Holy Jim? Holy Cr*p!

I was so fortunate to have a taker again for another run in our local mountains, someone else crazy enough to run up Holy Jim – they’re out there.  Yes, they are!  Today, I took the trip beneath dry skies with Tom Bychowski up  Holy Jim (also referred to by some as “Holy Cow” or “Holy Crap”.)  Now my 3rd time up, it isn’t that bad.  What Holy Jim is, is LONG.  Sure it’s uphill.  But the grade isn’t ridiculously steep (much less than Horse Thief).  Five miles uphill, I’m pretty sure is long by most people’s standards. 

Holy Jim begins in the canyon and goes all the way to The Main Divide (the ridge that overlooks Riverside County and Orange County).  Holy Jim trail is green and gorgeous with several stream crossings, lots of shade cover and then pretty much exposed, single-track, switch-back, high in the sky.  I found it difficult to keep up with Tom (& actually I didn’t that much), but I didn’t worry about that so much.  I just kept plugging away, trying hard to look up and not down. 

The trail is simply glorious.

Crossing stream on Holy Jim Trail

Tom on Holy Jim Trail – it’s switch-back time!

Self portrait going up Holy Jim Trail

Don’t rightly recall how I got in front of Tom here on Holy Jim, but it was an ideal photo-op.

More Scenes going up Holy Jim:

Finally running The Main Divide

That’s Lake Elsinore below – beneath the clouds:

Running down West Horse Thief (Tom thought a good rename would be Crazy Horse – I agree).  Rocky, switch-back, back beneath the clouds:

Getting closer to Trabuco Creek on West Horse Thief

Coming in for the final stretch on Trabuco Trail to finish up this 14 mile run was long indeed.  I was thankful for shade bursts, though the weather was cool.  Thing was, I ran out of water toward the end.  Dreaming of a tall glass of ice water helped keep me running.  Then I remembered the first time I ran these mountains with the other Tom (Tom Fangrow) I spotted a bullet-ridden car.  I didn’t see that car last week.  I didn’t see it during the Saddleback Marathon.  So, I began the search.  And I swear I found it in a very different place, much closer to the trail.   I think our December rains moved it some. 

Here’s the Car:

Miles logged today:  14

No elevation profile – I actually forgot to strap on the garmin!  But it’s the same profile as last Sunday.  Hard. 

A Hearty Welcome Back from Holy Jim

I’ve really been wanting to get back to the Santa Ana Mountains for some mountain trail running, specifically up Holy Jim Trail.  I was fortunate to have a taker for the run, Jeremy. 

We arrived to the base of the mountains, Trabuco Creek flowing loudly beneath cloudy skies.  I kept the two layers of long sleeves on (plus a short sleeve that I thought for sure I’d be running in soon) and we headed up Holy Jim.  I rarely run in long sleeves than say, more than a half hour. 

I was surprised how much easier it was to make that gigantic switch-back of a climb, running much of it, compared to the last and only time I “ran” it before (the Saddleback Marathon). 

We crossed back and forth across the stream when rain began to fall.  Fortunately, we had plenty of tree cover at first.  When the switch-back began, the clouds were so thick there was no viewing the canyons below. 

Several other crazy people made their way up Holy Jim – at least two mountain bikers (it’s kind of a blur now) and countless hikers.  I could have counted them, but didn’t, let’s just say there were lots.  Some were smiling, especially the kids, but others had looks on their faces like they wondered what the heck they had gotten themselves into.

And the rain fell a little harder.  And the wind blew a little colder.  We were completely drenched by the time we reached the top of Holy Jim.  What a surprise to find out that trail measures nearly five miles!  Great training trail.  I seriously thought it was a little over a mile, maybe two miles and the reason it kicked my butt last time was because I was so dang tired by the time I reached it (at about mile 10).

On the Main Divide, I finally took out some gloves and a beanie to wear beneath my cap.  That’s when I found out my camera didn’t work, as everything in my pockets were drenched, including the camera.  I didn’t even want to think about my ipod.  Fortunately my phone still worked.  Water poured from Jeremy’s glove when he clenched his fist.

Oh the fun of running an exposed mountain range in the cold rain and wind!   When the Main Divide snaked to the other side, facing Lake Elsinore, it warmed up some as we were protected by the wind.    Still, I really couldn’t feel my legs.  We just kept on moving, hoping that at each turn West Horse Thief would suddenly appear.  Visibility was pretty low.  I mean we could see where we ran, but we could not see off into the distance.  Then glory, glory, West Horse Thief seemed to appear out of  nowhere. 

