Here's an interactive Google Earth browser view of a false-color image of the Springs Fire scar from the Landsat Data Continuity Mission's Operational Land Imager. The image was recently featured on the NASA Earth Observatory web site. The image date is May 4, 2013.

According to the description of the image on Earth Observatory unburned vegetation appears dark green. Burned areas are red, and the most severely burned areas are generally the darkest. Actively growing farmland is light green; plowed fields are brown. Buildings and roads are gray.

This is a 3D view that can be zoomed,rotated and tilted. It includes the GEOMAC fire perimeter timestamped 05/07/13 0348. Placemark locations are approximate. GPS tracks from various runs have been added to mark many of the area's trails. The red track is Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. Requires the Google Earth plugin.

The overlay is large and may take a while to load.

Related post: Springs Fire 2013

Running Down the South Fork Trail from Islip Saddle

Just six days before I'd been sitting in my car at Islip Saddle debating whether to run. It had been COLD. The temperature had been about 35°F and the wind a steady 20 mph with higher gusts. It was cloudy and at times foggy, and it looked like rain, sleet or snow might begin at any moment.

Today I was back at Islip Saddle and the temperature was definitely not in the 30s. On a scale of 1 to 10, today's trail running weather was going to be a 9 or 10. At least here in the San Gabriel Mountains the weather was going to be a 9 or 10. Down in the valleys the temps would hit the mid-90s in some locations.

We were doing the Islip Saddle - South Fork Camp - Vincent Gap - Mt. Baden-Powell loop, one of my favorite adventure runs in the San Gabriels. Because this loop starts by running down to the high desert heat is often a factor, and an early start desirable.

Running down the South Fork Trail it felt like it was going to be a great day for the run, and by the time we were chugging up the Manzanita Trail toward Vincent Gap, there was no doubt about it. There was a cool, down-canyon breeze, and even in the sun the temperature was pleasant. The hatch of gnats that usually follows Spring showers wasn't happening and all in all the conditions were as good as I've had on the loop.

Here is a slideshow with a few photos from the run, and here are an interactive Google Earth browser view and an elevation profile of the run.

Some related posts: Heat Wave, San Gabriel Mountains Running Adventure, Bear Cubs on the South Fork Trail, Islip Saddle - Mt. Baden-Powell South Fork Loop

Trailrunners spend a lot of time outdoors, and as the hours add up so do the chances of wildlife encounters. Encounters can be as common as Nuttall's  woodpeckers chatting it up in a oak tree, or as rare as a mountain lion bounding across a road.

The diversity of wildlife in the areas in which I run is remarkable. The wildlife section of Photography on the Run includes posts about encounters and interactions with tarantulas and other spiders, bees & wasps, butterflies, birds, various snakes, lizards, frogs, rabbits, squirrels, coyotes, deer, bighorn sheep, hawks, falcons, owls, bobcats, bears, and mountain lions.

I've found many animals are surprisingly tolerant  of a jogging runner. What I will call innate curiosity sometimes seems to offset primal fear. However, it is a delicate balance with a hair trigger.

Earlier this week I did an out and back run at Sage Ranch. A couple of miles into the run I ran up a short hill and then around a huge sandstone boulder. About 10 feet away, perched on the edge of a picnic table was a Cooper's Hawk. And it didn't fly.

I could barely breathe. The bird was stunning. Its sleek dimensions and long, barred tail suggested elegance, speed and agility. I slowly turned away and with agonizing deliberateness, removed my camera from the waist pack. As I turned back to the bird, camera in hand, it flew away.

Birds are among the toughest of creatures for me to approach and photograph. Especially with a 90 mm lens. Most are very wary and will react to motion in their direction.

Over time you learn the habits and behaviors of the wildlife you see. There is a fence line along the dirt road on the east side of Lasky Mesa that is a favorite of flycatchers. I've seen two types of flycatchers at Ahmanson Ranch, the Say's Phoebe and the Western Kingbird.  As the name suggests, flycatchers hunt insects from fence posts and other perches.

