Enjoyed a combination Father's Day & July 4th visit from Brett over the weekend. Friday we did a fun run at Malibu Creek State Park and today we headed up to Mt. Pinos to get in a cooler, higher altitude run.

In addition to Mt. Pinos (8831'), there are three other peaks along the broad ridge traversed by the Vincent Tumamait Trail -- Sawmill Mountain (8818'), Grouse Mountain (8582'), and Mt. Abel/Cerro Noroeste (8280+'). I've run past the indistinct path to Grouse Mountain numerous times on the way to Mt. Abel, always commenting "someday I have to check that out." Finally, today we did.

On the way to Grouse we did the short detour to the top of Sawmill. Since my last visit the Chumash spirit tower on the peak had grown, no doubt from the many fine days and views enjoyed here. This morning the snow-covered mountains of the Southern Sierra could be seen above the haze of the San Joaquin Valley.

The ascent of Grouse was straightforward. Like Sawmill Mountain, it has two nearly equal height summits. We found a small granite crag northeast of the summit and climbed a short steep route on its west face. It had fun technical moves on mostly good holds, but in running shoes you had to pay attention -- especially on the downclimb!

On the way back to Mt. Pinos we stopped by Sheep Camp. The short side trip to this idyllic spot is essentially compulsory. It would be easy to spend the afternoon here, listening to the wind in the pines and the gurgling of the spring; smelling the sun-warmed pine needles; and enjoying the greens, yellows, reds and blues of Summer.

I always feel a little twinge of regret when leaving Sheep Camp, but it was a great day to be on the move, and soon we were back on the trail and enjoying that as well.
 
Some related posts: Vincent Tumamait Trail, Atmospheric Dynamics

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

Paintbrush on the Vincent Tumamait Trail

Thursday afternoon the temperature in Woodland Hills hit 107°F. Friday was 103°F, and Saturday 104°F. Weekdays I run in the afternoon, and after running in that heat, I needed to escape to cooler climes. One way to beat the broiling temps was to head for the high country.

There are several higher elevation areas within a couple hours drive of Los Angeles. My favorites are Mt. Baden-Powell (9399'), Mt. Baldy (10,064'), Mt. Pinos (8831'), Mt. San Jacinto (10,834') and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,499').

Today the choice was Mt. Pinos. It had been a few weeks since I'd run there, and the driving time to the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos is about the same as that to Islip Saddle in the San Gabriels. Also, it's usually cooler running between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel, than between Islip Saddle and Mt. Baden-Powell.

It was a little breezy and chilly up on Mt. Pinos, Sawmill Mountain and Mt. Abel. What a change from during the week. At the start of the run the temperature was about 40-50 degrees cooler than my last run at Ahmanson Ranch.

I did an extended version of the usual 14.5 mile out and back course on the Vincent Tumamait Trail. This variation drops down to Lilly Camp (6600') on the North Fork Trail before continuing to Mt. Abel. The side trip adds about 6 miles and 1700' of gain. It was a bit warmer down at Lilly Meadow Camp, but the air conditioning kicked back in once I returned to the main trail.

Some related posts: Running Hot & Cold, Up & Down Mt. Baldy's South Ridge, Vincent Tumamait Trail, Autumn Trail Running on Mt. San Jacinto, San Gorgonio High Line 2009

Given its vibrant chartreuse color, it isn't surprising that wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina) has been used by various indigenous groups to make a dye. Perhaps more of a curiosity is that it is toxic, and has reportedly been used as a poison, and medicinal remedy.

From Sunday's trail run in the Chumash Wilderness on the Vincent Tumamait Trail.

Some related trail runs: Fresh Air Traverse, Mt. Pinos - Mt. Abel Out & Back

I've run past this fallen Jeffrey Pine a number of times. It's in an area of downed trees located on the western end of the Vincent Tumamait Trail, near Cerro Noroeste road. The trees probably fell after being killed by a fire. It's a relatively large tree, and I've always wondered about its age.

A rough count of the growth rings gives an approximate age of 200 years. The tree ring sequence shows periods of fast growth, associated with above normal precipitation; and periods of slow growth, associated with drought.

Some related posts: Downed Trees Near Mt. Abel, Vincent Tumamait Trail

Tree, trail, and clouds on the Vincent Tumamait Trail, near Mt. Pinos.

