Category Archives: trails|san gabriels

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Bear Canyon Loop Plus Strawberry Peak

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San Gabriel Mountains from Strawberry Peak

I stepped on top of the waist-high rock and with some effort pressed upward. It felt like my leg was going to blow apart at the seams. We were hiking up a steep section of Strawberry Peak, and were about a mile from the summit. I’d done Strawberry from Red Box innumerable times, but my legs had never felt like this.

Trail runners — and all of us that love the outdoors — are very good at finding ways to spend a little extra time outside. The first half of the day Skye and I had done the Bear Canyon loop and now we were climbing Strawberry Peak.

Bear Canyon from above Tom Sloan Saddle
Bear Canyon

On its own the Red Box – Bear Canyon – Gabrielino loop is a demanding run. Because the canyon has been subject to numerous flash floods the Bear Creek Trail is a mix of classic mountain trail and segments of “use trail” through washouts and flood debris. Add in the elevation gain going from Red Box to Mt. Disappointment and from Switzer Falls back up to Red Box and you’ve got an adventurous run.

Skye running on a nice section of the Bear Canyon Trail near Arroyo Seco.
Bear Creek Trail near Arroyo Seco

About halfway through the canyon is Bear Canyon Trail Camp. Perched on a bench above the creek this idyllic camp was spared by the 2009 Station Fire. Because of the camp’s popularity the section of trail between Bear Camp and Arroyo Seco sees the most use and generally is in better condition than the section between Tom Sloan Saddle and Bear Camp.

The 16 mile loop we did today is the shortest that goes through Bear Canyon. The loop can be extended by linking in the Valley Forge Trail or circuit around Strawberry Peak, or doing what we did today — the out and back to the summit of Strawberry Peak.

Some related posts: Red Box – Bear Canyon – Gabrielino Loop Revisited, Red Box – Bear Canyon – Gabrielino Loop, Red Box – Bear Canyon Loop, Strawberry – Bear Canyon Loop

nature, nature|wildfire, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|san gabriels

Waterman Mountain: Fallen Trees, Forest and Ferns

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Area burned by the Station Fire on Waterman Mountain

The area in the image above was burned by the Station Fire on September 7, 2009. That morning I’d just crossed the peak-top finish line of the Baldy Run to the Top and using a tiny point and shoot camera took this snapshot of the Station Fire burning on Mt. Waterman.

Station Fire burning on Waterman Mountain the morning of September 7, 2009
Station Fire on Mt. Waterman

The image of the fallen trees and ferns is from today’s counterclockwise circuit of Waterman Mountain from Three Points. It was taken at an elevation of about 7100′ about 3.5 miles from Three Points and about 1.5 miles west of the Twin Peaks Trail junction. Here the Station Fire burned swaths of forest, running up steep gullies and ridges on the south slopes of the mountain.

Part of a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) image taken of the Station Fire Burn Area by the NASA Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft
Ikhana BAER Burn Intensity

The purple hues in this Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) image taken by the NASA Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft in 2009 are indicative of the burn severity in the vicinity of Three Points and Mt. Waterman. (Ikhana image courtesy of NASA Dryden and NASA Ames. Composite image created using Google Earth Pro.)

Coulter pines burned in the Station Fire along the Three Points - Mt. Waterman Trail
Pines Burned by the Station Fire

The yellow track in the BAER image is of the Three Points – Mt. Waterman loop. The track includes a side trip to the summit of Mt. Waterman I didn’t do today. About one-third of the approximately 20 mile loop was impacted by the fire. If the loop is done counterclockwise the first couple of miles are the most severely burned and have the most downed trees and Poodle-dog bush. Use trails have developed around the fallen trees, but it seems a new tree or two has fallen each time I do the route. With care the Poodle-dog bush is generally avoidable.

Some related posts: After the Station Fire: After the Station Fire:Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop, Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop, Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on the Burkhart Trail, Twin Peaks Trail Run

photography, photography|landscape, photography|trail running, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|san gabriels

South Fork Adventure

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South Fork Trail, between Islip Saddle and South Fork Campground

I asked Skye what her watch had for the mileage. Had we gone two miles yet? We were running down the South Fork Trail from Islip Saddle and hoping to do one of my favorite adventure runs in the San Gabriel Mountains. The 23.5 mile loop descends to South Fork Campground,  then climbs to the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell via the Manzanita Trail and PCT; and then continues on the PCT back to Islip Saddle.

