Happy New Year! (Welcome La Nina!)

Happy New Year (& what a freakin’ year it’s been)! Time is an amazing thing – the years now just fly by. And so the passing of one year to the next doesn’t mean much to me. Every day is a start over day, not just the first of the year. So grateful that I know that!

One of my best Christmas gifts this year was a hike this past Wednesday (12/28), out to Black Star Canyon with my husband. We got in just after the rains and before another good storm. After picking up a couple sandwiches late morning, we packed them into one of my favorite spots.  After a good long rest in the “village”, we trekked through thick mud to explore Hidden Ranch while on our way to scout out another trail I’d heard about, a single track that leads up to The Divide, about a quarter mile past the KSOX Doppler Radar Tower (so I hear). Trail was located (for another day).

Gorgeous day out! On the way back, my husband picked up a rock that caught his eye. To my amazement, it was the same rock I had picked up a couple weeks back. I had to pull out a picture from my phone as proof – otherwise he would have never believed me. I took the finding as a good sign.

The sky was black when we finally made it out of the canyon, a full hour after sunset. No hauntings on this night, though if I had been without my spouse I would have been spooked for sure in a pitch-dark Black Star Canyon.

Looking forward to more cold winter, rainy weather here in California. La Nina is coming! Looking forward, I hope to explore new places in 2023. We’ll see. I’ll do what I can. I’ll be wandering one way or another for sure, I know that because that’s what I do!

Baker’s CrossToyon BerriesRe-packing after lunch in the villageCreek crossing in Hidden Ranch areaHeading home

12.1 miles, elevation gain about 3,800’

New Moments

With lots of December rains in Southern California, I looked forward to hiking along rushing creeks and searching out waterfalls during my winter break from work. The saddest story is what could have been, right? A day or so before Christmas Eve, I crept back into the house after a morning in the “man cave” with an armful – a few books and various loose papers. It was raining and wearing klutzky winter-type boots, I stumbled through the back door and quickly turned toward the kitchen table to set my things down. I didn’t see, nor did I remember, the stacked cases of bottled waters placed there the night before. Of course, I hit this stack completely by surprise and stumbled head first to the hardwood floor. Instinct was to protect my arm, the one I injured on the 17th hiking back from Holy Jim Falls. Without using my arms to brace I made quite a crash to the kitchen floor. I recall a 3 point contact fall with my left knee hitting first, next I believe, came my left hip (or that general area) and then finally the left side of my face, just above my ear, crashed into a plastic jug of laundry detergent on the floor. I saved my arm though.

So, that stumble was a stunner – nice icing on the cake to this strained body. With help from my husband getting off the kitchen floor, I went straight for the ibuprofen. Then I continued with my “spring” cleaning until the evening when I stretched my leg forward and felt a pop in my left (overworked, injured) calf. I dropped to the floor after that. I guess it was time to stop.

Ends up, I tore my left calf muscle which the doctor said should take six weeks to heal (I’m about half way there!) Of course, all was not lost. This did occur during the holidays so I was preoccupied some. Christmas time was filled with feasts and celebrations. And then we ended the year with another feast that lasted from the evening into the next day. The new year however, came and went without much fanfare as it has with me for many years. I don’t make New Years’ resolutions. Ever. I don’t need a new year to start over. All I need is a new day (which is why I love mornings so much!) I don’t even really need a new day. All I need is a new moment. So, with my leg out of commission, I’ll be using other ways to focus and grow. I’m feeling good about that right now, optimistic in fact, by the possibility of new moments.

Happy New Year!