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Dawn Songs, Wildflowers, and a Rocket Launch from the Phantom Trail

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Sun and clouds in Malibu Creek State Park
Clouds & sun at Malibu Creek State Park, near the end of the Phantom Loop

I checked my watch — it was 6:13 a.m. I was part way up the Phantom Trail in Malibu Creek State Park, and had stopped to see if I could hear the launch of the Falcon 9 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

I’d hoped to see the launch, but low clouds obscured the view skyward. Even so, there was a chance that a thin spot in the cloud deck might reveal the ship, as it propelled its classified payload into orbit.

All was quiet, except for the dawn songs of waking birds and the occasional car or motorcycle on Mulholland Highway. But then, just above the ambient sounds, I heard it — a constant dull roar somewhere to the west. I scanned the sky for any hint of an exhaust plume.

None was evident, but I suspect that if I had looked at the right spot at the right time, I might have glimpsed the rocket’s sun-bright flame. After searching and listening for a couple of minutes, I resumed working up the trail.

Phacelia along the Phantom Trail in Malibu Creek State Park
A sea of Phacelia along the Phantom Trail

Ka-boom! Even though my attention had turned to the trail, the distinctive, two-syllable report of a sonic boom broke my reverie. It had to be the Falcon 9 booster returning to the launch site. The boom wasn’t very loud at my location, but some living closer to Vandenberg apparently mistook the launch and sonic boom as an earthquake.

The remainder of the run went well. I’d run the Ahmanson 12K the day before, and the Phantom Loop (clockwise) was a good follow-up to that run.

I was a bit surprised just how overgrown some sections of the trail were. Mustard wasn’t the only plant crowding the trail, phacelia was as thick along the Phantom Trail as I’ve seen.

A showy patch of Chinese houses wildflowers along the Phantom Trail
Chinese houses along the Phantom Trail

With the cloudy, cool start to the day, the poppies were mostly closed, but several other species of wildflowers added color along the trail. Among them were Elegant Clarkia, Owl’s Clover and Chinese Houses.

Note: A little higher in the Santa Monica Mountains and farther to the west, Jonathan Stewart captured this video of the NROL-85 launch from Boney Mountain.

Some related posts: Phantom Trail: Trade-offs of a Wet Rainy Season; Redwoods, Raptors, and the Phantom Loop; Ladyface Via the Phantom Trail and Heartbreak Ridge

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Ladyface Via the Phantom Trail and Heartbreak Ridge

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Ladyface from Heartbreak Ridge, January 2022

The run up the Phantom Trail from Mulholland Highway and out Heartbreak Ridge is a fun adventure all on its own. When you first see Ladyface from the Phantom Trail, it seems like the trail isn’t going to go anywhere near the peak. But a series of ups, downs, and arounds does eventually get you to an overlook above the junction of Kanan & Cornell Roads. If you were to turn around at this point, the out and back would total a little over 8 miles.

Continuing down to Kanan Road and doing a counterclockwise loop on Ladyface — ascending the East/Northeast Ridge and descending the East/Southeast Ridge — adds another 3.5 miles to the route, and ups the adventure quotient a notch.

I first climbed Ladyface by this route in 2010 and have done Ladyface many times since. It’s a “real” peak with all the pros and cons that come with such a peak. The route isn’t always obvious, and some scrambling using the hands is required. Some sections of trail are steep, gritty and slippery. The quality of the volcanic rock varies. The knobby rock is fun to climb, but can break unexpectedly.

Even with the Ventura Freeway buzzing below the peak, the views from Ladyface are spectacular. A panorama of the Santa Monica Mountains extends from Saddle Peak in the east to Boney Mountain in the west. On the opposite side of the mountain, Hines Peak, Simi Peak and the San Gabriel Mountains fill the scene. On a day with good visibility, San Jacinto Peak can be spotted, far to the east.

Here are a few photos taken along the way, and an interactive, 3D terrain view of the GPS track of my route. The map can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. To change the view, use the control on the upper right side of the screen. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Poor weather, and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.

Some related posts: Ladyface the Long Way, Ladyface After the Woolsey Fire, Ladyface Loop

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Exploring the Lake Vista Trail and Ridge

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Malibu Creek, Goat Buttes and Century Lake from Lake Vista Butte

This morning’s running plan morphed from doing a loop I’ve done many times, to exploring a trail I hadn’t done, and hiking along a ridge to the top of a butte with a sweeping view of Malibu Creek State Park.

Lake Vista Ridge and Butte in Malibu Creek State Park
Lake Vista Ridge and Butte in Malibu Creek State Park

My run started at the Cistern Trailhead on Mulholland Highway. After descending the Cistern Trail, I picked up the Lookout Trail and headed west to the top of the Cage Creek Trail and the start of the Yearling Trail. Continuing on the Yearling Trail, I turned left (south) up the Deer Leg Trail, and continued west on the enjoyable, up-and-down single track.

