Category Archives: trails|pt mugu state park

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But it is a Dry Heat

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Mugu Peak in Pt. Mugu State Park

It was humid — Atlanta in the Summer without air conditioning humid. I was sopping wet from head to toe and had just wrung out my high tech shirt like it was a cotton wash rag. Sweat just wasn’t evaporating.

The humidity is often low when it’s hot in Southern California, but not today. I was at the Danielson Multiuse area on my way back to Wendy Drive after doing Mugu Peak in Pt. Mugu State Park. Because of its moderate elevation gain the 21 mile run (round trip) to Mugu Peak is a good one to do back-to-back with another run when training for a longer event. Today’s run was a follow-up to a 20 mile run in the San Gabriel Mountains yesterday.

When I got back home I checked some Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) to see just how humid it was. At the Circle X RAWS at 10:10 am the temperature was 86°F, the dew point 70°F, and the relative humidity 59%. Further inland at the Cheeseboro RAWS at 10:38 am the temperature was 91°F, the “in the sun” temperature was 97°F, and the dew point was 65°F. Those are conditions you might find in Hawaii or the Southeastern U.S. in the summertime.

The NWS uses the Heat Index as a guide for issuing alerts related to heat. In practice runners will find that the Heat Index doesn’t do a very good job because it makes assumptions that don’t necessarily apply to runners — for example that you are in the shade and walking. According to the NWS “exposure to full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 15°F.”

I’ve found the dew point to be an easy to apply indicator of humidity on hot days. If the air temperature on a run is in the neighborhood of 90°F I start to notice the humidity at a dew point of around 55°F. At a dew point of 60°F the humidity is definitely noticeable, and at a dew point of 65°F and above the humidity is increasingly oppressive.

Some related posts: After the Springs Fire: A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park, Back on the Backbone Trail, Wendy Drive – Mugu Peak Challenge

photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|pt mugu state park

Chamberlain Rock

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Chamberlain Rock on the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail

The large split rock on the Chamberlain Trail segment of the Backbone Trail is a familiar landmark to those that run and hike the trail. It marks the half-way point on the 3 mile, 1600′ climb from the Old Boney Trail junction to the Tri Peaks Trail junction.

The rock is volcanic in origin and part of a volcanic sequence known as the Conejo Volcanics. According to the Dibblee geologic map of the area the material of which the rock is composed was probably deposited as a lahar (volcanic debris-flow) about 16.1 to 13.1 m.y. ago.

Here’s a link to a couple of videos of lahars on YouTube. After watching the violently churning rocks and debris in the videos it’s easy to see why the rocks embedded in this volcanic matrix are broken into angular pieces and full of stress fractures.

There is a memorial plaque on the rock in tribute to Henry Chamberlain. A 1991 Los Angeles Times article characterized Chamberlain as a wealthy Los Angeles industrialist and rancher.

nature, nature|wildfire, trails, trails|pt mugu state park

Comparing the Springs and Green Meadows Fire Perimeters

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Prior to the Springs Fire the last fire to burn through Pt. Mugu State Park was the 1993 Green Meadows Fire. Here’s a Google Earth image that compares the perimeters of these wildfires.

The Springs Fire perimeter is from the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GEOMAC) and is time-stamped 05/07/2013 at 0348. The Green Meadows Fire perimeter is from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection – CAL FIRE Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP).

According to FRAP GIS data, the Green Meadows Fire started on October 26, 1993, and burned 38,479 acres. The Springs Fire started on May 2, 2013, and according to CAL FIRE burned 24,251 acres.

Some related posts: Checking on the Chamberlain Trail, A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park, Springs Fire Burn Severity, Springs Fire 2013

nature, nature|wildfire, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|pt mugu state park, weather, weather|southern california

After the Springs Fire: Checking on the Chamberlain Trail

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Rock formations on Boney Mountain from the Chamberlain Trail

It had only been a week since I’d run here, but it was still easy to see recovery in Pt. Mugu State Park was continuing at a steady pace. Along the Hidden Pond, Sin Nombre and Blue Canyon Trails daubs of brilliant green contrasted sharply with the somber tones of black, gray and white left by the Springs Fire.



