u/EdenTheVagabond

Hey everyone, gonna start writing up my thoughts every now and then just to get stuff off my chest, well anyways...

Leaving Portland was a emotional roller-coaster, my friends i made there didn't want to see me go, one of them even cried but they were supportive at the end of the day i was doing what i always did, travel because i have no real home and they understood that, it was weird really, going so long without any real connections then god says fuck it and throws you in the middle of this huge social dynamic, life sure has a way of messing with me.

Hitchhiking through oregon and costal California was easy and laid back, I've hitched the 101 more times then I could count but I decided to slow down, like really slow down and im glad I did because I found alot of hidden trails and paths that has brought me to seeing some of the most beautiful sighs I think I've ever seen, wild camping wasnt a issue either, I mostly just sleep in a sleeping bag so im hidden nevertheless.

Reaching San Francisco was a quick change in pace and scenery, it was loud, I had to watch my bag and there was lots of sights, smells and sounds, I didnt stay long before heading towards Yosemite...

Hitchhiking to Yosemite was amazing, I met loads of kind and interesting people. Met an Aussie that drove me a few hours, he was listening to physicdellic rave music and he told me about of his younger years of Hitchhiking, we stopped ontop of a mountain and ate lunch, when I got to Yosemite I realized pictures couldn't do this place justice, seeing the granite mountains and eventually Yosemite falls was grand, I slept on a bench behind the visitor center before Hiking mirror lake afterwards, when I hitchhiked out a hiker picked me up and she was surprisingly around my age, she had a pit bull that was the most friendliest dog I think I've ever seen and she told me of the dogs backstory for nearly 2 hours! I didnt mind though, she dropped me off in Sonora.

After that I hitched through grass valley where I visted a friend and eventually into Nevada where Hitchhiking was painful and slow, someone always stopped eventually, towards the end I even gotten to ride in the back of a pickup truck, always a amazing experience, I got rides all the way to Lancaster where I took a train to LA, there it was a huge contrast from SF, it was huge, sprawling streets and lots of people, I mostly spent my time in Hollywood before departing to Las Vegas.

Hitchhiking to Las Vegas was easy and straight foward, I took the same path that I took to get to LA and it seemed to be easier then before, when I was hitchhiking through death valley a park ranger ended up picking me up which suprised me because I never gotten a ride from a park ranger before, she was very nice and eager to help me and she drove me to furnace creek while telling me about the parks history, when I got dropped off the sun has already dipped behind the horizon, after getting into a close encounter with the local coyotes I wild camped out in the valley, the night was dead silent, quiet and peaceful, the stars were out and honestly I slept like a baby.

The next day I got a ride to Pahrump then luckily I was picked up by a guy who was heading straight to Vegas, ironicly he picked up another hitchhiker before me going to the same place, funny how small the world is. Anyways getting to Vegas was fun, seeing all of the lights in the backdrop of a empty desert is quite the experience, I bought myself some fast food as a treat and roamed around Vegas (which is frustrating and I wouldn't recommend it) and I ended up deciding that I was sore and needed a break where I then went to a drop in center that eventually put me in the shelter i am in now.

I have been gone from portland for 17 days and I've experienced more then most people do in a year, this life is amazing but it comes at a price, I've experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows and honestly I wouldn't want it any other way.

Eden signing out and hey, stay warm out there