There is where my heart is (hint: those mountains in the background. It's just too darn hot for me there right now).
Monday, July 29, 2019
The Way to do Summer Trails
There is where my heart is (hint: those mountains in the background. It's just too darn hot for me there right now).
Monday, March 4, 2019
Spring is Coming to Arroyo Trabuco
Beneath Oso Parkway looking down onto Arroyo Trabuco Trail:
Monday, December 24, 2018
Arroyo Trabuco My Good Friend
Arroyo Trabuco 14 mi. / Friday 12/14
I downloaded the Mapmyrun on my phone and took to Arroyo Trabuco Trail Friday, December 14 (yes, I am 10 days late -- so I will make this quick). Not really mourning my Garmin anymore (it really was a pain in the ass). I recall it was a dark day, both physically and mentally. The skies were gray, and I was feeling down for reasons I’ll leave out. Best thing ever to do when down, hit the trails, especially after recent rains.The creek was full, so much so, that I found it difficult to cross without at least dipping my foot in the water. There were several creek crossings. There were also lots of people, and they all made some kind of contact -- a nod, eye contact, even short talks (big contrast to my local trails). I met one man (Ahmad) who told me about the video clips he saw of mountain lions on this trail. We had a good ten minute discussion as he showed me one of the cameras on the trail that I had never even noticed. In the end, I was growing somewhat fatigued, and even had to run some to keep to my time schedule. I believe that I probably ran about 6 of the 14+ miles. At the last creek crossing, I didn’t have energy or focus to cross it without getting my feet wet. So, mid-way, I simply stepped down into the middle of the creek and walked across it, drenching my shoes completely.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Chiquita Again
My diet:
Friday, November 16, 2018
Bald Peak For The First Time (Again)
Last Sunday, I got out fairly late (about 8:30 am) and headed out to Maple Springs Road. I was hoping to re-take photographs of the yellow Maples (having accidentally deleted them a couple of weeks back!). Upon arriving to the trailhead, I continued onto Maple Springs Road, driving the first 3.5 miles, just like I always do. At the end of the paved road, I backed into a space on the dirt over the dry creek. Getting situated in the spot just right, I accidentally pushed down the accelerator instead of the break (which was so weird) and I lurched forward up the road. And it was at that very instant that I decided not to park, but to keep on driving. On a whim, I drove up a little over four miles to a nice flat area called “Four Corners.”
Well, I arrived too late in the season to re-take pictures of the beautiful yellow maples. Their leaves had all dropped. But all was not lost. Maple Springs is still a beauty to the eyes no matter what season. The drive up was slow, and fun – I am probably too careful when it comes to off-roading (I don’t do it much). The wind was rough and cold at the top (the top being Four Corners where Harding Truck Trail, Maple Springs and The Main Divide meet). And when I opened my truck door it slammed against me. After that, I sat in my truck a bit to gather the nerve to face the wind and cold. I did so shooting a live Facebook video. Saying what I was going to do on live video, meant I had to do it (even if only one or two people watched).
Being that I saved so much time by driving up the mountain instead of hiking it, I decided to make another go at Bald Peak. A few months back, maybe weeks, I hiked to what I had thought was Bald Peak (again) and happened to turn on my phone gps. Lo and behold, I was not standing on Bald Peak. So, I have been wanting to find the real Bald Peak for quite some time now, being that it was already crossed off my peak list.
The actual Bald Peak was easy to find, having mapped it out previously. Had to do some scrambling to reach the top, and it was a bit scary hiking down due to its steepness. Thankfully, there was a sign posted at the peak to show me that I had indeed bagged the actual Bald Peak.
Some of the fire damage on The Main Divide:
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
No Time to Post–But I’m Gonna Anyway! (Wood Cyn)
Super-duper behind on everything, literally everything in my life. But I do manage to get in my hikes here and again. This one was from over a week ago (Nov. 4) – I took a nice little stroll through Wood Canyon in Aliso Viejo, with a detour onto Wood Creek and Cave Rock trails. It was lovely and quite therapeutic. I saw 2 coyotes and 5 deer – and all at once. Alas, I was not able to retrieve my camera fast enough. Also, it suddenly came to me to check out the creek for crawdads, because it’s fall! And that’s when the crawdads show their faces. I’ve been searching out crawdads since I was 17 years old when my husband and I started dating. We used to catch them in Walnut Creek in Covina California and put them in his aquariums. Sure enough on this hike, I found several walking about the creek floor on my way out. On the way back however, I checked again, and those orange fresh water crustaceans had completely disappeared. I did catch a picture of the crawdads who appeared to be angrily waving their claws at me, and I caught a lot of other cool pictures of this lovely, local canyon named Wood Canyon. I’ll just let them tell the story because I don’t have any time. None. Zero. Zilch!
7.75 miles
Wood Canyon Trail:Wood Creek Trail:My Crawdad friends (look closely through the water):Cave Rock Trail (a hidden gem in Wood Cyn):