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Run, Lop and Shiver – Trail Work with the SMMTC on the Chamberlain Trail

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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
nature, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails

Sulfur Mountain Road Down and Back

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View to the ocean from Sulfur Mountain Road Recreation Trail

With each stride I coasted a little further down the 10 mile long hill. If not effortless, running down Sulfur Mountain Road was about as easy as trail running gets. Just click on the cruise control and enjoy the great views and the superb Southern California sunshine.

Sulfur Mountain is an east-west oriented, approximately 13 mile long ridgeline on the south side of the Ojai Valley that extends from Hwy 150 on the east to Hwy 33 on the west. Geologically it is a large anticline created by a fault-propagated fold. 



The mountain figured prominently in the industrial development of the Ojai Valley, its oil seeps spurring petroleum exploration and extraction operations in the mid 1800s.

Sulfur Mountain Road traverses nearly the entire length of Sulfur Mountain and about half of the road is designated as the Sulfur Mountain Road Recreation Trail. The eastern trailhead of the recreation trail is at about the midpoint of the elongated peak. This is where I started this morning’s out and back run.



The eastern trailhead is at about 2600′ and over 10.2 miles the mostly dirt road descends to the western trailhead at about 400′. Including a couple of the short ups on the descent, the total elevation loss turned out to be about 2500′.

Of course 2500′ of descent means 2500′ of gain on the return, but I hadn’t looked at these details prior to run. I wasn’t sure what the run back up was going to be like, but was pleasantly surprised. The road was very runnable and I was able to maintain a reasonable pace for most of the 10 mile climb.



As advertised, the views of the Channel Islands, Ojai Valley and surrounding mountains were spectacular.

This particular day there were a number of mountain-bikers, a few hikers, but no runners.  Parking at the eastern trailhead is very limited, so most opt to do the out and back from the western trailhead near Hwy 33.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, non-technical 20+ mile run with moderate elevation gain, the out and back on Sulfur Mountain should do the trick.

nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, weather, weather|southern california

Still One of the Driest Calendar Years on Record in Los Angeles

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Sunset at Sage Ranch Park

It’s been great to get a little rain the last couple of weeks. Since November 20th Downtown Los Angeles (USC) has recorded 0.62 inch of rain, bringing the calendar year total through November 30th to 3.40 inches.

During our showery rainstorm on Friday the few extra raindrops that made it into the rain bucket at USC moved 2013 from 4th driest to 5th, behind 1947 (2.51), 1971 (2.69), 1894 (2.89) and 1984 (3.37).

Rainfall totals can change dramatically in December, which is normally about twice as wet as November. Of the dry years listed above only 1947 continued to be unusually dry and finish the year as one of the nine driest on record.

Rainfall amounts were compiled from NWS and NCDC data. In a couple of instances differences were noted in daily and monthly data. Monthly data was used in rankings.

The title photo is from a run at Sage Ranch on November 21.

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

San Fernando Valley from Near Rocky Peak

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San Fernando Valley from Near Rocky Peak

In short sleeves and shorts it was cold. The wind gusts were so strong that I could not hold the camera steady. Dropping down on one knee helped, but I still had to time the shots for the 10-15 mph “calm” between the 20-30 mph gusts.

After generating some rain and snow in Southern California, a blustery upper level low was finally exiting the area. Had I not known it had rained a couple days before, I’m not sure I would have been able to tell. The dessicated soil had quickly absorbed most of the moisture and the chaparral plants still looked drought stricken.

From today’s late afternoon run on Rocky Peak.

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Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Acquisition of Ahmanson Ranch

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Valley oaks and cirrus clouds near sunset at Ahmanson Ranch

Today those instrumental in the acquisition of Ahmanson Ranch and supporters of the open space area gathered at the park — now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve — to celebrate its purchase. For more on the festivities see this article in the Simi Valley Acorn.

I’ve been running at Ahmanson Ranch for more than ten years and have spent hundreds of hours in the open space area. Following are a few photographs, stories and wildlife encounters from these runs.

 – Northern Harrier Turning to Strike

 – Moonrises and Sunsets

 – Sunset Shower

 – Ahmanson Ranch Moonrise

 – Red-winged Blackbird Song Spread

 – Racing the Sun, Catching the Moon

 – Coyote Tag and Coyote Tag II

 – Southern Pacific Rattlesnake and Big Southern Pacific Rattlesnake

 – Ahmanson Blue Oak

 – Astronomical Trail Running

 – Ahmanson Ranch Trail Runs

 – September & October are Tarantula Months!

 – Southern California Greenscape

 – A Sunset and Moonrise

 – Dealing With Drought

 – Lenticular Wave Clouds

– Signs of Winter

 – King of the Hill

– Comet PanSTARRS and the Crescent Moon

The title photograph is from a run at Ahmanson Ranch earlier this November.

Photography and inspiration from running and other adventures in the Open Space and Wilderness areas of California, and beyond. No ads. All content, including photography, is Copyright © 2006-2024 Gary Valle. All Rights Reserved.