Was looking to get in a short run this morning and decided to check if any Humboldt lilies were blooming in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon.

The last time I'd seen Humboldt lilies bloom here was June 2006, following an unusually wet Spring and a two year period in which Downtown Los Angeles recorded 50+ inches of rain. 

This Spring some months were wet and some months were dry, but December 2010 was the wettest in Los Angeles in 121 years. Add to the mix that the last two water years Los Angeles recorded above average rainfall, and it seemed there was a pretty good chance the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon lilies would be in bloom.

I'd seen lily stalks in other areas in recent weeks, and some blooming Humboldt lilies in the San Gabriel Mountains, but when I checked Upper Las Virgenes Canyon in early May, there had been none. But today there was -- right in the middle of thorny patch of blackberry bushes.

Also blooming in the canyon were California wild rose and the non-native plant moth mullein -- so named because of the similarity of the flower's anthers to the fuzzy appearing antennae of a moth.

Related post: Humboldt Lily

View West Toward Boney Mountain from the Phantom Trail

Following last weekend's Holcomb Valley 33 and yesterday's trail work, today I was looking to do something moderate. Without thinking too much about the condition of the Phantom Trail when I was on it a month ago, I decided to do the Phantom loop in Malibu Creek State Park. The eight mile loop is normally a favorite recovery run. The 1000' of elevation gain/loss is kind to tired legs, and the loop has varied terrain and great scenery.

The first five miles (Cistern, Lookout, Cage Creek, Crags Rd., Grassland and Liberty Canyon trails) are in decent shape, but portions of the Phantom Trail are really overgrown. The growth of the noxious invasive plant milk thistle in the Liberty Canyon area is the worst I've seen in years. At one point near Liberty Canyon the spiraling winds of a strong thermal picked up a countless number of the thistle's plumed seeds and carried them to who-knows-where!

The middle section of the Phantom Trail climbs up a shaded side canyon to a prominent ridge line. It isn't as overgrown. There is some very healthy poison oak that is sometimes difficult to avoid, but it's a pretty section of trail with a lot of green and a variety of wildflowers.

Once up on the ridge and for about the last 1.5 miles of the loop, the issue isn't with an noxious invasive, but with the native plant deerweed. It's so thick and brushy it's often difficult to see the trail -- or your footfalls, or ruts or rocks, or anything else on the trail.

While I wouldn't recommend this loop right now as a trail run, it was interesting to see (once again) how our wet rainy season has affected this area.

Some related posts: Invasive Thistle on the Phantom Trail, Milk Thistle Seed Heads

These unusual clouds are a complex of lenticular clouds to the north-northeast of Mt. Pinos, photographed this morning from near Mt. Abel. They were produced by strong south-southwesterly winds blowing across the east-west oriented Emigdio and Tehachapi mountain ranges, north of Los Angeles. Here's another view of these clouds from near the summit of Mt. Pinos.

The winds were associated with the circulation of an unseasonably strong low pressure system off the California coast. The storm system has resulted in measurable rain as far south as Santa Barbara County, and new rainfall records for the date were set in San Francisco, Paso Robles and Santa Maria.

The photographs were taken during a blustery out and back trail run from Mt. Pinos to Mt. Abel on the Vincent Tumamait Trail in the Chumash Wilderness. At the start of the run, the temperature at the Chula Vista trailhead (8400') on Mt. Pinos was a chilly 39°F. In exposed areas the wind speed was 20-25 mph with gusts to around 50 mph.

Other than the potential for deadfall, the wind wasn't too bad in the trees. The Vincent Tumamait Trail was in the best condition I've seen in years.

Update June 6, 2011. The low that was off the Central California coast Saturday and most of Sunday and an associated cold front set a new rainfall record for June 5 at Santa Barbara Airport, and produced a few sprinkles and showers in the Los Angeles area.

Some related posts: Mountain Weather, Lenticular Wave Clouds, Mt. Pinos - Mt. Abel Out & Back

Southern California doesn't get much rain in May. On any given day in the middle of May the chance of measurable rain in Los Angeles is around 4 in 100. Overnight we'd beat those odds, and this morning the weather looked more like March than May.

