Pushed up and over Boney Mountain's two thousand foot western escarpment, Pacific winds condense into thick cloud along its jagged crest. At times breaking free of the mountain's grasp, patches of cloud drift eastward, creating a patchwork of sun and shadow on the steep slopes, and in the valley below.

In the distance, the Ventura Mountains gleam with a mix of snow and cloud, and below the fields of Satwiwa stand out vibrant and green. At my feet hundreds of purple shooting stars dance in the wind; and nearby yesterday's rain seeps and trickles from moss to lichen on the scraggy volcanic rock.

It is a remarkable morning, and an exceptional one to be doing the Boney Mountain north side loop. Here's a short HD video of some of the views along the way. (If the video doesn't play cleanly the first time through because of bandwidth issues, let it finish and then try playing it a second time.)

It had been a long time since I was on the summit of Santiago Peak (aka Saddleback). The last time was in 1975, when I flew from the peak on a Sunbird "Butterfly" hang glider. That day had been spectacular, and this was turning out to be a spectacular day as well.

In the throes of an El Niño Winter, Southern California had been pummeled by a series of Pacific storms. With all the rain and snow it seemed unlikely that the Twin Peaks 50/50 would be run as planned. But the key access roads didn't wash out, most of the snow melted, and blue skies and great weather greeted runners race day morning.

This is one of my favorite medium length trail runs in the Santa Monica Mountains. It starts at the Ray Miller trailhead and explores the scenic grasslands of the Serrano and La Jolla Valleys. Along the way there are spectacular ocean and mountain vistas from the Ray Miller Trail and the summit of Mugu Peak.

Most of the route is on single track trail, and except for a short out & back segment to "The Ranch" in Serrano Valley, it is a complete loop of about 20 miles. Many variations are possible.

One of the better online maps I've found of the area is an Interagency Trail Management Map produced by the NPS Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area GIS Lab. It shows the status of trails and public lands in the Santa Monica Mountains and is broken into three parts: West - Central - East. Additional NPS SMMNRA trail management plan maps include Proposed Backbone Trail Facilities and Trails and Proposed Regional Trails.

Here is a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of our route from the Ray Miller trailhead and through Serrano and La Jolla Valleys.

Related post: Serrano Valley - La Jolla Valley Loop, Serrano Valley from the Chamberlain Trail

It was a little eerie. There wasn't so much as an animal track or old bootprint on the trail ahead. The path was perfectly smooth, and I felt a bit guilty as my running shoes left their patterned tracks under foot. Lynn, Frank, and I were working up the Pacific Crest Trail on the west side of Mt. Williamson in the San Gabriel Mountains, near Los Angeles. As we switchbacked up the trail, the mountain seemed to sigh, happy to have enjoyed at least a few days of solitude.

San Bernardino Mountain Divide from near Charlton Peak

As I approached the spur trail to High Meadow Springs, I tried to convince myself I had enough water to continue. The problem wasn't the third of a mile detour down to the spring, or even the 280' loss of elevation. The problem was the interruption. Having to get water was like having to stop to remove an annoying little rock from your shoe. You know you should, but one mile passes, then two... The running along the 10,500' crest on the Divide Trail was just so spectacular, I didn't want to stop!

Spectacular Autumn trail running along Wellman Cienega in the San Jacinto Wilderness.

Lush with ferns and corn lilies in the summer, Wellman Cienega is a mountain seep high on the eastern slopes of Marion Mountain. It's a couple of miles into an excellent 5 mile downhill segment from the top of San Jacinto to Saddle Junction.

From today's trail run to San Jacinto Peak (10,834') and Tahquitz Peak (8828') from the top of the Palm Springs Tram at Long Valley.

Here's a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of the route, and an elevation profile generated in SportTracks. The total elevation gain/loss on the 20 mile run was about 4000'.

