TALES FROM THE TRAIL (AND SOMETIMES THE ROAD TOO)

Showing posts with label Missing Link. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missing Link. Show all posts

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Emerald Canyon

Saturday I got back out for some trails in Laguna Wilderness.  Still not running, though I did run a couple of hills on this trip.  And I kept the cast splint off again, as even though I cannot straighten my arm yet, I really need to be able to swing it some.  With the cast, swinging is difficult but with it tightly wrapped I can get some movement in. 

I started off on Bommer Ridge and made it to my favorite ridge in this area, Moro Ridge with its gorgeous 180 degree ocean views.  But this time, instead of taking Moro Ridge to the end, I took an unmarked single track to my left after travelling the ridge for about a mile. 

This unmarked single track was a lovely piece of work with lots of rocks and a clear shot of Emerald Canyon, which I have not ventured to in years.   At times the trail got so steep and technical that I got down on my behind and scooted down.  I just cannot risk falling right now. 

This unmarked single track dumped out smack in the middle of Emerald Canyon, right near a bridge that I have never seen before.  Apparently, it was built about two years ago (according to a trail runner I came up on). It is a bridge to nowhere as this trail runner put it.  And indeed it is, but a gorgeous single track to nowhere.  You see, Emerald Canyon trail abruptly ends at a giant chain-link fence with an exclusive Laguna Beach neighborhood on the other side.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

For the trip back, (which was a five mile uphill trek), I decided to take Old Emerald Falls, an old favorite of mine, which winds through a giant meadow and up another rocky single track to Moro Ridge.  From there, I hopped onto Missing Link, which I regretted with its constant ups and downs (I was dang tired).  But, thankfully, that little detour ended up cutting my trek short by about a half a mile.  I was ready for a nap!

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES1 2 161 2 16a

Monday, July 29, 2013

A Marina Run and a WWII Bunker

Monday, day two of my new running streak, I took a leisurely run at the marina.  Well, it wasn’t exactly “leisurely” because when I run flats, I try to pick up the speed.  I’m so accustomed to a slower pace due to the elevation gains I usually run, I must take advantage of the flats, so that I don’t train myself only to run slowly.  Still, my faster pace is rather slow.  Be that as it may, I ran faster than I usually do.  And that was fun.

I took a quick look at the daily fish count.  Look at all those fish, and three fishing boats were docking at the time, so their fish wasn’t even counted yet.  The cafĂ©’s and restaurants were filled with tourists.  And there were smokers all about.  I assumed they were out-of-staters, because in California, smokers usually go back into the deepest darkest recesses to light up. 

Tuesday, day 3 of my new running streak, I went for a run and search.  A running friend told me where to find a WWII bunker off the trails in the coastal hills.  8:00 AM, I set out for a ten mile loop in search of this bunker. 

I began the loop in Newport Beach in the Laguna Wilderness, and ran a rolling truck trail down to the shore.  The weather was pleasantly cool.  For the first three miles, I didn’t even take a sip of the icy fluids strapped to my back.  I don’t even think I turned my hat around for the first three miles.  That’s how cool the weather was.  Lovely.

I had to climb a nasty trail, a steep truck trail, with paved portions.  Paved!   Also, not one single tree (aka. shade) lines the entire trail.  Stopping at the first location I figured to search for the bunker, I found nothing.  A bit disappointed, I thought to myself, “I have to take this trail again!!”  That trail is named B.F.I. appropriately named (Big F’ing Incline).  

Climbing B.F.I.

Still climbing B.F.I.

Before reaching the top however, I finally spotted it.  I noticed the cap first and ran on over to check out the bunker.  The cap was locked so there was no getting inside.  But I was able to crouch down and peer into it from a front opening.  I felt a bit sad exploring this historical remnant.  Mankind went through a terrible time during this period.  I even felt odd taking a picture of myself in front of the bunker.  I felt like I shouldn’t smile.  But I did. 

After my bunker find, I ran up another ridge then closed up this loop for 9.9 miles.  Ended up I drank all 64 fluid ounces of my Nuun dissolved ice water. 

The profile (Route:  No Name Ridge, No Dogs, B.F.I., El Moro Ridge, Missing Link, Fence Line, Bommer Ridge):

Running No Name, No Dogs, BFI, El Moro Ridge, Missing Link, Fence Line Bommer 7-29-2013, Elevation

Friday, October 7, 2011

Lackadaisical Run

We got rain in Southern California the past two days.  Enough rain to close local trails.  Of course I could have probably run mountain trails, but there’s no one to run with me on weekdays.  And I don’t run mountains alone.  Why? 

Mountain lions. 

And those two legged coyotes (as my husband calls them).

