Spring Approaches

My goal (tentatively) is to hit the trails three times weekly. Started off this week, Monday, with about 6.5 miles in the local coastal hills, my long time stomping grounds, Wood Canyon. The weather is quite chilly nowadays (low 40s F in the morning, 50s in the afternoon) but there’s lots of green peeping through! Spring certainly approaches.

I took a few detours off Wood Canyon, beginning with Wood Creek, that little trail that nobody seems to know about. It’s magical and as usual was empty.

One of my favorite spots along Wood Creek Trail:
Leaf littered path along Wood Creek Trail:

I stopped by Dripping Cave as well, a bit giddy on the way in because the “Trail Partially Closed” sign was gone at the trailhead. Most of Dripping Cave Trail has been closed for several years due to fires. Of course, the closed section was one of my favorite trails in all of Wood Canyon. Turns out, the park has permanently ended the trail at the cave. And the place is so overgrown, I couldn’t even make out the old trail. So, I jaunted up a rocky path off to the side just to make sure. I didn’t find the trail but an awesome secret outcropping to sit at and look out at the canyon. From the spot, I could also see the actual “old” Dripping Cave Trail (the now closed part) and decided not to go for it. I wasn’t in the mood to dodge rangers. I’m not that quick nowadays.

Dripping Cave:
Path up to secret outcropping:

After Dripping Cave, I decided to head back. I took took another detour and jumped onto Coyote Run Trail after Mathis. In contrast to Wood Creek Trail, Coyote Run is not so secret. It’s the way to RockIt, a huge park favorite. On this Monday though, I had it practically to myself. I came upon only one runner and one hiker on this fairytale trail.

Coyote Run Trail:

Out of Hibernation

December 3rd, my youngest son’s 18th birthday, I took a nice ten mile hike up Black Star Canyon, to one of my favorite easy to get to, out in the open, secret places. What’s the occasion? Nice cold weather was the occasion. It was time for me to come out of hibernation. I am awake! What a great hike to celebrate awakening. After a day like that I wondered (out loud) why I’m not out there every single day! I get that much peace from the trip. I felt so full of joy at one point that I burst into a spontaneous run. I stopped myself from that silliness pretty quickly though since it’s been a while. I’m not practiced – last thing I need is a face plant. My arms only recently recovered from the last fall in December 2021. (Excuses, excuses).

I love Black Star Canyon. Yes, the base is well travelled and in places vandalized with spray paint. That’s sad. And yes, it’s mainly all truck trail (with a few single track turn offs available here and there). Once you make that turn 2.5 miles in and start the climb, there’s so much to see up there, even close to the road. Black Star Canyon is a beautiful place with a huge local history (which explains the legends of its haunting). On that note, I do find Black Star Canyon haunting, but not by ghosts. 

Am I Out?

I’ve grown weary with the piled-on injuries status, and a little worried too. I mean, is this how it’s going to always be now, am I out?

With the mountains turning green and starting to bloom in December in my state, I’ve also been growing rather anxious watching spring from the sidelines. This is how I’ve been talking to myself as the weeks turned into months: “Calm down Lauren, you’ve seen spring in the mountains many, many times – in fact, you are blessed with mountain springtime experiences, don’t be so selfish! You are extremely blessed with what you have already been given!!!”

This past Saturday (3/19) I finally got out to walk on some dirt – a short hike really, and I didn’t want to do it. I had to force myself out the door. And then I drove 5 minutes to the closest trails. I just wanted to test out my physical abilities.

The worst of my physical pains is my left arm. Thankfully, though I need my arm to run, I don’t need it so much to hike. Removing the pack can be a pain – a minor inconvenience!  What I really wanted to do is put a few miles in on hilly terrain. I wanted to see if my torn calf had indeed fully healed. I can say after my first experiment, I believe it has healed. 

The hike was a beautiful 4 miles just before some rain came in that night. Lots of mountain bikers were out, a few e-bikes as well. On the way in, I had a nice long conversation with another hiker about coyotes, fishing and bears. In the end, it was good to get out and I felt relieved.

Experiment 1 is complete. Step 2 is to get out again to make doubly make sure the calf is good.

