The Angeles National Forest Trail Race starts and ends on top of Mt. Wilson. This was the view south over Pasadena and the Los Angeles Basin from the mountain-top parking lot, about an hour and a half before sunrise and the start of the race.
Related post: The Angeles National Forest (Mt. Disappointment) Trail Race Returns
Here are a few images from a meandering run in Malibu Creek State Park on the Cistern, Lookout, Crags Road, Forest, and Chaparral Trails.
Some related posts:
– Spring Fever Running the Phantom Loop in Malibu Creek State Park
– Malibu Creek State Park: Lake Vista Ridge, the Forest Trail, and September Wildflowers
– Afternoon Run on the Forest and Lost Cabin Trails in Malibu Creek State Park
Even with the warm weather, it was beginning to feel a little like Fall in the San Gabriel Mountains. Yellow goldenrod and red California fuchsia bloomed along the trail, and the canyon live oaks were covered in green acorns.
I was back on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop and having a better time of it than in June. The June run had been near the Summer Solstice, with in-the-sun temperatures reaching 100°F. Today’s run was a few days away from the Fall Equinox. Not only was the temperature about 10 degrees cooler, the sun was lower in the sky and less intense.
But much was the same as in June. There was still plenty of whitethorn on the first couple of miles of the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail — and a few prickly passages for anyone wearing shorts and short sleeves. Some trailwork had been done higher on the mountain, but a few fallen trees were still on the trail. Most of these were easy to step over, around, under, or through.
There was very little monsoon rainfall this Summer, but consecutive wet rainy season and a tropical storm had already recharged the seeps and small creeks. The creeks were only slightly lower than in June, and the places that had been wet and muddy in June were still wet and muddy. At Waterman Meadow, a few late-season blooms of sneezeweed beamed yellow in the midst of the greens of the grass and ferns.
The high point of the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail is near the junction with the trail to the summit of Waterman and the trail that comes up from Highway 2. It’s at an elevation of about 7686′. Including detours to get around downed trees, the junction is a bit more than 6 miles from Three Points. The junction marks the start of a nearly 2000′ descent over 4.7 miles to the PCT in Cooper Canyon.
This morning, I encountered no one on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail and only one pair of hikers on the normally busy Mt. Waterman Trail. Buckhorn Campground was nearly empty. I topped off my water at a convenient faucet at the campground and then started down the Burkhart Trail.
The creek in the canyon below the Burkhart Trail happily bubbled and gurgled, its water easily outpacing me as I descended to the PCT. Some work had been done on the trail to help those hiking to Cooper Canyon Falls cross the muddy seeps. Near one seep, a patch of dazzling red California fuchsia contrasted sharply with the coal black of a tree burned in the Bobcat Fire.
I wouldn’t say the trail has been abandoned, but it’s been quite a while since any trailwork has been done on the PCT between the Burkhart Trail and Cloudburst Summit. A mass of trees is still blocking the trail near the creek crossing at the bottom of Cooper Canyon. As expected following a fire, trees continue to fall on the trail. Parts of the trail along the creek or near seeps are overgrown with “Hey Bear!” willows.
The PCT in Cooper Canyon has been isolated by the 19-year closure to protect the critically endangered mountain yellow-legged frog. In December 2005, Angeles National Forest “temporarily” closed the Williamson Rock climbing area and the PCT between Eagle’s Roost and the Burkhart Trail. This Summer, the Forest Service extended the closure to at least December 31, 2026.
It’s difficult to accept that the Forest Service, conservation groups, and involved agencies have not agreed on a solution. Can’t the short stretch of the PCT that impacts frog habitat be rerouted? Only a few climbs at Williamson Rock directly impact the frog habitat. Does the entire climbing area need to be closed? Can’t bridges, walkways, and other structures be used to protect and even enhance frog habitat? There has to be solution. In 2005, I could not have imagined that 21 years later Williamson Rock would still be closed, and I might not have the opportunity to climb there again.
On this run, it wasn’t necessary to stop at Cooper Camp to cool off. Although the temperature was in the 90s on the south-facing slopes traversed by the PCT, there was a bit of a cooling breeze. This and the lower sun angle made it far more pleasant than earlier in the year.
Continuing up the trail above Cooper Camp, I could see smoke from a flare-up on the north flank of the Bridge Fire. Closures related to the Bridge Fire will further isolate the Cooper Canyon segment of the PCT. Multi-year closures are common on the Angeles, and often the closures include popular trails that were not burned.
From Cloudburst Summit, it’s a little over five miles of (mostly) downhill to Three Points. Most of the running is on an old road bed. Although it can be tedious — especially when it’s hot — the segment is relatively fast-paced. Depending on the year, there are usually a couple of places to soak a hat and pour water over your head. But, as I learned one hot day, a rattlesnake may take exception to your intrusion!
