Step Two

Having suffered no adverse effects from my the flagpole hike, I set out for Step Two this past Monday (3/21). I chose a nice and easy hike in Aliso and Wood Canyon, and really didn’t push it at all. The Aliso to Wood Canyon hike is always a good one for an easy, relaxed and off and on shady hike, especially if you stop by the caves.

5 miles, felt fine (but then again, this hike has very little elevation gain!).

Until next time ~

Aliso Canyon (Soka University off to right):Inside Dripping aka. Robbers Cave:
Up on top of Cave Rock:Hiking down side of Cave Rock:Backside of Cave Rock:

Am I Out?

I’ve grown weary with the piled-on injuries status, and a little worried too. I mean, is this how it’s going to always be now, am I out?

With the mountains turning green and starting to bloom in December in my state, I’ve also been growing rather anxious watching spring from the sidelines. This is how I’ve been talking to myself as the weeks turned into months: “Calm down Lauren, you’ve seen spring in the mountains many, many times – in fact, you are blessed with mountain springtime experiences, don’t be so selfish! You are extremely blessed with what you have already been given!!!”

This past Saturday (3/19) I finally got out to walk on some dirt – a short hike really, and I didn’t want to do it. I had to force myself out the door. And then I drove 5 minutes to the closest trails. I just wanted to test out my physical abilities.

The worst of my physical pains is my left arm. Thankfully, though I need my arm to run, I don’t need it so much to hike. Removing the pack can be a pain – a minor inconvenience!  What I really wanted to do is put a few miles in on hilly terrain. I wanted to see if my torn calf had indeed fully healed. I can say after my first experiment, I believe it has healed. 

The hike was a beautiful 4 miles just before some rain came in that night. Lots of mountain bikers were out, a few e-bikes as well. On the way in, I had a nice long conversation with another hiker about coyotes, fishing and bears. In the end, it was good to get out and I felt relieved.

Experiment 1 is complete. Step 2 is to get out again to make doubly make sure the calf is good.

Some pics from Experiment 1:

Long View Park

So, my leg, or rather, my left side has not fully recovered from my fall at Holy Jim Falls. I don’t yet have full motion of my left arm (specifically, my shoulder) and it hurts terribly when I forget and reach back in any way. Then there’s the left knee that throbs out of nowhere. One minute it’s fine, the next it’s throbbing. My torn calf muscle on the other hand, seemed to heal up fine. “Seemed” is the key word because while I’m fine doing chores and everyday walking, my calf feels weird and kind of wobbly if I walk too much.

Anyway, injury update out of the way. Covid visited our household as well. I did not catch it (tested negative twice) but there was the quarantine time, which I abided by. This of course meant staying home. We had groceries delivered and hunkered down. When I tested out of quarantine on January 26, it felt great just to get back in the grocery store.

A few days later (1/30), I decided to try out my legs again. I had been wanting to see Long View Park after hiking Long View Park Trail only to find the gate to the park locked from that end. I shortened the walk up quite a bit by driving up to Trader Joe’s in Laguna Niguel and parking in their lot on Golden Lantern. From there I headed down Del Avion toward San Juan Creek and walked through the pedestrian gate (open only during daylight hours) of the prestigious Bear Brand neighborhood. From there, I used my Life360 App to find a park that had an asphalt switchback trail lined with Eucalyptus trees. The climb was a little more than I expected (there’s me under-estimating again!) but it was short (and lovely).

The ocean views began before I reached the top. When I did reach Long View Park, the views were spectacular for 360 degrees. I could see the Santa Ana Mountains and the San Gabriels beyond that. I had the entire park to myself. Of course, I spent much time exploring the place. I found lots of sitting spots and a painted rock garden. I also took the trail down to the locked gate where I had hiked to a couple weeks prior.

When I headed back, I took a different route over a grassy slope down into a neighborhood that dumped me out much lower on Del Avion than where I started. My climb back up to Golden Lantern was not what I had planned but I enjoyed the struggle nonetheless. In all, I the round trip was just over two miles. My calf wasn’t happy back at home. I don’t think it’s quite healed yet.

