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Backbone Trail Training 2014 – Kanan to Mishe Mokwa to Wendy Drive

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Backbone Trail Ultra Training Run #2 2014

Rock Formations Along Wet Fork Arroyo Sequit from the Backbone Trail

The Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra was one of the most enjoyable runs I did last year. The low key approach with the emphasis on the experience rather than the clock was the perfect fit for my first 100K+ run. To be able to run the entire Backbone Trail with great support, company and entertainment was fantastic.

Today’s run — the second of four 2014 Backbone Ultra training runs — was from Kanan Road to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead near Circle X. This approximately 15 mile segment is one of the most scenic on the Backbone Trail with expansive views and superlative sections of single track trail. The 850′ climb from Encinal Canyon to Etz Meloy Motorway is so well-graded you (almost) don’t realize you’re gaining elevation.

I was looking to get in some extra mileage and it turned out running cohort Ann Ongena was as well. Ann was marking the course for the training run, so the plan was to do the Kanan to Mishe Mokwa segment and then continue from Mishe Mokwa another 13 miles or so to the Wendy Drive trailhead in Newbury Park.



A little before dawn Backbone Ultra RD Howard Cohen dropped us off at the Kanan Road trailhead and then headed back to Mishe Mokwa to coordinate the training run. The temp at the trailhead was around 60 degrees, which is about 30 degrees warmer than last year’s frosty training run on this segment.

For some reason my GPS watch was a little slow to sync with the satellites, and while I waited Ann was already busy on the trail. Course markings don’t have to be numerous or obtrusive to be effective. The few markers she would place would be removed by Tres when he swept the course.



The run from Kanan to Mishe Mokwa went well. As has been the case too often this Winter, the weather was nearly ideal for running. Last year at this time Downtown Los Angeles had recorded 4.35 inches of rain for the water year (since July 1). That was well below average. This water year to date we’ve only recorded 0.97 inch of rain — a meager amount and less than in the record driest water year of 2006-2007.

On this run and all the runs I’ve been doing this Winter I’ve been looking at how the chaparral plants deal with drought. Generally, they reduce their water needs by not flowering, remaining dormant, dropping leaves, producing much smaller leaves, folding or rolling their leaves and in other ways. Some annuals simply don’t germinate. Some plants such as chamise, with its needle-like leaves, deal with drought well; others such as bush monkeyflower are barely recognizable.



As I reached the high point of the Yerba Buena segment of the BBT above Mishe Mokwa and Circle X I vividly recalled being there during last year’s Backbone Ultra. It was about 9:30 at night and I had been running for 15 hours. I could see the lights of the aid station in the valley below and then heard — or thought I heard — cheers for a runner reaching the aid station. Although barely audible, those cheers picked up my spirits as much as they did the runner reaching the aid station!

I didn’t hear any shouts from Mishe Mokwa this morning, but the thought made me smile. Overhead the layer of clouds which had been with us most of the morning was beginning to dissipate, and the temperature was beginning to climb. Across the valley Boney Mountain’s iconic rock formations stood in relief against a mackerel sky and I stopped a couple of times to photograph the scene.



At Mishe Mokwa we enjoyed the fare at Howard’s & Victoria’s rolling aid station and relaxed for a few minutes as a large group of hikers assembled and then started up the trail.

When marking a course it’s preferable that when the main group finishes the run the course-markers be comfortably ensconced in folding lounge chairs, an IPA in hand, sweat-free and looking as they have been there for hours. With more miles to cover I substituted a soda for the IPA and after about 10 leisurely minutes we followed in the hiker’s footsteps and continued up the Backbone Trail to a busy Sandstone Peak — the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.

After spending a few minutes on the summit of the popular peak we worked over to the west junction of the Tri Peaks Trail, then down the Chamberlain, Old Boney and Blue Canyon trails to Sycamore Canyon. Here we left the Backbone Trail and enjoyed a little easy running up Sycamore Canyon to the Upper Sycamore Trail. Upper Sycamore ends at Danielson Road, which we followed to Satwiwa and trails that connect to Wendy Drive.

