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You Can Run From the Wind, But You Can’t…

first published January 5, 2014 & last updated October 6, 2023 Gary Valle

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Strong winds on Mugu Peak

Offshore wind events have been frequent this rain season. They often follow “inside slider” systems that miss Southern California and take a more inland track over the West. The result is more wind and less rain.

Los Angeles wrapped up calendar year 2013 with the least amount of rainfall on record. When talking about rainfall in Southern California it is more common to refer to the “rain year” which runs from July 1 to June 30. (The water year was changed to October 1 to September 30,)

So when was the driest rain year in Los Angeles? It was just a few years ago, in 2006-2007 when only 3.21 inches of rain was recorded. It was also driest water year on record with only 3.73 inches of rain.

There were also many wind events in that dry rain season, and like this January not a lot of green in the hills. To date we have had less rainfall this water year than in 2006-2007!

For the most part this Fall and Winter I’ve been able to work around the wind events and do runs that more or less escaped the wind. I thought that was going to be the case again today. The predicted offshore event seemed to be behind schedule and when I left for the Wendy Drive trailhead there wasn’t much wind.

There were stirrings of an offshore breeze at the trailhead and I commented to a hiker that I hoped the winds would hold off until later in the day. The plan was to do the out and back run from Wendy Drive to Mugu Peak. Because of the myriad of route choices, this is a fun run to do as a time challenge. What is the fastest route? Try it and see.

Things looked good all the way down Sycamore Canyon and into La Jolla Valley, but the wind started to pick up as I worked toward Mugu Peak.

Once on the peak it was like flipping a switch on a wind tunnel! I was ahead of my PR to the peak by several minutes and I was trying to push the pace. That was not happening and several times I had to pause and put a hand down as I staggered in the middle of a big step.

I caught up to a couple of people just before the final steep push to the summit. The wind flow was not as turbulent and gusty here and one of them started to run. With each stride the dust streaked from his shoes. I stopped to take some photos and this short video clip. The smoother winds didn’t last for long, and neither did the running.

Mugu Peak’s next door neighbor to the west, Laguna Peak, has recorded a wind gust of 125 mph. In this photo from Boney Mountain Mugu Peak is on the far left and Laguna Peak has the communications equipment on the summit. Today I’d estimate the strongest gusts on Mugu Peak were in the range of 50-60 mph. The winds were strong enough that the sewn end of a fluttering strap was like a whip and just as capable of raising a welt.

I spent zero time on the summit and was very happy to get back down to La Jolla Valley.

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Run, Lop and Shiver – Trail Work with the SMMTC on the Chamberlain Trail

first published December 7, 2013 & last updated April 27, 2018 Gary Valle

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No big deal, so the temp was in the low 40s and it was a little windy… and rainy… and my work gloves were sopping wet… Yes, Victoria did say she hadn’t been this cold since leaving Russia, but how bad could it be — Mike and Jeanne were wearing SHORTS. I quietly whimpered and lopped off another limb of encroaching chamise. If I kept lopping maybe no one would notice how much I was shivering.

Logistically, the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail is one of the more challenging trails in the Santa Monica Mountains to maintain. It’s difficult to get all the tools and people to the trail and out again and still have time to do a few hours of work.

Coordinating with the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, Howard Cohen, RD of the Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra, rounded up a bunch of trusting folk that will do just about anything if running in the mountains is involved.

Starting at the Wendy Drive trailhead runners hoofed it over Boney Mountain to the top of the Chamberlain Trail — about a two hour run/hike — then lopped, and sawed and cleared their way down the trail until told to stop. Then they ran back to their cars.

If the smiles (of relief?) at the end of the day were any indication, good, clean fun was had by all — even if it was a little damp and chilly.

Here are a few additional photos from the adventure. Click for a larger version of the photo.

