The viewpoint above is a few hundred yards up the Pacific Crest Trail from Angeles Crest Highway at Inspiration Point. Craig and I had paused near the start of our trail run from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle to check out the view. 

The mountain across the way is Mt. Baden-Powell (9,399').  Three miles away as the bird flies, our earthbound route along Blue Ridge, down to Vincent Gap, and then up the forty-something switchbacks to the top of the peak would total around nine miles. From the top of the peak it would be about eight miles to Islip Saddle.

Zooming in on the peak, the white arrow marks the location of the Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine. For more than a millennia this grand tree has stood high on this mountain, resisting the strongest of winds and the most perfect of storms. Not all are so durable. A lodgepole pine feet away from the Wally Waldron tree was toppled in a storm last Winter.

Given the short-sleeve weather, the most unexpected discovery on today's run was ice under the trees just up the ridge from the Wally Waldron tree. The ice had been deposited on the trees a few days before, when an unseasonably strong storm set a new rainfall record for the date in Los Angeles.

The running on the PCT between Mt. Baden-Powell and Islip Saddle was outstanding and the views superb. Along the way we did the short climb to the top of Throop Peak, checked out the Mt. Hawkins Lightning Tree, and enjoyed the cold spring water at Little Jimmy Spring.

Some related posts: Perils of Winter, Surprises of Summer; Wally Waldron Lodgepole Pine; PCT from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle

A hiker contemplates the day from the front steps of Mt. Baldy's San Antonio Ski Hut.

From Sunday's Back to Baldy trail run.

Today was the first chance I'd had to get back to Mt. Baldy since the Run to the Top was called 45 minutes into the race on Labor Day. Thunderstorms were the problem that day, but not today. The waning moon was the only blotch of white in the cloudless sky, and it wasn't going to cause any weather problems.

Part one of the plan for today's run/hike was to do a "run to the top" of Baldy using the ski hut trail. That would help make up for the incomplete race on Labor Day. Part two was to do some peakbagging and climb West Baldy, Mt. Harwood, Thunder Mountain and Telegraph Peak. Relatively close together, these peaks can be done as part of an 18 mile adventure, with an elevation gain and loss of about 6000'.

Climbing Baldy via the ski hut trail is about three miles shorter than the Run to the Top route via the Notch, but takes me about the same amount of time. Ultimately it's the rate of climb that can be sustained that determines your speed up the peak, and the elevation gain by either route is about 3900'. The ski hut trail can be busy, but I enjoy climbing the peak by this route. The tradeoff is that it is steeper and is less runnable.

Without some weather to stir things up, the views from the summit of Mt. Baldy were a little hazy, but San Gorgonio and San Jacinto could still be seen off to the east, Saddleback to the south, and Mt. Baden-Powell and other peaks of the San Gabriels to the northwest. I could also see Telegraph Peak sitting behind Thunder Mountain, and wondered how the trail between them was going to be.

After doing the half-mile jog over to West Baldy, I returned to the summit of Baldy and descended to the Baldy-Harwood saddle. Mt. Harwood is another one of those peaks I've run past many times. Harwood sees far fewer ascents than Baldy, but enough so that a path has developed from the Baldy-Harwood saddle up its broad west ridge. Today, save a a red-tailed hawk cruising by, its summit was empty.

Continuing along Harwood's elongated summit, I began to work down the peak's east ridge, staying on its crest. The east ridge is steeper and much less traveled than the west ridge. It is an extension of the Devil's Backbone and its north side is a steep, crumbly precipice that drops more than 3000' to Stockton Flat. The views along the ridge are excellent, but some care is required.

The east ridge of Mt. Harwood rejoined the trail at the Devil's Backbone. From there it took about 15-20 minutes to run down to (just above) the Notch and start up the service road that leads past the new snow making reservoir to the top of Thunder Mountain. I'd been to the top of Thunder several times and by several means -- by ski lift, by mountain bike, and by foot during the Baldy Peaks 50K. In that race Thunder had been the final challenge after climbing Mt. Baldy twice -- once from the village and once from Manker Flat.