I usually run the Deer Leg trail in the opposite direction and was a little surprised when I happened upon the Lake Vista Trail. How had I managed to run past this trail junction so many times and not notice it? Any trail with “Vista” in the name is worth exploring, so there was little choice but to turn onto the trail and see where it led.

Malibou Lake and Sugarloaf from Lake Vista Ridge
Malibou Lake and Sugarloaf from Lake Vista Ridge

As it climbed toward an obvious ridgeline, the enjoyable single-track trail wound in and out of several small canyons. About 0.7 mile from the Deer Leg Trail junction, the Lake Vista Trail topped out at a very pretty overlook of Malibou Lake (not a typo). My watch showed the mileage to the overlook from the Cistern Trailhead was about 2 miles.

From the overlook an unofficial “use” trail worked back east along a broad ridge to the top of a prominent butte that has an unique exceptional of Malibu Creek, Century Lake and Goat Buttes. Because of the area’s volcanic origins, the use trail is rough and rocky in places, and the trail is not always obvious. It’s a little under a half-mile from the overlook to the summit of the butte. Even though it was Winter, I kept a wary eye and ear out for rattlesnakes.

Once back at the overlook, I made a loop of it by descending the Lake Vista Trail to the Reagan Ranch parking area, and then working back east on the Yearling and Lookout Trails to the Cistern Trail. Here’s an interactive, 3D terrain view of my GPS track of the run and hike.

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A Sandstone Mammoth and a Spiral Labyrinth on the Bulldog Loop

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A natural sculpture of a sandstone mammoth on the Backbone Trail

Updated June 26, 2023. The spiral has been periodically removed and rebuilt over the years. Google Earth historical imagery shows that it was removed sometime between March 2021 and February 2022. As of June 25, 2023, it had not yet been rebuilt.

Instead of struggling to escape a tar pit, this “mammoth” seems to have been caught up in 25-30 million-year-old sandstone.

The beast can be seen along the Backbone Trail, east of the Corral Canyon Trailhead. When running/hiking/riding east from the trailhead, the trail climbs over two steep steps and up to gap in the rock. In the photo above, the gap is on the left and the mammoth figure is on the right. From the gap, the trail descends a rock corridor to Mesa Peak fire road.

A closer look at the mammoth reveals that it is pockmarked and there are rocks embedded in the sandstone. The embedded rocks are cobble from an ancient river and the pockmarks are where rounded rocks have fallen out of the eroding sandstone.

Spiral labyrinth constructed of ancient stream cobble along the Backbone Trail
Spiral labyrinth along the Backbone Trail

Stream cobble that has eroded out of sandstone formations in this area has been used to construct a spiral labyrinth on the north side of Mesa Peak Fire Road. The cobble was tumbled and smoothed by streams that drained a range much older than the Santa Monica Mountains.

The title photo is from this morning’s run of the Bulldog Loop.

Some related posts: Moon and Sycamores, Malibu Creek State Park; Bulldog Loop Near Corral Canyon

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Moon and Sycamores, Malibu Creek State Park

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Moon and Sycamores, Malibu Creek State Park

The photograph Moon and Sycamores was taken at dawn, near Malibu Canyon and Piuma Road, at the start of this morning’s Bulldog Loop trail run in Malibu Creek State Park.

A quarter-mile from the top of Bulldog Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.
A quarter-mile from the top of the Bulldog climb.

According to the Tempe sensor on my pack, the temperature ranged from a chilly 32° F along Malibu Creek to around 65° F on the crest. It was a near perfect morning to be outdoors.

Here’s an interactive, 3D terrain view of my GPS track from a previous run of the Bulldog Loop from Malibu & Piuma.

Some related posts: Bulldog Loop Plus the Phantom Loop; Trees, Bees, and a Washed-Out Footbridge on the Bulldog Loop in Malibu Creek State Park; After the Woolsey Fire: Bulldog Loop

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Finally — a Few Wildflowers!

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Bush sunflower

As of March 1, Downtown Los Angeles had recorded only 1.99 inches rain over the past eight months. Most of that was recorded in one storm in early January. It was the second driest July 1 – February 28 on record.

Following the January storm, temperatures warmed up and stayed relatively warm for much of the next 30 days. In the West San Fernando Valley the high temperature hit 89 °F at Pierce College on February 4, and was over 80 °F for 12 consecutive days. Some plants (and some rattlesnakes) responded as if it was Spring.

In mid February Winter returned, with cool daytime temperatures and cold nights. There were Frost and Freeze Warnings on several nights.

In March the ridiculously resilient ridge of high pressure over the West Coast finally relented, resulting in above normal rainfall. It took awhile, but the March rain and April sun eventually produced an assortment of wildflowers.

Here are some wildflower photos from recent runs at Ahmanson Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park and Topanga State Park.