Movement

May 27, 2020, it was Thursday last week that I set out pretty late in the morning for local trails once again. FINALLY. What a glorious day for a person stricken with wanderlust. The Shelter-in-Place has certainly accentuated something that I already knew. And that is: “getting out” is important. I like movement. I like scenery passing by and ground moving beneath my feet. I’ve often called it my medicine, but it’s also sort of an addiction.

There are some people who are “home bodies” and I know and love many of them. My father is a home body – he is perfectly content staying home most of the time. My husband too is a home body, and so are many other people that I know. That’s not to say that they don’t like to get out and travel – they do. But home bodies like to spend most of their time at home.  I am not a home body. Don’t get me wrong.  I love to be home. I enjoy being home. But overall, I am more content planning for an adventure (a mild adventure, nothing too wild!). What it really comes down to though is movement, on putting miles beneath my feet.

So, on Thursday, I tied a face mask on my pack and paid $3 to park at the Aliso/Woods Cyns parking lot. The crowds have thinned out now that restrictions have been lifted. I barely saw a dozen people the entire trip. It was a warm day and a tough hike for me. I wasn’t quite up for 10+ miles, but I gleefully did it and enjoyed the muscle fatigue the next day.

All this time away from the trails and I did not miss all the spring flowers. There’s still flowers throughout the canyons as we come closer to summer. I recall we got lots of rain at the beginning of Shelter-in-Place. In fact, it was pouring rain on the last day I worked on campus. Anyway, I digress. It was a gorgeous spring day in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Beach, California last Thursday (thanks to all that rain in March, April and even May!)

Cave Rock

Aliso Cyn – Wood Cyn – Cholla Trail – West Ridge – Mathis – Wood Cyn – Cave Rock – Wood Cyn – Aliso Cyn

10.64 miles, 1,209’ elevation gain

Three Bobcats in Wood Canyon

August 8, I went for an 8.10 mile hike during the afternoon in Wood Canyon. I didn't do anything strenuous because it was afternoon and it was August. And I kept to Wood Canyon and all of the little mostly shady trails that spawn from it (Wood Creek, Coyote Run, Dripping Cave, Cave Rock). All those side trails are wonderful -- they're so fairytale-like and they aren't travelled much (and not at all in the middle of the afternoon during the summer). These side trails are hidden gems in that canyon. But Wood Canyon alone can present itself delightfully too, as it did on this day. 

Wood Creek Trail

Coyote Run Trail

Cave Rock Trail

Dripping Cave

I hiked Meadow Creek and Coyote run on the way out and caught Cave Rock (where I meandered) and and Dripping Cave (where I meandered as well) on the back portion of this canyon hike. Shortly after Dripping Cave I came upon 3 bobcats on Wood Canyon Trail -- 1 adult and 2 cubs. They froze in the middle of the road when they saw me. And then the adult and one cub abruptly ran into the brush on the left. I fumbled for my camera to catch what I could. Just then, another hiker (the only other person that I saw all day in Wood Canyon) came from the other direction. Now sandwiched in on each side by humans, the remaining cub ran off into the brush, but on the right, where he was now separated from his mama and sibling. 

I chatted a bit with the other hiker. He said that he thought he had seen two adults and one cub. I'm pretty confident that I saw the two cubs and that there was only one adult. But hey, you never know how your eyes might deceive you. Anyway, after the other hiker took off in the opposite direction, I waited quietly at the side of the road with my camera ready. It knew it would be only a matter of time when the cub popped back into the road to find his mama.

Sure enough, the cub stepped out into the road. He saw me again and froze and so I was able to zoom in and catch a few pictures with my cheap little hiking/running camera (It's an Elph). 

This is Mama running off into the brush 

And here is the cub who runs off in the opposite direction

I was so lucky to see him again when he came back out onto the trail!

After that wonderful sighting, I meandered up Wood Canyon in scenes like the ones below. It was darn hot that's for sure. But I had lots of glorious shade and time in the Now.

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):

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: