The Adventures of a Mentally Sensitive-Mathis Loop

Aliso Cyn – Wood Cyn – Meadows – Mentally Sensitive – Moulton Meadows Park – Aswut – Top of the World – Alta Laguna Park – West Ridge – Mathis – Wood Cyn – Aliso Cyn

I got out before Friday for some more trails this week. I don't teach Thursday mornings this semester, which means I have the day until about 5:30 pm when I need to drive off to teach a math class. That leaves a lot of time for trails. I decided to spend some of that time putting in some long miles (11) sprinkled with the steepest incline in Aliso Canyon (Mentally Sensitive Trail!). 

The meadows were green. The creek was full. And the wildlife was out in abundance. Squirrels ran across my path. A bright blue bird swooped down in front of me. A road runner flitted across my path on Mentally Sensitive. And as soon as I turned the corner on Meadows heading toward Mentally Sensitive, I spotted a a rarity step out onto the trail from the meadow at my left. I mentioned in my last post that there is a delay in identifying animals when they are coming straight at me. The otherside of that is when the animal is not coming straight at me, there's instant recognition. This was the case on Thursday. I caught a glimpse of the cat from the side and immediately idenitified Bobby! (As in Bobcat). And what a beauty he was. 

Climbing Mentally Sensitive was a chore. Definitely  took my sweet old time. Half way up, I had grown so overheated, I needed to take off my long sleeves and tie them around my waist. The struggle was absolutely wonderful. And the green valleys and Saddleback Mountain views were very pleasing to these old eyes. Soon we will have fields of spring flowers. Hopefully we'll have a few more rains to keep the creeks flowing. Wet winters are a delight in California (not so much during the actual rain because we aren't used to it, and thus a lot of times unprepared and unpracticed). But the pay off from the rain sure is great.

Some Stats:

11.01 miles

Avg. Heart Rate (rpm) 122

Max. Heart Rate 165

1,522' Elevation Gain

1,480' Elevation Loss

Highest Altitude 1,168'

Lowest Altitude 150'

Slopes:

Uphill 35%

Flat 36%

Downhill 29%

Bye-Bye Garmin

So . . . recently, I went for a hike-run in Wood Canyon, but I can’t tell you for sure what day it was (I believe it was last Wednesday 12/12). I also can’t tell you any other stat, like distance or elevation gain. Why? Because I lost my Garmin on the trail. And sadly, that Garmin had to go. My relationship with that thing was definitely a love-hate relationship. I loved the stats it gave me, and the interface was pretty good. But really, what a pain in the ass it was to charge (very difficult to make the connection), and I can’t tell you how many times I could not upload my info. I had to constantly reset the thing, and then to top it off, the wristband broke, and the stupid thing does not accommodate a replacement band. I was bound to eventually lose my Garmin carrying in my pocket as I did. I suppose the reason I lost my Garmin is because I went crawling around in caves again. I’m pretty sure that’s when it dropped out of my pocket.

So, I set out late morning, Garmin in hand for what I am going to estimate as an 8 mile route. And because of my mood, which was somewhat down, I decided to make my loop include one of the biggest inclines in the park -- steep inclines do wonders for my mood. My route: Aliso Canyon, Wood Canyon, Mathis, Oak Grove, Car Wreck Trail (super steep!), Mathis, Wood Canyon, and finally back to Aliso Canyon. I noticed my Garmin lost in Wood Canyon on the way back, and did not have any time to go back and hunt for it. I had to get back home in time to attend my middle son’s Christmas concert. And frankly, I really didn’t even want to look for it. I am done with Garmin!

Some observations from my hike-run:

First off, I saw 7 (yes seven!) deer grazing in Aliso Canyon. I have seen many deer in those canyons, but never as many as 7 all at once. They didn’t even flinch as I stood there across the field snapping photos of the bunch. They did look up at me here and there, which is much more to than humans on the trail did. Which brings me to my second observation. People in the coastal hills do not look at you when you come up on them on the trails. Nothing, not a word, not a nod, not even a smile. I find that strange. I try to make eye contact with everyone -- and then I nod or smile. This lack of acknowledgement by other hikers and runners would never happen on a mountain trail. When you come up on someone in the mountains, you are bound to stop and chat a bit with them.

Despite losing my Garmin, this hike helped immensely with dealing with my stress. The creeks were full and even rushing over their usual borders in some places.  Green grass was popping up everywhere, including in the black burnt areas. I loved the torture of Car Wreck Trail, and amazingly, it really wasn’t that much torture at all. It was a good thing climbing up that trail, just as it was a good thing that I lost my Garmin.

Aliso Woods Big Loop V. 2

For many years I used to run what I now call The Big Loop at Aliso/Woods Canyons. At the time, it was the biggest loop I could make using marked trails in the park. It is a lollipop loop actually, going up Cholla and down Meadows to close up the loop (or vice-versa). The stick of the lollipop is about 1.5 miles. I call it version one of The Big Loop, because the park eventually opened up another trail to make even a bigger loop, this adding The Big Loop V. 2 to my repetoire. That new trail (not new anymore) is Mentally Sensitive. I believe that Mentally Sensitive is the steepest trail overall in the park (parts of Car Wreck Trail are probably steeper). Gosh, it’s been probably 8 years since  added Mentally Sensitive to the big loop collection. Friday, October 5, I decided to take it on once again for my Friday Hike Video.

