Western Tiger Swallowtail Laying Eggs on Snow Bush

Western Tiger Swallowtail Laying Eggs on Snow Bush

We had run from Mt. Pinos (8831′) to Mt. Abel (~8280′) on the Vincent Tumamait Trail stopping by Sawmill Mountain (8816′) and Sheep Camp (8200′) along the way. Valley temps were forecast be well into the 100s, but here had ranged from a cool 60-something in the shade to the high 70s on the exposed sections of trail — perfect for trail running.

I’d paused at about 8700′ on the way back up Mt. Pinos to take a photo of some phlox, when a western tiger swallowtail flitted past and started to land here and there on a spiney low shrub at the margin of the trail. There was something peculiar about the butterfly’s behavior. Rather than stopping completely, it would hover briefly at one spot and then move to another. There were no flowers on the snow bush where it was hovering, so it wasn’t feeding.

Perhaps 18-24 inches away, the butterfly reacted when I started to move the camera, so I just stood quietly, holding the camera near my waist and took several photos.

A closer look at the photos revealed the butterfly was laying golden-green eggs on the snow bush.

Some related posts: Tiger Swallowtail on Snow Plant, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Vincent Tumamait Trail, Thunderstorm, Atmospheric Dynamics

Three Points Loop Twice

Ann and Skye on trail 10W04, between Mt. Waterman and Three Points

Did the 20 mile Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop a couple of times this month. The first time was during a heat wave similar to what we’re going through now. It was one of those days when you drive to the trailhead early in the morning, open the car door, and the “brisk” mountain air is a surprising 75 or 80 degrees. After doing the run I checked the temperatures recorded at nearby Chilao, and by 9:00 a.m. the temperature was already at 90°F.



The title photo is of Ann and Skye on trail 10W04, between Mt. Waterman and Three Points. Here’s another photo of them in an area covered with bracken fern on a section of the trail that burned in the 2009 Station Fire. It doesn’t look like it, but they are on a trail!

Last weekend I did the loop again, and the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler. What a difference!

Some related posts: Three Points – Mt. Waterman Loop, Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on the Burkhart Trail, Three Points Loop Plus Mt. Waterman

Gabrielino Green

Big leaf maple leaves along the Gabrielino Trail

A soothing panoply of big leaf maple leaves along the Gabrielino Trail between Devore Camp and West Fork.

From last weekend’s Mt. Wilson – Devore Camp – West Fork trail run.

Some related posts: Mill Creek Canyon Maple Leaves, Maple Leaves Along the Ritchey Canyon Trail, Big Leaf Maple Leaves

Bigcone ENSO Prediction, Poodle-dog Bush Blues, and a Surprise on Kenyon Devore

Morning sun on the dome of the Mt. Wilson Observatory

I’d paused to rinse my arms and legs, hoping to wash away at least a little of the poison oak and Poodle-dog bush I’d been unable to avoid. I was at a small spring part way up the Kenyon Devore Trail, doing a variation of a loop that my son and I had done a year before.

Today’s run had started on the top of Mt. Wilson, descended the Rim Trail to Newcomb Pass then followed the Gabrielino Trail down to the Rincon – Red Box Road. This year instead of taking the forest road down to West Fork, I stayed on the Gabrielino Trail and descended to Devore Camp, and then worked back upstream on the Gabrielino Trail past West Fork to the Kenyon Devore Trail.



Driving up the Mt. Wilson Road I’d noticed that many of the bigcone Douglas-firs were heavily laden with cones. According to the Forest Service’s Silvics Manual bigcone Douglas-firs don’t often have bumper crops. Why now, following two subpar rain seasons, the most recent of which was unusually dry? Was the tree’s evolutionary knowledge playing the odds that a wet period of Southern California’s wet/dry ENSO cycle is a Winter or two away? At the moment La Nina or Neutral conditions look more likely this coming Winter, but the odds for El Nino could increase for the Winter of 2014-15.

Update June 25, 2018. El Nino conditions did emerge in late Fall 2014 and continued until the Spring of 2016. However, the drought in Southern California persisted and below average precipitation was recorded in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. It wasn’t until the 2016-17 rain season (during a weak La Nina) that Southern California received above average precipitation.



Like last year there was plenty of poison oak and Poodle-dog bush along the Rim and Gabrielino Trails. The poison oak was about the same as last year — mostly but not entirely avoidable — but the Poodle-dog seemed worse. I’d hoped that this year’s much lower than average rainfall would suppress the growth of Poodle-dog bush, but if anything it seemed more robust. Poodle-dog had overgrown the trail in several spots, its long stalks and sticky leaves overlapping the trail like a gauntlet of pikes. Contact was unavoidable.



