On today’s run, a muted morning sun highlighted Castle Peak in a tree-framed view from Valley Circle Blvd. This native bush sunflower (Encelia californica) was happily growing along a side street.
With MRCA/Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy lands and trails closed, local State Parks closed, and County trails closed, street views will be the norm for a while.
Related post: Castle Peak
From a run and hike to the summit of Rocky Peak on March 21, before the MRCA/Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy closures.
Goldfields are tiny wildflowers, but their bright yellow color more than makes up for their diminutive size.
Goldfields bloomed a little early on Lasky Mesa this year. Depending on the conditions, they usually begin to bloom in mid-February. Because of this rain year’s wet December and dry January-February, the goldfields began to bloom a little early — around February 4. The flowers aren’t as numerous as last year, but there are still a few small patches of goldfields to be seen.
Usually, about the same time goldfields begin to bloom, valley oaks are starting to sprout new, bright green leaves. This Winter, the foliage on valley oaks at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch) began to turn brown in mid-December and I saw the first new leaves begin to sprout at the end of February. This sprawling valley oak is in East Las Virgenes Canyon.
Clouds, sun and shadow accentuate the rugged topography of the northwest rim of the San Fernando Valley.
Castle Peak is the rock-capped summit on the left of the photo. Chatsworth Peak (2314′) is in shadow and behind Castle Peak. The prominent rock bands are Chatsworth Formation sandstone formed more than 65 million years ago. Oat Mountain (3747′) is the sunlit peak in the distance.
From a run on Wednesday at Ahmanson Ranch.
Some related posts: The Cave of Munits and Castle Peak, Castle Peak, Snow on Oat Mountain
Along with Sandstone Peak, Tri Peaks, and Exchange Peak, Boney Peak is an officially named peak that is part of the Boney Mountain massif. The peak is located about 0.5 mile southwest of Sandstone Peak and is easily accessed from the Backbone Trail.
I’d climbed the other peaks in the area, and run past Boney Peak many times, but never scrambled to its summit. Getting to Boney Peak from the Wendy Drive trailhead was pretty much the same as doing Sandstone Peak. I took the “escalator” up the Western Ridge of Boney Mountain to Peak 2935 and then ran over to Tri Peaks. From there, I followed the Tri Peaks Trail to the Backbone Trail, near the Mishe Mokwa Trail junction.
The use trail to the top of Boney Peak leaves the Backbone Trail about a mile from the Tri Peaks/Mishe Mokwa Trail junctions. Other than a little brush, it’s fairly easy to get to the peak’s boulder-strewn summit. There was a red register can stashed in the rocks. (The title photo of Boney Peak was taken where the use trail begins.)
The actual high point of the peak is atop, a large, exposed summit block. Various trip reports describe the easiest route up the summit block as class 3. That seems about right. Although relatively straightforward, the use of handholds is necessary, and a fall would ruin your whole day. Like many such boulders, it is easier to climb up than to climb down, and someone without rock climbing experience could easily find themselves unable or unwilling to climb down.
From Boney Peak, I returned to the Backbone Trail and headed west, down the Chamberlain Trail and on to the Danielson Multi-Use area. A few brightly-colored, yellow-orange poppies were already blooming along the trail. The rest of the run was the usual jog up Sycamore Canyon to the Upper Sycamore Trail, and then back to Satwiwa and Wendy Drive.
Here’s a 3D Cesium interactive view that shows a GPS track of my route. The view can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. Placemark and track locations are approximate and subject to errors.
Some related posts: Looking for Boney Mountain, After the Woolsey Fire: Boney Mountain and Pt. Mugu State Park, Boney Mountain’s Western Ridge
In January, on my way to do a run on the Backbone Trail, I stopped for a moment along Kanan Road to see if the ridges on the east side of Ladyface peak were still accessible. I didn’t see any obvious access issues and made a mental note to get back and do the peak soon.
“Soon” turned out to be earlier this February. While the route and the climbing were about the same as the last time I did the Ladyface Loop, the mountain itself had changed dramatically.
Nearly all of the chaparral on the peak was incinerated by the Woolsey Fire. Compare the title photo above to this photo taken before the fire. Before the Woolsey Fire, the last time Ladyface was burned in a wildfire was in the October 1982 Dayton Canyon Fire — a span of 37 years.
Like other areas burned in the Woolsey Fire, Ladyface is recovering. It will just take time. December’s rains have turned the mountain green, laurel sumac and other chaparral plants are crown-sprouting, and the season’s first wildflowers are blooming along the sun-warmed ridges.
For those with appropriate skills and experience, Ladyface is a relatively straightforward and enjoyable climb. But some of the things that make it interesting are the very things that can make it sketchy.
Some climbing with the hands is necessary — and that includes going down the mountain as well as going up. The route-finding isn’t always obvious, and the rock isn’t always sound. The volcanic rock is sharp, and some sections of the trail on the east/southeast ridge are very slippery — especially if wearing smooth-soled shoes.
Below are a couple of photos of the east/southeast ridge.
The loop packs a lot of adventure into its 2.5 miles!
Some related posts: Ladyface Loop, Ladyface the Long Way