Racing the sun,
Waiting for rain,
Listening to a meadowlark sing.

From a run at Ahmanson Ranch -- now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. Here's a larger view of the full 16:9 frame.

For an update on this Winter's austere outlook for rain, see my November 29 Weathernotes.

Silhouette of Rocky Peak from the Johnson Mtwy trail in Rocky Peak Park. Note the hiker on the summit. From a run last weekend.

Related post: Rocky Peak

Image of Comet Holmes 17/P taken in the light pollution of the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles. It was photographed through the eyepiece of a 5 in. telescope (SCT) using one of my "running" cameras -- a 10 Mp compact digital.

An exposure of 60 seconds was used. The raw format image was pushed 2.5 stops and the tone curve adjusted in Adobe Camera Raw to bring out detail in the diffuse outer coma of the comet. The image was flipped so that it is not reversed and is upright.

The comet's nucleus is at about 8:00 o'clock, near the head of the more dense and bright inner coma. A hint of a tail can be seen projecting in the 2:00 o'clock direction. The tail of the comet isn't more obvious because from Earth we're seeing the comet almost head-on.

This illustration, generated using Starry Night Pro, shows the position of Comet Holmes 17/P on 11/13/07 - beyond the orbit of Mars - and its relationship to the Earth, Sun and the plane of the solar system. This NASA/JPL Java applet can also be used to show the orbit of the comet. (Use the scroll bars to change the orientation.)

Search Comet Holmes 17/P on Google for more info.

From Tuesday's run at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

From a run at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

From a run at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch). Note the hawk in the tree on the left.

Due to fire concerns, Los Padres, Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino National Forests remained closed this weekend, so I headed back up to Kernville to meet some friends and run the Whiskey Flat Trail -- a sizzling trail in the summertime that has been on my running to-do list for years.

One of the most scenic and isolated areas of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon is traversed by a single track trail that links the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon fire road, northwest of Bell Canyon, to the northern extension of the Cheeseboro Ridge power line service road. The trail, shown on this Park Service map, follows an old road bed through improbable terrain.

I like to do the trail east to west. Once the power line service road is reached the most straightforward option is to turn left, and follow the road up and over the ridge and down to the 4-way junction east of Shepherds Flat. Another option is to turn right on the road and follow it a short distance to another single track that branches left from the road and leads to the Albertson Mtwy. This (dirt) road leads west to a signed intersection near China Flat. From here it is possible to work back to Shepherds Flat at the the top of Cheeseboro.

Many variations are possible, but starting at the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve, and following the course indicated in this Google Earth image, the first route (up and over the ridge) is about 17.5 miles long. According to my GPS, an alternate route through China Flat is about 19.25 miles long. Both are interesting and challenging trail runs.

One of many excellent hikes/runs in the Southern Sierra, the River Trail starts at Johnsondale Bridge -- about 19 miles north of Kernville, California on highway Mountain 99 -- and follows the river north 4 miles to Four Mile rapid. Here the trail turns east and works up to the Rincon Trail.

This section of the Kern River is part of the beautiful and challenging Forks of the Kern class V whitewater run. Numerous class IV rapids and the class V rapids Carson Falls and Confusion are found on this reach. In the Spring and Summer expert kayakers and rafters may be seen maneuvering among the many boulders and drops. (A Forest Service permit is required to paddle the Forks.)

From a run at Sage Ranch. (A 16:9 format image.)

Listed by the California Native Plant Society as being rare, threatened, or endangered, Santa Susana tarweed (Hemizonia minthornii) can be found where sandstone outcrops of the Chatsworth formation occur, such as in the Santa Susana Pass area in the Simi Hills.

This photograph was taken on a run at Sage Ranch on October 1, 2007.

The numerous interconnecting roads and trails of the eastern Santa Monica Mountains can be combined to create trail runs ranging from a few miles to marathon length or more.