The run down was glorious, though it was wet and it was cold, and it was rocky.  Toward the bottom of the mountain dozens of orangish-brown salamanders made their way across the muddy trail, away from the stream.  I could have sworn that I saw one salamander with a worm in its mouth.  I desperately wished that my camera worked, and thoughts ran through my mind how I could collect one or two of these creatures and bring them home to the boys.  But I had no container, no way to keep them moist for the drive home (and believe me I was dreaming about turning that heater on full-blast in my truck).

With about a mile and a half remaining, I got whipped by Stinging Nettle.  I thought the reason it stung so badly was because my skin was wet.  Soon the little bumps appeared, and the stinging didn’t disappear like the last time the plant attacked down in San Juan Capistrano.  It felt like a thousand microscopic needles pricking my leg over and over again.  But the pain was very bearable, as my main mission, to finish this run, was still at hand.

Finally seemingly out of nowhere, 14 miles after we started, we ran up on to the parking lot. 

Great run, but a very difficult run, mostly because of the weather.  As promised I drove with the heater running full-blast, all the way home.  I might also add a funny side note:  the skies were blue as I drove home, not a single drop came down upon the windshield.  It took me a long time to finally warm up also at home.  8:30 PM, my leg still stings from the Nettle. 

It was all worth it though.  Holy Jim, I’ll be back!

Finally toward end of run, camera begins to work somewhat (all the pictures turned out mostly blurry)

Elevation Profile:  Holy Jim to Main Divide, West Horse Thief to Trabuco Trail.

In Over My Head

I worried Friday night that I was going to be in way over my head on Saturday’s run. Then I laughed to myself, because that’s most of the time the case on these trail runs. But I really had no idea – no idea of the utter difficulty of “running” up Trabuco Trail and no idea of the sheer beauty of the Santa Ana Mountains (and in the middle of summer to boot!)

We met at 6:00 AM with five runners: Tom, Larry, Luis, Daniel and the only female in the group, myself. We started running up the canyon, past sporadic cabins, and a bullet ridden car through the cool shade. At the West Horse Thief / Trabuco Trail fork, we headed up Trabuco in and out of the shade, on a slow steady climb. But then that climb took off into the sky. There were wide rocky, desert-like roads, single tracks alongside tremendously steep slopes, and shady enchanted portions beneath forest trees.

Bullet-Ridden, Rusted Out Car

Making Our Way to Horse Thief / Trabuco Fork

Ferns in the Shade

I wonder What Lives in that Cave?

Which Way Should We Go???

Thankful for a cool breeze, I really couldn’t wait until we made the Main Divide. First timer on this run, I really had no idea when that might be, which makes a run mentally difficult. But when I saw some metal posts in the distance, I wanted to sing a joyful song. Nah, I don’t think I had that much energy. I was sure smiling though. We could actually view the other side of the Santa Ana Mountains, Lake Elsinore down below.

Going Up . . .

Still Going Up -- Looking Back (Towards The O.C.)

At The Main Divide

Lake Elsinore In the Distance (Look Very Closely)


We ran some rolling hills for a bit, one of them too long and steep to be called “rolling.” And up on that climb, I spotted a cluster of huge pinecones littering the trail. They were quite prickly and sticky with sap. I picked one up anyway up for my youngest son (he loves pinecones and I knew this one would amaze him). When I turned the corner to meet the guys, they all kind of chuckled at my notion of carrying that thing down Horse Thief. I was thinking heck, it’s all down hill from here – I can do it. Sometimes, my judgment is skewed.

Thankfully, Tom tied it up onto the back of his camelback, and we all made our way down that rocky, switch-back named West Horse Thief. I concentrated hard, with the rocks literally rolling beneath my feet, the terrain steep. There was no time for photo ops down this trail; it was that difficult for me to run.

Running out of the canyon, hikers here and there made their way in with walking sticks. I was tired, but knowing that the end was near, I was able to keep on running back into the parking lot, flabbergasted by the trails I had just run.

Now that was great training for the 25K Bulldog at the end of the month.

Front Row: Daniel, Tom
Back Row: Me, Luis, Larry


11.8 miles logged on Saturday Morning with 3,300 feet of climbing.

ps. My four year old loved the pinecone.