Aaron no longer has friends he can visit. In LA, all he has is his sister's house and his mama's house; the thought of either as a place to stay too far removed from the familiar hippie life. He thinks of going up north away from the square world of Los Angeles. His absent friends have left him without opportunities for communication. As a diver about to jump from the highest board, he stands at the edge and looks over the side.

He sees forests with tall trees, green fields with fences holding farm animals, and cabins with smoke rising from brick chimneys. He sees the highway stretching out to the horizon. He fills a backpack with a lid of grass in the bottom, and a sleeping bag tied to the back. He stuffs in a few tee shirts, an extra pair of jeans, and his hash pipe. He stuffs less than a hundred dollars in his jeans pocket. He walks to the 101 North on ramp and raises his thumb. He dives off the board.

He thinks of visiting Kevin, living in Seattle, who visited The Blue Grotto a year earlier. At that time, they take a trip in Aaron’s car to a hot spring in the desert country near Palmdale. It is 90 minutes of travel. He parks his car at the top of a narrow trail. He walks the trail wearing bare feet and sandals, carrying his sleeping bag under his arm. He stumbles, and the sandals fall from the trailside, lost in bushes below.

Going along on the trip, Zahid, Ajit’s friend from Ceylon, and Cid join Aaron and Kevin. At the hot spring desert campground, Kevin, tall and strong, tears off tree branches with bare hands for firewood. The night temperature is below freezing. They wrap themselves in sleeping bags. The next day, Zahid, a beginner, drops acid. Zahid stares directly into the sun; fortunately, this only blinds him for the rest of the day. The hot spring is a circular pool of very warm water, about five-feet deep, surrounded by canyon rocks. Aaron stands neck deep and naked in the warm spring high on acid and smoking grass from a pipe. Cid stands against a wall opposite him. He moves to her, offers the pipe, and rubs his body against hers. Just over one side of the spring runs a cold creek. Some like to jump in the cold creek directly from soaking in the warm water.

Now, in Santa Barbara, he thumbs beside a bus stop. Students from the University of California, Santa Barbara driving by and frolicking in their cars, ignore him. He stands there from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. He gets a ride with a friendly man who offers a ride to Big Sur. They talk about current events and listen to rock and roll on the radio. Aaron gets off near Salinas, and then hitches over to Interstate 5.

The next ride takes him to Eugene, Oregon where he knows a few acquaintances from Hollywood who live in a cabin just east of the highway. He gets a ride on a dirt road to the cabin. A short walk from the dirt road to the cabin porch reveals four men smoking grass from a pipe. They are not very happy to see him and remark how they never invited him. Aaron says, “Man, I'm hitching to Seattle, and thought I'd drop in for a rest.” The smokers relax and take a few more drags on the pipe. They say, “You can stay for the night, but you got to go in the morning.” Aaron says, “Thank you man, I appreciate it.”

After a while, they go inside. There is a fire going in the fireplace. The wide living room has one large comfortable couch and two stuffed chairs. An oriental rug covers the middle of the living room floor. He remarks, “Man, this is nice.” The residents eat and offer him soup with fresh baked bread. After eating, they pass the pipe and hand him a purple tab of acid. Aaron gladly swallows the tab. They sit back, pass the pipe around, and watch Aaron.

Aaron goes outside; no one follows him. He walks to the side of the cabin where trees, rocks, logs, and a tiny stream welcome him. The forest scent is satisfying and almost intoxicating. He sits on an old moss-covered log. When he starts peaking on the acid, he decides he will stay all night as an exercise in self-discipline. He vows to sit on the log until daybreak. Startled every once in awhile by tree branches crackling in the wind, and by what he believes are animal sounds, he resists the urge to run inside the cabin. He sits patient and quiet and relies on faith that staying all night outside alone can only make him stronger.

With remarkable restraint, he stays sitting on the log. The acid intensifies the lonesome feeling and the fear of the unknown; yet it also points his attention to a place deeper inside him where he finds the will to carry on. He knows he cannot have the Yin without the Yang. Several times, he starts to nod off, and then jerks his head upright again. He concentrates only on his breathing, in, out, in, out.

