Category Archives: trails|smmc open space

nature, photography, running, trails, trails|smmc open space

Astronomical Trail Running

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With a solar eclipse, lunar eclipse and transit of Venus all occurring over a 17 day period, my trail running has taken on a definite astronomical bent.



Low clouds prevented local viewing of the lunar eclipse, but the May 20 solar eclipse was fantastic. And as a result of a series of interpretive programs offered by Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, I was able to view the transit of Venus this afternoon, while doing one of my regular trail runs in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (aka Ahmanson Ranch).

Local astronomer & volunteer naturalist Pat McQuaid setup his 11″ Celestron telescope on one of the Park’s hilltops, a short distance from the trailhead. With proper filtration and a wide field eyepiece, the image of the planet’s disk crossing the Sun’s face was spectacular! The image seen through his telescope was similar to this NASA – Johnston Space Center photo from the ISS.

The weather was perfect for an afternoon walk (or run), and many people made the half-mile trek.

The transit of Venus across the Sun’s face is a rare event, occurring only a couple times a century. So thank you SMMC, MRCA and naturalist Pat for the opportunity see it in the middle of a trail run!

nature, nature|wildfire, photography, photography|wildlife, running, trails, trails|smmc open space

Where Are We Running Next?

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A rabbit waits at the top of Cheeseboro Canyon

I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many rabbits on a run. It seemed that every few strides another rabbit, or two or three rabbits, would pop up on the trail.

Cottontails have a peculiar behavior when people approach. When one sees me running toward it, it will often watch and wait…, watch and wait… It’s almost like the rabbit is waiting to see just how close I’ll approach. Usually when I’m about 10-12 feet away — sometimes closer — it will break for an established escape path. Then just a foot or two into the brush, it will stop again. If you stop and stand very still, many times a rabbit “on pause” will just sit there, 3 to 4 feet away.

Rabbits aren’t always so calm. One time I was running down Las Virgenes Canyon and a ground squirrel and rabbit were on the road about 25 yards ahead of me. They must have been preoccupied with each other because when the squirrel finally noticed me, it panicked and bolted toward the rabbit. That caused the rabbit to freak. The rabbit launched like a rocket, just as the squirrel collided with it. The resulting visual was of a rabbit eight feet in the air with a ground squirrel spinning off-kilter below it!

From this morning’s Cheeseboro Canyon Loop from the Victory Trailhead of Ahmanson Ranch (Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve).

Related post: Classic Cheeseboro Canyon

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

The Color of April Rain

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Clearing rainstorm at Ahmanson Ranch

Usually April isn’t a particularly wet month in Southern California. Normal April rainfall at Downtown Los Angeles (USC) runs less than one inch —  0.91 inch by 1981-2010 standards.

Wednesday night into Thursday the third rainstorm of the month produced 0.49 inch of rain at Downtown Los Angeles. This increased April’s rainfall total to 1.71 inches and the Los Angeles water year total to 8.68 inches. That puts us at about 60% of normal rainfall for the water year.

The photograph is from a spectacular trail run yesterday afternoon at Ahmanson Ranch, about 25 miles WNW of Downtown.

nature, nature|wildfire, photography, photography|wildlife, running, trails, trails|smmc open space

Coyote Tag II

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Close encounter with coyote at Ahmanson Ranch.

Last June I had an unusual encounter with a coyote near the end of a run at Ahmanson Ranch (Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve). For reasons known only to the coyote, the animal behaved like a dog and ran with me a short distance along a dirt road. Not off to the side of the road, or at a distance, but as if on lead and out for a daily jaunt. Today, on the same section of road, I had another odd encounter with a coyote.

This time I rounded a corner to see a coyote calmly trotting down the middle of the dirt road toward me. No big deal, it would do what a coyote normally does — see me and head for the brush. Except it didn’t. This time it continued to trot in my direction. Fifty, thirty, twenty feet — the gap between us closed. Watching each other intently, we stopped about 12 feet apart.

Brash coyote behavior at Ahmanson Ranch
Coyote walking toward me

For a few moments we stared at each other, my expression no doubt showing the same mix of wariness and curiosity as the coyote’s. In the practiced motion of something wild, the coyote briefly raised its head, sampling scents of its world on the wind. I edged closer — not daring to raise my camera, but taking the occasional photo.

A few more seconds passed, then apparently deciding enough was enough, the animal sauntered into the grass.

Coyotes are opportunists and I’m guessing these close encounters are related to an association of people with food — perhaps discarded food or food intentionally provided. Coyotes also associate people with their pets. Recently I saw a pair of coyotes behaving oddly (also at Ahmanson) and nearby an individual was walking their small dog off lead.

Some related posts: Coyote Tag, Trickster

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|trail running, running, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Clouds, But Not Much Rain in Los Angeles

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Running up to Lasky Mesa

The Cheeseboro RAWS, a couple of miles west of where this photograph was taken, is usually a good indicator of the weather in the Ahmanson Ranch area. The automated weather station recorded a paltry 0.01 inch of rain Tuesday. While this was enough to dampen the trails and create a little mud, it didn’t help much with our low water year precipitation totals.

Downtown Los Angeles (USC) also recorded 0.01 inch of rain Tuesday, bringing the water year (July 1 to June 30) total to 5.07 inches, or about 60% of normal. Some areas have had a little more rain and some a lot less. According to NWS data the Santa Barbara water year rainfall total stands at about 69% of normal, while Burbank out in the Valley has recorded only about 44% of the normal amount of rain.

Central California isn’t doing any better. Downtown San Francisco has only recorded about 42% of normal rainfall and Sacramento 45% of normal. In the first full Sierra snow survey of the season, basin averages ranged from about 28% to 54% of the normal snowpack, with a statewide weighted average of 35%.

The medium range weather models are forecasting a series of shortwave troughs will move through Southern California over the next 10 days. At the moment the systems aren’t forecast to produce much rain in the Los Angeles, but maybe that will change. We’ll see!

The photograph is from a run last week. The road leads up to Lasky Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).