The view above, across Topanga Canyon to Saddle Peak, is from a popular viewpoint off the Temescal Ridge Trail (Fire Road #30), about 4 miles into the Trailer Canyon - Trippet Ranch Loop. This 17 mile route is one of several excellent trail runs that start at Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park in the San Fernando Valley. It crosses the Santa Monica Mountains on the Temescal Ridge and Trailer Canyon fire roads, dropping down to Pacific Palisades, and then returns by way of Santa Ynez Canyon, Trippet Ranch, and the Musch & Garapito Trails.

Here's an interactive Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of my route.

Some related posts: Garapito Trail Green, Garapito Trail Runs

Last Sunday started with light rain in western Los Angeles County, and on the drive to the San Gabriel Mountains, I wondered if the Three Points trailhead would be above the mile deep cloud layer. It was, but barely so, and at the start of the run a couple of scuddy clouds hung over the parking lot.

These were soon left behind, and while the lowlands dealt with damp, dreary weather, my Easter morning run on the PCT continued toward Cloudburst Summit under a bright sun and mostly cloudless skies.

I encountered my first patch of snow a little past Camp Glenwood, on a shaded north-facing slope at about 6300', nearly three miles into the run. With the above average snowpack, it would have been a surprise not to find some patchy lower elevation snow. Much more snow could be seen on the higher elevation slopes, and the big question was: how much snow would there be on the Mt. Waterman trail?

From Cloudburst Summit I continued eastward on the PCT to Cooper Canyon -- one of the most idyllic places in the San Gabriel Mountains. Snowmelt had increased the streamflow, and to start the climb to Buckhorn, two creek crossings were required. It was cool enough that if I could avoid it, I didn't want to soak my shoes. On the other hand I would rather have wet shoes, than fall bodily into a creek trying to keep them dry. A makeshift trekking pole helped prevent either scenario. Cooper Canyon Falls was spectacular.

On a Summer day this route can be quite warm, and I usually top off my Camelbak at Buckhorn Campground. Good thing it was a cool day -- Buckhorn Campground was closed and the water in the campground was turned off. It looked like the Forest Service was doing a major revamp of the campground.

From the campground I still couldn't tell if the Mt. Waterman trail was going to go. There was a lot of snow on the north-facing slopes, but I was betting it wasn't going to be as choked with snow as it looked. Worst case, I could turn around, so I decided to continue until there was some reason not to.

There was some snow, and at one point I left the trail to avoid a particularly steep snow slope. About a mile from Hwy 2, the trail worked up onto a broad east-facing ridge, and from that point the trail was mostly free of snow.

No sooner had the snow issue been resolved, when clouds began to spill over the ridges and increase overhead. I knew -- or at least thought I knew -- that other than decreasing the visibility and temperature, these clouds shouldn't be a problem. Even so, I was very glad to know the terrain and route well, and have some additional gear in my pack.

The title photograph is from the upper section of the Mt. Waterman trail. The clouds are in the deep canyon between east ridge of Waterman Mountain (8038') and Twin Peaks (7761').

Some related posts: Cooper Canyon Cascade & Falls, Manzanita Morning

The Wendy Dr. trailhead in Newbury Park is a gateway to some of the most scenic and spectacular trail runs in the Santa Monica Mountains. Runs, hikes and rides on the extensive and diverse network of trails can range from a few minutes, to many miles and hours.

Today my run was of the "few hours" variety. The weather in Pt. Mugu State Park was perfect for a longer run -- partly cloudy, light winds, and the temperatures ranged from the high 40s in the morning to the high 60s midday.

La Nina or El Nino, rain seasons as wet as the 2010-11 season are relatively rare. The wet weather produces a cascade of effects, resulting in conditions that might not be seen again for years. Streams that had not run for years were flowing; numerous wildflowers were blooming; the chaparral and other plant communities, and their inhabitants, were flourishing. I did not want to miss anything.

