I was so fortunate to have a taker again for another run in our local mountains, someone else crazy enough to run up Holy Jim – they’re out there. Yes, they are! Today, I took the trip beneath dry skies with Tom Bychowski up Holy Jim (also referred to by some as “Holy Cow” or “Holy Crap”.) Now my 3rd time up, it isn’t that bad. What Holy Jim is, is LONG. Sure it’s uphill. But the grade isn’t ridiculously steep (much less than Horse Thief). Five miles uphill, I’m pretty sure is long by most people’s standards.
Holy Jim begins in the canyon and goes all the way to The Main Divide (the ridge that overlooks Riverside County and Orange County). Holy Jim trail is green and gorgeous with several stream crossings, lots of shade cover and then pretty much exposed, single-track, switch-back, high in the sky. I found it difficult to keep up with Tom (& actually I didn’t that much), but I didn’t worry about that so much. I just kept plugging away, trying hard to look up and not down.
The trail is simply glorious.
Crossing stream on Holy Jim Trail
Tom on Holy Jim Trail – it’s switch-back time!
Self portrait going up Holy Jim Trail
Don’t rightly recall how I got in front of Tom here on Holy Jim, but it was an ideal photo-op.
More Scenes going up Holy Jim:
Finally running The Main Divide
That’s Lake Elsinore below – beneath the clouds:
Running down West Horse Thief (Tom thought a good rename would be Crazy Horse – I agree). Rocky, switch-back, back beneath the clouds:
Getting closer to Trabuco Creek on West Horse Thief
Coming in for the final stretch on Trabuco Trail to finish up this 14 mile run was long indeed. I was thankful for shade bursts, though the weather was cool. Thing was, I ran out of water toward the end. Dreaming of a tall glass of ice water helped keep me running. Then I remembered the first time I ran these mountains with the other Tom (Tom Fangrow) I spotted a bullet-ridden car. I didn’t see that car last week. I didn’t see it during the Saddleback Marathon. So, I began the search. And I swear I found it in a very different place, much closer to the trail. I think our December rains moved it some.
Here’s the Car:
Miles logged today: 14
No elevation profile – I actually forgot to strap on the garmin! But it’s the same profile as last Sunday. Hard.
5 miles of technical terrain uphill is definitely challenging.
ReplyDeleteI love how happy you are when you're out there on the trail. ::smiles::
Congratulations on an awesome 14 miles with your buddy!
Another great run Lauren! I love all the photos, thanks for sharing. You are so lucky to have these trails for training. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteWow what a great view! Looks like you guys had a blast! :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool pictures... which I could have gone.
ReplyDeleteThanks Green Girl! I was pretty wiped-out afterward, but happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Johann! I am very lucky. This June will be three years trail running. Before I started, I had absolutely no idea how many wonderful trails we had.
ReplyDeleteThe views are breath-taking Kate. Thanks for reading. Definitely had lots of fun, was DEFINITELY wiped out : )
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeremy. I put a Holy Jim run on the calendar for June. Let me know if that works, if not I will put one on when you can run it. : )
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