Pigtail Weather

July 8, on a Wednesday afternoon, I decided to head out to Laguna Wilderness and Crystal Cove for a change of scenery. Wow, those trails are hot out there, and virtually all of them completely exposed. Pigtail weather is definitely upon us here on the southern California coast. Long hair covering my neck, even if in a single ponytail, is not a good match with hiking in the middle of July, even on the coast. Normally, I just might cut my hair shorter to get it off the back of my neck. COVID19 makes that a little difficult. And so, I’m growing it out for now. Old as I am, I revert back to the hairstyle of my youth.

July 8 returned a wonderful 11 mile loop. And I got to dip my toes in the ocean which is the very best thing about these trails in Crystal Cove State Park  (video). I got some good elevation gain too (1,677’) – all of it on the way out! My preference, if I haven’t stated it before (& I’m sure that I have 100 times), is to do the climbing on the way in, not on the way out. This is why I don’t often do what I call the El Moro Loop. Once in a while though, especially during pigtail weather, I like to get out and do this spectacular loop over above the Pacific Ocean.

I finished up this hike with a delightfully cool ocean breeze at precisely 7:45 pm. I remember because I had just 15 minutes to make it back home to watch The 100 on television with my fifteen year old son. I had to take the toll road to come close (cost: $6.75). I made it home at 8:05 pm dirty and tired and not at all resenting the huge climb out of El Moro Loop. Summer evenings on the coast will do that to you – it will make everything shine with a better light even when your hike included a climb out!

El Moro Loop (From Ridge Park: No Name Ridge to No-Dogs to ranger station to the Pacific Ocean. From Pacific Ocean back toward El Moro Cyn, but after bridge quick right onto BFI (Big Friggin’ Incline) to El Moro Ridge to Bommer Ridge back to Ridge Park.

Notice the Climb Out!

 

Earthy Colors

Behind (as usual) in life. Heat is rising in Southern California, so I’m staying in close to the ocean as my way of coping with it. July 6, I managed to get out pretty late in the afternoon and took a rather lazy hike in Wood Canyon (Aliso Viejo, CA) with some lovely, hot-weathered detours.

Did I say that it was hot?

Anyway, I decided to try out a pair of men’s New Balance trail shoes that I picked up at the San Clemente Outlets on this particular hike since I’d only be out for a few hours. New Balance is my brand, has been for about twenty years and the tread on my current pair is running thin. I decided to give this men’s style a try because I really liked the green earthy colors and they were only thirty dollars, which is quite a steal for trail shoes. Often, the female trail shoes have colors that are too flashy for me.

So into Wood Canyon I lazily made my way and first thing I really noticed was how high the shoe rides up on my ankle. It felt odd, and I’m not sure that I like it. I definitely don’t hate it – it’s not a deal breaker, but I’m thinking these aren’t going to be one of my favorite pairs of shoes. In all though, they weren’t terribly uncomfortable. And I do believe that this is the second time that I learned that I don’t like the cut of men’s trail shoes. I caught glimpses of memories of another pair of men’s trail shoes that I bought many, many years ago (again because of the earthy colors!) as I hiked along Wood Canyon that day.

I got in about 7 and 1/2 miles on July 6, with not much elevation gain (<1k), but it was lovely. I took in some shady detours, the first one being 5 Oaks (which I rarely take, but I wanted to take a look at the newly built bridges and trail reinforcements). On the return, I detoured onto the lonesome Coyote Run Trail and and the spooky Wood Creek Trail that is almost completely covered in forest. The hike of course ended with cool summer ocean breezes which made taking off in the afternoon so worth it!

The Canopy of Wood Canyon

  Along 5 Oaks TrailCoyote Run Trail

The Bridge Over Wood Creek to Wood Creek Trail

4th of July During a Pandemic in a Beach Resort Town

For a while, things opened up in California. I am still working online. But restaurants opened (with limited seated and masks regulations) so we were able to get in a celebration dinner for our high school senior who just graduated. Churches opened back up, as did bars (again, both with significantly reduced capacity). Gyms opened back up, with heavy restrictions on capacity and operating hours.

