Growing up on the East coast a lot of my time was spent dreaming of empty and perfect surf spots. The first spot at the top of my dream wave list was the Hollister Ranch. My inspiration was a photo from surfer magazine, a shot of a guy paddling out with the most perfect chest high wave peeling toward him.
The caption read "In this crowded world, a surfer can still seek and find the perfect day, and the perfect wave and be alone with the surf and his thoughts." John Severson
I later found out Hollister ranch was closed to the public and one of the most exclusive surf spots in the world. I had been close to getting the golden ticket and the opportunity to get through the gates at the ranch but it always fell through at the last minute.
Yvonne and I on an early morning surf check.
Fast forward to last week... Here I am at the Ranch staying with one of my biggest life heroes Yvonne Chouinard. As a grom, it was the Patagonia catalogues that filled my head with dreams of the wide open west and the adventure lifestyle. Over time, the more I learned about Yvonne the more impressed I became. I still cannot comprehend the vision it took to make his own climbing protection and tackle the unclimbed 3000 foot walls of Yosemite. He was also the first person who brought my focus to environmental issues in a way that no teacheror newspaper could.
Yvonne's car is twenty years old and does has more sand it then some beaches.
Seeing the simplicity of his lifestyle first hand was really cool. At first look his house has the feel of an old European farm house. Upon closer look it is the environmental gold standard for sustainable living. This did not surprise me. What really had an impact however, was the genuine stoke he has with surfing. We would wake up each morning in the dark and drink tea as we waited for enough light to see the ocean out his window to decide where we would get the best waves. The day would then be filled with surf, good food and more surf until the sun set and we were forced to wait until the next morning.
Find a good sand bar, stop the car, suit up.
One session that I will never forget was an evening session at one of his favorite breaks. Yvonne and I paddled out together to an empty ocean and took turns riding the most perfect head-high reef break and cheering each other on as the setting sun lit up the sky orange. It was a dream come true.
Jerry Lopez ranks high on the list of insperational people for me and after two days of surfing with him my admiration grew even more. He is in his late 50's and as surf stoked as ever. The only time he got his hair wet on this day was dipping it in and out of small tubes. 