The sun rises over his left shoulder; he slowly stands, stretches, and somehow stumbles without falling to the quiet front porch of the cabin. He sits on the porch bench and falls asleep on his side. Later in the morning, someone awakens him with a shove. He hears, “Dude, wake up; it's time for you to go.” “Oh, wow”; he says, through a yawn. He rubs his blurry eyes, yawns again, and slowly sits up. He sees who shoved him and says, “I need my backpack.” “I have it right here, dude.” “We packed you a bag of granola with nuts, and two bottles of spring water, which should hold you for a day.” “Thank you, man,” he replies. He walks over to the side of the cabin and pees on some rocks.

He reflects on his night alone sitting on the log. He gives himself credit for making it outside alone through the night. He gets a ride from the cabin back to Interstate 5 and the nearest north on ramp. He lays his pack down beside the white post at the ramp. On the white post, someone wrote, “This pencil was thrown at me.” He arrives at the on ramp at about 10 AM. Hours later, a couple picks him up. They are going as far as The Dalles near the Oregon-Washington border. This is very welcome news to him. The Dalles is less than two hundred miles south of Seattle. He introduces himself and tells them he had no sleep last night. They tell him they will not mind if he sleeps. The couple wake him at the Washington border.

He stands again on an I-5 on ramp. He does not wait too long before two young hippie chicks in a Volkswagen Beetle pull to the side. The door opens, and he slides into the back seat. They tell him they are going to an outdoor rock festival in the woods south of Seattle. He says, “That sounds cool, can I go with you?” “Sure, why not?” “Do you have any grass?” He says, “Yes, I do.” He pulls out the grass and his pipe from the bottom of his backpack. He fills the pipe, takes a book of matches from one of the girls and lights up. He passes the pipe to the front seat; the two attractive chicks each enjoy long drags. One is slim, and one is heavier. Passing the pipe to Aaron, the chick on the passenger side looks over, waves, and says, “Hi. I’m Becky.” He says, “Hi. I’m Aaron.” From behind the wheel, the slim chick waves, “Hi. I’m Diane.” Sensing Becky likes him, he says, “Diane pull over so Becky can sit with me.” Diane stops the car on the side of the road. Becky steps out, moves the back of the front seat forward and slips into the back seat. He and Becky pass the pipe back and forth and across the seat to Diane.

They are nicely stoned when Diane exits the freeway and turns to the east on a dirt road in the woods. In a few miles, they hear loud rock music. They find a spot within easy walking distance of the stage. Diane hauls a tent from the Beetle’s front trunk. Aaron helps setup the tent. Diane and Becky lay down sleeping bags on the sides. He spreads his own sleeping bag out in the middle of the tent. Diane reaches in her skirt pocket. She opens her hands, revealing tabs of acid. “Want one?” He says, “What’s that, aspirin?” She puts her hands on her hips. “No man! It is LSD.” He replies, “Oh, cool. Yes I will have one, thank you.” He, Diane, and Becky each swallow a tab.

When Aaron gets high, he steps out of the tent. He leaves Becky and Diane with eyes closed, and he goes off following the music. He strolls around people dancing, spinning, with their arms and hands above their heads. He stops close to the front of the stage. In his own world, he dances his own dance. With eyes open, he attends to the world going on inside him and around him. He cannot remember another time when he has felt freer. The music provides a magic carpet ride carrying him to transcendental places. In the here and now, his self is as anchored as a large rock can be lying on the bare earth. He does not leave the music and the stage area until sunset.

He carefully walks back through the crowd to the tent. In front of the tent flap, he hears Becky and Diane mentioning his name. He slowly enters the tent. Diane says, “We saw you dancing.” “We didn’t want to stop your trip, you were so into it.” Becky asks, “How do you feel now?” He answers, “I feel great, maybe better than I have in a long time.” He asks them, “How do you two feel?” “Are you still tripping?” Becky says, “I know I am.” Diane says, “Me too, definitely.”