Both species react to a runner in peculiar way. The game goes like this. From some yards away I'll see a flycatcher perched atop a fence post. The bird will wait until I am about 20 yards away -- not quite close enough to get the shot I want -- then fly four or five fence posts down the line and wait for me to try again. This behavior sometimes continues for a quarter-mile or more and several times has repeated until the end of the fence line.

Why? Maybe people and animals tend to stir up insects and the birds are being opportunistic.

The kingbirds in the title photo were momentarily distracted when one chased the other from the top of the post. The chasee has its crown feathers flared and wings held in a posturing display.

This is an adventurous loop that starts and ends at the Cold Spring trailhead, low on the slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains in the Santa Barbara Front Country. The route climbs the Cold Spring Trail to Camino Cielo on the crest of the range, and then descends to Forbush Flat and Blue Canyon in the Santa Barbara Back Country.

The Front Country views on the Cold Spring Trail are spectacular, and the Back Country segment from Forbush to Blue Canyon has a classic, isolated character, accentuated by grassy flats, sprawling oaks, gurgling springs and unique geology. Montecito Peak (3214') can be climbed on the way up the Cold Spring Trail and depending on how much time you spend on the summit, adds about 15 minutes.

I was running with Kevin Young, whom I'd met during the Backbone Ultra. Kevin is long-time resident of Santa Barbara and this is just one of the challenging routes in his backyard. As is the case with many trail runs, the mileage of this loop -- about 22 miles -- isn't the best indicator of its difficulty. Many variations of the loop are possible, but one thing they all have in common is lots of elevation gain.

Thanks to the marine layer it was cool along the immediate coast, but inland temps were hot. When we started the run the temperature at the Montecito RAWS was 60°F. A few hours later when we were climbing out of Blue Canyon on the memorably steep Romero Trail the in-the-sun temperature at nearby Los Prietos was around 100°F.

Having done this loop a number of times, Kevin knew it was longer than it looked, and had stashed some goodies at the Romero trailhead. You might think 100 oz. of water would be plenty for 16 miles. On a different day it might be, but today we both ran out of water part way down the Romero Trail. Neither one of us had particularly fresh legs. Kevin was training for a 100 miler later in May and had run 20 miles the day before.

The PB & J sandwich at Romero hit the spot, but after drinking a 16 oz. recovery drink, half of a large bottle of water, and some Gatorade, I wondered if I had overdone the fluids. Nope -- it actually helped a lot and my running attitude improved considerably.

Kevin's route back to the Cold Spring trailhead from Romero initially followed the Nine Trails course on the Edison Catway, but after reaching the Buena Vista Trail continued down to Park Lane. Here we picked up the Old Pueblo Trail, and then worked across to the McMenemy Trail. We followed the McMenemy Trail to the Hot Springs Trail, which we took down to Mountain Drive. From the Hot Springs trailhead it was about a mile on Mountain Drive back to the Cold Spring trailhead. Even though it had a lot of up and down, this part of the run turned out to be surprisingly cool and enjoyable.

For maps of the area see the Multi-use Trails Coalition and Santa Barbara Hikes web sites.

Here's a slideshow with a few photos from the run. We did this run last Sunday, April 28.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 1115 MDT

Update May 13, 2013. According to the CAL FIRE web site the Springs Fire was 100% contained on May 11 at 24,251 acres. The interactive Google Earth browser view of the Springs fire perimeter has been updated with the fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/07/13 0348. This is a 3D view that can be zoomed,rotated and tilted. Placemark locations are approximate. GPS tracks from various runs have been added to mark many of the area's trails. The red track is Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. Requires Google Earth plugin.