Some related posts:
– Bridge Fire Perimeter and Some Area Trails
– Facing a Future of Runaway Wildfires in Southern California
– Hot Weather on the Three Points Loop
– Williamson Rock
It was a sobering sight. I had stopped at a point on Mt. Waterman burned by the Station Fire in 2009 and the Bobcat Fire in 2020.
To the east, smoke from the Bridge Fire filled the canyons and clung to the ridges between Mt. Baldy and the East Fork San Gabriel River. A group of skeletal Jeffrey pines, once full and green, stood starkly in the foreground.
Another devastating fire had stormed through the San Gabriel Mountains, destroying homes and ravaging the forest and all that lives within. Not far away, the Line and Airport Fires were also burning, the extent of the three fires totaling over 117,500 acres.
Conventional methods of land and fire management usually do not prevent the rapid spread of a fire when forest or weather conditions are extreme — and extreme conditions are now the norm.
Incremental changes to long-established policies will not be enough to prevent runaway wildfires. Novel approaches must be considered, researched and evaluated. New tools and technology, including AI, need to be more widely applied. The hesitancy to spend money proactively must be overcome.
Today, it is difficult to do a hike or run of more than a few miles in the foothills or mountains of Southern California without passing through an area that has been burned in the past 25 years. In 50, 100, or 200 years what will the outdoor experience be? Will conifers only exist in widely scattered stands? Will the ecology be forever compromised?
Every effort must be made to mitigate the impacts of runaway wildfires and preserve the nature and ecology of our open space areas and wildlands.
Some related posts:
– Bridge Fire Perimeter and Some Area Trails
– After the Bobcat and Station Fires: Three Points Loop Around Mt. Waterman
– After the Station Fire: Pine Seedling Along the Mt. Waterman Trail
– Waterman Mountain: Fallen Trees, Forest and Ferns
– After the Station Fire: Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop
It was near dawn, and I was driving west on the 101 Freeway, going to the Wendy Drive Trailhead to do a run in Pt. Mugu State Park.
I’d just passed Moorpark Road and changed lanes to exit at Lynn Road. Suddenly, the whole car started to shake. The vibration was so intense it took a moment to realize I had a flat tire. [Expletive deleted!] I pulled onto the shoulder of the freeway and cursed again.
After decades without a flat, I had managed to have two in just three weeks. Both were early on Sunday morning and on the way to do a run. The first happened on Angeles Forest Highway while driving to Islip Saddle. That time, I was able to pull into a large turnout and change the tire. Traffic wasn’t an issue. Not so on the Ventura Freeway. The flat was on the driver’s side, and the shoulder was narrow. I called for service.
Apparently, there aren’t many roadside service vehicles out and about before sunrise on a Sunday. An hour and a half later, I was finally headed back to the San Fernando Valley.
I was first in line when Tires Buy Mark opened at 10:00. While waiting for the tire to be patched, I debated a Plan B for a run. Eventually, I decided to do an extended version of the Bulldog Loop. The run would be in the middle of the day, which wasn’t ideal, but it was nearby. It would be an excellent 16-mile run, even if a little on the toasty side.
At 11:30, I started up the short hill at the beginning of the Cistern Trail. Even though it wasn’t an unusually hot day, the temperature in the sun was already in the 90s, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
It was slightly cooler on the trail along Malibu Creek. There was still water pooled in the creek, and I was glad the seasonal footbridge was in place. A pool near the M*A*S*H site was surprisingly large.
I expected it to be warm on the Bulldog climb, and it was. I just pretended I was on the second loop of the Bulldog 50K and continued chugging up the hill. Speaking of which… The Bulldog Ultra was the previous weekend, and a new course record was set in the 50K. Anthony Fagundes did the 29 mile course in the remarkable time of 3:30:03. This works out to an AVERAGE pace of 7:15 min/mile! His race analysis on Strava lists a split on the downhill on Mesa Peak Mtwy fire road at 5:25 min/mile. I don’t have the exact time, but on the first loop it looks like he did the Bulldog climb — from Crags Rd. to Castro Crest Mtwy — in about 30 minutes.
It took me a little longer than that to get up Bulldog. There was a noticeable drop in temperature as I worked up to the top of the long climb. On Castro Crest and Mesa Peak fire roads, the temperature was a relatively comfortable 80-something. The breeze from the ocean was intermittent, but when present, felt like air conditioning.
There weren’t many wildflowers. One interesting exception was Santa Susana tarweed (Deinandra minthornii). It was blooming on the sandstone rocks where the Backbone Trail goes through a prominent rock gateway, east of the Corral Canyon Trailhead.
