Wilderness Park....Re-Opened!!!

What an unexpected surprise as I reached the top of the walk up to the back entrance of Aliso Wilderness Park at 6:30am this morning.....it was OPEN! Rains reaked havoc these past two months and park has remained closed to everyone but the wild life.. I have walked up to this point often these past couple weeks just to take in the great view of the park and Saddleback Valley and to get as close to the park as I could. Lo and behold....how happy to see the keep out signs down and what a perfect morning to be the first hiker out here....It was already warming up and in the 60's when I stepped through the entrance. I had no water or gels with me put was thankful for my mini-breakfast and half banana I popped into my mouth just before leaving the condo. I started walking on West Ridge and was filled with joy; the sight, the sounds the scents, so beautiful today. I had to be to work at 10.....so I decided to walk as far as I could before I had to head back. I stopped two bikers mid-way and asked for an extra gel if they'd be so kind! One guy rummaged through his pack and came up with...no gel. The friend said.."Dates! I have dates! They are much better than gels! More potassium and carbs. I have six, here take one!" Thanks very much! Off they rode as I ate my date and headed all the way to the top of Mathis and saw a great view of the morning park, Catalina, as clear as could be, and visibility in all directions....... It was so great to be the first hiker on West Ridge today, the official re-opening of the park. By the time I headed back, a number of bikers, hikers, runners were out and getting their own a.m. fix.

I soaked it all in until I was so full, I couldn't absorb anymore...it really felt that good. I just wanted to stay all day. The boys, Spain and Steve got word from me that the trail was opened so they turned their trucks toward the park and headed in for a ride. I admit I felt special, guided up to the park top unaware the park would be here with her gate open to say..."Good morning, come on in!!" Glory be!!!!!!!!!!

Between the Rain Drops & Mucho Mistletoe

Christmas morning, Leah, me and Spain headed out from Spain's condo onto the trail at Arroyo Trabuco. Just an hour earlier it had been a clear Blue cover, but no sooner did we lace up the walking shoes, but Mr.Fog creeped in and hid Blue from us! The temp dropped quickly! Luckily we all had fleece jackets on stand-by. So on with the fleece, ear covers and gloves, some water and gels and off we went....no matter what! It was NOT raining and that meant OUTSIDE! We were so happy to just move! The fog kept the walk shrouded in mystery, wondering what was up ahead. Even though we've been on this trail plenty, we wanted to see what damage the rain had done through the arroyo. We could hear the rage as we walked along but we were a bit high up and not willing to tramp through lots of wet grass. A bit farther down we would be able to check it out. Sure enough, the overview revealed a river, where before had been a creek! All brown and swirling and gushing and well, kind of cool. It felt so good to be near all the nature, we headed down into the lower area and walked along the creek's new pathway it had created. We spotted a nice big cat print, same area we'd spotted the cat a couple months previous. So me and Leah started making this big deep sounds to let the cat know we were big trouble; yeah right.....hahah...our laughter was enough to scare him off! We got as far as the best part of the trail..what's called Ho Chi Minh trail due to the hanging vines and plants and lush, jungle like growth, and were stopped by a mess of brush/trees blocking any further progress. Oh no! Our favorite local mtn bike trail won't be available for a very long time. And who knows what it will look like when it gets cleared up...Well, the 3 hours hiking out there was wonderful nonetheless....Sunday, Spain and I got on bikes and rode from Aliso Woods up the bike path for a 22 mile 'round trip. Wonderful to be on my bike after too much time away. Cool breeze, and all kinds of water crossing and toppled trees along this trail as well. It's uphill going and a fun downhill all the way back. The one bit of dirt trail was just off the main paved one close to home. That's about it for dirt for awhile....with more rain in the forecast, those knobby tires will be tucked away in the garage until......next year!!!!!!!

