Monthly Archives: January 2011

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, weather, weather|southern california

Showery Sunday

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Boney Mountain from the Old Boney Trail

Boney Mountain from the Old Boney Trail

It started to sprinkle as I walked from my car to the Wendy Drive trailhead. In a matter of minutes the sprinkles turned to a light, but steady rain, and the Satwiwa trail started to become slick with mud. The rainy weather would continue through most of my run in Pt. Mugu State Park.



It was wet today, but today’s rain was the first in Southern California in nearly a month. Southern California was very wet from October through December, but the storm door from the Pacific into California slammed shut in early January. The weeks of wet weather followed by weeks of warm, dry weather has the plant communities of the Santa Monica Mountains thinking it’s Spring.

Among the flowers blooming along the Old Boney and Serrano Valley trails were paintbrush, encelia, milkmaids, phlox, shooting star, nightshade, wild cucumber, canyon sunflower, deerweed, and bigpod ceanothus. But more than the plants have responded. On January 17, trail runner Howard Cohen took this video of a sizable rattlesnake on the Old Boney Trail!

Some related posts: Serrano Valley from Wendy Drive, Serrano Valley from the Chamberlain Trail

nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, weather

Oak, Hill & Wave Clouds

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Mountain wave clouds

These mountain wave clouds were produced by north-northeast winds blowing across the generally east-west oriented mountain ranges north and northwest of Los Angeles. The clouds form near the crests of the undulating airflow downwind of the mountains.

The cirrus veils trailing downwind from the clouds are comprised of ice crystals. There was little shear, so the wisps and sheets of cirrus are aligned with the wind and perpendicular to the long axis of the cloud. Compare to the cirrus veil of these lenticular clouds, also formed by north-northeast winds, but which were being sheared by northwesterly winds.

From a trail run at Ahmanson Ranch on Thursday.

photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|malibu creek state park

Bulldog Loop or Saddle Peak Out & Back?

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Which to do? Both courses start at the intersection of Malibu Canyon Rd. and Piuma Rd., are 13-14 miles in length, and have about 2600-2700′ of elevation gain/loss — but they are very different trail runs.



Much of the Bulldog Loop is on fire roads, while the Saddle Peak Out & Back is 99.9% single track — much of it rough and technical. A comparison of the elevation profiles shows that the main climb on the Saddle Peak run is steeper than the Bulldog climb, and gains an additional 300 ft. in elevation. The Bulldog Loop has longer stretches of more or less level running.

Either course is a good choice for a strenuous run with great views and scenery. On a long run day, the runs can also be combined to create a difficult 27.5 mile course with your car as the main aid station. The Bulldog 50K used to follow much of this combined course, as well as loop through upper Solstice Canyon on the Backbone Trail. Problems with a property owner on Castro Peak necessitated a change to the current 50K course.

Today I opted for the Saddle Peak Out & Back run. The title photograph is Saddle Peak from the Backbone Trail. The trail switchbacks up the steep sunlit face on the center-left of the photo.

Here are interactive Cesium browser Views of the Saddle Peak Out & Back, and the Bulldog Loop.

nature, photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Chumash Trail Green

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Chumash Trail in Simi Valley

It’s now been 17 days since there’s been measurable rain at Downtown Los Angeles (USC). A trace of rain was recorded on a couple of days, but for the time being a big blocking ridge has shut the door on Pacific precipitation.

So far this January, only 0.58 of rain has been recorded, which is a little less than one-third of normal for the month. However, because of our frequent December storms the water year total at Los Angeles is currently about double the normal amount — and why open space areas of Southern California have turned so lush and green.

nature, photography, photography|landscape

Short Days, Long Shadows

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Short days, long shadows at Ahmanson Ranch

One of the circumstances of running in the afternoon during the Winter is that most of my runs end after sunset. That may or may not be a perk depending on the day and the weather, but here in Southern California it’s usually a great time to be out and about.

In the Los Angeles area the days with the earliest sunset extend from roughly November 29 to December 10, when the sun sets at about 4:44 p.m. Civil twilight ends about 27-28 minutes later, at around 5:11 p.m.

After that (and until mid July) the sun sets a little later each day. Through most of January each afternoon is about a minute longer. But those minutes add up. On January 31 sunset occurs around 5:23 p.m., nearly 40 minutes later than on December 10.

The title photograph was taken at about 4:47 p.m. on January 5, about 11 minutes before sunset, on a trail run at Ahmanson Ranch. I was nearing the top of a long hill, affectionately referred to as “The Beast.” The peak across the canyon is the high point of Ahmanson Ranch. On topos you’ll see it marked with the elevation 1842 ft.

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Bandit Training

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Top of the Wildlife Corridor Trail

What a difference 5 days makes! In the cold morning shadows before the start of the Boney Mountain race last Sunday, the dew on the fences was frozen and frost was everywhere. This morning in Corriganville Park the temperature was a balmy 65 or so, and the high was expected to be around eighty.

Today I was running the Bandit 30K course as part of a training run organized by Bandit 15K/30K/50K R.D. Randy Shoemaker. Good thing too. Even though these are my backyard trails, it reminded me just how tough these courses are. The numbers — about 3300 ft. of gain/loss over 19.5 miles for the 30K — don’t tell the whole story.



The title photograph is of runners at the top of the Wildlife Corridor Trail. This gnarly trail links Corriganville Park to Rocky Peak Road, and it is just one of the special treats you’ll encounter on the 15K, 30K and 50K courses. I don’t know if it tougher going up, when your legs are fresh; or going down, when your legs are worked. From personal experience I know it is really easy to push too hard on this climb, and mutter to yourself, “Why did I do that?” for the remainder of the race.

Today, the conditions could not have been better. Well, if we’re going to nitpick, maybe a little less wind. But who can complain on a January day when skies are blue, the hills are green, and the temperature is in the seventies?