The offshore winds that warmed temperatures on Sunday -- setting several high temperature records for the date -- also produced spectacular visibility in the Los Angeles area.

Here's a larger version of the view of the Los Angeles Basin from the Upper Bear Canyon Trail. You can see much of the Greater Los Angeles area, out to Catalina, and all the way to Boney Mountain in Newbury Park.

From Sunday's loop through Bear Canyon.

Arroyo Seco Downstream of Switzer Falls

By the calendar Spring was still a couple weeks away, but temps near 80 were forecast for the lower elevations of the San Gabriel Mountains and the weather looked ideal for revisiting the Red Box - Bear Canyon - Gabrieleno loop in Angeles National Forest. I did this loop last May when the area re-opened following the Station Fire and was curious to see how recovery was progressing, and how much trail use and maintenance had improved the trails.

The difference in 10 months was remarkable. Recovery of the burned areas continues at a steady pace, and trail conditions on much of the loop are not all that different than before the Station Fire. Following are some notes about each segment of the loop.

Not more than a foot or two off the trail.

Here it is February 23rd and the annual grasses have already gone to seed, goldfields are blooming on Lasky Mesa, and I've already had my first rattlesnake encounter of the season.

That happens when there's been less than a tenth of an inch of rain in the last 30 days (Cheeseboro RAWS) and temps climb into the eighties.

A canyon sunflower (Venegasia carpesioides) in a grove of oaks in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon.

From last Sunday's run to Cheeseboro Canyon from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch).

Last June I had an unusual encounter with a coyote near the end of a run at Ahmanson Ranch (Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve). For reasons known only to the coyote, the animal behaved like a dog and ran with me a short distance along a dirt road. Not off to the side of the road, or at a distance, but as if on lead and out for a daily jaunt. Today, on the same section of road, I had another odd encounter with a coyote.

This time I rounded a corner to see a coyote calmly trotting down the middle of the dirt road toward me. No big deal, it would do what a coyote normally does -- see me and head for the brush. Except it didn't. This time it continued to trot in my direction. Fifty, thirty, twenty feet -- the gap between us closed. Watching each other intently, we stopped about 12 feet apart.

For a few moments we stared at each other, my expression no doubt showing the same mix of wariness and curiosity as the coyote's. In the practiced motion of something wild, the coyote briefly raised its head, sampling scents of its world on the wind. I edged closer -- not daring to raise my camera, but taking the occasional photo.

A few more seconds passed, then apparently deciding enough was enough, the animal sauntered into the grass.

Coyotes are opportunists and I'm guessing these close encounters are related to an association of people with food -- perhaps discarded food or food intentionally provided. Coyotes also associate people with their pets. Recently I saw a pair of coyotes behaving oddly (also at Ahmanson) and nearby an individual was walking their small dog off lead.

Some related posts: Coyote Tag, Trickster

From yesterday's taper run from the Ahmanson Ranch Victory trailhead to Upper Las Virgenes Canyon and through Cheeseboro Canyon.

As found on this morning's Cheeseboro Canyon loop.

The Boney Mountain - Circle X region of the Santa Monica Mountains is one of the most appealing in the range. The grand vistas and rugged terrain are reminiscent of what you might see in some remote corner of the globe -- not those a mere 20 miles from the San Fernando Valley.

It was one of those days I had a general idea of where I was going to run, but wasn't sure of the details. The details didn't matter -- it was the end of January and the weather was as good as it gets for running. Whether the run turned out to be 10, 15 or 20 miles was beside the point.

The Mishe Mokwa - Sandstone Peak loop would make up part of the run. This six mile loop is one of the most scenic short trail runs in Southern California. In addition to doing this loop I was going to check out a peak at the top of the Chamberlain Trail, and then after doing Sandstone Peak, run down to the Grotto in upper Arroyo Sequit canyon.

