Following a green lne up a hill.
Don't know where it's going,
but that's part of the deal.
Get to the top, look around.
Take a deep breath,
and run back down!

From this evening's twilight run through El Escorpión Park.

This morning did the Boney Mountain north side loop with Tom and Elisa, who were visiting from Idaho.

Thanks to a moderate offshore flow, visibility from the high point at the top of the ridge (2900'+) was spectacular.

Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island loomed nearby, their eastern shores only 25 to 30 miles away. To the left of Exchange Peak and about 50 miles distant, the low silhouette of Catalina seemed to hover above the shimmering ocean. A little more to the east and about 40 miles away, Palos Verdes Peninsula jutted from behind Sandstone Peak and into the Pacific.

To the north and northeast Hines Peak (27 miles) and Cobblestone Mountain (33 miles) were prominent. A little further to the east and across I-5 Liebre Mountain and Burnt Peak (44 miles) could be seen.

Many of the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains were easily seen, including Mt. Baldy about 75 miles to the east.

The distance winner was Mt. San Jacinto, a hard to see smudge in the haze on the eastern horizon, about 130 miles away.

From Saturday's loop on Ladyface in Agoura Hills.

A little Autumn color in the Medea Creek area of Agoura Hills.

From today's hike and run on Ladyface peak.

Some related posts: Ladyface Loop, Agoura Hills and Simi Peak from Ladyface, More...

The Burger Run is one of those runs that is much more difficult than its 14.5 miles and 2000' of elevation gain would suggest. For one thing the Whiskey Flat Trail ain't no namby-pamby city trail. It's a rustic single track trail in the Southern Sierra that runs along the Kern River from the outskirts of Kernville up to Johnny McNally's Fairview Lodge and Restaurant -- and burger stand.

The trail is single track all of the way, with so many ups and downs you'll think you're riding a Magic Mountain roller coaster. It seems around every corner there is another creek or a ravine. The running is varied and technical, ranging from sweet pine-needle-lined stretches of trail to gnarly, V-rutted, overgrown, rocky, sandy, steep sections that test your trail running skill.

For a time it looked like a big low moving down the coast might cause some weather problems, but overnight rain turned to partly cloudy skies race day morning, with near perfect weather for the runners and walkers.

Many thanks to race director Mike Lane, all the volunteers, McNally's, Indian Wells Brewing Company, and all of the friendly hikers and runners. Proceeds from the race benefit Run 4 A Way, a local non-profit group dedicated to enhancing the fitness and well being of the local youth. Results and finish line photos are posted on Run 4 A Way's Facebook page.

Here's an interactive Google Earth browser view of the Burger Run course and an elevation profile generated in SportTracks. Following are a few additional photos. Click for a larger image:

Aid Station #1	Sock'em Dog Rapid	Steep Climb
Runner, River & Road	Kern Peaks	Ten Miles In

As I ran out the Main Drag at Ahmanson Ranch I was trying to decide where -- and how far -- to run.

Saturday I was planning to do a hilly 25K race and didn't want to overdo it. But it was one of those unique late afternoons after the change from Daylight Savings Time -- the running was excellent and the opportunity for a good photograph promising.

So where to run? Yesterday I'd run down the Main Drag and up the "Beast" to Lasky Mesa. The moon had been rising and I'd been intrigued by a composition involving a hay shed, alpenglow and the moon. Hmmm, if the high clouds did not get too thick, the moon would be rising a little later, and there might be another photo opportunity up on Lasky Mesa.

On the other hand, the high clouds had a look that reminded me of an exceptional sunset here a few years before. That could also be interesting IF the sunset happened, and IF I was in a place where I could get a good shot. But being in the right place at the right time was going to involve a run that was a little longer than I'd planned.

I took a chance and did the longer run. On the way back, the moon had risen over the hills to east, and within the veil of striated high clouds it looked spectacular. There was still no color from the sunset and it was getting dark. Oh well, maybe I should have just done the loop on Lasky Mesa.

Then as I started to run down a short hill, I glanced back and saw a slight tinge of pink developing on the fringe of some of the clouds. I turned around and headed back to the west. The lighting was changing fast, but it didn't take long to find a decent spot and get the photograph I'd visualized.

Related post: Waiting for the Sun

Sunday the time changed from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. For those of us that do our weekday runs after work the change has at least one major implication -- by the clock, the sun sets an hour earlier.

If you've run for a number of years, one way or another you've probably come to terms with this one hour difference. I complain about the change from Daylight Savings Time, but it gives me the opportunity to run more frequently near sunset.

