Day 21 – Standish-Hickey State Park, CA. 76 km
Spent most of the day riding through the redwood forest. Passed through a few very small towns – Myer’s Flat, Miranda, Phillipsville, and the larger Garberville. All seem a bit faded and dowdy, unimproved from the seventies when I suspect they were in their prime. Hippy heaven. Today we saw lots of young people – 21st century “hippies,” although the word is now meaningless. They seem to emerge from the forest and from behind the rundown buildings of these rustic towns. I assume they’re living rough. Some have backpacks and presumably the funds to pursue alternative arrangements if they wish. Others clearly don’t.
In Garberville, we stopped for coffee and lunch in a Main St. cafe and saw the wildest collection of individuals I’ve ever seen in such a place. Young guys with tattooed faces, piercings everywhere and in shabby clothes in line for coffee next to middle class town folk. It was a bizarre scene and absolutely puzzling until we heard about the “trimmigrants.” This is weed growing territory and it’s coming up to harvest time. People come to this region from all over the country to earn $40/hr picking buds – and presumably, pocketing some of same. The qualifications must be minimal. At the going rate for this work, I don’t understand why Mexican farm workers aren’t yet involved. Maybe because the whole business is still illegal. I suspect legality in California and Mexican bud trimmers are just a matter of time.