But then there was a spike in cases. I don’t know if there was a spike in deaths because now the highly publicized data focuses on positive cases, not number of deaths, which is what was highly publicized previously – ANYWAY, numbers are up in one way or another, and as such, there was seemingly great fear among lawmakers that we could see a big increase in number of cases (or number of deaths) resulting from of 4th of July celebrations. AND therefore, the governor of California increased restrictions due to COVID19, which included closing indoor bars, banning singing in churches and most relevant in my life, closing down California beaches for the 4th of July weekend. Well, he didn’t actually close the beaches. He closed the parking lots of the beaches. As a result, the beaches were practically empty this 4th of July, 2020. Never before have I seen this. Usually, tourists fill up our town on this weekend. The streets, stores and beaches are usually packed. Yes, there were people on the beaches this year – some people found places to park in the neighborhoods. Others, like myself and my husband took a stroll down to the seaside to take in the lovey Pacific Ocean. In comparison to prior years, the beaches were empty.

I am thankful that the governor decided to only close the lots so that we could take in these views (total mileage, about 4 – I forgot my watch again!):  

 

 

Free Association (The Rock)

Got out for another evening hike on the first of July, 2020. It’s summer now, so if I can’t wake at the crack of dawn to hit the dirt early, it’s best to go ahead and get some work done and head out in the afternoon to take in those cooler evening hours.

July 1st, it was a repeat of The Big Loop @ Aliso/Woods Canyons (of course it was!). I took it counter-clockwise, as I do lately. That meant taking a gradual climb through the canyon. It was hot, but mainly due to the mugginess. And it was beautiful with lots of shade and flower color dotting the trail. The word that describes it best is “tranquil”.

There weren’t many people out at all. It was one of our warmer days, and not to mention just a few days out from a holiday weekend (the 4th of July!).

I kind of just mindlessly meandered through Wood Canyon, often carrying a mental load, then in the next second tossing it aside. I sometimes liken hiking through the wilderness to Sigmund Freud’s (the “father of psychoanalysis”) process of “Free Association”.  With this process there is no linear thought pattern, you just go and see it were it leads you.

So, there I was, just Free Associating away in Wood Canyon and that lead me to the rock. I just caught a glimpse of it – it’s over past Lynx Trail, off to the left, kind of rising up from the trail. How many times have I passed by that rock? I cannot tell you (I’ve been roaming Wood Canyon for more than a decade, about 13 years, so the answer is in the three digits). One time I walked past it with my three boys when they were all pretty young. We took a hike on Wood Creek Trail that day and we stopped at that rock on the way where my husband snapped a picture of us. This is the picture that flashed before my eyes walking through Wood Canyon on July 1st, 2020:

This memory took my breath away. I had to stop and climb to the top of this rock. And there I sat behind my dark sunglasses and sobbed for a while. I sobbed because it hit me with that memory that their childhood is finished. It is over and it went way too fast. The rest of the hike was quite mournful because of that. I would Free Associate out of my mournful state only to find myself there once again.

After the canyon, I had some good climbing to do and that is always a good thing when I am troubled. I caught the tail end of a rattler on West Ridge and awesome views of the Pacific Ocean before descending down Meadows Trail back into Aliso Canyon. I finished up when the sun was beginning to set on the horizon and the weather was oh so cool. The lighting was beautiful, dark in the shade, and vibrant out in the sun..

Another wonderful summer evening hike in the coastal hills Free Associating ~

 

Warner Springs

Saturday, June 27, I got the pleasure of driving my youngest son out to Warner Springs, California (about 95 miles southeast of Dana Point) for a sleepover at his friend’s house for his 15th birthday. His friend lives out on a ranch there with his parents, friends of ours since the two boys met in kindergarten (10+ years ago!). Warner Springs is a lovely area approximately 40 minutes out of Temecula, the last town on the way out. After Temecula it’s beautiful windy roads through mountainous terrain that’s dotted with giant boulders and Oak trees. There’s of course, plenty of trails, in and out of private, national forest and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands.

So, first things first, we got the weekend off to a fine evening with the nice cooling weather and a delightful hike (they know how to treat us right!). Views go on for miles up there. While I did think to bring my trail shoes on this trip, I didn’t think to bring my sports watch to measure this hike. I’m guessing it was between two and three miles, a perfect way to wind down the evening after a long drive. 

Me & My Youngest BoyBack on the Ranch