Boney Mountain	Front Moving In	Soups On
Chamberlain Trail	Wrapping It Up	Clearing Clouds
After Work	Scott	Jeanne & Howard
Clearing Clouds Panorama		Chamberlain Rock Panorama

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Whiskey Flat Trail Burger & Double Burger Run & Trek 2013

published November 16, 2013 Gary Valle

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Runner on the Whiskey Flat Trail during the 2013 Burger Run

I heard it several seconds before I saw it, a sound like thunder rumbling in the distance, but rapidly growing in strength and intensity as it moved up the rugged river canyon.

I had just completed the mile-long climb that follows the Ant Canyon creek crossing and started the descent from the high point of the Burger Run course. The roar stopped me in my tracks — I did not want to miss sighting one of the fighter aircraft that fly through this canyon.

The weather was as good for flying as for running, mostly clear blue skies with only a tatter of cloud over the mountains. I looked in the direction of the growing sound, but had looked too high. The twin-engine fighter was at eye-level and over the river about a half-mile away.

At Fairview — where the Burger Run ends — the Kern River canyon narrows, with 2500′-3000′ tall mountain ridges closing in on the left and right. It would take me at least 30 minutes to get to the finish, but spellbound I watched as the jet covered the distance in three or four seconds. Approaching the cul-de-sac, the pilot added power, pulled back on the stick and in a steep, climbing turn pulled up and over the rocky ridge on the right, continuing the corkscrewing turn into a roll. Sigh…

Last year a spectacular rainbow had spanned the canyon; this year we’d been treated to a dramatic low level flyby. Whether you come for rainbows, fighter jets, the challenging terrain, or the superb views of the mountains and river, a hike or run of the Whiskey Flat Trail is an outstanding adventure.

The Run-4-A-Way Burger Run & Trek starts at the Burlando Trailhead in Kernville and follows the single track Whiskey Flat Trail up Kern River’s rugged canyon to Johnny McNally’s Fairview Lodge and Restaurant. As the 14.5 mile trail works up river it crosses a series of tributary canyons and ridges, gaining more than 2100′ and losing at least 1300′. It challenges the runner, and most take longer than expected the first time they run (or hike) it. Those seeking even more adventure can do the Double Burger option — starting at Fairview, running to Burlando, and then returning to Fairview.

The annual run and trek is organized by Mike Lane of Run-4-A-Way, a local non-profit group dedicated to enhancing the fitness and well-being of the local youth. Proceeds from the 2013 event will help the Kern Valley High School “Lady Broncs” soccer team with equipment and other expenses. Many thanks to Mike for organizing the event and to the Lady Broncs who managed the Burger Run & Trek aid station.

Related video: F-16 Auto-GCAS Demonstration Flight from Owens Dry Lake, into the Sierra, and down the Kern River.

Following are a few additional photos from the run. Click for a larger image:

Race Meeting	Steep Ascent	Steep Descent
Aid Station	Salmon Buttress & Falls	Fairview

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Kodiak 100 & 50 Mile Ultramarathons 2013

first published September 21, 2013 & last updated March 16, 2024 Gary Valle

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Runner near Cougar Crest in the Kodiak 50 mile ultramarathon.

50 Mile Runner on the PCT Near Cougar Crest Junction

If you’ve driven to Big Bear on Highway 18, you’ve driven the dramatic, twisting, turning, mountain road that seems to be perched on the rim of the world. Whenever I’ve driven that highway I’ve always peered into the chasm it traverses with more than a little awe, some trepidation, and a lot of curiosity.

A little earlier this afternoon, following a path of pink markers, I’d run across the Rim of the World Highway, clambered up to the edge of the world, and plunged into that chasm.

I was at about mile 31 of the Kodiak 50 mile ultramarathon. We’d started our run at 6:00 am at Holcomb Valley Campground — the halfway point of the 100 mile run. The 100 milers had started their counterclockwise circuit of Big Bear Lake at The Village at 6:00 pm the previous evening and run through a cold night.

As I descended the steep, rocky trail deep into the canyon cut by Bear Creek a disconnected sequence of thoughts flew through my mind

“Wow, it’s a long way down…”

“Can’t I run any faster?”

