Here's a scenario, just hypothesizing here... What if the strange behavior exhibited before Bryce departed on this mysterious trek was the first symptom of a small brain bleed or other physical source of mental confusion. From this start, suddenly claiming he wanted to break up with his girlfriend, but completely out of character. Then a continued gradual decline in awareness, such as when a stroke occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain. Friends take his keys away, but they are returned, and he sets off. No sense of time, though other functions might be intact. Hanging out in Buttonwillow could represent a further decline. A person can seem normal even though something dangerous could be happening in the brain. As the condition worsens, behavior becomes more abnormal, as witnessed by the driving to the lake several times, sleeping or not sleeping, and even the "detour" off the freeway where there were "no signs" and then getting back on. Then driving to the lake and haphazardly getting the wheels over the embankment. Then the car topples, and this brain injury is exacerbated. He leaves his wallet, cell phone, and laptop, in a daze. Simply walking and walking, first to the dam, then up the hill. Catching a ride in a truck heading north, just because. Then wandering around Port Orford's park, stating "I came from the ridge" which confused the first person who saw Bryce there (if indeed it was him). Now possibly living in a homeless shelter, unaware of another life "before" and acting like a person with some brain injury/ damage.
Of course, these are just MOO, and simply one hypothesis that could fit all of the strange twists and turns since that fateful night in Northern Cal....