Peak 2880 turned out to be a bushwhacking nightmare, but at least I got to run part way down the Chamberlain Trail. The run to the Grotto was excellent, and a nice addition to the loop. After doing Sandstone Peak and running down the Backbone Trail, instead of looping back around to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead, I continued down to the Sandstone Peak trailhead and picked up the Canyon View Trail. This trail more or less parallels Yerba Buena Road, and leads to the Grotto Trail, below the Circle X Ranch campground.

The title photograph is of the Grotto. Here's a National Park Service map (PDF) of the trails in the Circle X Ranch area.

Related posts: Balance Rock, Mountains and Valleys, Looking for Snow in the Santa Monica Mountains

The Cheeseboro RAWS, a couple of miles west of where this photograph was taken, is usually a good indicator of the weather in the Ahmanson Ranch area. The automated weather station recorded a paltry 0.01 inch of rain Tuesday. While this was enough to dampen the trails and create a little mud, it didn't help much with our low water year precipitation totals.

Downtown Los Angeles (USC) also recorded 0.01 inch of rain Tuesday, bringing the water year (July 1 to June 30) total to 5.07 inches, or about 60% of normal. Some areas have had a little more rain and some a lot less. According to NWS data the Santa Barbara water year rainfall total stands at about 69% of normal, while Burbank out in the Valley has recorded only about 44% of the normal amount of rain.

Central California isn't doing any better. Downtown San Francisco has only recorded about 42% of normal rainfall and Sacramento 45% of normal. In the first full Sierra snow survey of the season, basin averages ranged from about 28% to 54% of the normal snowpack, with a statewide weighted average of 35%.

The medium range weather models are forecasting a series of shortwave troughs will move through Southern California over the next 10 days. At the moment the systems aren't forecast to produce much rain in the Los Angeles, but maybe that will change. We'll see!

The photograph is from a run last week. The road leads up to Lasky Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

From this evening's run at Ahmanson Ranch.

Rain brings out the richness of the chaparral, enlivening its inhabitants, enhancing its colors, and enriching its fragrances. But in recent weeks rain storms have been few and rainfall far below normal.

The 2011-2012 rain season started out well enough. Thanksgiving Day the water year rainfall total for Downtown Los Angeles (USC) was about an inch above normal. But between Thanksgiving and Christmas the drier weather often associated with La Nina conditions became predominant, and water year totals dropped to about normal.

Northern and Central California were actually much drier than would be expected during a La Nina. Mammoth Mountain recorded no new snow between December 5 and January 19 -- about a month and a half! Our dry spell was nearly as long. Downtown Los Angeles recorded no measurable rain between December 17 and January 21.

The storms Saturday and Monday added about 1.3 inches of rain, boosting the water year rainfall total to 5.06 inches. As of yesterday this was 1.87 inches below normal and about 73% of the normal total.

The problem is this time of year we fall behind another 0.12 to 0.15 inch every day that it doesn't rain. The deficit adds up quickly and if -- as the medium range models currently project -- we don't get any rain for the next 10 days we'll down another inch and at about 64% of normal. We'll see!

The photograph of the Ceanothus trunk is from last Sunday's Will Rogers - Temescal loop trail run.

Related posts: The Color of Rain II, The Color of Rain

Did the Will Rogers - Temescal Loop this morning from the End of Reseda. It had been more than a month since we'd had measureable rain in Los Angeles and it was great to be out in the Santa Monica Mountains after a rainstorm, dodging a few mud puddles and enjoying the good running weather!

A key segment of the 21 mile loop is the Rivas Canyon Trail, which connects Will Rogers State Historic Park to Temescal Gateway Park. Each time I run the trail I'm blown away by the oceans of Cape ivy in Rivas Canyon. Having grown up in the Southeastern U.S. it reminds me of kudzu.

Both are introduced perennial climbing vines -- kudzu from Japan and Cape ivy from South Africa. Both are prolific and can cause severe negative impacts to native plants and other vegetation.

More information about Cape ivy (Delairea odorata) can be obtained on the California Invasive Plant Council web site.

Related post: Christmas Eve Trail Run