The Beautiful Modjeska

I shut off my early morning alarm ONCE AGAIN.  But all was no lost Sunday morning.  I threw caution into the wind and pulled my truck out of the driveway at 9:30 AM.  9:30 AM!  An hour later I was winding my way through a little town called Silverado, driving 25 miles per hour, onward to Maple Springs Road.  With the weather warming up, I feared I hadn’t packed enough fluids for an afternoon run and stopped by the only market in town for a Gatorade – just in case.  

At the trailhead, I continued on driving up a single lane road until the pavement ended.  Parking my truck beneath a tree in the woods, I headed up the dirt truck trail at approximately 10:40 AM.  The heat was sweltering, and quite frankly, I wondered how I was going to manage a mountain run.  With a cold Gatorade in hand and 72 fluid ounces on my back, I moved on as I always do – one foot in front of the other. 

I hoped that I could run up to Modjeksa Peak because I have this thing about summiting.  Love to summit.  If the weather grew too unbearable though, I gave myself an out, with a turnaround point at “Four Corners,” which is 4.25 miles up the dirt road called Maple Springs. 

Thank God for shade.  The first leg of my mountain run went well – I arrived to “Four Corners” having finished the Gatorade but without dipping into my hydration pack.  My leg “injury” did not cause a problem either.  I did experience a slight ache though, and took two ibuprofen since I decided to venture onward to the peak. 

I ran straight through “Four Corners,” where three off roaders parked.  And the gnats kicked in just as I turned onto The Main Divide.  With little or no shade and gnats flying at my face, the rocky terrain proved difficult.  But who am I kidding – this portion of The Main Divide is always difficult for me.  So, it was business as usual – one foot in front of the other.

At a little over 5.5 miles travelled, I turned the bend in The Main Divide for a view of two main peaks in The Santa Ana Mountains:  Modjeska and Santiago, the far ends of the saddle.  Wow.  I still daydream about it even a whole day later.  Setting my eyes on these peaks makes everything all better, the gnats, the heat, the rocks . . .  This is an emotional spot in the mountains for me – the scene of so many victories and agonies as well.  It’s what I see back home, the backdrop for most of my coastal runs.  

I turned off The Main Divide and trudged up the sort-of-single-track to Modjeska Peak.  No more cars or motorcycles.  I had this part of the mountain all to myself – except however for biting horseflies that took tiny chunks out of my arms and legs, oh and lest I forget, swarms of gnats hovering about my face, focusing on my mouth, nose, ears and eyes. 

Heading up to Modjeska:

The final ascent:

At last!

Polish actress, the beautiful Helena Modjeska, whom this peak was named after:

A mountain biker once told me about a short-cut coming off Modjeska Peak that takes you straight down to “Four Corners.”  I’ve looked for it, asked hikers and other bikers about the trail, to no avail.  That is until I ran The Harding Hustle last month. I  don’t recall whether it was during my first or second trip up to the peak that out of the corner of my eye I noticed a  “do-not-go-here” trail marking.  Do not go where? I thought.  There’s only one way to go.  And that’s when I saw it, a partially hidden, true-single-track disappearing down the side of the mountain. 

This Sunday, I sought out that trail on the way down from Modjeska.  The trail seemed so obvious now.  Still, I felt a little nervous.  Bike tracks relieved me some.  If a mountain bike could take the trail, then I could take it.  Hopefully.  A lot of short cuts are short because they take you down the face of a cliff or something ridiculous like that.  Determined to focus, I shut off my music.  But I kept the ear buds tucked into my ears else the growing number of gnats drill through to my brain.  I could hear them crashing up against the buds, desperate it seemed to hit gray matter. 

The trail was steep, so steep that in some points the ground merely slid beneath me as I attempted to run the terrain.  It’s been a long time since I’ve ventured onto new ground.  The views were immeasurable.  The trails were shady.  They were rocky.  And they were swarming with gnats.  Fortunately, my short cut didn’t take me down a cliff.   But because I ran an unbeaten path, I was extra careful not to fall.  My cautious gait was so slow, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a “short cut” after all.  But soon, very soon, I caught “Four Corners” in my sight, and it seemed as if I had cut a mile and a half or so off my trip.