From today's out and back run from the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos to Mt. Abel.

Some related posts: Chumash Wilderness Trail Run, Mt. Pinos - Mt. Abel Out & Back, Vincent Tumamait Trail

 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.

Introduced around 2000, the Garmin eTrex was the first GPS unit I used to trace a trail run. The GPS tracks were imported into TOPO! where the length of a run could be measured, an elevation profile generated, and the topography of the run examined.

Since the eTrex was designed to be used in an "orienteering" position -- flat in your hand in front of your body -- it would frequently have trouble receiving GPS satellite signals if hand-carried while running or hiking. About the time enterprising hikers and runners began to resolve this issue with creative hats, holsters and harnesses, Garmin released the Forerunner 201, greatly simplifying the task of tracing a route.

In 2005, while preparing a presentation about kayaking Piru Creek for a meeting with the Forest Service, I stumbled onto Keyhole.com. To say I was blown away by this bit of "Eureka" technology would be an a gross understatement. Now, in addition to seeing Piru Creek in photographs, and on a topo map, you could get a "before you paddle" preview using Keyhole -- even if you couldn't paddle class IV whitewater! Google acquired Keyhole in late 2004 and launched Google Earth on June 28, 2005.

Shortly after Google Earth was launched, SportTracks added the ability to launch Google Earth and view the GPS trace of a run or other activity. Since SportTracks could also directly import data from Garmin's Forerunner, the software made it very easy to view a run in Google Earth.

I've been working on updating the posts on Photography on the Run that reference a trail run to include a link to a Google Earth KMZ file. A KMZ file is just a zipped KML file, and either can be opened in Google Earth. A list of the trail runs with KMZ file links can be found by clicking "Google Earth KMZ Files of Trail Runs" in the sidebar.

These are actual tracks recorded by a GPS during a trail run and may contain GPS errors, route-finding errors, and wanderings that are difficult to explain. In a few instances tracks have been modified to correct errors, or to remove side excursions that are not part of the usual route, but not all errors have been corrected. No claim is being made regarding the appropriateness or suitability of the routes indicated. The GPS devices used to record these tracks include the Garmin Forerunner 201, Foretrex 201 and Forerunner 205; and the GlobalSat GH-615B.

The plan had been to do a 2-3 hour run from the Chula Vista parking lot west over Mt. Pinos into the Chumash Wilderness, but due to the Zaca Fire, the trail/road to the summit of Mt. Pinos, the Vincent Tummawait trail, and all of the Chumash Wilderness were closed.

Improvising the best we could, we linked together some cross-country ski trails, use trails, a fallen tree, and the Mt. Pinos road, and were able to get in a good trail run.

Update Friday, August 31, 2007. In a press release dated August 29, 2007, the Forest Service announced that some areas within Los Padres National Forest east of Highway 33 that were previously closed to public entry because of the Zaca Fire would be reopened on August 30.

For more information regarding the Zaca Fire and related closures, see the Los Padres National Forest web site.

Some related posts: Mt. Pinos - Mt. Abel Out & Back, Thunderstorm, Vincent Tumamait Trail

This was my first time back to Mt. Pinos since being caught in a fierce thunderstorm last July. No thunderstorms this time -- just wonderful running on the air-conditioned ridge between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel.

My route was the same as that described in the post Vincent Tumamait Trail. Here's a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the route.

Related posts: Thunderstorm, Vincent Tumamait Trail

Developing Cumulonimbus near Mt. Abel

Saturday, Pierce College in Woodland Hills set an all-time record high temperature of 119°F. This was probably the highest temperature ever recorded at an official weather station in Los Angeles County. To escape this oppressive heat, my intent was to get to the highest elevation possible, as early as possible, and stay as cool as possible. Little did I know the harrowing adventure that would result.

Mt. Pinos from the Vincent Tumamait Trail

There are several options for runs and hikes in the Mt. Pinos area. On the long side is the 25+ mile run from the lower McGill trailhead to Mt. Abel (Cerro Noroeste). Another valley-to-summit adventure is the approximately 20 mile out & back run/hike to the summit of Mt. Pinos from Three Falls Boy Scout Camp in Lockwood Valley. This day I was looking to escape the heat of the San Fernando Valley, but do something a little less ambitious than either of those runs.