Quiet and cold, the fog enveloped the sycamore trees along the creek and wrapped my thoughts and footfalls in a chilling shroud. I had just started the Bulldog loop and was running along a frosty road in Tapia Park. Suddenly there was a rustle and a blur of brown. Two deer darted in opposite directions. One ran toward the creek, stopping about 50 yards away. The other crossed the road in front of me, stopped at its margin, and from a distance of about 15 feet, calmly watched me run past.

Wow, it was windy! I was on an exposed ridge between Tri-Peaks and Big Dome, getting pushed around by a unrelenting offshore wind, trying to keep my footing, and take a few photos. About the time I was traversing the ridge, Laguna Peak -- the peak in the photograph with all the communications equipment on its summit-- recorded a gust of 67 mph.

But this is a mere breeze by Laguna Peak standards. A communication facility operated by the U.S. Navy, the weather station has recorded hurricane force winds on numerous occasions. Several of the wind events listed in the NWS document A History of Significant Weather Events in Southern California reference Laguna Peak. In March of 1991 a gust of 125 mph was recorded at the peak.

Update 12/25/07. Merry Christmas! This morning, about 6:15, Laguna Peak recorded a wind gust of 91.8 mph and several gusts in excess of 85 mph. Between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. several gusts over 90 mph were recorded, including one measured at 91.9 mph.

La Jolla Valley is the small valley just below Laguna Peak. Isolated and scenic, it is a "must do" hike or run that can be accessed from the Ray Miller trailhead on PCH, or from Big Sycamore Canyon.

The peak on the left in this wider 16:9 format view is Mugu Peak. Its summit overlooks Pt. Mugu and is a relatively short side trip from the Mugu Trail.

Offshore, two of the Channel Islands can be seen -- Anacapa (left) and Santa Cruz.

From a late afternoon trail run along Las Virgenes Creek in late November 2007.

View northwest to the Ventura Mountains from the Chumash Trail. The highest peak on the skyline is Hines Peak (6716'), about 28 miles distant. Here's a larger version of the 16:9 format image. Note the hawk soaring high above the terrain.

I run the Chumash Trail frequently, but had not seen the bulldozed track on the steep slope near the start of the trail. The trail hasn't been re-routed. Apparently on the 13th a 4WD truck that was part of a fire department response to a cycling accident got stuck, and a bulldozer was called in to extricate the vehicle. I've been told the Park District and Mountains Conservancy are considering next steps.

I liked last weekend's run so much that this morning I returned to the Wendy Drive trailhead on Potrero Road and was now chugging up the Danielson-Old Boney trail, planning to do another circuit that would eventually take me back down into Big Sycamore Canyon.

Those of us in the northern hemisphere that enjoy afternoon daylight are celebrating the passing of the dank days of Autumn when sunset occurs the earliest in the day. Depending on your location, the amount of afternoon daylight may already be increasing -- be it ever so modest.

According to the Astronomical Applications Dept. of the U. S. Naval Observatory, in Los Angeles that day is today, December 11, when the sunset shifts from 4:44 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

The more northerly your latitude, the later the date. In Miami it was back on December 4, and in Seattle it will be on December 18. In Anchorage it won't be until December 20. Barrow, Alaska won't see a sunset (or sunrise) until January 23!

You can check your city's sunset times using the USNO Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table.

I was about a mile from the Wendy Dr. trailhead on Potrero Rd. in Newbury Park. A cold wind ruffled the chaparral, and to the north snow could be seen on McDonald Peak (6870') and other peaks of the Ventura mountains. I was nearing the top of a rounded ridge in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, and in a few minutes would be descending the sun-warmed Old Boney Trail into the upper reaches of Big Sycamore Canyon.

When I see crystals of hoar frost sparkle in the Winter sun it triggers a child-like awe. On Sunday's Condor Peak Trail Run, several sections of trail glittered as we ran into a low morning sun. On the cold east face of Fox Mountain, a fine, needle-like frost coated the edges and surfaces of leaves and twigs that had collected in pockets on the steep slope.

Digitally magnifying a small section of a 10 Mp image revealed that the frost is comprised of  hollow columns, and further magnification shows that the columns are hexagonal, with lengthwise facets.

The temp was in the 30's and it took a couple of minutes for my car's engine to warm enough to thaw the coating of ice on the windshield. I was headed for a run in the San Gabriel Mountains and was wondering how cold it might be.

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.