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Mt. Disappointment 50K 2009 Notes

first published August 8, 2009 & last updated March 3, 2023 Gary Valle

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Strawberry Spring, about 1.25 mile from Lawlor Saddle (2005)

Strawberry Spring, about 1.25 mile from Lawlor Saddle

Note: The Mt. Disappointment Endurance Run is now the Angeles National Forest Trail Race.

Race day dawned clear, cool and breezy — nearly perfect conditions for the start of the 2009 Mt. Disappointment 50K and 50 mile Endurance Runs.

This was the 5th edition of the 50K, a classic race that starts and ends on the summit of Mt. Wilson, and features a demanding mix of technical single track trail, dirt fire roads, and the Mt. Wilson Rd. With over 5000′ of legit gain and loss, and a climb to the finish of 2600′, it is a course that many underestimate. If the 50K is difficult, the 50 mile is difficult squared. In addition to the final arduous climb to the finish, the 50 mile run features a brutally exposed 6 mile ascent to Shortcut saddle that most do during the hottest part of the day.

My goals for this year’s 50K were to a) complete it, b) have fun!, and c) try to get my time back down under 7 hours. I’d been working some on improving my running technique. Would it make any difference?

Following are some notes from this year’s race. This year I’ve used the GPS distance as calculated by SportTracks, rather than the official aid station distances. These distances are approximate. The times between aid stations should be relatively accurate, but may differ from the official times.

Mile 0 to 4.7 (Red Box Aid #1)

As a result of the Mt. Lowe Fire Road closure, instead of turning at Eaton Saddle and climbing up and over the shoulder of Mt. Disappointment, the first leg of the race followed (paved) Mt. Wilson Rd. all the way down to Red Box. According to the topo map, this reduces the total elevation gain by about 700′ — from about 5800′ to 5100′. Comparing GPS traces from last year and this year, it looks like the 2009 course is about 0.8 mile shorter — 5.5 miles vs. 4.7 miles.

How much would the change in course effect times? And, how do you compare a 2008 time to 2009 time? And, what time on this course would be (more or less) equivalent to my goal of finishing in under 7 hours on the standard course?

In my case, I’ve run the 50K four times before, so I know my average time down to Red Box is about 60 minutes. This year the split was 20 minutes faster. I figure about 16-17 minutes of that is due to the difference in courses, This is close to what the 8:1 Naismith’s Rule would predict. Assuming an 8.5 min/mile pace on the flat, the 700′ climb should add about 9 minutes, and the additional 0.8 mile should add about 7 minutes. So, subtracting 16 minutes from 7:00 hours my new time goal was 6:44.

I might have run this leg a little too fast — I did feel some tightness in my quads at Red Box — but the long, fast downhill on pavement was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

2007: 59 min 2008: 66 min 2009: 40 min

Mile 4.7 to 10.2 (Clear Creek Aid #2)

Behind me, I heard the surprisingly loud, “thunk!”of the toe of a running shoe catching on a rock, and then a grunt. Time expanded as I turned, and I watched in slow motion as a runner gracefully flew through the air, tucked, rolled, and in a backlit cloud of swirling dust, slid 50 feet down the steep, pine needle covered slope.

Maybe because it’s downhill and in shade, I’ve seen a number of runners trip on this section of the course, but this fall took the Gold. The good news was the runner was OK.

Although this was probably the fastest I’ve done this leg, it didn’t feel that way. I wasn’t holding back, but wasn’t pushing the pace either.

2007: 58 min 2008: 63 min 2009: 56 min

Mile 10.2 to 12.7 (Josephine Aid #2.5)

OK, OK, I know better than to push the climb up the Josephine Fire Road too hard. To this point, I was hanging with a some runners that would eventually finish the 50K in the 6:00-6:15 range. Didn’t know that at the time, and in my enthusiasm passed them on the hill. Bad move.

2007: 43 min 2008: 43 min 2009: 38 min

Mile 12.7 to 20.5 (Red Box Aid #3)

I coughed and sputtered after accidentally inhaling some of the Heed I was trying to drink. Jimmy Dean Freeman was cracking me up telling stories about some recent ultras.

There are two legs of the course where training pays big dividends, and this is one of them. Jimmy Dean and his wife, Kate, were running free and easy. It didn’t take long and they started to pull away. Runners trained for longer distances seem to have a much better time of it on this part of the course.

