After the Fire

June 2nd, Wood Canyon was accidentally sent ablaze (by a teenage boy, I believe, who later confessed). A sense of sadness came over me when I heard the news. Fire. It’s such a bizarre thing. It can save you and it can kill you. And the whole fire versus wilderness thing, well, that’s all part of nature. The cycle of nature burning and then re-growing is also a part of the natural cycle. So, I think the sadness was mostly due to the fact that a big change was coming for a place that I know intimately. I bet that I could travel all of Wood Canyon blind folded. So, my sadness was over saying good-bye to the way it was, which I loved, really loved. I’ve seen fires come through before, in several different areas. It all comes back – it just comes back differently.

Eight days later, on June 10, I took a hike during the early evening into Wood Canyon. And yes, it had changed. Entering from the Canyon View Park location, I didn’t see any indication of the fire for about the first mile and a half. I did see other signs however. Signs like big heavy machinery tire-tracks left on the trail and in the creek crossings. Signs like branches and brush strewn about on the trail, and trail signs smashed in the dirt.

I could finally see the first parts of the burned portion in Wood Canyon about a quarter mile out from it. The charred area begins near The Old Corral right beneath Soka University. I immediately noticed tiny bits of ash blowing about in the breezy evening air. It smelled of burnt wood everywhere. And the whole canyon seemed to open up and widen with the trees and brush no longer there.

From Soka University the burnt area continues down Wood Canyon until just before Cave Rock (which I visited to break away from the viewing). Dripping Cave is completely closed to the public due to the fire. The burnt area also continues into Mathis Canyon – just past Nature Loop trail.  The Nature Loop Trail is closed, and all of Coyote Run (south of RockIt).

Some Cave Rock Trail (which completely escaped the fire):

Total Miles: 7.93 / Elevation Gain: 665’

My Reasons for Nanny Goat 2018

Nanny Goat 12/24 hr has long come and gone. My strength developed into weakness rather quickly, but I still had myself a good time. Fortunately (for me, because I just can't do a write-up at the moment), I did put together a pretty dang long video that explains it all -- my reasons, my goals, etc. It took me a couple of days to recover from the event, and since then, I've been back to doing short runs at the harbor and around town, plus gym work-outs a couple of times a week. One thing for sure that Nanny Goat taught me (which it always teaches me) is that I can go much farther than my physical fitness abilities. I also learned that I cannot make a video of a running event without a shaky camera. Sorry!

 

RockIt / Meadows Loop

Got to make this one even quicker than the last – tying up loose ends today, so much to do before I hit the road after work (and yes, I am at work right now).

Last Wednesday, May 16, I surprisingly had the morning off from work. Actually, it should not have come as a surprise (and this happens to me every semester). If I would have looked at the academic calendar, I would have noticed that there was no class on Wednesday, the day before finals started. My students clued me into the fact that I didn’t have to come to work Wednesday morning or afternoon. I am so grateful for them! So, off to the coastal hills I went for a little (well, not actually little) run-hike loop in the Wilderness. It was my last one to date. All other training since then has been in the gym.

Wood Canyon Trail:Coyote Run Trail:RockIt Trail:Top of the World:Meadows Trail:

11.55 miles, 1,191’ elevation gain, Aliso Cyn/Wood Cyn/Coyote Run/RockIt/West Ridge/Top of the World/Meadows/Aliso Cyn

Mother’s Day to Bedford Peak

On Mother’s Day (5/13) I took a short hike up to Bedford Peak with my oldest son (who is now home from college for the summer). The route was: Maple Springs Road to the Silverado Motorway, then right on The Main Divide to a small unmarked trail up to Bedford Peak. It was a great Mother’s Day gift. The weather was cool, and spring flowers were out in abundance. And when I say “short” hike, I do not in any way mean “easy.” That Silverado Motorway is a hell of a climb. In all, the distance only measured 7.25 miles, but the climb measured a gain of 2,176 feet! What a wonderful hike, and what beauty there was for me to photograph. Going back soon!

Photo Diary of my Mother’s Day Hike:

Bald Peak or Not

I am terribly behind in my trail posts. And with a big weekend coming up (going for a circuit race even though I have not trained at all) I’m going to try and do a post a day to catch up. The furthest back goes to May 12, a Saturday. I woke up fairly early on a cold misty morning and headed out to Maple Springs Road. My original intention was to take all of Maple Springs Road, turn right at The Main Divide and eventually summit Modjeska Peak. But being that I did not get out as early as I wanted, I changed my goal to turn left instead on The Main Divide and summit Bald Peak

The skies were white with clouds. The weather was cold. I never removed my long sleeves, or my beanie. It was wonderful. And to top it off, I saw my friend Tom as he was coming back down on a bike ride.

Talk about socked in. It was definitely beach weather up in the mountains that Saturday morning. We call it June gloom in my parts, and in my parts (that is down at the coast), June gloom has already hit. Up there on Maple Springs Road I could not see the terrain very far out, and certainly not the peaks. There is where my trouble lay. I could not find Bald Peak. Finally, I found a spot that looked very familiar and as I made the climb, I became more certain that I was indeed climbing Bald Peak. It all looked very familiar to me from my previous trips. I had a couple of bars on my phone, so I was able to access my GPS. And it said that I was 1.6 miles from Bald Peak as I stood at the spot that I thought was Bald Peak. Huh? Well, the two previous times I climbed Bald Peak, I may have been wrong at the wrong location, and therefore I have never indeed been to Bald Peak before, or the GPS was wrong. With the poor visibility, I could not see any peaks in the distance to make any knowledgeable judgment.

With time fleeting, I decided that the peak I summited was good enough. I headed back, snapping a multitude of wonderfully eerie pictures on the way down (which I ran most of – all down hill!). You can be sure, I will be back to investigate to true location of Bald Peak.

11.4 miles, 2,250’ elevation gain