Category Archives: running

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Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit

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Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and the Conejo Valley with snow on the peaks of the Ventura mountains

I was about a mile from the Wendy Dr. trailhead on Potrero Rd. in Newbury Park. A cold wind ruffled the chaparral, and to the north snow could be seen on McDonald Peak (6870′) and other peaks of the Ventura mountains. I was nearing the top of a rounded ridge in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, and in a few minutes would be descending the sun-warmed Old Boney Trail into the upper reaches of Big Sycamore Canyon.

Big Sycamore Canyon extends from the ocean to within a mile or so of Potrero Rd. It forms the main trunk of an extensive network of trails in Pt. Mugu State Park. Of the many possible trail combinations, my loosely defined plan was to link some of the trails on the XTERRA Boney Mountain Trail Run course into a longer run.

The general idea was to start on the Old Boney and Blue Canyon Trails, and return via the Hidden Pond and Upper Sycamore Canyon Trails. I was looking to do about 20 miles, and wasn’t sure how far down Big Sycamore I would run, or what other trails I would do.

The run up and over the shoulder of Boney Mountain was brisk and blustery. On the way I checked out the waterfall spur trail and the Danielson cabin site and monument. At one point, several miles into the run, the trail rounded a ridge and descended into a bowl at the head of a broad canyon. Here, the character was unmistakably that of the wilderness — isolated and wild with the chaotic western escarpment of Boney Mountain towering above.

About two hours into the run I pulled into the Danielson multi-use area in Big Sycamore Canyon. There’s a water spigot here, adjacent to a fireplace in a low-walled picnic area. While topping off my Camelbak, I noticed a runner on nearby Big Sycamore Canyon road, then another, and another. A continuous stream of runners was passing by — I had forgotten that the Lasse Viren 20K was this weekend!

Down in the canyon the weather was perfect for the race. Swept along by the wave of runners, I missed my connection with the Two Foxes trail, and it wasn’t until the aid station at Wood Canyon road that I turned off the race course. Within a couple hundred yards I happened upon the southern end of the Two Foxes trail and worked my way back up the canyon about half a mile to the bottom of the Coyote Trail.

The previous evening I had taken a look at the Tom Harrison Santa Monica Mountains West Trail Map and noted that the Coyote Trail, Hidden Pond Trail, and Upper Sycamore Trail could all be linked together in one long single track extravaganza.

I had not done these three trails and enjoyed the exploratory feel. The Coyote Trail and Hidden Pond trails were outstanding, with excellent running and highline views. The Upper Sycamore trail is classically riparian, winding its way among white-barked sycamores and stream rubble, in a stream eroded canyon to its junction with the Old Boney Trail about 1.5 miles from the Wendy Drive trailhead.

Here’s a Google Earth image of a GPS trace of the approximately 19 mile route.

photography, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|san gabriels

Condor Peak Trail Run

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Trail runner on the Condor Peak Trail as it nears Condor Peak.

The temp was in the 30’s and it took a couple of minutes for my car’s engine to warm enough to thaw the coating of ice on the windshield. I was headed for a run in the San Gabriel Mountains and was wondering how cold it might be.

In a November in which 29 days had been bone dry, it had rained on the 30th, and temps had cooled dramatically. That was day before yesterday. This morning the sky was still a storm-cleansed blue, and except for a few passing high clouds, promised to stay that way. If the winds were not too brisk, it could be one of those invigoratingly crisp late Autumn days — cold in the shadows, but warm and pleasant in the sun.

About an hour later Miklos and I were working our way up the Condor Peak Trail (13W05), not far from the trailhead on Big Tujunga Canyon Road. At the parking area I had shed some extra layers and was now running in shorts and a light long-sleeve top. In the pack were an ultralight shell, gloves, and a headband.

About a 1/4 mile from the parking area we caught up to some hikers and their dogs. They asked us if we were headed “to the top.” I replied that we were doing Fox Mountain and Condor Peak, and would continue on to the Trail Canyon Trail.

“Do you have a car at the Trail Canyon trailhead?”

“Yep…”

“You know it’s 17 miles, right?”

“Yep…”

Twenty minutes into the run, we reached the point where the old trail jumps up from Big T and joins the main trail. From here we turned north, away from the highway, and began a long, winding, uphill course that would eventually reach the divide between Fox Mountain (5033′) and Condor Peak (5440’+). This meandering approach resulted in a very runnable section of trail that gains about 2500′ in 5.5 miles — an average 8.6% grade.

As the trail wound in and out of canyons, and from shadowed to sunny slopes, the temperature contrasts were startling. Within a few feet, we would stride from balmy, solar heated granite alcoves into frosty, refrigerated nooks near freezing. We estimated the difference in temperature to be 30-40 degrees.

Gradually we gained elevation, and in about an hour and a half we crested the broad divide at the base of Fox Mountain. From this point a short — but steep — path leads directly to Fox’s summit. 

Deep in morning shadow, the east side of the peak was cold! The ground was frozen, and heavy frost covered fallen leaves of chaparral. A few strenuous minutes and we were atop the peak, relishing the warmth of the sun and the panoramic view. Mt. Lukens, Josephine Peak, Strawberry Peak and Mt. Wilson loomed nearby. Further to the east, beyond Mt. Waterman and Twin Peaks, Mt. Baldy glistened white with a new coat of snow. Dressed for running, and damp from the climb, chill breezes hurried us from the summit.

Peak to peak the distance from Fox to Condor is over two miles. That’s what the map says, but on the ground Condor looks deceptively close. Several false summits amplify the deception, and many a hiker has been deceived. Even having viewed the route from Fox and climbed the peak before, I still did not fully appreciate the distance.

The scramble up Condor was a little longer than the hike up Fox. The peak has twin summits at very nearly the same elevation. We were curious which summit would have the register and found it on the more westerly summit. To do both Fox and Condor only added about an hour to our run.

Once down from Condor Peak it took about twenty minutes to hoof it over to the Trail Canyon Trail (13W03) junction. From here the trail drops about 3110 ft. in six miles. The grade of the trail is steeper than the Condor Peak trail, and a little more rocky and technical. Where the Condor Peak trail seeks the high lines, the Trail Canyon trail follows a creek and plunges into a deep riparian canyon.

Back at the car we marveled at what an enjoyable run it had been. The perfect weather and nearly ideal grade of the trails seemed to make the run almost effortless. It isn’t always that way.

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

Note: Although the Trail Canyon drainage is relatively small, it appears to have generated some sizable flash floods and debris flows. The canyon forms a huge southwest facing “rain catcher.” During Winter storms, the canyon wrings water from moisture laden wind as it is funneled into and up its slopes.

photography, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|sierra

Whiskey Flat Trail

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Whiskey Flat Trail near Kernville, California.

Due to fire concerns, Los Padres, Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino National Forests remained closed this weekend, so I headed back up to Kernville to meet some friends and run the Whiskey Flat Trail — a sizzling trail in the summertime that has been on my running to-do list for years.

Tucked away in a corner of the Southern Sierra on the banks of the Kern River, and only about a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles, Kernville usually brings to mind images of rafts, kayaks and exciting whitewater, but more than great paddling adventures can be had here.

Sequoia National Forest and the Golden Trout Wilderness afford an extensive array of hiking, mountain biking, climbing, fishing, trail running, and other recreational opportunities. Lower elevation adventures are generally within about a 30 minute drive of Kernville, and higher elevation adventures about an hour’s drive.

We did the approximately 15 mile Whiskey Flat Trail north to south, starting at McNally’s Restaurant and Resort, about 15-20 minutes north of Kernville on highway Mountain 99. The trail is accessed using the Fairview footbridge and is on the opposite side of the river from the highway. It is a gnarly up and down trail, best done in cool weather, with pleasant views of the river and the surrounding mountains.

