The Bridge is NOT the Answer

Day 47 of my running streak I returned to piecing together The Epic Run.   (For new readers, this is my quest to run from Doheny Beach to Santiago Peak in Saddleback Mountains).  Today I took the advice of my friend Tom Fangrow who reminded me of a run we took together back in 2009 – the one where we got kind of  lost in the mud, and he lost his eyeglasses only to find them beneath MY SHOES!  That was the trail, he recently told me, that I had to take for this quest.  He told me NOT to cross the bridge that I’ve been crossing off of Trabuco Trail, the one that takes me to Trabuco Ridge.  Funny . . . all along, I thought the bridge was the answer.

The bridge is NOT the answer.   I was a bit leery at first, because the bridge route did get me to my destination on my last scouting trip.  This morning,  I met another trail runner on a bike (Howie) on my way toward Tom’s Way, and he also confirmed that I was headed toward Arroyo Trabuco.  I ran for a while next to the golf course, and after a mile or so, came to this fountain spot that I immediately recognized.  I had refilled my water here on that run way, way back.  Relieved that I wasn’t yet lost, I had to stop and strike a pose:

From the fountain onward, the run was pretty straight forward, the trail fairly level (well dang right level RELATIVELY : ).  When the trail forked, both routes were obviously well-traversed trails, so I took the lower.  And I’m not sure, but I could swear I took the same wrong trail that Tom and I took about 3 years ago when we found ourselves boxed-in, surrounded by deep mud.  I’m not sure, but if it was the same wrong turn, I certainly wasn’t going to take it to its dead end.  So about here (below) I turned around and ran back to the fork so that I could run the “upper” trail. 

Now, when I write “upper” trail, I in no way mean UPPER as in the Trabuco Ridge Trail I had been taking to piece together The Epic Run.  This trail was just slightly higher than the first choice.  I hit some single-track, I came across another runner.  There was even a tiny bit of shade (NO shade on my prior route).  The only trouble I had was finding the route to cross to the other side of the creek.  Tom mentioned that I’d find a route just before Crown Valley.  The biker Howie suggested running up to Crown Valley Parkway running across the road, then back down to the trail on the other side.  I ran everything that looked like a trail just before Crown Valley, only to dead end.  And I decided that running up to the road wasn’t ideal.  From Crown Valley I ran back again, looking for the route.  And I phoned my husband so that he could read back to me Tom’s note.  I still found nothing.  Eventually, I ran a bit past the Crown Valley underpass and found a clear singe-track trail down to the creek.  I crossed the creek, getting my feet wet, then ran a sandbar to the trail that runs along the other side – my destination.

My destination:  beneath the Crown Valley underpass on Arroyo Trabuco, so, so grateful for Tom pointing out this route.  Why?  BECAUSE THIS NEW ROUTE KNOCKED ABOUT AN HOUR off my original route of The Epic Run.  Thanks Tom!

Running back with a look over my shoulders and a click of the camera to catch a glimpse of Santiago Peak:

My lovely view while stretching at the truck:

Miles run today:  6.16 (9.91 km)

One-Track Mind

Day 46 of my longest running streak (by far):  6.42 easyish out-and-back miles run to Top of the World in Aliso/Wood Canyons.

Running up Cholla Trail:

View of Wood Canyon from Cholla:

Santiago Peak from West Ridge:

Pacific Ocean / Catalina Island view from Park Ave. Nature Trail:

Top of the World:

Santiago Peak from West Ridge:

Running back down Cholla Trail:

More on the Scout . . .

Day 45 of my running streak, I ran another scouting expedition in hopes of connecting trails to Trabuco Canyon.  It went pretty well, though the trails were pretty dang lonely.  (On the return trip, they livened up with cyclists and even two runners). 

This morning I began at the bridge, again running up Trabuco Ridge.  That cuts off about (5 or 6 miles) I believe, from a Doheny Beach starting point.  During today’s scouting expedition, I gave myself a couple hours to run toward Saddleback Mountains and soon found myself in familiar territory, Arroyo Trabuco Trail.  When I reached my hourly limit, I simply turned around and ran back. 

This run really wiped me out.  But fortunately, I ran a “negative split” (Yah, I’m picking up some terminology) and had lots of time to stretch afterward.

