Maybe because it's been in the news recently,  but when pondering how to characterize today's trail run, I couldn't help but think of the JFK quote, "We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard..." This loop is arduous, adventurous, and challenging. While the difficulty of this route is one of the things that makes it interesting, it isn't just the difficulty that makes it appealing.

Part of the appeal is the mix of trails and terrain, and the contrasting environments. The high point of the route is 9,399' Mt. Baden-Powell. Cool, airy and alpine, it is the home of ancient Lodgepole and Limber pines. The low point of the route is 4,560' South Fork Campground. On the margin of the Mojave Desert, it is often hot and sometimes torrid. Midday temperatures here can reach well over 100°F. The route encompasses life zones ranging from the Upper Sonoran to the Hudsonian, and passes through a variety of plant communities. The San Andreas Fault Zone runs along the base of the mountains, torturing the area's rocks, and producing a complex and fascinating geology.

From Islip Saddle the route descends the South Fork trail to South Fork Campground, then climbs 5000' on the Manzanita and Pacific Crest trails to the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell. From here it follows the PCT back to Islip Saddle. In general, the part of the route that is on the PCT -- above Hwy 2 -- is well marked and maintained. However, on the South Fork and Manzanita trails -- below Hwy 2 -- you are on your own.

There are rock slides on the South Fork trail, and there are steep, washed out erosion gullies on the Manzanita trail. Recent thunderstorms have further damaged the eroded sections of the Manzanita Trail. In addition, the Manzanita trail crosses boulder-strewn washes that can make the trail difficult to follow. It is not a trail I would want to be on when there is heavy rainfall. The South Fork and Manzanita trails are part of the High Desert National Recreation Trail.

Google Earth images and KMZ files, and more info about the loop can be found in the posts Complications, Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine, and Heat Wave.

Lowland blues got you down? Are you repeatedly measuring the elevation gain to your third floor office? Are you beginning to think faux pine tree cell towers aren't that ugly? Do you gaze longingly at distant mountains and then realize you're looking at a billboard?

When I feel that way, one of the close-to-home hikes/runs that satiates the alpine craving is the Falls Creek loop on Mt. San Gorgonio. The 'Falls Creek up, Vivian Creek down' route has been a high mountain favorite of mine for a number of years. It is as rigorous as it is beautiful. About 24.5 miles long, it gains approximately 6600' on the way to the 11,499' summit of San Gorgonio...

Incense cedar on the Burkhart Trail in Cooper Canyon. From Sunday's Three Points loop.

Lemon lilies and sneezeweed accent this lush mountain meadow on the south side of Waterman Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains. From Sunday's Three Points loop, just before it started to rain.

If you spend much time in the mountains, sooner or later you're going to get caught in a severe thunderstorm. I don't mean you're going to hear a little thunder and get a little wet. I mean you're going to find yourself in the middle of a heart pounding, ear splitting, ozone smelling, sense numbing storm that drenches you through and through and wrings the nerves from your body.

Having been caught in such thunderstorms while climbing in Yosemite, running in the San Gabriels, and running at Mt. Pinos, I do my best to avoid the beasts. Sometimes, it is not an easy thing to do.

We were making good progress up the gargantuan north face of University Peak (13,632'), climbing carefully and doing our best not to knock loose rocks down on each other's heads. We were also doing our best to ignore the gathering clouds -- and the unnerving rumble of distant thunder.

Yes, it would have been better to sleep at the trailhead and get an early start. Especially with a 20% chance of isolated thunderstorms in the forecast. But we didn't. When we should have been taking our first steps on the Kearsarge Pass trail we were eating breakfast burritos in Mojave. So it goes.

Now we were about half way up the 2200' class 2-3 face, and it would take another hour of climbing to reach the summit. That would put us on the summit right around the time of maximum daytime heating -- a bad time to top out if you're trying to avoid a thunderstorm.

Off to the northwest there was another long, rolling, rumble of thunder. Streamers of rain could be seen twining from darkening clouds. Smoke from one or more of California's many fires hung in the valleys to the west of the crest, producing an unnatural and eerie mixture of clouds, smoke, rain, and orange tinted terrain.

We paused in a jumble of broken blocks of granite, hemming and hawing, and otherwise hesitating to make THE decision to descend. Avoiding the issue and pondering the sky, we wondered which fire the smoke was coming from, and -- half in jest -- whether the smoke could have seeded and enhanced the thunderstorm we were watching. Those questions, it turns out, had surprising answers.

From another excursion up and over Kearsarge Pass.

Poised on a glacial bench a dozen miles west, and few thousand feet above Independence, California, Onion Valley is the starting point for many a Sierra adventure. Kearsarge Pass provides relatively quick and easy access to the heart of the Sierra, and the more technical passes south and north of Kearsarge can be used by mountaineers to access peaks along the crest, or basins on the west side of the crest.

