Category Archives: photography|wildflowers

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, photography|wildflowers, running, trails, trails|malibu creek state park, weather, weather|southern california

Before the Deluge

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View east from near the top of the Bulldog climb

Weather models were forecasting anywhere from 3.5 to 5.5 inches of rain at Van Nuys for the storm coming in tonight, so this afternoon seemed like a good time to get in a run.

I hadn’t run the Bulldog loop since the Bulldog 50K last August, and needed to catch up on trail conditions, what was blooming, and re-familiarize myself with the difficulties of the Bulldog Climb.

The short version is that the trail along Malibu Creek near the M*A*S*H site wasn’t flooded, but would be in the next 24 hours. Tree poppy, nightshade, hummingbird sage, woolly blue curls, ceanothus and paintbrush were blooming. And the Bulldog Climb was still hard.

It looked and felt like the day before a big storm. Temps were cool, and there was a thick deck of high clouds. Along the crest between the Castro “T” and the Malibu Bowl landslide the wind was blowing in strong gusts from the ESE, and it looked like the clouds might lower, thicken, and unleash a torrent at any time.

Near the end of the run, descending to Tapia Park, I was surprised to see my shadow and some blue sky. That didn’t last for long. By 7:00 the first drops of what would be a record-setting storm started to dot the driveway.

The title photo is a view east along Castro Crest and Mesa Peak Mtwy, and the route of the Bulldog Loop. Saddle Peak is in the distance. Here are a few additional photos. Click for a larger image and description:





Mesa Peak Mtwy




Woolly Bluecurls




Brents Mountain

Some related posts: Bulldog 50K 2010 Notes, Malibu Creek State Park Scenic Loop, Bulldog Loop and the Corral Fire

nature, photography, photography|wildflowers

Poison Oak Along the Phantom Trail

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Poison Oak Along the Phantom Trail

Two consecutive years of more or less normal rainfall is already producing lush growth, numerous wildflowers, and lots of poison oak along the lower elevation trails of Southern California.

These fresh, new leaves of poison oak are along the Phantom Trail in Malibu Creek State Park.

Related post: Sweet Smell of Poison Oak

nature, nature|environment, photography, photography|wildflowers, weather, weather|southern california

Early Bloomers

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Wishbone bush (Mirabilis californica)

This autumn, the first measurable rainfall at Downtown Los Angeles was on October 4, 2010. Since then we’ve seen some rain in Southern California every 7 to 10 days or so. The storms haven’t been huge, but many locations have recorded near to above average rainfall for the water year to date. Some, like Santa Barbara and San Diego, are well above normal for the date.



Because of our erratic weather, many Southern California plants are opportunistic and will shift their growing and flowering season to take advantage of wet weather.

Discounting plants that normally bloom in autumn, one of the earliest of the early bloomers this autumn was this bigpod ceanothus in Pt. Mugu State Park, photographed on November 14. Another early bloomer was Wishbone Bush which was beginning to bloom in the Simi Hills on November 21. This Shooting Star was photographed at Sage Ranch on November 30. In the past couple of weeks I’ve also seen Prickly Phlox, Bush Monkeyflower and Wild Cucumber in bloom.

The title photograph is Wishbone Bush on the northeast ridge of Ladyface last week.

Some related posts: Wishbone Bush, Shooting Stars, California Prickly Phlox, Bush Monkeyflower

photography, photography|landscape, photography|wildflowers, running, trails, trails|mt. pinos, weather, weather|southern california

Cooler Climes

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Paintbrush on the Vincent Tumamait Trail

Paintbrush on the Vincent Tumamait Trail

Thursday afternoon the temperature in Woodland Hills hit 107°F. Friday was 103°F, and Saturday 104°F. Weekdays I run in the afternoon, and after running in that heat, I needed to escape to cooler climes. One way to beat the broiling temps was to head for the high country.

There are several higher elevation areas within a couple hours drive of Los Angeles. My favorites are Mt. Baden-Powell (9399′), Mt. Baldy (10,064′), Mt. Pinos (8831′), Mt. San Jacinto (10,834′) and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,499′).


Mariposa and paintbrush
Today the choice was Mt. Pinos. It had been a few weeks since I’d run there, and the driving time to the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos is about the same as that to Islip Saddle in the San Gabriels. Also, it’s usually cooler running between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel, than between Islip Saddle and Mt. Baden-Powell.

It was a little breezy and chilly up on Mt. Pinos, Sawmill Mountain and Mt. Abel. What a change from during the week. At the start of the run the temperature was about 40-50 degrees cooler than my last run at Ahmanson Ranch.

I did an extended version of the usual 14.5 mile out and back course on the Vincent Tumamait Trail. This variation drops down to Lilly Camp (6600′) on the North Fork Trail before continuing to Mt. Abel. The side trip adds about 6 miles and 1700′ of gain. It was a bit warmer down at Lilly Meadow Camp, but the air conditioning kicked back in once I returned to the main trail.

Some related posts: Running Hot & Cold, Up & Down Mt. Baldy’s South Ridge, Vincent Tumamait Trail, Autumn Trail Running on Mt. San Jacinto, San Gorgonio High Line 2009