It took some time to settle in to the reality of camping again last night– as it had been over two months since I’d last slept outdoors. Arriving to Big Sur’s Andrew Molera State Park after a most exhausting, 22ish-mile day of spectacular afternoon & evening walking, shortly before 9 PM, I suddenly remembered why I don’t like finding a camping spot after dark. (Still can feel a bit spooky if I’m not familiar with the area before the sun goes down. I’m sure I’ll continue to get over this through time.) 
After a couple of hours of picnic table top meditation, I felt at ease enough with my surroundings to enter the tent. I was in a fantastic place. Still, due to an abundance of environmental noises last night, I slept pretty lightly, often awakening with caution (OK, some fear) on my mind, remembering the presence of that heavy-breathing bear just outside my tiny lone tent in Myrtle Creek (I never did unzip the tent to look). 
When I emerged from the tent this morning, just after dawn, a half dozen deer were peacefully grazing just a car’s length away. I could hear the waves breaking onto the rocks of the unseen, nearby shore, and I felt oh-so satisfied with a very accomplished feeling of having resumed the momentum of comfort with sleeping in the wild, momentum that had been building up into November, my last time outdoors. In fact, my mind was immediately ready for more nights outdoors, as I know I have to get used to them before reaching the desert Southwest.