Ccccold on a Tuesday

I started this past week strong by getting in a hike early on, Tuesday 1/26, in between storms. I chose Black Star Canyon, just after sunrise. And it was ccccold (that’s my literary attempt at conveying the fact that my teeth chattered). I was prepared with almost enough warmth. My only problem was that I couldn’t warm my chin and mouth while trekking through the shaded and wet canyon floor, even though I had cinched the hood of my over shirt so that only my eyes poked through. How cold was it? I don’t know exactly how cold – the rain puddles were frozen over with a thin layer of ice at the base of the canyon, so I’m guessing that it was of course freezing at one point, but probably about 40 F when I arrived. Two and a half miles in the climb begins, and so I was able to warm up enough to take off the beanie and hood. The climb is constant after that. It’s constant until you reach the outcropping on the right, the site of the historic Indian village. When I say warmed up going up that mountain, I don’t mean that I was warm – I mean that I was warmer, or rather, less ccccold. And so, the gloves remained, and I don’t think that I took off another layer the entire lovely trip. (For the record, I had four layers on up top: sports bra, tech shirt, cold weather long sleeved sports shirt, and wind/rain breaker with hood plus & beanie and gloves).

Being that Tuesday was a work day, I didn’t have all the time in the world, so I made this hike relatively quick, just up about 5 miles to the Indian Village. The fairytale spot (no, not really fairytale,  more like nature’s church)  was empty of course being a Tuesday, so I sat down at my seat on that giant rock across from Baker’s Cross for quite some time before heading back. In all, I put in about 11 miles with 1,600’ of elevation gain. On a Tuesday!

Silverado Loop with Emmett

Last Friday, January 22, I left about 6am to meet up with my friend Emmett in front of the Christmas tree farm on Black Star Canyon Road. Originally, we had planned to hike to Santiago Peak from Maple Springs Road. But I learned online just before heading out that morning, that the gate at Maple Springs Road was closed. A gate closed here would add about 7 miles to my pre-planned route. So, plans changed on the spot. We still drove my truck into Silverado Canyon and began our hike on Maple Springs Road. But we began it on the paved road, where the gate was closed and hiked it to the dirt road and then up to The Main Divide. But instead of turning right on The Main Divide toward Modjeska and Santiago Peaks, we turned left, toward the minor peaks, Bald and Bedford, to close up a giant circle that is often called The Silverado Loop.

Heading up Maple Springs Road:

It was a beautiful day and quite chilly. So chilly, that my teeth chattered during the earliest hours. But hiking up that mountain tends to warm things up, especially when hiking up with Emmett. One step from the ultra tall ultra runner is about three of mine (and I suspect that he was even slowing down for me).

Being that the gate was closed, there were no vehicles anywhere, which is very nice. As a matter of fact, there were no people anywhere either. We didn’t see another person until the very end, just a couple of miles from my truck.

After climbing Maple Springs Road, there’s a nice little down hill section, but after that, there’s more climbing. There’s a tremendous amount of climbing on this loop in fact. Talk about suffering. There’s plenty of glorious suffering on the Silverado Loop. Also, plan for lots of hours away from home if you do this hike. Our moving time was 5:41:33 (actual time was of course greater due to occasional stops.)

The Main Divide:Looking back on Maple Springs Road:Heading down Silverado Motorway:

Great company and great trails encompassing approximately 17 miles, with 4,500’ of elevation gain I didn’t get many pictures however. I didn’t notice until I arrived home that there was gunk on my lens and many of my photos were blurred (even the “group” photo of Emmett and I at the top of the motorway was blurry).

Oh, and there was lots of climbing! Did I mention that? My Gluteus maximus muscles ached for 3 days (just in time for my next hike).

Willing to Suffer

I am a few hikes behind, so I’ll make January 17th’s hike quick, as it was somewhat quick (around 6 miles) and also since it was much the same as the hike before that on the 14th, which was also focused on travelling back to my spot, the secret place that was hidden in plain sight. Yah, that one.

It was a gorgeous day of course, though my mood was somber. Santa Catalina Island was in plain sight, and the Saddleback Mountains stood boldly on the skyline. Aliso/Wood Canyons feels new to me again. For some reason, I’m seeing a whole lot of new possibilities. A lot of them involve climbing out (as opposed to climbing in), but I’m willing to suffer.  

View from Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach:Heading down West Ridge:Wood Creek:The Destination:Climbing Out:

Hidden in Plain Sight

This past Thursday, January 4th, I took off in the morning for a loop out of Laguna Beach into Aliso and Wood Canyons. I was greeted by a field of deer at the bottom of Mentally Sensitive Trail. Then I meandered about a bit on some of my usual trails, Wood Canyon, Cave Rock, Mathis and Coyote Run. I climbed a tree on Cave Rock (seriously, I did – but it was fairly easy being that a branch reached out right up against a giant boulder that I was sitting on. After a while, I meandered about a bit more, and then off onto another trail that I had not been on in a long time. And that’s I found a new secret place that was hidden practically in plain sight. How many times have I hiked or ran the trails in Wood Canyon? I cannot number. This new secret place is on a giant rock cropping overlooking Mathis Canyon. (I am sure to return!). After that lovely experience, I decided to torture myself by hiking up Mentally Sensitive. That was not quite murder, but it was tough.

Overlooking Aliso Canyon (From Moulton Meadows Park)Moving down Mentally Sensitive Trail with a view of Saddleback Mountains

Descending Mentally Sensitive TrailBottom of Mentally Sensitive, near Meadows TrailCave Rock Trail:In my tree on Cave Rock:In my cave on Cave RockWood CreekNature’s StaircaseMy newest secret placeThe climb out, up Car Wreck Trail

About 9 miles, 1,800’ of elevation gain

Church Social Distancing Style

The world’s gone crazy. It has, hasn’t it? I mean hasn’t it? Confusion and chaos has run amuck. And it looks like my generation got caught asleep at the wheel (What generation is that? Well, I’m 55, so that generation). No matter what side you’re on in this global argument (yes, this is a global discussion, to put it mildly, not an American only discussion), it’s all occurred on our watch. Perhaps you don’t know what I’m speaking about. Many people know exactly what I’m talking about. But at the same time, I don’t think my own children know what I’m talking about. They don’t see it. (Boomer!) 

So, what does a trail wandering American girl do in times like this? We’re still technically in a lockdown here in California. Take out food only, yet all of the restaurants are open with outdoor dining. The beaches are crowded, as are the stores and malls. We’re mostly all home, but that doesn’t mean we know our neighbors and local grocery store workers more. We’re all masked, and we don’t talk to each other, because it’s too difficult to hear from behind the masks and plastic barriers. On a nice note, you can tell the people who are smiling beneath their masks. You can see it in their eyes. So, I keep trying to smile at people behind my mask, hoping too that it shows in my eyes. And so, I ask once again, what does a girl like me do in a time like this? There really is only one thing to do and that is what I always do, what I’ve always done. Wander. I strap on some shoes, put on my pack and set out for the trails. Nowadays though, I do my wanderings with the specific intent of seeking the face of God.  

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Black Star Canyon up to the historic “Indian” village site, Sunday, January 10, 2021, 12.4 miles, 1,657’ of elevation gain.

Take me to Church, Social Distancing Style