Essay: The ultimate L.A. pilgrimage: I walked 89 miles to every Erewhon in town - BERITAJA

The thought grew arsenic organically arsenic the purple cauliflower astatine Erewhon. One day, I walked from my spot successful Los Feliz to the beach. I stopped astatine 2 Erewhon locations connected the measurement to refuel. I made a reel about my travel and posted it to Instagram. My friend Fish saw it and said, “You should locomotion to each the Erewhons.”

I thought: I don’t person clip to do that. I’m a very superior personification who needs to constitute her novel.

But later I recovered myself mapping retired an 89-mile hike successful my Notes App, starting successful Pasadena and ending successful Calabasas, stopping astatine each 10 Erewhon locations connected the way. (My way did not see the Palisades, which is closed because of the fires; nor did it see LACMA or the new Glendale locale.)

“I request to constitute my novel” is simply a thought I person a lot. I usually heed this thought and beryllium astatine the table for illustration a soldier, imagining the awesome time erstwhile I’ll waste said caller — for an magnitude that would about apt beryllium comparable to a fraction of an Erewhon employee’s yearly salary.

Erewhon Trail representation illustration by Swan Huntley.

(Erewhon Trail representation illustration by Swan Huntley. )

I really wasn’t successful the temper to constitute the novel, though. When I imagined myself pecking distant astatine the keyboard, I felt bad. When I imagined myself stepping about L.A. successful my Home Depot farming hat, I felt good. So, I put connected my hat, sewage into an Uber headed for Pasadena, and texted my sister, “Carpe diem, bitch.” Or astatine slightest that was my intention. What I really sent was, “Carpet diem hitch.”

Over the summer, I hiked a small spot of the Pacific Crest Trail. A fewer years ago, I biked the Camino successful Spain. I’ve walked from Los Feliz to the formation a fistful of times. I’ve traversed the magnitude of Manhattan thrice. Before that, erstwhile I was a teenager, I utilized to trek from La Jolla to Del Mar while drinking brew (I carried a cooler; yes, I’m sober now) and listening to Sarah McLachlan connected my Discman. I’ve ever been drawn to activities that galore group find tedious. Like stepping forever. Or penning a novel.

Starting successful the 4th century, pilgrimages were served up by the religion arsenic a measurement for Christians to salary penance for their sins. They were difficult and vulnerable and a batch of group died. Fast-forward to now: Such treks person taken connected an “Eat, Pray, Love” aura. Or a “Wild “ aura. They unrecorded successful the realm of self-help and of sport. They’re a measurement to create clash successful an progressively frictionless world. By stepping from Mexico to Canada, aliases from Erewhon to Erewhon, I wonderment whether we’re trying to get backmost to the portion of ourselves that wants to effort harder.

Or we conscionable want to go much valuable meal statement guests.

What do you do?

I do really agelong walks.

I ordered a Goddess Smoothie successful Pasadena, and past I repeated this contented astatine each shop thereafter. The smoothie costs $19, tastes for illustration heaven, and it’s green, which my encephalon sounds arsenic “good for me.”

It took maine a small complete 3 hours to locomotion 11 miles to Silver Lake. I sewage a Vegan Avocado Sandwich for lunch, took an Uber location and posted a reel connected Instagram about my first time connected the trail. A batch of group liked it. Some of them called maine a genius.

In the past 10 years, I’ve published 4 novels and 2 illustrated books for adults. I was naïve and conscionable wholly blindly happy about the publishing process successful the beginning. People wanted to bargain my work? Other group wanted to publication it? Cool.

The first book, “We Could Be Beautiful,” did good because the patient put existent money into the trading of it. Then that stopped happening. At a definite point, I realized that expecting excessively overmuch was unwise. It was up to maine to marketplace my books myself. Which meant: societal media.

They opportunity you person to spot a book screen six times earlier you bargain the book — aliases see buying it. There are a batch of book covers connected Instagram. Actually, there’s a batch of everything connected Instagram, and retired of each the everything, is simply a book screen that exciting?

No.

My 2nd reel, which depicted my travel from Silver Lake to Studio City, went a small spot viral. To date, almost 10,000 group person shared it pinch their friends. Why? I deliberation the reply has thing to do pinch a desire for levity.

If the ambiance of the world could beryllium depicted by an Erewhon beverage, it wouldn’t beryllium a vibrant, cheerful one, for illustration the agleam magenta Pitaya Smoothie. It would beryllium the acheronian and brooding Germ Warfare Shot. I find it perplexing that group talk about the apocalypse arsenic if it’s happening later. It’s happening now. If we were really reasoning about really ambiance alteration is affecting us, we’d beryllium retired successful the streets screaming. All the time. But we’re not doing that. We’re carrying connected pinch our accustomed lives. Apparently, for me, that includes stepping to Erewhons.

Any long-distance trek is arsenic overmuch an soul travel arsenic it is external. As I continued the trail, I started to deliberation that possibly my endeavor was a guidance to my emotion of full powerlessness. I can’t prevention the polar bears. I can’t unit the president to spell to therapy. But I could adhd immoderate levity to the brooding atmosphere.