Some related posts: Backbone Trail Training 2014 – Stunt to Kanan, Backbone Ultra – Training Run #2 (2013), Backbone Ultra 2013

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Mid January Trail Run from Islip Saddle to Mt. Baden-Powell

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Mt. Burnham from the PCT in the San Gabriel Mountains, near Los Angeles
Mt. Burnham from the PCT
It’s been warm in Southern California. Thursday Bob Hope Airport reached a high of 90 degrees and it seems every couple of days another high temperature record is broken or one SoCal city or another is the hottest spot in the nation.
Not only has it been really warm, it’s been really dry. Downtown Los Angeles recorded only 0.2 inch of rain in December and not a measurable drop of rain has fallen so far this January. We already set the record for the driest calendar year, and at the moment we’re vying for the driest water year on record.
The PCT just west of Mt. Hawkins during the unusually warm and dry Winter of 2013-2014.

The PCT just west of Mt. Hawkins. January 18, 2014.

The unusually warm and dry weather made me wonder what the conditions were like in the Angeles high country. Might the PCT be runnable between Islip Saddle (6650′) and Mt. Baden-Powell (9399′)? As warm and as dry as its been, how much snow could there be?

At Islip Saddle there was very little snow. Here and there tiny remnants hid under the snowbush, but for the most part the north slopes of Mt. Islip looked more like July than January.


I encountered the first larger patches of snow and ice in the deeply shaded corners of trail before Little Jimmy Campground and Spring. It was easily traversed, but reminded me of November runs on San Jacinto Peak and San Gorgonio Mountain, when early season snow had melted and refrozen, turning sections of trail into a skating rink.
The thing is, it doesn’t take a lot of snow to transform a straightforward trail run into a slip and slide adventure, especially when the snow is icy. As warm as it was in the sun, several sections of the PCT between Islip and Baden-Powell never see the sun in Winter and were surprisingly cold. Even if it was 80-something degrees in the lowlands.


In this case if you wanted to bypass most of the snow patches you could do that by following the crest. On the way to Baden-Powell I tried to stay on the trail to see what sections were clear.  On the way back I climbed Mt. Burnham, Throop Peak, Mt. Hawkins and a couple other peaklets, so stayed on the crest.
Here’s a very short video (under 2 minutes) that will give you an idea what the conditions were like.
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Backbone Trail Training 2014 – Stunt to Kanan

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Backbone Trail Training 2014 - Stunt to Kanan
With the 2nd Annual Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra a mere 62 days away 28 assorted trail runners gathered under the tutelage of Mike Epler for Backbone Training Run #1.
The run was from the top of Stunt Road, at about mile 18 of the BBT, to Kanan Road at about mile 37. The segment included one of the three big climbs on the BBT and near Saddle Peak reached the second highest point on the Backbone Trail. Race day the segment will follow a long climb from Topanga Canyon up Hondo Canyon to Fossil Ridge. The elevation gain on the approximately 19 mile run was around 3400 feet and the elevation loss about 4300 feet.
It was a superb run on an excellent section of the Backbone Trail! Here’s a short slideshow with a few photos from the run.

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A Little Green in Las Llajas Canyon

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Las Llajas Canyon, in the eastern Simi Valley

Not everywhere is parched and brown in moisture-starved Southern California. There are a few places that have slurped up a few extra raindrops and are turning green.

This patch of green is in Las Llajas Canyon, in the eastern Simi Valley. Judging from the green growth and dried mud on the road in the upper part of the canyon, there must have been some extra rainfall here. There was even some water in one section of the creek.

Las Llajas Canyon is part of the 50K & 30K courses in the Bandit Trail Runs coming up February 16, 2014 at Corriganville Park in Simi Valley, CA.

Note: The Bandit Trail Runs event is now Rocky Peak Trails.

Some related posts: Bandit 50K 2013 Notes, Las Llajas Longhorns, Chumash-Las Llajas Loop

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New Year’s Eve Spectacular

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New Year's Eve Spectacular

With some long runs looming in the not too distant future it seems many of my runs are ending after dark — even on New Year’s Eve.

There’s an extra measure of involvement when the sun is setting and it’s an hour back to the trailhead. Yes, it’s easy to carry a headlamp, but it’s more fun to try and get along without it. Without the headlamp you become part of your surroundings, with it you’re just a visitor.