The soft-hued reds and yellows of these changing poison oak leaves was accentuated by the soft, orange light of a smoky sky.
From Saturday’s adventure run/hike over Boney Mountain to the Backbone Trail in from the Wendy Drive trailhead.
Category Archives: photography
Orange Sun Rising – A Boney Mountain Adventure Run
To the east, the sun rose orange, cast that color by a thick pall of smoke. From the Satwiwa Loop Trail, the view of Boney Mountain were surprisingly clear. As the air pollution sensors in the area had indicated, the air quality appeared to be passable. I hoped it would stay that way for the remainder of the run.
With all the National Forests in California closed through at least September 21, and the smoke from wildfires affecting many areas, I’d been fortunate to find a place where I could get out and stretch my legs.
I was doing a route I had done many times before — a loop incorporating the Western Ridge of Boney Mountain and the Chamberlain segment of the Backbone Trail. I’d last done the loop in June and was curious to see the condition of the Chamberlain Trail and how recovery from the 2018 Woolsey Fire was progressing.
From the top of Peak 2935, it seemed the “smoke front” to the east was slowly creeping closer. The flat, orange light was eerie. Continuing to Tri Peaks, I decided to skip the side trip to Sandstone Peak and followed the west Tri Peaks trail directly to the top of the Chamberlain Trail.
Foot traffic on the Chamberlain Trail had opened it up a bit, but there were still thousands and thousands of stalks of bleeding heart along the trail. The condition of the trail improved somewhat below Chamberlain Rock.
When I’d done the route in June, I’d seen no one until just before the junction of the Chamberlain & Old Boney trails. In June it had been a group of hikers. This time it was another runner, and we exchanged notes about the routes we were doing. Below the junction, I was surprised to find that one of the seeps on the Old Boney Trail was still wet.
After getting some water at the Danielson Multi-Use Area, I continued up Sycamore Canyon, finishing the run on the Upper Sycamore Trail, Danielson Road, and the network of Satwiwa trails.
Here are a few photos taken along the way.
Some related posts: Too Many Flowers on the Chamberlain Trail, Looking for Boney Peak, Looking for Boney Mountain
Mt. Pinos Adventure Run to Mesa Spring
For many that enjoy the outdoors, there is an insatiable desire to go where we have not been, learn what we do not know, and discover what we have not experienced.
Each time I’ve done the out and back trail run from Mt. Pinos to Mt. Abel, I’ve been curious about the Mesa Spring Trail. The trail leaves the Tumamait Trail at Puerto del Suelo, a saddle about 0.6 mile east of Mt. Abel Road, and descends to a campsite at a spring on the margin of San Emigdio Mesa. The mesa is the large alluvial fan shown on this Google Terrain Map overview.
The Mesa Spring Trail is part of an old trail shown on the USGS 1903 Mt. Pinos topo map. The old trail was part of a route that connected the Cuyama River to the historic El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles. It followed Dry Canyon, went over Puerto del Suelo, and to the valley that is now the Pine Mountain Club. Like so many trails, it must have evolved from a hunting and trade route.
The Mesa Spring Trail is usually accessed from the West Tumamait Trailhead on Mt. Abel Road. But it occurred to me that starting at the East Tumamait Trailhead on Mt. Pinos might be an enjoyable way to do a longer out and back run. The Mesa Spring Trail looked like it might be similar to the North Fork Trail — a little less used and a bit more remote.
I left the Chula Vista parking area a little before 7:00 a.m. and started chugging up the road to the East Tumamait Trailhead at the Mt. Pinos Condor Observation Site. I planned to skip the usual side trips to Sawmill and Grouse. The spring was at a much lower elevation, and I wanted to get there before the temperature sizzled.
Once on the Vincent Tumamait Trail, it took a little over an hour to reach the top of the Mesa Spring Trail. The junction is marked with a new sign and tree branches on the ground. It is about 5.7 miles from the Mt. Pinos parking area.
The first couple of miles down from the junction, the trail more or less follows the drainage. About 10 minutes from the junction, a large pine tree had fallen and completely blocked the trail. I worked around the right (west) side of the tree, where some orange fence posts had been placed. A few minutes beyond the collapsed tree, the trail wandered around the right side of a pretty meadow and then back to the “V” of the dry stream.
