I Found Solitude! (But wish I had my pepper spray)

I finally ran at Lake Poway today. Which means, last week's goal was accomplished this week! Booyah. My students exhausted me today with questions about things I spent incredible amounts of energy trying to explain in an entertaining, accessible way. I felt like a tap dancer at the front of the room trying to keep their eyes from glazing over. And still the same questions were asked over and over and over...not because the concepts were too difficult, but because my little cherubs were simply not listening to directions. It ended with me holding up a worksheet and saying (loudly), "Read this! Do it! And don't look at me." For these reasons, I was grateful the trail at Poway was only 2.5 miles.

The book I've been using to give me new running site ideas (called Trail Runner's Guide San Diego) described and even mapped Lake Poway as a loop. However, things have changed since publication. I ran the mile and a half along the lake's edge, through scratchy brush and overgrown trees that slapped my face, only to reach the dam and find, "No Public Access," "Do Not Cross," and "Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted" signs posted everywhere. If they hadn't been spray painted on the dam itself, I may have risked "trespassing" to get back to my car (which I could see on the other side of the dam)--that is how desperate I was to NOT go back the way I'd come.

How can I describe this to you so that I don't sound like a total wuss.... There is no way. I'm a wuss. So here it is.

Lake Poway is much more secluded than I expected and the trail is a real trail with rocks and stumps and tree roots. I love dirt trails, so I was pretty excited about this unexpected bonus. But, I did not expect the complete lack of people. There were no park rangers around, very few cars were in the parking lot, and I saw no one on the trail. I saw the remnants of people who had been on the trail, but their shoe prints made me feel even more alone...like they knew when to get the hell out and I didn't.

I fully admit: my imagination got the best of me. I had that someone-I-can't-see-is-watching-me feeling. Which meant a mountain lion was stalking me on every hillside. A pack of "Wild Things" was behind every shrub. The weeds scratching my ankles were the claws of tiny creatures trying to slice my achilles tendon then drag me into their underground lairs for dinner. And that was just the imaginary wildlife... the real wild life scared the crap out of me too. Bullfrogs leaping off the bank with a screech (bullfrogs screech and sort of scream or squeal...it's freaky-deeky), ducks scuttling away from the shoreline, and squirrels yelling at me from their tunnels all made me jump sideways. You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not...I probably looked like someone whose running was getting in the way of break-dance practice.

I actually whistled for most of the run at every exhale in the hope that if a mountain lion were just around the corner, my whistle would scare it off. My one comfort was my cell phone (not because it had reception...it didn't) because I held it like a knife--ready to gouge eyes. A friend told me once that she carries a ballpoint pen while running in the woods because she heard about a woman who fought a cougar off of her husband using a pen! Crazy I know! But let me tell you, I would have done just about anything for a ballpoint pen today.

I know what you're thinking...you live in Southern California. The wildlife there is "citified" so it doesn't count. So what am I so worried about? Oh my friends, let me tell you. People have been attacked here by coyotes, and raccoons (and possums!) and mountain lions are not uncommon to secluded, rural areas like Poway or Ramona. PLUS, there are wacked people in this world! Headlines such as, "City girl out for a country jog ends up in pieces around Lake Poway," or "Girl is attacked and eaten whole by a raging, wild stallion," were running through my head.

Anyway. Obviously I made it back. In fact, about a 1/4 of a mile away from the trail head, I saw a group of Poway High School track kids running near the parking lot...I have never been so happy to see teenagers in my life. And, I did notice that they did not go down "my" trail. Why is that I wonder?

I learned a valuable lesson that I think all runners/hikers/walkers can benefit from: on cloudy, somewhat misty, eerie, windy days, don't run on secluded trails with which you're unfamiliar.

Lake Poway on a sunny day, and perhaps on a weekend and with a friend, would be a perfect place to hike. There are multiple trails, (some more for horses than for joggers...but you can still use them if you're into running straight up hill for miles and miles) and it was (would have been) a very relaxing, peaceful place to just BE. I have been searching San Diego high and low for a truly quiet place. No cars, no ambulance sirens, no helicopters, and no people noise. I finally found it. And even though it freaked my shit out, I'm grateful that I know about the magical quiet of Lake Poway.

Some logistics: There is a $4 entrance fee for parking on weekends. From the parking lot head north to get to the trailhead. You will want to get on the "skinny" trail that is closest to the water. If you find yourself on a wide, flat trail overlooking the lake...be prepared to run (walk) up and up and up the mountainside for a long, long time. Oh, and the dam is not for pedestrians.

I will post pics of the lake on Monday. HOLD ME TO IT please.

So...here are the pics I promised. I'll walk you through them.
In case you doubted whether cougars are real in this area, this statue is at the trailhead near the docks.

Why would there be a tribute to cougars if they weren't really there? (Rhetorical question.)


The beginning of the trail is open and airy. A park with benches is on the right, the lake is to the left.
Pleasant. Good.





From there the view (across the lake) of Mile 1 is appealing, enticing and serene.









But then, the hillsides descend, brush blocks the sun, and creatures wait for you in dark places. There was an animal moving in this bush directly below. I couldn't see it...but I know it was seeing me.


Perhaps next time I won't let my imagination get the best of me...or maybe I'll just have a posse with me.