Rock formations along the western-most ridge on the north side of Boney Mountain in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Category Archives: trails|pt mugu state park
Backbone Ultra 2014
Runners on the Backbone Trail at About Mile 2 of the Backbone Ultra
Last year I ran the Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra and enjoyed everything about it — the trails and scenery, the runners, the volunteers, the approach of the organizers, and just the general vibe of the event. The Backbone Ultra team did a superb job, and as far as I know there no major issues. Nobody got lost or seriously injured. The runners and volunteers were respectful to the environment and everyone I talked to had a great time participating in the event.
Still I wondered. Because of its complex logistics and administrative requirements would there be a 2nd annual Backbone Trail Ultra? Then on August 22, a little after lunchtime, the news was posted — there would be a “Game 2!” I needn’t have worried, RDs Howard Cohen and Mike Epler were on it!
On March 15 at 6:07 a.m., at Will Rogers State Park, under the light of a 99% full moon, myself and 46 other runners in the first start group began our Backbone Trail adventure.
In the weeks leading up to the Backbone Ultra I’d been closely watching the weather. Two weeks prior to the run the area was inundated by the most rain in 48 hours since 2011. There had been some concern that heavy rainfall in the Springs Fire burn area in Pt. Mugu State Park would severely damage trails. That didn’t happen.
Ten days out it looked like an upper level low might affect the area. That didn’t happen. As the event neared, the forecast trended drier and warmer — much warmer. Friday as I was getting my drop bag ready, @NWSLosAngeles tweeted “Still expecting high temps to approach records at some locations this weekend” along with this graphic. That did happen!
On Saturday, the first day of the event, Santa Ana winds pushed the temperature at noon at Malibu & Piuma to 86 degrees — 16 degrees higher than during last year’s event! Note that this is the temperature in a ventilated, white-painted box several feet off the ground. The “in the sun” temperature, near the ground, on south-facing slopes was likely in the 90’s. Even more telling, the temperature at Circle X was in the 80’s from noon until 5:00 p.m. and at midnight was 74 degrees!
It must have been something to be on the Backbone Trail at its highpoint near Sandstone Peak in the middle of the night, with 100 mile visibility, a full moon and warm weather. I am really bummed to have missed that! I didn’t get to experience it because I had some kind of heat-related issue and dropped at the Encinal Aid Station at around mile 43.
This is the first time heat has kept me from completing a run or race. So what was the problem? Probably a combination of things. I don’t think I was under-trained or over-trained. I hadn’t just had the flu or a cold. My taper seemed OK. It wasn’t under-hydration, at least not in the first 30 miles. My best guess is that anticipating the heat, I drank too much early on. Not having trained much in the heat this year probably also contributed. It’s hard to know for sure. Sometimes it’s just not your day!
Although I didn’t get to the finish this year, I still very much enjoyed the miles I did run on the Backbone Trail. Here’s a slideshow of some images taken along the way.
It is a tribute to the many people that helped support the Backbone Trail Ultra that — by a substantial margin — there were more volunteers than runners! Many thanks to:
– RDs Howard Cohen & Mike Epler and their team Fred & Lauren Case, Willie Roland, Tres Smith, Erica Gratton and Dan Dicke.
– California State Parks and the National Park Service.
– Trippet Aid: Rene Canizales and the New Basin Blues.
– Stunt Aid: Alison Chavez/Amy Chavez and the SoCal Coyotes.
– Piuma Aid: Art Byrne and the Trail Runners Club.
– Corral Aid: George Plomarity and Patagonia.
– Kanan Aid: Paul Van Zuyle and his leprechauns.
– Encinal Aid: Bill Kee and wife Paula and the Coyote Cohorts.
– Mishe Mokwa Aid: Manley Klassen and wife Mara and the Coyote Cohorts.
– Sycamore Aid: Puerto Mauricio and the Coyote Cohorts.
– Finish: Erica Gratton & Janna Williams and the Conejo Valley Trail Runners.
– Breakfast: Luis Escobar, Jerry Gonzales and team.
– Medical: The Josepho Team and Ventura County Search and Rescue.
– HAM radio operators at each of the aid stations and the finish.
– Volunteers at the road crossings at Stunt, Piuma, Malibu Canyon, Latigo Canyon, Encinal Canyon, Mulholland Highway and Yerba Buena times 2.
– Sweeps: Kathy Higgins, Rene Canizales, Erin Chavin & Pedro Martinez, Ken Hughes and Jack Fierstadt.
– All the Course Markers & Safety Patrols.
Some related posts: Backbone Training Run 2014 #1, Backbone Training Run 2014 #2, Run, Lop and Shiver, Backbone Ultra 2013
Backbone Trail Training 2014 – Kanan to Mishe Mokwa to Wendy Drive
Rock Formations Along Wet Fork Arroyo Sequit from the Backbone Trail
The Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra was one of the most enjoyable runs I did last year. The low key approach with the emphasis on the experience rather than the clock was the perfect fit for my first 100K+ run. To be able to run the entire Backbone Trail with great support, company and entertainment was fantastic.
