backbone trail, conejo open space, malibu creek state park, nature, pt mugu state park, smmc open space, trails, wildfire

Woolsey Fire Map with Perimeter and Selected Trails

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2018 Woolsey Fire Map with Perimeter and Selected Trails

The Google Earth image above shows a recent perimeter for the 2018 Woolsey Fire along with GPS tracks of the Backbone Trail and some other trails in the region. The Hill Fire perimeter and 2013 Springs Fire perimeter (purple area) are also shown. Trail and placename locations should be considered approximate. Here is a larger version of the map.

The perimeter was was downloaded from GEOMAC and timestamped November 18, 2018 at 5:59 a.m. If the timestamp of the perimeter of the displayed map doesn’t match, try refreshing/reloading this page. The perimeter has been refined and the acreage is a slightly less than previously specified.

As of November 18, 2018 6:55 a.m., the Cal Fire Incident Page for the Woolsey Fire indicated that the fire had burned 96,949 acres and was 88% contained.

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adventures, landscape, photography, running, san gabriel mountains, trails

Autumn on the Kenyon Devore Trail

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Autumn on the Kenyon Devore Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles.

Did the Rim Trail – Devore Camp – West Fork – Kenyon Devore loop with Lynn this morning. In town to visit relatives, she hadn’t been on the Kenyon Devore Trail since flying past me on that climb in the 2009 Mt. Disappointment 50K!

Wore my brightest “CalTrans green” Mt. Disappointment shirt and an orange cap, but didn’t see a single deer hunter!

Here are a few photos taken along the way.

Some related posts: GSU Mt. Wilson CHARA Telescope Array, Why Won’t My Smart Key Work?

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adventures, landscape, photography, races, running, smmc open space, southern california, trail running, trails, weather

Rocky Peak 50K 2018

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Runner ascending Hot Dog Hill during the 2018 Rocky Peak 50K.

I had the date wrong! I thought the Rocky Peak 50K was the Saturday following the Skyline to the Sea trail marathon and had decided I wouldn’t be able to run it. When I got back from Santa Cruz I checked some upcoming races on UltraSignup and discovered Rocky Peak was on October 20th, rather than the 13th. That meant there would be 12 days between the races, instead of 5.

Five days or 12, my legs weren’t quite on board with the idea, and they had a point. With about 6000′ of elevation gain/loss, steep ups and downs, and rocky roads and trails, Rocky Peak is not an easy 50K. I had a few more days to convince them, and hoped my legs would come around.

It did help that the Start line is about 10 minutes from my front door. I’ve hiked, run and explored the Rocky Peak area for more years than I care to admit, and was very excited when Randy & Sarita Shoemaker organized the first Bandit Trail Run in 2009. The 50K was added in 2011 — the additional mileage gained by doing the Chumash – Las Llajas loop twice! The out and back to Tapo Canyon was substituted for the second loop in 2013. The Rocky Peak 50K course is essentially the same as the 2013 – 2016 Bandit 50K courses.

The week before the race I still had to go through the pretense of not knowing if I was going to enter. My legs continued to complain on training runs, and it looked like yet another heatwave was going to peak on Friday or Saturday. None of that really mattered, because at a key level, I’d already decided I was going to run. Thursday I signed up, and at dawn on Saturday I toed the Start line in Corriganville, hoping that Rin Tin Tin might come to my rescue.

I encountered no valiant German Shepherds on the “warm-up loop” around Corriganville, and much to my leg’s chagrin soon faced the mile-long, 860 foot climb up the Corridor Trail to Rocky Peak Road. One of my main takeaways from doing this course many times is that you can go up the Corridor Trail climb too fast, but it’s almost impossible to do it too slow. At least that’s what my legs tell me. It’s been my experience that going a little slower on this first steep climb pays significant dividends later in the run. That seemed to be the case again this year.