Maybe because of pushing the pace on the ski hut trail, I was pretty worked going up the road to Thunder, and wondered if I was going to be able to make it to Telegraph Peak before my loosely set turnaround time of noon. I'd hoped to get back down to the car and on the road by around 1:30 pm, and felt like I was running a little behind.

But Telegraph is a compelling peak, particularly when viewed from the northwest, and from Thunder Mountain it only took about 30 minutes on the Three Tee's Trail to get to its summit. In another 30 minutes I was back at Thunder Mountain, and looking forward to the five miles of downhill that would take me back to the car.

Related post: Mt. Baldy Run (Part Way) to the Top 2011

A run or hike doesn't have to be long or difficult to be enjoyable! It had been a while since I'd done San Gabriel Peak, Mt. Markham, and Mt. Lowe; and although I'd run within a quarter-mile of the summit of Mt. Disappointment several times, I'd never done the last bit up to the peak. All four of these peaks can be done in a (round trip) run/hike of less than ten miles, with a cumulative elevation gain/loss of around 3000'.

Somewhere around the junction of the 210 and 605 I saw a flash of lightning to the south. As if the flash had been a warning, a gust of wind buffeted my car, and a blizzard of dust and debris blew across the freeway. Then it started to rain. Not good -- especially when you're on your way to a race that ends on top of a 10,000' mountain.

Runners on Edison Road During a Recent Training Run

No matter if you run at the front, middle, or back of the pack, there's the race you plan, and the race you run.

Based on the course info, it looked like the 7th edition of the Mt. Disappointment 50K was going to be more difficult than in 2009 and 2010, adding both mileage and elevation gain. Because of the closure of Mueller Tunnel and the damage done by the Station Fire and subsequent floods, we still wouldn't be running up and over the shoulder of Mt. Disappointment, or down to Clear Creek and around Strawberry Peak, but the 2011 course would make up for that with its own very memorable sections.

To try and cope with the difficulties of the course, I'd put in extra miles and done more back to back Saturday-Sunday runs. But in one of those uh-oh moments a couple of miles into the race, I could feel in my legs that I was probably going to need to adjust my expectations. I wasn't injured. I wasn't getting over a cold or flu. My stomach wasn't upset. I felt pretty good. But there was this nagging bit of fatigue in my legs...

The new wrinkle for 2011 was that we turned off Mt. Wilson Road half-way to Red Box and ran down the Valley Forge Trail. In a training run a few weeks before the race, the Valley Forge Trail had been an obstacle course overgrown with Turricula. Trail work by Hilliard, Rowlan & Company had restored the trail, and today it was in great shape. Here's an interactive Google Earth browser view of the 2011 course and the courses in previous years, and an elevation profile of the 2011 course.

At the bottom of the Valley Forge we turned onto the Gabrieleno Trail, and started up the canyon of the West Fork toward Red Box-Rincon Road. The change in grade from level to uphill confirmed it. I stepped aside so two running friends could pass. Maybe it was a tapering or over-training issue, or maybe it was just "one of those days." Whatever, the legs were just not cooperating. 

The irony is, this was probably a good thing. The day turned out to be the hottest of any Mt. Disappointment race to date. The lurking leg fatigue forced me to not push the pace, which made dealing with the temperature easier.

And hot it was! The forecast had looked decent just two days before the race, but Friday temperatures exploded in the mountains, jumping 10-12 degrees in 24 hours. The hot temps on Friday carried over into Saturday, making race day just that much warmer. 

Here are the race day temperatures at Clear Creek and Chilao for 2005-2011, and Mt. Wilson for 2009-2011. And these temps are the temperature off the ground and in the shade! A better indication of the temperature in the sun  is the "fuel temperature." This is the temperature of a ponderosa pine dowel in direct sun. Here are plots of the race day fuel temperature at Clear Creek and Chilao for 2005-2011.

Because I wasn't pushing the pace I didn't hesitate to take a little extra time at aid stations. I can still feel that ice cold sponge on the back of my neck, and the cold water running down my back. This year there were numerous small stream crossings, and I think there was at least one small stream between every aid station. This was "free" cooling, and I paused a dozen times to dump water over my head. Thanks to the West Fork San Gabriel River, I was soaked from head to toe for the first steep, sun-baked section of Edison Road. This was also the case on the Silver Moccasin Trail in Shortcut Canyon and on part of Kenyon Devore.

Hot day or not there were some remarkable performances. Heather Fuhr was not only was the first place woman, she was fourth overall and set a new women's course record of 5:07:11. Perennial favorite Jorge Pacheco sped through the tough Mt. Disappointment course in 4:46:29, winning the overall and setting a new course record in the Men's 40-49 Division.

Once again the event was superbly organized by race director Gary Hilliard and the Mt. Disappointment 50K Staff, with the help of an extraordinary group of volunteers, runners, SAR personnel and sponsors. Thank you!

Related post: Mt. Disappointment 50K 2010 Notes

Turricula (Poodle-dog bush) sprouting on "Edison" road between the West Fork San Gabriel River and Shortcut Saddle.

The serration of the edges of these sprouting leaves is more pronounced than in older plants, but in my experience the toothed leaf margin is present to a varying degree on most plants. This may not always be evident because the leaf margin tends to roll under with age. The minutely hairy, densely clustered lanceolate leaves and pinnate veining are distinctive.

The leaves become more fuzzy and gray-green with age, eventually turning yellow-brown and then gray as they wither. The mature stalks of Turricula can be several feet tall.

From Sunday's run from Shortcut Saddle in the San Gabriel Mountains, near Los Angeles.

Related posts: Contact Dermatitis from Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog Bush), Turricula Along Angeles Crest Highway, Real-World Turricula Testing

The plan earlier in the week had been to do a day trip to the Sierra Saturday or Sunday and run the Cottonwood - New Army Pass loop, but computer models had shown a monsoonal flow developing, and a look at a satellite image Friday afternoon confirmed the forecast. Friday evening Whitney Portal was hit by a flash flood with water and mud reported up to waist deep in the campground. Runoff from the t-storms was increased by rain melting higher elevation snow, and by the ground already being wet from the prolonged melt of this year's record-setting snowpack.

Computer forecasts indicated thunderstorms would likely continue in the mountains and deserts of Southern California through the weekend. Saturday I ran a few miles in the morning and then around lunchtime checked the weather in the Sierra. Strong thunderstorms had developed in the Southern Sierra, and a flash flood warning had been issued for the eastern slopes of the Sierra in the vicinity of Cottonwood Lakes Basin. Time to switch to plan B.

Plan B was to do a training run on the Mt. Disappointment 50K course. Mt. D is a figure-8 course, where each loop of the eight contributes about 16 miles and 3000' or so of elevation gain/loss. Earlier this July there was a training run from Mt. Wilson on the Valley Forge - West Fork - Kenyon Devore part of the eight. Today we did another part of the figure-8 starting at Shortcut Saddle, running down the Silver Moccasin Trail to West Fork, then up to Newcomb Saddle, and then completed the loop to Shortcut on Edison Road. In the 50K, this loop would start at West Fork, but the sequence of trails would be the same.

Along with the race-ending climb up Kenyon Devore to Mt. Wilson, the climb out from the West Fork San Gabriel River to Shortcut Saddle on Edison Road is one of the more "memorable" sections of the Mt. Disappointment course. At least Kenyon Devore has some shade. Even on a blustery Spring day the 5.5 mile climb up Edison Road (2N23) can be a warm one, and in direct sun in the heat of Summer it can be downright scorching. Not so today -- a layer of monsoon clouds, a fresh breeze, and an occasional drop or two of rain kept the temperature on the ascent disturbingly reasonable.

The run worked out great, but may have been a bit misleading in terms of preparing for Mt. D. It's unlikely we'll have a giant sun shade for the race like we did today!

Note: Weather stations on Mt. Wilson and at Clear Creek can be used to get an idea of what temperatures are running in the vicinity of the race course. Note that the temeprature specified is measured in the shade. In my experience the "fuel temperature" is a better indicator of the temperature in the sun. The fuel temperature is included in the Clear Creek listing.

