It was a Southern California kind of Superbowl Sunday, with temperatures in the eighties and a sky writer producing the most obvious clouds. Some friends and I took advantage of the spectacular, short-sleeve, blue skies weather to do a loop up and over Strawberry Peak from Clear Creek Station.

The photograph of the scattered Yucca leaves was taken on the "Nature's Canteen" trail. This trail links the Switzer Picnic Area access road with Clear Creek Station.

Related posts: Strawberry Peak Traverse, Spring Growth, Fall Leaves on Bear Creek.

From a showery, twilight run in the Simi Hills.

From a run in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch) on October 12, 2006.

Peculiar pattern in low lying manzanita on the south slopes of Pine Mountain. A friend noted the remarkable similarity of this pattern to that found in gypsum crystals in a desert rose. From the Mt. Baldy North Backbone Trail run/hike.

Photograph of Foxtail Pine from the Cottonwood - New Army Pass Loop September 2, 2006.

A bracket fungus (prob. Laetiporus gilbertsonii) on a burned eucalyptus in the Simi Hills.

A study of a Limber Pine cone on the summit plateau of Mt. Pinos (8831'). The photograph was taken on the Mt. Pinos - Lily Meadows - Mt. Abel run described in Thunderstorm.

Bright green highlights new growth on a Big Cone Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa) in the San Gabriel Mountains near Josephine Peak and Strawberry Peak.

These peaks are popular lower elevation summits, that can be snow-free in Winter, or a blast furnace in Summer. Josephine Peak (5558 ft.) was once the site of fire lookout, and a fire road leads from Clear Creek Station to its summit. From the west, via Clear Creek or Colby Canyon, Strawberry Peak (6164 ft.) is a more difficult ascent that requires careful route-finding and rudimentary rock climbing skills. Many hikers prefer to do Strawberry from the east, starting at Red Box.

The day this photograph was taken, I wasn't climbing Strawberry Peak, but instead was running a circuit around the peak. Part of the Mt. Disappointment 50K course, the circuit is an excellent 15 mile loop with an elevation gain/loss of about 2700 ft. Here's a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the Strawberry Peak Circuit. A longer variant of this route is described in Fall Leaves on Bear Creek and Strawberry - Bear Canyon Loop.

Giant Rye Grass (Leymus condensatus) is a member of the grass family that can grow several feet tall. These, out at Sage Ranch, are in the 5-7 ft. range.

Later in the year, after its large green blades turn brown, they have a peculiar, almost ghostly, way of rustling in the wind; sounding as if an animal or person has gently moved through them. (Photograph from a run on May 26, 2006.)

Runners, mountain bikers, a hiker, a rattlesnake, a wind-blown grass seed, and a motorcycle -- all up on Laskey Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

 

Sunset at Sage Ranch Park, a few weeks following the Topanga Fire. The loop at Sage Ranch is about 2.4 miles. My usual route here is an out and back of about 4.5 miles. It's a good short-day run with an elevation gain/loss of about 700 ft. (Photo from a run on November 14, 2005.)

 

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an aggressive invasive species not native to California. In Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch) it seems to be increasingly abundant, particularly in the aftermath of the Topanga Fire. Last year, in some areas of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon, it grew thick as corn and more than head high.