Even on a coolish day like today, the climb to Lawlor Saddle was on the warm side, and I found myself walking stretches that with just a little more “umph” I could have been running. For a while, I ran with a runner, who — if I heard correctly — warmed up for the Mt. Disappointment 50 miler by doing an Ironman Tri the previous weekend!

Although my time from Clear Creek to Red Box was 10 minutes faster than last year, I think my overall time would have been faster if I had taken it easier on the Josephine climb.

2007: 129 min 2008: 103 min 2009: 98 min

Mile 20.5 to 25.7 (West Fork Aid #4)

I don’t know what makes this leg so difficult, but every year it’s a tough one for me. Fresh, it would be a run in the park. After 21 miles of this race, and 4000′ of elevation loss, “it ain’t so easy anymore.” Some years there is water in the creeks that cross road, and a cap-full of water over the head helps. Not this year.

Lynn Longan, another one of the runners I’d passed on the climb up to the Josephine aid station, caught up to me a little before the West Fork aid station. In addition to two 50 milers earlier in the year, she had run the TRT 50 mile three weeks ago, and the Miwok 100K before that. I was about to learn what running longer can do for you.

2007: 66 min 2008: 61 min 2009: 57 min

Mile 25.7 to 31.1 (Finish on Mt. Wilson)

I left the aid station a little ahead of Lynn, but it wasn’t long and I heard footsteps coming up behind me. Looking strong, she cruised past and was soon out of sight.

I was worked. I could run some on the flat, but uphill running was not going to happen. Then there the water issue. Two bottles is never enough for me on the Kenyon DeVore climb. I knew that going in, and should have taken the time at the West Fork aid station to drink more water and defizzed cola. The plan had been to refill at a creek crossing a couple of miles up the trail. But there was a potential problem — this year almost all of the small creeks had been dry!

The creek wasn’t dry, but it wasn’t all that wet either. The flow was marginal and there was a lot of debris in water. But I had refilled here several times before, so maybe it would be OK. I’d already gone through my first bottle, and had started on the second, and there was still 3.5 miles and 1700 feet of climb to go. I decided I would only drink it if I had to. Without inspecting the source too carefully, I filled the bottle and hurried back to the trail. While I had been busy getting water, two runners had run past.

The Kenyon DeVore trail is cruel. Glimpses of the antennas on Mt. Wilson look tantalizingly close, but the trail climbs, turns, and then climbs some more. I drank all of the creek water and was happy to have it. Even with the extra water, my legs were getting crampy, and I just hoped I could get to the finish without a full-on bout of adductor and hamstring cramps.

2007: 112 min 2008: 100 min 2009: 104 min

Time in… 6 hours 34 minutes — with an average pace more than a minute per mile faster than last year, and ahead of my adjusted time goal of 6:44.

Here’s an elevation profile, and a Cesium browser View of a GPS trace of the course, with mile splits generated by SportTracks. Click on the red icon for the split time. The 2009 course is the yellow trace, and the 2005-2008 course is the red trace.

As always the event was superbly conducted by race director Gary Hilliard, the Mt. Disappointment 50/50 Staff, and a extraordinary group of friends and volunteers. Thank you!

Google search: $g(Mt. Disappointment 50K), $g(trail running)

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Ramping Down for Mt. Disappointment

first published August 2, 2009 & last updated March 3, 2023 Gary Valle

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Live oaks at Sage Ranch Park.

Note: The Mt. Disappointment Endurance Run is now the Angeles National Forest Trail Race.

Or should that be ramping UP for Mt. Disappointment? Anyway, started tapering for the Mt. Disappointment run next Saturday. Did the 13 mile Cheeseboro Canyon keyhole loop from the Victory Trailhead of Ahmanson Ranch yesterday, and then stretched the legs at Sage Ranch today. Both mornings were cool, with low clouds and fog — very pleasant!

Here’s hoping for “not too hot” weather for the race. At the moment, the GFS and ECMWF weather models show a weak upper level trough moving through California in the Friday-Saturday timeframe. Such a scenario should increase the chances of “seasonable” temps for the race — which would still be quite warm, but maybe not crazy hot.

Update Friday Morning 8/07/09. Broad upper level trough over California this morning is keeping things cool. Yesterday the high recorded at Mt. Wilson was 70, and the low overnight was 48! Southern part of the trough is forecast to hang back over Southern California through Saturday, which could result in temps a little BELOW normal for the Mt. Disappointment race. We’ll see!