With that thought in mind, my route took me up and over Boney Mountain and Tri Peaks to the Backbone Trail, and then down the Chamberlain Trail and Old Boney Trail to the Serrano Valley Trail. After running through resplendent Serrano Valley, I continued down Serrano Canyon, crossing the creek 15 times, all the while trying to avoid the lush growth of poison oak along the trail. Even the miles returning up Sycamore Canyon were enjoyable, and involved a few stream crossings. The Upper Sycamore Trail and Danielson Road led back to Satwiwa and the trailhead.

On this particular day it was as fine a trail run as I have done, and probably the most scenic loop I've done in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Some related posts: Western Rim of Boney Mountain, Conejo Valley Sun and Boney Mountain Clouds

Here are a few additional photographs from the run:

Boney Mountain NW Ridge Chamberlain Trail Serrano Valley Loop Trail

Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry Puffball Hummingbird sage

Follow the wind,
Run to the sky.
Find what you're searching for,
Near or far.

Even in Southern California, Spring can be a fitful beast. This afternoon the temperature was in the low 50s, and the wind was blowing hard enough it was difficult to take a photograph. Just one week ago it had been a stifling 95 degrees -- a temperature swing of more than 40 degrees.

Orographic Lift, Waves, and Turbulence over the San Jacinto Mountain Range

After last Sunday's record-setting storm in Southern California, and the cool, unsettled weather during the week, we expected snow conditions on Mt. San Jacinto to be even better than on previous trips this March. But snow conditions -- especially backcountry snow conditions -- aren't always what you expect. The new snow, maybe a foot of it, was as thick as wet concrete. If we'd had a little kiwi fruit flavoring, it would have been perfect for shave ice.

Even if the snow wasn't what we had hoped for, the day was extraordinary. Another weak front was moving into Southern California and the strong onshore flow ahead of the front was creating several kinds of interesting mountain weather phenomena -- some common and some not so common.

Riding up the tram, we could see plumes of dust blowing across the desert floor east of Banning Pass, and a stack of lenticular clouds hovered over the mountains east of San Gorgonio Mountain. It was breezy at the upper tram station, and from the walkway descending to Long Valley, we could see rimed trees on the southeast side of San Jacinto Peak.

We skied up a beautiful untracked drainage south of the Round Valley trail, and eventually worked our way over to Long Valley Creek and then to Tamarack Valley. We were almost to the top of the steep step above Tamarack Valley, and had paused for a moment to look around. There was a distinctive wave cloud to the southeast, and the lower cloud deck was beginning to engulf Toro Peak (8716'). I turned to continue up the slope, and as I looked up, the first of a series of tumbling and twining filaments of gossamer cloud swept past in the turbulent west-northwest flow (video).

Six months ago, also before the passage of a cold front, I'd seen similar clouds on Boney Mountain, in the Santa Monica Mountains. In that case and here on San Jacinto, a moist layer in a stably stratified westerly flow was being lifted over a mountain range. Depending on whether the flow remained laminar, or became transitional or turbulent; a wave cloud, transient wave cloud, or these turbulent thin sheets of cloud might form. In each case the atmosphere was becoming more moist and the clouds were precursors to the formation of a more widespread and persistent cloud layer.

These vaporous, turbulence-induced clouds bear a striking resemblance to interstellar molecular clouds. Both appear to occur in a high-Reynolds-number regime, and each appears to consist of a cohesive, thin sheet of condensate that can be stretched, sheared, undulated and torn. As in the case of its interstellar counterpart, when viewed edgewise, the clouds look like they are comprised of thin, web-like filaments.

The title photo was taken a little below the summit, after ascending the peak. It's a view to the south, past Jean Peak (10,670') and Marion Mountain (10,362'), and shows the terrain induced uplift, waves, and turbulence over the San Jacinto mountain range. The flow is from the right to left.

It has been a remarkable rain season in Southern California. December 2010 was the wettest December in Los Angeles in 121 years. Then Sunday, an exceptionally strong system produced record-setting rainfall in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties with some locations recording as much as one-third of a year's normal rainfall in 24 hours!

