A Hardy Hike for sure~~~~

The Harding Truck Trail is a 9 mile fire road that begins at the end of Modjeska Canyon Rd, across from the Tucker Wild Life Sanctuary. Ike Harding was an early homesteader who raised goats in the area. It was a first hike on this trail for all of us....Paul and Karen; celebrating their 20 yr anniversary next year... Sandy,(not Fanny, that's her grandmother's name!); co-worker with Paul, our biking friend Gary, Spain and myself. Paul, a 20 year client of mine and wearing his new polarized sunglasses had organized the hike. It's a 9 miler up a wide and well groomed fire road with an emphasis on UP. Our goal was the lookout at 3.2 miles, with a total of just over 6 miles back to our cars. Happy I brought the summer hiking hat because the temp was toasty at 8am. The hat protects the head and neck from burn and the extra brim of shade keeps me cool...well, cooler. In 2007 a wild fire blew through the area. Burned trunks were still visible in many spots along the trail. But the hills were covered in greens and spring flowers were rioting over any extra space found. Gary brought his Wild Flowers of So. Cal. book which has accompanied him on his hikes since 2004 I think. He has a tiny sample of each bloom and writes the date he found it. He trailed behind here and there when he spotted Red Maids and Perry Phesilias and doubled checked the photos in his book. Eureka! He found them. What a lovely way to remember the hikes and learn about the wildflowers. Many mtn bikers passed us up and down. Our biking buddy Dave Paul rode up with a tough as nails group churning their wheels all the way to the 9 mile 5000 ft peak and then, who knows, another 10-15 miles down Maple Springs or over and down to "the luge". They are tough....both hikers and bikers saying friendly hellos and informing what's ahead if you don't already know. More trail, that's what! It was a wonderful hike with friends, some new , some not. Oh, and chocolate milk. We always have cold choc. milk waiting for us in the truck after hiking or biking. My mistake is when I mention it when it's still too far away to enjoy. By the time we were finishing the hike I was afraid I'd have to fight everyone off when I finally got my sweaty hands around my cold bottle.

Snow kidding!

It had hailed the night before our hike into Trabuco Canyon, temps were low and even lower by the time we parked at the Holy Jim Trailhead. So it was no surprise that snow lined the the edges of our hike trail and covered cactus, poison oak and low brush.The 4.7 miles of washboard road to the parking area had been a bit easier roller coaster than my two previous trips. I was thankful about that. Pothole dodging is not a sport I favor but sometimes one must sit down, strap in, and be quiet in order to get herself to the adventure portal! There is no alternative route. Holy Jim trail is a popular trail for both hikers and mtn bikers. It's actually a famous trail, but more about that in a bit. I prefer to hike it due to its constant uphill, technical tight turns and drop offs; those spots you're not supposed to look at while you ride but can't seem to take your eyes off ! The cold crisp mountain air had us hiking at a good clip to warm up the feet and hands, though we wore gloves. The trail has a turn off to a water fall but we only had time to continue straight up. As we passed its intersection we could hear the deluge 3 miles or so to the right. Holy Jim creek crossings numbered 10 each way. So 20 times we were carefully choosing our steps to cross. If it had been even an inch or so higher, avoiding wet shoes would have been impossible. If we had time we would have gone to the top which ends at Santiago Peak, over 4800 ft., the tallest point in the Santa Ana Mountains and one of the two peaks that make up Saddleback Mountain; the other being Modjeska Peak. In the one picture you can spot the snow topped peak with its antennae towers. But time allowed only an hour in and an hour out. Too bad for me because the conditions and views and temp were ideal! The canyon was named for James T. Smith, also known as "old cussin'Jim." Word is he could peel paint off a stove pipe with his cussing.He was a beekeeper and built a home in the north fork of Trabuco Canyon in the 1870's and planted figs.When government surveyors plotted the canyon they chose "Holy Jim" rather than "Cussin Jim." Looked better on the trail maps. The last wild California grizzly, an old bear named "the honey thief" was killed at the mouth of T.C. after robbing a string of beehives in 1907. (No wonder Jim was so cussin' mad.) check out pix of the times at http://www.trabucocanyon.org/ Jim and bear included!! It was a wonderful hike with the perfect hiking partner and perfect hiking poles. You can see how much we relied on them when creek crossing!

The last pic of the day was me sitting out front of my pretend mtn writing cabin we passed heading back to the truck. Yeah, there she is, "ol cussin Colleen!" "Get off my property dag nabbit, or I'll get out the ol' 6 shooter and give ya what for *%#!@!!

Something about being OUT THERE, always brings out the best in me~~~~