I woke with the sun and ran toward Avila Beach.
The closest coffee shops on the map weren't open yet, so I opted for one a little bit further out of the way. It was expensive, I had a latte and oatmeal, but I was able to charge my phone and plan the day ahead. Once the rest of the town had woken up I got a wrap and some fruit, and bought a pair of flip flops, my left arch was still bothering me.
The trail followed a bike path through a golf course with a cool covered bridge.
The end of the trail was a winery, complete with a grape-covered fence. I figured they wouldn't mind if I took a bunch for the road. They were delicious!
I ran on, past a tree that looked like it had cherries, but I didn't want to test my luck. Up ahead was a Whole Foods, my haven! I was so happy when I arrived. Delicious vegan food (albeit expensive)! And a place that reminded me of home in southern California. I picked up some astaxanthin -- good for preventing sunburn, and also supposed to combat the pre-cancer condition that I had found out a few months before that I had, and some packets of turmeric and tart cherry powder. I wanted to get a strong smelling essential oil to ward off the ants and other bugs, and cover up my increasingly smelly feet, but I couldn't bring myself to carry a glass bottle. An older woman with dyed hair handing out free samples struck up a conversation, I told her about my trek. She called it a pilgrimage, I was beginning to see it that way myself, and said "God Bless."
I spent a couple of hours there charging my phone and trying to figure out how to get through the road closures due to mud slides in Big Sur that everyone kept warning me about. I talked to police who told me blankly not to use a closed road, and suggested I get a helicopter or a 100+ mile Uber to get around the slides. The idea of hiking in general seemed foreign to the person on the other end. Reading an article online about the closures and its impact on the local economy I had an idea -- who would be most motivated to get people through? the hotels! I called the Ragged Point Inn, which was close to the closure. The attendant there, Chris, was full of energy, enthusiasm, and positive energy, he said that bikers had been getting through the closed road and that there were also trails through the mountains that I could use to get around it. He looked at his map on the other end and gave me the names of the trails I would need to use. He told me it was 100% possible and I shouldn't let this interfere with my run. Wonderful news! I could continue on without worrying that my run would have to take a major detour.
I headed out again, vegan doughnut in hand, making one last stop for a coffee at the gas station. I remember listening to a Rich Roll Podcast episode during this segment that resonated with me, he interviewed author and speaker Jon Gordon. The title of the podcast was, "What's Your North Star? Jon Gordon on the primacy of vision and why positivity is paramount." I first heard the idea of following your inner "north star" via author Martha Beck. Her book, Finding Your Own North Star is still one of my favorite books. She talks of the miracles that can occur when we listen to our inner selves. This trek and its magic felt like I was following my inner north star, for the first time in a long time. For the last year plus I had been dealing with a series of injuries, brought on by a bad massage therapy experience. Only a couple of weeks before I began the trek I had tried running with the group in my hometown in Iowa and was unable to do so without severe pain. Suddenly, on this trip, I was able to run nearly 200 miles a week with no pain at all. This must be the path that my inner self truly wanted to take.
I ran on through the night, and it began to rain, slightly. I stayed warm by running faster -- this seemed to be the case with my running every night, as the temperatures cooled my pace increased. I love my night running, there are so many fewer cars on the road, and I can see their headlights approaching far off in the distance. I also love the calm and quiet of the night, although I don't so much love the fatigue that comes with pushing your body outside its natural circadian rhythm.
After ten or so miles, I arrived at my planned stop, the city of Los Osos. I was greeted by multiple bear statues. I had hoped to stop at the Starbucks in town but they had already closed. Instead I opted for the Ralph's grocery store, a good thing, because I found a lightweight rain poncho that I carried with me the rest of the trip. One of the checkout girls was memorized by my trip, she asked if I was drinking my own urine.
The official trail included a boat trip across Moro Bay, but it was a Sunday and I was unable to hire a boat. I tried calling the number in the guidebook, but got no answer. Adding outside transportation seemed antithetical to a fastest known time on foot anyway. I took the alternate route on foot, which was the same route the women who hiked the trail last year took.