Related post: Room with a View

We had been scrambling up the rocky north ridge of Boney Mountain for almost an hour. During that time the clouds along the crest seemed unable to make up their mind -- thickening, then thinning, gathering then dissipating. Now, as we climbed the final steep step to the crest, they were gathering and thickening once again. I wondered how difficult the route-finding was going to be in a pea soup fog.

The plan was to work up and over Tri-Peaks to Sandstone Peak, then backtrack on the Backbone Trail to the Chamberlain Trail, following it down into the Sycamore Canyon drainage. From there we would see.

Cresting the top of the ridge, I paused to get oriented. Across the canyon, Tri-Peaks lay cloaked in clouds, with only its broad base visible from my vantage point. As we traversed along the cliff toward the peak's northern flank, nebulous patches of cloud whisked by, carried on a brisk breeze. Reaching a saddle, we wove our way through giant boulders and chaparral to the crags that form Tri-Peaks' summit.

As if passing through a hidden portal, the clouds dissolved as we worked over to the south side of the peak -- opening to a brilliant blue sky. Across the canyon, Big Dome had wrestled free of its tentacles of fog, and to the east, Sandstone Peak stood Everest-like, its summit wreathed in a veil of cloud.

It was a day energized with the zeal of Autumn -- a day to climb a peak, and then run down a mountain, across a valley, and over a distant horizon.

Some related posts: Sandstone Peak from Wendy Drive, Boney Mountain North Side Loop

Strawberry Spring, about 1.25 mile from Lawlor Saddle

Race day dawned clear, cool and breezy -- nearly perfect conditions for the start of the 2009 Mt. Disappointment 50K and 50 mile Endurance Runs.

This was the 5th edition of the 50K, a classic race that starts and ends on the summit of Mt. Wilson, and features a demanding mix of technical single track trail, dirt fire roads, and the Mt. Wilson Rd. With over 5000' of legit gain and loss, and a climb to the finish of 2600', it is a course that many underestimate. If the 50K is difficult, the 50 mile is difficult squared. In addition to the final arduous climb to the finish, the 50 mile run features a brutally exposed 6 mile ascent to Shortcut saddle that most do during the hottest part of the day.

My goals for this year's 50K were to a) complete it, b) have fun!, and c) try to get my time back down under 7 hours. I'd been working some on improving my running technique. Would it make any difference?

The thing about a dangerous situation is that you almost never see it coming. In an instant a pleasant adventure can turn really serious. We were in the San Gabriel Mountains about 2 miles down the little used South Fork Trail, and 20 minutes from Islip Saddle, when my running partner shouted, "Do you see that!"

From the tone of her voice I knew it was something serious. My first thought was a mountain lion, but then I saw it -- a bear cub clinging to a tree on the trail ahead. Sh*&! How many times had I told friends that I didn't worry too much about black bears, "unless, of course, it's a mother with her cubs."

Where was Mom? She had heard us coming down the trail, but apparently only had enough time to send her cub up the tree, and take cover. Not good, and potentially very dangerous. We couldn't see Mom, we couldn't hear Mom, but knew she was nearby. Most likely she was in the thick brush on the steep slope below the trail.

Suddenly, the cub scurried higher in the tree, its long claws digging noisily into the bark of the tree. That's when we saw that there were two cubs! The noise startled me, and I wondered if Mom -- wherever she was -- would react.

After a quick assessment, we walked quietly by the tree, and in a second or two started to jog. In a matter of seconds we were out of danger. It was fortunate that there were two of us and we were relatively noisy. A solo runner would have almost certainly surprised the mother with her cubs.

After a time the adrenalin subsided, and the rest of the run went very well. Temps were not quite as hot as expected on the low part of the course, and were pleasantly cool on Mt. Baden-Powell. Both the South Fork Trail and Manzanita Trail had been recently maintained. Some slides and washouts remain, but these are an integral part of the adventure and character of this trail run.

