Weekend highs in California were down 30-40 degrees from the searing temps earlier in the week. After dealing with the heat, my jaw dropped when I read Sunday's NWS forecast for the Eastern Sierra:

 .SUNDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT
 CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF
 THUNDERSTORMS AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVEL ABOVE
 9000 FEET IN THE MORNING. HIGHS 40 TO 52 IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...
 AROUND 59 NEAR 8500 FEET. WEST WIND AROUND 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE
 SOUTH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 40 PERCENT.
 
Now that is great August weather forecast!
 
I couldn't get to the Sierra, but I could do a run in the Angeles High Country -- and I was willing to bet the upper level trough that was producing unsettled weather in the Sierra would also result in a cool, Autumn-like day in the San Gabriel Mountains.

And it did! Compared to my midweek runs, running up the Mt. Waterman trail was like going for a swim in a high mountain lake. Just spectacular!

Simi Valley and the Pacific Coast from Rocky Peak Road

What better way to recover from the Bulldog 50K than running Ahmanson and Rocky Peak on two of the hottest days of the year?

Yesterday, Pierce College in Woodland Hills hit a scorching 111°F, and then today 109°F. At the start of today's run it was still over 100°F on Rocky Peak, but extra (ice) water, and a bit of a breeze kept things mostly reasonable.

No matter the weather, you'll always see someone else on Rocky Peak!

Some related posts: Rocky Peak Rainstorm, Snow on Oat Mountain

Goat Buttes and the Bulldog Climb from Near the Start

The week following the Mt. Disappointment 50K, with the Edison and Kenyon Devore climbs still etched in my mind, I noticed that the Bulldog 50K hadn't filled yet. Hmmm... Could I do it? The little hill on my Wednesday afternoon run hadn't felt bad. Thursday I had done a little longer run, with a little longer hill. It was no Bulldog climb, but it felt OK. I decided that if the 50K didn't fill by Friday, and the weather forecast for the race wasn't crazy hot, I'd give the Bulldog 50K a go.

The most remarkable thing about this year's Mt. Disappointment Endurance run is that there was a 2010 race. The Station Fire and heavy Winter rains decimated the San Gabriel Mountains. Without the hard work and dedication of Gary & Pam Hilliard and a host of volunteers the 6th edition of the race never would have happened.

Developing cones on a limber pine near the start of the Vincent Tumamait Trail on Mt. Pinos (8831'). Limber pines are a hardy, 5-needled, species generally found at higher altitude in the western U.S.

Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is a white pine, related to whitebark and bristlecone pines. They are slow growing, and can be very long-lived. According to the Gymnosperm Database, two trees have been crossdated with ages of about 1600 years.

In Southern California limber pines are found on Mt. Pinos, Mt. Baden-Powell, San Gorgonio Mountain, Mt. San Jacinto, and some other areas above about 8500'.

Related post: Forest Green

It was eerily quiet high on the mountain. No birds chattered in the chaparral, and it was so still the mountain seemed to be holding its breath. Sometimes in cloud and sometimes in sun I made my way along the rocky ridge. Was I on the correct route? In the thick brush and towering rocks it was hard to tell.

Descending along a narrow, rubble strewn path, I stopped at the base of a rocky outcrop. An odd plant was growing on the steeply inclined face, and I climbed up to take a closer look.

The plant looked as if it belonged in the Triassic. Long tentacle-like stalks radiated menacingly from a central spiral of pointed, wedge shaped leaves. The outer leaves of the rosette were wilted and rusty, and the entire plant had the chalky appearance of something that was part alive, and part dead.

I couldn't quite see the structure of the flowers and leaned closer to take a photo. Suddenly...

This is the point in the story where the plant should grab me, or release a puff of toxic dust from its flowers, or do something equally malevolent. Not this time. But I can't think of a more bizarre looking plant than a chalk liveforever on a rocky outcrop in full bloom.

From Sunday's Clouds & Crags trail run.

Some related posts: Chalk Liveforever, Canyon Liveforever

The clouds are in the Conejo Valley and the crags are a prominent highpoint on the ridge that tops the west face of Boney Mountain. Here's a Google Earth aerial view SSE along the ridge that shows the topography. From the upper cliffs the west face drops over 2000' to the Backbone Trail in Blue Canyon.

