Eight Miles In

Monday, June 20, I put myself on a schedule, written out the night before on a steno pad that I always have with me (except when I’m wandering). I really needed to do this – without a schedule I have no structure in my day. I get things done whenever I feel like it, which sometimes means never.  Without structure, I am nowhere near as productive as I desire. In fact, without structure, it seems every aspect of my life (mental health, nutrition, sleep, exercise) suffers. So, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm yesterday, as per my schedule, I answered students’ emails and troubleshooted a couple student projects, did several household chores, chatted over the phone with my oldest son (not on the schedule) and then shot over to the closest grocery store to pick up vanilla ice cream for the blackberry pie my middle son had baked the night before. (The blackberries were fresh, picked from a bush in my backyard.)

This structure came just in time. I could tell that my mood was declining the longer I held off. After my five hour block of work, I scheduled a hike that was obviously long overdue. The state of everything (and I mean everything, but in particular: COVID19, politics, unrest, etc.) was really weighing on me. And I felt  particularly down after reading details in the news about some recent murders, one in New Jersey, the others in Florida. I should never read the details in cases like these. The details haunt me. Haunt. Me. When I finally set out into Aliso Canyon for the Big Loop a little after 3 pm I was trying to shake the haunting images of what I had read. I guess if I could pick only one word to describe what I was feeling it was this: fearful. I was able to drift in and out of this funk as I strolled through Aliso Canyon and its brown summer glory. But I kept returning to a place where my thoughts were dark.

Hiking, running, wandering always gives me peace. Sometimes that peace is immediate -- I feel it with my first step. Other times, it takes a few more steps, sometimes a mile, sometimes two. This sense of peace that I talk about is not necessarily a feeling of “happiness”. It is more a feeling of weights being lifted off my shoulders, a feeling of acceptance and perhaps hope coupled with a joyful kind of lightheartedness all at once. I feel like I can breathe easier and think clearer with this peace. It’s the whole goal.

At about three miles in, I sat on The Rock in Wood Canyon, just past Wood Creek Trail to break my fast with some cheese and beef sticks. After another mile of winding trail beneath a shady forest canopy, I took the steep incline up to the ridge chatting with my mother over the phone. And then I hiked much of West Ridge listening to a Youtube interview.  All of this was wonderful for my soul: food then grinding out Cholla Trail  while talking to my mom, which made the difficult work much easier, toping it off with a hopeful interview overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

My Breakfast @ 4:30 pm

View of Saddleback Mountains from West Ridge in Laguna Beach

I barely saw anyone in the canyons on the way out – one or two cyclists and a couple runners. West Ridge had one or two hikers as well until I neared the Top of the World at Alta Laguna Park. By then we were well into evening with a cool ocean breeze. It was no wonder that the top was crowded with people either taking in the views or heading out for evening hikes. Practically everyone was masked. But as crowded as the place was, we were all easily able to keep our distance.

The playground was taped off in the park, but the restrooms (real restrooms with sinks, soap and running water, a luxury I don’t often have on hikes) were thankfully open. As I hightailed it out of the park into the neighborhoods (finishing up about 7.5 miles), more and more cars pulled into the park emptying people with masked faces headed out on their evening strolls. 

I left everyone behind and marched across the lovely neighborhood that runs along the ridge so that I could re-enter the park in Aliso Canyon. It was during that portion, right around eight miles in that peace finally arrived with all of its gifts. Eight miles in. And at about 8.5 miles in, I came up on these guys grazing on the hillsides and began my trek down Meadows trail:

Perfect Timing (nearing end of Meadows Trail, about 2 miles out from my truck):

Car Wreck Trail

The last hike I got out on was Friday, July 10.  I decided pretty quickly after arriving back to my regular stomping grounds  to take the most difficult incline in the park, Car Wreck Trail. With rising temperatures in Southern California, I was starting to think that I wouldn’t get in many more hikes over the next several weeks. Anticipating that loss, I was craving something tough. Granted, we are not having anywhere close to record temperatures. It’s just I don’t want to even flirt with heat sickness (Too many close calls!)

