Cirque Peak from Cottonwood Lakes Basin

The sky was brightening in the east, and sunrise was approaching when I met Miklos and Krisztina at the Denny's in Sylmar. We were already wasting light. The plan was to drive from near sea level up to Horseshoe Meadows, at about 10,000' on the Sierra east side. The hike/run we had in mind was a keyhole loop from the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead up (old) Army Pass and then down New Army Pass. If we felt OK at the top of Army Pass, we would also do Mt. Langley (14,026').

Runner on a track that connects Rocky Peak fire road to Las Llajas Canyon in Rocky Peak Park. From the top of this hill there is approximately 4 miles of fast downhill through a scenic canyon garnished with out of service oil wells and a gurgling creek.

Related post: Chumash - Las Llajas Loop.

Runner in Mueller Tunnel, near Mt. Wilson, in the San Gabriel Mountains. From Sunday's Strawberry - Bear Canyon Loop run.

The Strawberry - Bear Canyon loop trail run is a longer, more adventurous variation of the circuit around Strawberry Peak described in the post Spring Growth.

Two runners climb up the last yards of a hill before descending into Las Virgenes Canyon in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

The trail is a connector that joins East Las Virgenes Canyon with upper Las Virgenes Canyon. Our 15 mile loop started at the Victory trailhead, following the El Scorpion Trail to another long-used trail that climbs up to the ridge along the northern boundary of the preserve. From here we descended to Las Virgenes Canyon and worked over to Shepherd's Flat and down Cheeseboro Canyon, eventually returning to the Victory trailhead by way of the main drag.

The area seen in the photograph is a small portion of the 24,000 acres that was burned in the Topanga Fire in late September 2005.

Although an undercoat of green is apparent, the drought in Southern California continues. According to NWS climate data, as of today, Downtown Los Angeles (USC) has recorded only 2.42 inches of rain since the water year began on July 1, 2006. This total is nearly 9 inches less than normal.

A friend cruises down Calabasas Peak Motorway on the way to the Stunt High Trail, Backbone Trail, Saddle Peak, and Tapia Park – a run of about 14 miles with an elevation gain of about 2600 ft., and loss of about 3600 ft.

Several excellent trail runs in the 11-15 mile range (or longer) can be done from the intersection of Malibu Canyon and Piuma Rd., near Tapia Park. These include an out and back to Saddle Peak (~13 mi), the Bulldog Loop (~14.5 mi), and point to point runs starting at the Secret Trail (~11 mi), or Tunnel #1 on Kanan Rd. (~12.5 mi).

Related posts: Saddle Peak, Rock Formations Along the Backbone Trail

It's mid-August, which means that Labor Day, and the Mt. Baldy Run to the Top, are only a couple of weeks away. There's nothing quite like the experience of racing to the top of a 10,000 ft. peak en masse with 500+ other runners.

We did this acclimatization run early in our running adventure in Peru. The grain field is on a plateau at about 11,000', and parallels the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and Urubamba River.

A runner descends the trail below Palomani Pass (16,600 ft.) on a Circuit of Mt. Ausangate (20,905 ft.) in the Peruvian Andes. Once acclimated, running at that altitude wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, and when you return home, those 10,000 ft. trails feel like you're running at sea level. The trip was arranged by my good friend Devy Reinstein of Andes Adventures and was unforgettable. (Photo taken July 23, 2003.)