I had my first scare of the trip last night. After I had finished dinner and was winding down for the night, another car pulled up to where I was, stopped beside me, then turned around and stayed there. Eventually they turned the engine off and I waited. I was spooked because the area I was in had rubbish, broken bottles and similar evidence all around suggesting this might be a place where not very nice people hang out. I immediately drew my curtains, turned my lights off and locked my doors. I saw what I could from my wing mirror since they were parked behind me. I texted a few friends to tell them what was happening and that I’d call them if anything happened, which may have been silly, but made me feel better to be cautious. They were very helpful. I considered my options. I definitely wasn’t leaving the van so the bathroom break I was about to have would have to wait. I resolved to make sure my phone and keys were handy so I could jump in the driver’s seat and drive off if necessary, but otherwise, I would read my book until I got tired, which didn’t actually take too long.

In the morning, they were gone, I don’t know when they’d left. They’d probably just come up to smoke weed or have sex or something. Anyway, good experience. I had a slow start to the morning, crawling back into bed after having a much needed pee. The skies had cleared and I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise through some wispy clouds over the mountains. Eventually I got out of bed, had a half-shower out of a bowl of water and made some breakfast as I listened to the BBC news podcast. When the sun came out, I sat on the back of the van and soaked it up. Having not seen it at all yesterday, I was grateful for the warmth on my face.

I was planning to do a big ride today and I didn’t quite feel ready for it, so I worked on the van for a bit. Vince had come up with the brilliant idea of turning my passenger seat around when I talked about my envy for the swivel seats in their Sprinter vans. I was sceptical, thinking that knowing GM, the bolt pattern underneath the seat would be trapezoidal or something. Turns out it’s not, it’s perfectly square. I could hardly believe it, but within an hour, I had a rearward-facing passenger seat, which not only gives me a comfy chair for night time, but also opens up the living space in the van. I was so chuffed, I sent a photo to Vince and Kelly immediately. They approved.

I set off around 10:30am and crawled slowly up the mountain to nearly 8,000 feet where Big Bear Lake is situated. I drove around the north side of the lake to the discovery center where I spoke to a lady who wasn’t very forthcoming with information about the Skyline trail Kelly had told me about. But she did tell me where I could start it from. I took a few maps then had a very late morning tea in the van while I figured out a plan.

The Skyline trail is one that runs east/west on the south side of Big Bear Lake. I was trying to figure out which direction was best. Trailforks said from east to west, but everything else (forums, the visitor map, MTB project) all said west to east. I went with the majority. I drove around the lake to the trailhead. When I arrived there was another girl there just about to roll away. As she got her Giant Trance off the back of her car, I asked if she was local and knew much about the trail. She had only been living here a month, so didn’t have much advice, but we had similar plans. To ride the trail, then depending on time, either ride it back, or ride back through town. She rode off while I got ready, hoping we’d get to catch up later. I prepared for cold weather because it was nippy at this altitude. Big Bear was above the clouds, but there was fine mist hanging around at this altitude. I packed lunch, snacks, bike tools and thermals. With headphones in, I was off.

The initial mile-long climb up fire road was a slog, but was the only piece of fire road I would ride all day. I ditched my jacket a few hundred meters in and was down to a jersey. The climbing continued gradually as the single track begun. Through pine forest, it was full of sweeping curves that made the climbing easy. Forest turned to rocks as I rode into more exposed area. Before long, I came up on Alannah from the carpark. She was down to a singlet, sweating and walking her bike up a hill. I stopped and we chatted for a bit. She was a skier, so was really hanging out for the snow and trying mountain biking in the mean time. We were both pretty happy with the trail so far, especially the views that were teasing us from beyond the forest trees. Chatting done, I rode off.

The trail continued to flow, trending upwards, but gently. I really was in the clouds. They gave sneak peaks of the landscape below me as they moved frantically through the valley below, even wisping through bushes on the trail chilling my skin. The trail then dipped to its low point over a few kilometres, which was really enjoyable. I was having fun focusing on the cornering skills I’d learnt yesterday at Lake Castaic. I checked the time at the halfway point and found I was making pretty good time, so I was hatching a plan in my head to return to the car along the same trail, instead of through the town. Another long gentle climb through sandy, rocky terrain, always surrounded by boulders and clouds got me to the highpoint of the trail then I started descending again. This was one of two highlights of the trail. Fast and flowy with a few technical sections, I was in heaven. I eventually hit the end of the singletrack and went down some fire road for a while until I realised I had finished the Skyline trail. My morning tea muffin was now a distance memory and at 2:30ish, I was starving and lacking energy. I climbed back up the way I’d come, struggling, until I found a nice crop of boulders in the sun where I could enjoy the view to the North.

I downed most of the Gatorade I was carrying and fished out my ham/cheese/capsicum wraps and ate them both. An energy bar as well and I tried to absorb heat from the sun. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of it. I’d put my jacket on as soon as I’d stopped, but I was getting cold, so I didn’t stop long. Maybe only twenty minutes. On the way back, I got more views because the clouds had shifted, but had closed in again by the time I got back towards the start of the trail. I met a couple of riders and hikers along the way, but surprisingly, no Alannah. It seemed quicker going back to the start, but I think that was just my imagination, the trail is very two-way so it really doesn’t matter what direction you do it in. The second highlight of the trail was back at the start, where I avoided the fire road I’d climbed up and took a downhill only piece of track that was the same as the opposite end. Fast and flowing.

At 4:30pm I was happy to be back at the car. I’d ridden 40 km and I immediately needed some warmer clothes. I got myself sorted and got in the car quick smart to warm up my hands. Alannah was not back and I hadn’t seen her so she must have exited the trail early and ridden back through town. Having a look at the other trails in the area, I was interested to see Castle Rock, but also had a 1 mile walking trail which apparently was the most popular in the area. Yeah, I had time, and it would mean I’d get to drive through town. On my way there, Alannah spotted me as she was riding up the hill and gave a wave. I waved back with a smile and a thumbs up. I think she’d challenged herself with that ride!

The village was very reminiscent of all ski villages, but I noticed the main road was blocked off, most likely for a Halloween event. I would have to check it out on my way back through. I hit the Castle Rock trail head just after 5pm, put my trail running shoes on and was off. The trail was rated at “difficult”, which meant it was very steep, but nothing compared to the Stawamus Chief in Squamish. My legs ached as I climbed, but I knew it was only a mile. The rock formations were beautiful, I could see how there would be climbing amongst them. There were about a hundred different trails leading up the mountain, I’m sure all leading to different crags, I did my best to stick on the main route. I reached what I thought was Castle Rock and climbed up on top of it for a view of the lake. It was beautiful in the setting sun, especially with a set of clouds trying to roll in through the valley, but disappearing as they hit the lake’s entrance. From where I stood, I could see a higher rock formation, so I got down and climbed that. This definitely was the peak. I sat and enjoyed the view for a while as the sun set behind me. It was going to be a cold night.

Before the sun got too low, I headed down, enjoying the stretch in my legs and the rest that my lungs got going downhill. I got back to the car and headed back into town. On the way, I stopped at a servo to fill up with water. They didn’t really have a suitable outlet, but the servo lady let me into their back room to use their laundry sink, which was great. She wished me happy Halloween and when I asked why the road in the village was blocked off, she explained that they have an event there where kids can go trick-or-treating without the hassle of traffic.

I parked at the end of the closed road and nearly didn’t bother going to have a look because I couldn’t see much going on, but I got my down jacket on and ventured out. I’m glad I did because the festival was in full swing (it had started when the sun went down). There were costumed kids and adults everywhere, each with bags to collect their treats. I didn’t try getting any, but a lady did hand me a granola bar, which is NOT candy! All of the shops had tables out front and their employees/owners were handing out candy to anyone who wished for it. There was a huge line for free hot chocolate and other goodies. It was a lovely atmosphere with kids running all over with the parents closely in tow. I saw everything from fairies to vampires, slaves to pharaohs, ninja turtles to Master Chief. It was awesome just to see the effort everyone had put in. I felt like I would be kicked out at any moment for looking normal. And these people were brave. I was in a jumper and a downie with my hands shoved firmly in my pockets and some were walking around sleeveless for the sake of their character!

After walking all the up and down, I was ready to go find camp. I drove east out of the city, hopeful of finding a camp not far down the road. I got my wish. Within a kilometre of the last houses, there was a dirt driveway leading up to a recreational vehicle area. As I got to the top, there was already someone camped out in a truck at the trail head, so I parked a little lower down the road, struggling a bit to find level ground, but I figured it out. It was nice to have other camping company after last night, even if they were just in the vicinity. As I was cooking dinner, the other people had packed up their car and were leaving.

She pulled up next to me and complemented me on my van. She was a nice lady and when she saw I was on my own, she asked if she could stay and chat since she didn’t really have anywhere to be. I said sure, so we swapped stories. She was very interested in my situation because she was going through a rough time of unemployment and eviction and was considering the “fuck it” solution of going nomad and travelling around solo. I gave her the pros and cons. It sounded like she’d had a hard life, but was working on a few different avenues to get another job and be able to afford rent. We were still talking by the time I’d finished dinner (chicken pasta) and sat on the back of the van eating as we talked. When Jenny found out I’d kitted out the van myself, she said I should look at doing a similar thing to her truck. She must have said goodbye and goodluck at least five times before she left. Just before she did, she asked if I liked reading and gave me a book, “Into The Wild”. I was very grateful! I’d seen the movie, but had always wanted to read the book. I asked her to sign the inside cover for me as a memento, which she did, and also gave me her phone number and told me to call her if I ever ran into any trouble.

After doing the dishes and packing up the kitchen, I moved the van to where Jenny had been parked where the ground was much flatter and I had a bit more space around the van. I think I’ll need the thick blanket tonight.

I enjoyed writing this from the comfort of my reverse-passenger seat!