Dharma Bums

So, I know Cameron and Andrew have been regaling us with some amazing stories from the far East, but I thought I'd quickly interject to update everyone on my own little adventure down the coast of the good old USA! Carlton (the name I have given to our 1988 Chevy getaway van), and my friend James and I began our journey driving through Oregon; the coastal highway is amazing with its huge beaches, massive waves, stacks, and weathered coastal formations. The drive along highway 101 was lovely, however, we faced the problem of running into quite a few crowded populated areas with drive-in camping, RV parks, cabins, and all that touristy jazz. Following the Dharma Bums ideal, this just wouldn't do; so we kept driving, and as the 101 turned inland for a while we found some random roads going towards the coast again. Very luckily we came across a logging-type road that led to a dead end gravel parking lot right on the beach, which was completely isolated for miles in both directions. This first epic beach made for excellent bonfires, acoustic guitar playing with hair in wind, and morning yoga on warm, flat tombolos.

Another day, we found another epic isolated beach, but this one was only accessible through a 5 or so mile hike through the woods. The formations on this beach were rather different, with slightly grainier sand, and huge cliffs made of sandy material that easily eroded (I felt it necessary to inscribe some profound poetry and philosophy quotes on these). At night, the stars on this beach were the most phenomenal I'd ever seen .

The fun down oregon coast continued without a dime having been spent on accommodation, and the occasional warm river or lake providing for excellent bathing. We eventually made it to the Redwoods in Northern California where we hiked in to tall trees grove, home of the world's largest trees, and camped along a creek beneath towering Redwoods and Sequoias. It's probably a terrible thing to say, but I was almost reminded of some sort of disneyland fairy tale forest when walking around the trees which looked unreal with up to 30 foot diameters and gnarly, thick bark. Highlights included sitting in a warm creek watching a family of deer watching me, and meditating at dusk on a massive fallen redwood beneath a 320 foot sequoia tree.

Our time down the coast and in the redwoods lasted about 6 days; when Carlton began showing some signs of fatigue (stalling several times on the highway and telling us he had a 3/4 tank of gas when he was really empty), we decided to head North again. Portland seemed nice, but we felt overwhelmed by the bustle of the city and were forced to instead drive to mount St. Helens that same night. Now home, I'd call our whole journey a great success. A big thanks goes out to Carlton for chuggin' it all the way home and fighting through the occasional adversity. Another thanks to Jack Kerouac for reminding us to stay spontaneous, mindful of the present, and appreciative of the most important things.

"all of 'em Zen Lunatics who go about writing poems that happen to appear in their heads for no reason and also by being kind and also by strange unexpected acts keep giving visions of eternal freedom to everybody and to all living creatures."

-Jack Kerouac