Altered Version of The Big Loop @ Aliso

These pictures are from so long ago that I barely remember the hike. I don't know anything from digital data because for some reason my data was not saved! Interesting. This is at least the third time that I neglected to save my data on my Amazfit watch. And that's really odd to me because I always press "save.". So, there may be a gliche in this sports watch. But I posted live video on Facebook, so from that I know that the date of my last hike was August 22, and the final mileage was around eleven miles (which was 2 more miles than I planned -- it's starting to come back to me now). I also remember really forcing myself out the front door of my home. I didn't want to go. But I knew that I needed it. I started in Moulton Meadows Park, a city park in Laguna Beach. From there I took Meadows down into Aliso Canyon, then made my way over to Wood Canyon. I was a good mile in (was on Meadows by then) before I was glad that I forced it. And the rest of the hike, though it was quite warm, was good medicine. Very good medicine, as usual. At the end of Wood Canyon, I climbed Cholla to West Ridge and made my way along the ridge until I eventually was back at my truck in Moulton Meadows.

I may have already mentioned that I am back to work. I have also recently learned that Old Goat races are back on this year. Things are hectic and last minute, but I'll have more news when the permits and sanctions are approved. Until then, here are some of my favorite pictures from a slightly altered version of The Big Loop at Aliso/Woods Canyons. 

 

 

The Way to do Summer Trails

7/24/19 was my last hike for a while because of the weather. It's not a miserable sort of hot on the California coast (yet). But when you're out there hiking on exposed trails, the heat can get to you. Not to mention! There's lots of bees around in these coastal hills. Definitely not a big fan of bees. I like what they do and all, but I've been stung twice so far this summer. I try and ignore them and let them land and take off on me at will. It's when I interfere that I get stung. Anyway, I did not get stung by a bee on my last hike. But there were lots of bees. And there was a young man hiking up Mathis Trail (what a brutal hike in the heat!) who asked me to look at his back to see if he had been stung. Sure enough, there was a bee sting on his back. He didn't look too happy. And who would be -- the hike up Mathis is all uphill and entirely exposed. I, on the other hand, was hiking down Mathis in the middle of the afternoon. It was warm, but again, it wasn't a miserable sort of hot.

West Ridge Trail on the way to Mathis, Santa Ana Mountains in background:

I took my time on this hike because of the heat. I was aiming for about 6 miles, ended up with a little over 7 miles. There were a few people on the ridge. Just one other person on Mathis (the guy who got stung by a bee). And then I had all of Wood Canyon to myself. And I also had all of the climb out (Cholla Trail) to myself. It was a beautiful day. Having no time constraints made this trek utterly enjoyable. I freely stopped to take in views and cool down in the shade. That's the way to do summer trails. 

7.17 miles, 1,171' of elevation gain. From Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach: West Ridge / Mathis / Wood Canyon / Cholla Trail / West Ridge

The view from a hidden rock formation on Mathis Trail:

Wood Canyon:

There is where my heart is (hint: those mountains in the background. It's just too darn hot for me there right now).

One Foot In Front Of The Other

Tuesday (July 16) I hit the trails pretty late in Laguna Beach.I can do this (despite the heat) because when I'm hiking, it seems like I can pretty much take any temperature, especially if I take time to cool down in the shaded areas. 

June Gloom is definitely gone (for the most part). We may be socked in during most mornings but that all burns off by afternoon on the Southern California Coast. Nowadays, I'm rarely on the trails, unless it's afternoon. Naturally, it was hot on Tuesday, but still, we haven't seen real heat around here for a while. I'm betting the temperature in the coastal hills was at most 85 degrees Fahrenheit (but it was probably a few degrees less). It can definately get much hotter.

I decided to go down Car Wreck Trail, which is quite steep and rocky.  My legs felt a little tight still from the prior two days of back-to-back short runs. Car Wreck Trail, even going down, was strenuous but it had breath taking views. And near the bottom, about where the car wreck is, the trail get's cool and shady. As you may know, shade is very important. Shade is the reason that I decided not to take up Mathis up out of the canyon. I opted instead for Rock It -- eventhough Rock It is probably more difficult than Mathis, there's little bits of shade! Wonderful shade.

