed help with my poncho.
10:26pm I just took a picture of where the road turns left and I could just jump over the rail to get on the highway.
Oh yeah, in my story I always tell people that Weott is six miles from here. Actually, it's only two. I took a picture of the sign. Alright, I'm limping across the highway.
That's cool. I can limp two more miles today. This highway sucks. There's barely any room to walk.
10:41pm I had stopped under a highway to rest and now I'm getting up. I got two miles to Weott. I was thinking about eating my Power Bar, but thought against it. I much rather eat it with some water, which I should get in Weott. Two more miles. About an hour.
The highway sucks right here because there is no shoulder. There's like maybe a five foot edge on the Northbound side and absolutely no room on the Southbound side.
Ha, and you people think I'm not working.
11:03am I am stopping at marker 34.33 to rest. Man, my leg hurts so much. I'm about to cry.
11:11am I'm up walking some more.
11:15am 34.18
11:21am Passing the sign that says Exit 661 Weott Next Exit CDF Firestation. CDF, whatever that is. California Department of Fire, I'm guessing?
11:30am Now entering the town of Weott. I think where that van picked me up, I was six miles away from Redcrest.
Ugh, this is taking me forever. This limping.
11:34am Passing 33.37
11:39am I walked down the ramp to Weott and I saw a big 76 sign. I thought it was some gas station but it turns out to be some shop. I asked Cliff, the guy there, how far a gas station was because I had no water. He tells me it's about ¼ mile away. Just then, he remembers something and pulls out a new bottle of Dasani drinking water and gives it to me. Thank you so much Cliff.
11:51am I called Kati at a payphone here. I ended up using a whole dollar. When I first had tried, I let it ring like four times, heard a beep and thought it was the answering machine. I hung up real quick so I wouldn't lose the fifty cents, but I didn't do it fast enough. The second time Kati picked up after the second ring. I told her all about my episode and how I had a hurt leg. She was all, "Weott? That's not far at all." I'm going to sit down, smoke a cigarette and eat my Power Bar. I'm going to limp back up to the highway and stick my thumb out.
12:04pm I'm leaving. I'm going to walk up to the highway and sit there with my thumb out. If I don't get a ride in a couple hours I'm going to walk down to that gas station a ¼ mile away. I'll buy something to eat. I got ten dollars. I ate that Power Bar and it was only 240 calories.
12:08pm Dude, I hadn't even walked off the entrance ramp and this car pulled over and backed up a little!
12:10pm Caleb, the guy I talked to yesterday in Scotia just picked me up. I asked him, "What made you recognize me? The rainbow beanie or the walking stick?" He told me neither. He said he was kind of looking for me, because I told him I would be walking South today. Dude, that is so awesome! He found me. Caleb's email is: kalerjk@hotmail.com.
Caleb told me he was headed towards Tahoe, where lake Tahoe is, close to Reno, Nevada. I contemplated going all the way there with him, but I remembered that it's illegal to hitchhike in Nevada. Caleb recommended I get off in Willets. I'm not going to Tahoe with him. It'll be cold there. Probably snowing. I'm going to see what happens in Willets. I was told by Kate never to stop in Willits. That it was a shady place. Caleb said Willits was cool, so I'm trusting him.
Caleb just dropped me off in Willits.
This bus just pulled off and I asked the driver how far South I could get on public transit and he said all the way to Ukiah for $2.25. That might be an option.
2:11pm I'm walking down Willits. People told me this was a shitty place but I just ran into some brother who offered to smoke me out!
2:21pm I was just randomly walking down the sidewalk in Willits and this old dude crosses the street and comes asks me if I want to smoke a bowl. We came over here behind these houses and hit his pipe. In a backyard nearby I saw these three dudes smoking weed too. After that dude left I decided I'd go talk to these kids. I walked up and told them, "I've been looking for the kids in this town." One of them said, "Yeah, they're in school." When I told them, "Let me tell you about my mission," this dude turned around and laughed. Ahh, I cut it short. I asked them for email addresses and they said no. They're loss.
Whoa, that's so cool. I got smoked out in Willits right when I got here.
I just saw a wiffle ball on the ground. That reminds me of a song. I did it like this. I did it like that. I did it with a wiffle ball bat. So, I'm on the run, the cops got my gun. And right about now I'm going to have some fun.
Hehe, that's old Beastie Boys.
I just passed by this Natural Foods place. There was a big bulletin board there, so I got one of my business cards with my name and email address on it and pinned it up there. Let's see if anybody emails me.
Oh yeah, that Caleb guy took a liking to that Law Enforcement knife I had found. I ended up giving it to him. When I pulled it out he said, "Man, I wish I had something to trade for that." I thought about it for a minute and handed it to him. I said, "Man, you're giving me a ride."
