I met a woman walking her dog and said hello, explaining my quest, she was blown away! She said she lived in one of the houses on the beach. I didn't get her name, she must have been some kind of superstar, or married to one. She pointed me to some restaurants down the way where I could charge my phone. She said that she would let me charge at her house except that her husband was just getting up (it was around six am). He came out to wave at her. She took down my name so that she could follow my journey. Meeting her boosted my spirits.
Continuing down the beach I overheard a couple who appeared to be practicing lines for a movie. A lot of the beach was in front of private property, but I had heard, according to California law, all beaches are public up to the high tide line, if you're just passing through. I felt privileged to be able to walk here, seeing the same ocean views that celebrities and the super wealthy saw from their houses just to my right. I marveled at the beauty of the beach. This was by far my favorite place on the trek so far. And after covering the entire coast, I would still say the segment just after Topanga State Beach, and Malibu, are my favorite.
I said hello to a young man walking his dog, he looked familiar, maybe another movie star. I was in awe of the architecture of some of the houses, huge columns of marble. These houses were artistic masterpieces.
The restaurant the woman had mentioned appeared to be too far out of the way, so I stopped at a gas station near the route. Luckily they let me charge my phone at a hidden outlet near the fountain (I wonder how many gas stations in the US have fountains!). I bought extra batteries for my SPOT, and some breakfast -- coffee and vegan bars, and ate while my phone charged. There was another cafe on the map, a few miles ahead, I just needed to make it there, and then planned for a longer charging session.
Things definitely would have been easier if I wasn't so tied to having a charged phone. If I could have spent every night in a hotel and charged while I slept that would have been ideal.
After a few miles of pristine beach I arrived at the cafe, which was more a restaurant, a happening place with a full parking lot. The hostess directed me to sit at the bar to order my smoothie. A man sitting alone at the bar, eating his breakfast made a joke about ordering me a vodka drink. I laughed. Someone asked me if I lived there, I said no, and asked him if he lived there, also no. I asked the vodka man if he lived in Malibu -- indeed he did! He said his house overlooked the beach and was just around the corner. He would drive his golf cart to get from his house to the restaurant. He offered to let me charge my phone with his quick-charge external battery, which I understood was in his vehicle. While he ate his breakfast I found an outlet by the door and charged, waiting for him. Finished with his breakfast he said, "let's do this!" I thought it kind of odd that charging my phone at his car merited such a response. We walked up a flight of stairs to get to his golf cart, but it turned out his charger was at home... he offered to give me a ride to his house and let me charge my phone there, but I told him I wasn't allowed to get in any vehicles. I thanked him and returned to the restaurant to continue charging. It was perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the inside of one of those beachfront Malibu houses but I didn't want to make a detour for it, and didn't feel entirely comfortable with the situation either.
I walked on. A few miles later, a young, arguing couple asked me for directions. I had arrived at a public beach. I told them what I knew. A man up ahead turned around to correct me, and then explained more about the history of the beach in front of us. He told me about the movie stars who lived there -- I told him about my cafe experience. It turned out that he lived in Beverly Hills, he was in the hotel business. He said that he came to those beaches almost every weekend, but that this was the first time he had stopped to talk to someone. He was a kind man. I bid him farewell and ran on.
I ran on, coming to the end of the beach I remember encountering a wall or other structure that prevented my passage. The women who did the trail last year went up to the highway at this juncture too. I made my way up, and found a Whole Foods like grocery store and Starbucks nearby. I loved that supermarket. They had so many vegan options! I got locally made vegan wraps and some fresh produce and vegan chocolate cupcakes filled with white frosting, and moon pies, made by Karma Baker, a name I had heard often on the Rich Roll Podcast. I was excited to finally try their treats. They were delicious, I would say my favorite sweets of the entire trip. I saved some for the road ahead.
Continuing down the shore, cupcakes secured in a large brown grocery bag, I was once again walking in front of residences. The scenery continued to stun me. The trail meandered through a couple of small public beaches, pockets of people on the otherwise deserted shoreline. At one such beach the trail went into the water and through a cave. Luckily the tide was low enough, I waded through. It wasn't as easy as walking on the shore, but the views made up for the trouble. I saw the rainbow sky created by the setting sun through an arch in the cave and was in love with the CCT. What a magical trail. What a diverse trail!
On the other side, large rocks jutted out from the sea, and I spotted a photo shoot. A beautiful model wearing a bikini was posing against the ocean sunset backdrop. It was breathtaking and crowds gathered to watch.
Heading down the beach, now alone again, the sound of the surf increased. The beach disappeared and I found myself climbing over rocks to get around a point. High above me there appeared to be a dinner party and I hoped that I wasn't disturbing the guests, I wondered who they might be. I was determined not to fall and get hurt, I didn't want to interrupt their party.
Not much farther down the beach I came upon a beautiful woman dressed in a long white flowing gown, doing yoga. It looked like something out of a movie and I thought perhaps she was rehearsing. A huge Saint Bernard greeted me. The surf was so loud I didn't know if I could talk over it. I motioned to her that I wanted to cross what was presumably her property. "What?!" she yelled, breaking the serenity of the moment. I asked if it was okay if I continued on. "The tide is going out, you should be fine," she said. I thanked her and went on my way.
The beach continued to present rocky patches that I had to climb over and by now the sun had set completely. It was dark and I had only brought a small handheld flashlight that occupied one of my hands. It was scary, climbing over slippery rocks in the dark, without a good light, having only one free hand, while the threatening waves lapped close by. I had to run through water, my feet had gotten soaked, but I had enough adrenaline to keep me going. I remember getting to one section of that beach and finding all the rocks covered with live turbans. At first I thought, "this must be a sign that everything will be okay!" And immediately I slipped and fell. Earlier I couldn't stop singing Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place on Earth" to myself, but now I wondered if this was hell. The ocean's immense power incited thoughts of God, but also great fear, it could be deadly.
Finally, I came to a way off the beach. I headed up what I thought was the correct (according to the trail) way back to the road. After a long staircase I headed up a winding driveway, where a picnic table awaited me. I sat down, finally I could rest away from the treacherous ocean, and ate the last of the decedent cupcakes, which had been somewhat dismantled by my battle with the rocks and tide. I continued up a quarter mile or so, and checked the map again. ... I had made a mistake, there was more beach to go! I had come up too soon! I had no choice but to walk back down, head north on the beach, and look for the correct path up, which is what I did.
The trail turned from beach to Highway 1, back to beach, then back to highway. The road closely paralleled the beach here though, and I did my best to follow the trail. I made my way up the coast uneventfully as night fell, and stopped to sleep at Point Mugu State Park, which had a designated camping area. I arrived too late to check in at the kiosk but found an open campsite next to other campers, and gratefully set up my bivy.
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