“Is there really going to be a water station at the bottom of this canyon?”

“Prime real estate for rattlesnakes…”

“Those BBQ ribs were pretty good…”

“Wow, we have to go up there???”

High on the ridge to my right I could see the lift towers of Snow Valley and to my left across the canyon was the 3000′ escarpment leading up to the rim of Big Bear. Somewhere up there was one of the largest lodgepole pines in the U.S. and near that the aid station at the top of the Siberia Creek climb.

Although no rain or snow was in the forecast for Big Bear, the weather was still a concern. The first significant weather system of the season was forecast to bring a few inches of snow to the Sierra and stir up cooler and windy weather in the Southern California mountains. The forecast for today (Saturday) had mentioned south to southwest winds gusting to 40 mph “near ridge tops” and “lows 33 to 43” tonight.

So far today the weather had been good; a little breezy in spots, but short-sleeve and shorts weather after the sun had risen and melted away the morning chill. Overnight temps at Big Bear Airport had been near freezing, and I wondered how cold it had been for the 100 milers on 9952′ Sugarloaf Mountain.

Where were the 100 milers? I had seen a couple of the rare beasts leaving the aid station as we parked at the campground for the start of the 50 mile, but that had been it. Aid station volunteers were saying only 4 or 5 100 milers had passed through ahead of us.

Running cohort Ann Ongena, taking advantage of all the miles of high altitude running she did at TransRockies, had picked Kodiak as her first 100. We had talked a lot about the course and the weather and I knew she was well-prepared. Because of the uncertainties of an inaugural event — particularly one of this length and complexity — we both had taken more of a self-supported adventure approach, not taking the mileages as gospel, studying the course, and putting more of what we needed in our packs and drop bags.

For the most part the running on the Pacific Crest Trail this morning had been good. I’d run the stretch of the PCT between Van Dusen Canyon Road and Delamar Mountain Road as part of the Holcomb Valley 33 Mile, but the 11 mile segment from Delamar Mountain Road to Crab Flats Road was new to me.

Much of this part of the PCT was burned in the 14,000 acre Butler 2 Fire in September 2007. Judging from the size of the trunks of the trees and shrubs, the Butler 2 fire was the first large fire in this area in many decades. Recovery is well underway, and it was great to see chest high pine saplings in some areas. Wildland fire seems to be a growing part of the outdoor experience in Southern California. It has become increasingly difficult to do a 20+ mile run and not pass through an area that has been burned in the past decade or so.

The route-finding on the 6.25 miles between Aid Stations #4 and #5 was supposed to be straightforward — stay on the single track PCT. Even with a long curved arrow on the road and pink markers at the start of the trail, the big, smooth, open, inviting dirt road was just too much of a magnet. I hadn’t run 100 yards on the PCT when we stopped to call two runners on the road back to the trail. In some cases runners followed the road all the way to aid station #5. At another point there was a nefarious truck track that diverted a number of runners off the PCT and up a hill.

Earlier in the race some runners turned down the Cougar Crest Trail. Some caught their error within a few steps, but I talked to one runner that added four miles to his run. The junction was reasonably marked, but it is surprisingly easy to make a route-finding mistake like this. If you are not expecting and looking for a junction it can be almost invisible.

The Kodiak 50 course was carefully marked were the route-finding was intricate (Little Green Valley, Green Valley, Snow Valley, Start of Siberia Creek), but infrequently marked were there were no route choices or the route-finding was believed to be straightforward. Like the RD said in the race meeting, there were long stretches with few or no markers. Crab Flats Road comes to mind.

In some races extra markers are added for moral support. Some say too many markers. It isn’t a question of old school or new, but rather race style. This RD made it clear in the race meeting what the style of this race was going to be. Instead of extra markers I started looking at runner’s tracks and noticed a particular Hoka track. It was a smaller size and always on top of the other tracks. If I wanted confirmation I was still on route I’d look for that track, and there it would be — every time!

