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Arroyo Conejo, Wildwood Park and Elliot Mountain

first published December 12, 2015 & last updated December 23, 2015 Gary Valle

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Elliot Mountain with Lizard Head, Mountclef Ridge and Wildwood mesa in the distance

This morning’s run had started on the southern boundary of the Arroyo Conejo Open Space near Amgen in Thousand Oaks. It was 39°F at the beginning of the run and the chill of dawn and brisk north wind made it feel even colder. The plan was to run north on the Arroyo Conejo Trail and connect to the trails in Wildwood Park.

Running on automatic, and hoping to warm up quickly, I followed the Arroyo Conejo Trail north along the shoulder of the canyon. Known as “La Barranca” the three mile long canyon extends from the 101 Freeway to Hill Canyon near Santa Rosa Road. Rounding a corner and working up and over a little hill I looked to my right and was astonished to see that in this section of the canyon a deep, vertical-walled gorge had been cut into the residential landscape.

Mountclef Ridge from the Stagecoach Bluff Trail in Wildwood Park.

The wildness of the gorge set the tone for the remainder of the run. Arroyo Conejo, Wildwood Park and the Western Plateau have a scenic, desert southwest character all their own and an extensive trail system. If a bluff, peak or other feature looked interesting, there was generally a way to get to it. I ran along Stagecoach Bluff, then to Lizard Head, and then over to the Canyon Overlook Trail and down to the Conejo Canyons Bridge at the Hill Canyon trailhead.

Hill Canyon and Elliot Mountain from the Canyon Overlook Trail.

After running up Hill Canyon, I was once again headed uphill, this time on the Western Plateau Trail. I’d caught a glimpse of some mountain bikers high on the bluff above and couldn’t resist continuing. I had more than 10 miles in and was planning to go back through Wildwood Park. Each mile added now would add two miles to my growing round trip total.

Box Canyon and Mountclef Ridge from the Canyon Overlook Trail

That’s the difficult thing about doing an exploratory run — deciding where to turn around. You HAVE to see what’s around each corner and what the view is like from the top of every hill. You can’t turn around just anywhere, and I was looking for the right place.

Turning onto the Outlaw/Gnome Trail, in a few minutes I reached the top of the rock outcrop where I’d seen the mountain bikers. But it wasn’t the top of the climb, and it definitely wasn’t the right spot to turn around. A bit higher I could see a sign silhouetted on the skyline and was curious to see what it said.

Trail to Elliot Mountain in the Western Plateau area near Hill Canyon — Trail to Elliot Mountain

The sign read “Elliot Mountain Trail.” How could I turn around now? Continuing east, a newly cut trail with a bench en route led to the top of the peak. Recently named in honor of Burt Elliot, “a tireless volunteer, open space advocate and champion of trails,” the peak was the perfect place to spend a few minutes enjoying the great view and then start my circuitous trip back to the car.

For trail maps and more information see the Conejo Open Space Foundation web site.

The title photograph is Elliot Mountain with Lizard Head, Mountclef Ridge and Wildwood mesa in the distance.

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Boney Mountain’s Western Ridge

first published November 14, 2015 & last updated November 17, 2015 Gary Valle

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Boney Mountain's Western Ridge

From today’s run, hike, scramble and climb of Boney Mountain’s Western Ridge. The rounded pinnacle at the top of the formation is this one.

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San Jacinto Peak and Tahquitz Peak Trail Run

first published October 31, 2015 & last updated September 27, 2020 Gary Valle

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San Jacinto area peaks from near Tahquitz Peak

Summits that can be accessed by trail are usually busy places, especially in good weather. That was certainly the case this morning. Each of us had encountered someone we knew on or near San Jacinto’s rocky summit.

