Today, I didn’t know whether I wanted to stay in Reedsport for another night or hitch to Corvallis to start the C2C trail. Mo’o brought me a box of doughnuts home and within a few minutes, a girl named Indigo reached out to me. She was also an avid listener of Wisdom Dialogues (Hope Johnson) and invited me to her home, north of Seattle! In an instant, it was clear it was time to hitch out.
I got a ride halfway to Corvallis and then road walked around some farmlands until a local farmer picked me up and drove me straight to the trail.
So many people stopped to ask if I was hiking to the coast. Mooner was the first. I met him about .2 miles into my hike. He was a thru-hiker who had completed the AT last year! Shortly after, a cyclist rode beside me and talked to me for a good five minutes, giving me input about the trail. I didn’t know the trail was that popular. From what I heard, it had only become official about a year ago.
I walked several miles and started looking for a place to camp since it was getting dark. There weren’t many options for stealthing since most of today consisted of walking on sidewalks through neighborhoods.
I met a guy named Oliver who was working on his car in his shop, located directly on the trail. We got to talking and he showed me around his shop. He mentioned his house was close to the trail and so he offered me his home to stay in for the night!
He took me out for a super juicy burger at his local brewery. We ran into his friend James who nearly had drool hanging from his lip when he talked to me. It was sort of when a guy was obviously looking at my nipples and not even trying to hide it. He was doing the same thing with his eyes and I could tell he just wanted to kiss me. Later, Oliver goes, “James was really drunk.”
As we were eating, Oliver expressed to me how he had never left the town of Philomath—he had been there his whole life. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. He offered to drive me closer to the trail in the morning and I told him he was more than welcome to, but that I woke up no later than 4am. He said he wanted to wake up with me to drink coffee. He said he really didn’t mind at all and that, “Life’s an adventure!” It was sweet to see how the definition of an adventure was so vastly different from person to person.
He gifted me a blue jay feather and a turkey feather that he had tucked into the strap of his sun visor. I thought about my friend Aaron who had apparently passed on recently. When he and I had first met, I gifted him a turkey feather just like that one, which he had left in the same spot.
Oliver said I could sleep wherever I wanted and I asked if I could sleep in the back of his pickup truck. He couldn’t believe how excited I was to cowboy camp under the stars. He swept out pieces of wood chips and I set up my space for the night.
Before I went to bed, he asked if I wanted a tour of his garden and marijuana plants. I was soooo excited!! I loved being in the presence of weed which was ironic because I didn’t smoke. I just loved how lively they felt and the scent of their buds—brought me back to my trimming days in Oregon/Cali. He also showed me some sunflowers that he planted every year, just for the birds to visit.
I got a ride halfway to Corvallis and then road walked around some farmlands until a local farmer picked me up and drove me straight to the trail.
So many people stopped to ask if I was hiking to the coast. Mooner was the first. I met him about .2 miles into my hike. He was a thru-hiker who had completed the AT last year! Shortly after, a cyclist rode beside me and talked to me for a good five minutes, giving me input about the trail. I didn’t know the trail was that popular. From what I heard, it had only become official about a year ago.
I walked several miles and started looking for a place to camp since it was getting dark. There weren’t many options for stealthing since most of today consisted of walking on sidewalks through neighborhoods.
I met a guy named Oliver who was working on his car in his shop, located directly on the trail. We got to talking and he showed me around his shop. He mentioned his house was close to the trail and so he offered me his home to stay in for the night!
He took me out for a super juicy burger at his local brewery. We ran into his friend James who nearly had drool hanging from his lip when he talked to me. It was sort of when a guy was obviously looking at my nipples and not even trying to hide it. He was doing the same thing with his eyes and I could tell he just wanted to kiss me. Later, Oliver goes, “James was really drunk.”
As we were eating, Oliver expressed to me how he had never left the town of Philomath—he had been there his whole life. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. He offered to drive me closer to the trail in the morning and I told him he was more than welcome to, but that I woke up no later than 4am. He said he wanted to wake up with me to drink coffee. He said he really didn’t mind at all and that, “Life’s an adventure!” It was sweet to see how the definition of an adventure was so vastly different from person to person.
He gifted me a blue jay feather and a turkey feather that he had tucked into the strap of his sun visor. I thought about my friend Aaron who had apparently passed on recently. When he and I had first met, I gifted him a turkey feather just like that one, which he had left in the same spot.
Oliver said I could sleep wherever I wanted and I asked if I could sleep in the back of his pickup truck. He couldn’t believe how excited I was to cowboy camp under the stars. He swept out pieces of wood chips and I set up my space for the night.
Before I went to bed, he asked if I wanted a tour of his garden and marijuana plants. I was soooo excited!! I loved being in the presence of weed which was ironic because I didn’t smoke. I just loved how lively they felt and the scent of their buds—brought me back to my trimming days in Oregon/Cali. He also showed me some sunflowers that he planted every year, just for the birds to visit.
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