It’s debatable I suppose, whether or not Car Wreck Trail is the toughest trail in Aliso and Wood Canyons. Mentally Sensitive would be the only trail close to Car Wreck’s difficulty. Here’s the deal in a nutshell: Car Wreck Trail is steeper but it is shorter than Mentally Sensitive. Yes, Mentally Sensitive has some pretty dang steep portions. But Car Wreck’s steepness is constant from the car wreck onward all the way to nearly the end when it finally reaches Mathis trail close to West Ridge. I, by the way, did not make this trek with the mask as pictured above. I carry a mask with me, but don’t wear it when I hike. Don’t need to. I don’t see others, and when I do, it’s easy to social distance. Thank God this is my hobby, my medicine, the thing I do. I easily gave up the gym when COVID19 came along. I gave up the trails for a short while when the crowds arrived. But they’re back to desolate again, so I am in my happy place!

My route on this lovely summer late afternoon/evening: From Canyon View Park, Wood Cyn/Coyote Run/Mathis/Car Wreck/Mathis/Top of the World/Canyon Acres/West Ridge/Cholla/Wood Cyn. Car Wreck as promised was quite difficult (look @ that profile!). 7.65 mi, Elev Gain 1,305 ft.

      

     

Lovely evening hike during these tense times. Looking forward to getting out again. Really need to see to that quickly. It’s for my own good. 

Earthy Colors

Behind (as usual) in life. Heat is rising in Southern California, so I’m staying in close to the ocean as my way of coping with it. July 6, I managed to get out pretty late in the afternoon and took a rather lazy hike in Wood Canyon (Aliso Viejo, CA) with some lovely, hot-weathered detours.

Did I say that it was hot?

Anyway, I decided to try out a pair of men’s New Balance trail shoes that I picked up at the San Clemente Outlets on this particular hike since I’d only be out for a few hours. New Balance is my brand, has been for about twenty years and the tread on my current pair is running thin. I decided to give this men’s style a try because I really liked the green earthy colors and they were only thirty dollars, which is quite a steal for trail shoes. Often, the female trail shoes have colors that are too flashy for me.

So into Wood Canyon I lazily made my way and first thing I really noticed was how high the shoe rides up on my ankle. It felt odd, and I’m not sure that I like it. I definitely don’t hate it – it’s not a deal breaker, but I’m thinking these aren’t going to be one of my favorite pairs of shoes. In all though, they weren’t terribly uncomfortable. And I do believe that this is the second time that I learned that I don’t like the cut of men’s trail shoes. I caught glimpses of memories of another pair of men’s trail shoes that I bought many, many years ago (again because of the earthy colors!) as I hiked along Wood Canyon that day.

I got in about 7 and 1/2 miles on July 6, with not much elevation gain (<1k), but it was lovely. I took in some shady detours, the first one being 5 Oaks (which I rarely take, but I wanted to take a look at the newly built bridges and trail reinforcements). On the return, I detoured onto the lonesome Coyote Run Trail and and the spooky Wood Creek Trail that is almost completely covered in forest. The hike of course ended with cool summer ocean breezes which made taking off in the afternoon so worth it!

The Canopy of Wood Canyon

  Along 5 Oaks TrailCoyote Run Trail

The Bridge Over Wood Creek to Wood Creek Trail

Free Association (The Rock)

Got out for another evening hike on the first of July, 2020. It’s summer now, so if I can’t wake at the crack of dawn to hit the dirt early, it’s best to go ahead and get some work done and head out in the afternoon to take in those cooler evening hours.

July 1st, it was a repeat of The Big Loop @ Aliso/Woods Canyons (of course it was!). I took it counter-clockwise, as I do lately. That meant taking a gradual climb through the canyon. It was hot, but mainly due to the mugginess. And it was beautiful with lots of shade and flower color dotting the trail. The word that describes it best is “tranquil”.