It seemed everyone on the peak was doing a different adventure. One hiker mentioned he had run out of food at Wellman Divide. That seemed strange until he explained he was doing the “8000 Meter Challenge” — ascending Baldy, Gorgonio and San Jacinto consecutively in 24 hours. The 8000 meters refers to the (approximate) cumulative gain and loss when doing the three peaks. In round numbers Baldy via the Ski Hut would be about 2375 meters of gain+loss, Gorgonio via Vivian Creek 3350 meters and San Jacinto via the Tram about 1500 meters. If you skip the Tram and do San Jacinto from Idyllwild the gain+loss is about 2680 meters.

The Coachella Valley from the Wellman Divide Trail about a half mile from the summit of San Jacinto Peak. — Coachella Valley from near the summit of San Jacinto Peak

An ultrarunning friend that reached the summit shortly after we did was doing Cactus to Clouds to Cactus (C2C2C). This arduous route starts in Palm Springs at an elevation of about 460 feet and climbs all the way to the summit of San Jacinto at about 10,834 feet. Including a couple of short downhills along the way, the total elevation gain is around 10,800 feet. Round trip that works out to about 6600 meters of gain+loss.

Tahquitz Peak and the mountains beyond, from Wellman Divide — View from Wellman Divide

Ann, Telma and I were doing a route I’ve enjoyed for many years — ascending San Jacinto from the Tram and then running down to the fire lookout on Tahquitz Peak. The route has excellent running and (on a clear day) hundred-mile vistas. The views of Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks bring to mind many fine days spent with friends at these superb rock climbing areas.

When we got our wilderness permit at the Long Valley Ranger Station the ranger had warned us about 45 mph winds and cold temps on the summit. The strong winds had been forecast to moderate before sunrise and the forecast was spot on. The weather on the summit was near perfect — warm in the sun and cool in the shade with light winds.

After ascending San Jacinto we returned to Wellman Divide and then descended the Wellman Divide Trail and PCT to Saddle Junction. From Saddle Junction it is only a couple of (mostly uphill) miles to Tahquitz Peak. This Google Earth image shows my GPS track from Wellman Divide to Tahquitz Peak and back.

Osborne Fire Finder at the Tahquitz Peak Fire Lookout — Osborne Fire Finder

A dozen or so hikers were enjoying the warm sun and great weather at the lookout. As always, the fire lookout host was friendly and informative, answering questions about the lookout’s equipment and surrounding landmarks. Want to become a volunteer host? Check this page.

Tahquitz Rock and Suicide Rock rock climbing areas from the South Ridge Trail — Tahquitz & Suicide Rocks

My usual return route from Tahquitz Peak is to go back to Saddle Junction and then follow the Willow Springs Trail to Hidden Lake Divide. With the Willow Springs Trail closed due to the 2013 Mountain Fire it’s necessary to climb back up to Wellman Divide and then descend to the Tram from there. This adds about a mile and 800′ of gain to the usual route. Although we had descended it earlier in the day, the trail going up to Wellman Divide had a different feel to it, and the out and back wasn’t nearly as onerous as I thought it might be.

About an hour after topping out at Wellman Divide we were back at the Long Valley Ranger Station and not long after that on the Tram and headed down the mountain. I smiled as the decades-old recording in the tram car began, “You’ve had a great day…”

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San Gorgonio Mountain: Falls Creek Loop October 2015

first published October 10, 2015 & last updated May 3, 2019 Gary Valle

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Falls Creek Trail near Plummer Meadows on San Gorgonio Mountain

It was a little past noon and Downtown Los Angeles was about to hit a high of 100°F for the second consecutive day. From my vantage point I couldn’t quite make out Downtown; it was 80+ miles away, somewhere in the light haze to the west. Across Banning Pass Mt. San Jacinto loomed, massive and pyramidal, and down the spine of the range stood Mt. Baldy, surrounded by its siblings.

Patty and Ann on the summit of San Gorgonio Mountain. — Summit of San Gorgonio Mountain

Ann, Patty and I were enjoying the summit of 11,503′ San Gorgonio Mountain following a 13+ mile run and hike from the Momyer Creek trailhead in Forest Falls. Although it is nearly four miles longer than the Vivian Creek route and gains an additional 1000′ of elevation (6500′ vs 5500′), this superb alternative is a more runnable way up the mountain, with more of backcounty feel and alpine flavor.