The “short-cut”:

Sure enough, this trail dumped me off right at “Four Corners,” on a portion of single track so steep, I sat and slid down it.  Oh ya!  Only 4.25 miles to go:

Where The Hell I’ve Been

I am still here.  But where the hell have I been?  That is a question I had to ask myself.  My answer:  I took a break.  And that’s the story I’m sticking with .  Not a real break, else I self-loathe into oblivion.  No, I took a mini-break, one filled with more rest that I usually allow myself.  And I’m glad I did.  Well, not really.  But I’m forcing myself to be glad.  I’m forcing myself to be content with what is.   

To recap:  I took some days off after The Hustle.  Four to be exact.  I figured that the rest would do me good, and that I’d be ready to run up a mountain. 

Note to self:  I cannot skip the recovery run. 

I should have taken my post race blues as a hint to at least hit the dirt for a few miles before attempting to run up a mountain. 

But, I didn’t.

I first set my feet to the dirt the Thursday after The Hustle where I met two girlfriends, Kelly and Sheila, in Silverado Canyon, about 3.5 miles past the Maple Springs trailhead.  I found the climb up tiring.  Quite slow.  And hot.

At about 4.25 miles, when we FINALLY reached “Four Corners,”  the ladies said that they wanted to put in another .75 miles for an even 5 miles.  I gladly stayed behind for some views.

I didn’t begin searching for my pals until a half hour had passed.  Unfortunately, I didn’t listen well (lesson:  listen!) when they told me which direction they would be travelling.  I searched to no avail, couldn’t even find their footprints.  Approaching an hour since our departure from each other, I began to REALLY worry.  I know these ladies.  I know their behavior on trails, and know that they don’t willy-nilly go off unexpectedly.  I felt for sure something had happened.  I thought to myself, “This is why I run alone!!”

And so, I ran back to “Four Corners,” from my search and in a calm panic, I walked around for a spot with cell-phone connection, and found enough bars to phone my husband.  He assured me that I probably mis-understood their intentions, that I should wait for them more, or slowly make my way back down the mountain.  As we spoke, I saw one of my friends making her way from a direction that I didn’t expect. 

The ladies had no idea how much time had passed and were profusely sorry for worrying me.  All was well that ended well.   I suppose I over-reacted in my worry. 

The next day, Friday (July 24), I took it easy with some ab work on my living room floor, as well as, upper body weights and burpees (both of which I hate). 

That first Saturday of my 2 week sabbatical (7/26/14), I spent some time at an air-conditioned gym about a mile away from my home with 5.23 miles on the elliptical crossramp and 4.34 miles on the adaptive motion trainer (AMT).  Afterward, I lay myself down on a bench for 400 crunches.  I finished off the gym session with fifty suspended leg lifts.  Back at home I managed ten burpees.  Yes, managed.

Sunday (7/27) was a day of rest with a mere ten burpees on the backyard lawn.  Really.  That’s all I could manage.

Monday, I just couldn’t bear getting out on the road, or the trails yet.  I was just too morose.  Instead, I found myself in an air-conditioned gym once again, where I plowed through 5.26 miles on the elliptical crossramp and 2.4 miles on the AMT.  I finished off this sabbatical gym session with upper and lower body weights, and then finally a mere 11 burpees at home on the backyard lawn. 

Tuesday (7/29), I managed to get in a little run by running out my front door during one hot and humid afternoon before my last teaching day this summer.  I ran alongside the beach, past the crowded campgrounds and to the southern city limits.  When the sidewalk ended, I turned around and ran back home.

Thursday (7/31), I made this sabbatical official with another trip to my air-conditioned gym. After trying four different elliptical crossramps, I found one in working condition and put in 5.14 miles.  I ended the session with a weight session – upper and lower body.

Friday, (8/1) was a true day of rest.  I spent this day of rest by dragging my three boys boys down to the corner where we caught a bus to Crystal Cove in Newport Coast.  It was a party bus of sort, and we were amused by the raucousness of its young passengers.  (One young lad was even kicked off the bus for smoking an E-cigarette).  After disembarking we hiked a bit inland (where I often run trails), then we turned back toward the beach for a trip beneath the highway to the sandy beaches there.   And we camped out here for a few hours before trekking back up to the highway, and caught another bus, and then another to be dropped off near home:

Saturday (8/2), when I was feeling that I had a long enough sabbatical, but didn’t mind extending it some, I found myself once again in my air-conditioned gym where I pushed through 5.33 miles on the elliptical crossramp, 5.12 miles on the AMT, a good session of upper and lower body weights, 350 crunches on the bench and 50 suspended leg lifts.