There weren’t many people out at all. It was one of our warmer days, and not to mention just a few days out from a holiday weekend (the 4th of July!).

I kind of just mindlessly meandered through Wood Canyon, often carrying a mental load, then in the next second tossing it aside. I sometimes liken hiking through the wilderness to Sigmund Freud’s (the “father of psychoanalysis”) process of “Free Association”.  With this process there is no linear thought pattern, you just go and see it were it leads you.

So, there I was, just Free Associating away in Wood Canyon and that lead me to the rock. I just caught a glimpse of it – it’s over past Lynx Trail, off to the left, kind of rising up from the trail. How many times have I passed by that rock? I cannot tell you (I’ve been roaming Wood Canyon for more than a decade, about 13 years, so the answer is in the three digits). One time I walked past it with my three boys when they were all pretty young. We took a hike on Wood Creek Trail that day and we stopped at that rock on the way where my husband snapped a picture of us. This is the picture that flashed before my eyes walking through Wood Canyon on July 1st, 2020:

This memory took my breath away. I had to stop and climb to the top of this rock. And there I sat behind my dark sunglasses and sobbed for a while. I sobbed because it hit me with that memory that their childhood is finished. It is over and it went way too fast. The rest of the hike was quite mournful because of that. I would Free Associate out of my mournful state only to find myself there once again.

After the canyon, I had some good climbing to do and that is always a good thing when I am troubled. I caught the tail end of a rattler on West Ridge and awesome views of the Pacific Ocean before descending down Meadows Trail back into Aliso Canyon. I finished up when the sun was beginning to set on the horizon and the weather was oh so cool. The lighting was beautiful, dark in the shade, and vibrant out in the sun..

Another wonderful summer evening hike in the coastal hills Free Associating ~

 

Evening Time is Best

Friday, June 26, I headed out for another evening hike. I am really liking the long evening hike thing. Instead of ending my hike with warm (or hot)  weather, with the evening hike, I start the hike with warm weather to end with deliciously cool weather. And the wilderness is so much more active in the evening. Little critters, squirrels and rabbits scurry about the trail. And deer come out to feed on the meadow grass. Perhaps the best thing is the sky’s colors changing before my eyes. They start off light blue (if I’m lucky), turn to pink, then orange, then dark purple or midnight blue if I’m out late enough. 

On Friday I took Aliso Canyon into Wood Canyon as usual. My first change-up to the usual routine was to take a detour to Dripping Cave. It was a nice reprieve from the afternoon heat (it was probably about 3:30 pm by then). I have always enjoyed the cave and being that practically no one hikes at 3:30 in the afternoon during the summertime, I was able to bask in the cave’s coolness absolutely alone. I spent  good amount of time sitting around here. A perfect place for some solitude.

Dripping Cave (AKA: Robber’s Cave)

After Dripping Cave, I lackadaisically made my way up Wood Canyon, keeping on my usual route for The Big Loop. Wood Creek was still flowing pretty well. There were 2 more places that I crossed over after leaving Dripping Cave.  I didn’t come upon very many people, only a couple of bikers. And I came upon these 3 deer in one of the meadows along the way.

I continued on with my usual route, up Cholla Trail to West Ridge. From West Ridge I had a nice view of The Saddleback Mountains and a cool breeze. It was probably coming up on 5 pm by now, a glorious time to be on the trails. So lovely were the trails that I decided to change it up again and not leave the park at Top of The World. Instead, I headed down Rock-It Trail. From there I took Coyote Run for a magical hike through an enchanted forested fairyland. Finally, Coyote Run dumped me out at Mathis, where I crossed Wood Creek once more to close up the loop of this Cholla/Rock-It lollipop loop.I came in around 7pm, well before the dark purple skies.

Saddleback Mountains from West Ridge

Rock-It

Coyote Run Trail

11.2 miles, 1,044’ elevation gain