On it’s way downstream to Burlando Road in Kernville, the trail crosses several creeks and canyons, gaining about 1000 ft. and losing about 1500 ft. Sometimes the trail is yards from the river and at other times so distant as to be taunting. As is the case when paddling this part of the river, the triangular form of peak 6047, near Corral Creek, is a distinctive landmark, that soberly marks progress down the river.

It is a trail that is long for its length and modest elevation gain. There are sandy stretches, rocky sections, stretches with V-ruts, steep uphill sections, and long stretches of perfectly graded downhill. About 8.5 miles into the run a striking section of trail traverses a cliff above Sock’em Dog, a class V rapid on a reach of the river named the Thunder Run.

All in all it was a enjoyable run that would be brutal in hot weather and a high sun. Even with the temperature topping out at only about 80 degrees, I was glad I took extra water!

Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of our route. Near the end of the run, after crossing Bull Run Creek, various use trails have evolved. The main trail forks right and does not cross private property. The various routes can be checked out on Google Earth.

Update 08/17/10. About half of the Whiskey Flat Trail appears to have been within the area burned by the Bull Fire. Here’s a Google Earth interactive browser view of a GPS trace of the Whiskey Flat Trail (from last year’s Burger Run), and the area burned by the Bull Fire based on the most recent GEOMAC fire perimeter (dated 08/01/10). Also included is a GPS trace of the Cannell Plunge route from MountainbikeBill.com.

backbone trail, photography, photography|landscape, running, santa monica mountains, topanga state park, trails, trails|smmc open space

Garapito Trail Runs

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Red -orange berries of toyon along the Garapito Trail

First published October 14, 2007. Updated February 4, 2021.

The numerous interconnecting roads and trails of the eastern Santa Monica Mountains can be combined to create trail runs ranging from a few miles to marathon length or more.

One of my favorite trails in this area is the Garapito Trail — a winding, up and down trail through dense, old growth chaparral. The trail connects Fire Road #30, near dirt Mulholland, to the Eagle Rock Fire road segment of the Backbone Trail, near Eagle Rock. Because it’s such a enjoyable trail, I include it in most of the runs I do from Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park (Top of Reseda). The trailhead is at the southern end of Reseda Blvd., on the San Fernando Valley side of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Each run in the series starts the same way, going up to Mulholland using the single track trail that forks right off the fire road near the Reseda trailhead, and then heading southwest a short distance on Mulholland to Fire Road 30, which works south, up to the Hub.

The shortest run in the Garapito series is the 7.5 mile Garapito Loop. Somewhat longer and more strenuous is the 12+ mile Trippet Ranch Loop. A very demanding run in the series is an approximately 26 mile route out to Saddle Peak and back. The popular run out to Parker Mesa Overlook and back tacks on about 6 miles to any of these routes.

Below are links to 3D, interactive views of GPS tracks of some of the Garapito Series trail runs from the Top of Reseda. The scene can be zoomed, tilted, rotated and panned. Placemark and track locations are approximate and subject to errors.

Garapito Loop Plus Eagle Rock (8 miles)
Trippet Ranch Loop (12.3 miles)
Trippet Ranch Loop Plus Temescal Peak (14 miles)
Trippet Ranch Loop Plus Parker Mesa Overlook (18.6 miles)
Trailer Canyon – Trippet Ranch Loop (17.2 miles)

These are just a few of the many variations that are possible.

Some related posts: Trippet Ranch Loop Plus Temescal Peak; Trail Run to Trippet Ranch, Hondo Canyon and Saddle Peak; Go Figure

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, photography|panoramic, running, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

September Storm

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Rocky Peak road 

Los Angeles sometimes gets rain in September, but usually it is the result of tropical moisture from a dissipating hurricane, or perhaps the passage of the tail end of a weakening front. It is rare to see a low as cold, deep and energetic as the upper level low that deluged many areas of Los Angeles county Friday afternoon into Saturday.

Thunderstorms raked the San Fernando Valley Friday night, and several locations in and around the Valley recorded more than an inch of rain over the course of the storm. Los Angeles set a new rainfall record on Saturday, recording 0.40 inch of rain, and rainfall records were broken across the area.