Going down Car Wreck Trail

After a leisurely yet focused hike down Car Wreck Trail, I took Mathis to Coyote Run. Winding in and out from Wood Creek, there was plenty of shade on the trail. Not surprisingly, I didn't see anyone on foot. Most people in the middle of the afternoon opted for sandy beaches just over the hill. 

And then of course, I hiked up Rock It to West Ridge. One foot in front of the other is how I conquered that trail. Just like in life, one foot in front of the other. In all that strategy closed up a 6.19 mile lollipop loop with a elevation gain of 1,191. Much needed.

Coyote Run Trail

Rock It:

Goats at Top of the World!

Even though I love wandering about on trails and even though it is pretty much my medicine, nowadays I struggle with pushing myself out the front door. For many years this was not the case. I didn't relate to discussions on how to stay motivated. I was driven to wake early and put in hard miles several days a week. Of course, times were different then. I didn't work as much first off. And I was younger and less beaten down.

July 10, I believe it was, I took a mid afternoon hike in Aliso/Wood Canyons Wilderness. I had planned on 9 or 9.5 miles. I took a detour to Dripping Cave and meandered about elsewhere. I ended up with 11.53 miles with a moderate gain (1,500+ feet). About 3 miles in, I checked my email. That was a big mistake. Some disappointing news on the job front. This of course gave a whole new meaning to my hike. Good thing I chose (coincidentally) to hike up Meadows Trail. That's a darn good suffering trail there. Believe me, there's no better remedy for suffering than to climb a tough hill, in the heat. 

My route: Wood Canyon to Meadows Trail, Top of the World, West Ridge, Cholla, Wood Canyon. It was beautiful. It was therapeutic. As I mentioned already, I visited Dripping Cave, but what I didn't mention was that right after leaving the cave, a deer bolted across my path. That was exhilerating because she was loud and forceful. And she was gone in an instant.

Wood Canyon

Meadows Trail 

So, no matter how tough things may seem, it seems that I never wish that I didn't take that hike, or I didn't take that run, or that swim, or even that gym workout. This hike, despite my mood, was the best. And then I got these! These lovely goats at the Top of the World. 😊

 Goats at Top of the World!

No Time to Post–But I’m Gonna Anyway! (Wood Cyn)

Super-duper behind on everything, literally everything in my life. But I do manage to get in my hikes here and again. This one was from over a week ago (Nov. 4) – I took a nice little stroll through Wood Canyon in Aliso Viejo, with a detour onto Wood Creek and Cave Rock trails. It was lovely and quite therapeutic. I saw 2 coyotes and 5 deer – and all at once. Alas, I was not able to retrieve my camera fast enough. Also, it suddenly came to me to check out the creek for crawdads, because it’s fall! And that’s when the crawdads show their faces. I’ve been searching out crawdads since I was 17 years old when my husband and I started dating. We used to catch them in Walnut Creek in Covina California and put them in his aquariums. Sure enough on this hike, I found several walking about the creek floor on my way out. On the way back however, I checked again, and those orange fresh water crustaceans had completely disappeared. I did catch a picture of the crawdads who appeared to be angrily waving their claws at me, and I caught a lot of other cool pictures of this lovely, local canyon named Wood Canyon. I’ll just let them tell the story because I don’t have any time. None. Zero. Zilch!

7.75 miles

Wood Canyon Trail:Wood Creek Trail:My Crawdad friends (look closely through the water):Cave Rock Trail (a hidden gem in Wood Cyn):

I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Camera (Yes I do!)

Sunday night I drove the household crazy with neurotic behavior trying to fix my cameras.  I was wrong in my last blog when I said that I’ve killed two cameras on the trail.  I forgot about the first camera I killed on the trail.  It was during my first long distance trail race, my first Calico Ghost Town race.  (Calico Trail Run 2009 – who knows how long MySpace is going to keep my old blogs up : )  I have killed THREE cameras on the trail.

There I sat Sunday night, trying to align the lenses on two of my broken cameras.  Beep, beep, beep.  Beep, beep, beep.  Next thing I knew, I was unscrewing tiny screws and taking the newest of my broken cameras apart, which completely unnerved my husband.  “You need to do that at a table . . . you need better light.” 

Yikes!  I was about to hit the roof.  THE CAMERA IS BROKEN.  Who cares if I lose a screw or mess up.  But I just may luck out and get that lens to snap back into place.  Thing was, after dismantling the camera, I couldn’t get the lens to extend.  And so, DUH!  I put the battery in the camera, and while messing around I gave myself a good shock!  Or shall I say, bad shock?

