26th May 2025

By 6am I was outside of the hotel awaiting a lift back to trail. The rest of the gang were gently snoring away in the room upstairs and my backpack was a fraction of its normal weight. I was on my way to slack-pack (not carrying the full weight of gear) the 8 mile section we would otherwise have skipped due to convenient drop-off points. While I would not describe myself as a purist, I saw the opportunity for some time by myself.

The trail followed the side of hills up to another wind farm. Wind turbines gracefully cartwheeled overhead, their mechanical whirl only heard once the trail dipped and was sheltered from the raging wind. Joshua tress are abundant along the path. They looked like some mad creation from a Dr Seuss book, branches veering off in all directions, their vegetation a green Pom Pom atop.

It was a pretty uneventful walk but I’m glad I did it and I certainly felt better for it. It was the first time I’ve had solitude after weeks of never being alone. Time passed quickly and after a successful hitch at the first try, I returned back to town just in time for breakfast. Town chores then proceeded the morning and by lunch we could enjoy sandwiches from the German Bakery, which we ate by the pool.

In the evening we ordered pizza and squeezed 8 of us onto two double beds to watch Mean Girls. With abs sore from laughing we wandered back to our room for bed.