Category Archives: photography

Cottonwood – New Army Pass Loop

Rock Creek trail below New Army Pass.
Upper Rock Creek Canyon

The climb up the glacier sculpted canyon hadn’t been too bad. How could it be on a day like this? Winds were light, and the temperature was refreshingly cool – perfect for running in shorts and a lightweight long-sleeve top. As I had worked up the Rock Creek trail, marmots, fat for the Winter, had whistled warnings of my approach and then waddled for cover. Amicable clouds embellished the high mountain sky, and sun-chased shadows quietly set the pace.

Mt. Langley from New Army Pass.
Mt. Langley from New Army Pass.

Atop New Army Pass, I marveled at the diverse landscape. To the north loomed the massive hulk of Mt. Langley. Invitingly close, I had climbed the peak from this point several times before. Today, the additional 5 miles and 2300′ in elevation gain were not part of the plan. Just a few hours before I had been in the San Fernando Valley at an elevation of 800′. Now above 12,000′, I was happy to feel more or less normal, be able to run the flats and downhills, and enjoy the day. (See the note regarding altitude sickness and acclimatization at the end of this post.)

New Army Pass (12,300′) is at about mile 12 of the approximately 21 mile loop. On May 1 California Cooperative Snow Surveys reported the Southern Section Sierra snowpack at 177% of normal. Four months and a very hot summer later, remnants of that snow could still be seen on the Sierra crest near the pass.

Long Lake in the Cottonwood Lakes basin.
Long Lake in the Cottonwood Lakes basin.

My route had started at Horseshoe Meadow, climbed to Cottonwood Pass, and then followed the Pacific Crest Trail and a connecting trail to the Rock Creek trail. From New Army Pass the route would drop down to Long Lake, and then head east to Cottonwood Creek, where it would follow a roundabout route back to the trailhead.

Nearly the entire loop is at or above 10,000′, and almost 12 miles of it are above 11,000′. Many miles of the route are in stands of hardy and picturesque Southern Foxtail Pine. A close relative of the Bristlecone Pine, Foxtail Pines can live to be more than 3000 years old.

In places along the crest, impervious trunks of long dead Foxtail Pines lay in the talus. Many of these ancient trees are larger than the live Foxtail Pines surrounding them. In some cases the relic trees are found above the current treeline – a stark reminder of the changeable nature of Earth’s climate.

The title photograph was taken on the Rock Creek Trail at an elevation of about 11,200′ looking west. Mt. Anna Mills is the sunlit peak on the left, and Mt. Guyot is the peak on the right. In the distance are peaks of the Great Western Divide. An USGS aerial photograph of the area suggests that the mound of rocks to the right of the trail may be a moraine associated with a small rock glacier. The red arrow in the aerial photo indicates the approximate position and direction of the photo on the trail. It could be the feature originated as a landslide, but semi-concentric surface ridges in the debris appear to be evidence of fluid motion at some point in the past.

Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the loop.

Note: There is much information available on the Internet regarding altitude sickness and acclimatization. As a starting point see UIAA Medical Commission – Advice and Recommendations and Wikipedia: Altitude sickness.

Rocketdyne – Sage Ranch Pollution

Refuse in the creek bed between Santa Susana Field Laboratory and Sage Ranch.

Updated 02/21/08.

In late September 2005, the Topanga Fire burned many thousands of acres in the Simi Hills. One of the side effects of the fire was to reveal the extent of the refuse that was in the creek bed that runs east-west between Boeing’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory and Sage Ranch Park.

The rusty storage drum in the photograph above is just one of several drums and other refuse I saw partially buried in the sediments of the creek.

These photographs are from a run at Sage Ranch on October 21, 2005. In March and April 2006 some restoration and other environmental work was done in this area, and some of the refuse pictured may have been removed. The area is recovering from the fire, and the section of the creek bed pictured is now so overgrown it is difficult to tell.

This topographic map shows the location of the creek relative to Sage Ranch and Rocketdyne, and (in red) the Sage Ranch loop trail. The creek is part of the Meier Canyon drainage, which flows into Simi Valley.

