From my logs:
Day 20: woke up under a tree on a side street where I had crashed the night before. Ran down the highway a little way and then cut down to the beach. Met a man with his dog there, he didn't know how to get up from the beach on the other end. I found a way to climb out on what looked like a trail built into rock. It led to the top of a waterfall. More highway miles, and then a beautiful rainbow over the ocean. One more highway section and then two residential loops with huge houses on the coast, I wondered who lived in them. Made it to Carmel and refueled at a gas station I remembered from a previous trip. Just after I left, met the guys hiking the CCT south, funny we should meet at the halfway point. Ran through a long loop at a nature park, cool views of cliffs, seals, trees.
Wanting to stay in a hotel I booked a room. I didn't realize with all the little curves it would end up being a marathon away... I started jogging faster to make the 4am cutoff for check in. Stopped by another hotel on the way, to see if I could buy food, a guest standing nearby handed me his cookies. The hotel was giving them out for free. The woman at the desk offered me a free coffee and I took it, filled up my bottle with lemon water and went on my way. Running down a bike path I was moving well until about 1.5 miles from the hotel. I was supposed to cut to the beach, run a stretch, the woman had said the hotel was right near the beach. I went thru a lonnnnng corridor flanked with huge sand dunes on either side to get from the bike path to the ocean. After half a mile running down the beach my phone died. Worried I would miss the hotel I climbed up one of the dunes, holding onto roots to help myself up. It led to a huge crater surrounded by even bigger dunes! Could not see anything,dunes blocked my view. Luckily was able to climb down again, it would have been a great place to camp up there, protected from the wind. But I had my reservation. Distraught I asked for help finding my way in this alien landscape. It was foggy and dark but I could make out a wire demarcating a protected area. Holding the wire I followed it, thinking at least itwas a signof civilization, until I saw another wire on the other side, a path! I followed the path, which led over a few dunes, and lo it ended at a parking lot, what I had hoped. Off in the distance I saw a hotel, luckily it turned out to be mine, and I made it with 45 minutes to spare.
Also from my logs for today:
And the man with the purple jacket. To avoid walking through a wedding party on the beach I climbed up some rocks to get to a landing. There was a middle aged man sitting on a bench there and I apologized for disturbing him, said I was just trying to avoid the wedding. He said it was beautiful, that it made him wish he was getting married. I had been thinking exactly the same thing. We had a moment. He said he had a front row seat, he had been watching it. When he said he liked my colorful cloths I told him about my run. He seemed to well up with tears. He was so happy for me. "Will you be on the news?" he asked. "This is something you will remember your whole life. You have my complete support." He was so kind, I wish I had gotten his full name. He had the most interesting first name, that started with an "A" just like the girl who stopped on the highway.
I saw this rainbow and thought, "maybe my trials are over?"
Route notes:
Trail closed for construction around Garrapata State Park
Took alternate route instead of beach because no trespassing sign and construction vehicles
Original Facebook posts:
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