Long colors spread across the sky, flamboyant and vivid, fading with time.
Gravity is suspended and the world glides effortlessly by.
In growing darkness warm hillsides cling to the day and cold canyons foretell the night.
Running is more by feel than by sight.
A full December moon rises, eerie in the clouds. Coyotes yip, yip, yip on a nearby hill.
An owl waits, and then fills the silence with a hoot, hoot, hooo…
I switch on my headlamp and it all disappears.
It’s been great to get a little rain the last couple of weeks. Since November 20th Downtown Los Angeles (USC) has recorded 0.62 inch of rain, bringing the calendar year total through November 30th to 3.40 inches.
During our showery rainstorm on Friday the few extra raindrops that made it into the rain bucket at USC moved 2013 from 4th driest to 5th, behind 1947 (2.51), 1971 (2.69), 1894 (2.89) and 1984 (3.37).
Rainfall totals can change dramatically in December, which is normally about twice as wet as November. Of the dry years listed above only 1947 continued to be unusually dry and finish the year as one of the nine driest on record.
Rainfall amounts were compiled from NWS and NCDC data. In a couple of instances differences were noted in daily and monthly data. Monthly data was used in rankings.
The title photo is from a run at Sage Ranch on November 21.
From a run last week at Ahmanson Ranch.
Today those instrumental in the acquisition of Ahmanson Ranch and supporters of the open space area gathered at the park — now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve — to celebrate its purchase. For more on the festivities see this article in the Simi Valley Acorn.
I’ve been running at Ahmanson Ranch for more than ten years and have spent hundreds of hours in the open space area. Following are a few photographs, stories and wildlife encounters from these runs.
– Northern Harrier Turning to Strike
– Red-winged Blackbird Song Spread
– Racing the Sun, Catching the Moon
– Coyote Tag and Coyote Tag II
– Southern Pacific Rattlesnake and Big Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
– September & October are Tarantula Months!
– Southern California Greenscape
– Lenticular Wave Clouds
– Signs of Winter
– King of the Hill
– Comet PanSTARRS and the Crescent Moon
The title photograph is from a run at Ahmanson Ranch earlier this November.
Updated November 5, 2013. My mistake — a spreadsheet range error — thanks for the heads up Reg! The driest January 1 to November 1 for Downtown Los Angeles was in 1972 with 0.92 inch. Here are the driest ten years for that period:
1. 1972 0.92
2. 2002 1.62
3. 1984 1.93
4. 1961 2.37
5. 1971 2.39
6. 1947 2.45
7. 2013 2.78
8. 1894 2.89
9. 1953 2.89
10. 2007 3.37
As much as I enjoyed running in the showery weather Monday, I barely got wet. What Los Angeles needs is a good soaking.
Year to date Downtown Los Angeles (USC) has only recorded 2.78 inches of rain. This is the seventh driest January 1 – November 1 in Los Angeles over the past 135 years! To get out of the bottom ten for calendar year rainfall Los Angeles needs about 3.5 inches of rain by December 31. Normal rainfall for November is 1.04 inches and for December is 2.33 inches.
Although it’s still early in the rain season Downtown Los Angeles (USC) is already 0.83 inch below normal for water year rainfall. The water year extends from July 1 to June 30.
Sugarloaf Mountain (9952′) is the high point of the Kodiak 100 Ultramarathon, a new ultra being run this Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Sept 20-22, 2013, in Big Bear. A 50 mile course is also being offered.
The 100 mile race begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. at The Village of Big Bear Lake. The summit of Sugarloaf Mountain is at about mile 17.5 of the course. Assuming clear skies, runners will ascend the peak under the light of a 98% full moon. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory data, sunset on Friday will be at 6:47 p.m., with “civil twilight” ending at 7:12 p.m. Moonrise will be at 7:30 p.m. At 9:00 p.m. the moon will be about 18 degrees above the eastern horizon.
The 50 mile race begins Saturday at 6:00 a.m. at about the half-way point of the 50 mile course. Saturday, civil twilight begins at 6:10 a.m., with sunrise at 6:35 a.m. Sunset is at 6:45 p.m., with civil twilight ending at 7:10 p.m. Moonrise Saturday evening will be at 8:08 p.m.
The photo of Sugarloaf Mountain is from the South Fork Trail just above Horse Meadows on the way down from an ascent of San Gorgonio Mountain this August. The south face of Sugarloaf Mountain drops about 3800′ to the Santa Ana River east of Barton Flats.
Note: Sun and moon rise and set times depend on the altitude and location of the observer, and other factors, so may vary a few minutes from the times mentioned above.