It's All Mental And The Last Familiar Face For A While

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - Day 6

Distance Traveled - 38 miles

Left Venice today. Sleeping really did the trick as far as the fever was concerned. Got a decent amount of sleep, said a tearful goodbye to Andrea before she went to work. I didn't roll out of Venice until just after 1. I'm the king of late starts. I wasn't really 100%, though. I was still a bit tired, but I knew I had to keep moving.

I also knew that I wasn't going too far today, only to just north of Malibu. It's about 30 miles to Leo Carillo, where I planned on camping. First, though, I had to stop by the local bike shop to pick up a part for my bike. One of the brackets that supports the rack at the frame of the bike broke. So I went to Santa Monica to Helen's Cycles. I know there are plenty of other shops in Venice and Santa Monica, but the shop I used to work for was part of the Helen's company, so I knew they would help me out there.

So on to camping at Leo Carillo. Going through Malibu was a bit tough. I love Malibu, but I had never biked it before. There is a decent shoulder on the 1, but the cars go really fast. Sometimes I had to veer into the lane due to lack of shoulder. Then there are a few hills. Getting up to Pepperdine, there was one tough mother. I stopped half way up because I was tired. I stopped and thought about what I was doing for a minute. My legs were really tired, but when I thought about it, I knew I could do it. I knew I had it in me to get up this hill and to continue on for plenty more miles. I hopped back on the cycle and continued with zest. After about 2 minutes, however, I remembered that my legs were really tired. I had to slow down. Damn mind, always reminding me when it's hard. I made it up the hill, down a level stretch, then coasted liberally down a big hill. At the bottom of the hill I realized that I wasn't wearing my gloves. I decided to put them on. Reached in my back pocket, Son of a Bitch! There's only one glove there. I took them off at least 3 to 5 miles ago when I stopped for some pizza. I knew I had to go back to find it. While they're not essential to this journey, they are handy for keeping my hands from getting sore. So I started to retrace my path, going the wrong way down the highway. I was just waiting to get pulled over. And oh yeah, I just sailed down this sweet hill, now I gotta muscle my way up it. Motherfucker! So up I went, past Pepperdine. When I got to the top of the hill I climbed earlier, I knew exaclty where the glove would be. It was half way up the hill, right where I stopped to ponder my strength earlier.

After picking up the glove, I decided I really wanted to listen to music. I pulled out the old iPod and picked a song - "Ladies and Gentlemen, We're Floating in Space" by Spiritualized. Once I put that on, I realized that I needed to pause for a moment again at this spot. So I sat down to listen to the song and decided I would leave when it was done. Whilst I sat, a pickup truck started pulling off to the shoulder. I didn't think much of it, but as it got closer, I saw a familiar face in the driver seat. Fancy that, it was Deepak, a guy I met through my old roommate Todd, who just happens to be the guy who moved into my room when I left. What a crazy coincidence. He must have been going the other way and saw me, made a U-turn to make sure I was alright. It sure was refreshing. That's probably the last familiar face I will see for a little while.

Made it to Leo Carillo and saw that the campground was full. That's not really true. It was almost 6, and there were still plenty of sites open, but I saw that it was $25 to camp there. Fuck that! I'm not gonna pay to camp. So I explored the area around the camp ground for some sheltered area with ideal trees for hammocking. It didn't look good. Malibu is mostly canyons inland of the coast. So I kept on up the road hoping I would find some tree filled areas a little further. I knew I needed to find something soon. I didn't want to try to be setting up camp in the dark.

About 3 or 4 miles up the PCH, here is what I found. A little road that didn't seem to go anywhere promising, but right at the intersection with PCH there was a Jewish day camp, or maybe a few of them, judging by the sign. It was all gated off, marked private property. Right in front of it, however, right off the highway, just behind the sign labeling the camps, there was a patch of trees that looked ideal. So I staked out the area for a bit to see what the deal was. A lady in a van pulled out of the camp (the exit was right by this little campground), and she sat there for a little bit. She was on the phone. I thought maybe she was calling someone regarding me. I decided to wait a while before actually setting up camp. I didn't want to get kicked out after all that work. Nothing seemed to come of it and I decided, fuck it, this is where I'm gonna lay my head.

I set up my hammock, which was pretty easy. It took a little work to get it the right height for easy entry, but not a problem. Then I began to get ready to cook my dinner on my sweet little backpacker stove. I picked up some Mexican style rice at a local market in Malibu. Jenny and I had stopped at this place plenty of times in our camping adventures at Leo Carillo. After pulling out the stove and tank, I started looking for the camping utensils. Those were one of the few things I didn't know where I had packed them because I hadn't the need for them prior. I searched every bag twice. No sign. What the fuck? I need those. Well, the only option was to go next door to Neptune's Net, the local seafood restaurant and motorcycle hang out. Luckily they had a cart of plastic silverware. Score. Picked up two each of forks and spoons and headed back to camp. Cooked up my food nicely and had a gourmet meal of Farmhouse brand Mexican style rice. It wasn't too bad, very similar to Rice a Roni.

After that, it was dark and everyone seemed to be gone for the night. I decided it was safe to venture from camp for a bit. I went across the street, which happened to be a cliff overlooking the ocean. So I sat there, enjoyed a delicious kiwi and some broccoli and admired the moon sailing on the ocean. It was perfect. I've got pictures to prove it. So now it's time to try out sleeping in this hammock. It's not too cold right now, just after 10:30. I'm sure that will change. I'm wearing long johns on the bottom with my single pair of pants. On top I've got a thermal long-sleeve top and a hoodie on and some wool socks down below. I feel good with just having a sleeping bag.

Pleasant dreams,

Otis



















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Comments

i feel so special

Jenny

I got a mention in your journal. I miss Leo Carillo. I was supposed to go camping this weekend but am no longer. I am really happy to see that you have made it so far. Here comes the beginning of the tough part good luck and keep updating us. Keep being safe.


Yo Otis

Ed Allen

Sounds like quite an adventure you've undertaken. Take care. I'll be following your progress with interest...can't wait to read the next installment.

Later...