We met at the trail head parking lot. And, as trail head parking lots go, this is a very nice one, with plenty of room, and great signage. It's worth a visit just to look at the view from here, and read about the local flora and fauna.
And unlike so many trailheads, this one has a very detailed and easy to understand map of the route. (It also shows the location and accessibility of a dozen or so other trails and nature preserves in and around the city. Fabulous info!)
There were also panels discussing the history of the family that has lived on this property for generations and gave the land as a gift to the city and her citizens. Also, an essay about the Bellevue school house that used to be here. But I was too impatient to pause and read these. Ever since my earlier failed trip, I'd been eaten up with curiosity about what I would find when I ventured into the inviting curves of these hills and valleys.
Of course, once I got in there, I realized I could have accurately predicted a lot of what I was seeing.
As you'd expect this time of year, the grass is still green from the spring rains.
And all the natural beauty that this area is famous for was well represented, including golden flowers blooming underfoot,
and golden flowers blooming overhead.
When you go, if you look carefully, you might spot the delicate purple flowers of the wild pea plant,
and even if you don't look carefully, there's no way you'll miss the yucca stalks blossoming pale and stately against the sky.
But there will be some surprises too. Each time you crest a hill you won't know exactly what to expect. Perhaps there will be a dozen more hills rolling out before you,
Or maybe you'll drop down into a shady lane,
with a babbling brook.
You might be surprised by the vivid colors of lichen on rock echoing the wild flowers in the fields.
You might suddenly step onto a uniquely shaped bridge,
or find yourself climbing up hill to tackle a matched pair of them.
With all the twists and turns of this trail as it rises and falls through the park, you may start to think you have the place all to yourself. Most of the time you just can't see far enough ahead or behind yourself to get an accurate assessment of the population on the trail. This, perhaps, is when you may start to talk out loud to yourself, or hum a little song, or begin to tell you innermost secrets to your faithful dog who is trotting along in front of you (on her leash, of course.) The surroundings are so beautiful and peaceful, they invite a release of inner feelings, they encourage the personal expressions of poetry and music.
They also hide the impending appearance of other hikers...and folks just hanging out on the hillside reading a book, painting the landscape or just enjoying the view. So try to keep your mouth shut, if you don't want to embarrass yourself, and maybe startle the natives
or bother the bees.
The whole hike, if you stick to the outside loop until you find yourself back in the parking lot, is about 3.5 miles. The trail is pretty narrow, so you've got to walk single file, and it's pretty hot in the middle of the day, so you've got to bring some water. The hills are steep enough to bring a little interest and challenge to your adventure, but not enough to be treacherous or daunting. In general, it's just an ideal outing for nature lovers or just anyone who appreciates fresh air and beautiful views.
(Unless you suffer from pollen-triggered allergies. I don't know what is growing out there that isn't growing in town, but my poor friends were sneezing their heads off by the time we returned to the cars.)
Thank goodness, I don't have allergies. So, I just fell in love with this trail. And now that I had walked it...I couldn't wait to RUN it! It seemed perfect, a great distance, a good number of hills, a technically challenging but achievable terrain.
So I went back the next week. This time, I didn't just bring the right shoes, I brought NEW shoes, that I got for FREE at GH Sports.
This is a locally owned store right here in SLO and it's great for athletic gear. They sell clothes they actually make on-site. If you want to see their sewing shop, just ask for directions to the restroom...you have to walk past the machines in order to get there. They also carry a wide variety of running shoes, have a treadmill and video machine in the show room so they can correctly assess your gait, and their sales people are all very knowledgeable and generous with their time and energy. And, they keep your name and purchasing history on file...using a little index card in a metal box - so old school!...and when you buy your 10th pair of shoes, you get the 11th one free.
Partly because they were free, and partly because Mizuno recently changed to a lighter mesh upper on the toe box of the Waverunner model that I've been wearing faithfully for years, I thought I'd take a chance and try something different. I have a problem with the new mesh. Yes, it lets in more breeze...which is nice for hot feet after a few miles in the sun...but is really terrible at keeping the sand out of your shoes when you are running on a trail near the ocean. I'm not sure which is more challenging, running in soft dunes, or emerging onto the pavement and trying to continue running with half a cup of sand sloshing around inside each shoe.