Today SMMNRA announced that some areas closed by the Springs Fire will reopen tomorrow morning. Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park will partially reopen, the Sandstone Peak and Mishe Mokwa trailheads will reopen, and the Backbone Trail east of the Point Mugu State Park boundary will reopen. Also see the SMMNRA news release After the Fire: 3 Things You Can Do to Help Nature Recover and the SMMNRA Photostream on Flickr.

Previous snapshots:

Springs Fire fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/06/13 0555.

Springs Fire fire perimeter from GEOMAC timestamped 05/03/13 2345.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/04/13 1315 MDT with GEOMAC fire perimeter timestamped 05/03/13 2345.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/04/13 0800 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 2215 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 1700 MDT.

Springs Fire MODIS fire detections as of 05/03/13 0845 MDT.

MODIS Google Earth fire data is from the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center Active Fire Mapping Program web site. Fire perimeter is the most recently available from the GEOMAC web site at the time this post was updated.

The following additional information was included with the MODIS fire detections KML file:

This KML displays the MODIS fire detections at a spatial resolution of 1km for the past 6 hours, 6-12 hours, 12-24 hours and the previous 6 day period. Each 1km MODIS fire detection is depicted as a point representing the centroid of the 1km pixel where the fire is detected. The 1km footprint of the MODIS pixel for each detection is also displayed.

KML file generated by the USDA Forest Service Active Fire Mapping Program. Please see http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us for additional fire mapping products and information.

Disclaimer: Although these data have been used by the USDA Forest Service, the USDA Forest Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. The information contained in these data is dynamic and is continually updated. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. The USDA Forest Service reserves the right to correct, update or modify this data and related materials without notification.

Hyside's Richard Dechant's Aqua RV Hooligan Boat

Last summer it looked like El Nino was ramping up for a moderate-level event and the buzz was that Warm Episode ENSO Conditions were pretty much a done deal for the Winter. Only no one told the atmosphere -- and it didn't cooperate with warming SSTs to produce the expected event.

This and other factors resulted in one of the most meager Kern snowpacks on record with the April 1 snow courses averaging about 23% of normal. The lowest was in 1977 when the April snow courses averaged 19% of normal. Not only was this year dry, but last year was also a low snowpack year. 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 ranked a close second to 1975-1976 and 1976-1977 as having the lowest snowpacks on record in consecutive seasons.

The shallow snowpack and a cold weather system the week preceding Festival kept flows in the 450-500 cfs range Saturday and Sunday. There was enough water for Hooligan Boats, SUP Races, Whitewater Triathlon and Slalom Race, but the Brush Creek races had to be cancelled.

The weather for the 49th edition of the Kern River Festival was perfect, and even with the low flow there was plenty of whitewater action. Everyone looked like they enjoyed paddling the Kern. I know I did. More info, results and photos can be found on the KVRC.org and KernFestival.com web sites.

View Southwest from Sadie Hawkins past Twin Peaks to Mt. Wilson

The snow was rock hard and covered with lodgepole pine needles and other debris. Having experience climbing snow and ice I can usually deal with a little early season snow, but I could see no way to safely cross this patch. The snow was steep and icy, the runout long and the risk high. My usual tricks for crossing short stretches of snow were not going to work.

A 5000' deep marine layer produced some spectacular views along Angeles Crest Highway on the way to Islip Saddle this morning. The peak on the right just above the clouds is 5409-foot Monrovia Peak. Peaks of the Baldy group can be seen in the distance on the left.

The plants on the left with the red blossoms are scarlet bugler.

Bear Canyon

Doing a moderate run in the San Gabriels and climbing a few peaks was a great way to unwind from the excitement of doing the 68 mile Backbone Ultra last weekend.

I felt good. I'd run more or less normally in the week following the event -- depleted, but without any physical issues. In part that can be attributed to how Coyote Cohorts runs their events. It was basically a long training run in the company of a great bunch of runners and the help of incredible volunteers. Amazing! The long hours of training also really helped, particularly the back-to-back runs following 50Ks and the back-to-back night/day training runs. My shoes -- Hoka Mafate 2s -- also helped, reducing the impact of all the miles.