Runners in the Los Angeles Marathon had to contend with rain, wind and cool temperatures. Of 19,763 runners, more than 10,000 were on the course for longer than 5 hours. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times sports blog, The Fabulous Forum, thousands of runners were evaluated for hypothermia, but only 25 runners were hospitalized.

Sunday evening rain rates in excess of an inch an hour were recorded in several areas, and a flash flood was reported in Woodland Hills with "mud and debris flowing down the street" and "at least four to five vehicles stuck in flowing water." Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded 2.42 inches of rain Sunday, breaking a record set in 1943. Santa Barbara Airport had its wettest day on record, recording 5.23 inches of rain. Here's an archived copy of the NWS Record Report for March 20, listing some of the rainfall records for the day.

Some phenomenal rainfall amounts were recorded over the course of the storm. Van Nuys recorded 6.74 inches of rainfall, Northridge 6.08 inches, Newhall 7.20 inches, Camarillo 5.58 inches, Rose Valley 10.99 inches, Montecito Hills 7.70 inches, San Marcos Pass 10.72 inches, and Gibraltar Dam 11.73 inches. Here's an archived copy of a NWS report with some rainfall and snowfall totals for the storm.

Downtown Los Angeles increased its water year rainfall total to 18.55 inches, or about 123% of normal. This makes the 2010-2011 water year the wettest in Los Angeles during a La Nina over the last 60 years, surpassing the totals recorded during the strong La Ninas of 1955-56 (99% of normal) and 1973-74 (106% of normal), and weak La Ninas of 1967-68 (110%) and 2000-01 (118%).

Update March 25, 2011. Since Tuesday, two more frontal systems have swept through Southern California,increasing the water year total at Downtown Los Angeles (USC) to 19.55 inches, or 129% of normal!

The title photograph is from a very wet and muddy run this afternoon through Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch), in eastern Ventura County.

Weather models were forecasting anywhere from 3.5 to 5.5 inches of rain at Van Nuys for the storm coming in tonight, so this afternoon seemed like a good time to get in a run.

I hadn't run the Bulldog loop since the Bulldog 50K last August, and needed to catch up on trail conditions, what was blooming, and re-familiarize myself with the difficulties of the Bulldog Climb.

The short version is that the trail along Malibu Creek near the M*A*S*H site wasn't flooded, but would be in the next 24 hours. Tree poppy, nightshade, hummingbird sage, woolly blue curls, ceanothus and paintbrush were blooming. And the Bulldog Climb was still hard.

It looked and felt like the day before a big storm. Temps were cool, and there was a thick deck of high clouds. Along the crest between the Castro "T" and the Malibu Bowl landslide the wind was blowing in strong gusts from the ESE, and it looked like the clouds might lower, thicken, and unleash a torrent at any time.

Near the end of the run, descending to Tapia Park, I was surprised to see my shadow and some blue sky. That didn't last for long. By 7:00 the first drops of what would be a record-setting storm started to dot the driveway.

The title photo is a view east along Castro Crest and Mesa Peak Mtwy, and the route of the Bulldog Loop. Saddle Peak is in the distance. Here are a few additional photos. Click for a larger image and description:

Mesa Peak Mtwy Woolly Bluecurls Brents Mountain

Some related posts: Bulldog 50K 2010 Notes, Malibu Creek State Park Scenic Loop, Bulldog Loop and the Corral Fire

After skiing Mt. San Jacinto (10,834') last week, Charles and I decided to take advantage of the good snow and ski the peak again today. Warming temperatures had thinned the snowpack a bit, particularly on the flats in Long Valley (8400'), but there was still plenty of snow.

The temperature was a little cooler than last week, particularly on the summit, where a brisk west wind increased the wind chill. I didn't dig my better gloves out of the pack, and the light (knit) gloves I used for skiing up were like wearing no gloves at all. After spending fifteen cold minutes on the summit, I bailed to the south side of the peak, near the summit hut, and warmed up.

Once again, there was outstanding skiing on the sun-warmed slopes to the south and southeast of the summit. The surface of the snow had been transformed into a velvet-like layer of fine-grained corn snow. You couldn't pick a bad line, and Charles and I would yell at each other, "you've got to see the snow over here!"

