Siphoning for Premium Glass

The wave we've come to know and fear. Kalen Schloss, fighting the elements and winning...for now.

Finally, we gave up. Then we found a big bus parked behind the service station with jerry cans on its roof. We walked over and spotted what looked to be a family sleeping in the bus. It was the middle of the night, and we knew if we were going to get fuel we’d have to wake these people, but nobody wanted to. We settled it with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Shorty lost and started knocking. A few dogs barked and the bus shook, then a man opened the door looking very tired and obviously pissed off. He told us his jerry cans were empty, but after we offered him good money he tried siphoning some fuel from his bus into our car, only to find he was out of gas too. So we set up camp out in front of the service station. Early the next morning we woke up to some lady saying, “Can I help you strangers?” We told her how we had no fuel and wanted to fill up so we could be on our way. She said, “We don’t turn on the fuel pumps for a few more hours.” After a little flattery and a nice tip, however, she turned them on and off we went.

Roll With It
It’s a given you’re going to forget something before setting out into the barren wilderness. As long as it isn’t food or water, deal with it.
After setting up our tents, we all realized we’d forgotten something: tarps. It meant no shade so we had to lie in our tents all day…and that we did.

Have a Good In
A smile given is much better than a black eye received.
It didn’t take us long to realize there was a serious pecking order. Not many conversations went down, but there were a few death stares from guys who’d been coming here for years. Luckily Shorty knew a few of them and introduced us and all the tension eased. We all picked off our fair share of scraps, and six hours later we came in burnt and exhausted.

Chew Your Food
After a day of surf and survival, it’s not what you eat, but how fast you can eat it.
When we got back we all raced to the canned food we’d bought and started heating it up on our gas cooker. A few of the guys we’d met earlier walked past and laughed at the sight of us. We looked like four scavenging hyenas.

Know When to Fold ’Em
There’s honor in understanding when a trip’s come to its logical end. Forcing the issue only results in slow days, dwindling supplies, and nights in the drunk tanks.
Rusty Long called a party for his birthday on the second to last night of the trip. We couldn’t have finished off better if we’d tried. What we thought would be a few beers around the campfire turned out to be a huge buffet. Groups of people from around the campsite brought their own special recipes and cooked them in a bush-oven under coals. Everyone shared their food and alcohol, and the party went long into the night. Everyone slept in the next morning. When we finally awoke to see the waves were 1-foot and onshore, we knew it was the perfect time to split.

Brian Conley, a long way to run.