Go fast to go slow

The thing about trailing is that it’s easy to temporarily escape from someone you don’t like, but it’s always only temporary. If there is someone you don’t like, you are doomed to be with that person or constantly worry about where they are.

taking a trip

I woke up to a person in my AirBnB having an entire conversation while people were sleeping in the same room. I ignore Mr. Talk as I reheat last night’s spaghetti for breakfast and pack my suitcase. One of the others had called a trail angel to take him back to the trailhead, and I plan to be in the area to see if I can join the trip.

I got an easy ride to the trail, down the road with no other traffic due to the mudslides blocking the road. I walked during the day and climbed Mount Baden-Powell, named after the founder of Scouting. It was surreal that an Eagle Scout was there just for lunch. Lunch consisted of 500 calories of skittles.

A meeting of apostles

At dusk I arrived at the last water source of the day. There I found Backflip, Bonk, TJ, Armpit and Infinity, my main team, who I call the Apostles. It turned out I hadn’t lost them when zeroing in at Wrightwood. And it turned out that we were heading to the same place, the campground just before an upcoming exclusion zone.

I left last with 5 liters of water and climbed the mountain. I made dinner before crossing the empty road for the last time and arriving at an abandoned parking lot. We cowboys camped in the parking lot and were greeted by a beautiful sunset.

yellow-legged frogs

The next day we walked 4 miles down the road, as the endangered species exclusion zone required us to do so. I saw an abandoned ski resort and walked through the abandoned camp.

I used a lot of toilets that day, so for the first time I was at the back of the group. Hell Yeah and Chinchilla finally caught up and mentioned that Chinchilla’s sister would be doing magic on the trails. So I stayed in the parking lot for 2 hours. But it was worth it, I ate too many fries.

The Western Fence Lizard

Then Bob, trail name Bob, showed up and offered to take us to the nearby Christian summer camp. After some discussion, we decided to accept Bob’s offer of a free shower, bed, dinner and laundry. As I write this, it seems silly that we had to discuss it.

But most of the Apostles were ahead, so I left the group again. Additionally, Mr. Conversation also managed to make it to the camp and we had to convince him not to smoke marijuana on the premises.

Further than I’ve ever gone

The next day again started with Mr. Talk waking up trying to talk to everyone he thought was awake. Never mind the fact that some people told you last night that they were trying to sleep in.

I decided to just get over it. He’s not a bad person, I’m just at the last minute with him and I don’t want to be the person who yells at him. The problem is that for some reason he is enthralled with me. He sits with me during breaks and asks me where I’m going.

Then he felt the only way was to do much more than he could ever do. As it happens, I knew the Apostles would be in camp at 33 miles that day. It was a long day, the longest day I’ve ever done, and I arrived after the last rays of sun had left the sky. However, it was worth it to get away from Mr. Talk.

Along the way I have realized a part of my personality that I was previously unaware of. In general, I don’t like people when I first meet them. Very introverted of me. Compared to Mr. Talk, who LOVES everything, you also can’t tell if he’s on drugs or not.

hit the brakes

But I knew he was only 6 miles behind, trying to follow me. So when I planned to go to Six Flags Magic Mtn on Monday, I fell through. Then I remembered it was Memorial Day and it would be packed. Then I was convinced by the 50% off meal plan, one meal every 90 minutes.

So the plan became to wait longer for Mr. Talk instead of getting ahead of him. I dragged my feet the next day to LA RV Resort, a 10 mile day. Quite short compared to the previous one. I spent the day getting my mail in new shoes, relaxing in the waiting room, and swimming in the pool. I told Mr. Conversation that I would be in Agua Dulce that night after the heat of the day passed.

The Apostles at Magic Mtn

Desert Oasis City

The next day I packed up and left the RV campground in the morning, planning another 10 mile day to Agua Dulce, a double black day. It was a beautiful day entering the sandstone caves and clouds. I turned around at the state park and ended up going a little south.

The Serenity Oasis was very welcoming. A shower, laundry and a shady campsite. Great place to relax if Mr. Conversation wasn’t hanging around, asking about plans and deciding to wait for us to get back from Magic Mtn. Which was more for his own ankle recovery and he watched our stuff while we were away. Either way, I snuck through dinner at the Mexican restaurant in search of emotional space.

A mountain of magic

We ordered two Ubers to the park for a 9-person cavalry of hikers. The goal was to eat every 90 minutes and ride a bike in between. We went on several walks, but just hanging out with friends and burning off calories was worth it. Also wIt’s not as crowded as I feared.

Well, we’ll see how it goes with Mr. Talk. He’s not a bad person, I just need my emotional space from him and find more tolerance within myself. But enjoying the coasters and soft serve ice cream for now.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.