TALES FROM THE TRAIL (AND SOMETIMES THE ROAD TOO)

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Scouting Saddleback Marathon Trails

IMG_0837I managed to head to The Saddleback Mountains this past Sunday to scout some of the marathon trails. It was a warm Autumn day for sure – our cool down trend has not occurred but is much anticipated. Anyway, Blue Jay Campground was closed for improvements. They’re fixing it up for us! I cannot tell you how great it was to be back up in that campground. (Yes, I snuck in!).

Anyway, below are some quick pictures of mainly San Juan Trail and The Viejo Tie which are part of the marathon course. We’ve got fresh poison oak out there, which is normal. And only one fallen tree (so far). Overall, except for some overgrowth, the trails look great.

More previews to follow.

The Main Divide on the Way in:IMG_0715IMG_0723

Poison OakPoison Oak

San Juan Trail:SJ Trail 2SJ Trail 3SJ Trail 5SJ Trail 6

San Juan Trail, close to Viejo TieSJ Trail 8SJ Trail 9SJ Trail 7

Viejo TieVT 1VT 2

Saturday, October 21, 2023

‘Bout Time

IMG_0602

IMG_0619I last made my way to trails way back in April (6 months ago!) – during what Christians call our Holy Week. I was so looking forward to hiking to Baker’s Cross on Good Friday but I could not because I was sick in bed, exhausted with Covid. Anyway, that’s ancient history. I’ve done plenty of walking and exploring since then (New York, DC, TX). It feels like a whirlwind. I just haven’t had the time to do one of the things that I love most: get out on those mountain trails.

It’s always a little emotional returning after an absence. Seeing those mountains off in the distance is like seeing a long lost friend.

So, all I have to say is, it’s bout time! This past Saturday, during an Annular Eclipse, I returned to the scene of the crime, that is my Covid hike, Black Star Canyon. Beautiful as ever, though dry and lots of brown, I made my way up the canyon to one of the historic sites, the “Indian Village” (Indian as in Native Americans). The weather was still quite warm, cool in the morning, but quickly I needed to stop and layer down. I spent quite a bit of time in the “village”. Walked about a bit, tried out a couple of spots. Then I ate lunch perched on a shaded boulder over looking the valley, breaking an extended fast. It was a lovely time, and as I already wrote but must write again, it’s about time!

I will be back out very soon. I have trails to scout.

Just shy of 10.5 miles covered.

IMG_0612IMG_0625IMG_0626IMG_0630IMG_0632

Monday, October 9, 2023

Saddleback Marathon -- 11/11/23

Time keeps marching on. And it always seems a little faster every day. Working lots of hours, some of them online, though I did need to take a few days off for a Texas trip in September. Not my first time to Texas, but I saw Austin for the first time and went to the Wendish Fest in Serbin. It was quite an adventure that I told already family and friends all about, not to mention hand wrote a journal version on acid free paper. So, I’ll be marching right on past that, onward to more relevant items, mainly the Saddleback Mountains, my giant secret place.

IMG_0551First: I finally got back to see my great love Old Saddleback, as they used to call it. My Covid hike was the last time I stepped foot into my beloved mountains, which is my longest absence in many years (about 6 months!). This trip was short, and LONG overdue and also apropos (more on how a little lower). The occasion was Madame Helena Modjeska’s birthday. This October 12, she would have been 182 years old. Many people don’t know of her, but we know of Madame Modjeska in The OC. Helena was the Shakespearean actress from Poland who built a home out here in Old  Saddleback during the late 1800s. We have a canyon and a major peak named after her now. Both are lovely places to visit. I’ve scrambled up Modjeska peak many times to sit in solitude above The OC, and I’ve driven through her canyon countless times, as it is the road to many wonderful trails and secret places.

Madame Modjeska’s Home:IMG_0525

So, why is my return to Old Saddleback so apropos? Well, this year, the Saddleback Marathon has returned. Registration has been open since September and I’m busy trying to get the word out. We’re super excited about the race this year. Same start / same finish, lower Blue Jay campgrounds. We’ve got a great team putting this together. Check us out and help us spread the word!

otrraces.com

saddleback marathon postcard FRONT
saddleback marathon postcard BACK

Sunday, September 17, 2023

The National Mall (D.C.)