It is an area that is dramatically alpine, and I have returned again and again to climb peaks such as Independence Peak and University Peak and to hike, run and explore. One Summer Phil Warrender and I did a trans-Sierra hike that started here and took us over University Pass, Andy's Foot Pass (13,600'), Milly's Foot Pass, Longley Pass and Sphinx Pass, ending at Cedar Grove. We went superlight (about 15 lb. packs w/o ice axe), did as much cross-county as possible, and climbed a few peaks along the way.

Today Miklos, Krisztina and I were doing a reconnaissance hike/run up and over Kearsarge Pass, and down into the Kearsarge - Bullfrog - Charlotte Lakes basin, and back. The idea was to pick a time when the Kearsarge Pass trail would be mostly free of snow, but when much of the surrounding terrain would still be accented in white.

What a day! Perfect temps, little wind, excellent trail conditions, super scenery, and absolutely outstanding trail running.

Here are a few photographs:

Big Pothole Lake from the east side of Kearsarge Pass. Nameless Pyramid (right) and University Peak (left) on the skyline.

View west from Kearsarge Pass over Kearsarge Lakes and Pinnacles to Mt. Brewer (left), North Guard (middle) and Mt. Francis Farquhar (right) on the skyline.

Kearsarge Lakes and Pinnacles from the north.

Miklos and Krisztina above Bullfrog Lake. East Vidette is the prominent conic peak. Deerhorn Mountain is at the head of the recess to the right of East Vidette.

Scrambling above the John Muir Trail about a mile from Glen Pass. Charlotte Dome is in the distance.

Here's a Google Earth image and a Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of our route.

Often described as the largest and tallest of the pines, Sugar pine can grow to heights of 150 feet or more. According to the National Register of Big Trees, the current U.S. champion sugar pine measures 209 ft. tall, with a spread of 59 ft.

The sugar pine pictured above is only a fraction of this size -- at first glance it looks like the tree has been topped. Its reduced height is due to the harsh environment in which it grows. Sugar pine and Jeffrey pine found on the higher windswept ridges and mountain tops of the San Gabriel Mountains (and other ranges) are often stunted in this manner.

Research suggests that a number of factors contribute to this adaptation. Foremost among these factors is wind. A tree will respond to a windy environment by increasing the diameter of its trunk, and reducing its height. Water stress is another key factor. Shallow granular soil, low humidity, increased radiation, hot summers and cold winters increase water stress; and a windy environment will amplify the stress.

In such a demanding environment everything matters -- snow deposition patterns, aerodynamic effects, competition with brush, subtle differences in slope aspect, mechanical damage, damage from pests, and more.

The photograph of the sugar pine is from the Pleasant View Ridge Snow run in May.

A good way to think of this adventure is as an excellent 17 mile trail run on the PCT north from Walker Pass (5217'), combined with a three mile scramble up and down the rocky southwest ridge of Owens Peak (8453').

Based on the expanse of granite seen from Hwy 395, I had visualized the southwest ridge of Owens Peak as a somewhat vegetated but relatively clean  ridge. Wrong! The ridge is a geologically complex mix of fractured metamorphic, metavolcanic and gabbro rock capping the granite of Owens Peak. In most areas the rocky sections of the ridge are bounded by dense brush and pinyon pine.

We pretty much stuck to the crest of ridge on the way up, continuing up and over the steep outcrop just below the summit. Although it was an interesting section to climb, the outcrop was quite loose, and we dropped below it on the descent.

Owens Peak is relatively isolated, and the views from the summit are sweeping. To the north we could see Mt. Whitney, Mt. Langley, Olancha Peak, and the windblown crest of the Sierra between Army and New Army Pass.

Not everyone would see the positive aspects of doing a 10 mile route to a peak that could be done in only 3.5 miles -- or enjoy the ups and downs, and somewhat tedious route-finding along a brushy and crumbling ridge. It's an acquired taste. It was good to share the experience with enthusiastic friends who were still smiling as we jogged down the last yards of trail to the car.

Here's a Google Earth image and a Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of our route. GPS reception was weak at times on the way up and the track has been edited to remove some of the larger errors.

Note: After the Spring snowmelt, it appears there are no natural water sources on the PCT between Walker Pass and Owens Saddle (mile 8.6), or on the ridge.

Related post: PCT North of Walker Pass

Mammoth Mountain reports more than a foot of snow fell over the Memorial Day weekend, but that translated to cool, puffy white clouds and blue sky weather in the Los Angeles area, seldom seen this late in May.

Taking advantage of the great weather, on Sunday my son and I ran the Garapito figure eight course in Topanga State Park, doing a slight variation that climbed Eagle Rock, before descending the Garapito Trail.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's revised state budget, released May 14, rescinded the funding cuts that would have resulted in the closing of 48 California state parks, including Topanga State Park. For now it appears these state parks will remain open. For more information see the Save Our State Parks and Campaign To Save Topanga State Park web sites.

Related post: California State Park Closures

View of Grasslands and Talepop trails in Malibu Creek State Park from the Las Virgenes View Trail. The Talepop Trail is on the ridge in the middle distance. The Grasslands Trail runs along the base of the hill.