Category Archives: running

Scenic Route to Simi Peak

Oaks along the route to Simi Peak.

When the rainy season turns wet and the grasses green, all routes to Simi Peak are scenic, but the varied trails and terrain, and the wilderness feel of the more remote sections of this 21.5 mile run makes it one of my local favorites.

It is a longer variation of the route described in the post Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Backcountry. The run starts at the Victory (or Vanowen, or Las Virgenes) trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve and explores the headwaters of Las Virgenes Creek. At the junction of the power line service road and “backcountry” trail, instead of turning south up the power line service road, this option works west over to Albertson Motorway fire road, and on to China Flat and Simi Peak.

Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the route.

Salomon XT Wings Trail Running Shoe

Salomon XT Wings Trail Running Shoe

Last updated 07/05/10. Symmetrical lacing and new eyelets working great on XT Wings 2!

Wow — what a great ride! That was my impression the first time I used the Salomon XT Wings trail running shoes. That continues to be my feeling after using the shoe for a couple of weeks and doing several runs in the 15-20 mile range. For my particular trail running requirements, this shoe has a near perfect balance of comfort, smooth ride, cushioning, traction and support.

It’s been my experience that if a running shoe doesn’t feel comfortable when you first try it on, it’s not going to feel any better on a long trail run, and it’s probably going to feel worse. The XT Wings felt great from the start. I first tried a pair of 9.5’s — my usual trail shoe size — but found size 9.0 was better in this shoe.

Under foot, the shock adsorption and cushioning gave that “ahh..” feeling without feeling bouncy or unstable. The shoe provides just the right level of support, without overly restricting the motion of my foot. When combined with the super smooth foot strike to toe transition, the overall ride is the best of any trail shoe I’ve used.

The outsole rubber appears to have excellent friction, and the lug pattern seems to have good traction without being too grabby. The speed-lacing system is convenient and appears to work well. Some friends have had Salomon speed-laces prematurely fray at the first eyelet on their XA Comp 2 XCRs, and prevent that by using a little duct tape around the lace. I’ll see if that happens with this model.

Update 07/05/10. I now have about 190 miles on each of three pairs of Salomons with the the new eyelets (XT Wings, XT Wings 2 & XT Hawk 2), and I’ve had no problems with the laces fraying.

Update 02/22/10. In addition to new eyelets, the XT Wings 2 also uses symmetrical lacing. This should completely resolve the old lace-fraying issue.



New XT Wings eyelets
Update 01/22/10.
Recently retired my fifth pair of XT Wings, again at about 300 miles. When I purchased my sixth pair was surprised to discover that the eyelet system has been redesigned. Hopefully this will resolve the problem I’ve had with the laces fraying, and I won’t have to use the “duct tape fix” on future pairs. Here’s a photo comparing the new lacing system (left) to the old one, and a close up of the new eyelet.

Update 08/05/09. Recently retired my third pair of XT Wings, at about 300 miles, and purchased my fifth pair. It’s still my shoe of choice for long runs.

Update 05/29/09. With the “duct tape fix” applied, I’m now 244 miles into my third pair of XT Wings, and 95 miles into my fourth pair — no problems. My Speedcomps, which don’t have the “toe anchored” lace like the XT Wings, have 235 miles on them, and no duct tape on the laces!

Update 09/24/08. Not good — with only 135-150 miles on my second pair of XT Wings, the lace has frayed on the left shoe at the same point (second eyelet from the anchor eyelet) as it did on the right shoe of the first pair. I’ve exchanged the pair and applied the “duct tape fix” at the second eyelets. We’ll see how it goes. Shouldn’t have to do this with a $120 pair of shoes.

Update 09/12/08. The Salomon XT Wings continues to be my shoe of choice for demanding trail runs. They are what I was in for the New Army Pass – Cottonwood Pass Loop in the Sierra, the Falls Creek Loop on San Gorgonio Mountain, the Islip Saddle – Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop and Mt. Disappointment 50K in the San Gabriel Mountains, and several other long mountain runs.

Update 06/21/08. With about 250-275 miles on the pair, the lace on my right shoe broke on Thursday while running the Chumash Trail. I tied off the broken end, tightened the lace and continued the run — no big deal. In my case the lace broke at the middle eyelet on the left side of the tongue. While I hope Salomon will make the laces bombproof, the lace breaking won’t keep me from running in this outstanding shoe. I primarily use the XT Wings for longer runs.

Update 03/21/08. I’ve done several longer (20-29 mile) trail runs the last month and the shoe has performed exceptionally. I’ve had no problems with the laces or anything else. It sure seems that the smooth ride of this shoe translates to my legs feeling better at the end of a long run!

There are a couple of things I have to gripe about. At 27.7 oz, the size 9 pair I purchased is a little heavier than my Vitesses. The shoe is also expensive — $120 compared to around $85 for the Vitesse.

Related post: Salomon XT Wings 2 Trail Running Shoe

Google search: $g(Salomon XT Wings), $g(trail running)

Return to Hidden Pond

A trail runner on the Hidden Pond Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park.

Southern California can have inclement Winter weather. This January downtown Los Angeles experienced a streak with 8 days of measurable rain, and last year temperatures in the suburbs plunged to a frigid 20°F. Maybe this doesn’t compare to Seattle’s 2005-2006 rain streak of 27 days, or International Falls’ recent record low of 40° below zero, but it qualifies as rainy and cold none the less.

Today it was not rainy and cold. It was just about as pleasant as a day could be. Skies were blue, winds were light, and the temperature was in the mid-seventies. Starting at the Wendy Dr. trailhead on Potrero Rd., we enjoyed the perfect weather by doing a 14.5 mile variant of the Boney Mountain Half Marathon Course.

The photograph above is of the Hidden Pond Trail near Hidden Pond — recently restored by Winter rains.

Related posts: Boney Mountain Half Marathon, Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit, Boney Mountain – Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit

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

Stormy view of Simi Valley, California, from 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.

Bulldog Loop and the Corral Fire

Fog shrouded sycamores along Malibu Creek in Malibu Creek State Park.

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