Beach Loop

With the truck not running yet, and too many days passing after my last run, I ran out the door yesterday (Thursday) for an eight mile about town. I really didn’t wanna do it (with all that cement beneath my feet, and the fact that I might see someone I knew). I had to force myself, but really, I am so fortunate to live and run in such a lovely place as this. I am quite fortunate.

I ran inland for a bit so that I could catch a path down into Monarch Beach. Along the way, I ran past this fountain at one of the resorts in town:

After the majestic fountain, I had some slight uphill running with practically no shade until I finally came upon this path, a bike path back down toward the coast. It was down hill pretty much until I reached the tunnel that I took beneath Highway One, which lead to Monarch Beach.

I ran (and walked some too) along Salt Creek:

Then I ran along The Strands, all of it, because my son and his friends were at the beach somewhere in the crowd (and I didn’t want him seeing me walk on one of my “runs.” ) At the end of The Strands, I took these steps back up to the ridge:

From there I took The Headlands Trail, a short-cut back into town:

This was my view of The Strands and Salt Creek along The Headlands:

Back toward my home, I overlooked the harbor:

And I passed these three painted bulls:

I also found My Little Pony in the street:

And I was dead-dog tired!

A Good Ache

Gosh, I wasn’t really sure if I was ever going to make it back. Life really moves too fast. Feels like I’ve been riding a roller coaster and I haven’t been able to hop off, most notably for time along the trails. I’ve dreamt of the them though, both awake and asleep. And I’ve wrought myself with guilt over not making it out to some trails (go figure! As if they were a person I am neglecting). With school coming to an end into summer break, I had finals and grades to finish, not to mention the end of school activities for my boys, including a multitude of concerts to attend, one of them all the way up in Santa Clara (which is just south of San Francisco.) I also had one job ending (my job of 17 years shutting its doors) and another job beginning. But most importantly, amidst the hectic business of school ending, we received the sad news that my father-in-law died. The day after school ended, we were on a flight out to Texas to be with family. The trip was bitter-sweet, as we do so much miss the family, not to mention the open grasslands and big, huge Texas skies. Then the day we landed back in California, I was off to teach the first day at my new school.

Finally, I thought probably I could get some time to go out and wander. But then, oh, about three days later, my truck broke down. Well, we’re making it with one car for the time being (a big old SUV that I’m not used to driving) until hubby meets his work deadlines so he has time to fix my truck (the alternator we suspect). 

Without a car, there was not much motivation to get out and run, especially since I had been off for so long, and we had edged our way into a heat wave (surprise, surprise – it’s summer!). I really cannot bear the heat anymore, real or imaginary (and there’s been plenty of imaginary). All the while during this hiatus however, I continued working out at the gym, hoping, so hoping, that it would keep me fit enough to wander in the wilderness like I so yearned. I kept imagining, actually wondering, seriously wondering, whether I’d be able to run at all.  Fortunately, this mystery was solved Wednesday afternoon, when I convinced my oldest son to head out to Top of the World with me in the late afternoon. (As you can tell from the picture above, he was noticeably excited about hitting some trails with Mom).

I was seriously shocked that I was able to run along West Ridge to Top of the World. True, I hiked the steeper hills, and I sweated it out big time. Struggling felt good. And thankfully, we had an onshore breeze (which is the breeze coming off the ocean, which equates to a cool breeze). We didn’t do many miles, a little more than five over rolling hills. Five is good for me.  When it was all done, I thought, heck, the time off really didn’t hurt me that much. But it did. The next two days, my quads ached, and I was a little sore all over. But I’d have to say that it was a good ache. I may be aging (more rapidly it seems now) and on the heavy side (much more than I thought I would be), but I can still get out there and put in some time on trails that make me ache some.  And that’s what much of the trails is really about – the struggle and the ache.  Where there is beauty, there is often agony.