I don't know what kind these new shoes are. They say "INOV" on the side...with a little logo that looks like a bare foot next to the name. The underside boasts about it's trademarked "fascia band" in the instep and "meta-flex" at the ball. All I know is, they feel wide and flat compared to my other shoes. When I am standing still, they practically make me feel like I am standing bare-footed, which I understand is the hot new trend in the philosophy of distance running.
It makes some sense to me. When I am training for a long race, and slowly adding mileage to my weekly runs, it's not my lungs or my legs that get tired during the last long mile. It's not even my mind, most of the time. It's my feet that get exhausted and start to hurt. The theory, as I understand it, is that all these cushiony, protective shoes that we wear are actually causing the muscles in our feet to atrophy, when what we need to be doing is making them stronger. So those funny looking Vibram Five Finger shoes...or whatever they are called...and shoes like these INOVs are supposed to let your feet get stronger along with your legs.
Unlike the 5 finger slip-on thingees which I cannot imagine ever wearing with anything other than a bathing suit, my new trail runners put some serious protection and traction between my tootsies and the trail. The inside of the shoe might be light on contour, and the sides might be low on structure, but the soles of these shoes are serious! They look like they were inspired by a pair of cleats. And front of the shoe suggests a past life as a steel toed boot.
I just couldn't wait to break them in at Johnson Ranch. And that turned out to be not such a great idea.
For one, the soft green hills that seemed to slope gently upward when I was walking them suddenly got a whole lot steeper when I was trying to run them.
And the frequent changes in direction that seemed so interesting add a whole extra dimension to a training jog. Suddenly I realized that there really aren't many flat stretches on this course. You are always running either up hill or down hill, without a break to catch your breath!
Unless you count the few times that the trail takes you along the side of the hill. At these moments, you only have to focus on not falling OFF the trail, because the dirt is so steeply banked that one misstep might cause you to totter off into the fields or gullies below.
And did I mention that it's rocky? When you're taking your sweet time, sure, it's fun to notice the pretty colors on the rocks. But when you're trying to keep your heart rate up and maintain some speed, all you have time to notice is that there are an awful lot of them, and that they are very hard and have extremely rough surfaces.
This is especially noticeable if you have new shoes one, and if those shoes express an only slightly obstructed ambition to be a pair of cleats.You don't realize how much clearance there is under your foot every time you step over a root or a branch or a pebble...do you? Most of the time, you just pick your foot up from where it is and place it down where you want it. Your amazing brain does such a good job on judging the distance between your body and the objects in your path...and it so accurately accounts for the extra space needed for the bottom-side bulk of your footwear...that you only ever trip when you cease to pay attention to the path...or when your vision is obscured by darkness or opaque objects.
OR, when the size and shape of your shoe is different than the one you are used to! That is the situation I was in...but why would I anticipate that being a problem. It's not like these new shoes were THAT much different that my old ones. I mean, they are still running shoes...not high heels or roman sandals. The variance is probably less than a centimeter.
But I think my brain must be calculating the clearance needed on each step right down to the micro-meter. And I had switched the specifications of my footgear and forgotten to re-calibrate my neurons.
The result was painful.
The first time I tripped and slammed up against a boulder with my shin I thought it was just dumb luck. (Emphasis on dumb.) I picked my self up and ran a few more steps.
The second time I tripped I fell into the dust, skidded on my hands, and slipped sideways several feet down hill and into the grass. I blamed it on the dog running too close and confusing my perception of the micro-topography.
But the third time, when I landed in gravel and ended up with a throbbing ankle, a bleeding knee and shredded palms I realized what was happening. I was tripping over my own feet! Or, rather, I was tripping over my own shoes. I'm not sure which is funnier or more embarrassing.
To compensate, I started running with my knees high up in front of me, giving extra clearance to ever stick, twig or blade of grass in my way.
And when I got to tired to keep taking giant steps, I started taking smaller steps. I didn't fall again, but I did start scuffing my shoes on the trail. I did that for a while...scuff, scuff, scuff...until suddenly, my brain seemed to have adjusted to the new shoes, and I didn't scruff anymore. I just looked at the path in front of me and magically stepped onto it.
It's funny how we don't notice all the amazing little details of how our brain and body works together until a glitch shows up in the system.
Happily, my glitch fixed itself and even thought the run was as challenging as it was beautiful, I enjoyed it very very much.
I hope you get a chance to explore it when you are in the area next.
(And I hope you remember to check for ticks when you finish...I found one crawling up my neck as I was driving home! Ugh!)
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