Rain was fine with me, though I’m not a big fan of rain.  I live in Southern California!  But I wanted to cut back on miles this week anyway.  I cross trained instead, and did my short speed workout on the treadmill. 

This morning, the sun shined brightly.  I checked local trail websites to find that they were all open.  Deciding on a venue change, I opted to drive many miles past my usual park to the Newport Coast to El Moro Ridge (which I believe the is part of Laguna Wilderness Park and the bottom is Crystal Cove State Park – I’m not sure on the boundaries.)  (For those of you who know this area, I ran down No-Name Ridge to No-Dogs, then past the ranger station and back up El Moro Canyon where I hopped onto a portion of Missing Link, then ran all of Fence Line to Bommer Ridge.)

I picked a lovely day to run  trails lackadaisically.  Having been wet for 2 days, then dried up today, the amount of animal tracks were astounding – lots of deer, bobcat and coyote, not to mention bird tracks and other miscellaneous tiny tracks that I didn’t stop to identify.   

With my speed training, I found that I took off at a quicker pace with little warm up needed this morning.  And when I found myself plodding along on the inclines, I thought to myself, “I can run faster than this.”  And I could.

But on to the pictures:

Running No-Name Ridge, I encountered lots of friendly hikers, all with walking sticks:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

A quick pose on No-Name, I was so, so ready to rip off this long-sleeved shirt despite the cool breeze.  But I wanted to wait until the bottom where I would make a pit stop at the ranger station:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Running along No-Name:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Approaching the Crystal Cove ranger station, notice white water in the distance:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Heading up El Moro Canyon, this lovely shrub lines the trail.  I can’t i.d. it.  Do you know what this plant is?  Let me know!SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Fungi growing along the lush, wet parts of canyon:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Just plain ole’ beauty running up El Moro Canyon where a doe dashed out from the brush in front of me, then another and then one more.  They hopped (yes hopped!) across the trail so quickly and back into the brush on the other side, that though I fumbled for my camera, I was not quick enough to catch a picture:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

More El Moro Canyon.  It was nice to run a trail where every tree is new to me:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Toward the end of the canyon, I had three options to the top – Nice-and-Easy (which isn’t exactly easy, but it is very runnable), Elevator and El Moro Canyon.  Here is the intersection of Elevator and El Moro.  I had not run either one before.  Guess which one is Elevator?  It’s not the trail on the right!  I took the trail on the right for a more direct route to Missing Link:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Oh my!  I don’t know why this trail wasn’t named “Elevator.”  I was actually slipping back down the hill as I went up.  But I was able to run some of it:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

A look back.  Curious what Elevator was doing, I went to the edge, “and there I stood and looked down, you know I lost a lot of friends there baby, ain’t got no time to mess around.”  Not!  I haven’t lost a lot of friends there (but can you tell me the name of that song?  I’ll give a small prize for the first person who can.)  Anyway, I did go to the edge so that I could see Elevator, and saw a meandering trail going up – Nothing like this one:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Fence Line Trail:SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Miles run this morning:  9.02:My Activities El Moro 9 mi loop 10-7-2011, Elevation - Distance

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Station-2-Station / Take Two

I didn’t have any takers to run the mountains this morning.  Oh how I love those mountain runs; they are oh so tough.  But I’m just too chicken to run them alone.  Actually, I think it’s relatively safe to run them alone.  It’s just that I have 3 youngish children, and I wouldn’t want a stupid mistake (& I make them Plenty, see “Rat Story,”) or something beyond my control to take me out of my most important job:  Mom.

So, I decided last night to allow (as if), my family to use our one and only car for church (oldest son is the acolyte this month – that is he lights the altar candles, puts them out, etc.), and I would take the bus to my run.

When my phone alarm rang out at 5:00 AM, I experienced a little panic – am I racing this morning, am I running with someone?  No.  I’m catching a 5:58 bus for my Station-to-Station run (Crystal Cove Ranger Station to Aliso Wood Ranger Station).  Oh! That’s why the alarm was ringing!!!

I SO didn’t want to go.  I wanted to sleep.  This was this first time, it seems in a long time, that I had to force myself out the door.  Odd, because, I bedded early, with a healthy diet this past week, including no sugar and no wine.  I opted to skip the coffee this morning, but did have a protein drink.  (By the way, I hear that protein before a run is NOT good – is that true?).  Then after checking on all the boys, including hubby, I snuck out the front door and walked down to the bus stop. 