Alpine terrain on the Divide Trail above Little Charlton - Jepson saddle — Alpine terrain above Little Charlton – Jepson saddle

It was cool on the summit, but I was still warm from running what I could of the final couple of miles up the peak. In that last stretch the trail contours around Jepson Peak, passes the Vivian Creek and Sky High Trail junctions, and then works its way up to the blocky summit of Gorgonio — the highest point in Southern California.

Cones of the Lodgepole pine are much smaller than cones of the Limber Pine — Lodgepole and Limber Pine cones.

Despite the record-setting hot weather, the temperature on the way up the mountain had been pleasant. Our pace had been conversational. Among other topics Ann told of her amazing experiences running the UTMB and Patty talked about photography and her trip to Zion. I spoke of lapse rates & compressional heating, Chinquapin nuts, and Lodgepole & Limber pines . At least for me, the miles passed with distracted ease.

The 31,359 acre Lake Fire overran San Bernardino Peak Divide in the area of Shields Peak. — The Lake Fire burned over the divide near Shields Peak.

From the switchbacks above Plummer Meadows you could see where the Lake Fire overran San Bernardino Peak Divide in the area of Shields Peak. The 31,359 acre Lake Fire started the afternoon of June 17 near the Forsee Creek trailhead southwest of Jenks Lake and burned a huge swath through the San Gorgonio Wilderness. The fire burned to within 0.4 mile of the summit, near the C-47B “Gooney Bird” crash site on the Sky High Trail. Here is a Google Earth view from the west along the crest of the San Bernardino Peak Divide showing part of the burn area and another view along the divide from the east. Much of the north and east side of Gorgonio is within the Lake Fire Closure Area.

Mill Creek Canyon from the Vivian Creek Trail

After about 15 minutes on the summit it began to get chilly and it was time to head down. The descent of the Vivian Creek Trail is as much of a challenge as the ascent of Falls Creek. Although I’ve run it many times, I conveniently forget just how convoluted, rocky, and technical it is. Part way down a double-fall of huge trees completely blocked the trail. One tree had broken on impact and the route choice was to either squeeze through the fracture or go the long way around.

We had become spread out on the descent, but were now running together on Valley of the Falls Drive. This 1.4 mile stretch on pavement connects the Vivian Creek trailhead to the Momyer Creek trailhead, completing the 24 mile loop. A short distance past the Fire Station we reached the gravel parking area. No longer obscured by trees, the view opened to a panorama of mountains that looked impossibly rugged and tall. Had we really just been up there?

My legs would answer that question following the two hour drive home.

Some related posts: Falls Creek Loop August 2013, Falls Creek Loop 2012

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Kodiak 50 Mile 2015

first published September 26, 2015 & last updated March 16, 2024 Gary Valle

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Runners in the 2015 Kodiak 50 mile race on the Siberia Creek Trail

Dazzlingly bright and a day from full, the moon rose above the trees along the Snow Summit skyline. Ahead of the moon, Pegasus flew effortlessly across the eastern sky. I asked to borrow his wings, but in response heard only our footfalls and the wind in the pines.

Kodiak 50M Elevation Profile.
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We were on the Skyline Trail above Big Bear Lake and about 44 miles into the Kodiak 50 mile — one of four ultra-length running races organized by Matt Smith and crew for this Friday and Saturday.

The Kodiak 100 milers had started their circuit of Big Bear Lake at noon yesterday, and after running through the night, the fastest of the fast had finished the course this morning!