Hopefully recovery will continue at this pace. Most Southern California fires occur in Autumn, when there is a higher likelihood of rain in the weeks and months following the fire. The Springs Fire started May 2. A late season storm moved through the area May 6, helping firefighters to control the fire. The weather station at Circle X recorded about 0.4 inch of rain that day, but the area might not see that amount of rain again for 6-7 months.

In the coastal mountains the marine layer is also a source of moisture. Many of the area’s plants supplement rainfall by extracting water from the moist air. For example, the scalloped shape and surface of coast live oak leaves, and their spine-toothed margin promote condensation and collection of water. On a foggy day you’ll sometimes see a rain-like pattern on the ground under a live oak tree.



This morning the marine layer was in, and skies were partly to mostly cloudy. This was a good thing. Yesterday (June 1) Pierce College in Woodland Hills set a new high temperature record for the date of 104degF. With the hot weather and low humidity the Powerhouse Fire near Lake Hughes had tripled in size. The switch to an onshore flow would cool temps, increase the humidity, and help firefighters to control that blaze.

Today, in addition to checking on the progress of recovery, I wanted to check on the condition of Chamberlain Trail. The Chamberlain Trail is part of the Backbone Trail and the descent from Boney Mountain one of the best in the Santa Monica Mountains.



Last week, on the way to Serrano Valley, we’d seen that the fire had burned up to trail signs at the junction of the Chamberlain Trail and Old Boney Trail. It had been a close call. Brush at the base of the Chamberlain Trail had been scorched and burned, but the fire had not progressed upslope.

But what you can’t see from the junction is that the fire made a serious run up from Serrano Valley on the south side of Boney Mountain. This can be seen on this Google Earth snapshot of a NASA Landsat Satellite Burn Severity image, but from the image it’s hard to tell if the Chamberlain Trail was overrun or not.

Fortunately only a very short section of the Chamberlain Trail about a 0.4 mile from the Old Boney junction was burned.

Some related posts: A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park, Springs Fire Burn Severity

nature, nature|trees, nature|weather, nature|wildfire, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|landscape, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|pt mugu state park

After the Springs Fire: A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park

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New growth in Pt. Mugu State Park following the Springs Fire

As we rounded a corner on the Old Boney Trail, Ann spotted a deer bounding through a thick, unburned section of brush. Its behavior was unusual — the deer was a few hundred yards away and in heavy cover. We soon saw the reason — a large coyote was trailing the animal and probably had been doing so for time.

We were in the middle of a 25 mile Odyssey through Pt. Mugu State Park, about three weeks after the Springs Fire ravaged much of the park’s 14,000 acres.

Already the process of recovery was underway. Tufts of green were sprouting in many areas. Yucca was beginning to regrow and a few yucca scorched in the fire were blooming. In addition to the deer and coyote described above, over the course of the run we would see another deer; fresh raccoon, bobcat, fox and rodent tracks; a lizard, grasshoppers, many birds, a bee’s nest, and fresh mountain lion scat.

Here is a slideshow of some photos from the run.

Some related posts: Springs Fire Burn Severity, Springs Fire 2013

nature, nature|wildfire, running, trails, trails|pt mugu state park

Springs Fire Burn Severity

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Here’s an interactive Google Earth browser view of a false-color image of the Springs Fire scar from the Landsat Data Continuity Mission’s Operational Land Imager. The image was recently featured on the NASA Earth Observatory web site. The image date is May 4, 2013.

According to the description of the image on Earth Observatory unburned vegetation appears dark green. Burned areas are red, and the most severely burned areas are generally the darkest. Actively growing farmland is light green; plowed fields are brown. Buildings and roads are gray.

This is a 3D view that can be zoomed,rotated and tilted. It includes the GEOMAC fire perimeter timestamped 05/07/13 0348. Placemark locations are approximate. GPS tracks from various runs have been added to mark many of the area’s trails. The red track is Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. Requires the Google Earth plugin.

The overlay is large and may take a while to load.

Related post: Springs Fire 2013