Dreary-eyed waiting for the bus (yes, I do believe that I am crazy, just a bit)CIMG9630

Usually, I love riding the bus.  But this morning’s bus driver was boring (A bus driver once spoiled me with such great entertainment, that no one compares!).  In addition, I felt uncomfortable in my seat (that is my chair).  I wanted to sleep, oh HOW I WANTED TO SLEEP.  Several others rode the bus (ten plus) and three of us exited at the same stop.  I walked up to the Crystal Cove ranger station with a young, (so young!) man with interesting conversation.   I wish I would have snapped a picture of him.  He didn’t seem so thrilled about being awake at this early hour.  But I was an open ear and had plenty to say, so hopefully that woke him a bit.  He also seemed apologetic about his new job, “only cleaning” the campsites, he said, to which I replied, “Hey, it’s a job!”  Jobs are scarce in The O.C., both for the experienced and inexperienced.  

When I told this boy (“boy” not used in disrespect) my plans to run up the canyon through Crystal Cove Park, then Laguna Wilderness, across Laguna Canyon and into Aliso Wood Cyns he was visibly shocked that these three parks connected.  (Well, they sorta connect). 

Crossing Bridge into El Moro CanyonCIMG9643

A lonely, yet beautiful El Moro Canyon TrailCIMG9651

I ran El Moro Canyon in solitude, except for a few mountain bikers riding down.  One looked at me and said, “Boy, that looks like fun.”  Though it was difficult, it was FUN.  The best part was that as bikers rode down and saw me, they yelled out behind their shoulders, “runner!”  That meant it looked like I was running up the canyon!"

From El Moro Canyon, I took the longer route up “Nice and Easy,” (a steep “fire road”), where I came across two other runners coming down.  At the top of “Nice and Easy,” still beneath cloudy skies, I took a right and hoped onto a lovely single track named “Missing Link.”  Several mountain bikers road down this trail as I ran up it.  My clothing was already drench by this point.  Then at a circular, kind of meeting point, I met several mountain bikers, and I was a bit unsure where to go.  I asked them if I was still on “Missing Link.”  One of the guys responded, “Yes, just take this up a ways and you’ll hit the MAIN ROAD.”  Relieved, I ran on to “the main road.”

This is when I learned that my MAIN ROAD is not the same as another’s “main road.”  To me, the main road on these trails is Bommer Road. I should have asked!  Instead, I hit that “main road,” and ran it.  And I ran it.  Something seemed odd.  With extremely overcast skies, it still seemed like I was probably running in the wrong direction.  I was just hoping that I’d end up where I wanted, EVENTUALLY.  And then I passed an outhouse.  I’ve never seen an outhouse on Bommer road.  But I have seen one on Moro Ridge.  After using that outhouse, I took a good look around and it seemed that the ocean was in front of me (though I couldn’t see it) and I needed the ocean BEHIND me. 

Oops. 

I met another runner as I ran back UP, UP, UP Moro ridge, and she confirmed that I was not on Bommer.  Then I met yet another runner who was lost and we spotted yet another runner up ahead.  We stopped her short of her solo run and she set us straight on which direction to take.  We all three ran off in different directions.  That truly is one of the lovely aspects of trail running. 

Finally reaching Bommer RoadCIMG9660

I used the aid of lots of hikers on my way off of Bommer.  One small family was particularly helpful in finding Laurel Canyon.  Glenn had once commented on this blog how Laurel Canyon was a beaut.  And I have to agree with him.  What came as a surprise was that Laurel Canyon emptied out right at the ranger station – a  delightful surprise, since I was in newish territory!  When I saw the rangers, I hollered out “Rangers!”  and I used their expertise to guide me to Stair Steps Trail across the canyon up into Aliso Wood Canyons Park.  The ranger told me he’d wave as I was “running” up, (maybe it’s just me, probably is, but I got the feeling that he didn’t believe that I’d be running up).

Laurel Canyon TrailCIMG9665

CIMG9666

CIMG9670

I crossed the crowded Laguna Canyon Road safely (Hwy 133) and ran in the brush to keep as far away from the speeding cars for about a 1/2 mile.  Then when I came upon the land markers that the ranger had told me about, I headed up the slope.  And what a slope it was!  Stair steps doesn’t begin for a while.  At first it’s a STRAIGHT UP paved road (very tough, that I hiked).  Believe me, I was quite relieved when I finally hit Stair Steps Trail.  It was a long (only .7 mile) steep, technical trail, but it was runnable in most places.  Not only that, I knew exactly where I would come out – on West Ridge, MY TRAIL.   Be sure that I made big waves when I could see the ranger station below.  I couldn’t see the ranger.  But I kinda hoped that he could see that I was running. Smile

 

CIMG9673

Running up Stair Steps – Almost There!CIMG9677

When I hit West Ridge, I felt rather fatigued.  But I was finally in familiar territory, which made the trek more mentally doable.  I plugged away and finally after several hours from when I began,  reached Top of the World.  For some reason, at that point, I began dreaming of a plain cold water (without electrolytes) and an APPLE.  An apple . . . an apple . . . apple.