Some related posts: Mt. Disappointment 50K 2011 Training Run, Mt. Disappointment 50K 2010 Notes

In a real-world test of Turricula (Poodle-dog bush) exposure, during a recent training run at Mt. Wilson approximately 30 runners ran a mile-plus section of trail overgrown with Turricula. Reactions varied from none at all, to at least one runner who had a strong reaction similar to my first bout with Turricula several weeks ago.

Here are some runner comments:

"I can't believe it, but I had very little reaction. Just a few little bumps. You saw how careful I was trying to be. Maybe not man-handling it helps."

"Not much sleep for the last two days...arms, legs, and abdomen burn way worse than Poison Oak. By nightfall the blisters break and ooze."

"I finally had a mild reaction today, red rashes that turned into very small blisters..."

"Absolutely nothing happened, I'm either not allergic to it, or the soap & brush took the top layers of skin off and the poison with it."

"I've got the stuff in my left eyelid (I must have rubbed my eye after hand contact with T. while carefully trying to part it as I inched my way down VF); I've got it on my stomach at waist band and lower, and I'm waiting for my legs, although I may get lucky there."

Since I'd had a strong reaction before, I expected the worst. Fortunately my reaction was relatively minor. Like several other runners, I had a same-day irritation/inflammation along the waistband of my running shorts. In addition the top of one ankle and a small area on the inside of one arm developed a very mild rash. It was barely noticeable, and cleared up completely in about five days.

There are several possible reasons I didn't have a strong reaction this time. Even though contact was unavoidable, I did not run in areas where the Turricula was the most dense, and I attempted to avoid the plant as much as possible. This time around my legs and arms were not covered with the sticky goo from the plant. Even so, as soon as I was out of the area with Turricula I stopped at a creek and washed off my legs and arms. I also washed again at the end of the run.

Another reason I might have reacted differently is the age of the plants. As Turricula matures, the lower leaves wither and fall. (This gives the plant the appearance of the groomed tail of a poodle.) There's anecdotal evidence that as the plant dries out the almost microscopic hairs that cover the leaves, stems and flowers are easily broken and shed, and can contribute to the irritation/inflammation the plant causes. It seems plausible that these hairs could be an irritant, or might even act like a minuscule time-release capsule of the plant's active compounds.

Note: The trail was the Valley Forge Trail. Trail work is scheduled on this trail the next two weekends.

Some related posts: Contact Dermatitis from Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog Bush), Turricula Along Angeles Crest Highway

This year the Mt. Disappointment 50K course will be the most difficult to date -- 33.1 miles with an elevation gain/loss of 6195' according to course info. And that isn't a fanciful elevation gain, exaggerated to hype the race. Ask any Mt. Dis runner, it's  real number that has left both the experienced and uninitiated crawling up the Kenyon Devore Trail at the end of the race.

To introduce us to the changes in the 2011 course, Gary & Pam Hilliard and Fausto & Cindy Rowlan arranged today's training run -- complete with course markings and an aid station. Pam and Cindy took care of the aid station at West Fork, and Fausto marked the course. (Thank you!!)

The 50K course is similar to last year's, but instead of running all the way down to Red Box on the Mt. Wilson Road, at about mile 2.5 it turns right onto the Valley Forge Trail and descends 2.7 miles to the Gabrieleno Trail. The course then turns UP canyon and follows the Gabrieleno Trail 1.6 miles to Red Box Road. From this point the 50K course is the same as 2010. The combination of bonus elevation gain, bonus distance, and additional technical trail could increase times in the middle of the pack by 30-40 minutes or more.

On today's training run we did the first 11 miles of the 50K course down to West Fork, then followed the last 5 miles of the course up the Gabrieleno and Kenyon Devore trails to the top of Mt. Wilson. The training run was a little less than half the length, and a little more than half the elevation gain of the 50K course. Working up Kenyon Devore, even having done it numerous times, I was shaking my head and asking myself, "and how is this going to feel after 29 miles?"

About 30 runners participated, many of them sandwiching the training run between races and other difficult runs. Conversations ranged from whether you need to do long training runs to do ultras, to favorite gels and drinks. But one runner's story surpassed all others. He was in a wheelchair from age 6 to age 19, had corrective surgery, and since then has run nearly 200 marathons or ultras -- including a 50K the weekend before the training run!

