From Sunday's hike/run up and down Mt. Baldy's South Ridge.

One, two, ten...
Will the switchbacks ever end?

I can't think of a tougher stretch of trail in the San Gabriel Mountains. From Mt. Baldy Village, the Bear Canyon/Old Mt. Baldy Trail climbs 5800' in 6.7 miles to the 10,064' summit of Mt. Baldy (Mt. San Antonio). The route is as rewarding as it is difficult, with inspiring views and interesting terrain.

Like an Ent, of Tolkien's Middle Earth, the huge tree hummed softly. We were on the Coast Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore, near Kelham Beach, about halfway into a 14.5 mile hike/run. We'd paused under the sprawling limbs of the Tasmanian blue gum to enjoy its shade and eat a quick snack.

Rather than the singing of an Ent,  the resonating buzz was from the wing-beats of many thousands of bees, foraging in the tree. But, it was certainly the kind of day an Ent would relish. Instead of fog and chill gales, the day was warm, with just enough of a breeze to tickle a leaf. Below the bluff, a lazy ocean lapped at the shore, barely mustering enough strength to generate an occasional wave.

Awed by the size of the tree, Brett, Amanda and I joined hands to create a crude measuring tape, but our combined reach only encircled about half of the trunk. We estimated its girth at chest height to be about 30 ft! An oak tree this size would be ancient -- perhaps several hundred to a 1000 years old. But, eucalyptus followed the Gold Rush into California, and the tree could be no older than about 150 years!

It was comfortable in the shade of the tree, and we were not in a rush to get back on the trail. Near record high temperatures had been forecast, and the expected 70-80 degree temps along the coast and 90-100 degree temps inland seemed about right.

We'd started at the Sky trailhead on Limantour Road, and followed the Sky Trail up through lush Douglas fir forest, past Sky Camp, to the Woodward Valley Trail. Here, at an impossibly green meadow, we had turned off the Sky Trail, and followed the Woodward Valley Trail down the shoulder of the ridge to its junction with the Coast Trail.

Now we had to get that elevation back. Nearby a hummingbird dashed and darted among the peach colored monnkeyflowers, and lodged a territorial complaint as we returned to his trail. In a couple of minutes we turned sharply left onto the Sky Trail and began the steep climb back up the hill.

Here's a NPS map of Pt. Reyes (PDF) and Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of our route.

Tomorrow, a loop through the Presidio and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

From a run at Ahmanson Ranch.

Study of a mushroom-like arrangement of newly sprouted Big Leaf Maple Leaves. From Sunday's Red Box - Bear Canyon trail run.

After a nostalgic hike to the bottom of Switzer Falls, drove to Islip Saddle to check out the snow conditions. Clouds ahead of Sunday's storm prompted a short run along Kratka Ridge to photograph some of the stunted sugar pines. Here's the unaltered version of the title image.

Turning leaves on a valley oak sapling along upper Las Virgenes Creek.

After chugging up the long climb, I pause on the crest of the hill. Open space surrounds me. In a nearby oak, small birds twit and twitter, preparing for the night. In the distance coyotes yip and yell, an announcement on one hilltop, and an answer on another. A cold ribbon of wind brushes against my leg.

I take a deep breath and smile. At sunset the day melds to an end, becoming rich with sights, smells, and sounds. In the moment, senses converge and thoughts coalesce.

There is form in the oak's twisted limbs. A dove dives from its branches, and I turn for home.

Related post: Return of the Afternoon Sun

From Sunday's run to Mt. Abel and back from Mt. Pinos in Los Padres National Forest.

From a run at Ahmanson Ranch (now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve).

An unusual, offset lightning scar on a Jeffrey pine in the San Gabriel Mountains, near Los Angeles. The tree is located at an elevation of about 8750', on the ridge east of Mt. Hawkins.

The offset scar is not easily explained. Either the scar was offset when created, became offset as the tree aged, or perhaps multiple strikes have somehow created the appearance of an offset. None of these explanations seem completely satisfactory.

The lightning scar on the Mt. Hawkins tree appears to be older than the scar on the Jeffrey pine on the Three Points - Twin Peaks Saddle trail, and quite a bit older than the scar on the Jeffrey pine on Mt. Baldy's North Backbone Trail.

Technorati Tags: lightning

Or did the Curve Fire trigger a lightning strike?

These trees -- on a section of the Pacific Crest Trail east of Windy Gap -- were burned almost six years ago in the 20,857 acre Curve Fire. According to the Curve Fire Burned Area Emergency Report Implementation Plan, the source of ignition for the devastating fire was "a ritual involving the use of fire (candles) and animal sacrifices." The fire started the afternoon of September 1, 2002.

However, in the document An Exercise Involving Flash Flood and Lightning Potential Forecasts, an alternative ignition source was suggested -- an "out of the blue" lightning strike. Forecasters observed a "single positive lightning strike northeast of the Mount Wilson Observatory" about 1:00 PM PDT (2000Z), near the time the Curve Fire started. According to NWS Lightning Safety Outdoors, such bolts from the blue have been documented to travel more than 25 miles from a thunderstorm cloud.

While there is compelling evidence that the blue sky lightning strike occurred, the time of the strike suggests that it was not the initial source of ignition of the Curve Fire. This UCLA Solar Towercam image is time-stamped at 12:58:58, about the time of the strike. It shows the Curve Fire already underway, with a well-developed smoke column. The photograph also shows the cloud development over the San Gabriel Mountains.

An intriguing question comes to mind. Was the lightning strike a coincidence, or was it somehow triggered by the fire, or the smoke?

According to "Forest Fires: Behavior and Ecological Effects" By Edward A. Johnson, Kiyoko Miyanishi (Academic Press, 2001) large scale lightning detection networks have revealed an association between forest fires and the electrification of thunderstorms. Further, "a shift from negative to positive ground flash prevalence in association with fires and forest fire smoke" has been documented.

So it looks like lightning did not start the Curve Fire, but the Curve Fire may have triggered the positive lightning strike observed by the NWS!

The photograph of trees burned in the Curve Fire is from Sunday's Islip Saddle - Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork run.

Technical papers:

CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING DOWNWIND OF THE 2002 HAYMAN FOREST FIRE IN COLORADO
Timothy J. Lang* and Steven A. Rutledge
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

Enhanced Positive Cloud-to-Ground Lightning in Thunderstorms Ingesting Smoke from Fires
Walter A. Lyons, Thomas E. Nelson, Earle R. Williams, John A. Cramer, and Tommy R. Turner
Science 2 October 1998 282: 77-80 [DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5386.77] (in Reports)

Technorati Tags: lightning, forest fires, San Gabriel Mountains