I awoke to children running around my bivy bag. "She's awake!" they yelled. It made me smile. The family, which actually included multiple families, gave me coffee and toast, grilled on a portable griddle. The nearest cafe was four and a half miles away, it was nice to have a hot breakfast before setting out in the cool morning air. In fact, I wrote that today was the first day I put on my pants. Somewhere along the way I had returned my REI tie-dye yoga pants and bought a pair of mid-weight tight black Patagonia pants. They served me very well throughout the trip. Today I wore them as I jogged down the beach.
Morro Rock, still in view.
I met a woman on the way to the cafe who told me how to escape a rip tide, funny I had just noticed a sign explaining how to do that right before I met her. She said, "you can't fight it, swimming directly against it will only tire you out, like a lot of things in life. You have to relax, and try to swim out of it parallel to the shore."
And after sitting down at a coffee shop this post from one of my favorite authors, Martha Beck, was at the top of my Facebook feed: "Have you ever felt your destiny unfolding, beloved? Have you
experienced the intensity of the hunt, the fixation of attention that only fate can explain? Have you ever told yourself your feelings were excessive, but known that something huge and pivotally important was carrying you along like a riptide? You can fight that current all you want; you know it will still have its way with you. Or you can try swimming along with it, and grow amazed by your own power— until you pause and realize that you aren’t moving but being moved. You’re not in control, not at all, and that’s what makes the feeling so exquisitely exciting."
experienced the intensity of the hunt, the fixation of attention that only fate can explain? Have you ever told yourself your feelings were excessive, but known that something huge and pivotally important was carrying you along like a riptide? You can fight that current all you want; you know it will still have its way with you. Or you can try swimming along with it, and grow amazed by your own power— until you pause and realize that you aren’t moving but being moved. You’re not in control, not at all, and that’s what makes the feeling so exquisitely exciting."
From my log:
Day 16: after the morning miles and coffee break did seven or so miles of trail along the coast, beautiful little trail through a yellow field with views of seals and dark green water. Had to stop to take care of a blister, used the safety pin that held my Our Lady of Mount Caramel pendant to lance it and then taped. Tried to sterilize with alcohol pad but it had dried up. Got a few feet down the trail and realized I'd lost my pendant, I said a prayer that the right person would find it. Encountered lots of tourists on the trail, saw a couple napping and thought that sounded like a good idea. Not sure if I slept, got back up after half an hour or so, wanting to get on the road so that I wouldn't run out of water on the 20 mile stretch without it. I took a caffeine pill. After seven or so miles the trail met highway 1 again. It was a long slog uphill and I wonder whether itwould have been easier carrying less water and moving faster. A couple pulled over to ask if I needed a ride, when I told them what I was doing they offered me a huge bag of watermelon, which I happily accepted, and said a prayer for my safety. With a little more energy I soldiered on. Finishing the highway segment I saw signs for the towns up ahead, Ragged Point, Gorda... and signs about the road closures due to mudslides, I looked forward to these segments, which would presumably have less traffic. I completed the day with a few miles through Cambria, the first part of which looked like a mountain town with rustic A frame houses. The second segment was a boardwalk kind of wooden trail on lifts that went on for miles along the coast. The waves were huge, maybe 30 feet high, and loud. I wished it wasn't night. The final bit through the city was back on highway 1 and I stopped for the night at the first hotel I saw. After a great night's sleep and breakfast I'm off again, 18 miles to Ragged Point Inn. Then will have to deal with the first road closure.
I have in my notes that around 9:35pm the tide was coming in close to the trail so I took a parallel road.
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