What a day! The loop took about an hour and a half longer than I intended. There was just too much to see. With five detours and a wonderful show put on by a coyote tossing around a gopher (13:14 in the video clips, I came in at six hours! Six. Hours.

I really needed that. Times have been a little tough (not terrible) – but not tough enough to get my butt out on the trails for some rigorous miles on my day off from work.

Total miles: 13.37, Elevation gain: 1,581’

The route: Aliso Cyn/Wood Cyn/Cave Rock/Wood Cyn/Cholla/West Ridge/Top of the World/Mentally Sensitive/Meadows/Wood Cyn/Aliso Cyn

Closing Out September

The purpose of today’s blogpost is to close out September. Yes, summer has finally left our presence!) But I feel I cannot truly leave summer behind until I catch up on making a record of the trails I’ve traversed the last week or so of September.

September 21, it was a Friday, late morning, and officially the last day of summer.  I hit Arroyo Trabuco Trail from Las Flores, behind the water district on Antonio Parkway. Summer was taking full advantage that he was still in season. Yes, it was hot! I travelled 13.92 miles total (out-and-back to O’Neil Park which is at the base of the Santa Ana Mountains). Elevation gain was minimal (727’) and I was quite fine with that. Heat and elevation gain is a choice that I no longer make. In the video clips that I strung together below, it appears as if I had the trail all to myself. Not the case, though traffic was very sparse, I did see a few hikers, several cyclists, a runner or two, and even one guy kicking back beneath one of the many highway pillars. He was listening to music on a speaker while talking to a friend on speaker phone. (The future is here!)

Arroyo Trabuco Trail:
The video clips:

September 29, it was a Saturday, I hit the trails in Aliso/Wood Canyons Wilderness for a 12.09 mile hike. This one had quite a bit more elevation gain (1245’)  than my hike 8 days earlier. I decided to take Rock It up to the ridge line, which is quite tough, but certainly not the toughest route up. I took the ridge line (West Ridge) to Top of the World, then travelled across the neighborhoods up there to enter the park on the other side. I took Mentally Sensitive back down into the canyon, which was a mental challenge in itself. That trail is quite steep and slippery, and it took all my focus to stay upright. Though summer was officially over, it still felt like summer.I even used up every last drop of fluids that I packed along. Still, it felt great to put in a more elevation. I felt it in my legs that night. (Hurts so good! as John Cougar used to sing )

Rock It:

And then the very next day, with my legs still feeling it from above, I closed up September with a 6.94 hike in the very same coastal hills (880’ elevation gain). I forgot my camera on this hike. I shot small live video on Facebook. The weather was still summer warm, and top that with the fact that I didn’t even hit the trails until about 2 pm. Good riddance summer, that’s all I have to say. Still even with the heat, this hike was great, providing exactly what I needed: trails to blow off some steam!

My route: Wood Canyon (just a tiny bit from Canyon Vistas Park in Aliso Viejo)/ Cholla Trail / West Ridge / Top of the World and back

Another One for the Summer (& in the Afternoon to Boot!)

Saturday morning (9/1), I slept in (as I do lately – I still have not recovered from my 17 days off from work). I believe that it was about 12:30 when I took off in my truck for Aliso/Woods Canyon.  Being that the weather was damn hot, there were plenty of parking spaces on the street outside of the ranger station. This meant that I did not need to pay for parking, and as I cannot afford yet to even repair my truck, that came as a welcome (despite the very small amount our county parks require for parking – it all adds up!). As I prepped outside my truck, a woman  sitting low in a car parked next to me hollered out to a passer-byer, “Is there a river in that park?” No, the passer-byer didn’t see a river. Hmmm.  A river? Oh Boy. that was it on the subject, the passer-byer didn’t mention the creeks (which I did mention to the two ladies in the car who were smoking hashish out of a glass pipe).

So, Aliso/Wood Canyons has two year round creeks running through the park. One creek is in Aliso Canyon and the other in Wood Canyon. The two creeks meet it seems at perpendicular angles. Wood Creek dumps into Aliso Creek, which runs all the way to the Pacific Ocean rat Aliso Beach in the city of Laguna Beach. In all the years that I have been visiting these canyons, I have never seen either of these creeks dry (though low they can go!). And though they can flow quite heavily, I would never call them rivers.

Aliso Creek Trail:

Like I have already mentioned, it was dang hot out there in Aliso Viejo on the first day of September.  Even so, there were your usual amount of warriors out trekking across the trails. One group that I saw off and on, was a group of 3 or so dads and ten or so little guys (probably about 10 years old) riding their way up Wood Canyon. I also got to check in with some of the burned area. There’s new growth already in some areas. The fire fortunately did not ravish Wood Canyon (but I have not seen Dripping Cave or Coyote Run trails yet because they are closed).

