Study of a wall of the Electra Powerhouse on the Mokelumne River.
Category Archives: photography
Sage Sculpture
It’s growth exhausted, this dessicated stalk of hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a relic of Southern California’s 2005-2006 rain season. A robust member of the mint family, the flowering stalks typically grow to a height of 1-3 ft., but in this case the full stalk reached about 4 ft. The 2006-2007 rain season was too dry to produce flowering stalks in this area.
From a run at Sage Ranch Park on August 22, 2007.
Related post: Dealing with Drought
Kern River Valley
View of the Kern River valley, upstream of Kernville, California, from a hilltop near Bull Run Creek.
Mountains and Valleys
View east from the Mishe Mokwa trail over Ladyface and the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Mountains.
The peaks of the Mt. Wilson area are those in the distance, rising above the marine layer. Mt. Baldy, about 75 miles distant, is the high peak, just left of the centerline of the photograph, in the haze beyond the Mt. Wilson ridgeline.
Related post: Balance Rock, Mt. Wilson Area Peaks From Twin Peaks
Mt. Baldy Run to the Top 2007
Despite an ongoing heat wave and excessive heat warnings, temps were surprisingly moderate for the 42nd running of the Mt. Baldy Run to the Top race. This year the men’s overall winner was Eric Martin in a time of 1:10:04, and the women’s overall winner was Brigid Freyne in a time of 1:30:41. For all of the results see the Run to the Top web site. Many thanks to the race organizers, volunteers, USFS, Mt Baldy Ski Lifts and the Mt. Baldy Fire Department for a great race!
Here are a few images from the race (Flash 8 required), a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file (updated) of a GPS trace of the route.
Related post: Mt. Baldy Runner
Mt. Pinos Improv
The plan had been to do a 2-3 hour run from the Chula Vista parking lot west over Mt. Pinos into the Chumash Wilderness, but due to the Zaca Fire, the trail/road to the summit of Mt. Pinos, the Vincent Tummawait trail, and all of the Chumash Wilderness were closed.
Improvising the best we could, we linked together some cross-country ski trails, use trails, a fallen tree, and the Mt. Pinos road, and were able to get in a good trail run.
Update Friday, August 31, 2007. In a press release dated August 29, 2007, the Forest Service announced that some areas within Los Padres National Forest east of Highway 33 that were previously closed to public entry because of the Zaca Fire would be reopened on August 30.
For more information regarding the Zaca Fire and related closures, see the Los Padres National Forest website.
Some related posts: Mt. Pinos – Mt. Abel Out & Back, Thunderstorm, Vincent Tumamait Trail