Lake Arrowhead & Baldy Peaks

Steep Hiking

Little Green Valley

I did a lot of looking at tracks on the way up Crab Flats Road to Green Valley, and then on other roads and trails on the way to Little Green Valley and Rim Nordic. There were a couple of runners that were sometimes a little ahead or behind me, and though we didn’t run together it was good to have company on this stretch.

I’d reached Camp #4 (~29 miles) at Rim Nordic and the Rim of the World Highway a little behind what I expected, but couldn’t complain. I was feeling pretty good. I had no foot problems; hadn’t gone off-route; hadn’t had any cramping; and had scored some BBQ ribs at the aid station.

Now, as I continued down the Camp Creek Trail at mile 30-something, I scanned the steep slopes across the canyon trying to see the trace of the re-opened Siberia Creek Trail. I had little doubt that the 6.8 mile, 3000′ climb was going to be the crux of the course. Race organizers had spent untold man-days working on this trail and warned us of its difficulty. It would be a tough climb, but all I had to do was hike it. I didn’t have to clear it, mark it, or chop holds in all the trees that had fallen across the trail!

After a few more minutes of rocky downhill I finally reach Bear Creek and Water Station #3. There’s a log bridge and rope across the creek and this grinning guy is holding the rope steady for another runner to cross. It turns out the person holding the rope is Eric Bulrice, one of the race organizers. We talk for a while and he tells me he’s basically spent the summer in “Hades Canyon,” working on the Siberia Creek Trail.

While Eric is filling up my 70 oz. Camelbak to the brim, I’m surprised to see three runners pass the water station without stopping. The course has tended to be longer and more difficult than expected and I just know I’m going to need every drop. Long story short, they and several other people run out of water part way up the climb. I tell them I will tell the aid station to send someone down.

I think the best adjective I’ve heard describing the Siberia Creek Trail is that it was relentless. And it was. It just never ended. But using a term usually applied to rivers, it was also incredibly wild and scenic. I knew there was a rock formation called Gunsight not too far from the aid station, and kept looking for big boulders along the trail that fit its description. I hope to get back there soon and do the trail when I’m not in a “I have to get up this thing” mode.

For those of us doing the Siberia Creek climb in the midafternoon, we were very fortunate to have cool weather. The Converse RAWS, which is at about 5600′ and a few miles away, topped out at 75°F at noon and was at about 71°F at 3:00 pm. Just six days before the temp had been 90°F at 2:00 pm.

The downside to that cool afternoon weather was cold weather at night. I reached Aid Station #6 (Champion Lodgepole Pine) at about 6:00 pm and it was already beginning to get chilly. A runner ahead of me had alerted aid station personnel that runners needed water and I had been glad to see a volunteer headed down the trail with a jug of water.

For spending so much time thinking, thinking, thinking about not much else except reaching the aid station, I didn’t spend much time there. The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. I refilled my hydration pack, had a half-cup of warm noodles and some Coke, and headed on out.

Remember those Hoka tracks I’d been following? I caught up to them part way up Siberia Creek. Turns out they belonged to Debbie Botten. She lives just over the hill from me and we have some friends in common. Shortly after dark we and Gabriel Hernandez started running together. This made a huge difference in being able to deal with the last miles of the course. Gabriel would sometimes run ahead and at one point spotted a bobcat on a log, watching us run by!

It was cold! Except for a pair of compression shorts I probably should have put on, I had on everything I’d taken — two short sleeve shirts, heavy sleeves, an ultralight shell with a hood, and gloves. It was windy up on the ridge near Grand View and I was very happy when we didn’t follow the 100 mile course along the ridgeline and began our descent.

The final stretch of dirt road paralleled Big Bear Valley, and running down it was like a slow motion nighttime approach to LAX. Ever so slowly the glowing lights of the city came up to meet us. From time to time we could hear distant cheers as runners crossed the finish line, and each time the cheers were a little louder and boosted our spirits a little more. Soon we too were running down the asphalt of Pine Knot Ave and to surprisingly enthusiastic cheers and shouts, given the hour, crossing the finish line!

