View across Blind Canyon to Oat Mountain from the Rocky Peak fire road. At one time slated to become a Los Angeles County landfill, Blind Canyon is now part of Rocky Peak Park.
From an out and back run on Rocky Peak Road to the top of the Chumash Trail.
Related post: San Fernando Valley from Rocky Peak
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Ran Rocky Peak road both days last weekend. Saturday’s outing was a 7.3 mile rainy day run out to the Chumash Trail junction and back. Sunday’s was a little longer, about 9.3 miles — past the Chumash Trail junction to the highpoint on the road sometimes referred to as “the fossils.”
The photograph of Simi Valley was taken on Sunday afternoon, just after turning around to head back. The wind was blowing in fitful gusts, and a gray wall of rain loomed to the west. It wasn’t raining yet, but the trailhead at Santa Susana Pass was about 50 minutes away, and there was a feeling things were going to get very wet, very soon.
Over the weekend the west coast was slammed by a series of storms that increased the water year rainfall total at Downtown Los Angeles to an inch above normal and the Sierra snow pack from 60% of normal to over 100%.
So far this rain season, Southern California has dodged a La Nina bullet. This AHPS Precipitation Analysis for the water year indicates much of the area has received near normal to above normal precipitation.
Will Southern California rainfall remain near normal? The Climate Prediction Center’s precipitation outlook for Jan-Feb-Mar (issued Dec. 20), the ERSL/PSD Nov-Mar La Nina precipitation composite, and most other longer range forecast tools say no.
On the other hand… the base state of the atmospheric circulation remains more or less what it has been the past several months, so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that our pattern of near normal rainfall might continue.
The current NWS 6-10 day and 8-14 day precipitation outlooks project below normal for Southern California, but there are some hints that a system with a lower latitude track could affect the area near the end of the 14 day period. We’ll see!
Note: The ESRL/PSD Composite ENSO plots page was updated yesterday to correct an issue that resulted in the wrong set of years being used for its Winter La Nina composites. As a result the La Nina composite precipitation map in this post is drier in coastal Southern California than in the map originally published in the post Southern California 2007-2008 Winter Precipitation Outlook.
Silhouette of Rocky Peak from the Johnson Mtwy trail in Rocky Peak Park. Note the hiker on the summit. From a run last weekend.
Related post: Rocky Peak
Each year, thousands hike, ride or run the 2.3 miles up Rocky Peak fire road to a high point with a nice view of Simi Valley. This is near the point marked “ROAD” in this overview photo. Many turn around here, but some continue along the main road to the Johnson Trail, Chumash Trail, Fossil Point, or beyond.
Another option is to follow a spur trail that branches off the main road at the high point about a quarter-mile to an airy overlook. From this viewpoint you can see the San Fernando Valley and surrounding mountains, and trace your route through Rocky Peak Park’s unique sandstone formations.
The overlook marks the end of the “easy” trail and the beginning of a rough, rudimentary trail that leads east-northeast through large boulders and outcrops to the summit of the Rocky Peak (2714′).
The summit of Rocky Peak is one of the points that defines the border between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Last year, I was surprised to find evidence that a coyote had recently visited this summit!
Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of my route to the summit.
Some related posts: San Fernando Valley from Rocky Peak, Rainy Morning on Rocky Peak Road.
It was nice to start a run in the rain and see a few mud puddles along the way! Southern California has had so little rain the last several months that any rain is something to celebrate. Since the start of the water year on July 1, the official weather station for Los Angeles at USC has recorded only 1.48 inches of rain. This is more than 5 inches below normal for the date, and depending on the rain received the next three days, the July 1 to January 31 rainfall total could be the 5th driest since recordkeeping began in 1877. (Downtown Los Angeles recorded only 0.02 inch over the three days, and according to a NWS statement issued February 1, July 1 to January 31 was the 5th driest on record.)
Unless you are particularly fond of mud, Rocky Peak Road is usually a good choice for a run if it’s raining, or has rained recently. Perched on a ridge on the border between Los Angeles and Ventura counties in Rocky Peak Park, its sandy soils are generally well drained. Except for a few short sections of road, mud isn’t too much of an issue unless you run beyond “fossil point,” the high point of the road at about mile 4.8. Here there is an outcrop of fossil scallop shells.
Related posts: San Fernando Valley from Rocky Peak, Chumash-Las Llajas Loop, Sunset Snow Shower
Updated May 3, 2008.
Whether it’s raining, 100 degrees, or snowing (!) you’re likely to see someone hiking, mountain-biking, or running Rocky Peak road in Rocky Peak Park. Switchbacking up from the 118 freeway, the fire road climbs along the spine of the Santa Susana mountains. It’s proximity to the San Fernando and Simi Valleys, and array of route variations, make it the choice of many for a morning or afternoon workout.
It’s not because it’s easy — the route is steep from the start, gaining 500 ft. in the first three-quarters of a mile, and 1200 ft. in just over 2 miles.
Following are some approximate one-way distances and elevation gains.
Hummingbird Trail: 0.8 miles 500 ft.
High point at turnoff to peak: 2.4 miles 1200 ft.
Johnson Motorway: 3.2 miles 1350 ft.
Chumash Trail: 3.8 miles 1390 ft.
Fossils: 4.8 miles 1800 ft.
Las Llajas Loop turnoff: 5.5 miles 1950 ft.
End of Rocky Peak Rd at Las Llajas Cyn Rd.: 6.3 2070 ft.
Related posts: Chumash Trail Snow, Oat Mountain Snow, Sunset Snow Shower.
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