Dawn on the Gray's Peak Trail about 20 minutes into the 2015 Kodiak 50 Mile run. — Dawn on the Gray’s Peak Trail.
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The Front 50K runners started on the heels of the 100 milers and ran the first 31 miles of the course — including the ascent of 10,000′ Sugarloaf Mountain. They finished yesterday evening at the Wildhorse aid station. Runners doing the Back 50K — the last 31 miles of the 100 mile course — started at Snow Valley at 8:30 this morning and most had finished by mid-afternoon.

We had started the 50 mile before sunrise at the Gray’s Peak trailhead, near Fawnskin, on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. Though warmer than normal, the temperature before sunrise was still in the 40s, and many shorts-clad runners huddled around the wheel wells of running cars trying to keep warm before the 6:00 am start. Continue reading Kodiak 50 Mile 2015 →

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A Two Mud Run Summer and Wet Winter Outlook for Southern California

first published September 17, 2015 & last updated June 22, 2023 Gary Valle

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Mud puddles on Lasky Mesa following record rainfall on September 17, 2015.

Ahmanson Ranch gets notoriously muddy when it rains, but it is exceptionally rare for it to rain enough in the Summer to do a run in the mud. Due in part to a warm Pacific, El Nino and a little boost from the Madden-Julian Oscillation in early July, it’s been a record two mud run Summer at Ahmanson Ranch!

The first mud run day was on July 18, when the Cheeseboro RAWS recorded 1.32 inches of rain. That day I ran in the San Gabriels, where the main issue was thunderstorms.

Mud in upper Las Virgenes Canyon following record rainfall on September 15, 2015. — Muddy Upper Las Virgenes Canyon

Tuesday (September 15) was a different story. It rained hard overnight — more than three-quarters of an inch — and in the afternoon I did one of my standard weekday loops from the Victory Blvd. trailhead — out East Las Virgenes Canyon, through Las Virgenes Canyon, and up the Beast to Lasky Mesa. It felt more like November than September. After running through a particularly muddy section in Las Virgenes Canyon, heavy plates of mud had built-up on my shoes. Normally I would curse, but on this run I just laughed. It was great to be out in the wet and muck.

Western Regional Climate Center map of the percentage of normal precipitation in the West for the period July 1 to September 16, 2015. — WRCC Percent of Normal Precipitation

Both days set rainfall records at Downtown Los Angeles (USC). July 18 was the wettest day in July and July 2015 the wettest July since recordkeeping began in 1877. September 15 set a new rainfall record for the date and was the second wettest day in September on record. To date, September 2015 is the third wettest September on record. The rain year (July 1 to June 30) is off to a great start in Southern California and the 2015 El Nino has continued to strengthen.

Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) for the seven strongest El Nino events since 1950 vs. 2015. — MEI for Seven Strongest El Ninos Since 1950

Based on the July-August Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI), for the time of year the 2015 El Nino is one of the three strongest El Ninos since 1950. A survey of dynamical and statistical ENSO models by the IRI & CPC suggests continued warming in the central equatorial Pacific with a peak of the temperature anomaly in the Nino 3.4 region in the OND or NDJ season.

The 2015 El Nino is being compared to the “Super” El Ninos of 1997-98, 1982-83 and 1972-73. It’s too early to tell how the 2015 event will stack up against 1997-98 and 1982-83, but it already has exceeded the strength of the 1972-73 event. How might a Super El Nino affect Southern California rainfall? Historically, they have produced some of the wettest rain years on record. Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded 31.01 inches of rain in 1997-98 and 31.25 inches in 1982-83.

Climate Preciction Center's Winter Precipitation Outlook for December-January-February 2015-16 — CPC Winter Precipitation Outlook

The climate context is different than it was decades ago, but very strong El Ninos are different beasts and rev up the atmosphere in a way that dominates global weather. Assuming the 2015 El Nino maintains (or increases) its strength into November or December, it should produce above average precipitation in Southern California this rain season, and perhaps result in an above average rain year for the southern half of the state. This is reflected in the Climate Prediction Center’s latest round of 3-Month Seasonal Precipitation Outlooks, including the Winter outlook for December, January & February 2015-16. We’ll see!

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