Other than sometimes having to push the pace to get back before it's COMPLETELY dark, and gates are closed and locked, it's a great time to run. There's nothing quite like running after sunset, through a darkening canyon as twilight fades, watching the moon rise, and listening to coyotes yip and yowl "on yonder hill."

Today, sunset in Los Angeles was at 4:55 pm PST. Sunset will occur a little earlier each day until around November 29, when it sets at 4:44 pm. In Los Angeles, sunset remains at about 4:44 pm until December 11, when it starts to become slightly later each day. By January 1 sunset will be back to where it was today, and by February 1 it will be setting around 5:24 pm.

Some related posts: Short Days, Long Shadows; Racing the Sun, Catching the Moon; Moon and the Green Road; Ahmanson Ranch Moonrise

From Saturday's Falls Creek loop on Mt. San Gorgonio.

I don't say this very often, but it was great to be running on pavement -- smooth, even, consistent pavement. All I had to do was put one foot in front of the other and chug on down the blacktop.

I was running down Valley of the Falls Drive from the Vivian Creek trailhead to the Momyer Creek trailhead after ascending San Gorgonio Mountain (11,499'). San Gorgonio is the highest peak in Southern California, the nearest higher peaks being Charleston Peak (11,916') west of Las Vegas, and Olancha Peak (12,123') in the Sierra Nevada.

What a difference a week makes! Last week an unseasonably deep upper level low, unusually strong 170+ kt Pacific jet, and associated cold front combined to produce record-setting rainfall and cool temperatures in Southern California. This week high pressure and a weak offshore flow produced triple digit temperatures in some areas and set new high temperature records Wednesday in Downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Barbara.

Which pattern is more likely this rain season? Will Southern California tend to be drier like this week, or wetter like last week and last year? Despite last year's wet rain season, wet La Nina Winters are not the norm. Generally, La Nina conditions result in drier than normal rain seasons in Southern California, and El Nino wetter.

Following a Summer respite La Nina conditions have reemerged in the equatorial Pacific, and appear to be consolidating. Equatorial SST anomalies have continued to decrease and now range from -1.5°C at 100°W to -0.5°C at 170°E. Equatorial Pacific temperature cross sections show substantial subsurface cooling from July 11 to September 11. The Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) has dropped from -0.5 for July/August to -0.8 for the August/September season. This drops the MEI from a rank of 16th for July/August to 13th for August/September since 1950. This is well within La Nina territory but weaker than last year's rank of 1st for August/September.

A precipitation composite for seven years* since 1950 in which La Nina conditions persisted or reemerged in the year following a first year La Nina indicates that "on average" the coastal Southern California climate division recorded about 5 to 6 inches less precipitation than normal for the period November through March. The percent of normal water year rainfall recorded at Downtown Los Angeles (USC) ranged from a low of 47% (1971, 7.17"), to a high of 106% (1955, 16.00"). The average rainfall for these years was 70.5%, or 10.7".

We'll get the official NOAA/CPC outlooks next week around October 20, when CPC's Three-Month Precipitation Outlooks and NOAA Winter Outlook are expected to be released.

*The years included in the selection were 1950-51, 1955-56, 1962-63, 1971-72, 1974-75, 1999-2000 and 2008-09. The base period was 1971-2000. The selection was based on the MEI.

The viewpoint above is a few hundred yards up the Pacific Crest Trail from Angeles Crest Highway at Inspiration Point. Craig and I had paused near the start of our trail run from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle to check out the view. 

The mountain across the way is Mt. Baden-Powell (9,399').  Three miles away as the bird flies, our earthbound route along Blue Ridge, down to Vincent Gap, and then up the forty-something switchbacks to the top of the peak would total around nine miles. From the top of the peak it would be about eight miles to Islip Saddle.

Zooming in on the peak, the white arrow marks the location of the Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine. For more than a millennia this grand tree has stood high on this mountain, resisting the strongest of winds and the most perfect of storms. Not all are so durable. A lodgepole pine feet away from the Wally Waldron tree was toppled in a storm last Winter.

Given the short-sleeve weather, the most unexpected discovery on today's run was ice under the trees just up the ridge from the Wally Waldron tree. The ice had been deposited on the trees a few days before, when an unseasonably strong storm set a new rainfall record for the date in Los Angeles.

The running on the PCT between Mt. Baden-Powell and Islip Saddle was outstanding and the views superb. Along the way we did the short climb to the top of Throop Peak, checked out the Mt. Hawkins Lightning Tree, and enjoyed the cold spring water at Little Jimmy Spring.

Some related posts: Perils of Winter, Surprises of Summer; Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine; PCT from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle

The Coyote Peak Trail in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park near its junction with the Redwood Trail.

Here's a PDF version of the park brochure & trail map.