Here are some additional sources of information regarding environmental issues in the area:

Department of Toxic Substances Control Santa Susana Field Laboratory Site Investigation and Cleanup Web Site

Department of Toxic Substances Control Project Documents: Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Boeing: About Us – Environment – Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Wikipedia: Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Balance Rock

Balance Rock above Echo Cliffs.

My plan had been to run out the Mishe Mokwa Trail to the Backbone Trail, and then head west towards Sycamore Canyon. I needed to be back in the Valley before noon, so about an hour out I would head back. Running past Echo Cliffs, I tried to pick out some of the steep climbing routes, and contemplated delicately perched Balance Rock. Sections of the trail facing into the morning sun are already warm, but shaded areas are cool and pleasant. Unlike the hot weather at the end of July, it isn’t like running in Death Valley.

By the time I reached the idyllic, oak-shaded area at Split Rock, I’d pretty much forgotten about Balance Rock and was trying to recall the trail choices ahead. But as I rounded a corner, I couldn’t help but notice a small spur trail marked with a sign announcing “Balance Rock – Not a NPS Maintained Trail.”

The last couple of times I had been on the Mishe Mokwa trail, I’d been on long point to point runs, and couldn’t be impulsive. Not so this time – so I hung a right and went to check out the rock. Here is a closer view.

The rocks of this area owe their striking appearance to a dramatic geologic history. The Dibblee geology map indicates that Boney Mountain, Echo Cliffs, and the summit of Sandstone Peak are exposures of 16.1 to 13.1 million year old Conejo Volcanics, probably deposited as volcanic talus and debris-flows.

After taking a few photos, I returned to the Mishe Mokwa Trail, and jogged up to the Backbone Trail. Out of time, I had no choice but to turn east on the Backbone Trail and return to the car. On the way back I did take a few extra minutes to run up the short spur trail to the summit of 3111 ft. Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The Mishe Mokwa – Sandstone Peak loop has much to recommend it. In terms of scenic value per mile, the approximately 6 mile loop is hard to beat. This National Park Service PDF provides additional information and a trail map of the Circle X Ranch area.

Note: The mileage figure does not include the side trip to Balance Rock. The use trail to the rock – at least the one I followed – was brushy in a few spots.

Mt. Baldy Runner

A runner begins the descent from Mt. Baldy.

It’s mid-August, which means that Labor Day, and the Mt. Baldy Run to the Top, are only a couple of weeks away. There’s nothing quite like the experience of racing to the top of a 10,000 ft. peak en masse with 500+ other runners.

The nearly 8 mile course, with 4000′ of elevation gain, has been done in 1:00:49 by Matt Ebiner (1987), and in 1:15:32 by Carrie Garritson (1988). She was age 11 at the time! According to an article in the February / March 2002 Issue of TrailRunner Magazine “wild” Bill Lombardo has done the run barefoot!

More about the runner in this photo, the Mt. Baldy Run to the Top, and a race that climbs Mt. Baldy twice can be found in my SierraPhotography.com page Mt. Baldy, Runner Leaving the Summit. The photograph is from August 1991.

Related post: Mt. Baldy Run to the Top 2007

Peru Running


Runners on a high plateau above the Sacred Valley of the Incas.


We did this acclimatization run early in our running adventure in Peru. The grain field is on a plateau at about 11,000′, and parallels the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and Urubamba River.


The run took us across the plateau, down to the Maras salt mines, and then down into the Sacred Valley at a little over 9000′. Excited about the trip, we ran most of the way back to the hotel in Yucay. That evening we enjoyed Pisco Sours and an excellent dinner, and then drifted off to sleep dreaming of big mountains and expansive views.


The high peaks beyond the valley are part of the Cordilla Urubamba and are over 5000m (16,400′). The highest point on the Inca Trail, the “pass of the dead woman,” is at about 13,800′. Later in the trip we would cross two 5000m passes while running a circuit of Mt. Ausangate.


The photograph is from July 15, 2003. The trip organizer, Devy Reinstein of Andes Adventures, is a accomplished runner, and a genius at travel logistics and organization.