Note: The title photo is of the Valley Forge Trail. Trail work is currently scheduled on this trail July 30th and August 6th.

Some runs in the San Gabriels are more adventurous than others, and I'd mentioned to Devy that on this run we would likely have to deal with rock slides, washed out sections of trail, an annoying amount of bugs, and warm -- if not hot -- temperatures. We might even run into a bear. Devy is the owner of Andes Adventures, and having cut his trail running teeth exploring Peru's Cordilleras Blanca and Huayhuash, his response was "sounds like fun, let's go!"

The loop is a favorite, combining sections of the High Desert National Recreation Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. The route starts at Islip Saddle (6593'), descends to South Fork Campground (4560'), then climbs all the way back up the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell (9,399'). From Baden-Powell it returns to Islip Saddle on the PCT. It's 23.5 miles of scenic single track trail with a cumulative elevation gain/loss of around 5700'. Done as part of a normal week of running, and with stops along the way, it usually takes about the same time to do this course as a hilly 50K race.

The South Fork and Manzanita trails are part of the High Desert National Recreation Trail. The 5.25 mile long South Fork Trail descends the rugged canyon of the South Fork of Big Pine Creek. Due to the tortured geology of the area -- the San Andreas fault zone is nearby -- the trail is in a constant state of change. Each time I've run it, its condition has been a bit different. It has many rocky sections, and at various points along the trail it is necessary to cross the debris from small rock slides.

According to the nearby Valyermo RAWS the temperature was around 80 degrees when we rolled into South Fork Campground. Not too bad. It would be near 100 later in the day, and it's not uncommon for temps to hit the 90's here by 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. The (unmarked) Manzanita segment of the High Desert National Recreation Trail starts on the east side of the campground and in about 5.6 miles leads to Vincent Gap (6565').

The news of the day was the condition of the Manzanita Trail. Sections of this trail have been washed out for several years, and after December's record-setting rainfall it seemed the trail could only be worse. Surprise, surprise, the trail was mostly repaired! We didn't even have to use tree roots for handholds!

Vincent Gap is at about mile 11 on the route, and about 2200' into the 5000' climb up Baden-Powell from the desert. As you might expect on a nice Summer weekend the PCT up Baden-Powell was very busy. In part because we wanted to save some for the outstanding running between Baden-Powell and Islip, and in part because we couldn't go any faster, the pace was pretty leisurely going up the peak.

Ah... the water at Little Jimmy Spring... Like last week, still so cold I thought it was going to give me an ice cream headache.

Related post: Islip Saddle - Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop

Storm-damaged Lodgepole Pine and Mt. Baldy

I was at the turnaround point of an out and back run from Islip Saddle (6593') to Mt. Baden-Powell (9,399'), and had descended a short distance down the south ridge of Baden-Powell to enjoy the ridge top view. It had been a good run so far. It was windier and cooler than expected, but that was a good thing. Temps in the valleys were forecast to top 100 degrees today.

I'd been surprised to find no snow on Baden-Powell. In good snow years, remnants of snow will typically last until at least the 4th of July. There was a patch here and there last year, and sizeable drifts in 2005. This year a little remained on the north face of Mt. Baldy, but that was it.

Even if no snow remained, there was evidence it had been a tough winter. It looked like an unusually severe ice storm had struck the area. Normally resistant to such damage, a stout lodgepole pine had had two of its limbs ripped from its trunk, peeling away a thick layer of bark and cambium. On the other side of the peak, near the Wally Waldron tree, an apparently healthy lodgepole pine had collapsed.

If I had been surprised to find no snow on Baden-Powell, I was even more surprised to find no one on the summit. That wouldn't last. A number of hikers were working their way toward the peak from Islip Saddle and Dawson Saddle, and I was sure others were on the way up from Vincent Gap.

After visiting the Wally Waldron tree, and chatting briefly with a hiker, I turned eastward on the PCT -- next stop Throop Peak!

Some related posts: Islip Saddle - Mt. Baden-Powell Out & Back, Running Hot & Cold