Black Star Revisited~~

I've been asking....when can we ride Black Star again?? When ? When? Finally, yesterday we drove, we parked, we rode! What?? 82+ degrees on a December day.....oh well, we had water and sunscreen so off we went. What I like about Black Star, out there near Modjeska off Santiago Canyon Rd, is the beautiful scenic fire trail all the way up and the wonderful views when you get there. I like the slow steady pace of a predictable climb. No big boulders, plenty of width from the edge, far away views, quiet, very peaceful, no crowds but not totally alone either. It's a medium, tough ride. On the way up, I got to play Florence Nightingale to a tough ridin' senior who must have been in his late 60's, early 70's. He was having a tough time getting his chain back on after having a spill that had left blood trickling down his knee and a scraped elbow. Geez, I always forget a good pic like that!! I was too busy pulling out my antiseptic spray and trying to get it on his wound and not all over his leg. HAHA!! He was very appreciative. He was waiting for his riding buddy who came barreling down the hill a few minutes later; another 70+ year old biker dude! We stopped a few times to rest and drink and gel then took off again. It took us about 2 hours to ride up about 1,200 feet where we stopped and feasted on our Ritz Bits and cheese sticks; our favorite trail snack...oh yeah and dessert was melted York Peppermint patties...mmmm. We had a perfect picnic spot, though it was short from the very top spot....just another 20 min ride up but I was DONE.....Riding down was so fun....10 minutes total at the most....weeeeeee all the way down.

There is a new barbed wire/electric fence along some private property that was not there two years ago when we rode through. It was creepy to see all these ELECTRIC FENCE signs and dire warnings and rolls of wire and STAY OUT signs. Alright, already, we aren't trespassers! It gave me a bad feeling about who owned this big spread. And how much they distruss people. I sure hope the birds can read the signs, and the coyotes and the deer. I guess they will figure it out before long........Oh, by the way, that's Catalina Island waaaayyy out there in the photo with my arms crossed....see it? right by my head???? Pic. doesn't show you Fashion Island and more...quite a view yesterday~~

Thanksgiving Hike

Morgan Trailhead is on South Main Divide road, 2.8 miles up off the 74 Ortega Hwy, just past the fire station at El Cariso Village. We started our hike at about 55 degrees with a brisk breeze, so we were very glad to have dressed warmly! Leah, friend David, Spain and myself headed out on the trail at about 8:45am Thanksgiving morning. The trail was just gorgeous, quiet, lush with overhanging oak and sycamore trees. The views along the single track were so very clear. I kept saying "I think that's Catalina!(island)." We just couldn't decide if that was water we were seeing or not. Well, I sure think it was! It was certainly clear enough to have that kind of visibility.

We hiked in towards the falls but never made it. It would have been an extra couple of hours. We decided a round trip ticket of 3 hours was enough for turkey day. We all really had a wonderful time hiking together. Hope to do more together soon!

As Spain and I were heading back down South Main Divide, we spotted this hang glider getting ready for take off. We got out of the car and hiked up to where he and his wife were setting him up to push off. It was so cool to see him sailing high above Lake Elsinore. It was cold! We found out his name is Bill Soderquist from his wife Marilyn. She told us he was Hang Glider Nat'l Champion in 2009. Nice Bill! (But no thanks!! Way too scary for me~~)

A Day at the Races!

The inaugural trail races at Coyote Springs, one hour north of Las Vegas were put together by http://www.desertskyadventures.com/ this past week-end. Spain and I walked/ran and finished! the 10k! The morning started out cold and windy and ended up.....cold and windy! Of course, running warms you up even if it is only 48 degrees at 7am..But as you see, we were prepared with gloves, ear warmers and layers upon layers. 60+ runners took part in the 50k, Half-Marathon and the 10k. Of the 34 who ran the 10k, we finished the fastest of the slowest. Let's put it this way...we ran our butts off the last 3 miles off to pass 6 other slower runners and walkers. But hey, for Spain's first 10k at 63 I could not keep up with the man. He waited for me 3-4 times. I encouraged him to go ahead, but he insisted the fun was in being together, and he was right! So TOGETHER we ran to pass 6 slower runners! The views, the canyon, the singletrack was so gorgeous. We felt powerful energy surrounding us as we ran close to the beautiful cliffs. I could feel it rise up from my feet and out through the top of my head; or was that sheer joy and pure bliss? No matter, the event was filled with wonderful, fun fellow adventurers, food galore before and after the run. DSA put on a fantastic race, in a place no other mere mortals have seen as it is private land. So the excitement of being the "first" had all the participants especially excited. Molly Sheridan and Jimmy Gabany, owners of DSA did an OUTSTANDING job caring for everyone from start to finish. Molly was jumping up and down and cheering each and every runner into the finish line. Even staying out 'till way past dark waiting for one last runner for the 50k,hobbled by a bad knee, to finish. Everyone else had gone home many hours early, but Molly and friend and fellow runner Bill drove out to find George and escort him in the last 10 miles by head lights.........now that's what I call adventure. Thank you DSA for making my third 10k the best one yet! When's the next one?????