That was that with the camera.  I wept over my shock scare and for my silly loss and went to bed.

I woke this morning (Tuesday) and went for a much needed run in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  I didn’t dare bring hubby’s professional camera.  I’d kill that camera for sure, it’s just so huge.  It really didn’t matter that much anyway, it’s not like I haven’t taken thousands of pictures of these trails. 

The weather was cold, the park festive with runners, bikers and hikers.  I wore my pack, not because I needed it (because there’s a place to refill a handheld at Top of the World).  I wore my pack because I prefer to run empty-handed.  And though I didn’t have my camera in my vest pockets, I had my phone – my cracked and beat-up phone which has a camera.  It even has a video camera.  Ha! (Why is my phone cracked and beat-up – ahhhhhh, because I’ve dropped it countless times).

Running Aliso Creek Trail ready to disappear into the fog:

I ran up Meadows this morning, the trail that use to taunt me.  And I ran up it with relative ease.  It’s a beautiful trail.  I’m happy to have conquered it.  This morning it was like a spoonful of medicine.

View going up Meadows:

View from top of Meadows:

I ran across Top of the World with joy in my heart.  I was making good time.  So good, that I thought that I’d extend my loop a little and run West Ridge to Rock It. 

Occasionally all the things that I need to do would pop into my mind.  But the trails pretty much succeeded in wiping my mind clean.  Ah, a blank mind, just simply in the moment.  LOVE IT!

Breakfast at Top of the World:

West Ridge view of Modjeska and Santiago Peaks:

For new visitors, this is the most exciting section of Rock It.  For returning visitors, here’s YET ANOTHER PICTURE of Rock It Trail:

Finishing off Rock It Trail leading to Coyote Run:

Finishing up Coyote Run:

Another glorious trail run this holiday season.  Stay-tuned, as I've joined Jessica Deline’s challenge Streaking in the New Year.

Miles run:  11.18 (approx. 18 km)

That’s Not Runnin’, That’s Playin’

I had this week’s workouts all planned, two “short” runs, two gym days.  Then I would rest on Friday before the big day: SATURDAY. (Yikes!).

Monday, I got the boys off to school then returned home and got back in bed.  I slept until 12:30 PM.  TWELVE.  THIRTY.  I guess I was tired.  No run on Monday.  No gym on Monday.

Okay, so change of plans: two “short” runs and one gym day.

Tuesday morning, I got a 7:10 AM call to substitute teach.  Not being in the position to turn down work, I took the job and afterward drove to my regular job for a very long work day.  No run on Tuesday.  No gym on Tuesday.

My carefully laid-out plans for this week’s workouts were shot in just two days.  This morning I had to admit something to myself.  Training for Saddleback is OVER.  There’s nothing I can really gain (except for some rest) that will prepare me any more for Saturday.

And so today I laced up my shoes, strapped on my pack and hit the trails for some fun running.  Actually, it was more like playing.  But isn’t all running really playing?  I know I get a little serious about it at times, as if it’s my lifeline, but really I just want to have fun.  That’s why I love trail running so much – because it’s fun!

I’m kind of glad my plans were shot.  Otherwise, I may have not got in such a fun run.

Heading up Wood Creek Trail, it’s still a bit chilly:

By the number of spider webs I broke through, I could tell I was the first runner on Wood Creek Today:

Dozens of these enormous webs hung high throughout the wooded trails:

The sun warms up this single track (Coyote Run) as hundreds if not thousands (seriously) of crows gawk and fly about from tree to tree:

View of Wood Canyon and Coyote Run below from the Nature Loop Trail that brought me high above the creek and to this awesome view of new green growth:

Some delightful feathery blooms:

Photo Op on Cave Rock Trail against THE rock:

Running down Cave Rock Trail:

Entering Meadows Trail with no anxiety over the approaching climb:

Approaching top of Meadows Trail and look what’s in the distance – hint:  Saddleback Marathon:

Top of Meadows showing off Pacific Ocean (Laguna Beach) with an awkward pose :

I just love these goats:

Top of the World and feeling great!:

Heading back to truck along West Ridge (notice background – Saturday!!):

10.25 Miles run today (approx. 16.5 km):