And then finally, on Sunday, today (8/3) I pursued my last day of this sabbatical with another session in my air-conditioned gym.  Miles recorded:  5.23 on the elliptical crossramp and 2.41 miles on the AMT.

Well then, there -- Sabbatical ended.

This is where the hell I’ve been.  I’m happy about it (and I’m sticking with that story )

Okay, then . . . am I crazy?

Breakfast at “Four Corners”

I got my once-a-week-mountain-run in this morning bright and early.  Well, not that early.  I started off up Maple Springs at 7:00 AM.  Still, I was the only one on the road for some time.  The weather was cool.  The skies were blue.  All ideal for a time in the mountains.  I originally decided to set out for an eighteen mile loop often referred to as “The Silverado Loop.”  It gets really nasty after mile 8 due to HOT, exposed, uphill trails.  But a mile into my loop, the battery on my garmin died.  Doh!!!  I didn’t want to make that trip without my security blanket, my sweet, sweet garmin.  So I began stashing my extra water as I made my way up Maple Springs for a fifteen mile out-and-back instead.

I saw a couple of these little guys along the way:

I didn’t run up that mountain quickly at all.  In fact, I met a two hikers again and again on my giant switch-back, as they made their way straight up the mountain, bushwhacking their way.  I didn’t stress over my inability to pick up my feet any quicker however.  I enjoyed the the lush mountainsides and little creatures along the way. 

I arrived at “Four Corners” quicker than I figured I would.  And I thought to myself, “I can do the loop.  I can, I can!!”  But alas, I had already stashed my extra water on Maple Springs.  I didn’t dare make my trip across the “desert” without reserves.  “Four Corners,” by the way, is a junction of four trails: 1) Maple Springs, the trail that I came up, originating in Silverado Canyon, 2) Harding Truck Trail, a 9 mile uphill battle beginning in Modjeska Canyon, 3) The Main Divide heading north (I think) and 4) The Main Divide heading off toward Modjeska and Santiago Peaks.

View from “Four Corners”:

My breakfast at “Four Corners”:

In all I travelled fifteen miles during this wonderful mountain out-and-back.  The back was all downhill, with plenty of wishes at my disposal along the way.

Day 26

Rain began to pour down well before midnight Friday.  Still, I set my alarm for an early morning wake time, hoping to get in a mountain run Saturday.  Wind howled throughout the night as rain pounded down upon our roof.  At times, it sounded like our roof was being ripped apart.  6AM my alarm rang out.  I reached for the floor and picked up my phone while focusing my hearing on the outside world.  Eventually I could hear that the rain still poured down.  I went back to sleep.  7AM, I woke again and nudged my husband.  “Is it still raining?” I asked.  “It’s pouring,” he said.  And so back to sleep I fell.

I didn’t wake fully until 9AM when my dog awoke me as she ran about the yard and barked.  The wind was still howling.  My youngest son was awake in the “Man Cave,” (Our video game/terrarium room).  I called in the doggie and caught a glimpse of the skies.  Surprisingly, even as the wind howled ferociously, the skies were blue and bright.  Perhaps I can run today, I thought.

I did not get into my truck until 10:45AM.  I had no choice but to run in the mountains (that is, if I wanted trails).  Yay!!!  After the rains, all trails in the lowlands (the coastal hills and foothills) are closed.  I picked a route that was quick so that I would get home at a decent hour.  Still, my drive time was over an hour.  I did not park my truck on Maple Springs Road until 12:00PM. 

When I set off running up Maple Springs Road in Silverado Canyon, the air was cold, the skies were blue with puffy clouds that casted giant shadows on the terrain below.  I had a lovely uphill run to “Four Corners.”  Occasionally, I needed to run up the trail side to avoid a large puddle.  Off-roaders and dirt bikers also passed me on the way up.  Some stopped to chat with me, oddly curious as to why I was running up this mountain.  It doesn’t seem so odd to me that someone would run up a mountain.  It also doesn’t seem that odd that someone would drive up a rocky dirt road.  Just being in the mountains high above the cities, seems reason enough to endure whatever it takes to get there.