Recently, personification commented connected 1 of the reels, “Transplants make LA locals look bad.” This person, and galore others, perceive the sanction Erewhon and presume I’m poking nosy astatine it. Erewhon has go a joke about L.A. — a joke that was amplified aft Hailey Bieber invented her smoothie successful 2022 that Erewhon dubs the “Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie.” I’ve ne'er had it, but I could show you that it looks for illustration a entity afloat of strawberry clouds. According to an Erewhon worker I said to, this smoothie was a turning point. It aligned the marque pinch wealthiness and power. Now, Erewhon evokes the image of smooth-skinned, health-conscious Angelenos pinch money to burn.

The Erewhon Trail, then, inevitably becomes a speech about privilege, my ain included. Instagram hid my 2 favourite comments, because it was worried they’d beryllium excessively rude to show, but I deliberation they’re the funniest ones.

This is what achromatic group do connected Prozac.

This is what happens erstwhile a wide arts coach gets fired.

To some of these comments, I say: Yes.

I’m not connected Prozac yet, but possibly aft I get fired, I will be.

In bid to get fired, though, I’d person to get an existent job, which mightiness ne'er happen.

The about aggravated limb of the way was from Santa Monica to Calabasas. My friend Fish joined me. Google said it would return 27 miles. After marching done the mountains, I decided to usage my ain intelligence to make the way shorter. This trim retired 4 miles, bringing the full to 23. For agelong stretches, Fish and I walked successful the motorcycle lane, aliases successful the bramble by the broadside of the road. That’s the punishment for straying from Google. Your sidewalks vanish and your chances of getting deed by a car spell measurement up.

My legs were noodles by the clip we sewage to Calabasas. I crawled crossed the parking batch to show my viewers really anemic they’d become. The worker astatine the doorway smiled astatine maine and handed maine a basket, and I thought about the symptom of my legs, which nary 1 could see, and about each the concealed battles group are fighting each the time, and I wished that we cared about each different arsenic overmuch arsenic Erewhon cares about us. Multiple labor were perfecting the already-perfect plateaus of doorbell peppers and apples successful the nutrient section. Their thoughtfulness was the other of the vibe I brushwood successful about nationalist restrooms, which is that the strangers who were location earlier maine didn’t person galore thoughts about my experience. As lame arsenic the truth that an Erewhon smoothie costs $19 is that truthful galore of america request to beryllium paid to beryllium bully to each other.

When I show group about my emotion for Erewhon, they either say, “Duh, I know,” aliases thing on the lines of, “That spot is ridiculous, right?” This is almost ever followed by the mention of a nutrient point and immoderate magnitude of money. Like, “Doesn’t a carrot costs $12,000?”

Actually, I show them, no. Although sometimes, yes. There is simply a Japanese strawberry that’s famously costly ($20), but that’s avoidable. I past explicate that contrary to celebrated thought, location is simply a measurement to shop astatine Erewhon connected a budget. A jar of soup, for example, costs $15.50. If you return the bottle, you get $3 back. In my opinion, the crockery could beryllium 2 meals, truthful that’s $6.25 per meal. A batch of the nutrient is either the aforesaid value aliases only a small spot much costly than astatine different wellness nutrient stores, and it’s successful consistently amended shape. The about important portion of making Erewhon much affordable, though, is becoming a member. You get 10% off, a free portion of the period and discounts connected a bunch of items.

You mightiness beryllium wondering: How galore Erewhon memberships has she personally sold?

She’s mislaid count.

The different logic to spell to Erewhon is the environment. It’s visually appealing and the employee-to-customer ratio is notable, and the consequence is that you consciousness for illustration you’re astatine a resort. And frankly, these elemental things — a bully environment, precocious value nutrient — should beryllium disposable to everyone.

Back to the mobility of whether aliases not Erewhon is ridiculous — yes, of people it is. If you beryllium astatine immoderate of the locations and perceive to the conversations about you, you’ll about apt consciousness for illustration you’re an other successful a satirical movie. At Studio City, I overheard 2 moms successful achromatic pants and cashmere sweaters talking about how, based connected their Instagram recon, they figured retired that so-and-so was sitting adjacent to so-and-so astatine a use dinner. Another snippet I overheard successful Studio City: “You gotta make euphony from the heart, man, and the explanation will consciousness it.”

It didn’t hap to maine to inquire for free merch until aft I’d vanished the trail. Armando astatine the Santa Monica location was the fortunate recipient of my request. I explained my uniquely heroic feat to him, and past wondered aloud if possibly I could get a sweatshirt, aliases astatine slightest a hat.

Sadly, Armando was unauthorized to springiness maine merch, but he did connection maine a gift paper successful a mini envelope. I was very grateful. I assumed the paper was worthy $50 astatine least.

After we parted ways, I opened the envelope.

Ten dollars.

Enough to put a down costs connected a smoothie.

My dreams now are truthful different from erstwhile I was younger. Back successful grad school, I imagined that possibly I’d constitute a bestselling novel, and possibly it would beryllium adapted for the screen, and possibly my tombstone would read: She contributed very superior lit to civilization.

What I ne'er accounted for was, of course, the unknown. Maybe 1 day, complete a decade aft schoolhouse ended, I’d get a batch of attraction for making capacity creation about stepping to market stores.

Huntley’s novels see “I Want You More,” “Getting Clean With Stevie Green,” “The Goddesses” and “We Could Be Beautiful.” She’s besides the writer/illustrator of the darkly humorous “The Bad Mood Book” and “You’re Grounded: An Anti-Self-Help Book to Calm You the F— Down.” She lives successful Los Angeles.