Getting Ready	Kodiak Basecamp	Race Meeting
RD Paul Romero	Kodiak 100 Start	Womens 100M Winner

Many thanks to Paul Romero, Eric Bulrice, Matt Smith, Dede Hermon, Scott & Tammy Carnohan, Sarah Sherry, Peter Brennan and Cyril Jay Rayon for the huge amount work necessary to put an event like Kodiak together. “Hey, let’s do a 100 mile course around Big Bear Lake and while we’re at it, open up a historic trail that hasn’t been maintained for decades!” Also a big THANK YOU to the volunteers. I was always greeted with a smile and all the help I needed.

Out of the 67 100 milers that started, only 19 finished and most of the favorites dropped. In a race where the top time was expected to be under 20 hours, New Hampshire’s Garry Harrington’s was the only runner to break 24 hours, coming in at 23:58:55. The top woman in the 100 miler was Jeri Ginsburg from San Diego, with a time of 29:15:10.

Runners in the 50 mile fared better. Out of 71 runners that started, only 17 dropped. Italy’s Michele Graglia put down a phenomenal 9:32:28 for the win. The top woman in the 50 mile was Kristina Tudor of Azusa, who cranked out a 12:03:20. Fifteen year old Steven Evers (remember when you were 15?) flew through the course in 11:53:31.

My friend Ann, with no regrets, called it a day at Camp #4, which we now know is at about mile 79. She had no issues and plans to do Kodiak again next year. She did have something unusual happen during the race. After running miles and miles alone up Crab Flats Road she began to wonder if she was still on course. Rounding a corner she saw a couple rummaging around in a van with bikes on it. She asked if it was a water station and was told, “Yes, but it is for a motorcycle event!’ For the moment it took to realize she was being had, she thought she was miles off course. They had a good laugh about it later. When she reached Camp #4 she texted this to her TransRockies running partner:

“I’m totally happy with 75 glorious miles, the course is just way hard so takes long. I had my night run, stars and full moon and the PCT! Happy me! Volunteering now :)”

Here is an interactive Google Earth view of the 100 mile (red) and 50 mile (yellow) courses. The view can be zoomed, panned and tilted. Placemark locations and distances are approximate. The distances are those calculated by SportTracks from the GPS tracks. If your device/browser doesn’t support the Google Earth plugin, here are a some Google Earth snapshots of several sections of the Kodiak 100/50 Mile courses:

Start to Camp #2	Camp #1 to Camp #3	Camp #3 to Aid #4
Aid #4 to Camp #4	Camp #4 to Aid #6	Aid #6 to Finish

In SportTracks the 100 mile track (from Garmin Connect) worked out to 104 miles with a conservative gain/loss of +15,801 / -15,831. My 50 mile track worked out to 53 miles with a gain/loss of +8,310 / -8,861. SportTracks elevations were corrected using pkan’s Elevation Correction Plugin and NED 1/3 arc second DEMs. SportTracks elevation data smoothing was set to conservative value of 55.

For more info, full results, and photos see the Kodiak 100 web site and Facebook page.

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San Gorgonio Mountain: Dollar Lake – Dry Lake Trail Run

published August 24, 2013 Gary Valle

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Craig running on the Sky High Trail on San Gorgonio Mountain

As we rounded the shoulder of Jepson Peak the pyramidal form of San Jacinto Peak came into view. A strong southerly flow was pushing a layer of cumulus clouds up the Coachella Valley, into Banning Pass, and toward San Gorgonio Mountain. Above, a higher layer of clouds was beginning to coalesce.

Moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ivo was being drawn into the monsoonal flow, and if the weather models had it right the increasingly strong flow would result in an increasing chance of thunderstorms over the next few days. Even today the NWS Zone Forecast indicated a slight chance of a showers and thunderstorms:

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
330 AM PDT SAT AUG 24 2013
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY
EVENING…
.TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY IN THE MORNING…THEN PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
WARMER. HIGHS 76 TO 86 ABOVE 6000 FEET TO 88 TO 98 BELOW
6000 FEET. SNOW LEVEL ABOVE 8000 FEET. AREAS OF WINDS SOUTH
15 MPH. GUSTS TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

We had left South Fork trailhead a few minutes late, but were making good time. Including stops for photos and a wilderness permit check it had taken us about 2 1/4 hours to reach Dollar Lake Saddle. A quick calculation put us on the summit of Gorgonio around 11:00-11:15. Based on what I was seeing over and around the mountain I thought that we would probably get to summit before weather became an issue. The key word was “probably.” Experience has taught that computer weather models don’t always get it right, and mountain weather often seems to have a mind of its own.

Craig and I were doing the reverse a route I’d done three weeks before. This time at South Fork Meadows we’d turned right at the fork and gone up the Dollar Lake Trail to Dollar Lake Saddle. I was curious to see if the counter-clockwise version of the loop was a better trail run than the clockwise loop.

On the way up to Dollar Lake Saddle we’d stopped to take a closer look at a tall pine I’d noticed on my last run here. It had been struck by lightning. Judging from the width of the scar and its ragged, pitch-covered margins, the stroke had been a strong one and had occurred within the last couple of years. Based on the tree’s elevation (about 8400′), the size of the cones, and the shape of the prickles on the cones, the tree was a Jeffrey pine.

Now we were on the San Bernardino Divide Trail, about 1 1/2 miles beyond Dollar Lake Saddle and about 2 miles from the summit. After doing the peak we would descend via the Sky High and Dry Lake Trails to South Fork Meadows, where we’d refill our hydration packs and continue down the South Fork Trail to the trailhead. We’d be descending directly to Dry Lake, rather than taking the route via Fish Creek Saddle and Lodgepole Spring.

It was chilly! For the first time in several weeks of mountain running I pulled on my sleeves. There was a different feeling about the mountain today. A fitful wind streamed through the branches of the lodgepole and limber pines, its flow noisy and turbulent, and its speed and direction unsettled.

As we worked toward the summit, it was evident the top of the cumulus cloud layer was rising and the clouds in all layers were starting to show more development. On top, I was surprised to see how far the cumulus had pushed up Whitewater Canyon. Everyone on the summit was in good spirits — some more so than others. Now that we were on top we could talk about how spectacular the weather was, rather than how threatening.

The run down from the peak on the Sky High Trail was absolutely superb — and far less rocky than running down to Dollar Lake Saddle on the Divide Trail. At about 10,600′, and a couple of switchbacks above the C-47 crash memorial, we were suddenly surrounded by clouds. This was a treat for us — we were headed down — but for the people headed up the peak it posed a quandry that has faced mountaineers for millennia: Continue up, or go down?

This time, as this Aqua/MODIS satellite image from 2:15 pm shows, San Gorgonio Mountain was on the margin of the monsoon flow. Although there was a lot of cumulus around and over the mountain, most of the major thunderstorm development was to the east and southeast of the peak. The closest automated weather station I could find with measurable rainfall was the Burns Canyon RAWS, 13 miles to the northeast. It recorded 0.17 inch between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The Yucca Valley RAWS, 22 miles away, recorded 0.18 inch between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm. In the big storms to the southeast, Fish Creek Mountain recorded nearly one inch in one hour.

So which direction of the loop was the better trail run? I’d have to give the edge to the counterclockwise loop — up the Dollar Lake and Divide Trails and down the Sky High and Dry Lake Trails. There is still a lot of very rocky, technical trail — particularly on the Dry Lake Trail, but the outstanding running on the Sky High Trail between 11,400′ and 10,000′ more than makes up for it!

