Merry Christmas !

1:54pm – 12/24/2024

I am leaving work, direction Point Reyes – a national seashore not far from the bay area. It had been raining for a few days now, but this afternoon, the sun is shinning. Before hitting the road, I stop for gas. I pay cash – saves $0.10/gallon. I also get some lottery tickets -1 billion dollars couldn’t hurt. It’s christmas, fuck it, let’s be crazy. A few minutes later, this is it, I’m on the road. On the way, I’m listening to the Lex Friedman Podcast. An interview with Javier MILEI – president of Argentina.

3:30pm

I walk back and find a breach in the thick bushes along the trail. I’ve decided to go off-trail and circle around this huge puddle. Vegetation is dense and I have to step onto dead trees. It is one thing to find balance on a trunk laying down, it is another to do it with 15/20 kg on the back. I fall and nettles. It sucks. Not only I got stung but I’m dirty and lost some precisous time. The bushes ahead are only getting more compact. I decide to turn back. Back again in front of the water, I decide to go. Only 20 seconds later I am on the other side. I guess those extra $50 for the waterproof feature on my shoes were worth it after all. The bottom of my pants are wet but it’s alright I’ll get over it. Great lesson. Sometimes, the not so good option is the best option.

The rest of the trail is just pure delight. The mud gets sandy as I get closer to the campground and I start hearing the waves hitting the coast. The view combining mountains and sea is awesome.

I finally get to my campsite – number 4 if you were looking for me. It is still daylight but I gotta hurry if I want to catch the sunset by the beach, New Big Agnes tent, I should have anticipated and erected it at home before…

Anyways, I grab my thermos and I go for a stroll on the beach. Surprisingly, there are a few people there. You know how there are situations, emotions or feelings that can’t be put into words, it is the same for the pictures I capture. They never truly reflect the beauty of what was in front of me. At least you got the vibe; it was magnificent

4:40am – 25/12/2024

I feel something wet on my feet. The dew is pretty intense on the coast and it seems like I haven’t left the space I was supposed to between the two thin walls of my tent. Plus, my mattress has definitely lost some air and my ass is about to touch the ground. I try to fall back asleep.

8:30am

I wake up and it’s cloudy outside. Doesn’t matter, I decide to go for a dip -not every day that you can swim in the pacific. It’s cold but holy shit, it feels great.

10:25am

After a quick breakfast, packing my wet tent and putting up some dry clothes, I start walking. I have to say it took about 2 hours for my cute feet to come back from hypothermia. The first part of the trail is elevated along the coast and gives me a gorgeous view of the surroundings.

On the way I see some hint of life – mainly animal droppings. I wish we had classes when we are small on going into the wild and recognizing stuff that surrounds us. Those could be bear tracks and I wouldn’t have the slightest idea. Along the way I get to see some cool features of life. On quite a few occasions I have to go offtrack or climb over trees that fell on the trail/

1:07pm

I get to the car, sweaty and stinky, put some Colter Wall on and head back to the bay. When I got home, it’s not over. I throw a wash on, put up my tent so it can finally dry and finally take a warm shower. It took me out of my comfort zone. Gave me some time to think. I loved it.

One might think it sucks and pity me for spending Christmas alone far from my family. The reality is, it really was great. I don’t have to wait Christmas to spend good time with my family. I would obviously have been more than happy to spend it at home with them but I am in California. I might as well see it as an opportunity to do things I wouldn’t do otherwise.

Merry Christmas to y’all !