The Pictorial (Warning – way too many pictures.  I’ll try & lighten up a little bit next time):

So far, I’ve run from my truck to the bridge which crosses the creek and meets up with Trabuco Ridge Trail:

Heading down off the trail to pick it up at the end of upcoming cul-de-sac:

I don’t know what these are, they stand up above golf course about a mile before I begin to descend back down to creek:

You guessed it (if you’ve been to this blog before) – Santiago Peak in distance:

Trailside flowers:

Heading down to the creek, a 1/2 mile to 1 mile before Crown Valley Parkway underpass:

Ahhhhh.  The creek.  I ran the single track to the right for a while before meeting up with Arroyo Trabuco Trail:

Relieved that I know where I’m at.  LOL:

Running along Trabuco Trail, I hear all sorts of noises in the leaf litter:

Looking downstream before crossing:

Closed???? 

Ah.  I don’t think so!

Arroyo Trabuco – I recognize this trail!!  Hooray!  I’m not getting lost today.

More creek crossing – I’ve crossed here many times on different runs:

Got a little spooky in here.  I  couldn’t even see the mountains.  So I took the headphones off to listen closely and focus:

Heading back to the truck, running Trabuco Ridge I notice a fine specimen of Ladybug.  I love Ladybugs:

Truckward bound and oh, so tired:

16.02 miles ran this morning (25.78 km):

Scouting Expedition

Day 44 of my running streak, I decided to run a scouting expedition.  I went dressed for running to a work meeting.  And directly afterward, I ran straight out to Trabuco Trail about 1.5 miles away for this scouting expedition.

Ever since I started investigating the trails along San Juan and Trabuco Creek, I had this idea of an epic run (an idea that was run by me a couple times by my old running partner, Tom.)  But when I finally found Trabuco Trail about a year ago and saw that it was closed, I put the idea aside.  Then the other day, while running around San Juan Capistrano, I saw that a new trail had been constructed just above Trabuco Trail.  I thought to myself – indeed the epic run is alive!

My idea is to run from the beach to the peak – that is Doheny Beach to Santiago Peak.  I’m sure it’s been done before, yet I can’t find specific information on the internet about such a run.  I have no idea how many miles the route is.  But I do know that it would probably be my most difficult run to date.  And I do know that it’s a bit crazy.  I’m even kind of afraid to try and get a group or even a single person to join me, because I have my reputation you know.  LOL.  But I do know without trail closures, a trail run from Doheny to Santiago Peak is possible.  And so, today I ran that new Trabuco Trail with the limited time I had to scout it out.

So, I took off on the “old” Trabuco Trail and struck a pose in front of the “closed” sign I soon ran up on:

And I took the new, upper-trail.  It doesn’t run along the creek, and I could see the “old” trail below, which looked in good condition to me.  The lower closed trail was natural and kind of rugged.  The new trail was groomed with wood chips and moved alongside a private school.  The kids were at lunch, some were in P.E. class.  Lots of the children waved.

After crossing the creek, I made my way to the original trail.  It meandered through mustard plant fields, then to my utter delight, an orange grove.  I could hear the cars speeding by on the freeway a few hundred yards away.  The trail had no climbing and was quite tranquil despite the freeway.  There was nothing technical about it, no hills, ruts, rocks or gulleys, but it was still beautiful.

Then the trail turned right.  I ran beneath both the southbound and northbound Interstate 5 Freeways.  It was dark, loud, long (I’d guess 8 to 10 lanes worth) and quite eerie.  But I could see the “light at the end of the tunnel” and looked forward to discover where I’d come out.

To my great surprise I came out at the bridge pictured below.  I’ve driven past it hundreds of times and have always thought, “That’s an odd place for a bridge.”  Ms. Trail Runner didn’t even think that it might cross the creek TO CONNECT TRAILS!  I had actually thought it was an old, possibly abandoned, unused bridge.  Funny girl. 

At the end of the bridge there were 2 trails to choose from.  I chose the one that went up and had the word “Trabuco” in it.  I ran Trabuco Ridge.  Again, the trail was uneventful, easy running rolling hills (well, all were not that easy, but it’s all relative right?)  Soon I ran high above the freeways and I could see that I was passing Saddleback College in Mission Viejo on my far left. 

I ran up and down these grassy hills, coming across only two other people.  They sat together on the grass beneath an umbrella in practically the middle of nowhere.  We all smiled and waved as I passed.  I noticed that they were drinking water  – perhaps something else, I mean what the heck were they doing there???  LOL. 

There she is!  Santiago Peak:

Eventually, I had to turn back because I needed to pick the boys up from school.  On the return trip I spied four deer frolicking on the hillside.  If you look closely in the picture below, you might see them.  (You might have to click the picture for a larger view).

Making better time than I expected, I took the time for some photo ops while  crossing Trabuco Creek:

No, I’m not dancing.  I’m trying to sit down in time before the camera clicks:

And then I crossed the creek and ran back to my car parked at my work for a run totaling 8.40 miles (13.52 km).

Trabuco Creek: