Friendsgiving

I let the group walk ahead to the lookout area that we embarked on this hike for. I slowed down my steps, strayed off the trail at the fork and I went left to find two crucial things. The first was a patch of dirt, dry and soft, sticking out of the surrounding snow for me to put down my empty beer can and stomp it compact before I put it inside in my jacket pocket with the other flattened one. After this both of my hands could free and I was able to address the second thing I was looking for - a tree to pee behind. Halfway through completing part two of my mini mission, I heard voices of hikers over the hill coming up a different trail, or was this an extension of somebody's backyard? At that moment I was reminded that although I believed I was alone up there, I wasn't far away from anything. That's the beauty of being able to come back up to Running Springs, just a short drive up from LA.

I stumbled down from my wilderness porta potty and back on the right trail to the lookout where my group was taking pictures. I chose my steps on the crunchy snow/ice carefully as I opened the last Coors light I had in my jacket pocket and joined the fun.

At the beginning of this hike we were greeted by three men at the trail opening who told us they were coming to cut down Christmas trees (illegally we think) and they told us they see bears here but since our group of 10 would talk and yell back and forth on the trail it would keep anything harmful scared and away from the trail. The local knowledge was assuring enough and we continued on. About a week ago this area received the first snow of the season therefore all of the shaded parts of the mountain had the winter landscape we came up here for, in addition to celebrate Friendsgiving with Mia's core group of friends.

We returned before it got dark to having our beverages of choice in hand, snacks, games, and a warm crackling fire to fill the silence between any music tracks we requested via an Alexa (a wireless, internet connected, smart speaker that you can give orders to). My time spent up there was less than 24-hours in total but thankfully the feeling of escape and leisure sets in immediately after getting out of the car and lasts until you are driving back descending in elevation into the flat, hazy smog of the Los Angeles basin... back to chores, alarm clocks and work, but with more valuable memories and a greater appreciation for welcoming friends and access to adventure.