Today’s run — the second of four 2014 Backbone Ultra training runs — was from Kanan Road to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead near Circle X. This approximately 15 mile segment is one of the most scenic on the Backbone Trail with expansive views and superlative sections of single track trail. The 850′ climb from Encinal Canyon to Etz Meloy Motorway is so well-graded you (almost) don’t realize you’re gaining elevation.
I was looking to get in some extra mileage and it turned out running cohort Ann Ongena was as well. Ann was marking the course for the training run, so the plan was to do the Kanan to Mishe Mokwa segment and then continue from Mishe Mokwa another 13 miles or so to the Wendy Drive trailhead in Newbury Park.
A little before dawn Backbone Ultra RD Howard Cohen dropped us off at the Kanan Road trailhead and then headed back to Mishe Mokwa to coordinate the training run. The temp at the trailhead was around 60 degrees, which is about 30 degrees warmer than last year’s frosty training run on this segment.
For some reason my GPS watch was a little slow to sync with the satellites, and while I waited Ann was already busy on the trail. Course markings don’t have to be numerous or obtrusive to be effective. The few markers she would place would be removed by Tres when he swept the course.
The run from Kanan to Mishe Mokwa went well. As has been the case too often this Winter, the weather was nearly ideal for running. Last year at this time Downtown Los Angeles had recorded 4.35 inches of rain for the water year (since July 1). That was well below average. This water year to date we’ve only recorded 0.97 inch of rain — a meager amount and less than in the record driest water year of 2006-2007.
On this run and all the runs I’ve been doing this Winter I’ve been looking at how the chaparral plants deal with drought. Generally, they reduce their water needs by not flowering, remaining dormant, dropping leaves, producing much smaller leaves, folding or rolling their leaves and in other ways. Some annuals simply don’t germinate. Some plants such as chamise, with its needle-like leaves, deal with drought well; others such as bush monkeyflower are barely recognizable.
As I reached the high point of the Yerba Buena segment of the BBT above Mishe Mokwa and Circle X I vividly recalled being there during last year’s Backbone Ultra. It was about 9:30 at night and I had been running for 15 hours. I could see the lights of the aid station in the valley below and then heard — or thought I heard — cheers for a runner reaching the aid station. Although barely audible, those cheers picked up my spirits as much as they did the runner reaching the aid station!
I didn’t hear any shouts from Mishe Mokwa this morning, but the thought made me smile. Overhead the layer of clouds which had been with us most of the morning was beginning to dissipate, and the temperature was beginning to climb. Across the valley Boney Mountain’s iconic rock formations stood in relief against a mackerel sky and I stopped a couple of times to photograph the scene.
At Mishe Mokwa we enjoyed the fare at Howard’s & Victoria’s rolling aid station and relaxed for a few minutes as a large group of hikers assembled and then started up the trail.
When marking a course it’s preferable that when the main group finishes the run the course-markers be comfortably ensconced in folding lounge chairs, an IPA in hand, sweat-free and looking as they have been there for hours. With more miles to cover I substituted a soda for the IPA and after about 10 leisurely minutes we followed in the hiker’s footsteps and continued up the Backbone Trail to a busy Sandstone Peak — the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.
After spending a few minutes on the summit of the popular peak we worked over to the west junction of the Tri Peaks Trail, then down the Chamberlain, Old Boney and Blue Canyon trails to Sycamore Canyon. Here we left the Backbone Trail and enjoyed a little easy running up Sycamore Canyon to the Upper Sycamore Trail. Upper Sycamore ends at Danielson Road, which we followed to Satwiwa and trails that connect to Wendy Drive.
Some related posts: Backbone Trail Training 2014 – Stunt to Kanan, Backbone Ultra – Training Run #2 (2013), Backbone Ultra 2013
You Can Run From the Wind, But You Can’t…
Offshore wind events have been frequent this rain season. They often follow “inside slider” systems that miss Southern California and take a more inland track over the West. The result is more wind and less rain.
Los Angeles wrapped up calendar year 2013 with the least amount of rainfall on record. When talking about rainfall in Southern California it is more common to refer to the “rain year” which runs from July 1 to June 30. (The water year was changed to October 1 to September 30,)
So when was the driest rain year in Los Angeles? It was just a few years ago, in 2006-2007 when only 3.21 inches of rain was recorded. It was also driest water year on record with only 3.73 inches of rain.
There were also many wind events in that dry rain season, and like this January not a lot of green in the hills. To date we have had less rainfall this water year than in 2006-2007!
For the most part this Fall and Winter I’ve been able to work around the wind events and do runs that more or less escaped the wind. I thought that was going to be the case again today. The predicted offshore event seemed to be behind schedule and when I left for the Wendy Drive trailhead there wasn’t much wind.
There were stirrings of an offshore breeze at the trailhead and I commented to a hiker that I hoped the winds would hold off until later in the day. The plan was to do the out and back run from Wendy Drive to Mugu Peak. Because of the myriad of route choices, this is a fun run to do as a time challenge. What is the fastest route? Try it and see.