The plant has a California Rare Plant Rank of 1B.2, which means it is considered “rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere…” The plant normally blooms after Winter rains. In the ANF technical notes** accompanying its description on SMMflowers.org, B. A. Prigge & A. C. Gibson describe how the plant may produce out-of-season flowers in the Summer, following a wet rain season with late Spring precipitation.
Here is an interactive, high-resolution, 3D terrain view of a variation of the Bulldog Loop that starts at the Cistern Trail. The notations assume the route is being done counterclockwise. An optional out-and-back on the Forest Trail is shown as a red track. Two routes are shown for crossing Malibu Creek in Tapia Park. One route uses a trail that rock-hops across the creek, and the other the bridge on Malibu Canyon Road, near the Piuma Road junction.
The option on Malibu Canyon Road requires crossing the highway twice. There is a pedestrian walkway on the east side of the bridge and a traffic light and crosswalk at Piuma Road. The trail that crosses the creek directly can be a little tricky to find because of other use trails in the area. When there is heavy rain, the flow may be too high to cross the creek safely.
Today, I decided to use the highway. There was a never-ending line of cars headed to and from the beach. It probably would have been faster — and safer — to use the trail. After crossing the creek on the highway bridge, and before doing the climb on the Tapia Spur Trail, I topped off my water at a faucet in the Tapia Day Use Area. Later, I also grabbed a quick drink at the water faucet next to the restrooms at the main Malibu Creek State Park parking lot.
From the main parking lot, it’s about 1.4 miles along Crags Road to the bottom of the Lookout Trail, and from there another three-quarters of a mile back to the Cistern Trailhead on Mulholland Highway.
Some related posts:
– A Displaced Bridge, Exceptional Backbone Trail Views, and a Card Table Along the Bulldog Loop
– Forest Run
– Best Trailhead to Start the Bulldog Loop?
– Bulldog Loop Plus the Phantom Loop
**A Naturalist’s Flora of the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, California by Barry A. Prigge and Arthur C. Gibson
Above are thumbnails of a few photos from the 16-mile out-and-back trail run to Mt. Baden-Powell from the Islip Saddle Trailhead. Click on an image for a larger photo and more information.
I plucked a currant from the bush and popped it into my mouth. In some years, the red berries are little more than a desiccated bit of pulp. This year’s crop was plump, flavorful, and almost could be described as juicy.
Almost two months had passed since I’d been on the PCT between Islip Saddle and Mt. Baden-Powell. Not a lot changed in the routine of the city in those seven weeks. The street sweeper still came by on Wednesday mornings, the trash was picked up each Friday, and the neighborhood looked pretty much the same as it did at the end of June.
But a lot happens along a mountain trail in seven weeks. The Poodle-dog bush was now wilted and brown. Currants and elderberries had ripened. Rabbitbrush, the messenger of Fall, was blooming, its yellow replacing the pastel purple of Grinnell’s beardtongue. Chinquapin bushes were covered in spiny, green nut burs. Pendulous, resin-coated cones hung from the ends of the long limbs of the sugar pines.
Angeles Crest Highway was still closed between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap. Gone was the noise of vehicles on the road below, replaced by the sound of the wind in the trees and the occasional outburst of a Clark’s nutcracker.
At the saddle near Mt. Hawkins, I stopped to photograph the stump of the Mt. Hawkins lightning tree. Perhaps weakened by one or more lightning strikes, this Jeffrey pine lost its crown during the Winter of 2019-2020. Now without bark, it’s easy to see that lightning followed the spiral grain of the tree. This tree has a right-hand spiral grain. When viewed from above, it is twisted counterclockwise.
Once again, the visibility from the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell was excellent. San Gorgonio (57 miles) and San Jacinto (72 miles) could be seen far to the east.
It was windy and cool at higher elevation. The National Weather Service’s Wind Chill Temperature formula doesn’t apply to temperatures over 50°F, but with bare arms and legs, it can be surprisingly chilly when there is a strong wind and the temperature is in the 60s. Had I not been pushing the pace, I would have needed to pull the sleeves and shell from my pack.
Here is an interactive, high resolution, 3D terrain view of the out and back from Islip Saddle to Mt. Baden-Powell. An alternative start at the Windy Gap Trailhead in the Crystal Lake Recreation Area is also shown. Starting at this trailhead adds about 800′ of elevation gain. The map can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned using the navigation control on the right. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Poor weather and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.
Some related posts:
– Out and Back Trail Run from Islip Saddle to Mt. Baden-Powell – July 2024 Update
– Mt. Hawkins Lightning Tree
– It’s Mid-July And There Is Still Snow in Los Angeles County!