The weather was nearly identical to last year’s race with moderate Santa Ana winds and warm temps. (The high at the bottom of the Chumash Trail was 88 °F.) Like last year, the low humidity and wind kept the “feels like” temperature relatively comfortable for most of the race. But somewhere around mile 27, near Rocky Peak, the wind stopped and things got toasty. Maybe not middle of the summer, Mt. Disappointment hot, but warm enough to notice it.

All in all the run went well. For sure, my legs were a little tired from Skyline to the Sea. I was a bit slower running back up the canyon from the Tapo turnaround and also going up Las Llajas Canyon. But I can’t complain. I had no cramping (yahoo!) and felt good nearly all of the run.

Many thanks to Trail Run Events, LLC and New Basin Blues Running Club who co-managed the race, all the volunteers, and to Ventura County SAR. For more information see the Trail Run Events web site and Facebook page. All the 50K and 30K results are posted on UltraSignup.

Here are a few photos taken along the way.

Some related posts: Bandit 50K 2014, Bandit 50K 2013, Bandit 50K 2011, Bandit 30K 2009

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adventures, bay area, landscape, nature, photography, races, running, santa cruz mountains, trail running, trails, trees

Skyline to the Sea – Fall 2018

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Skyline to the Sea Trail

There’s a reason that Skyline to the Sea is Pacific Coast Trail Run’s biggest event. Close your eyes and picture your ideal trail. The trail of your dreams might be hard-pressed to match the appeal of the Skyline to Sea Trail.

There is something magical about running in an old-growth redwood forest. Established in 1902, Big Basin Redwoods State Park was the first state park in California. It’s redwoods reach 2000 years in age, 328 feet in height and 18.5 feet in width!

The Skyline to the Sea Trail has a net elevation loss, but enough uphill to get your attention. Many miles of the trail are as smooth as a carpet, but some are rocky, root-strewn and technical. It is often cool under the dense forest canopy, but it can also be warm and humid. I was surprised to see an “Emergency Water” stash a mile before the last aid station. In some years it is well-used and much appreciated.

The Park supports a vast variety of animal and plant life. Some plant species can only be found in the Park and a seabird (Marbled Murrelet) nests in its old-growth conifers.

In some years one park species can add extra adrenaline to the race. This year Brett (my son) and I were counting down the miles to mile 4.0 of the Marathon. The R.D. had reported encounters with the beasts at that point of the 50K on Saturday. About 20 yards before mile 4.0 Brett saw what looked like a “cloud of dust” and shortly after that we heard agitated voices from the runners ahead.

In it for the full experience, we — and several other runners — plowed headlong into the cloud. The yellowjackets didn’t like that. A number of us were stung; some several times. The day before a runner in the 50K was stung 18 times.

Yellowjackets or not, running the Skyline to the Sea Marathon was like running a 26 mile nature trail and one of the finest courses I’ve done.

Many thanks to R.D. Greg Lanctot and Team PCTR and all the volunteers that helped with the event. For all the results and more info see the Ultrasignup event page, PCTR’s web site and Facebook page.

Here are a few photos taken along the way. Mileages specified are from my fenix 3 and are approximate.

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geology, landscape, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, trails

Sage Ranch Micro-Wilderness

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Sage Ranch Micro-Wilderness. Photography by Gary Valle.

Sage Ranch is a Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy open space area adjacent to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) Superfund site.

The sandstone rocks are an exposure of the Chatsworth Formation, which extends from the Simi Hills across the 118 Freeway to Rocky Peak and the Santa Susana Mountains. The popular rock climbing area Stoney Point is a well-known example of the Chatsworth Formation.

Geology and climate are the foundation elements of habitat. They influence — and sometimes dictate — the plants that inhabit an area. The plant Santa Susana Tarweed is very common on exposures of Chatsworth Formation sandstone, but rare elsewhere.

Exposures of Chatsworth Formation sandstone in Sage Ranch Park and Rocky Peak Park are sufficiently rugged as to create areas of isolated micro-wilderness within urban open space.

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Images taken on trail runs, and other adventures, in the Open Space and Wilderness areas of California, and beyond. All content, including photography, is Copyright © 2006-2018 Gary Valle. All Rights Reserved.