The mixing of groups of friends is always an ambitious undertaking. One can put much thought into the symbiosis of people's personalities. Will her go-with-the-flow attitude towards life mesh with his need for a detailed itinerary? Will someone's tendency to make obvious observations out loud drive the rest of the group crazy? The anxiety brought on by having multiple friend groups in the same place deterred me from having a Sweet 16. The what ifs were just too much to bear.

This trip came about in a haphazard kind of way. I had traveled out to California for work last October with the plan of making it to Joshua Tree before heading home to NYC. Unfortunately, Congress had other plans. Instead of exploring Seuss-like terrain, I was left with a nice but ultimately disappointing county park - a gas pipeline road should not be the main trail in a park. So when my friend mentioned an opportunity to camp with some of her high school friends before we headed to a conference in San Diego, I was all in before I could fully anticipate what that would mean.

As we neared our home for the next two nights - Black Rock Campground - I began to wonder what our next few days would like. Our ragtag group consisted of 3 childhood friends, one girlfriend, one co-worker, and one cousin of a groom from a wedding that was attended the previous night. With each of our dispositions in mind, I played out the various scenarios of how our 10 mile hike the next day would go. How long would we last before we all got on each other's nerves and someone had to be sacrificed in the middle of the desert? The good of the group over the individual, right?

But my worries were completely unfounded. Despite our very different demeanors, we worked well together as a group. At various points throughout our 6 hour excursion, we each had our moment of asking each other to slow down, take a water break, and/or eat a snack. And in those moments, no questions were asked. We all amended our plans to the immediate need. As a result, even though the hike was grueling, we were able to fully enjoy ourselves. There may have even been some sing-alongs - Down by the Bay is always a good time. Always.