For the next mile or so, the trail followed a typical down-canyon route. On the way down, there were some spots where I stopped, turned around, and made a mental note of what the trail did. It wasn’t so much a matter of getting lost, as it was not wasting time at an ambiguous spot on the way back.
About 2.3 miles down from the saddle, the trail climbed out of the canyon, taking a counterintuitive turn to the right. After reaching a ridgeline, the trail turned back left and continued downhill. But its wanderings were not over. The trail was working across the gullies at the top of the San Emigdio Mesa. It went up, down, and around, but eventually did go to Mesa Spring. There were “ducks” marking the route, but it really helped to have looked at a map and have a general idea of where the trail would go.
Mesa Spring is a pretty green spot in a group of pinyon pines. As I neared the spring, I saw some coyote-like ears bobbing through the sagebrush, and not long after that, a deer bounded through the trees. At the spring, a squirrel leaped from the edge of the water-filled cistern to a nearby tree and various birds flittered in the pines. I heard a trickle of water near the cistern’s base but planned to get water at Sheep Camp, later in the run.
With its bounty of pinyon pine nuts, acorns, juniper berries, game, and more, San Emigdio Mesa provided vital resources for the local Chumash.
Although the Mesa Spring Trail continues down the mesa, the spring was my turnaround point. I had waited for a day when the weather was better for this run. A weak low-pressure trough moving through to the north had stirred up a little wind and taken the edge off the recent heatwave. It had been cool on the crest, but at 6000′ it was already hot in the sun. It was time to get moving, and in a few minutes, I was retracing my steps and headed back to Mt. Pinos.
With a stop at Sheep Camp, the run & hike worked out to about 20 miles, with an elevation gain of around 4700′. Here are a few photos taken along the way, and an interactive 3D view of the trail run.
Some related posts: Mt. Pinos to Mt. Abel Out & Back – Plus Sawmill Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Sheep Camp, Up, Down and Around on Mt. Pinos’ Tumamait and North Fork Trails
Acmon Blue Butterfly on Narrow-leaved Milkweed
An Acmon Blue butterfly on narrow-leaved milkweed on Lasky Mesa.
From a run in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch) on August 6, 2020.
Some related posts: Painted Lady Butterflies in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, Checkerspot Along the Garapito Trail, Tiger Swallowtail on Snow Plant
Southern California Trail Running Temps
If today’s forecasts hold, it looks like Southern California could be in for a multi-day bout of very hot weather. Not only is the weekend forecast to be hot, but next week could be hot as well.
With the addition of Southern California Edison’s 480+ weather stations to existing NWS, RAWS, APRSWXNET/CWOP, and other networks, it’s now possible to find the temperature near many trails and trailheads in Southern California.
Below are MESOWEST links that will display maps with the temperatures recorded in the last hour. You’ll need to click the “View Profile Without Logging In” button to display the map. It isn’t necessary to join MESOWEST to display the map.
Stations in the Los Angeles/Oxnard CWA – generally Los Angeles County north to San Luis Obispo County
Stations in the San Diego CWA – generally Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties south to San Diego County
In most cases wind, solar, and humidity/dewpoint data are available as well as temperature. Some stations include precipitation and fuel temperature. You may need to drag the map to see a particular station. Click on a station icon for more info.
In addition to the online weather stations, the ALERTWildfire Cams and AirNow Fire & Smoke Map websites are also helpful in assessing conditions.
For official reports, forecasts and warnings, check the NWS web site.
Related post: Run to the Cheeseboro Remote Automated Weather Station
Explosive Growth of the Lake Fire
The photographs above show the rapid development of the pyrocumulus clouds associated with the Lake Fire, near Lake Hughes. The timestamps are approximate.
According to the Lake Fire incident page, the fire was first reported on August 12th at 3:40 p.m.
The photographs were taken during a run at Sage Ranch Park. This is the location of the Sage Peak1 and Sage Peak2 ALERTWildfire cams.
Related post: Did Lightning Start the 2002 Curve Fire?