“Let’s do Verdugo Mountains tomorrow.” I said to Chris last night, feeling like I needed to tackle a new challenge to keep my mind off work stress. I had a busy Thursday at work and could feel my anxiety attacking me again. Of course, Chris was agreeable and then he said, “My coach is having me run 4 hours tomorrow. Is that ok with you?” I said yes, but I really wasn’t as confident as I sounded. I could probably do 4 hours of hiking, but trail running? Not just any trail running, but mountain running? For 4 hours? I went to bed, wondering what I was thinking, but I knew I needed something new and fresh. Apparently, my dreams reflected the state I have been in as Chris woke me up in the middle of the night after I was talking and thrashing around in my sleep.
I woke up at around 0445 to get ready for our trail run. Chris was already awake and ready to go. I swear that husband of mine never sleeps! After my morning routine of a bagel and coffee, we were off to the trailhead. I really didn’t know anything about the Verdugo Mountains until I saw pictures on Facebook of Chris’s friend and his wife running there. It looked tough and beautiful and I needed a new adventure. It is also on my “To-do-list” for San Gorgonio Mountain preparation. I had tried to summit San Gorgonio in November 2018 with Chris, but I was not properly trained. This year I am going in prepared. In addition to the Verdugos, I am planning on summitting Echo Mountain (new hike for me), Mount Wilson, San Bernardino (new hike), Mount Baldy, and Mount San Jacinto before facing San Gorgonio again later this year.
Our plan was to start at Stough Canyon and head up to Verdugo Peak. Our run commenced at Stough Canyon Nature Center at around 0644. It was about 46 degrees outside. Just a tad bit cold. The first mile was basically straight up. I thought I was doing pretty good keeping up with Chris until he told me I was going too fast and to slow down. Sulking like a child, I slowed my pace and made friends with the mountain biker next to me. I had to stop several times, because the view was absolutely gorgeous! I took out my tiny phone to capture the sunrise until Chris gave me his phone, which was a lot better! Trail running is tough but running in nature is an opportunity not to be missed.
At the top of the hill was a bench and we turned to the left towards Chandler Motorway for a detour. It was a hard run going up, but I was proud of myself for not lagging too far behind. I told Chris that all those hill runs with Woot has been paying off. As we ran up, we could see Burbank airport to our left. Another picture moment. We passed a tree and a picnic table and suddenly the uphill turned into a downhill, which worried me. I didn’t know how long he wanted to keep running down and we would eventually have to go back up and this was just a detour! We hadn’t even started the main trail to Verdugo Peak yet! Luckily, as if he could read my mind, Chris turned around and headed back up. “Let’s stop and eat a snack at that tree up there.” Yes! Food! I was happy to turn around, but I didn’t fully realize how tough the road ahead was going to be for me. After wolfing down my granola bar, we proceeded to go back towards the bench (Stough Saddle) and on to Verdugo Motorway. We had already done 4 miles. It was there that I began to realize that I may have grossly underestimated our ultimate mileage.
Verdugo Motorway is a series of inclines and rolling hills. At that moment in time, I was still feeling pretty good and shocked that I didn’t need music to run with. For the first time ever, I didn’t need music to motivate me. I was getting excited, because now I was mountain running. The only time I ever did mountain running was when Marisa, Carlos, and I ran down Saddleback Mountain after hiking up. The surrounding views were incredible, and the trail was not heavily populated. It was very clean, unlike some of the trails I run that require you to maneuver around dog or horse poop. On the way up, we saw a recliner with the name, Keith, etched into the back. Now here is a good spot to relax and enjoy the view.
Chris advised me that the trail would soon plateau and then there would be more rolling hills. We found a long snake sunning himself in the middle of the trail. Chris thought it was a stick at first until he moved. It was beautiful. I have a healthy respect for snakes and am not afraid of them. I have come upon rattlesnakes before while running solo in the Puente Hills preserve. However, that does not mean that I’ll try to take a selfie with them! I just keep my distance and move on.
As we were running up another hill, we met up with a fellow trail runner. “Hey,” he said, “Are you training for something?” Chris said he was training for Indiana 100 and the other runner said he was training for Sean O’Brien 100k. I didn’t want to say I was training for San Diego half marathon, as it seemed so small in comparison, so I simply said, “No.” In that moment, I missed the days when I could say I was training for an ultra, too. We also ran into a group of mountain bikers. We stopped for a little bit, watching these young kids, girls and boys, race up and down the mountain, while their coach cheered them on. It was actually quite inspiring.
It was a little after mile 10 when we reached Tongva Peak at 2,650 feet. Verdugo Peak, which was the goal, is at 3,126 feet, however, it looked so far, and I was really tired at that point. Chris could have run there, but I knew my limits. Therefore, we decided to head back and summit Verdugo at another time. While we were running to Tongva, I didn’t really pay attention to all the downhill we did, so I was shocked at how much incline we still needed to do as we were heading back “down the mountain.” Chris kept repeating how proud he was of me and how this was a tough run. I heard his words and, believe me, I was proud of myself, but I was also mentally checked out and exhausted. I stopped running and began to hike.
“We are going to do 16 miles, aren’t we?” I asked Chris. “I think so.” He said. 16 miles. It’s been a while since I have tackled that much mileage. I tried to run a little more. Chris said he would wait for me at certain points. I hiked the inclines and slowly ran the short downhill and flat sections, keeping Chris within sight. My lower back was hurting, as well as my left leg and buttock. At around mile 13, Chris said it’s basically all downhill from there and I could go ahead if I wanted. Usually, I love running straight downhill. I am better at running downhill than I am running uphill and I consider it my “reward” for all the hard work, but, this time, I was afraid of tripping. When I’m tired, I don’t pick up my feet as much and that it when I tend to fall. I said no and slowly followed Chris. However, after about 10 minutes, I really just wanted to sit in my car.
“I just want to be done.” I said to Chris. Chris said ok and made me promise to wait for him at the bench since he was going to take his time downhill. I quickly picked up the pace and ran down the mountain. It was actually exhilarating and therapeutic. My back and left leg no longer hurt, and I was having fun. Of course, I had to make a conscious effort to look down and watch my step. Unfortunately, I am not a stranger to falling on trails and it usually happens when I am not paying attention. While running Leona Divide 50K, I tripped at least 3 times. I kept my eyes on the trail and enjoyed every step.
As promised, I stopped for Chris at the bench at Stough Saddle. He was not far behind me. I was at mile 15.5 with about another mile to go until the trailhead. Chris asked me to stay at the bench while he picked up an extra mile going back up Chandler Motorway to the tree, we had our first snack at. Minutes later he returned with a huge bleeding gash on his right hand and elbow. Apparently, he tripped on his way to the tree. Being the nurse that I am, I always keep band-aids in my pack and offered to dress his wounds. Being the stubborn man that he is, Chris refused my wound care and muttered, “I’m fine. Let’s just go.” And off we went. We both ran down the last mile. 16.56 miles at a 13:22 pace. Strava showed an elevation gain of 2,949 feet.
It felt good to get back to the car. It felt even better to eat onion rings and a vegetarian quesadilla. I deserved it. For the first time in a long while, I felt like my old trail runner self. 2019 was a crazy year, packed with a plethora of stressors. I am hopeful, though, that 2020 will be filled with new adventures and maybe I can start ultra training again. In the meantime, though, I’ll be back here soon. I still need to summit Verdugo Peak.