We received a little rain in the Los Angeles area earlier this week. There was just enough light rain to dampen my shirt, muddy my running shoes, and ornament this web with droplets of water. Refreshing as it was, the precipitation did little to relieve our ongoing drought.

New growth on the chaparral shrub laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) at Sage Ranch Park. The red pigment may function as a sunscreen, protecting sensitive new leaves until they mature, and can cope with full sun.

In mid January there was widespread freeze damage to laurel sumac in the Santa Monica Mountains, and other wildland areas near Los Angeles. Although the plant pictured above was not damaged, many laurel sumac plants in low lying and wind protected areas were.

But frost, fire or drought, laurel sumac is a resilient plant that can weather most hazards. At Sage Ranch, many of the plants damaged in the January freeze have already sprouted new growth.

From a run at Sage Ranch on Monday, March 12, 2007.

Related posts: Chaparral Freeze, Poison Oak.

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.

A Winter bloomer, California prickly phlox (Leptodactylon californicum) likes warm, rocky, southwest facing slopes where it can bask in the afternoon sun. The flowers have a subtle, musty-sweet fragrance that is especially pleasant when encountered on a still evening, in fading twilight, near the end of a run.

From Sunday's Cheeseboro Bound run. Exactly as found.

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.

From Sunday's Backbone, Bulldog & Beyond run.

As evidenced by their survival, native plants are generally well adapted to the environment in which they live. Fire, flood, drought, heat or cold, they've seen it all – or nearly so.

For me part of the fun of trail running is not always following "the plan."

When the doors of the car slammed shut at Tunnel #1 on Kanan-Dume road we had no idea that about the time we expected to be back to the car, we would be scrambling among huge boulders in a dramatic gorge of volcanic rock sculpted by Malibu Creek. It wasn't part of the plan.

The plan had been to do a point to point run to Tapia Park along the Backbone Trail. But at the top of Upper Solstice Canyon, standing in a misty rain, we opted to run over to the Bulldog "T" and down into Malibu Creek State Park. And there we were, at least a few miles from the Backbone Trail, ogling the convoluted and pocketed walls along the creek, wishing we had our climbing gear!

Shooting stars are among the first wildflowers to bloom following soaking Winter rains. These appear to be Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. patulum.

The flowers produce a semitransparent, otherworldly seed capsule that traps moisture. This is an adaptation to an environment that may be cool and damp one day, and then hot and dry just a few days later.

From a run at Sage Ranch Park.

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