Prior to the Springs Fire the last fire to burn through Pt. Mugu State Park was the 1993 Green Meadows Fire. Here's a Google Earth image that compares the perimeters of these wildfires.

The Springs Fire perimeter is from the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GEOMAC) and is time-stamped 05/07/2013 at 0348. The Green Meadows Fire perimeter is from the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - CAL FIRE Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP).

According to FRAP GIS data the Green Meadows Fire started on October 26, 1993 and burned 38,479 acres. The Springs Fire started on May 2, 2013 and according to CAL FIRE burned 24,251 acres.

Some related posts: Checking on the Chamberlain Trail, A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park, Springs Fire Burn Severity, Springs Fire 2013

It had only been a week since I'd run here, but it was still easy to see recovery in Pt. Mugu State Park was continuing at a steady pace. Along the Hidden Pond, Sin Nombre and Blue Canyon Trails daubs of brilliant green contrasted sharply with the somber tones of black, gray and white left by the Springs Fire.

Hopefully recovery will continue at this pace. Most Southern California fires occur in Autumn, when there is a higher likelihood of rain in the weeks and months following the fire. The Springs Fire started May 2. A late season storm moved through the area May 6, helping firefighters to control the fire. The weather station at Circle X recorded about 0.4 inch of rain that day, but the area might not see that amount of rain again for 6-7 months.

In the coastal mountains the marine layer is also a source of moisture. Many of the area's plants supplement rainfall by extracting water from the moist air. For example, the scalloped shape and surface of coast live oak leaves, and their spine-toothed margin promote condensation and collection of water. On a foggy day you'll sometimes see a rain-like pattern on the ground under a live oak tree.

This morning the marine layer was in, and skies were partly to mostly cloudy. This was a good thing. Yesterday (June 1) Pierce College in Woodland Hills set a new high temperature record for the date of 104degF. With the hot weather and low humidity the Powerhouse Fire near Lake Hughes had tripled in size. The switch to an onshore flow would cool temps, increase the humidity, and help firefighters to control that blaze.

Today, in addition to checking on the progress of recovery, I wanted to check on the condition of Chamberlain Trail. The Chamberlain Trail is part of the Backbone Trail and the descent from Boney Mountain one of the best in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Last week, on the way to Serrano Valley, we'd seen that the fire had burned up to trail signs at the junction of the Chamberlain Trail and Old Boney Trail. It had been a close call. Brush at the base of the Chamberlain Trail had been scorched and burned, but the fire had not progressed upslope.

But what you can't see from the junction is that the fire made a serious run up from Serrano Valley on the south side of Boney Mountain. This can be seen on this Google Earth snapshot of a NASA Landsat Satellite Burn Severity image, but from the image it's hard to tell if the Chamberlain Trail was overrun or not.

Fortunately only a very short section of the Chamberlain Trail about a 0.4 mile from the Old Boney junction was burned.

Some related posts: A Run Through Pt. Mugu State Park, Springs Fire Burn Severity

As we rounded a corner on the Old Boney Trail, Ann spotted a deer bounding through a thick, unburned section of brush. Its behavior was unusual -- the deer was a few hundred yards away and in heavy cover. We soon saw the reason -- a large coyote was trailing the animal and probably had been doing so for time.

We were in the middle of a 25 mile Odyssey through Pt. Mugu State Park, about three weeks after the Springs Fire ravaged much of the park's 14,000 acres.

Already the process of recovery was underway. Tufts of green were sprouting in many areas. Yucca was beginning to regrow and a few yucca scorched in the fire were blooming. In addition to the deer and coyote described above, over the course of the run we would see another deer; fresh raccoon, bobcat, fox and rodent tracks; a lizard, grasshoppers, many birds, a bee's nest, and fresh mountain lion scat.

Here is a slideshow of some photos from the run.

Some related posts: Springs Fire Burn Severity, Springs Fire 2013

Here's an interactive Google Earth browser view of a false-color image of the Springs Fire scar from the Landsat Data Continuity Mission's Operational Land Imager. The image was recently featured on the NASA Earth Observatory web site. The image date is May 4, 2013.

According to the description of the image on Earth Observatory unburned vegetation appears dark green. Burned areas are red, and the most severely burned areas are generally the darkest. Actively growing farmland is light green; plowed fields are brown. Buildings and roads are gray.

