A red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) shows his bright red shoulder epaulets in a territorial display called the song-spread.

From a run of the at Ahmanson Ranch -- now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

The beauty and intensity of the day was infectious. Hours before a cold low pressure trough digging down from the Pacific Northwest had carried showers, thunder, hail, and chilly temps into Southern California. Its rainfall had refreshed the greens of the hills, and accentuated the yellows, purples and reds of the wildflowers along the trail. Its blustery winds had cleansed the sky.

A few minutes before I had completed one run, and now was starting another. I wasn't certain how much farther I would run -- I just knew I had to run.

The day had begun with friends on the Secret Trail in Calabasas. We had run up and over the shoulder of Calabasas Peak, and then ascended Saddle Peak via the Stunt High Trail and Backbone Trail. The view from the summit of Saddle Peak had extended beyond Santa Monica Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula to the South Bay and Saddleback Mountain. New snow glistened on Mt. Baldy, and to the west the rocky summits on Boney Mountain stood in bold relief.

That 14.5 mile run had ended at Tapia Park. Now I was on the Tapia Spur Trail on the first climb of the Bulldog Loop. On the wind sheltered slope the bright yellow blossoms of tree poppy had begun to unfurl, absorbing the warmth of the midday sun. Distant peaks loomed to within an arm's reach, and my legs seemed to draw energy directly from the trail. It was a long run kind of day.

Notes: The title photograph is of Saddle Peak from the Backbone Trail, in the Santa Monica Mountains, near Los Angeles. Mt. Baldy can be seen in the distance. The combined length of the runs was about 29 miles with an elevation gain of about 5000 ft.

Some related posts: Tapia Bound, Bulldog Loop and the Corral Fire, Fog Along Malibu Creek

Recumbent view of goldfields (Lasthenia spp.) on Lasky Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Related post: Dealing With Drought

This year's surprisingly generous rainfall is already producing an explosion of wildflowers in the Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains.

These are Padres' shooting star (Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. patulum) and ground pink (Linanthus dianthiflorus) at Sage Ranch Park. Both are California natives.

Related post: Shooting Stars

This photograph of downtown Los Angeles and Century City was taken Sunday morning from the Backbone Trail in Topanga State Park while doing the Will Rogers - Temescal Loop from the "end of Reseda" in the San Fernando Valley.

At the time an offshore wind was scouring out low-lying fog trapped in the Los Angeles basin by a low altitude temperature inversion.

Related posts: California State Park Closures, Will Rogers - Temescal Loop

From a run last week at Ahmanson Ranch -- now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Updated 03/13/08.

My run of the "keyhole loop" at Ahmanson Ranch started out as a tempo run -- not so much as being part of a rigorous training program, but because of a dead battery in my car remote. It felt good to push the pace a bit.

Part way through the loop, running up a short hill into the sun, I was struck by a repetitive pattern of backlit leaves in the new growth on and alongside the road. Like little green satellite dishes, hundreds of the round leaves of mallow (Malva neglecta) were facing directly into the late afternoon sun.

Mallow (Malva spp.) is an invasive plant from the Mediterranean area that has flourished in Southern California's Mediterranean climate. In most years, it is very common. I've run and hiked past thousands of these plants, but never noticed this synchronicity.

Tracking the sun makes sense. Our climate has an extremely variable and relatively short growing season. A plant that maximizes its intake of solar energy and growth by orienting its leaves toward the sun would have an advantage over a less adaptable species. This is probably one of the reasons mallow is such a successful invasive. Another invasive that grows alongside mallow, black mustard, also appears to exhibit heliotropism as it is growing. It creates a rosette of leaves facing into the sun by raising leaves on the side of the stalk away from the sun, and lowering leaves on the side of the stalk toward the sun.

From a run during the week at Ahmanson Ranch -- now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Technical papers:

Diaphototropic Movement of the Leaves of Malva Neglecta
H. C. Yin
American Journal of Botany, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1938), pp. 1-6

HELIOTROPISM AND WATER AVAILABILITY EFFECTS ON FLOWERING DYNAMICS AND SEED PRODUCTION IN Macroptilium lathyroides
ARMANDO MARTINS DOS SANTOS, LUIS MAURO GONÇALVES ROSA, LUCIA BRANDÃO FRANKE, CARLOS NABINGER

In normal to wet rain seasons vernal pools can be found throughout the Simi Hills. The pool pictured above is near the sheep corral at China Flat, and another small pond was found nearby, along Albertson Motorway fire road. I've also found vernal pools in the Rocky Peak area and near Sage Ranch.

Geologically, the Simi Hills are characterized by the sandstone rocks of the Chatsworth formation. These inclined layers are of varying hardness, and erode at different rates. It's my guess that water collects in sandy soils between, or at the base of, the more resistant layers.

The photographs of the ponds at China Flat are from Sunday's Scenic Route to Simi Peak run.

When the rainy season turns wet and the grasses green, all routes to Simi Peak are scenic, but the varied trails and terrain, and the wilderness feel of the more remote sections of this 21.5 mile run makes it one of my local favorites.

It is a longer variation of the route described in the post Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Backcountry. The run starts at the Victory (or Vanowen, or Las Virgenes) trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve and explores the headwaters of Las Virgenes Creek. At the junction of the power line service road and "backcountry" trail, instead of turning south up the power line service road, this option works west over to Albertson Motorway fire road, and on to China Flat and Simi Peak.

Here's a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of the route.

Lasky Mesa from a ridge near Bell Canyon. Low clouds from a rapidly advancing marine layer are moving into the San Fernando Valley. Saddle Peak can be seen in the distance, on the right.

From a run earlier earlier this week.

Wow -- what a great ride! That was my impression the first time I used the Salomon XT Wings trail running shoes. That continues to be my feeling after using the shoe for a couple of weeks and doing several runs in the 15-20 mile range. For my particular trail running requirements, this shoe has a near perfect balance of comfort, smooth ride, cushioning, traction and support.

Southern California can have inclement Winter weather. This January downtown Los Angeles experienced a streak with 8 days of measurable rain, and last year temperatures in the suburbs plunged to a frigid 20°F. Maybe this doesn't compare to Seattle's 2005-2006 rain streak of 27 days, or International Falls' recent record low of 40° below zero, but it qualifies as rainy and cold none the less.

Today it was not rainy and cold. It was just about as pleasant as a day could be. Skies were blue, winds were light, and the temperature was in the mid-seventies. Starting at the Wendy Dr. trailhead on Potrero Rd., we enjoyed the perfect weather by doing a 14.5 mile variant of the Boney Mountain Half Marathon Course.

The photograph above is of the Hidden Pond Trail near Hidden Pond -- recently restored by Winter rains.

Related posts: Boney Mountain Half Marathon, Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit, Boney Mountain - Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit