BEARSUN
In March of 2021, I had the misfortunate of getting COVID. It was the worst experience of my life. During my time in quarantine, I was desperate to hold on to any kind of encouragement or distraction from the pain. I came across a story about a guy named Jesse Larios who decided to walk from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a bear suit for no particular reason at all. He is best known to the world as Bearsun. He had been walking for two days by the time I tuned in. He successfully completed his journey within two weeks. He would record his journey along the way and hold live sessions on Instagram every day to keep the world updated. His enthusiasm and positivity kept my spirits up throughout my long road of recovery. I made a promise to myself that if I crossed paths with Bearsun, I would introduce myself, thank him, and photograph him. He has since completed a trip from Los Angeles to San Diego, and from San Diego to Las Vegas. He is currently making his way to New York.
JULY 9, 2021 | FONTANA, CA
On my way back from a family trip to Las Vegas, NV, my sister and I realized that we would be crossing paths in the San Bernadino area during his journey to New York. We tracked him down north of Fontana. Needless to say, my heart jumped for joy when we approached him. We quickly realized he is as kind as he is on his live videos. We did a little impromptu photo session, spoke to him for a couple of minutes and we wished him luck on his journey.
JULY 18, 2021 | I40 NEAR NEEDLES, CA
After meeting Bearsun in Fontana, I was even more inspired to follow through with a couple of goals I set for myself. I’ve always wanted to travel more and that wanderlust grew even more after I got sick. But I’ve always wanted a reason to get out there. So I hoped that my photography would eventually lead me to all the places I wanted to travel to. After some thought, I decided that I would try to meet with Bearsun a couple of more times throughout his journey to New York. Talk about finding a reason to get out there! My friend Rachel Oto, volunteered to join me on this next journey. We decided to drive out and meet him on his way to Needles, CA. We found him walking along the I40 not too far from Needles. We spent a little while talking to him and once again did an impromptu photo session. It was such a delight to meet up with him again! Next stop: Flagstaff, Arizona.
JULY 31, 2021 | FLAGSTAFF, AZ
Bearsun made his way to Flagstaff, AZ a lot quicker than I had imagined! So I reworked my plans for the weekend, asked my friend Rachel Oto to join me again, and booked the hotel. We made the 7-hour drive to Flagstaff in the evening of the 30th. We arrived at our hotel around 2 or 3 AM. The next morning we packed our bags again and headed out to search for Bearsun. So this time around, we were met with a challenge. He had turned off his GPS. All we knew was his next destination so we made our way there. We looked at either side of the road and could not see him. We pulled off the main road onto a hidden trail. It was a beautiful pass through some hills, trees, and fields. No sign of Bearsun. So we turned around and made our way back to the main road heading towards Flagstaff in the hope that we may have just missed him. And as we suspected, we did! He was at the very entrance of that hidden trail. There was already a huge line of people there to greet him. We stuck around for about 2 hours. We wanted to help him out in any way we could. The majority of the people there were from the Hopi and Navajo Reservation. We got the chance to talk to them and watch them as they gave Bearsun their blessings & gifts. In their culture, the Bear signifies the healer and protector. We said our goodbyes to Bearsun & began our journey back to LA.
This concludes my journey to meet up with Bearsun on his long trip to New York. He will be arriving in New York on November 13th, 2021.