Long View Trail

I’m still laying low because of my leg (but that’s really an excuse because there’s other things stopping me from progressing, mainly myself!). Anyway, my calf is still rather tight and I’m a little (I mean a lot) fearful of doing any significant stretches. I will put it on my “To-Do List” today.

This past Sunday I was able to get in a pain free short hike – less than a week after my last hike. Progress! In search of short distances to let the calf heal, I headed to the hills in Laguna Niguel (just up Golden Lantern, about a five minute drive from my house). Though I’ve lived in this area for decades now, I’ve done very little exploring of Laguna Niguel’s trails. Why? Because I don’t need to with so many wonderful trails in OC. Being on the mend though, it was a perfect opportunity to do a little exploring. I miss exploring.

I mapped out my route to end up in Long View Park, a park within the prestigious gated community called Bear Brand. I parked near the dog park along Salt Creek Trail, which is a paved bike path out of Salt Creek Beach. From there, I took Colinas Bluff Trail for just a bit until the turnoff for Long View Park Trail (not marked!). Long View Park Trail is a single track with minimal climbing and  long views for sure. Unfortunately, the weather quickly turned overcast and the sky became the same color as the ocean. So my long ocean views were gray. On a good note, the weather was pleasantly cool.

Long View Trail is a lovely urban trail in and amongst multi-million dollar homes that frankly, I’d be embarrassed to live (talk about gluttony! Something I know all too much about). Now, I’m not one to promote class envy, in fact, I despise class envy. It really infuriates me – but I just have to say that I found these homes somewhat vulgar – like public masturbation. That may not make sense to some but being that I know a lot about gluttony (I’m an expert!) I couldn’t help but be slightly repelled by the neighborhood. (Search Bear Brand for sale and you’ll see homes as high as $25 mil.) Fortunately, the trail wound in and out of the neighborhoods and was mostly serene and lonely (the best!) so I did not have to look gluttony right in the face for my entire hike.  I took the trail as planned, all the way to Long View Park in Bear Brand. But I arrived to find the gate locked! Later, I read online that you can only enter that park via Del Avion which is much closer to my home. . So, there will be a part 2 to Long View Trail.

This hike was about 3.5 miles for the round trip.

From Salt Creek Trail, the tunnel beneath Golden Lantern to Colinas Bluffs Trail:

Colinas Bluff Trail

The Gate to Long View Trail:

View of San Juan Capistrano  & Mission from Long View Trail:
Long View Trail:

Gate locked at Long View Park:

Heading back (Long View Trail):

Cave-Rock Post-Injury

When my doctor said that I could take short, flat hikes, I was sure to clarify exactly what he meant by flat (because the road can be flat at an incline). It didn’t even occur to me to pin down what he meant by “short.” Monday, I took a “short”, “flat” hike up Aliso and Wood Canyons to a lovely hidden (in plain sight) gem, Cave Rock. It was the shortest hike I could think of where I could sit in a nice place in solitude.

Cave Rock Trail:

Cave Rock in the distance:

Approaching . . .
My only bit of “non-flat”:My Place of Solitude: 

As usual, weekdays are best. A father and daughter came by early on. Other than that, I had this side of Cave Rock to myself. I probably had all of Cave Rock to myself. But to investigate the entire rock would have entailed some additional non-flat hiking.

It felt wonderful to be out again. My secret place was so peaceful that I accidentally dozed off for a second. Whoa. It was time to head back. About 3.75 miles total for the round trip. I call that short. But I don’t think my calf thought it was short. It felt weird, kind of wobbly after a gentle stretch back at home. Worried that I over did it, I was back on heat and ice for the next few days. Since Monday, I’ve been off the trails and have been using my down time to get some painting done on the inside of the house. I am pleased with the progress but really want to get back to my obsession. Trails.