The temp was in the 40s and the chaparral wet with rain when we started the run. We were doing a two part trail run. The first part would be the 15 mile segment of the Backbone Trail from Kanan Rd. to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead on Yerba Buena Rd. The second would be the 6 mile Mishe Mokwa – Sandstone Peak loop.
The weak front that produced the overnight rain had marched on, and now skies were clear and it was a little breezy. As has been the case with many weather systems this year, there hadn’t been a lot of rain. Though muddy in spots, the Backbone Trail was in surprisingly good shape, and the running excellent.
In addition to the greening of the hills and the sprouting of many annuals, the frequent, light rains had also created perfect conditions for the growth of a variety of mushrooms and other fungi. Fortunately I was running with a sharp-eyed mushroom collector from the PNW that could pick out partially buried earth stars and other mushrooms among the leaves, twigs and other debris in the deep shade along the trail.
Here are three of the more peculiar fungi. Click the image for more info and a larger image.
Although we didn’t have the deluge they experienced in Central and Northern California, Southern California did get some rain. From Tuesday night (11/27) to Monday morning (12/3) Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded 1.03 inches, bringing the water year total to 1.36 inches. As of today that’s 1.08 inch below normal.
Some foothill and mountain stations were able to wring out much more rain from the moist tropical flow. Opids Camp recorded 3.02 inches, White Ledge Peak 4.09 inches, Refugio Pass 4.61 inches, and Rocky Butte 8.51 inches. For some storm totals from up north and more info about the “atmospheric rivers” that relayed the moisture up from the tropics, see my December 8 post on Southern California Weather Notes.
The photo above was taken between “storms” early Sunday morning, December 2, on a run in Topanga State Park. It started to rain shortly after I finished the run.
It looks like we might get a little more rain this next week, with a chance of rain on Wednesday and then maybe again on the weekend. We’ll see!
Because of our warmer Mediterranean climate with dry Summers and (sometimes) wet Winters, many of Southern California’s lower elevation native trees and shrubs benefit from retaining their leaves in Winter and are not deciduous.
Those native trees that are deciduous don’t usually grow in dense stands or show their fall colors in a dramatic fashion.
Some of the Southern California trees found at low elevation that are deciduous are valley oak, sycamore, willow, cottonwood, ash, alder, elderberry and walnut.
From last Sunday’s run in Malibu Creek State Park.
The view west from the Phantom Trail in Malibu Creek State Park to the Boney Mountain massif a few minutes after sunset.
The highest point in the Santa Monica Mountain Range, Sandstone Peak (3111′), is the triangular-shaped peak on the skyline on the right-center of the photograph.
Most of the Santa Monica Mountain Range is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Comprised of more than 150,000 acres and 500 miles of trails, the SMMNRA is the largest urban national park in the United States.
