Breakfast in a Cave

Wednesday (July 22), I blocked out time in “The Schedule” to get in a 10+ mile loop, beginning at Moulton Meadows in Laguna Beach. I began at the top of Mentally Sensitive where the weather was quite chilly and I even wondered for a moment if I should have brought something warmer to wear. No need to worry. After gingerly making my way straight down Mentally Sensitive into Aliso Canyon, I had warmed up plenty. (Look at that first drop in the elevation profile!) Actually all of Aliso and Wood Canyon was like an oven this time of afternoon. I was greatly looking forward to the shadiness of Wood Canyon.

At about 4 o’clock I arrived at Cave Rock in Wood Canyon which was the perfect place to cool down and break my fast. I climbed up to the “big” cave on the side of Cave Rock and had a small meal of meat and cheese with a meadow view. I could hear branches breaking across in the trees. When I focused I caught a glimpse of a deer hoping about but lost him pretty quickly. That got me thinking: I really need a small pair of binoculars (another thing to pack!).

Lovely hike, even though it was one of those “climb out” hikes. The climb out was nice and gradual though with mountain and ocean views! Besides that – the climb is always good for the soul (and for that matter, so is breakfast in a cave.)

The Breakfast Cave

Back in Laguna Beach after the Climb up Cholla & West Ridge

 

Eight Miles In

Monday, June 20, I put myself on a schedule, written out the night before on a steno pad that I always have with me (except when I’m wandering). I really needed to do this – without a schedule I have no structure in my day. I get things done whenever I feel like it, which sometimes means never.  Without structure, I am nowhere near as productive as I desire. In fact, without structure, it seems every aspect of my life (mental health, nutrition, sleep, exercise) suffers. So, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm yesterday, as per my schedule, I answered students’ emails and troubleshooted a couple student projects, did several household chores, chatted over the phone with my oldest son (not on the schedule) and then shot over to the closest grocery store to pick up vanilla ice cream for the blackberry pie my middle son had baked the night before. (The blackberries were fresh, picked from a bush in my backyard.)

This structure came just in time. I could tell that my mood was declining the longer I held off. After my five hour block of work, I scheduled a hike that was obviously long overdue. The state of everything (and I mean everything, but in particular: COVID19, politics, unrest, etc.) was really weighing on me. And I felt  particularly down after reading details in the news about some recent murders, one in New Jersey, the others in Florida. I should never read the details in cases like these. The details haunt me. Haunt. Me. When I finally set out into Aliso Canyon for the Big Loop a little after 3 pm I was trying to shake the haunting images of what I had read. I guess if I could pick only one word to describe what I was feeling it was this: fearful. I was able to drift in and out of this funk as I strolled through Aliso Canyon and its brown summer glory. But I kept returning to a place where my thoughts were dark.

Hiking, running, wandering always gives me peace. Sometimes that peace is immediate -- I feel it with my first step. Other times, it takes a few more steps, sometimes a mile, sometimes two. This sense of peace that I talk about is not necessarily a feeling of “happiness”. It is more a feeling of weights being lifted off my shoulders, a feeling of acceptance and perhaps hope coupled with a joyful kind of lightheartedness all at once. I feel like I can breathe easier and think clearer with this peace. It’s the whole goal.

At about three miles in, I sat on The Rock in Wood Canyon, just past Wood Creek Trail to break my fast with some cheese and beef sticks. After another mile of winding trail beneath a shady forest canopy, I took the steep incline up to the ridge chatting with my mother over the phone. And then I hiked much of West Ridge listening to a Youtube interview.  All of this was wonderful for my soul: food then grinding out Cholla Trail  while talking to my mom, which made the difficult work much easier, toping it off with a hopeful interview overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

My Breakfast @ 4:30 pm

View of Saddleback Mountains from West Ridge in Laguna Beach

I barely saw anyone in the canyons on the way out – one or two cyclists and a couple runners. West Ridge had one or two hikers as well until I neared the Top of the World at Alta Laguna Park. By then we were well into evening with a cool ocean breeze. It was no wonder that the top was crowded with people either taking in the views or heading out for evening hikes. Practically everyone was masked. But as crowded as the place was, we were all easily able to keep our distance.

The playground was taped off in the park, but the restrooms (real restrooms with sinks, soap and running water, a luxury I don’t often have on hikes) were thankfully open. As I hightailed it out of the park into the neighborhoods (finishing up about 7.5 miles), more and more cars pulled into the park emptying people with masked faces headed out on their evening strolls. 

I left everyone behind and marched across the lovely neighborhood that runs along the ridge so that I could re-enter the park in Aliso Canyon. It was during that portion, right around eight miles in that peace finally arrived with all of its gifts. Eight miles in. And at about 8.5 miles in, I came up on these guys grazing on the hillsides and began my trek down Meadows trail:

Perfect Timing (nearing end of Meadows Trail, about 2 miles out from my truck):

Car Wreck Trail

The last hike I got out on was Friday, July 10.  I decided pretty quickly after arriving back to my regular stomping grounds  to take the most difficult incline in the park, Car Wreck Trail. With rising temperatures in Southern California, I was starting to think that I wouldn’t get in many more hikes over the next several weeks. Anticipating that loss, I was craving something tough. Granted, we are not having anywhere close to record temperatures. It’s just I don’t want to even flirt with heat sickness (Too many close calls!)

It’s debatable I suppose, whether or not Car Wreck Trail is the toughest trail in Aliso and Wood Canyons. Mentally Sensitive would be the only trail close to Car Wreck’s difficulty. Here’s the deal in a nutshell: Car Wreck Trail is steeper but it is shorter than Mentally Sensitive. Yes, Mentally Sensitive has some pretty dang steep portions. But Car Wreck’s steepness is constant from the car wreck onward all the way to nearly the end when it finally reaches Mathis trail close to West Ridge. I, by the way, did not make this trek with the mask as pictured above. I carry a mask with me, but don’t wear it when I hike. Don’t need to. I don’t see others, and when I do, it’s easy to social distance. Thank God this is my hobby, my medicine, the thing I do. I easily gave up the gym when COVID19 came along. I gave up the trails for a short while when the crowds arrived. But they’re back to desolate again, so I am in my happy place!

My route on this lovely summer late afternoon/evening: From Canyon View Park, Wood Cyn/Coyote Run/Mathis/Car Wreck/Mathis/Top of the World/Canyon Acres/West Ridge/Cholla/Wood Cyn. Car Wreck as promised was quite difficult (look @ that profile!). 7.65 mi, Elev Gain 1,305 ft.

      

     

Lovely evening hike during these tense times. Looking forward to getting out again. Really need to see to that quickly. It’s for my own good. 

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!