I reached “Four Corners” feeling comfortable.  And so I headed off for some extra mileage toward Bald Peak.  Of course, the run to Bald Peak was longer than it looked from afar.  And it was more uphill.  But, I can do uphill, right?  Yup.  I can.  Especially if it means I can add in some power hiking, which I gladly did.  From Bald Peak I took some photos, then headed back for the long downhill trip to my truck.

Views from Bald Peak:

I made excellent time (for me) on my trip back down.  I felt strong, even on the rocky terrain.  I was able to hop over the gulley’s left by the rains.  I was able to quicken my pace with just a thought.  I felt satisfied with my progress when I finally reached my truck.

10.71 miles run (17.24 km).  Day 26 complete!

Tres Dias Mas

I’ve added three more days to my Easter streak, but time is so short, I’ve had little time to contemplate on them. 

Day 19:  I got out late, though I did manage to get in a beloved mountain run.  I drove to Silverado Canyon, and then Maple Springs Road to where the asphalt ends.  It’s a single lane road, that is, not one lane each way.  No, it’s one lane period.  Carefully I drove that road even as eager as I was to finally hit dirt.  And hit dirt I finally did.  I ran up hill on Maple Springs for 4.5 miles.   A mountain biker passed me as he rode downhill and exclaimed, “You’re Awesome.”  Wow.  I never feel awesome.  I should re-state that.  I feel awesome, meaning, I immensely enjoy where I’m at and what I’m doing.  But as a person, measuring my accomplishments, I don’t think I’m awesome one bit.  In fact, I constantly fall miles short.  I am a classic low self-esteem person.  So, when this cyclist hollered this out to me, I felt blessed.  I thought, “How nice he is, and how neat that I am a recipient of his niceness.”  

From “Four Corners,” I turned the bend in the rocky road and headed up toward Modjeska peak for 1.5 additional uphill miles.  I only made it to the point however, as time ran out for Saturday’s run.  At the point, I took in the hazy view, ate my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then turned back for a glorious 6 mile downhill run.  With about 4.5 miles remaining, two dirt bikers flagged me down to tell me this:  “We admire you. We really do!!”  Wow.  I hope that I am a stranger that makes someone’s day once in a while. Total miles run 12.02. (19.34 km). 

Day 21 (Easter Day):  I planned on getting a run in during the morning hours of Easter.  The morning flew by however, so I was left throwing my shoes and garmin into the car as we rushed off to my parents home in Fallbrook.  After an Easter lunch and way, way too many sweets (as my no- sweets-during-lent had ended), I headed out the door for a minimum run just to keep up my Easter streak.  I ran Dinwiddie Preserve for a grand total of 1.28 miles (2.06 km).  And I was happy to do it.  Note to to self:  Don’t forget to pack a sports bra!!!

Day 21: This was not a good day.  To begin, I dreamt in great detail that I was Jewish and in a Jewish concentration camp.  The dream was heavy, too heavy and too detailed.  A couple things that I explicitly recall are: 1)  I said to myself again and again as I registered as  Jew and checked myself into the camp, “This has already been endured.  You just must endure it again,”  and 2) the utter filth in the bedding that we were forced to lay in (though I brought my own clean bedding along with me, which was promptly thrown out when I arrived). 

Among other things on this day, which I will not categorize here, I jumped off my front porch, catching my hand on a rose bush.  A thorn tore, and I mean TORE through my ring and middle fingers, leaving a bloody mess that would not relent.  Besides that and other things (like I broke my husband’s windshield!) and one of my baby brothers went into emergency surgery last night, I was worn out mentally.  (My baby brother’s fine now, but I witnessed him in a great deal of pain yesterday, Easter Sunday.  I am so thankful that he has such a terrific wife.  She got him to the hospital despite preliminary doctor’s findings that they would “monitor,” his pain.  Turns out he was diagnosed wrong and had a ruptured appendix all along, that he suffered with for EIGHT days.)   Anyway, I’m off subject.  The point of this blog is that I did manage to streak day twenty-one.  I took a short drive and ran up Aliso Creek Trail into Wood Canyon.  From there I turned off on a single track for one of my happy places, “Dripping Cave.”  I spent a little time relaxing in the cool and shady Dripping Cave, then headed back out to Wood Canyon where I finished up my run with 6.11 miles (9.83 km).  I’m not sure if this made the day better, but I know I’m better for it.  And I did get a bit of tranquil thoughtlessness.  That’s always a good thing.