I didn’t see any of the large animals (like coyotes or deer), but I saw plenty of rabbits, road runners and lizards. And on the topic of lizards, I saw several horned lizards, which are a new finding for me in these canyons. Then toward the end of The Big Loop at Aliso/Woods Canyons, I came up on a baby gopher snake. It was a beautiful little creature, which I’ve pictured further down below.

Wood Canyon regrowth:Some more Wood Canyon:

Anyway! The first 4.5 miles were delightful. They were hot, but much of Wood Canyon provides good shade. The 4.5 mile marks the end of Wood Canyon. After marching up Cholla Trail, I took the rolling hills of West Ridge to Top of the World in Laguna Beach. I do not recall the time that I arrived at Alta Laguna Park, but I do recall that the weather was beginning to change. The sun still shined brightly, but there was a cool onshore breeze coming in. What bliss! The onshore breeze is the most wonderful thing about living on the coast. So, that made the remainder of my hike just utterly pleasant (not to mention that fact that I had very few inclines to deal with after the half-way point.)

The weather changed at the 7 mile mark which is Top of the World, or rather Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach. The breeze got a littler cooler and each time lasted a little longer. And so, I trekked through the Laguna Beach Top of the World neighborhood to enter the park again over in Aliso Canyon. On the way, I passed a pasture of goats surrounded by a make-shift electrified fence. I fought against an urge to touch the fence to see just how much the jolt would be. On meadows, I met a gopher snake, and also stopped in more than one place to listen to the wind blowing through the trees.

It was almost like a different day when I arrived by at the truck. It was like a cool autumn and not a hot summer day like when I started.

12 miles, 1,319’ feet elevation gain

West Ridge:

Goats near Meadows Trail:

Wind Blowing through the trees on Meadows:

From the Top Once More

Monday was a day off for me and my boys as well (President’s Day, where we observe George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays). I celebrated by sleeping in. I believe that I made it all the way until 8AM. Wait. Now I remember, I actually set my alarm for 6AM (because that’s what I do), and I hit the snooze three or four times until I finally stopped it all together. Then after hearing my middle son wake and go out to the “man cave” I rolled out of bed around 8AM.

The weather was still rather warm on Monday. so, perhaps it was not the best idea to wait until 1PM before heading out for a run. Oddly, I chose once again to drive up Pacific Coast Highway to Laguna Beach to catch a trail along the ridge for another loop starting at the top -- except this time, I went against the gradual climb out, picking instead a steep, short nasty climb out at the end

I parked at a little known park called Moulton Meadows which sits high above the Pacific Ocean and Aliso Canyon. And I began my long gradual down hill run along Top of the World and West Ridge (which was more likely rolling down hills, meaning there were some up hills). I think I cursed the heat. Beeping heat! I really loved our cold weather. It’s too early to start feeling the heat.

Anyway, I ran Cholla Trail down into Wood Canyon and cheerfully greeted the shady groves that line the first mile and a half or so of this canyon. I was really digging this long gradual down hill stuff. But boy did I pay for it. From Wood Canyon, I took Meadows Trail on over to Mentally Sensitive, which I once re-named Psycho Path, and for good reason. I struggled immensely climbing this bastard of a trail. There really is no relief, and as you can see from the elevation chart below, the climb is steep as hell. Thankfully, it was short. But oh my lord. My pace was probably somewhere around a 40 mile minute. I may not take run that loop again for a while.

Jeez.

Running down Cholla Trail into Wood Canyon:Starting up Mentally Sensitive (Psycho Path!):1,271’ gained, 10.3 miles:

Not Summer Yet

Gym day yesterday, I was back on the trails late this morning.  I opted for a medium sized loop in Aliso and Wood Canyons.   I ran first through Aliso Canyon, turned off onto Wood Canyon Trail and made the first quick left onto Meadows.  Meadows is roughly 1.5 miles long, with the first half mile being relatively flat – exposed, but flat.  The remaining mile, still exposed, is a switchback with quite a climb, not quite brutal, but tough indeed.

 

Though we were socked-in back at my house – the sun shined brightly in the canyons.  The marine layer hovered just offshore, hiding the Pacific Ocean.  My view from Top of the World was misty.  And I got some cool breezes because it’s not quite summer yet.  

I struggled to pick up my speed for the last 4 miles of this 9.5 mile run.  The run down Mathis, though downhill, was still tough – a good heat training trick, since there is absolutely no shade.  I figured that if I averaged a better pace than normal, I’d have enough time to get some grocery shopping done before tending to the rest of my day.  I managed that, but it came at a price.  Not talking about the standard prices, like eyes stinging from sweat and some overheating (got that though too).  I’m talking about that dang foot trouble.  Oh well.  I went off to my afternoon meeting with a limp, then got so busy for the rest of the day, that I neglected to stretch and take care of the foot.  Doh!  I guess I could still do it tonight before I go off to bed.  But I probably won’t.  At the very least, I will tape. 

9.42 miles, 1,164’ elevation gain