This is a 3D view that can be zoomed,rotated and tilted. It includes the GEOMAC fire perimeter timestamped 05/07/13 0348. Placemark locations are approximate. GPS tracks from various runs have been added to mark many of the area's trails. The red track is Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. Requires the Google Earth plugin.

The overlay is large and may take a while to load.

Related post: Springs Fire 2013

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 1115 MDT

Update May 13, 2013. According to the CAL FIRE web site the Springs Fire was 100% contained on May 11 at 24,251 acres. The interactive Google Earth browser view of the Springs fire perimeter has been updated with the fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/07/13 0348. This is a 3D view that can be zoomed,rotated and tilted. Placemark locations are approximate. GPS tracks from various runs have been added to mark many of the area's trails. The red track is Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. Requires Google Earth plugin.

Today SMMNRA announced that some areas closed by the Springs Fire will reopen tomorrow morning. Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park will partially reopen, the Sandstone Peak and Mishe Mokwa trailheads will reopen, and the Backbone Trail east of the Point Mugu State Park boundary will reopen. Also see the SMMNRA news release After the Fire: 3 Things You Can Do to Help Nature Recover and the SMMNRA Photostream on Flickr.

Previous snapshots:

Springs Fire fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/06/13 0555.

Springs Fire fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/03/13 2345.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/04/13 1315 MDT with GEOMAC fire perimeter timestamped 05/03/13 2345.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/04/13 0800 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 2215 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 1700 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 0845 MDT.

MODIS Google Earth fire data is from the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center Active Fire Mapping Program web site. Fire perimeter is the most recently available from the GEOMAC web site at the time this post was updated.

The following additional information was included with the MODIS fire detections KML file:

This KML displays the MODIS fire detections at a spatial resolution of 1km for the past 6 hours, 6-12 hours, 12-24 hours and the previous 6 day period. Each 1km MODIS fire detection is depicted as a point representing the centroid of the 1km pixel where the fire is detected. The 1km footprint of the MODIS pixel for each detection is also displayed.

KML file generated by the USDA Forest Service Active Fire Mapping Program. Please see http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us for additional fire mapping products and information.

Disclaimer: Although these data have been used by the USDA Forest Service, the USDA Forest Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. The information contained in these data is dynamic and is continually updated. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. The USDA Forest Service reserves the right to correct, update or modify this data and related materials without notification.

If a sunflower could be crossed with a Joshua tree the result might look like Giant Coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea).

As tall as six feet, this peculiar plant looks as if it belongs in some distant place, if not some distant time.

It is a member of the Sunflower family and its bright yellow flowers and feathery green leaves create impressive displays on Southern California coastal slopes following Winter rains. It is well-adapted to our Mediterranean climate, its leaves withering and the plant becoming dormant in the dry months.

These are along the La Jolla Canyon Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park and were photographed on Saturday's run to Mugu Peak from Wendy Drive.

Lot's of people on the way up and down Mugu Peak. This is the steeper trail on the west side.

After last Saturday's sleep-deprived run to the peak, I had to run it again. This week I'd run fewer miles, had a good night's sleep, and the weather was cooler.

Much better!

What time was it? 1:00 AM? And I was going to get up at what time? 6:00 AM? And do what? Run to Mugu Peak?

It made sense a few days ago. Do a long night training run, sleep for a few hours, then get up and do another long run.

I couldn't believe it when I woke at 6:15. OK... OK... I'll give it a shot. Bleary-eyed, I drove to Wendy Drive.

The forecast was for another day of record-breaking highs. By Southern California standards most of the Winter had been cool and sometimes even cold. I was sure that a temperature of 80-something was going to feel more like 90-something.

Most of the first few miles of Sycamore Canyon were downhill, shaded and cool. As I passed the Danielson Multi-Use Area it was weird to think that last night we had turned around just a couple of miles up the Backbone Trail from here. Danielson will be around mile 59 of the ultra. Running in the dark and after many miles of technical single track trail, Sycamore Canyon road will hopefully provide at least a bit of mental relief. One foot in front of the other...

