It’s not often we get to hear the burble and gurgle of Las Virgenes Creek in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. Last Winter it didn’t run at all.
There were two crossings of the creek on my run today. My shoes were already wet from running on wet trails, so I didn’t worry about keeping my shoes dry.
Here’s a video snapshot of the creek on Vimeo. It’s carrying a bit more sediment than normal, as a result of the Woolsey Fire.
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There sure have been a lot of raindrops and rainbows lately. It seems like every run I do my shoes get muddy — and there are even creeks to cross!
Last year on this date, Downtown Los Angeles (USC) had recorded only 2.55 inches of rain since July 1. This year we’ve received 16.69 inches, and as I’m sure you’ve heard, there’s more on the way.
It may seem like a long time since Los Angeles has been this wet, but actually it’s only been a couple of years. Year before last we’d received 18.5 inches of rain by this date. We need about 1.81 inches of rain from this week’s system to catch up.
Recognize this section of the Garapito Trail? See the large embankment along the right side of the trail? In 2005, during the second wettest Rain Year in LA on record, the hillside slumped around 12′. The trail is on top of the section that dropped.
During the 2004-2005 Rain Year Downtown Los Angeles recorded 37.25 inches of rain!
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Warrior’s plume (Pedicularis densiflora) along the Cheeseboro Canyon Trail, one of the areas burned in the November 2018 Woolsey Fire.
With this rain season’s abundant rainfall, displays of wildflowers will be more extensive than usual and of greater variety — both inside and outside the Woolsey Fire burn area.
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Nearly to the top of the Beast, I was thinking how scraggly the valley oak at the top of the hill looked when my thoughts were interrupted by the cacophonous cawing of a raven perched in that tree. For the purpose of this story, let’s call him (or her) Ed.
That Ed would be in an oak tree, clamoring away, wasn’t so unusual. Ravens are loquacious birds that always seem to have something to say. As I crested the hill I mimicked his vocalizations, and in so many words, we exchanged greetings.
I ran past the oak, expecting Ed to quiet down, but the exclamations continued behind me. After a few seconds Ed flew past, toward the trailless center of Lasky Mesa — caw, cawing all the way.
I expected that would be the last I would see of Ed, and thought how unusual his behavior had been. His pronouncements were very persistent and seemed very urgent.
I continued to run on the dirt road on the south side of the mesa. As I ran, I watched Ed flying above the grass and brush about 70 yards to my left. His flying was a little erratic and he continued to caw. Crazy bird…
As I watched, Ed turned and started flying toward me. At first I thought, “Interesting.” He was some distance away and I thought surely he would turn. But he continued to fly directly at me, ranting all the way.
I stopped running. Ed had not changed course and was making a beeline for me. He was flying lower than usual, and I began to wonder if I should be concerned. Was this bird OK?
Spellbound, I watched the bird’s intentioned approach and was astonished when Ed swooped past me and deftly landed on a “Restoration Area” sign three or four feet from where I was standing.
Ravens are BIG birds, and I started to talk to this one like it was a black lab.
“What’s wrong big guy?”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
The raven watched me, repeatedly cawing, cawing, cawing. Clearly he was concerned; clearly he was trying to tell me something. I just did not understand.
In a rush of feathers, Ed took flight. He crossed the road, flew back over the brush ahead of me and to my left, and swooped low to the ground.
And that’s when the coyote burst from the brush in front of me and scurried across the road, Ed in chase.
I shook my head and grinned. Ed had been trying to tell me there was a predator nearby!
It’s common for birds and other animals to sound an alert or even pester a predator, but Ed had behaved more like a devoted dog worried about his friend.
Animals often have stories to tell, we just have to listen.
Related post: Hawk, Bobcat and Rabbit
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The trail work schedule of the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Council (SMMTC) is impressive to say the least. According to their Trail Work Statistics page, in 2018 the SMMTC was responsible for over 4,300 person-hours of work related to “establishing, preserving and maintaining the public trail system throughout the Santa Monica Mountains and adjacent areas.”
Saturday, 27 trail runners assisted the SMMTC in trail work on the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail. The trail runners were organized by Backbone Trail Utra race director Mike Epler, who recently joined the board of the SMMTC. Ultra race director Keira Henninger volunteered and also encouraged runners to participate.
The Chamberlain Trail took a hard hit from the Woolsey Fire and subsequent rains. Under the direction of SMMTC crew members, runners restored washed out and rutted sections of trail and removed burned limbs, rocks and other debris. The trail was restored from its junction with the Old Boney Trail up to Chamberlain Rock. In preparation for future trail work, hundreds of limbs were removed from the trail up to its junction with the Tri Peaks Trail.
Many runners ran to the Chamberlain Trail, did the trail work, and then ran back. This was a good way to get in a good long run and contribute to the restoration of the trails damaged in the Woolsey Fire.
Additional photos and info are available on the SMMTC Facebook Page and web site.
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There were many reports of snow, sleet, hail, and graupel around the area yesterday.
It was definitely cold! The afternoon temperature at 1700′ at the Cheeseboro RAWS was around 42°F. And the temperature was probably cooler in the vicinity of convective showers, such as the one above.
The photograph is from Sage Ranch, at an elevation of about 2000′. I was hoping to see some snow on the ground — but no cloud buildups cooperated.
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