I am suffering SEVERE poison oak from hiking the 15-mile Upper Lopez trail in SLO. Reading the reviews prior and knowing I hiked through it, I took a cold dawn dish soap shower as soon as I got back home. Low and behold, that did not help. There are rashes in places I didn’t know existed. Between my toes, behind my ears, around my eyes but the biggest and worst part of it is on my legs. Even though I was wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt… Excuse my photo, but you’ll get an idea what I am working with here.

It was so bad, I had to get multiple injections of steroids. Just in time for me to lose my health insurance after leaving my job, whoohoo! So what did I do about it? I went skydiving, then packed my belongings to live in my car for a while.

I was miserable, but I made the best of it.

Day 1 On The Road

Turbo and I found the Lost Coast Trail, located near Fort Bragg California. I chose this spot for my first few nights as the scenic wild central coast cannot be beat. Ocean to redwoods, I needed it for my soul. We traveled down for about an hour and found the most awesome camp for the night, aside from all the poison sumac and oak giving me anxiety.

After scoring such an awesome quiet spot tonight, I couldn’t be happier. Right? WRONG. I AM A HOT MESS. Absolute mental break down, thankful I don’t have cell phone service because if anyone heard me crying like a baboon in the middle of the forest I would probably be emitted to a mental hospital. All these thoughts going through my head… Did I really just quit the best job? I loved the people I worked for and with. Did I really just leave my home? I love my home so much. Am I really leaving California? Wisconsin weather is the worst. Is all this pain worth it? Should I turn around?

No, it’s too late. My work position has been filled, my home already has renters, I have been replaced and there is no turning around. I should just have a couple shots of whisky and make things worse. So that is exactly what I did, but at least it put me to sleep.

Day 2 Just my Luck

2:00am rolls around, Turbo wakes me up growling. I hear some animal noise outside, I assume bobcat as it was this really weird bone chilling cat-like screech. After it got closer and the dog got even more worked up, I decided to hit my vehicle alarm. Basically my humane way of saying “yo trying to sleep here” vs firing rounds in the air like a maniac. Thirty minutes later, my motion lights go off on my roof rack. Great. What do I do? Do I go out there to investigate? Do I sit waiting duck in a tent? I peek out my tent door and see a racoon taking off with Turbos treat ball, nice going. Back to bed.

5:00am rolls around fast… Curious birds pecking at the tent and sing annoying songs so we got up, packed up and headed further into the mountains.

About 3 hours driving this off-road trail I ran into a locked gate with no way around. My first thought was all the sketchy terrain I’ve accomplished getting to this point. I now have to do again but now I have less fuel, the dog is car sick, I am exhausted and there is no spot to set up camp. I start heading back. A few miles heading back down the mountain, my poor yota has been over worked and stalls while trying to climb a hill. Not sure if torque converter failure or what’s going on that it can’t accelerate uphill without harsh vibration and stalling. Of course. Good timing.

I get out of the vehicle and while I let it cool down, I search for cellphone service to send my mom my location. Assuming if she doesn’t hear from me in a day or two, her motherly instincts will kick in and she will send someone out. This is my last hope before I start hiking 30 miles to the road.

I sit for a few hours second guessing my life decisions before trying to start the vehicle again. I was able to limp the Rav4 to the nearest town. We covered 10 miles in 2 hours now we’re right back where we started. Cool. Awesome. Good thing I have no time frame.

Day 3-4 on the Road, Hanging on by a Thread Already

We landed a hotel for the night in Fort Bragg. It was warm and I got a free banana and ice cubes for the cooler. Sometimes it’s the little victories. Morning rolls around and I say a little prayer before starting the Rav4. Success. I drive it around town, transmission is shifting weird but there is no dealer here. So, we have one option, to keep moving.

I have so much time to myself on these drives. I reminisce the good times, I haven’t seen a palm tree in a few days now and its breaking my heart. My energy is starting to feel low, could just be the lack of sun in northern California.

The Days are just Rolling Into Each Other, Why Keep Track

Everything else has been going smooth, probably too smooth. Nights are calm, not many bugs, there has been little to no wind. I’ve found such awesome quiet spots and honestly no cell service has been nice. Aside from my arms now starting to bubble up from a reaction of some sort. Assuming turbo bringing me whatever poison plant he rolled in, hopefully it stays on my arms in small spots. It’s been good. The rain came down on us last night, but we stayed relatively dry.

As we make our way north, we stop and check out a few areas to hike and stretch legs. What an incredible area. My family has given me so much grief over the years about California, but I understand. It’s hard to have a good opinion on this place when all you hear is politics on the news and you don’t actually visit this state. They don’t understand my strong connection with the land here. From ocean to desert, from mountains to valleys, from farmlands to forest… but again, that’s a story for another day. Some things just aren’t worth arguing, you can keep your opinion on the state of Los Angeles and its high fuel prices and smog *eye roll*

Made it to Ashland Oregon

Turbo and I made it to a small mountain town in Oregon for the night. With the heavy accumulation of snow starting, we decide to stay at this small lodge called Green Spring Inn. Which consists of one bar/restaurant and some super cozy cabins and affordable rooms. This marks my first hot cooked meal in a week, a whisky old fashion, a warm bed and a jacuzzi overlooking the forest. For what I paid for the night, I can’t complain.

