Category Archives: photography

photography, photography|landscape, photography|trail running

Mt. Baldy Runner

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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

photography, photography|landscape, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails

Peru Running

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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.

nature, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|wildflowers

Milk Thistle Seed Heads

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Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) seed heads.

A native of the Mediterranean, Milk Thistle is an invasive weed that appears to be increasingly profuse in roadside areas of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. Generally considered detrimental in the wild, the plant has been used medicinally for at least 2000 years, and is cultivated in Texas, Canada and Argentina.

According to the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board, Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) produces about 190 seeds per flower, and over 6000 seeds per plant. Dense stands are reported to produce 1.4 million viable seeds and four tons of vegetation per acre! Here is a closer look at an individual Milk Thistle seed.

This photograph was taken on a run at Ahmanson Ranch on July 13, 2006. The posting Convoluted includes a photograph of the white-veined leaf, and a photo of a dense stand of Milk Thistle in Las Virgenes Canyon. Additional information regarding Milk Thistle, including its history, laboratory studies, clinical trials, and adverse effects can be found in the National Cancer Institute’s Milk Thistle (PDQ®).

nature, nature|botany, nature|trees, photography, photography|landscape, trails, trails|smmc open space

Valley Oak Savanna

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Valley oak savannah on the north slopes of Laskey Mesa.

What a difference a week makes! At about 10:00 in the morning, when this photograph was taken, the temperature at a nearby weather station was a pleasant 78°F. Just a week before, the mid-morning temperature had been a blazing 104°F, and neighboring Woodland Hills had just set an all-time record high of 119°F!

The photograph is of valley oak savanna on the north slopes of Laskey Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch). As mentioned in the posting Laskey Mesa Oak, this area was burned in the 2005 Topanga Fire. If you look closely, the condition of the trees varies widely. Some have full crowns; some partial crowns; and some are nearly bare.

Headed back on the Ahmanson “main drag,” I had done a keyhole loop through Cheeseboro Canyon, starting at the Victory trailhead. The 13 mile route is slightly shorter than the Bulldog Loop, and has less than half the elevation gain. Following several strenuous weeks, the idea was do some tempo and not too much climbing.

Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the loop, and links to trail maps for Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve and Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons.

Related post: Ahmanson Blue Oak