Simi Valley, with the snowy mountains of Los Padres National Forest beyond.
From a run at Sage Ranch Park.
Category Archives: photography|landscape
Lasky Mesa Sunset
The pyramidal peak on the skyline on the right is Sandstone Peak (3111′), the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains.
From a run on Lasky Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve — formerly Ahmanson Ranch. January 9, 2008.
Related post: Balance Rock
Boney Mountain Half Marathon – January 2008
Every event has its own personality and character. The XTERRA Boney Mountain Half Marathon is a trail running classic, with superb single track trails, fantastic views, grueling climbs, and fast, fast downhills. The longer climbs are on the single track sections of the course, and the descents generally on roads or old road beds. This results in a challenging course with 2600′ of elevation gain/loss, that — for the fleet-footed — can be very fast.
There are two significant climbs. The big one starts in earnest around mile 6.8 on the Old Boney Trail. This is a little less than a mile past the Danielson aid station. From the low point on the course (295′) in Big Sycamore Canyon at mile 5.5 to the high point of the course (1820′) at mile 9.75, there is a gain of about 1700′ and loss of about 175′ in elevation.
The Old Boney climb is tough, no doubt. But you have to be careful not to overlook the nearly 700′ of climb (and a little downhill) between mile 1.8 and mile 4. Early in the race, full of energy and charged with endorphins and adrenaline, it’s easy to push this section too hard. Runners tend to be more tightly grouped, and a dynamic develops that pushes the pace.
I managed to avoid that trap, and other than slipping at the first creek crossing and almost diving for mud snails, my race went reasonably well. The group of runners I tended to be around were upbeat and experienced, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the day. The weather was about as good as it gets for a race — cool and clear and without much wind. The trail was still damp from heavy rain earlier in the month, but there was almost no mud.
I took a water bottle and 3 GUs and skipped most of the aid stations. In my case I think this saved time, and I stayed better hydrated than if I had run without a bottle.
This year’s overall winner, Jonathan Toker, flew through the course in 1:36:30, averaging 7:22 minute miles! The overall Women’s winner was Julie Jakoboski with a time of 1:54:05. Full results can be found on the Boney Mountain Trail Run web page. Many thanks to the crew at Generic Events, and all of the race volunteers, for a great race!
Here’s a Google Earth image and an interactive 3D terrain view of a GPS trace of the Boney Mountain Half Marathon course.
Sobering note: In 2006 Sal Bautista ran the course in 1:31:11, averaging 6:58 minute miles!
Rainy Days on Rocky Peak Road
Ran Rocky Peak road both days last weekend. Saturday’s outing was a 7.3 mile rainy day run out to the Chumash Trail junction and back. Sunday’s was a little longer, about 9.3 miles — past the Chumash Trail junction to the highpoint on the road sometimes referred to as “the fossils.”
The photograph of Simi Valley was taken on Sunday afternoon, just after turning around to head back. The wind was blowing in fitful gusts, and a gray wall of rain loomed to the west. It wasn’t raining yet, but the trailhead at Santa Susana Pass was about 50 minutes away, and there was a feeling things were going to get very wet, very soon.
Over the weekend the west coast was slammed by a series of storms that increased the water year rainfall total at Downtown Los Angeles to an inch above normal and the Sierra snow pack from 60% of normal to over 100%.
So far this rain season, Southern California has dodged a La Nina bullet. This AHPS Precipitation Analysis for the water year indicates much of the area has received near normal to above normal precipitation.
Will Southern California rainfall remain near normal? The Climate Prediction Center’s precipitation outlook for Jan-Feb-Mar (issued Dec. 20), the ERSL/PSD Nov-Mar La Nina precipitation composite, and most other longer range forecast tools say no.
On the other hand… the base state of the atmospheric circulation remains more or less what it has been the past several months, so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that our pattern of near normal rainfall might continue.
The current NWS 6-10 day and 8-14 day precipitation outlooks project below normal for Southern California, but there are some hints that a system with a lower latitude track could affect the area near the end of the 14 day period. We’ll see!
Note: The ESRL/PSD Composite ENSO plots page was updated yesterday to correct an issue that resulted in the wrong set of years being used for its Winter La Nina composites. As a result the La Nina composite precipitation map in this post is drier in coastal Southern California than in the map originally published in the post Southern California 2007-2008 Winter Precipitation Outlook.
Fog Along Malibu Creek
Fog along Malibu Creek in Malibu Creek State Park. Saddle Peak is in the distance, with the San Gabriel Mountains beyond.
Taken from the Bulldog fire road on last Sunday’s Bulldog Loop.
Bulldog Loop and the Corral Fire
Quiet and cold, the fog enveloped the sycamore trees along the creek and wrapped my thoughts and footfalls in a chilling shroud. I had just started the Bulldog loop and was running along a frosty road in Tapia Park. Suddenly there was a rustle and a blur of brown. Two deer darted in opposite directions. One ran toward the creek, stopping about 50 yards away. The other crossed the road in front of me, stopped at its margin, and from a distance of about 15 feet, calmly watched me run past.
I followed the dirt road another quarter-mile to the start of the Tapia Spur Trail and worked up the trail to a plastic bottle-littered pass. Along the way, I’d picked up an empty snack bag, and a couple of soda cans. Improvised trash bag overflowing, I headed down into Malibu Creek State Park.
Except for a short detour around Malibu Gorge and Century Lake, the route along Crags Road follows the meandering course of Malibu Creek. Near the M*A*S*H site, the sky began to lighten, and on the Bulldog grade, I climbed out of the fog and into a dazzling Winter sun.
Curling clouds clung to the hillside as if trying to pull the sunlit carpet of chaparral down into the gloom. Warmed by the sun, I continued the long climb to the Bulldog – Castro Crest “T.” This intersection is at about mile 8 on the 14 mile loop.
It was not until I was descending the fire road near the top of Corral Canyon that the first scars of the Corral Fire could be seen. Originating in this area, the November 2007 fire destroyed 53 homes and consumed 4901 acres.
The first burned area directly on the Bulldog route was in the rocks east of Corral Canyon Rd., at about mile 9.25. From here to about mile 12, near the junction of the Tapia and Mesa Peak motorways, the fire was generally limited to the area south of the Mesa Peak Motorway. However, it did cross the road at a few points.
Where the loop begins its descent to Malibu Canyon (by the water tank), the single track trail had been bulldozed to restore a section of fire road destroyed years ago by a landslide. After stopping for a moment at the bottom of the new road to chat with a hiker, I turned left onto Tapia Motorway and began the two mile descent back to the car.
Here is a Google Earth image and a Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the Bulldog Loop, with the 11-27-07 GEOMAC Corral Fire perimeter added.
Note: Mileages are approximate and measured by GPS from the intersection of Piuma Rd. and Malibu Canyon Rd.
Related posts: Backbone, Bulldog & Beyond, Rock Formations Along the Backbone Trail