In Southern California the first rain of the season often doesn’t occur until October or November and is always savored. Especially this year, when Los Angeles has recorded only 3.21 inches of rain in the last 15 or 16 months, and a developing La Nina threatens to put the kibosh on Winter rain.

I celebrated the rain by doing an out and back run to “Fossil Point” on Rocky Peak fire road. Based on the size of the mud puddles on the dirt road, this unseasonable storm appeared to be wetter than any in last year’s record dry rain season. Here’s a panorama of the view northwest from the fire road to Oak Ridge, the Santa Susana Mountains and beyond.

Some related posts: San Fernando Valley from Rocky Peak, Rainy Morning on Rocky Peak Road.

running, running|gear

GlobalSat GH615B

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Garmin Forerunner 205 (left) and GlobalSat GH615B.

Update 7/26/08. There have been recent USB driver (4-28-08) and firmware (5-07-08) updates, and the PC software has been replaced (7-04-08), but the most significant change is that SportTracks now supports the GH615 via a plugin. Since I use SportTracks I have not looked closely at the new “g-Sports PC Utility” software, but it appears to be more functional than the original “PC Utility” software. Some significant quirks remain. When the GH615B is set to STATUTE(ft, mph) units, the elevation still displays in miles — e.g. 1.702 miles instead of 8987 ft.

Update 9/10/07. Shortly after writing this post I learned that the GH-615B has been discontinued in the U.S. in favor of the GH-615M, which includes a heart rate monitor.

Chugging up Mt. Baden-Powell, I pushed various buttons on the GlobalSat GH615B, searching for the screen that displays elevation. I had seen it on a run during the week, and now I couldn’t find it. Wait… What? My elevation is 1.702 MILES??

When my Forerunner 205 had to be returned to Garmin a second time, it seemed like a good time to see if there were any new GPS-based running watches I could use for tracing the routes of my trail runs. The description of the GH615B on the GlobalSat web site looked promising. Like the Forerunner 205/305 it had a watch-like design, and the specs said it also used the newer, more sensitive, SiRFstarIII GPS technology.

My first impression was not positive. Out of the box, with old firmware and software installed, the watch was almost unusable. Actually, I could use it, I just couldn’t do much with the data. Updating the USB driver, firmware, and PC interface software helped some. But it wasn’t until installation of the July 2007 round of updates that I could routinely transfer activity data from the watch to the “PC Utility” software, and then export a GPX file that could be imported into applications such as SportTracks and MotionBased.

Even with the July updates, the “PC Utility” software included with the GH615B is primitive. The software has no activity management features, and serves mainly as a data conversion tool. It can display track data on a Google map, or export a track to Google Earth Plus. It can also generate Altitude/Time and Speed/Time graphics, but these are rudimentary.

The GH615B’s default setting of recording one trackpoint per second will create a high resolution GPS track that will indicate almost every twist and turn of a trail. Here’s a Google Earth image that shows GPS tracks from the GH615B using the 1 second resolution setting, and the Forerunner 205 using the “Smart Recording” setting. The image shows an approximately 5 mile section of trail from Islip Saddle down to the South Fork Campground, in the San Gabriel Mountains. (These tracks were recorded on different days.)

For day to day workouts the one trackpoint per second resolution setting is probably overkill, and will produce proportionally larger GPX files than a setting of (for example) a trackpoint every 3 seconds. The GH615B does not currently have an adaptive recording option like the “Smart Recording” feature of the Forerunner 205/305, but has much more trackpoint storage capacity.

Although somewhat quirky, and not nearly as polished and feature-rich as the Forerunner 205/305, the GH615B did seem to do a good job of tracking my running routes, even in difficult terrain. With some firmware updates and bundled with decent software, it might do a better job of finding its way in the GPS-based fitness watch market.

The photograph of the GH615B and Forerunner 205 was taken at the end of a sweltering out and back run to Las Virgenes Canyon from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch) on the afternoon of August 29.

Related post: Garmin Forerunner 205