IMG_9892I

IMG_9904I nearly let the summer pass without posting pictures from my summer visit to one of my favorite parks: The National Mall. I wish that I could reflect more. But I’ve been busy. On the Run is very fitting at the moment. No excuse for not reflecting.

The National Mall (Located in DC) is a national treasure for sure. I’m grateful that I got to see it once again this summer. It was sweltering hot but I loved it anyway. And then we got rained on. Poured on actually, like a giant bucket tilted over and drenched us in a split second. I loved that too (though a bit uncomfortable).  Everyone ran to the Lincoln Memorial, and there hundreds of us looked off at the Washington Monument as lightening struck in the distance. It was a beautiful day that ended with dinner at a steak house (Medium Rare) in Arlington, with my husband, my oldest and middle son and his girlfriend.

Resized_20230627_181106

Resized_20230627_182648IMG_9914IMG_9920IMG_9923IMG_9927IMG_9930IMG_9938IMG_9934IMG_9949IMG_9942

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Arlington National Cemetery, Va

20230626_161303

20230626_162601The first time I visited Arlington Cemetery (back in April 2021), I didn’t go inside the gates because I wouldn’t have been able to pass security check. Stupid me, I didn’t think there would be an airport style security check at a national cemetery. My problem was: I had a stun gun on me at the time and couldn’t put it back in a car because I didn’t have a car. I had taken the subway to Rosslyn, Arlington and walked to the cemetery (which was the reason for the weapon – I was a girl alone in the city). Well, this time (June 2023), I made sure that I was Arlington National Cemetery ready. I was with my family and we drove to the cemetery, nice and proper to pass the security check.

It was hot as hell this time around. Wretchedly hot. My husband and I were on a mission being that we only had an hour or so before the park closed. So, we high tailed it out of the airconditioned Welcome Center and made our way through the rolling hills, along the path through the gravesites. The mood was solemn with people talking only in hushed voices.

A little history of the cemetery: The land that it sits on belonged George Washington Parke Custis who was  the grandson of Martha Washington and step-grandson of George Washington. George’s daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis inherited the property, and she was Robert E. Lee’s wife (Confederate general during the American Civil War). Just before the Civil War, the Lee family vacated the property and shortly after, troops used the land as headquarters. The first military burial took place in May 1864, and as the DC area graveyards filled up with Civil War dead, more and more soldiers were buried on the Lee property. That June, the US War Department officially set aside about 200 acres to use as a cemetery. By the end of the Civil War, thousands of service members and former slaves were buried in Arlington Cemetery. Today it has about 400,000 gravesites.

Our main goal on that hot day in June was the top of the hill: The Lee Family residence. But along the way, we came upon the JFK’s gravesite (as well as, his wife Jacqueline and brother Robert Kennedy). We stood before the Eternal Flame for a bit with a few other strangers. No one spoke. The seriousness of the spot is enormous. The importance: still not known. After the Kennedys, we continued up the hill along the beautiful green lush path in heavy muggy heat.

IMG_9845IMG_984120230626_16144520230626_16282120230626_163042The view from Robert E. Lee’s house is tremendous. You can see a straight view to the Capitol, there’s the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, a beautiful spot high above the swamp. (DC, as many of you probably know, was built on a swamp). The giftshop behind the home was closed. But there was a drinking fountain! I had finished my bottled water long ago.

We toured the kitchen garden, which was poorly kept. Then made our way down the hill stopping to look at sculptures and detail along the way.

Lee Residence:
20230626_16351520230626_163410View between the pillars on Lee Residence front porch:20230626_163345

Down the hill from the Lee Residence, and then up another, we made our way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Arriving just a few minutes before 5, we stayed until closing so that we could witness the changing of the guard.Though the spot was packed (I know it doesn’t look it in the pictures) the place was silent. If there was talking, it was in whispers.

Not sure what I’m doing here, maybe getting in position to take a photo:
20230626_165246IMG_9863

The entire process of changing guards is lengthy, a little over ten minutes. It’s an amazing ritual, standing guard over this tomb 24 hours a day, 7 days a week like this. It’s kinda of maddening though to sit there and ponder the number of unknown soldiers. Breaks my heart.

IMG_9868IMG_9861Leaving Arlington National Cemetery as it closes:
20230626_172536