2:42pm Badass, I met some hippies. This couple was standing at an intersection holding a sign that said they were hungry hippies. They told me there was a church here that fed at 5:30pm. They told me how to get to it. They told me it was easy to hitchhike out of here. That someone would pick me up. Oh yeah, the girl's name is Sarah. Her email address is: exisinstance@yahoo.com.
Barry, some dude who picked me up the other day from Arcata and took me to Eureka. His email is raskolnikov555@yahoo.com.
2:53pm I was walking down Willits trying to hitchhike out of town and Brandon was cool enough to give me the rest of his cigarette. I appreciate it, brother. That's very generous of you.
3:04pm Man, I just had a kickass presentation with that guy who gave me a cigarette. I told him what I was doing and he got all excited and said, "Somebody's gotta do it!" He was all about it. When I had asked him what he thought would happen if all the world leaders got together and smoked some weed, he said, "Very great things, man."
3:05pm I just groundscored a magnifying glass without a handle. It's my new pocket pal and I can start a fire with it.
Okay, I just tried my gasoline-for-the-stomach line at Old Mission Pizza and it didn't work. I'm going to keep walking towards this light down here.
Okay, I'm standing out here with my thumb out.
3:29pm Dude, someone already stopped!
3:30pm Branch was nice enough to pick me up in Willits. Branch recognized me from Arcata. He stayed at the barn once.
3:47pm Brian aka Hermes gave me a hit out of his glass one-hitter/chillum. He made it himself last night. I commented on how badass it was and mentioned how I just recently lost my one-hitter and my water bottle. I pull out my utility knife out of my pocket and ask him if he would possibly consider trading for it. He tells me, "Man, I can't have a knife. You can just have it." And, he gave me two really fat buds! What an awesome kick-down.
We were way far from where we were. We pulled over and Branch said he had to do something nearby, but I couldn't go for some reason. They told me they would just drop me off and they would be back in forty minutes and pick me up off the highway. I told them I would just wait the forty minutes because my leg hurt.
3:52pm Right when I got dropped off these people pulled up in a white car. It was that guy from that one badass presentation I had in Willits. From the guy who had given me the rest of his cigarette. That synchronicity is awesome. That I run into random people I just talked to earlier today in a random spot. I've like ridden in a car and shit. It's almost weird. I am having a great day. I got forty minutes to wait for Branch now. I hope he comes back.
Oh yeah, that guy who just pulled up in the white car, his wife handed me a weed roach. I smiled and showed her the big buds I just got hooked up with. I told her to enjoy that and thanks anyway. I don't want what I don't need.
Man, that was awesome how soon after I lost my pipe, I got a new one. I was so bummed out that I didn't have a smoking device and this one falls in my lap.
Praise Love.
4:07pm I'm walking down the highway now. I figured I might as well walk . . . or limp. I'm limping. I might as well. Hopefully Branch will surprise me and make good on his word.
Oh yeah, that Branch dude I knew from the barn! That's so rad how I'm known in Humboldt. I'm famous, hehe.
4:13pm Ukiah, 5 miles. Santa Rosa, 63. San Francisco, 114. Getting closer.
4:25pm I am standing here with my thumb out and I have this big giant grin on my face, just to kill time. In like ten minutes it will have been forty minutes and that dude Branch should drive by.
I am quite proud of myself today. I have been pretty mobile despite this agonizing pain in my leg. I pulled a muscle or something. In my sleep I guess because it didn't hurt the night before.
Pain can't stop me. It can just slow me down.
4:45pm That guy Branch is late.
4:54pm The sun is about to go down. It's getting a little chilly. I'm going to bulk up.
5:06pm Branch still hasn't come back. I'm standing here with my thumb out.
5:11pm I've given up on Branch. I'm going to start limping to Ukiah. 5 miles.
I forgot to mention that I have no water. I'm hungry and I have no food either. The last thing I ate was a donut.
5:25pm Passing 29.39
5:31pm Passing 29.10
5:42pm Officer Smith is being nice enough to pick me up and give me a courtesy ride to a gas station.
5:47pm That was so awesome! A cop picked me up and brought me to Ukiah! I was starting to freak. I wasn't sure what to do. I was just limping along and a cop pulled over. I immediately pulled out my wallet and asked him if he wanted my ID. He said, "Yeah, let me glance at it real quick." I don't think he would have asked me for it if I hadn't volunteered it. I opened up my wallet and he didn't even ask me take it out. He shined his flashlight on it. He noticed I had a Texas ID. He didn't even run my record. He was cool as shit and asked me where I was heading. I told him back home to Texas and he smiled. He told me, "You can't be out walking on the road." I asked him, "Can you give me a courtesy ride to a gas station or somewhere?" He said, "Yeah, that I can do." So I threw my bags and walking stick in his trunk. He asked me if I had any weapons on me and I told him I had my knife. I pulled it out to show him and he told me to just return it to my pocket. I got in the back seat and he hooked me up. Courtesy ride from the cop! Now I'm in Ukiah.