This morning I continued to follow the Backbone Trail down Sycamore Canyon and then up the Wood Canyon Vista Trail to the Overlook fire road. Here the Backbone Trail continues left (south) to the Ray Miller Trail. Today I turned right and at the 4-way intersection a little down the road turned left and headed into La Jolla Valley -- one of the "must visit" places in the Santa Monica Mountains. Mugu Peak is on the south side of La Jolla Valley, and stands above the coast at Pt. Mugu.

The title photo was taken from the trail on the east side of Mugu Peak. The eastern part of La Jolla Valley is on the left (above the cactus) and La Jolla Canyon is on the right. Boney Mountain is in the distance. The Chamberlain segment of the Backbone Trail descends from near the high point on the right side of the skyline.

There are several ways to return to Wendy Drive from Mugu Peak and my favorite route is nearly all single track trail. Not today. Today wherever there was a choice I took the one that would have the most shade and water faucets. That meant descending Hell Hill instead of Wood Canyon Vista Trail, and running back up Sycamore Road instead of using the single track trails on the west side of the canyon.

It took a while, but eventually I made it back to the car.

Some related posts: Back to Mugu Peak; Laguna Peak, La Jolla Valley, and the Channel Islands

On my list of things to do to prepare for the Backbone Ultra was a night training run on a segment of the Backbone Trail we would be running in the dark.

Tonight was a good night for that training run for a couple of reasons. One was that the weather was going to be phenomenal. Today several record high temps for the date had been broken, including nearby Camarillo at 89 and Oxnard at 84. It would be warmer on tonight's run than on many of the runs I'd done this Winter. Another was that adjusting for Daylight Savings Time, the moon would rise at about the same time and be in about the same phase as on the day of the event.

The plan was to do two out and back runs from the Mishe Mokwa trailhead. The Backbone Ultra starts at Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades and ends at Ray Miller Campground, near Pt. Mugu. The Mishe Mokwa trailhead is at about mile 52 of the course. The first run tonight would be on the easier terrain of the Backbone Trail east of Mishe Mokwa; and the second would be a more difficult run past Sandstone Peak and down the Chamberlain Trail.

A luminous stream of headlamps wound up the switchback above the rocky streambed, the lights defining the movement of a huge and sinuous creature making its way up La Jolla Canyon.

In the darkness a great horned owl greets runners with a questioned, "who-whoo, who-whoo." Excited runners answer back with cupped hands, "who-whoooo, who-whoooo." Above, a thick veil of high clouds shrouds the last quarter moon. The clouds will also temper the sun, resulting in nearly ideal race-day weather. The trails are in great shape and there should be some fast times.

Today's plan was to get in around 25 miles, and like last Saturday, I was trying to keep the elevation gain down to something reasonable. I've been doing longer weekday runs, longer weekend runs and more days with runs. If I increased the elevation gain by the same percentage as the mileage I didn't think I would be able to keep up with the extra training.

Today's long run had started with a low impact 8.5 miles from Wendy Drive & Potrero road down Sycamore Canyon to the beach. That had gone well. I'd hooked up with a group training for the L.A. Marathon, and they had set a comfortable -- but steady -- pace.

Sycamore Canyon Campground was just beginning to stir as I ran down the access road. Warm sunlight was finding its way into the camp and other than the camp host, not many people were out and about.  Overhead a raucous gang of crows jeered a passing band of parrots, and across PCH a wave crashed on the rocky shore.

The difference in temperature from the bottom of Sycamore Canyon to the top of the Wood Canyon Vista Trail had to be at least 30 degrees. Down on the Sycamore Canyon Fire Road the mud and mud puddles were frozen and I could feel the cold through my sleeves, shirts and gloves. In the sun near Overlook Fire Road it felt like it was a toasty 60-something degrees.

Trying to get in some less hilly miles, Craig and I were doing the run from the Wendy Drive trailhead to Mugu Peak. There would be no personal bests today. We both had long races coming up and this run would be combined with another (shorter) run tomorrow.

It's tough to find a 20+ mile trail run in the Los Angeles area that doesn't have much elevation gain. Wendy Drive to Mugu Peak has about 2700' of gain. Bypassing the peak would reduce the total to around 2300'. One flatter option in this area might be Wendy Drive to PCH and back with a mile or so side trip up Wood Canyon.

Some related posts: Wendy Drive - Mugu Peak Challenge, Serrano Valley from Wendy Drive, Serrano Valley - La Jolla Valley Scenic Loop