A Valuable Lesson Learned Somewhere on Day 5

After 3 hours of sleep (turns out I sleep better on my foam sleeping pad then a strange bed) I headed to the one and only thing in “town” called “Burgers and Pie” for breakfast. Turns out that’s all they have there is…. well. Burgers and pie but offer coffee cake for breakfast. I already ate all my breakfast in food in the cooler this week as I was planning to hit the grocery store later, so I opted for the coffee cake. I can’t remember the last time I had pure sugar for breakfast and how awful that makes me feel throughout the whole day. The regret was there for hours, but it tasted great and the people were so nice.

Off to Crater Lake! Since the only reason I headed north was to go to Lost Coast and Crater Lake. Lost Coast was a bust, but I am excited for Crater Lake. JUST KIDDING. They shut everything down today as a large snow storm was heading in. They turned me around at the entry and said better luck in a few weeks… Bummer. Now what? Start heading east I guess.

Turbo and I made the best out of it and we played in the snow for a while and headed out until we came ahead of the rain/snow. Explored some National Forest trails before the weather came and pushed us onward.

Time to Pay Attention…

Fast forward I head to the last gas station on my GPS before heading into an area called “Burns” Oregon as now I just want to get out of Oregon. It’s been a bust with awful weather and lodging vs camping will soak up my entire trip budget.

As the lady starts filling my fuel tank, I believe she is the owner of this two-pump gas station/bakery we end up having small talk. She asks if it’s just myself and my dog and makes comments about all the gear in my car as she pumps my fuel. I make nothing of it. We chat about areas to hike in which she tells me to take a detour through a place called “Christmas Valley“. Stating there are tons of hiking trails and cool spots to camp that shouldn’t get below freezing tonight. There is no cell service here, but I take her word for it. I take the detour to Christmas Valley.

Before I Continue, Here is a Link to Crime Rate in Christmas Valley

Spoiler alert, its rated F. Now this is something I could not look up prior to taking this suggested route as mentioned, I have no cell service. Onward.

I follow the signs and find that it’s really just a valley of nothing for MILES. Literally the longest straight away I’ve ever driven in a desert like scenery with what looks like scattered meth lab motor homes parked randomly everywhere with vehicles that look like they haven’t moved in ages. My gut tells me this not a good spot to stop. So, I keep moving. There are no speed limit signs, I set my cruise to 80mph cruising.

Traveling down this forever road, an old Ford ranger catches up to me and tail gates me. This guy is so close to my rear bumper I can’t see his license plate. I begin to get frustrated. We’re in the middle of nowhere on a flat straight road go around me. I increase my speed to 90mph, so does the guy. Eventually the speedometer shows over 100, my only focus now is focusing ahead.

All I can think of in this situation is flight vs fight, so I flee as I know the Ranger is unable to keep up. Approximately 10 minutes go by, the truck is now just a speck in the mirror. Whew, all clear. That wasn’t so bad. Strange, but not the worst that could happen.

Wait.

Off in the distance ahead of me, I see a car turning, but they do not turn off the road. As I get closer, it’s a girl in a Buick Lasabre literally parked across both lanes. I come to a stop and row my window down a bit. She said “I am so sorry! I was trying to do a u-turn and the car died and won’t start back up” and “I could use a hand just to push it off to the side, there is a tow truck is on the way“. I pause for a moment, my adrenaline is still pumping from the truck following me. Then I notice there’s a guy in her passenger seat looking down at a phone and thought to myself “why can’t he help you?”

So, I did the only thing I could think of in a pinch, I lied and explained how sorry I was that I can’t help but I have a broken foot and crutches. I had to lie because I’d feel awful if I just told her no and if she actually needed help or if I said no ended up pissing off the wrong people. I slowly drove onto the side road / ditch and waved a sorry goodbye wave.

Listen To Your Gut

My gut gave me a bad feeling in this situation. Tracing back to the fuel station, followed by a Ford Ranger then the roadblock… I could be over thinking it, or I could have just saved my own life. Maybe it was all coincidence, maybe they wanted to rob me knowing all my valuables are with me or worse. I will never know, but I am thankful to be writing this story today from the comfort of my car vs my grave.

Safe, For Now

Turbo and I made it to a crummy AIRBB in Burn Oregon. I unpacked everything in my vehicle in hopes it doesn’t get broken into. This area doesn’t seem too bad, there are kids toys at the neighbors but it’s very quiet, too quiet. The buildings are just run down and not kept up with, so I will unpack and reduce my chances of losing what little personal belongings I have.

This was not planned to spend money on yet another place to stay. Every part of this has not gone in my favor between the closures and weather. I’m just not equipped to spend nights outside in sub-30 degree weather with sleet/snow. I wish I would have waited another month, I knew May would be iffy but here we are. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Rolling with the Punches

Maybe I can take a trip in June when I pick up my Civic from California. The only downfall to that is having a low ground clearance car. This pondering idea is going to keep me up all night now.

Anyways. I’ve learned alot the past few days.

• I’ve learned things I need and don’t need for these trips. Like 10 gallons of water for myself and the dog and extra fuel with the right amount of food was great idea. All the extra clothing, house blankets, folding table, portable fire pit, extra cooking utensils are not needed. Just need the basics and the rest is just inconvenient clutter.

• download GPS maps when you have wifi to your next destination. Keep one or two people in the loop at all times so they know where you’re going or a general idea of location and when you plan to have service next.

• expect your “plans” to not plan out and make the best of it

• and today, the most important thing, don’t let strangers know where you’re heading even if they seem like a nice lady who runs a bakery/coffee shop. It’s hard for me to not have small talk and be nice, but definitely learned to be careful about what I say. Even if all a coincidence, it’s a lesson learned.

Off to Idaho.