Things looked good all the way down Sycamore Canyon and into La Jolla Valley, but the wind started to pick up as I worked toward Mugu Peak.
Once on the peak it was like flipping a switch on a wind tunnel! I was ahead of my PR to the peak by several minutes and I was trying to push the pace. That was not happening and several times I had to pause and put a hand down as I staggered in the middle of a big step.
I caught up to a couple of people just before the final steep push to the summit. The wind flow was not as turbulent and gusty here and one of them started to run. With each stride the dust streaked from his shoes. I stopped to take some photos and this short video clip. The smoother winds didn’t last for long, and neither did the running.
Mugu Peak’s next door neighbor to the west, Laguna Peak, has recorded a wind gust of 125 mph. In this photo from Boney Mountain Mugu Peak is on the far left and Laguna Peak has the communications equipment on the summit. Today I’d estimate the strongest gusts on Mugu Peak were in the range of 50-60 mph. The winds were strong enough that the sewn end of a fluttering strap was like a whip and just as capable of raising a welt.
I spent zero time on the summit and was very happy to get back down to La Jolla Valley.
Some related posts: Wendy Drive – Mugu Peak Challenge, La Jolla Valley & Mugu Peak from Wendy Drive
Run, Lop and Shiver – Trail Work with the SMMTC on the Chamberlain Trail
No big deal, so the temp was in the low 40s and it was a little windy… and rainy… and my work gloves were sopping wet… Yes, Victoria did say she hadn’t been this cold since leaving Russia, but how bad could it be — Mike and Jeanne were wearing SHORTS. I quietly whimpered and lopped off another limb of encroaching chamise. If I kept lopping maybe no one would notice how much I was shivering.
Logistically, the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail is one of the more challenging trails in the Santa Monica Mountains to maintain. It’s difficult to get all the tools and people to the trail and out again and still have time to do a few hours of work.
Coordinating with the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, Howard Cohen, RD of the Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra, rounded up a bunch of trusting folk that will do just about anything if running in the mountains is involved.
Starting at the Wendy Drive trailhead runners hoofed it over Boney Mountain to the top of the Chamberlain Trail — about a two hour run/hike — then lopped, and sawed and cleared their way down the trail until told to stop. Then they ran back to their cars.
If the smiles (of relief?) at the end of the day were any indication, good, clean fun was had by all — even if it was a little damp and chilly.
Here are a few additional photos from the adventure. Click for a larger version of the photo.
 Boney Mountain |
 Front Moving In |
Soups On |
 Chamberlain Trail |
 Wrapping It Up |
 Clearing Clouds |
 After Work |
 Scott |
 Jeanne & Howard |
 Clearing Clouds Panorama |
 Chamberlain Rock Panorama |
Watch and Wonder
Trying to understand the behavior of wildlife can be perplexing, particularly when it involves human interaction. Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder what an animal is thinking.
I was in the middle of a 13.5 mile loop in Pt. Mugu State Park, chugging up the Old Boney Trail in the Boney Mountain Wilderness, about 2.5 miles past its junction with the Blue Canyon Trail.
From time to time I’ve been checking the progress of recovery in Springs Fire burn area. Ecologically the area is very complex and as a result of the varied terrain, habitats, vegetation patterns, soil moisture and burn severity, the rate of recovery has also been varied.
The recovery has been further complicated by the season of the fire — just before Summer — and by below average rainfall. Taking into account the unusual circumstances, the sprouting of sycamore, oak, walnut, bay, red shanks, laurel sumac, toyon, mule fat and other plants has been surprisingly robust.
The stretch of the Old Boney Trail I was on now had been severely burned. It was along a steep, rocky canyon that still looked quite barren. Many chaparral plants sprout from surviving roots following a fire, but some plants such as the bigpod Ceanothus in this area must regrow from seeds which sprout following Winter rains.
With the lack of vegetation I was a little surprised to see a California Towhee land on the rocky trail a few feet ahead of me.
The California Towhee lives in the chaparral and I see them frequently on trail runs. It is about as nondescript as a bird can be — gray-brown and little smaller than a dove. They have a peculiar habit of emerging from the brush, scurrying a few feet along a trail just ahead of a hiker or runner, and then darting back into the brush.
Inexplicably this particular bird carried this behavior to the extreme, scampering along the trail just ahead of me for more than 2 minutes, eventually pausing on some rocks along the trail and watching me pass. The time from the first picture of the bird on the trail to the last was 2 minutes 14 seconds. That’s one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, all the way up to one hundred thirty-four-Mississippi.
I often see towhees in pairs and sometimes with rabbits when both are foraging. The rabbit acts as an early warning device for the bird and vice versa. Did the towhee see me as a really big rabbit? All I could do is watch the bird and wonder.
Some related posts: Chasing Towhees and Other Rainy Day Activities, Coyote Tag, Coyote Tag II, Hawk, Bobcat and Rabbit