Fall leaves crunch under my toes and every where all I see reds, oranges and yellows. I live in the mountains above the valley of San Bernardino, California and every day I feel blessed to be here.
In the valley below you would not even know that it’s fall. It’s over a hundred degrees most October days. Any sweaters and scarves and gloves to be seen? No way here in sunny So Cal; you can find a Pumpkin Spice Latte on the menu at Starbucks, but that is the only real way to tell it is fall in the Inland Empire of Southern California.
I love the changing seasons. That is why I feel so blessed to be here in California, so close to Los Angeles, Hollywood and the beaches, but I get to drive home every night on winding mountain highways, though fog so dense sometimes I can not see past my hood. I love everything about the fall; the rolling fog, making turkey and sweet potato chili, enjoying cool evenings with pinot grigio and a fire roaring in the fire place. I love the crisp cool days when I can see Catalina Island and sail boats on the Pacific Ocean two hundred miles away, from the rim of the mountain.
It’s autumn here in Southern California and every where I go on my morning run I see forests of bright orange and yellow poison oak. I feel like it is mocking me, saying,
“Hey you! Remember when you got drunk this summer on Creek-o-ritas and fell in the poison oak you could not see? Well, guess what! I’m here now! And I’m neon yellow!”
Every morning when I run through the forest right now my views are just gorgeous absolutely every where. This morning I hiked slashed ran to the top of Craft’s Peak on this chilly October day.
When I woke up this morning it was a grey foggy morning. I was in heaven. I love foggy days. It feels okay to be lazy on foggy days and just make a fire and make broccoli cheese soup and watch Always Sunny in Philadelphia all day.
The tall oak tree in my back yard had shed most of it’s leaves over night and I knew I should really get out there and rake up the mess but going for a run up a mountain side sounded way more fun. Plus I made Brownie Sundaes the night before, so sweating out the chocolate was the way to go! My friends always ask me why I decide to rake the leaves instead of using a leaf blower and I just have to tell them that it’s like a mini-workout. It also keeps me in the fresh air for longer which I love at this time of year. Anyway, my friend keeps telling me to have a look at this Stihl Leaf Blower: One of the Best Products on the Market if I needed a quicker alternative to raking. To be fair, it’s not a bad idea and I will have a look at it but I’m happy with what I’m doing for the time being.
By the time a friend arrived on my doorstep, the fog had rolled down in altitude a bit to about four thousand feet. This made our hike slash run so gorgeous because we were just above the fog line.
We drove winding mountain roads to the little hamlet of Green Valley Lake and than took an old logging road about two miles into the forest. We parked my SUV in the dirt and began our adventure up the dirt road that leads to Craft’s Peak.
I was lagging behind a bit, adjusting my pack I used for running, when I noticed my friend was talking to some one but there was no one around. Is my kooky friend talking to herself, I wondered?
That is when I realized there was a hunter, fully camouflaged, leaning against some trees watching us. I wish I had taken a picture of him. He so blended in, we did not even see him until Jenn noticed him and we were literally standing right next to the guy. Damn, those deer have no chance! I thought to myself. I usually choose to run in this Green Valley Lake area because there are so few hunters over in this area of the mountain; a much safer route during deer season. This guy completely surprised us. I’m so glad we were talking about bowel movements right at that moment.
He was really nice though and didn’t seem perturbed that he ran into two sweaty girls in the forest who were talking about poo, when all he REALLY wanted to see was Bambi.
What a gorgeous invigorating autumn morning!