HAPPY and DISAPPOINTED

Sometimes a ride is so beautiful, the conditions so perfect, the cumulus overhead is so non-step happening....the trail is so nice and tacky, the air is cool and clear and well....sometimes a ride just takes my breath away and pictures just aren't adequate at capturing how it looked and how much I enjoyed it. In fact trying to capture it becomes a hapless attempt at capturing happiness or holding joy in the palms of your hands...it can't be done. You hold it in your heart, memorize it in your head and simply ride......and so it was this past Sunday on the fire trail called Belle View between Coto de Caza and Dove Canyon. So one picture of me happy is all I could share. The other pix just didn't pass the test. Except the disappointed picture. As you see someone has enough money and power to take a hill and cut half of it off so they could put a ridiculously huge home and more all over that one hill. What a shame. It looked so ugly; shocking really. I realize it's nothing new in these parts, but I would not call it progress. Little by little lovely spots are hacked up, and bulldozed so someone can house 20 cars and say they are king of the hill.

I treasure these nature trails that are preserved for us to enjoy. I try not to look on the other side where trees disappear for the sake of a bigger garage. I always try to see the beauty on the trail just ahead....but sometimes my eyes can't get past the shock of it.

These big property owners have huge dogs they allow to run free on the trail as well. (My second complaint~~)Three very large dogs approached us three riders in an aggresive manner. I yelled to them to put there dogs on their leash. The biker up ahead had to place his bike between himself and the approaching fangs. Very nonchalantly the owner got to the dogs and held them as we passed....my co-rider had his hand on his blade and was ready if necessary...glad it wasn't necessary but the fight or flight panic took the longest time to wear off!!!! I hate that!!!

Trails should remain safe access for all......

Finally~~ A Bit of SUN!

So Cal. had a record breaking week of rainfall for October. But Nature had pity on us and gave us Sat. and Sun. with some sun and cool air for outdoor adventure. We took advantage of it, of course! Saturday we drove 1 1/2 hrs to the SART..Santa Ana River Trail off Hwy.38, I believe, this side of Big Bear. My only camera was a cell phone so lighting was a problem to capture some good shots. The trail head is easily visible and parking was ample. (Don't forget your Wilderness Pass!) We hiked in about 4 miles, planning a 2 hour hike, tops. It was a gorgeous cool day and we were so greatful to feel the sun and see the clouds below not above! The trail was this perfect rolling hike among the giant trees overlooking the valley below. Mtn bikers have access as well so a few passed by. There were more than a couple spots on the trail that required careful steps or the slide down would be a long one. We saw some bike skid marks and a few shoe prints that showed a rider had made a very close call that morning!

Sunday we got on our mtn bikes back home and headed into ALISO WOODS from the Canyon Vista park entrance. I must rate the ride yesterday as perhaps the most BEAUTIFUL ride yet in Aliso. The after-rain conditions made for a perfect, tacky trail ride, sumptuous fresh air deep within the fire trail and a vibration all around as thought the park was bursting with freshness after it's rain bath. A big tree had fallen on the main trail. It was fun to have to slip through the branches and make our way around it. Other riders appeared and also did a double take to see this giant tree fallen across the trail. We took a spin through Coyote Run and then took a ride to the bottom of Meadows, then down the paved park road to the far end where the park posts it's END OF TRAIL sign at the water treatment plant. I couldn't resist the photo op with the TP~~

On our way back we spotted a BOBCAT! My first time seeing a whole one! I'd seen a tail slip through the brush a few years back. I was surprised at the small size. I took a picture of it but I realize there's no way to see it in the photo. He blended in so well and was very still, waiting for us to take off. He wasn't in the least bit worried we were near, more like, impatient for us to move along so he could proceed with his own Sun. morning plans. We waited up the road a bit, waiting to see if he'd reappear and cross the road again. Sure enough, 2 minutes later he nonchalantly strolled out and down the road, crossing over to a large bush covering, but not before he rolled over on his side to scratch an itch.

Two gorgeous adventures in one weekend...how lucky...and how needed it was!!!