Tale of the tape Part 7

Part 7: Driving through the Safeway parking lot, Jan Gee said, "I just remembered, I have something going on tonight, so I'm gonna have to let you out." I asked, "Are you saying I won't be camping where you said I could camp?" He replied, "Yes. Is this a good spot for you to get out?" I asked, "Can I at least finish my donut first?" He said no, then he parked, quickly removed my backpack from the truck bed, and set it in the parking spot beside the truck. Puzzled by his strange behavior, I asked, "Did I say something that pissed you off?" Then he about went nuts, saying, "I gave you a ride and offered you a place to sleep, and you just sit there eating a donut, not sharing anything with me. You're selfish and [I don't want anything to do with you]." I believe my reaction went a little like this: "You're a fucking freak, man." He kept going nuts, and the words 'Fuck you' flew in both
directions at least a couple times. By then I just wanted him to get the fuck away from me and leave.

Tale of the tape Part 6

Part 6: As I neared Healdsburg yesterday afternoon, a guy in an old Isuzu P'up pulled off in a parking lot and offered me a ride. His name is Jan Gee ("yon-jee") and he was very hippie-like, with a Charlie Manson kinda vibe to boot. (No premature judgments, now.) All I wanted was a ride to a grocery store because I was out of food and because I didn't plan to wait by an on-ramp until morning, but he said he had a farm where I could camp out. He then took me to Safeway, where he also needed to buy a few things. I gathered a little stash of food to get me through the next couple days, but when I was about to grab some apples, he told me not to buy them because there are dozens of apple trees on the farm. Cool enough. Having eaten only an apple and a Pay Day all day, I also bought a couple custard-filled donuts to eat as an immediate snack. When we got back in his truck, I started eating
one of my donuts. Two-thirds of the way through my donut, Jan Gee remembered something...

Tale of the tape Part 5

Part 5: This morning at 9:30 I was awake with my feet extended out the front of my tent door when a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy came calling. Officer Hernandez went through the routine, asking me why I was there and whatnot. My answer: "I walked 28 miles yesterday, carrying 55 or 60 pounds on my back." He was impressed. We ended up chatting for at least 15 minutes. When I asked if I needed to pack it up, he told me I could stick around. Before he left he said, "If you mention me [on the blog], don't tell 'em it went like this. Tell 'em I came up and kicked your tent in. We have a reputation to look out for." I responded, "I'd have to be in Florida for that to happen." He chuckled and took off. Officer Hernandez was really cool; I enjoyed talking to him. I rested for a while and took my time packing up before hitting the road again. When I started walking, I wasn't in a lot of pain,
but something made me feel sluggish; probably dehydration. In the afternoon, a guy gave me a ride...

Tale of the tape Part 4

Part 4: So here's a picture of me after eating the berries. (You should've seen my hand at this point.) After my snack, wine country became cow country for a while before being replaced by desolate mountain terrain and eventually more vineyards. (Being totally alone in the mountains at night is kind of eerie.) As you already know, I called it quits after 28 miles, choosing not to put forth the extra effort it would take to go 30. Am I disappointed? A little bit, but I think I did the right thing. The main reason I stopped was because I found a great campsite. With vineyards on both sides of the road, there was no guarantee I would find another good spot at Mile 30. Other reasons I'm not disappointed: 1) I carried the backpack the whole time I picked berries; that's pretty equivalent to walking 2 miles, and it's an hour of walking time I lost. 2) I went up and over two small mountains
during my 28-mile hike. 3) With a full load of food and water, my gear was probably nearly 60 lbs...