It would be vainglorious for The Idiot to launch a trek around the Pacific, the world’s largest ocean, before he completes his 20-year project to walk around the Mediterranean, the world’s largest inland sea, in 2018.
But the Pacific is an ideal place to train in the winter for the resumption of his MedTrek in April when he will, depending on local conditions, stroll along the Syrian coast from Turkey to Lebanon or, more likely, circumnavigate the island of Cyprus.
Although he tried to find some locals to join him during a footloose 21-mile outing in Northern California last Saturday, the surfers preferred to stay in the water and over 1,100 joggers and walkers insisted on participating in an organized race from Trinidad to Calm Beach. Even the Humboldt County dogs seemed suspious of The Idiot’s daylong outing.
Surfers (yes, those dots in the water are surfers) near Trinidad wanted to catch waves rather than saunter on the sand.
The Idiot was the first one to cross the finish line of the 8-mile Trinidad to Clam Beach race. That’s because he launched his walk at 8:30 am, well before the runners, who didn’t buy his “walk don’t run” philosophy, began their competition.
Even Cooper and Bear, his neighbor’s dogs, pointed out that they’d get in trouble on a few beaches if he took them along.
The dogs apparently knew from experience that they’d been banned from the many “Endangered Species Areas” on the coast.
Consequently The Idiot enjoyed a 7-hour solo stroll on various sandy and rocky beaches, along some stretches of road, on the well-marked 5.5 mile coastal Hammond Trail in McKinleyville and through the farms and ranches north of Arcata.
The idiot arrived in Trinidad on this beach before running into…
…the newly renovated Trinidad pier…
…the no-longer-functioning Trinidad Memorial lighthouse…
…and the view towards Clam Beach and, beyond that, Arcata.
He took a shadowy selfie to prove he was alone and paid close attention to some apparently meaningful signs.
The Idiot goes it alone on Clam Beach but isn’t worried that he’s entered…
….a hazardous tsunami zone…
…with meticulous trail information (seriously, a sign indicating a .077-mile stretch of trail?).
Along the way — and he frequently hiked barefoot in order to cross creeks and stretch his feet muscles on hardened sand — he noticed beach art and bussed back to his Trinidad base camp well before sunset.
Could it have been going barefoot on the last weekend in January that gave The Idiot his first flu of the winter?
The Idiot got closer to natural beach art than he did to the seals and shorebirds on the Mad River estuary.
And he was delighted to tell the dogs what they missed when they joined him for the sunset, albeit no green flash.
A brilliant winter sunset on the Pacific Ocean concludes The Idiot’s outing.
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