It had been interesting to visit Devore Camp. The last time I’d been there was in March 2003 when Gary Gunder and I paddled from the West Fork San Gabriel River from West Fork to Hwy 39. We had been fortunate to be able to paddle the reach with few portages. With all the downed trees from the Station Fire it may be many years before big storms flush the river channel to point it can be paddled without logs being a constant problem.



In addition to the expanses of Poodle-dog bush blossoms, a number of other wildflowers were in bloom, including Grinnell’s beardtongue, rose snapdragon, blackberry, pink, paintbrush, bush poppy, buckwheat, gilia, Keckiella and others. Along the West Fork the blossoms of spotted Humboldt’s lilies had beamed like yellow-orange paper lanterns scattered throughout an immense garden.

I cannot ascend the Kenyon Devore Trail without thinking about the Mt. Disappointment 50K/50M. During those races the little spring I was at now had always been a welcome source of “extra” water on the final climb to Mt. Wilson. The 2013 races have been cancelled, but are expected to return in 2014. We all know how tough R.D. Gary Hilliard is and look forward to next year’s race!

“Hey, are you on a trail?”

The voice seemed to come from nowhere. I looked to my left and right, but the trail was empty.

“Hey, up here!”



What the… I scanned the STEEP slopes above the creek, but still had a hard time locating the voice. After a moment of rustling, a helmeted figure emerged from the trees, carrying an orange mountain bike.

If you’ve done the Kenyon Devore Trail as part of the Mt. Disappointment races or at another time you probably recall the slippery stream crossing with the chain. The MTBer had apparently missed a switchback about a mile up the trail and descended directly down a ridge to the spring.

Update Friday, June 21, 2013. Lucked out with the Poodle-dog bush* and poison oak! Just one small spot of irritation on the top of an ankle, and it’s already almost gone.

*The taxonomic name for Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog bush) has changed to Eriodictyon parryi. The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition (2012) has returned Turricula to the genus Eriodictyon, as originally described by Gray. According to the Wikipedia entry for Turricula (April 11, 2012), “… molecular phylogenetic analysis carried out by Ferguson (1998) confirms that Turricula should be treated as a separate genus within a clade (Ferguson does not use the term “subfamily”) that includes Eriodictyon, and also the genera Nama and Wigandia; Eriodictyon is the genus to which Turricula is closest in molecular terms, and is its sister taxon.” I use “Turricula” and “Poodle-dog bush” interchangeably as a common name.

Some related posts: Mt. Wilson Rim Trail – Kenyon Devore Trail Loop, GSU Mt. Wilson CHARA Telescope Array, Why Won’t My Smart Key Work?

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on the Burkhart Trail

Southern Pacific rattlesnake on the Burkhart Trail below Buckhorn at about 6200 feet in the San Gabriel Mountains

This southern Pacific rattlesnake was on the Burkhart Trail below Buckhorn at about 6200′ in the San Gabriel Mountains. We encountered the snake last Saturday while doing a loop from Three Points around Mt. Waterman. It’s the second rattlesnake I’ve seen while doing this loop. The other encounter was on the Three Points – Mt. Waterman trail in a grassy area on the south side of Mt. Waterman at about 7000′.

The highest elevation I recall seeing a southern Pacific rattlesnake was at about 7200′, near the summit of Suicide Rock, in the San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild. In Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind, Volume 1 (Klauber, University of California Press, 1972) there are accounts of northern Pacific rattlesnake encounters at 11,000′ in the Sierra Nevada, and southern Pacific rattle encounters at 10,000′ and above in the Big Bear area and near the summit of San Jacinto Peak (10,843′).

My most unusual rattlesnake encounter to date was while kayaking the Forks of the Kern in the southern Sierra Nevada. I had just done the entrance move on the rapid Big Bean and had stopped in a small eddy on the left side of the river, just above the most difficult part of the rapid. My kayak was facing up river and was nearly against the bank. I was looking back over my left shoulder, mesmerized by the power of the water pouring over the big drop. Preparing to do the move, I was totally focused on the river, when suddenly — above the roar of the rapid — there was the startling buzz of a rattlesnake at my right ear. I turned to see a rattlesnake on the bank at shoulder level. Fortunately the snake just rattled and did not strike. Double-adrenalized, I peeled out from the eddy and paddled over the drop.

For more information see California Rattlesnakes (CaliforniaHerps.com).