Update October 8, 2009. Here's a video of the cubs and Mom taken a couple of months after our encounter. The cubs have grown! It's from Cougarmagic.com, a video blog with  fascinating footage of mountain lions, bears, deer, bobcats, foxes and other animals found in the mountains near Los Angeles.

More info about the approximately 23.5 mile course can be found in the post Islip Saddle - Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop.

Related post: Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine

Poison Oak Along the Blue Canyon Trail.

Since nearly all my weekday runs are in the afternoon, on Summer weekends I usually like to escape the heat and do a run in the mountains -- the higher, the better. But today even the mountains were going to be hot. Hot enough that the National Weather Service had issued an Excessive Heat Warning for a combination of heat and humidity that would "create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are likely."

It would be cooler at the higher elevations of the Sierra, but there was good chance of thunderstorms developing along the crest of the Sierra, as well as most of the higher mountains of Southern California. Considering the options, I finally decided to do an early morning run in Pt. Mugu State Park. If I was going to run in the heat, it might as well be a scenic run close to home. Maybe the weather in the mountains would be better next weekend.

 The out and back trail run from the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos to the top of Mt. Abel is one of the best "short" mountain runs in Southern California. Most of the run is on the Vincent Tumamait Trail --  a technical single track trail in the Chumash Wilderness in Los Padres National Forest.

Ranging in elevation from about 7700' to 8800', the run packs a lot into its 15 mile length, combining great scenery with demanding uphills and superb downhills through old growth pine and fir forest. The summit area of Mt. Pinos is open and alpine with views that can range from the ocean to the Sierra.
 
About 4 miles from the parking lot is the North Fork Trail junction. A short side trip on this trail leads to the seeps, spring and wildflowers at Sheep Camp. The Vincent Tumamait Trail ends at Cerro Noroeste (Mt. Abel) road, but it is not difficult to work up through the pines about 1/3 of a mile to the campground on Mt. Abel's summit.

Usually about 20-30 degrees cooler than lowland hot spots such as the San Fernando Valley, the run is a great way to beat the heat on a hot summer day. See the post Vincent Tumamait Trail for more info and additional trail running options.

The title photo is of Lynn Longan, running up the switchbacks near the Condor Observation Site on Mt. Pinos.

Mt. Cotter and Mt. Clarence King from Glen Pass.

The last time I was on Glen Pass was a brisk and brilliant October morning in the late 70's. Overnight, the first cold front of the season had covered the trail with a few inches of snow. Working up toward the pass, bright fingers of gold had reached through long shadows to illuminate the angular, lichen-covered rocks, and the new snow had sparkled in celebration of Winter's rapid approach.

Today, I'm back on Glen Pass, once again reveling in the wildness and beauty of my surroundings. There is almost no wind, and even at 12,000' the day is warm. Refreshed by late season storms, the remaining snow is bright and youthful, accenting the elegant lines of the rugged alpine terrain. In counterpoint to the snow, a patchwork of clouds decorate the intensely blue sky.

In the outdoors, each place and day is remarkable in its own way.

Here are a few photographs from the run:

University Peak (13,589'/4142 m) from the Kearsarge Pass Trail.

Spectacular running at 11,000' near Bullfrog Lake. The snowy peaks are (l-r) South Guard, Mt. Brewer, North Guard, and Mt. Francis Farquhar.

Charlotte Dome from the PCT/John Muir Trail, south of Glen Pass.

Switchbacks on the south side of Glen Pass. If you look closely you can see a pair of hikers working up the trail.

Nearing the top of Glen Pass (11,978'/3651 m).

The out and back trail run from Onion Valley (9200'/2804 m), over Kearsarge Pass (11823'/3604 m), to Glen Pass (11,978'/3651 m) worked out to about 20 miles, with an elevation gain/loss of about 4750 ft. Here's a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of my route and an elevation profile generated in SportTracks.

Related post: Up and Over Kearsarge Pass