Aaron asks, “What do you want to do now?” Diane tells him, “We plan on leaving tomorrow morning, back to Portland.” “Are you still going to Seattle?” “Yes, that’s my plan,” replies Aaron. He continues, “I have a dirty body; a bath or a jump in a lake would be groovy.” Becky looks at Diane. She says, “We have plastic gallons of water in the car, some soap, and some towels.” “We could wash each other since we would also like a bath.” Realizing this as a fun opportunity, he says, “Go get it; I’ll be ready when you come back.” Becky and Diane go out to fetch the water, the soap, and the towels. Aaron quickly gets naked. Both chicks bring back two-gallon jugs of water in each hand. They run out again and return with two bars of soap and a handful of towels. They set the water down, drop the towels, and remove their clothes. Aaron sees a slightly plump Becky with beautifully large breasts and voluptuous body. He sees Diane, tall, slim and curvy, with perky breasts, a small waist, and slender, shapely legs. He thinks, “Wow. I am a lucky dude.”

They pour water over Aaron. They pour water on each other. They each hold a bar of soap and start using it on Aaron. They soap him up from head to toes. Becky cannot avoid his growing penis. She says, “My, my.” “Got to wash this too,” as she strokes his penis and caresses his balls with soap. He sits still and closes his eyes. He says, “Let me have some soap.” He washes Becky’s face, then Diane’s face. He continues to each of their necks and their breasts, pinching their nipples for good measure. They spread their legs apart. Aaron soaps their thighs, legs, feet, and toes. He rubs soap in their hairy bushes; they make pleasant sounds. They all rinse off with a few more bottles of water.

After drying, Becky and Diane lie on their backs on top of blankets on each side of Aaron. They slide over close against his body. Becky strokes his erect penis; Diane follows. Aaron uses his left hand and explores between Becky’s inner thighs; he uses his right hand and does the same with Diane. Becky asks, “Would you like some head?” Aaron confirms, “Uh huh.” Becky swallows him as far as she can go; she goes up to the tip and back down again. Diane tells Becky, “Give me a chance.” Becky says, “Sure, here you go, and releases Aaron. Diane strokes and sucks his cock. She swallows his balls. He enjoys this until he is close to coming.

He announces, “I want to eat your pussies.” “Spread your legs, and I will come around to do you both.” He flicks his tongue atop each clitoris then licks each down to their vaginas; he keeps going to Becky, Diane, and back. He sticks two fingers in each vagina and thrusts in and out. Becky and Diane moan and say, “Yes, yes.” Aaron strokes his cock and comes on Becky’s tits.

They relax by lighting up Aaron’s pipe. They are all smiles; there is love in each other’s eyes. Aaron says, “I’m hungry, how about you?” “We’re starving.” ”Unfortunately, we only have some granola and a few apples and oranges in here.” Aaron asks, “Do you still have any acid?” Diane says, “Yeah, I have a couple of tabs.” Aaron suggests, “Why don’t we go out and find someone who wants to trade some food for acid?” Becky says, “Yeah, let’s go.” They trip around past campsites in the twilight until they see ribs roasting on an iron grate over an open fire. The three of them edge up to the fire. They find a hippie chick standing there. Diane says, “Hi, we were just tripping and smelled your barbecue.” She continues, “I’m going to tell you up front; we are hungry. She glances to Becky and Aaron. Becky goes on, “We were wondering if you’d like to trade some food for some acid.”

The chick standing next to the fire says, “Hi, my name is Bonnie.” She says, “Wow man, that’s cool, but we already have acid. We’ve been tripping for 24 hours.” She continues, “But, man, if you’re hungry, come on and sit down here by the fire. Ribs should be ready in a few minutes; we have plenty enough to share.” All smiles, Aaron, Becky, and Diane sit beside the fire. Bonnie pulls out a joint, and passes it to them. They each enjoy the smoke and get even hungrier. There are three others in Bonnie’s party, one more girl, and two boys. Bonnie points away from the fire. She says, “This is Ron, David, and Donna.” The three wave and say, “Hi there.”

Soon, Bonnie gives them paper plates of barbecue ribs with salad on the side; wine jugs pass around. While eating, they all talk about what’s happening, their favorite music and bands, and a little about politics and the Vietnam War.

After lying back for a while, Diane decides it is good karma to give her acid to Bonnie. She tells Bonnie she must give something for the meal. Bonnie graciously accepts her gift. Aaron, Becky, and Diane hug Bonnie, Ron, Donna, and David, and say goodbye.