Some pics from Experiment 1:

2 Steps Forward 1 Step Back (But sometimes 5 steps back, so it’s gonna take a while)

So, I’ve got everything at home and at my job dialed in. I’ve been cleaning and organizing. The garden looks great. I’m on top of the banking, taxes and everything financial. I have a system with my lectures and have them posted every Friday. I’ve got all my paperwork complete. I’ve even been reading and writing (long loves that I’ve neglected for some time). This side of the coin looks good. And I do feel good about it.

But that’s just half of the story.

Yep, there’s always the other side of the coin. . . now more than a month into summer and I’ve done little to advance my on-going mental/spiritual and physical goals. I take a few steps forward, then it’s always a couple steps back. This of course, is the story of my life. It’s difficult to stay grounded in all three aspects (that is mind, spirit, physical). When it gets like this, I fast, and that helps to focus and ground me. I’m always better when I supplement with a fast. And I’m always better when I get out and hike or run or walk or whatever, just wander. These things, I realize may sound odd, but they give me faith in God and keep me grounded. Oh, and as a side benefit these things also keep me physically fit and relatively trim without even trying (or it feels that way anyway since it’s not the goal).

But alas my clothing fits a bit tight lately.

My last hike was June 29, and that’s been my only hike this summer. It was the Big Loop @ Aliso/Wood Cyns, Aliso Viejo/Laguna Beach, Ca of course, my stomping grounds  (12 miles!), so there’s that. I got a lot out of it, in all three aspects.

It’s been long enough to know it’s time to turn it around and take a few steps forward again.

From my first hike of the summer ~ June 29. The Big Loop

A crawdad!

Wood Canyon:

I almost forgot to show the deer!

The Last of June Gloom

Went out on a four mile hike the day before Summer Solstice (June 20) in my local hills off of Las Ramblas (In Dana Point). This was the second of back-to-back hikes, which is rare nowadays. June Gloom still had a grip on us here on the southern coast as you can see from my photos (you can also see the last of spring). Don’t let the clouds fool you – it’s not cold by any means and it’s humid.

Lunch Hike

I took a lackadaisical lunch hike on Wednesday (June 9). Lackadaisical, because I feel like I need to ease into things. Spring time’s still in the hills (though the tall grass is now brown). And I have fallen out of shape. It’s so hard to get an even balance with mental and physical health. Just when I feel like I’m zoning in on the mental health, (which really is just spiritual health to me), then I start slipping on the physical health. Suspiciously, at the top of my physical health (in my adult years anyway, but probably in my youth as well), that’s where I saw a saw a big decline in my mental health.  Hmmmm. So off into the hills I go anyway, because that’s what I do. But nowadays it’s not just for physical health.

Look, it’s still spring!Wood Creek:

I hiked into one of my secret spots and took a seat up on a cliff. It was a weekday, as expected, the trails were practically empty. Yes, cars were parked in the lot. Some people lingered about at the ranger station. Plenty of people rode or hiked and/or ran up Aliso Canyon. By plenty I mean less than a dozen. But I lost everyone somewhere around Wood Canyon while making my way to a awesome spot that I notice in the distance and wonder how many others see. There’s only 3 places that I know where you can see this spot, and of course there’s a trail to it, so other’s know about it (I just never see them). Let’s just says it’s the road less travelled.

Here at my spot (@ the 3.5 mile mark) I ate my first meal of the day – a tuna sandwich (with provolone cheese, black olives, green pepper, red onion, & dill pickle). I wasn’t really feeling the sandwich and smashed half back into my pack to throw away later. I wasn’t really there for the lunch though. I was there for the company.  If I could upload my “smart watch” I could report how long I spent in the spot (and also my heart rate and elevation). My watch hasn’t figured out yet that I’m in Pacific Standard Time. A few weeks passed before it finally updated that I passed through Central Standard Time. And CST it has remained. This of course seems to be related to,  or at least coincides with the fact that I can’t upload to the app at the moment. I’m guessing that one hour passed sitting in this lovely spot.

Time doesn’t really matter here on this particular day – I felt I had all the time in the world and wasn’t rushed in the least:  

Total miles on this lunch hike: 7(ish)