One of the reasons for doing today's run was to check how Poodle-dog Bush and some other plants are faring in this low rainfall water year. Since July 1 Downtown Los Angeles has recorded only 5.14 inches of rain. Unless we can manage to wring about a half-inch of rain from the heavens before June 30, this water year will go down as the fourth driest since record-keeping began in 1877. The driest water year on record was in 2005-2006 (3.21 inches). Assuming we don't get that 0.48 inch of rain, three of the four driest water years have occurred since 2000.

Something I noticed on the Backbone run and recent training runs in the Santa Monica Mountains is that plant growth and flowering has been surprisingly robust given the amount of rainfall. This was also the case today on today's run -- the manzanita on the San Gabriel Peak Trail was covered in blossoms and bees, and the nightshade and paintbrush along the trail also seemed to be doing well.

What about the Poodle-dog bush, aka Turricula? It looked about the same as last year at this time -- just starting to come out of Winter dormancy. Last year we had above average rainfall in April and it really seemed to spur the growth of Poodle-dog bush. This year maybe we'll see what an extended period of dry weather does to it. Last year some of the Poodle-dog died before the rain in April.

Here's a short slideshow of a few photos from today's run in the San Gabriel Mountains, as well as some photos of plants and flowers on recent runs in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Joey "Threw it on the Ground" Morrison, who whole-heartily embraced the spirit of the Backbone games, was momentarily transformed into the iconic coyote runner while on the top of Eagle Rock.

The Coyote Backbone Trail Ultra was a phenomenal experience and a fantastic running event. The work required to pull it off is beyond comprehension. Many thanks to Chris Scott, Howard Cohen, Mike Epler, Gretchen Garrnet, Manley Klassen and everyone that helped make it happen -- especially Lynette Brody (California State Parks) and Catharine Beverly Bishop (NPS). Also a BIG thanks to the aid station personnel, the safety crews, the EMTs, the communications staff, the trail sweeps and the huge number of volunteers that contributed to the event. The runners that I met along the way were exceptional people as well as superb athletes. I feel fortunate to have participated.

Here's a link to a slideshow -- mostly from the first half of the run. The slideshow is best viewed on desktop/laptop that supports Flash, but can also be viewed on an iPhone/iPad.

After Kanan I had to focus on getting from one aid station to the next, and finishing the run!

Here's a Google Earth flyover of the Backbone Trail run from my GPS track. It will play on most desktop/laptop browsers using the Google Earth plugin. If the placemark labels don't display or disappear, pause the flyover and then press play to resume the flyover. You can start/stop the flyover at any point and use the Google Earth controls to zoom, pan and tilt the view. The time of day is displayed on the upper left.

The 1.6 mile hike (one way) from Stunt Road to the rocky overlook at the top of Calabasas Peak Motorway fire road is very popular and has some great views along the way. Some stretches of the road are steep, but there are also some moderate sections and even a short flat stretch to catch your breath.

The route gains about 800 vertical feet to the viewpoint. Although many turnaround here, even better views can be had from the nearby summit of Calabasas Peak. Continuing to the peak adds about a half-mile (round trip) and around 100' of elevation gain.

From this afternoon's run on the Secret Trail.

Some related posts: Calabasas Peak From Saddle Peak, Secret Trail Variations

If a sunflower could be crossed with a Joshua tree the result might look like Giant Coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea).

As tall as six feet, this peculiar plant looks as if it belongs in some distant place, if not some distant time.

It is a member of the Sunflower family and its bright yellow flowers and feathery green leaves create impressive displays on Southern California coastal slopes following Winter rains. It is well-adapted to our Mediterranean climate, its leaves withering and the plant becoming dormant in the dry months.

These are along the La Jolla Canyon Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park and were photographed on Saturday's run to Mugu Peak from Wendy Drive.