Ascending the western ridge, or easier eastern ridge, is an adventurous way to access the Backbone Trail from Wendy Dr. Once over Tri-Peaks and on the Backbone Trail several loop variations are possible. These range from a relatively direct return on the Boney Trail, to lengthy excursions to Serrano Valley or La Jolla Valley.

Today's variation worked out to about 20 miles. Once on the upper section of the Backbone Trail, I followed it west down the Chamberlain, Boney and Blue Canyon trails to the Danielson Multi-use area in Sycamore Canyon. After doing a circuit in Sycamore Canyon I picked up the Upper Sycamore Trail and headed back to Danielson Road, Satwiwa, and the trailhead at Wendy Drive.

Some related posts: Boney Mountain Western Ridge & Loop, Sandstone Peak from Wendy Drive, Boney Mountain North Side Loop

Originally posted November 25, 2006. Updated July 24, 2010.

Nature isn't necessarily nice. Behavior and interactions among animals are often violent. So it is with mountain lions. But the mountain lions of the Santa Monica Mountains also have to cope with the additional problems of living on an island of lion habitat in the middle of an ocean of urban sprawl.

The mountain lion tracks above were photographed on a run at Sage Ranch Park in late January 2000 . They might have been made by a young male mountain lion designated P3, whose territory encompassed this area. There is also a possibility there were from an older female lion, P4 that frequented the Rocky Peak area. Unfortunately both these animals were killed in late 2004 by eating prey (coyote) that had eaten rodents that had consumed anticoagulant based poisons. These poisons are used by parks, schools, golf courses and housing developments for rodent control.

The P3 and P4 pumas were tracked as part of a ongoing study started by the National Park Service in 2002 to learn more about mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. As of June 2010, nineteen mountain lions, P1 to P19, have been studied, and their history has been quite a saga.

Like scarlet monkeyflower, yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) loves springs and seeps. These are at a spring at Sheep Camp, between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel.

From Sunday's run on the Vincent Tumamait and North Fork trails in the Chumash Wilderness.

Paintbrush on the Vincent Tumamait Trail

Thursday afternoon the temperature in Woodland Hills hit 107°F. Friday was 103°F, and Saturday 104°F. Weekdays I run in the afternoon, and after running in that heat, I needed to escape to cooler climes. One way to beat the broiling temps was to head for the high country.

There are several higher elevation areas within a couple hours drive of Los Angeles. My favorites are Mt. Baden-Powell (9399'), Mt. Baldy (10,064'), Mt. Pinos (8831'), Mt. San Jacinto (10,834') and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,499').

Today the choice was Mt. Pinos. It had been a few weeks since I'd run there, and the driving time to the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos is about the same as that to Islip Saddle in the San Gabriels. Also, it's usually cooler running between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel, than between Islip Saddle and Mt. Baden-Powell.

It was a little breezy and chilly up on Mt. Pinos, Sawmill Mountain and Mt. Abel. What a change from during the week. At the start of the run the temperature was about 40-50 degrees cooler than my last run at Ahmanson Ranch.

I did an extended version of the usual 14.5 mile out and back course on the Vincent Tumamait Trail. This variation drops down to Lilly Camp (6600') on the North Fork Trail before continuing to Mt. Abel. The side trip adds about 6 miles and 1700' of gain. It was a bit warmer down at Lilly Meadow Camp, but the air conditioning kicked back in once I returned to the main trail.

Some related posts: Running Hot & Cold, Up & Down Mt. Baldy's South Ridge, Vincent Tumamait Trail, Autumn Trail Running on Mt. San Jacinto, San Gorgonio High Line 2009

Its long limbs bending with the weight, a sugar pine reaches as far as it can to drop its heavy, resin-covered cones.

Because of its short needles and long branches, the silhouette of a sugar pine is particularly distinctive.

From Sunday's run on the PCT.

Some related posts: Sugar Pine & Clouds, Kratka Ridge Sugar Pine

Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) at Little Jimmy Spring, in the San Gabriel Mountains.

From Sunday's run on the PCT.