Conditions were more variable in the trees on the east-facing slopes above Tamarack Valley, but there were still some excellent sections out in the sun. Threading our way through the trees on the low angle slopes leading to the Round Valley Trail was fun, and in an peculiar way, so was skiing the well-traveled snowshoe track down the trail to Long Valley.

The title photo is of Long Valley Creek below Round Valley. As the snowpack melts, deep wells and moats typically form along streams. These can be anything from an inconvenience, to a life-threatening hazard that is impossible to cross. Snow bridges melt from below, as well as above, and are difficult to evaluate. It can be unnerving to cross a large Sierra creek on a snow bridge in the Spring, when no other option is available.

Here are a few additional photos. Click for a larger image and description:

Round Valley Trail Bowl Below Miller Peak Summit of Mt. San Jacinto

Perhaps the only thing more difficult than forecasting rain in Los Angeles is forecasting snow in Los Angeles. A NWS Winter Weather Advisory issued Friday evening for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area forecast the snow level to drop overnight from above 3000' to between 1000' and 1500'. Snow accumulations from 1 to 3 inches were expected.

When getting ready for a run on those searing 100 degree days at Ahmanson Ranch, I look longingly at the Lasky Mesa snow photos from 1943 displayed in the information kiosk at the Victory Trailhead. Would that rare snow scene be repeated? If so, I wanted to see it. I'm a skier from way back, but snow in the hills near my Los Angeles area home is an altogether different thing.

Last weekend it looked like we might get some snow on the higher parts of Rocky Peak Road for the Bandit 15K/30K/50K trail runs. There was some snow on Oat Mountain, but not down to Rocky Peak. The Rocky Peak area is about 500'-1000' higher than Lasky Mesa, so snow there isn't quite as rare. The last time I ran in the snow on Rocky Peak Road was in December 2008, and before that in March 2006.

Snow is an iffy thing in the Los Angeles area. The ocean is the dominant moderating influence. Storms generally bring in air warmed by the ocean, and the coldest air often doesn't move in until after most of the precipitation has ended. To get low elevation snow, the timing and conditions have to be just so. Whether it snowed or not, it looked like it would be an interesting weather day, so I planned to get up early and do a morning run.

At dawn the lack of snow on the local foothills made it plainly evident that all the ingredients required for very low elevation snow had not come together.  Overnight there had plenty of snow -- four feet of it at 7500' at Mt. Baldy -- just not much low elevation snow. (Later in the day post frontal convection would produce some isolated showers of icy snow in the east San Fernando Valley and La Crescenta.)

On the off chance there had been a dusting of snow at the higher elevations of the Santa Monica Mountains, I decided to do the Mishe Mokwa - Backbone Trail loop and check out the conditions on 3111' Sandstone Peak, the highest peak in the range.

What a great morning for a trail run! When I started the loop, it was partly cloudy and the temperature at the Mishe Mokwa trailhead (el. about 2100') was a chilly 37 degrees. The ground was soaked, and the chaparral wet with rain. Streams filled every gulch and gully, and the gorge along Echo Cliffs roared with runoff. Level sections of the Mishe Mokwa Trail were nearly one continuous puddle. Two creek crossings -- one at Split Rock and another near the Backbone Trail -- were wide enough to require wading.

Running the rocky trail with care, it took a little under an hour to reach the Backbone Trail junction. As I puffed up the trail toward Sandstone Peak, each exhalation was visible. I found myself reveling in each frosty cloud, as it would hang briefly in the morning sun, and then dissipate.

Although I could see no snow, it was cold enough that I thought there was a chance there might be some residual snow in the shade on the northwest side of the peak. Rounding the corner, I started up the makeshift stairs at the beginning of the spur tail leading to the summit. On top it was cold, windy, wet and spectacular, but -- sigh -- there was no snow.

Note: The rain from this storm pushed the water year rainfall total for Downtown Los Angeles to above the 100% mark. Although this might seem unusual in a La Nina influenced rain season, during two of the strongest La Ninas in the past 60 years -- 1955-56 and 1973-74 -- Los Angeles recorded 99% and 106% of normal rainfall.