Rock slides on the South Fork Trail between Islip Saddle and South Fork Campground.
Rock slides on the South Fork Trail

A few days before there had been a report on Facebook that the South Fork Trail “was gone” about two miles down from Islip. With the heavy rains we’d seen in July that was certainly a possibility. Even without the rain it was a possibility. The South Fork Trail is under constant bombardment and it is normal for some sections of the trail to be covered by rock slides. I can’t think of an “official” trail in the San Gabriel Mountains with a more primitive character.

The condition of the South Fork Trail wasn’t the only possible problem. Earlier in the week I’d run the Manzanita Trail most of the way to South Fork Campground to be sure that if the South Fork Trail was passable, we would be able to complete the loop. There were two things to check. Was the spring running 1.4 miles from Vincent Gap? It was. And had the heavy July rain washed out the trail in the landslide area above Paradise Springs? It hadn’t. So if we could get to South Fork Campground we were good to go.

As things worked out the condition of South Fork Trail was about the same as it always is. I’ve seen it in better condition and I’ve seen it worse. With care it was passable — but that isn’t a recommendation. It’s the kind of trail some love and others hate.

Elevation profile of the Islip Saddle - South Fork - Vincent Gap - Mt. Baden-Powell Loop
Elevation Profile

Once down at South Fork Campground the adventure isn’t over. There are some rock and boulder strewn washes to navigate and there’s the small matter of the nearly continuous 10 mile, 5000′ climb to the top of Mt. Baden-Powell. Having recently completed the Angeles Crest 100 and climbed Mt. Whitney, the tough climb from the South Fork was a piece of cake for Skye. On the other hand, I was very happy to round the final corner and see Baden-Powell’s busy summit come into view. On the way up  we ran into Mt. Disappointment race organizers Gary & Pam Hilliard, getting in a little work after doing the Julian Station Full Moon run the previous weekend. Next year will be Mt. Disappointments’ 10th running.

Regrowth of lodgepole pines along the PCT near peak 8426 following the 2002 Curve Fire.
Lodgepole pine saplings

Between Baden-Powell and Windy Gap the weather was cool and the running comfortable on the PCT. Perhaps because of the heavy July rain the pines and firs seemed to be especially green. In several areas young, healthy trees grew in nursery-like stands amid the bleached trunks of trees burned in the 2002 Curve Fire.

I was just about out of water when we pulled into Little Jimmy Spring, and as always, the water was clear, cold and rejuvenating. Another 2.5 miles and the loop would be done. Although it’s difficult for its length, it’s also very enjoyable. If the weather holds I’ll probably do it again this Fall before Winter settles in.

Some related posts: Trail Running Weather, San Gabriel Mountains Running Adventure, Islip Saddle – Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop

nature, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|landscape, photography|wildflowers, running, trails, trails|san gabriels

Inspiration

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Pine Mountain and Mt. Baldy from Lightning Ridge
Pine Mountain and Mt. Baldy from Lightning Ridge

The day before the Angeles Crest 100, after checking in for the race in Wrightwood, I drove over to Inspiration Point to have lunch, go for a short hike, and enjoy being in the mountains. The day was exceptional.

 

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nature, nature|weather, nature|wildfire, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|san gabriels, weather, weather|el nino, weather|southern california

July Deluge a Preview of Southern California’s Upcoming Rain Season?

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Pines and clouds in the San Gabriel Mountains

It wasn’t so much a surprise that there was thunder or that it was starting to shower again. It was that I was hearing thunder all around me — to the east toward Mt. Waterman and Twin Peaks, to the south toward Mt. Wilson and the San Gabriel Valley, and to the west toward Big Tujunga Canyon and the San Fernando Valley. This was clearly more than an isolated summer build-up. Pockets of showers, some light and some heavy, could be seen in the distance and I wondered just how wet I was going to get.