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Bear Cubs on the South Fork Trail

first published July 26, 2009 & last updated July 8, 2023 Gary Valle

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Bear cub clinging to a tree on the South Fork Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The thing about a dangerous situation is that you almost never see it coming. In an instant a pleasant adventure can turn really serious. We were in the San Gabriel Mountains about 2 miles down the little used South Fork Trail, and 20 minutes from Islip Saddle, when my running partner shouted, “Do you see that!”

From the tone of her voice I knew it was something serious. My first thought was a mountain lion, but then I saw it — a bear cub clinging to a tree on the trail ahead. Sh*&! How many times had I told friends that I didn’t worry too much about black bears, “unless, of course, it’s a mother with her cubs.”

Where was Mom? She had heard us coming down the trail, but apparently only had enough time to send her cub up the tree, and take cover. Not good, and potentially very dangerous. We couldn’t see Mom, we couldn’t hear Mom, but knew she was nearby. Most likely she was in the thick brush on the steep slope below the trail.

Suddenly, the cub scurried higher in the tree, its long claws digging noisily into the bark of the tree. That’s when we saw that there were two cubs! The noise startled me, and I wondered if Mom — wherever she was — would react.

After a quick assessment, we walked quietly by the tree, and in a second or two started to jog. In a matter of seconds we were out of danger. It was fortunate that there were two of us and we were relatively noisy. A solo runner would have almost certainly surprised the mother with her cubs.

After a time the adrenalin subsided, and the rest of the run went very well. Temps were not quite as hot as expected on the low part of the course, and were pleasantly cool on Mt. Baden-Powell. Both the South Fork Trail and Manzanita Trail had been recently maintained. Some slides and washouts remain, but these are an integral part of the adventure and character of this trail run.

Update October 8, 2009. Here’s a video of the cubs and Mom taken a couple of months after our encounter. The cubs have grown! The video is from Johanna Turner’s YouTube Channel, which has fascinating footage of mountain lions, bears, deer, bobcats, foxes and other animals found in the mountains near Los Angeles.

More info about the approximately 23.5 mile course can be found in the post Islip Saddle – Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop.

Summer Returns

published July 19, 2009 Gary Valle

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Poison Oak Along the Blue Canyon Trail.

Since nearly all my weekday runs are in the afternoon, on Summer weekends I usually like to escape the heat and do a run in the mountains — the higher, the better. But today even the mountains were going to be hot. Hot enough that the National Weather Service had issued an Excessive Heat Warning for a combination of heat and humidity that would “create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely.”

It would be cooler at the higher elevations of the Sierra, but there was good chance of thunderstorms developing along the crest of the Sierra, as well as most of the higher mountains of Southern California. Considering the options, I finally decided to do an early morning run in Pt. Mugu State Park. If I was going to run in the heat, it might as well be a scenic run close to home. Maybe the weather in the mountains would be better next weekend.

There are many excellent courses at Pt. Mugu State Park. The course I was doing today is a “backward” variant of the Boney Mountain Half Marathon Course — up the Old Boney Trail, down to the Danielson Multi-use area, up Ranch Center fire road to the Hidden Pond Trail, and then back on the Upper Sycamore Trail. Water is normally available at Danielson Multi-use area and at the start of the Upper Sycamore Trail.

I should have started the run at dawn, but instead ambled along a section of the Satwiwa Loop trail at sunrise. The light was muted and golden, stretching my shadow well out on the trail ahead. Cool trickles of air filled each dip and gully and I wondered how long the temperate conditions would last. Ironically, the last time I had done this course it had been blustery and cold, and there had been snow on the mountains above Ventura. Not today…

It was warm running up the east facing section of the Old Boney Trail, but not yet hot. The crags to the west of the Danielson cabin site, gleamed in the morning sun, and for a brief instant I debated climbing the ridge. The impulse passed, and once over the shoulder of Boney Mountain, I thoroughly enjoyed the (mostly) downhill running through the Boney Mountain Wilderness to the Blue Canyon Trail junction. Cool air draining from the shaded slopes of Boney Mountain kept temps reasonable in the canyon, and the running was good all the way to the Danielson Multi-use area.

At the Multi-use area there is a choice. The coolest and most direct route to the Upper Sycamore Trail is up shaded (and paved) Sycamore Canyon road. But with the Mt Disappointment race looming, I wanted to get in more time and elevation gain, so opted for the longer, more exposed route up the Ranch Center fire road, and then along the ridge on the Hidden Pond Trail. Yes it was hot, and the humidity was up a bit, but it was still scenic and enjoyable in a “I’m not going to let the heat get to me” kind of way. And I knew a water faucet was waiting for me at the point where the Hidden Pond Trail rejoins Sycamore Canyon road, and the Upper Sycamore Trail continues eastward.

