An unusually wet rain season not only increases the population of many wildflowers, it can produce wildflowers not usually seen in an area.
The Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena) pictured above was one of very small population found in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (aka Ahmanson Ranch) in June 2023. The California native is much more common in the Bay Area and coastal Northern California. It probably found its way to Ahmanson by way of a local garden.
On June 1, Angeles National Forest reduced the size of the Bobcat Fire Closure, opening up most of the upper West Fork San Gabriel River area. Curious to see how the West Fork area is recovering from the Bobcat Fire, today I ran a slightly shortened version of the ANFTR/Mt. Disappointment 25K course.
Since the Mt. Wilson parking lot is usually closed until mid-morning, this morning’s run started and ended at a small turnout near the top of the Kenyon Devore Trail on the loop road on Mt. Wilson. The ANFTR Trail Races start at the main Mt. Wilson parking lot.
I’d recently done the San Gabriel Peak and Bill Riley Trails and knew they were in reasonable condition. And I’d read that AC100 Trail Work Teams led by Gary Hilliard and Ken Hamada had cleared the Gabrielino and Kenyon Devore Trails earlier this year. So, I didn’t expect to have a repeat of the epic fallen-tree obstacle course that I experienced doing this course in 2020.
Here’s a slideshow of what I found.
Explore the scenery and terrain of the Mt. Wilson – Red Box – West Fork – Kenyon Devore Loop using our high resolution, interactive, 3D viewer. The imagery is so detailed, it’s almost like being there! The loop is a slightly shorter version of the ANFTR 25K. To change the view, use the control on the upper right side of the screen, the CTRL key and your mouse, or touch gestures. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Snow, ice, poor weather, and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.
Related post: An ANFTR/Mt. Disappointment 2020 Adventure
The bloom of Yellow Mariposa Lily along the Chumash Trail in Simi Valley has been extraordinary this year. Above, it is pictured with Golden Stars.
Among the multitude of wildflowers blooming along the trail this May were the showy Butterfly Mariposa Lily and intensely blue Parry’s Larkspur.
Relate post: Marr Ranch Wildflowers
Starting at the Wendy Drive Trailhead, I’d crossed Satwiwa, run down Danielson Road, rock-hopped across Upper Sycamore Creek, and picked up the Old Boney Trail. The condition of the Old Boney Trail between Danielson Road and the Fossil Trail junction was better than expected. Maybe the trail was going to be in good shape after all.
Wrong! Once I passed the turnoff to the Fossil Trail, the vegetation closed in. In places it was so thick I couldn’t see the trail at my feet, much less a few yards ahead. All I could do is smile and work my way through it. Everything was overgrown — bushes, grasses, wildflowers. And everything was wet with dew. A hundred yards past the Fossil Trail, I was soaked from head to toe.
I tried to see the positive. It was an amazing display of the effect of a wet rainy season. Without trail work and use, it wouldn’t take long for the trail to be completely consumed.
The Old Boney Trail continued to be a tangle of chaparral for about two miles — until I reached the Backbone Trail at Blue Canyon. At that point, it becomes part of the Backbone Trail system, and I was relieved to see that some work had recently been done on the trail.
As I worked up the Backbone Trail toward the Chamberlain Trail junction, I recalled other times I’d run to Serrano Valley using Old Boney. What would the condition of the trail be beyond this point? I’d been on that part of the Old Boney Trail following a wet rain season and knew how overgrown it could be. Some refer to that section of trail as “tick alley.”
But when I got to the junction, surprise, surprise, the Old Boney Trail had been trimmed. More than two miles of trail were groomed. It was good all the way to the Serrano Valley Trail and partway into Serrano Valley. The trail in Serrano Valley was a little overgrown, but NOTHING like the Old Boney Trail between the Fossil and Backbone Trails.
Part of the fun of doing this route is all the stream crossings in Serrano Canyon — what is it 13 or 14? Today, most of these could be done without getting your shoes wet — especially if you have poles. I didn’t have poles, and my shoes and socks were already wet, so I didn’t worry about keeping them dry. Some sections of the Serrano Canyon Trail were also overgrown, but not bad. However, there was a lot of poison oak, some of which wasn’t avoidable.
After getting a drink of water at the faucet at the junction of the Serrano Canyon Trail and Sycamore Canyon Fire Road, I headed up-canyon. Almost immediately, the fire road crossed Big Sycamore Canyon Creek. I did this first crossing without getting my shoes wet, but nine more crossings followed, and most resulted in soaked shoes. The water crossings and wildflowers helped distract me from the five mile run up Sycamore Canyon to the Upper Sycamore Trail.
Getting off Sycamore Canyon Road and onto the Upper Sycamore Trail was a relief. Whatever run I do from Wendy Drive, I always finish it via this trail. The trail gets enough use that it was in good shape. This time all the creek crossings could easily be rock-hopped.
Even with a few tedious sections, it was an adventurous and mostly enjoyable 20 miles. Here are some photos taken along the way.
Some related posts: Old Boney to Serrano Valley, Plus Fireline and Overlook; Looking for Ogres in Serrano Canyon; Running to Serrano and La Jolla Valleys from Wendy Drive; You Can’t Run Just Part Way Up Serrano Canyon
The seasonal bridge across Malibu Creek is back! No sketchy log to test your balance or thigh-deep water to wade through — just walk across.
This afternoon I’d returned to Malibu Creek State Park to check on the bridge, count the surviving coast redwoods on the Forest Trail, and see what was happening on the Lost Cabin Trail.
When running the Bulldog Loop a couple of weeks ago, I did a quick check of some of the redwoods on the Forest Trail but skipped the back half of the trail. Today, I crawled through the downed trees blocking the trail and checked the rest of the trees.
I counted seven surviving redwoods. Several of these are multi-tree groups consisting of two or more trees. These family groups were counted as one tree. One of the trees, and perhaps more, was naturally germinated. Most of the trees looked healthy, but appearances can be deceiving.
One redwood is just a few feet from the Crags Road Trail. It’s on the right side of the trail, just past the seasonal bridge, when going west on Crags Road toward the M*A*S*H site. The unique conifer is easy to spot among the other trees.
The start of the Lost Cabin Trail is on the left as you enter the M*A*S*H site going west on Crags Road. Like the Forest Trail, it is less used and isolated but has a character all its own. Today, the Lost Cabin Trail was a trove of brightly colored wildflowers.
Here are a few photos taken along the way.
Some relate posts: Wonderful Wildflowers, a Seasonal Bridge, and a Cranky Rattlesnake on the Bulldog Loop; Lost Cabin; More Malibu Creek Flooding
This large valley oak lives near the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (aka Ahmanson Ranch). There used to be several large valley oaks near the trailhead, but they were killed in the 2018 Woolsey Fire.
This tree is as large as any of the valley oaks I see along the trails at Ahmanson. I estimate it’s diameter to be a little under four feet. That’s not large by Northern California standards, but it is still a sizable tree. Valley oaks have a tougher time here.
Along with coast live oak, the valley oak is one of the iconic species of oak-grasslands at Ahmanson Ranch. In the past 20 years, valley oaks at Ahmanson Ranch have been more severely impacted by drought, fire, and rising temperatures than live oaks. In the not too distant future, the valley oak may become a relic at Ahmanson, much like the blue oak that died earlier this year.
Some related posts: Ahmanson Valley Oaks Finally Get Their Leaves, Ahmanson Valley Oaks Battling Drought, Ahmanson Blue Oak Succumbs to Climate Change, and Many More