Mt. Waterman (left) and Twin Peaks from near Mt. Hillyer in the San Gabriel Mountains
Mt. Waterman (left) and Twin Peaks from near Mt. Hillyer

The answer was “pretty wet!” That was on a run in the San Gabriel Mountains on Saturday, and was the result of the first wave of moisture and instability associated with tropical system Dolores and a strong monsoonal flow from Baja. An even stronger surge of moisture followed Sunday afternoon with rain rates exceeding an inch an hour. From 5:15 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. a CBS Radio weather station on Mt. Wilson recorded a half-inch of rain in just 10 minutes!

NEXRAD regional composite radar image for Southern California at 5:00 p.m. Sunday, July 19, 2015.
Composite radar image for Southern California at 5:00 p.m. Sunday

Though the heavy rain created its own problems — including flash floods, debris flows and rock slides — the soaking rains helped quell the Pines Fire near Wrightwood and the North Fire near Cajon Pass. Over the three day period from Saturday to Monday the Big Pines Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS), near the Pines Fire, recorded 3.12 inches of rain. Several stations in the San Gabriels recorded more than three inches of rain, including Clear Creek and Opids Camp.

Many locations set new records, not only for the date, but for any day in July. Downtown Los Angeles (USC) set rainfall records for the date on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Downtown Los Angeles recorded 0.36 inch of rain Saturday. This is more rain than any day in any July since recordkeeping began in 1877. That one day of rainfall even broke the monthly record for July in Los Angeles! Prior to this event the wettest July on record was in 1886, when 0.24 inch was recorded.

Strengthening El Nino conditions and the active phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation contributed to the development of Dolores in the Eastern Pacific, enhancing convection. Anomalously warm SSTs in the tropical and sub-tropical Eastern Pacific also played a role, helping to maintain the strength of Dolores and increasing the amount of water vapor entrained by the system.

This year’s El Nino is very different than last year’s on again, off again event. This year’s El Nino is already established, well-coupled with the atmosphere and growing in strength. It’s firing on all cylinders and at this point it appears the only question is, “How strong will it get?”

photography, photography|wildflowers, running, running|adventures, running|races, trails, trails|san gabriels

Mt. Disappointment 50K Returns!

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Runners work up the San Gabriel Peak Trail toward Mt. Disappointment.

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

Following a two year hiatus the challenging Mt. Disappointment 50K was run today in near perfect weather conditions.

Temperature at Clear Creek for Mt. Disappointment 50Ks from 2005-2015
Temperature at Clear Creek for Mt. Disappointment 50Ks

How did the temperature today compare to the torrid conditions in 2012? The HIGH temperature today at Clear Creek — 76 °F — was 7 degrees COOLER than the temperature BEFORE SUNRISE in 2012 — 83°F! It was warm in the sun in a couple of places today, but nothing compared to the 115°F in the sun in 2012.

Runners at the starting line on top of Mt. Wilson for the 2015 Mt. Disappointment 50K & 25K
Runners at the Start line on Mt. Wilson

This was the ninth running of the event, which began in 2005, and the first time since 2008 that the 50K was run on the original course. In 2009 a rockslide closed the Mueller Tunnel, resulting in a detour down the Mt. Wilson Road. In 2010, 2011 & 2012 portions of the course were closed as a result of the devastating Station Fire and subsequent flash floods. This required a rerouting the course and adding the infamous climb up Edison Road to Shortcut Saddle. The iconic climb up the Kenyon Devore Trail has been a hallmark of the event every year in which it has been run.

Elevation profile for the 2015 Mt. Disappointment 50K
Elevation profile for the 50K

Here’s an elevation profile and an experimental Cesium browser view of a GPS trace of the course, with mile splits generated by SportTracks. The view can be zoomed in & out, rotated and tilted. Mileages and placemark locations are approximate. It does not require a plug-in and should work on most devices.

Gary Hilliard (with wife Pam) briefs the runners on the details of the 50K and 25K courses.
Gary & Pam Hilliard

Many thanks to Gary & Pam Hilliard, Fausto & Cindy Rowlan, and all of the Mt. Disappointment 50K Staff, volunteers, HAM radio operators, Sierra Madre SAR personnel, runners, and sponsors that have helped make all nine Mt. Disappointment 50Ks such outstanding events! I’m already looking forward to running number 10!

Photos and results can be found on the Mt. Disappointment web site.

Some related posts: Mt. Disappointment Notes: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.