As we rounded a corner on the Old Boney Trail, Ann spotted a deer bounding through a thick, unburned section of brush. Its behavior was unusual — the deer was a few hundred yards away and in heavy cover. We soon saw the reason — a large coyote was trailing the animal and probably had been doing so for time.
We were in the middle of a 25 mile Odyssey through Pt. Mugu State Park, about three weeks after the Springs Fire ravaged much of the park’s 14,000 acres.
Already the process of recovery was underway. Tufts of green were sprouting in many areas. Yucca was beginning to regrow and a few yucca scorched in the fire were blooming. In addition to the deer and coyote described above, over the course of the run we would see another deer; fresh raccoon, bobcat, fox and rodent tracks; a lizard, grasshoppers, many birds, a bee’s nest, and fresh mountain lion scat.
Even if landmarks didn’t give away the southerly position of the sun, the leafless valley oak, green grass, and the dynamic nature of the clouds all say “Winter!”
From a run last week in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, better known as Ahmanson Ranch.
It was a busy morning at Malibu and Piuma. The Trail Runners were doing the Secret Trail to Tapia; a Backbone Ultra training group was running a segment of the Backbone Trail; another runner was “trying to get back into shape” by doing multiple laps of the Bulldog loop.
I’d done my longer run yesterday. This morning I was looking to do some low impact miles, enjoy the outdoors, and take a few photos along the way. It was one of those “I’ll know where I’m going when I get there” kind of runs, and where that turned out to be was the Forest Trail along the south shore of Century Lake in Malibu Creek State Park.
Running the Forest Trail early in the morning, after a rain storm, as the sun breaks through the clouds, with coast redwoods marking the way was about as serene as a run can be.
Because of our warmer Mediterranean climate with dry Summers and (sometimes) wet Winters, many of Southern California’s lower elevation native trees and shrubs benefit from retaining their leaves in Winter and are not deciduous.
Those native trees that are deciduous don’t usually grow in dense stands or show their fall colors in a dramatic fashion.
Some of the Southern California trees found at low elevation that are deciduous are valley oak, sycamore, willow, cottonwood, ash, alder, elderberry and walnut.
From last Sunday’s run in Malibu Creek State Park.
