California Runnin'

 California Running

We visited California in order to see all of its wonderful National Parks. I was able to get out and do a little running as well. Here are the stories of those runs.

Twentynine Palms

They say it gets cold in the desert at night, and they’re correct. But it’s a dry cold.

We stayed in Twentynine Palms in order to visit nearby Joshua Tree National Park. This is the desert, folks. Big-time. And the desert can be a fine place to run early on an April morning. It was pleasantly cool, and the stars were shining brightly. I didn’t get real far, but I loved it!

Carpinteria

In my neck of the woods, it’s fairly unusual to spot seals during a run. I guess it’s less uncommon here in Carpinteria. This seaside beach town near Ventura was our home base for our boat ride to Channel Islands National Park (where I managed to also run a tiny bit up a mountain after our hike). It’s a neat place to run with beaches and bluffs galore. There is a lot to explore, and explore I did. 

In Carpinteria after the run along the shore

Of course, I didn’t manage to run as far or as fast as I’d planned. But when did that ever happen?

Marina

I’m running uphill in order to get down to the beach. That’s what happens when you have HUGE sand dunes. After a certain point, I am running through soft, sinking sand, and my progress, slow as it was, becomes much slower. I do make it to the beach (and this involves a steep descent from the dunes), and it’s pretty cool so early in the morning.

Incidentally, Marina is near Monterey, also on the bay of the same name. We’re here to visit Pinnacles National Park, which is an hour away.

American Canyon

This is the gateway to wine country, and we’re here to visit Napa Wine National Park. Okay, it’s not quite an NP, but we’re treating it like one – visiting as many wineries as humanly possible in a short period of time.

The running is surprisingly fantastic. It’s surprising because after reviewing the area on Google Maps before heading out (as I always do in unfamiliar territory), I still hadn’t been aware of the nearby Bay wetlands trail system. But the area and trails are extensive.

The thing is, like most guys, I don’t like to turn back. Instead, I prefer to find circular routes, but this is hard when you don’t know when or whether the course will take you back at all. No one said this attitude of mine makes any sense. As I head out on the trail, there’s a closed-down landfill on one side (complete with facilities to convert the methane to electricity and also goats to eat the grass), and wetlands on the other side. I keep thinking that the trail will curve around to the left, circumnavigating the wetland lakes. It doesn’t. It goes on and on, eventually curving back to the right. Now I am hoping that it will return me to my starting point after going around the landfill. It does.

That wound up being around three of today’s seven miles. Along the way, I saw and heard wild turkeys, coyotes, wild chickens, said goats, and all kinds of birds. Not to mention one hot-air balloon. 

Klamath

Owl: Who, who is that, running on the road?

Raven One: It’s just a human, out for his early-morning run. He’s got a headlamp. And one more thing.

Owl: What’s that?

Raven One: Nevermore.

Big-as-half-a-fist Slug: I see him. Look out! He almost stepped on me! Watch it, buddy! I can probably out-run you, anyway.

Nearby Snail: Me too!

Raven Two: Hey Human, I hope you are enjoying this. We’ve got perfect peace and quiet. The Klamath River that you’re running above (at times, way above), is beautiful and serene. Now that it’s getting lighter, you can see across and to the cloud-hugging hills beyond. Notice the tall redwoods all around you. Stop and enjoy it before you move on.

Human: Okay, you’re right. It’s great.

Woodpecker: Peck, Peck, Peck.

Raven Two: Oh, and one more thing:

Human: What?

Raven Two: Nevermore.

Redding

Goals for today: 1) Get some real running in, not the junk that I’ve been doing; 2) Get some mileage in, not the junk that I’ve been doing; 3) Explore and have fun; just like I’ve been doing. We’re in Redding because we visited Lassen Volcanic NP. 

Plan A: Parsons High School (Home of the Tigers!) Track – I discover that the track, and even the school grounds, are locked up tighter than a drum. I do manage to get into the school area, but then I think better of my chances of getting arrested for trespassing, so I leave.

Plan B: Run along the Sacramento River – There are people in the woods. I am on the dark trail, and I encounter some clothing hanging on a makeshift clothesline in the woods. I then realize that this is a homeless-type camping situation, and here I am running through with my headlamp. I then see other people, like zombies in the woods. Maybe they ARE zombies? I’m out of here too.

Plan C: Run along the Sacramento River (on the GOOD side) – There is a paved bikepath on the opposite side of the river, and I eventually find a way across and onto the path. It’s good running, but I’m nearly out of time, so after crossing the famous Sundial Bridge, I turn and head back.

As for my goals, here are the grades – 1: C, 2: B, 3: A.

Merced

This “Gateway to Yosemite” isn’t so much of a gateway because it’s over ninety minutes away. But the running would be good, wouldn’t it? 

Let me state upfront here that I’m not a pervert. Yes, yes, I run through school grounds in the early-morning darkness, trying to break into tracks (unsuccessful for the second straight run). And yes, I occasionally pick things up that I find – things that would be better off left where they lie. Like that dildo in Indiana. This time it was a couple of cards with pics of young ladies. One is a California ID card and the other is a  California driver's license. Now that I have these in my possession, I suppose I’ll have to take them back and mail them to their owners.

This run is mostly on the wrong side of the tracks, literally and figuratively (it’s a poor part of town). Due to the tracks and frequent trains, I almost can’t get back without retracing my steps. I don’t want to do this, but I do, and it gets me the ten miles that I wanted. A slow ten, but a ten nonetheless.

Ridgecrest

I'm in the trashy (figuratively and literally) part of town. Some neighborhoods were fairly nice. But this area, back closer to the hotel, is awful; there's litter everywhere. This is not to say that the running itself has been good.  But more on that later.

By the way, Ridgecrest is home to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons testing station. Also by the way: there is no lake here (it's a desert) and it's not in China. Furthermore, there is no ridge, nor is there a crest here in Ridgecrest. We're here in order to visit Death Valley National Park.

As nice as it is to run in new places and discover things, I wish I could run well. But the Achilles pain is too severe. I just shuffle around for six miles instead of the planned ten.

Story of my life.

Here's the link to the travel blog post.