 West RidgeI sure missed seeing these guys (The Stink Bug)Looking back go make sure the boy is okay

Dang flash, kept going off – this was the best shot I could get 

Loose Ends

I have been out of the world of trail activity lately. End of the semester, finals, can’t-get-caught-up blues, oh-my-gosh-I’m-so-old melancholy, and boy, I’m-just-a-piece-of-shit-how-do-I-get-out-of-this-hole-I’ve-been-digging-for-51-years (well, maybe not that bad) dilemma is just overwhelming me. In tying up loose ends, I noticed I didn’t post my past run, which was way back when on the 1st of May. Believe it not, I got in 10.20 miles on that sunny (though cold in the morning) run in Laguna Wilderness and Crystal Cove. Don’t recall much of the run. Things have been too busy and hectic to recall things that long ago. Too bad for me. But I do have the pictures and the garmin data to show myself that I really was out there about ten days ago. And so, in order to clean out the closet, here are a few scenes from that wonderful, long, yet breezy run that I wish I could enchant you with more details:

Finding Falls Canyon (Again)

By the time I made it to the Holy Jim lot in Trabuco Canyon today (around 1PM), the place was packed. Note to self: stay away from Trabuco Canyon on weekends during the spring, that is unless I want a party, festive atmosphere. Lucky to find a place to park my truck, I immediately decided against following the trails that everyone travels. Instead, I decided to head off back toward the mouth of the canyon in search of Falls Canyon. I’ve been wanting to find Falls Canyon again for a while now, and I’ve kept eyes open for it to no avail. So, today  the search was on, and having been to Falls Canyon once before, I had a general knowledge of its location. First I knew that I’d need to locate the Tin Mining Company ruins, and then anywhere from a tenth of a mile to a full mile after that, I’d find it on my right. And that I did. And the experience was all in one, surreal, lonely and beautiful. I didn’t have a want for music on this trip -- the sounds about me were my music --soft and serene with water running and falling over rocks and breezes blowing through the trees. Occasionally, I could hear laughter from afar from other day trekkers who decided to take the road less travelled.  What an immensely pleasing hike! I only wish I could hold onto that peace throughout the day.

What’s That Over There?

I spotted a white cross from afar, high up in the hills above San Juan Capistrano some time ago. It appeared to be a tiny cross, but I knew that it was probably ten feet tall. And I knew that I had to find it. Cuz that’s what I do – I see something from afar, and I just must find a way to get to it.

I’ve been trying off and on to find access to these hills that border Laguna Niguel and over look Interstate 5. The main access point that I located in San Juan Capistrano however, was through a gated community, of which I could not find a way in. Every time I drove to work, I’d hunt for the cross in the hills, trying to pinpoint its location.

Today, I was off work at noon, so after lunch with my husband, I had some time before I needed to pick my youngest son from school, after which I planned to put in a couple hours at the gym. So, I went searching for access to these hills on the Laguna Niguel side. My first guess lead me to a cul-de-sac near a retirement community where I found a single track to travel down the hillside. There was no sign of the cross. I took a seat in a graffiti filled cement gulley looking across at the foothills and The Saddleback Mountains.  It was lovely really, being completely alone, yet surrounded by thousands of busy people making their way on the interstate, on the tollroads, on the overpasses going to the malls, etc., etc.  And I was able to figure out just how far off I was from the cross. My guess was that I needed to find access about a half mile south of my current location. 

After driving about some, I found another cul-de-sac with hillside access. I promptly jumped a dirt trail and headed up the lonely dry landscape. I was surprised to not see my tiny white cross anywhere. “Gosh,” I thought, “where the heck is it?” And that’s just when I focused straight down in front of me. Bam. There was the cross. But I had to get to my son at school. So I left the trail, and returned about a half hour later and hiked down a single track to a huge white cross in the hillside. Mission accomplished. I sat in the shade and peace of the cross studying the landscape and pointing out places that I recognized. I named the roads, the trails, studied rooftops to try and figure out what building I was looking at. The San Juan Capistrano Mission stood out majestically above it all. When you’re down there you don’t realize that the mission stands on a hill. But from afar, you can really tell that it stands higher than all the other buildings. Anyway, I enjoyed this all for a good half hour or more, before hiking out and heading off to the gym for some calorie burning. Looking forward to what I’ll notice next and wonder, “What’s that over there?”