My friend (a male) and I met this guy at a soup kitchen in Portland. He had a box truck and two puppies. I guess he was living out of his truck, but I'm not sure. He was a pretty goofy, strange guy. My friend asked him if he could take him to the hot springs, and I agreed to go with because I had never been to hot springs before and another male friend was going. The dude ends up talking about having a kid with this lady who basically "raped" him, and so he doesn't seem as happy as he acts, but he talks about normal stuff, too. I had a feeling the guy might turn out to be crazy, but I really wanted to see what the hot springs were all about and figured we could hitchhike back if the guy was nuts.
We finally go on our way. One of us sits in the front with him, and the other two of us sit in the back with the puppies. He takes us to a grocery store to get supplies and such, throwing items to us in the store, acting like a total goofball and telling us we needed to eat the healthy stuff..even gets some beer. But looking back, it was really weird that he fed his dogs hamburgers from a fast food place. He seemed to have plenty of money...maybe from the military because he had military uniform stuff in the back...or SSI..haha
Anyway, I eventually end up sitting in the front. I load bowls for him, and we get high. He then asks me if I think he's attractive and things like that, trying to see if I like him 'cause, apparently, he likes me. I'm not attracted to him at all (he's kinda fat and just not my type at all). I try to pretend that I'm confused because I'm stoned and avoid answering the question altogether. Then he says, "you're not attracted to me?" and blah blah blah...and I still don't give an answer. He sounds like he's joking, but I can tell he's kinda upset. And eventually he asks me if I have any weapons in case something happens because "you never know what could happen on the mountain." I say, "yeah"....he says, "what do you have?"....and I respond with, "stuff," and leave it at that.
So, we finally get to the hot springs and park the truck on the side of the road. It feels like the trail to the hot springs is forever-long. We get there while it's still day time. There's people there, but they leave because the dude gets in naked and throws his dogs in, too. I'm thinking "fuck, now I can't go in"....'cause there's no way in hell I'm getting in that tub with only him while he's naked. So, the other two finally get in, and I decide to get in but won't sit by him. We're there for a while. He spends much of the time joking about circumcision and how you have less of a dick. But I guess he's actually pretty upset about having a small dick or something....and no, i didn't look. I made sure of it.
He then says something to the people on the outside of the walls about their flashlights (it's dark by now). A girl yells back at him about waiting for 2 hours and hearing him talk about his dick. He's joking with her but then eventually snaps and says he doesn't want to stay there because he has bad vibes. So, we leave, going down this winding trail in the dark (only one flashlight). He insists on walking behind us because his dogs are going slower than he wants them to. So, I'm freaking out and looking back every few seconds. I hear his dogs squeak and realize he's kicking them and flinging them forward. The trail feels like it's an ETERNITY long. We finally get to the truck. He says he'll give us a ride to a bus stop, so we can get back to Portland.
My friends get in the back. I say, "I think one of us should sit in the front"....but no one wants to sit up front and the guy is pissed and my friend yells at me to get in the back. I get in. He shuts the door and takes his dogs to the front. Starts driving like a madman down the mountain. I'm thinking he's going to drive us off the mountain in a suicide/murder because he didn't seem to happy with his life. We all get prepared for whenever he stops in case he tries to attack us. I take my smiley out and the other two find tools in the back of the truck amongst all the crap he had in there. We're flying down the mountain. Though, it feels like forever.
He finally stops, and I see flashing lights like cop lights. We get out and he drops us off in the middle of nowhere, but fortunately, the forest rangers were there. They end up helping us find a nice place in the woods to sleep and give us food and water. Then we hitch a ride out the next day and ride a bus back. I really wanted to save those puppies the entire time, but I was afraid he'd try to kill me.
I swear, that was THE MOST stressful ride I have ever had in my life. And I have learned NEVER AGAIN to go against my intuition. If someone seems like they might be crazy, DO NOT get a ride from them....no matter how desperate you are.....unless you're already dying from lack of food or a heat-stroke or something.
