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.

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).

Harbor Runs

The days have been warming up. It's not quite the hottest part of summer yet on the coast. But we are inching closer. Just a mile or two inland the temperatures are in the high 80s (F), and a mere five miles in, you're looking at the 90s. But here on the coast, we've got high 70s and low 80s still in the third week of July. Certainly not too hot for short harbor runs.

It still is not fun. 😣

2.75 mile run along bridge and harbor island (7/20/19):

 3.5 mile run through Doheny and campgrounds, the jetty, wharf and marina (7/22/19):

Arroyo Trabuco

July 18, the day after my day off from three in a row (two short runs, then a hike), I knew I needed to get back out and run if I wanted to eventually latch onto that wonderful thing called momentum. HOWEVER, I absolutely did not want to do this. I had already had a full day and was not at all in the mood to run. It is kind of discouraging when you're starting over. And so therefore, I waited until the very last possible minute to run and get it in before dark. At about 7:30 pm, I drove down to the Marine Institute and ran 2.51 miles in the Dana Point Harbor. I did not like it. Except at the end. When it was over. I liked it.

The next day (July 19, it was a Friday), I wanted a nice long hike, something easy, something relatively flat, and something long. Best place for that was Arroyo Trabuco Trail. I chose a 12ish mile out-and-back with a turnaround point in O'Neill Park (lovely!). I hit the trails at about 1pm, so undoubtedly, it was warm. But I got lots of shade (which is the reason that I chose Arroyo Trabuco in the first place). I saw very few people on the trail. I also saw two bull dozers from it appeared the fire department plowing the trail.  For the most part, the hike was uneventful, just easy going and in the NOW. The most eventful moment was when bushwhacking on Tijeras Trail, as I stood in the middle of a field after having lost the the single track trail, something ran past me and brushed into my leg. That something was little, I was thinking little like a mouse, but I really have no idea because as soon as I felt it, I ran. 

Best 12.86 miles in a long time!