Maybe it was the heat, or maybe the coyote had learned to scavenge food from hikers — whatever the case the coyote ahead of me on the Upper Sycamore trail didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to get off the trail. Coyotes are an odd sort, very intelligent and adaptable, but in my experience not normally any kind of threat.

Usually they will scurry away from a runner. This coyote wasn’t scurrying anywhere. I picked up the pace and clapped my hands, and eventually the animal grudgingly took cover to the side of the trail. But, as it turns out, only about 4 feet off the trail. This was odd, brazen behavior, and I kept a wary eye as I passed.

The final challenge of the morning was the hot climb up to Satwiwa on the Danielson road from the end of the Upper Sycamore Trail. The hill isn’t long or particularly steep, but it faces directly into the sun. With the heat of the day building, it wasn’t easy.

Overall it was an excellent run that would have been even better with an earlier start. Here’s a Cesium browser View of a GPS trace of the approximately 14.5 mile route.

Related post: Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit

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Siberian Outpost & Mt. Kaweah from the PCT

published July 12, 2009 Gary Valle

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Siberian Outpost and Mt. Kaweah was taken from the Pacific Crest Trail

The photograph of Siberian Outpost and Mt. Kaweah was taken from the Pacific Crest Trail, north of Chicken Spring Lake, while running the 22 mile Cottonwood Pass – New Army Pass loop — an outstanding high mountain course that is nearly all above 10,000′.

The large treeless area is Siberian Outpost. Reminiscent of an expanse of tundra, an exposed camp here would certainly have the windswept, isolated character of the north. The high peak on the right side of the photograph is Mt. Kaweah (13,802′). To the left is Mt. Anna Mills and to the right, Mt. Guyot. The peaks of the Great Western Divide can be seen in the distance. Hidden from view, between Mt. Guyot and Mt. Kaweah, is the Kern (River) Trench near Kern Hot Springs.

In my experience the loop is a MUCH better run when done in the clockwise direction. Something to keep in mind, particularly in a heavy snow year, is that you approach New Army Pass from the west, and don’t get to see the snow situation on the steep, east side of New Army Pass until you get there — at about mile 13.

This wasn’t a heavy snow year, but the weather this Spring was cool and there were some late season storms. So it wasn’t a big surprise to find a steep patch of snow blocking the trail. With a light pack it was relatively straightforward to find a way around the snow, but earlier in the season, or in a heavier snow year, this might not be the case.

Additional info and photographs can be found in my posts Cottonwood – New Army Pass Loop and New Army Pass – Cottonwood Pass Loop. Here is a Cesium browser View of a GPS trace of the loop.

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Chumash Wilderness Trail Run

published July 5, 2009 Gary Valle

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Lynn Longan running up the switchbacks near the Condor Observation Site on Mt. Pinos.

The out and back trail run from the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos to the top of Mt. Abel is one of the best “short” mountain runs in Southern California. Most of the run is on the Vincent Tumamait Trail — a technical single track trail in the Chumash Wilderness in Los Padres National Forest.

Ranging in elevation from about 7700′ to 8800′, the run packs a lot into its 15 mile length, combining great scenery with demanding uphills and superb downhills through old growth pine and fir forest. The summit area of Mt. Pinos is open and alpine with views that can range from the ocean to the Sierra.

About 4 miles from the parking lot is the North Fork Trail junction. A short side trip on this trail leads to the seeps, spring and wildflowers at Sheep Camp. The Vincent Tumamait Trail ends at Cerro Noroeste (Mt. Abel) road, but it is not difficult to work up through the pines about 1/3 of a mile to the campground on Mt. Abel’s summit.

Usually about 20-30 degrees cooler than lowland hot spots such as the San Fernando Valley, the run is a great way to beat the heat on a hot summer day. See the post Vincent Tumamait Trail for more info and additional trail running options.

The title photo is of Lynn Longan, running up the switchbacks near the Condor Observation Site on Mt. Pinos.

Photography and inspiration from running and other adventures in the Open Space and Wilderness areas of California, and beyond. No ads. All content, including photography, is Copyright © 2006-2024 Gary Valle. All Rights Reserved.