5:55pm I ran into Sean Wolf. He rode up to me on a bicycle and initiated conversation. I told him I was on a mission and he gave me a dollar without me asking. Then he told me about some PFS thing. Progressive Fighting Systems.
Sean: "It's the world's largest martial arts. Where Bruce Lee left off thirty years ago when he wrote Tao Jeet Kune Do(I'm guessing on the spelling). Someone brought Brazilian Jujitsu into it. The rest is just updated because every fight is standing up like a street fighter and not all kung-fu all down low and stuff. Basically anything goes as in a street fight. Biting and eye gouging. Anything tactical. I want to build a webpage myself."
6:02pm I'm going to go to McDonald's and use this dollar Sean gave me.
6:14pm Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. When I was in the car with the cop I decided to tell him my scripts about my mission. I didn't leave out the stuff about marijuana either. Actually, I told him the marijuana part first. He didn't disagree with me either. Hehe, I had marijuana in my pocket and I probably have a warrant in Humboldt.
Haha, I'm a long-distance limper.
That guy earlier was a really cool cop. I like cops like him.
6:37pm A city bus pulled over. I asked the driver how far South I could get on the bus.
6:40pm Jim was nice enough to give me a courtesy ride on the bus.
7:18pm The nice bus driver Jim just let me off. I told him about my mission on the ride and he somewhat disagreed. He said, "Oh no, marijuana leads to other drug use." I planted my seed. I was considering not, because I'm kind of tired of talking today. I'm going to walk over to the highway and try to hitchhike some more. Oh yeah, Jim said there was a truckstop, but it was like ½ a mile away from where he picked me up to begin with. He had taken me to the South end of town. He wasn't going back up there either.
So I'm on the South end of town. 65 miles to Santa Rosa.
7:25pm I'm out here standing on Southbound 101. I'm standing underneath this big light. Let's see how long it takes me to get a ride.
7:45pm Damnit! I have just realized that I do not have my CD-spool in my bag. That spool has all my music and my files. Holy shit. I'm going back to Arcata. God damnit. Hey, I can go to The Endeavor and talk to Rosendo about a bus ticket all the way to San Antonio. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Oh yeah, I'm going to cross the highway and try hitchhiking North now.
8:49pm This cop just pulled a car over close by. While he's writing the person a ticket I'm going to walk up to him and hit him up for a courtesy ride, hehe.
8:55pm That cop was a dickhead. I walked up and asked him, "I don't suppose I could get a courtesy ride to a gas station? I'm almost out of water," and I showed him my empty water bottle. He asked me, "What are you doing out here?" I told him I was trying to get back North. He said, "You're hitchhiking, right? You know you're not supposed to be out here, right?" He kept looking at me waiting for me to answer his question. Finally I told him, "What do you want me to do?" He told me to get off the highway. He said if he saw me again I was going to jail. So, I'm going to walk into town. Ukiah.
I got the biggest balls of them all!
Man, I all got weed in my pocket, a pipe and a possible warrant. I'm dumb, hehe. Screw it, man. The other cop was cool. I thought maybe this one would be cool too. You know what? I don't care if the cop runs my record. If I go to jail they'll take me back to Humboldt, which is where I want to go.
9:22pm I was walking into town again, not knowing where I was going to end up tonight. I ran into Lynard. He just got out of a bar and offered to smoke me out.
Okay, I'm walking North on South State Street. I've been walking on this street for a while now.
9:42pm Now passing the City of Ukiah Regional Airport. Right across the street from Pete's Powerwash.
9:49pm There's a 24 hour donut shop right here!
10:17pm I just left the donut shop. The donuts were expensive. They were ninety cents each and I got two. I'm not going to ask for free food until I run out of money. I stuffed myself. I broke the ten dollar bill.
10:35pm I was walking down the street and I spot these two hip-looking kids, Bobby and Jesse. I asked them if the truckstop was that way and they said it was, a good distance. I asked them if they wanted to smoke a bowl and they said sure. They're hooking me up with a ride to the truckstop. Cool.
11:08pm I'm at the truckstop. That's awesome.
11:11pm Tom gave me a cigarette over at the truckstop. I appreciate it, brother.
12:00pm I tried telling the cashier at the truckstop my ideas and shit. She wouldn't let me finish and I asked her if they would run me off for asking truckers for rides. She said yes. Screw this truckstop. I need to find a place to crash. It's getting late. I need some sleep.
I walked down North State Street and I'm turning right on Empire Drive.
12:35pm I am lying down underneath a bush at these apartments. I'm pretty concealed. I need some sleep.
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