Small Big Loop @ Aliso

This past Friday, I got out for a version of the Big Loop at Aliso/Woods Canyon Wilderness with a friend. We attacked this ("small") version of the Big Loop clockwise. Generally, I do the Big Loop counterclockwise being that I have time to warm up and the climb is more gradual in this direction. Going clockwise means getting most of the climbing done relatively soon and going UP Meadows which is a struggle (but well worth it!).

The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery was gorgeous (it always is gorgeous but on this particular day it was more gorgeous than normal. As you can see from below (I know -- too many pictures! Alas, it is my sickness.)

Once again, there was lots of good medicine to be had out there on the trails! 

Miles: 9.3 with 1,319' of elevation gain. Route: AlisoCyn / WoodCyn / Meadows / Top of the World / West Ridge / Mathis / WoodCyn / AlisoCyn

View of Saddleback Mountains from Meadows Trail

Almost to the top of Meadows Trail

Finally, the Meadows climb comes to an end!

Pacific Ocean from top of Meadows Trail

View of Top of the World from Meadows Trail

Lupin at the top of Meadows Trail

More gorgeous views (leaving the park to re-enter at Alta Laguna Park, near West Ridge Trail)

View of Saddleback Mtns (once again!) from West Ridge

On Mathis (I think!)

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.

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:

This Week

Woe is me who can hardly find time to get in runs nowadays.  This week I managed to get in three runs, and I am grateful for that.  Still, I need more miles.  I want more trails

Run #1, Trabuco Creek Trail (in San Juan Capistrano) to Arroyo Trabuco (in Mission Viejo) 6.0 mile (9.66 km) out-and-back:

I call these trails “urban” trails, as I could hear traffic whizzing by along Camino Capistrano and graffiti dressed the walls as I ran beneath eight lanes of traffic travelling along Interstate 5. 

I crossed Trabuco Creek beneath the train tracks where I saw these high school students walking down to the creek.  I half expected them to pull out a joint, or at the least a pack of cigarettes.  Instead, they took fishing poles out from their packs. 

Run #2, Aliso Creek Trail to Wood Canyon, up Cave Rock Trail, back to Wood Canyon, Dripping Cave Trail, Mathis, Oak Grove, and then up the big incline called Car Wreck Trail, back to Mathis Trail, West Ridge to Top of the World, Meadows, back to Aliso Creek Trail, 9.33 mile (15.02 km) loop:

I got out late as usual, as I have little time for household chores and must tend to them first when I have spare moments.  As such, the weather was warm, and I overdressed because (hark!) it still is winter. 

I stopped by my favorite places in Aliso / Wood Canyons, such as Cave Rock, Dripping Cave and even Car Wreck Trail.  Of course, my loop included Top of the World for a quick view of the lovely Pacific. 

Everything was green and beautiful. 

Run #3, ran inland from my house so that I could catch the bike trail down to Monarch Beach, to Salt Creek Beach, Dana Strands (AKA The Strands), up to The Headlands, and Highway One back home, 8.45 mile (13.6 km) loop:

Got out late (3PM) for once again some winter heat.    Fortunately, I got some of that coastal breeze that keep so many coming back.  I had really hoped to get in at least fifteen miles for my last run of this week.  That was not possible – there were clothes to wash, bags to pack, floors and dishes to wash and toilets to scrub today.  I let the dream of fifteen miles flitter away and enjoyed half the miles anyway.

And they were difficult.  I think the main reason for my struggle was the winter warmth, and the fact that I set off toward the end of the day.  Regardless, I am better for it. 

Here’s the funny thing about run #3:  according to my garmin, the elevation gain was 1,238’.  I find this absolutely amazing, especially since I only reached a maximum elevation of 350’.  There were lots of ups and downs, I suppose.  And they add up.  (I have not scrutinized the graph below to figure out whether Garmin got the total gain correct). 

Detours

With little time to spare Wednesday, I ran through Aliso Canyon for a 10+ mile loop. I tried something different this time. Different as in, I didn’t take the steepest route to the ridge, and different as in, my loop did not include running to The Top of the World. This time, I took a gradual incline up Wood Canyon where I crossed the meandering creek at least three times. The canyon was bursting with green. So lovely were the views, I took three detours on my Wood Canyon trip. First, I ran off onto Cave Rock Trail where the moss was a thick as carpet on the moist, shady side of the rock. Second, I stopped at the Old Corral and strolled through it. The wood is darkened from weathering and the grass is tall enough to cover my feet. I can’t believe that I have never walked through the corral. I cannot count how many times I have run past it. What was I thinking? And thirdly, I hopped onto Wood Creek Trail, which was so shady in some portions, the forest was dark. The trail’s two flights of stairs made this detour extra challenging

Cave Rock Trail:

Entering The Old Corral:

At the end of Wood Canyon I ran up Cholla trail. Cholla is a steep trail, but it’s the shortest route to West Ridge (only about one-third of a mile). From there I ran the rolling hills of West Ridge, coming upon other runners, hikers and mountain bikers a plenty.   Finally, I descended down Rockit back into Wood Canyon.  When I hit Coyote Run, I realized that time was running short.  I had only an hour remaining before picking my youngest son up from school, so I pushed myself a little harder, and ran a bit faster than I usually do, which is a good thing.

Route:  Aliso Creek Trail, Wood Canyon, Cave Rock Trail, Wood Canyon, Wood Creek, Wood Canyon, Cholla, West Ridge, Rockit, Coyote Run, Mathis, Wood Canyon, Aliso Creek Trail: