Category Archives: wildfire

adventures, birds, landscape, malibu creek state park, nature, photography, running, southern california, trails, trees, weather, weather, wildfire, wildlife

Redwoods, Raptors, and the Phantom Loop

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Coast redwood near Century Lake in Malibu Creek State Park
A coast redwood stands above the other trees near Century Lake.

It was a chilly 45°F as I crossed algae-covered Malibu Creek on a foot-worn log. Following a brutally hot Summer with temps in the West San Fernando Valley reaching 121°F, the chill of the cold air felt especially good.

The plan was to do the Phantom Loop, but first, I was going to run over to the Forest Trail. The side trip was not only to check on the coast redwoods along the trail but to enjoy the calm beauty of the area. To say 2020 has been unsettling is like saying a rattlesnake bite is a little annoying — and the year isn’t over yet.

Coast redwood near the Forest Trail and Crags Road junction in Malibu Creek State Park
Coast redwood near the Forest Trail and Crags Road junction

After crossing the creek, I stopped to photograph the redwood near the junction of the Forest Trail and Crags Road. The sun had just risen, and behind the tree, orange-tinted sunlight illuminated the rocky ridge above the M*A*S*H site.

Continuing along the Forest Trail toward Century Lake, I counted four healthy-appearing redwoods and two struggling trees. Redwoods sometimes grow in a group of two or more trees, and these were counted as a single “tree.” Near the end of the trail is a naturally-germinated redwood that has grown to about 5.5 inches in diameter. Remarkably, this young tree survived the 2011-2015 drought and the 2018 Woolsey Fire, and appears healthy!

I had just finished photographing the young tree when a Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk flew from a nearby oak and through the trees along the trail. It landed on the limb of an oak ahead of me but was in deep shade. In a much-enlarged image, the bird looks like a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but distinguishing the two species can be challenging.

Red-tailed hawk atop a coast redwood in Malibu Creek State Park.
Red-tailed hawk atop a coast redwood.

A few yards down the trail, a much larger raptor — a Red-tailed hawk — was perched at the top of the tallest redwood. The huge bird had its wings pulled back to expose more of its body to the warming sun. It looked like a giant penguin sitting atop a tree. As I approached, it began to preen its feathers, comfortable with its lofty position.

With a sigh, I left the Forest Trail behind and returned to Malibu Creek. This time I crossed the creek on a plank near the washed-out bridge. This was a more direct route than the fallen tree upstream but only worked because the creek was low. At the crossing, a passing runner asked if he was on the Bulldog Loop. I assured him he was and was a little envious that he was getting to experience that excellent run for the first time.

Morning view of Goat Buttes in Malibu Creek State Park
Morning view of Goat Butte and stream course of Malibu Creek

As usual, Crags Road and the High Road were busy thoroughfares. The easy running under the sprawling coast live oaks was pleasant, and the morning view of Malibu Creek and Goat Buttes outstanding.

In a few minutes, I’d reached Mulholland Highway and then followed the Grasslands Trail to the Liberty Canyon Trail. From Liberty Canyon, the Phantom Trail gains about 750′ in elevation over about 1.5 miles to a high point and ridgeline with excellent views of Saddleback Peak, Las Virgenes Canyon, Brents Mountain, Goat Buttes, Castro Peak, Ladyface, and Boney Mountain.

The air quality this morning hadn’t been too bad. From up on the ridge, I could see there was far less smoke to the west of Las Virgenes Canyon than to the east. Yesterday, I’d done a run in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains and had to cut the run short because of smoke. That wasn’t a problem today, and the run had been a good one.

Some related posts: Coast Redwoods Along the Forest Trail, Urban Highlands, Saddle Peak from the Phantom Trail

adventures, landscape, nature, photography, pt mugu state park, running, trails, weather, wildfire, wildflowers, wildflowers

Orange Sun Rising – A Boney Mountain Adventure Run

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Smoky view from Boney Mountain's Western Ridge

To the east, the sun rose orange, cast that color by a thick pall of smoke. From the Satwiwa Loop Trail, the view of Boney Mountain were surprisingly clear. As the air pollution sensors in the area had indicated, the air quality appeared to be passable. I hoped it would stay that way for the remainder of the run.

With all the National Forests in California closed through at least September 21, and the smoke from wildfires affecting many areas, I’d been fortunate to find a place where I could get out and stretch my legs.

I was doing a route I had done many times before — a loop incorporating the Western Ridge of Boney Mountain and the Chamberlain segment of the Backbone Trail. I’d last done the loop in June and was curious to see the condition of the Chamberlain Trail and how recovery from the 2018 Woolsey Fire was progressing.

From the top of Peak 2935, it seemed the “smoke front” to the east was slowly creeping closer. The flat, orange light was eerie. Continuing to Tri Peaks, I decided to skip the side trip to Sandstone Peak and followed the west Tri Peaks trail directly to the top of the Chamberlain Trail.

Foot traffic on the Chamberlain Trail had opened it up a bit, but there were still thousands and thousands of stalks of bleeding heart along the trail. The condition of the trail improved somewhat below Chamberlain Rock.

When I’d done the route in June, I’d seen no one until just before the junction of the Chamberlain & Old Boney trails. In June it had been a group of hikers. This time it was another runner, and we exchanged notes about the routes we were doing. Below the junction, I was surprised to find that one of the seeps on the Old Boney Trail was still wet.

After getting some water at the Danielson Multi-Use Area, I continued up Sycamore Canyon, finishing the run on the Upper Sycamore Trail, Danielson Road, and the network of Satwiwa trails.

Here are a few photos taken along the way.

Some related posts: Too Many Flowers on the Chamberlain Trail, Looking for Boney Peak, Looking for Boney Mountain

nature, san gabriel mountains, trails, wildfire

Bobcat Fire Perimeter and Some Angeles National Forest Trails

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Bobcat Fire Perimeter and Some Angeles National Forest Trails

For official information see the Bobcat Fire incident page on Inciweb and the Angeles National Forest website.  National Forests in California have reopened to varying degrees. For more information, contact the National Forest.

Here’s a Google Earth image of a Bobcat Fire perimeter from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The area inside the Bobcat perimeter is transparent yellow. Where the Bobcat perimeter overlaps older fire  perimeters, the area appears transparent orange. The image acquisition timestamp of the Bobcat perimeter is 10/6/2020 2045 (PDT) .

Also included are adjacent perimeters for the 2002 Curve Fire, 2002 Williams Fire, 2009 Morris Fire and 2009 Station Fire. Some trails in Angeles National Forest are also shown as yellow tracks. All map data are approximate.

Here’s a 3D interactive Cesium view of the 10/6/2020 perimeter and trails.

Angeles National Forest has partially reopened and issued Bobcat Fire Closure Order 05-01-20-08. The maps included in the Closure Order PDF are low resolution and poor quality. CalTopo has created an unofficial, but much more useful map, based on Closure Order.

Update April 2021. The Forest Service has issued Bobcat Fire Closure Order 05-01-21-03, which modifies the previous closure boundary. The Bobcat Closure Area Map is higher resolution than the map included in Order 05-01-20-08. Check the Angeles National Forest website for the most recent Alerts & Notices.

Related post: 3D Terrain View of Bobcat Fire Soil Burn Severity and Some Angeles National Forest Trails

clouds, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, weather, wildfire

Explosive Growth of the Lake Fire

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Development of Lake Fire pyrocumulus cloud over 10 minutes
Growth of the Lake Fire in just 10 minutes.

Lake Fire pyrocumulus cloud at about 4:21 p.m.
Lake Fire pyrocumulus cloud at about 4:51 p.m.

The photographs above show the rapid development of the pyrocumulus clouds associated with the Lake Fire, near Lake Hughes. The timestamps are approximate.

According to the Lake Fire incident page, the fire was first reported on August 12th at 3:40 p.m.

The photographs were taken during a run at Sage Ranch Park. This is the location of the Sage Peak1 and Sage Peak2 ALERTWildfire cams.

Related post: Did Lightning Start the 2002 Curve Fire?

nature, running, san gorgonio mountain, trails, wildfire

El Dorado & Apple Fire Perimeters and San Gorgonio Trails

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Apple Fire Perimeter and San Gorgonio Trails

For official information see the El Dorado Fire incident page and Apple Fire incident page on Inciweb, and the San Bernardino National Forest website. National Forests in California have reopened to varying degrees. For more information, contact  the National Forest.

Here’s a Google Earth image of El Dorado and Apple Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) . The image acquisition timestamp of the perimeter is 9/22/2020 2008 (PDT) .

The 2015 Lake Fire perimeter is also shown. Some trails in the San Gorgonio Wilderness are also shown as yellow tracks. All map data are approximate.

Here’s a 3D interactive Cesium view of the same perimeter and trails.

adventures, landscape, nature, photography, running, san gabriel mountains, trails, trees, weather, wildfire, wildflowers, wildflowers

Three Points Loop Adventure – July 2020

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Approaching Waterman Meadow on the Three Points - Mt. Waterman Trail
Approaching Waterman Meadow on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail

You know what they say about making assumptions. Did the Three Points loop around Mt. Waterman today (July 25), and assumed that water would be available at Buckhorn Campground. In a normal summer that would be a reasonable assumption, but this has been anything but a normal summer.

Running down through the campground, I thought it was strange that many of the spaces were empty. Following the signs that said, “Day Use Parking,” and then “Burkhart Trail,” I stopped at a spigot across from some restrooms.

Routine water tests were pending after Buckhorn Campground opened. July 25, 2020.
Routine water tests were pending.

Surprise, surprise! The stapled-on Forest Service sign said, “Non-potable water. Please boil water for a minimum of 5 minutes before using.”

Later, I talked to a ranger and learned that the campground had just reopened on Friday! He said routine tests on the water system had to be completed before the water could be deemed potable.

So I had a choice to make. I was doing the loop counterclockwise, which put Buckhorn at about mile 9 of a 20-mile loop. The second half of the loop — on the PCT — can bake on a hot day, with the climb out of Cooper Canyon being especially blistering.

Morning sun crests a ridge on Waterman Mountain.
Morning sun crests a ridge on Waterman Mountain.

So far, the run had gone well. The Mt. Waterman Trail between Three Points and the turn off to Twin Peaks had been in excellent shape. No trees had blocked the trail, and the wildflowers and ferns at Waterman Meadow had been extraordinary. Like last year, a rejuvenated spring about 0.5 mile west of the Twin Peaks junction had water. (Not aware of the situation at Buckhorn, I didn’t top off my water.)

Beyond the Twin Peaks junction, there were some toppled trees. These were probably blown down by the same Winter storms that broke and toppled trees along the crest between Throop Peak and Mt. Baden-Powell, and between West Fork and Mt. Wilson. A few of the trees had fallen across the trail, but none were a problem.

Lesser paintbrush at Waterman Meadow.
Paintbrush and ferns at Waterman Meadow.

As usual, the run down the Mt. Waterman Trail to Highway 2 was excellent. A lot of people were enjoying the hike to the peak, but no more than is typical for that trail in the summertime.

Which brings me back to Buckhorn and my water problem. I could have shortcut the loop by skipping Cooper Canyon and running directly to Cloudburst Summit on Highway 2. That would have shortened the loop by 5 miles. But the day wasn’t super-hot, and there were several places where water could be used for cooling — even if I couldn’t drink it.

Reconfirming how much water I had left, I squeezed the Camelbak(TM) in my pack, and then started running down the Burkhart Trail into Cooper Canyon.

By maintaining a comfortable pace, and using seeps for cooling, my water lasted until I was within sight of the Three Points parking lot. This probably wouldn’t have been the case on a hot day.

Here are some photos taken along the way, and a Cesium interactive 3D view of the route.

Some related posts: Lemon Lilies, Tree Rings and More Heat Training on the Three Points Loop; Pine Seedling Along the Mt. Waterman Trail; Three Points Loop Twice