Some related posts: San Gorgonio Mountain: Dry Lake – Fish Creek Saddle – Dollar Lake Loop, San Gorgonio Mountain: Falls Creek Loop August 2013

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More Highs and Lows on the PCT Between Inspiration Point & Islip Saddle

published August 17, 2013 Gary Valle

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Young deer on the PCT on Blue Ridge in the San Gabriel Mountains

The trail run from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle traverses a rolling section of the PCT along Blue Ridge, descends to Vincent Gap (6565′) and then climbs a switchbacking trail to the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell (9399′). The run continues along the crest of the San Gabriels on the PCT past several 9000′ peaks to Little Jimmy Spring and campground. From there it is a couple of miles to the parking lot in the saddle between Mt. Islip and Mt. Williamson.

A longer version of the run continues over the shoulder of Mt. Williamson to Eagles Roost. Many runners stop at Eagles Roost because of the now seven year (!) closure of the 3.5 mile segment of the PCT between Eagles Roost and Cooper Canyon. Continuing past Eagles Roost requires running 2.7 miles on Highway 2 to Buckhorn Campground, picking up the Burkhart Trail and following it down to the PCT in Cooper Canyon.

Today we were looking to do under 20 miles and keep the elevation gain to something sensible. Tim had run this stretch just a couple weeks before while doing the Angeles Crest 100 — his first 100 miler. Craig had crewed and paced a friend in the AC100 and was training for an upcoming 50 miler. Over the past several weeks I’d been doing a series of higher altitude runs and was also training for a 50 miler.

So far the run had been really relaxed and low key. We’d encountered a pair of young deer near Jackson Flat. They’d eyed us curiously before bounding off into the trees and the encounter seemed to have set the tone for the run. From time to time we stopped to enjoy a view point, look at the geology, or take a picture of a big ol’ tree. Rabbitbrush was blooming everywhere, adding a bright yellow accent to the rocks and ridges.

Earlier this year I photographed a bumper crop of cones on bigcone Douglas-fir in the Mt. Wilson area and here on Blue Ridge white firs had produced a huge number of cones. Other plants, such as bush chinquapin, had also produced large crops this year. Currant bushes along the trail had been productive, but because it has been so dry the fruit was smaller than normal.

The demeanor of the run changed part way up Baden-Powell. Mt. Baden-Powell is an immensely popular peak, and on a Summer weekend you’ll find an assortment of youth groups, fitness groups, hikers, runners and on rare occasions even an equestrian or two.

I stuffed another just-discarded nut bar wrapper into the back of my pack. That was a bad sign, and about two-thirds of the way up the peak things got a little crazy. The switchbacks above looked like escalators in a mall during the Holidays. People going up; people going down; people cutting switchbacks. A lot of people cutting switchbacks. At one point it seemed more people were short-cutting the trail than were on the trail.

Request: “Please don’t cut the trail…”

Response: “I figure Indians hiked all over this mountain; it’s my choice where I hike…”

The mindset of the people that throw trash on the trail and shortcut the trail is much the same. They just don’t care. They don’t consider that someone else is going to have to clean up their mess. A person that shortcuts a trail doesn’t realize several other people — usually volunteers — are going to have to repair the damage. Cutting switchbacks causes erosion, tramples plants and looks ugly. It tells others that you are unfit and inexperienced.

A couple of switchbacks above the chaos settled, and when two young boys cut a switchback just ahead of me it was heartening to hear their father explain why that was a bad idea.

The summit of the Baden-Powell was not nearly as busy as I thought it might be. Just a few people were enjoying the great view from the summit. We took a short side trip down the south ridge to look at a lodgepole pine whose limbs and bark had been torn off in an ice storm during the Winter of 2010-11. In the same area was a stout limber pine that has a scar from a lightning strike. Later in the run we would pass another lightning tree near Mt. Hawkins.

The last several miles of the run were as relaxed and low key as the first few miles. Recovery continues among the ghost trees in the area burned in the 2002 Curve Fire, and the water and wildflowers at Little Jimmy Spring were as refreshing as ever!

Photography and inspiration from running and other adventures in the Open Space and Wilderness areas of California, and beyond. No ads. All content, including photography, is Copyright © 2006-2024 Gary Valle. All Rights Reserved.