Ten or so miles later I was in Moro Bay, and the environment finally seemed to be changing. Huge trees loomed above me and swarms of mosquitos pounced when my jogging slowed.
I passed a campground, then ran through a town. A white truck appeared to be following me. It drove by once, then parked ahead of me and seemed to be waiting for me. When I turned down a side street in front of it, I saw it come driving past again. Scared, I told a resident I saw nearby about it, he gave me his number in case I ran into trouble. I ran on, looking for a safe place to stay for the night, but all of the hotels seemed to be booked. At one hotel the woman on duty gave me an apple and said I could sleep in the employee restroom if I wanted to. I didn't think I could sleep on a cement floor. She told me about a place to camp, under boat, or a replica of a boat, on the beach near the bay, but I also wanted to get in a few more miles, and the map said there was another camp ground only five or so miles ahead, so I pressed on.
I saw the impressive Morro Rock, a gigantic pyramid shaped rock jutting out from the ocean, just off the beach. I think I startled a few people running in my getup at night like I was. Someone said, "what was that?!" I ran on, down the beach. Finally, far off in the distance I could see lights that I thought must be the camp. I was moving forward but the lights never seemed to get any closer and the landscape never seemed to change. I started nodding off walking. I fought through it. After another fitful half hour or so I saw new lights to my right, and decided to go for them.
They turned out to be a restroom associated with the camp, and I asked a man standing outside the structure if he knew where the check-in was. He was waiting for his wife, who was in the restroom. When she came out he insisted that both of them walk me to the registration desk... we walked over, and the camp turned out to be full. Graciously, the man offered to let me stay with them. His primary language was Spanish and his English wasn't 100%, but we understood each other, and he was so kind to do this for me... He said that there was unfortunately no room in their tent but that if I had my own shelter I was welcome to camp with them. So I very very gratefully did. There was some confusion about where I should set up my bivy bag, there wasn't much room. Their party already had three large tents and a large picnic table. I tried to go in front of the trunk of one vehicle, but they hesitated because it wasn't their car. They offered me the space in front of their own tent, but I couldn't do that -- what if they had to get out in the middle of the night! I set up by the car and hoped that would be okay... they said it was, and I slept very soundly.
After writing everything up as I remembered it, I found my Day 15 recap:
"Day 15 recap: Hiked from Avila to Morro Strand Beach. Very hot day, did ten miles in the heat, found these grapes growing near a winery. Stopped at Whole Foods and enjoyed the airconditioning and plentiful vegan salad bar options. Decided I better investigate getting around the mud slide road closures coming up. Talked to highway patrol (they told me to get a 100 mile uber or helicopter...), Googled, looked at maps, and finally called a resort near the closure -- if anyone would be motivated to get people through that section it would be them! They were incredibly helpful, told me about a trail to get around one closure and about how locals have created their own trails to get around the second closure! Confident I should proceed I headed out again, ran through first rain of the trip, but it was warm. Made it to Los Osos, greeted by lots of bear statues, stopped at a grocery to get a rain poncho, more batteries for my SPOT, which seems to be running through a set a day... Met a cashier who was enthralled by my journey.
She told me where the outlets were so I could charge before going ahead. Ran eight more miles to Morro Bay. A white truck seemed to be following me there, it parked ahead and turned lights off waiting, then followed me down another street, when ahead of me, made a u-turn and drove past again. I stopped to talk to a guy on the street about it, he gave me his number in case I ran into trouble. Kept running, stopped in every hotel I saw to try to get a room but all were booked for the holiday. Woman at one hotel let me use the bathroom, gave me an apple, and offered to let me sleep in the bathroom. Having only put in about 22 miles I wanted to keep going. Arrived at Morro Strand beach campground around 3am. Met a couple there at the bathroom who insisted on walking me to registration. When they saw all sites were booked they offered to let me stay with them, so I did. Threw down my bivy bag next to their family's set of tents and was out immediately - I had been falling asleep walking before I met him. In the morning they made me coffee and toast!!! They were so nice."
No comments:
Post a Comment