Top of the World (THE LONG WAY)CIMG9679

The rest of this run was my regular run.  But instead of running UP Meadows, I got to run down it.  What a relief!

Running down MeadowsCIMG9681

After taking a call from a friend while running down Meadows (and dang it, I forgot to call her back), I called my husband a bit later.  With about 1/2 mile remaining of this run, I called hubby for a ride.  My requests:  a Pink Lady apple and a bottle of cold water.  He delivered as requested when he picked me up at the Aliso/Wood Canyons ranger Station.  The lot was packed with cars.

Miles logged this morning:  16.32,  +2,917/-2,940 elevationMy Activities station to station (crystal cove to aliso) 6-12-2011, Elevation - DistanceMy Activities station to station (crystal cove to aliso) 6-12-2011

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Two Parks Before The Rain

I posted a group run for Crystal Cove this morning, tCIMG7907hen learned I wouldn’t have access to a car.  So I woke a little earlier.  And I walked down to the bus stop and waited for a bus in the dark.  I don’t mind taking the bus.  In fact, I kind of like it.  I get to look at all the shops and landscaping along the way without the fear of slamming into the car ahead of me (not that there’s many cars on the road at this hour anyway.)

First the good news:  1) The bus was on time and even arrived at my destination 5 minutes early, 2) The weather was perfectly cool, 3) and five perfectly cool people showed up to join me on this run (Hank, Sheila, Vicky, Rick and Kelly) and then 4) I had absolutely no piriformis muscle pains or any pains whatsoever.

The bad news:  No bad news! (Oh, except maybe that I was a little worn out for today’s run)

Rick, Kelly, Sheila, Vicky, Hank on “No Name Trail” (that’s really the name : )

CIMG7909

Rick, Kelly, Me, Sheila, Hank

CIMG7910 

We ran up, up, up on a trail (a fire road) called “No Name,” that I think should be renamed “No Relief.”  From there we hit a single track, eventually making our way to the top.  Well, almost the top.  We cut it a little short to run 2 other single tracks just beneath the ridge.  Then we ran Moro Ridge back and with my directions ran us directly into a dead end.  Backtracking some, we picked up Moro Ridge again, eventually making a 9 1/2 mile loop back at the ranger station.

Then Sheila, Hank and I took off for another run up to the top – the top-top this time, Bommer Ridge.  I had this notion to try and connect my park (Aliso Wood Cyns) with Crystal Cove.  So after running through a lovely El Moro Canyon to the top, Sheila and Hank veered to the left to complete their loop.  I took off to the right out of Crystal Cove Park into Laguna Wilderness Park with no idea how many miles lay ahead before I reached Aliso/Wood.

I was feeling pretty dang tired.  But after some calories and a bit more hiking, I got my second pair of legs and was off running again.  Bommer Ridge went on much longer than I expected.  And then Aliso/Wood Cyns came into sight.  I was actually running parallel to West Ridge (one of my regular trails) as I ran along Bommer.  Still, it was a long way off, and I ran out of fluids before I even reached Big Bend, the long steep down hill that would bring me into Laguna Canyon. 

Making it happily and without injury to Laguna Wilderness’s parking lot, I looked up at the nasty climb that would take me into Aliso/Wood and knew I wouldn’t be able to make it without fluids.  So I called my husband for a ride home and spent a good long while stretching these old muscles after running nearly 18 miles through two different parks.  But not before calling hubby back really fast with a special request:  “Please, please, bring water!”

Tonight the rain pours down.  I’m sitting here practically giddy that I got in such a good run before they closed the trails : ))

View of Saddleback from Fence Line Trail

CIMG7911

Waiting for Lauren : )

CIMG7913 

Heading down Moro Ridge

CIMG7916 

El Moro Canyon’s Beauty

CIMG7921 CIMG7922

CIMG7923 

A Dead Baby Rattler on Elevator Trail : (

CIMG7924

A view of El Moro Canyon from Bommer Ridge

CIMG7925

Running Big Ben (highest peak in background is Top of the World at Aliso/Wood Canyons Park)

CIMG7930

Laguna Ridge Trail

CIMG7932

Portrait of Big Bend Trail in parking lot

CIMG7934 

 Elevation Profile: +3,059’ My Activities Crystal Cove 12-5-2010, Elevation - Distance

Miles logged:  17.65 (Route:  No Dogs Trail to No Name Ridge, right on Ticketron, up Deer Canyon, Fence Line Trail, Missing Link Trail, Moro Ridge to B.F.I. back to ranger station, El Moro Canyon, Elevator Trail to Bommer Ridge, Big Bend Trail down to Laguna Ridge and parking lot, Entrance #7 to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park)

My Activities Crystal Cove 12-5-2010