Meet Chris, Joan & Natalie!

This weekend we headed out to the Mt. Zion loop trail and I am pleased to say that while on the trail we had it all to ourselves. Living in the center of Los Angeles I'm always amazed that this kind of solitude is no more than a short drive away. I am further pleased to report this may be the first weekend in several months we did not need to negotiate our way around a rattlesnake or otherwise remove one from the trail, the latter being an unfortunate rite of passage which Sharon expertly supervises from six feet behind me.

The Mt. Zion loop trail crosses directly through Sturtevant Camp and we had the pleasure of stopping in to visit with our friends Chris, Joan and their dog Natalie. Chris and Joan have been the Camp managers for fifteen years now and are always available with a cheery hello! Once we were caught up on the progress of the micro-hydro-electric project and any canyon gossip, we questioned Chris about rattlesnake strategy. Chris confidently assured us that most bites to humans are in-fact dry and that a rattlesnake can only strike accurately a distance equal to one-third the length of its body. How we might judge this distance with a hissing reptile at our feet we considered only momentarily. Chris and I go way back and I consider him to be a reputable source of information with respect to these sorts of things. This being the case, we set off with a new sense of security.

Cheers!

** Chris if you're checking in – since you asked, the trail from camp over Zion is so overgrown it seems more like a deer trail now in some places. There is some ducking, as you mentioned, and the path is washed out in a few places. None of this bothers us 'cause… you know… we can take it.

We may head over the Rim Trail next week and if we do we'll see you then!

Meet Allen Wolff!

Ever have the desire to run 100 miles through the forest? 83 people had just that desire this past weekend and so participated in The Angeles Crest 100 mile endurance run. The course, beginning in Wrightwood and ending at the Rose Bowl, traverses some of the most beautiful trails in the San Gabriel mountain backcountry.

While on one of our favorite 11 mile treks, Sharon and I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the volunteers who make the race possible. These extraordinary people were still supporting several of the final runners at the 75 mile mark of Chantry Flat, the race having been underway now for approximately 28 hours! We stopped for a few moments to talk with Allen Wolff, communications specialist. Allen brings his HAM radio expertise to the race as part of a coordinated safety measure.

Q: Hi Allen, it's nice to meet you and thank you for talking with us today! Can you tell us a little bit about what you do here and what part you play in making the race a success?

A: Sure and It's great to meet you too! We are happy to be able to provide safety communications for the runners in the race. The stations are located at 19 checkpoints for the 100 miles. People run through the woods for 100 miles. And there is a vertical gain and vertical loss of about 46,000 ft. They run up and down hills through the woods! They start in Wrightwood at 5:00 am on Saturday and they finish by 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon at the Rose Bowl. We work with the race people in an organizational structure. We support them by providing communications. You can't use celphones for the most part when you're deep in the woods so our database tracks the runners when they leave one checkpoint and come through our checkpoint and proceed to the next checkpoint. My world is these three checkpoints. From here I don't get the opportunity to see any of the runners but I know all the names and numbers because my database tracks them. The man who developed the database is very, very clever and the numbers change color on my screen if the person is on the trail to long. You see, they know the average time it takes to get to Newcomb from Chantry Flats, for example, and if the runner goes over that average time it goes yellow and if he goes way over it goes red and then we get concerned and then they can send some race people down the trail to look for the runner or if there is a report of a runner being injured we can get search and rescue out there. Two years ago, we had a woman who got dehydrated on the trail between us and Newcomb and needed support. Some runners had gone down to help her out and by the time she got out we had Sierra Madre Fire up here with a fire truck and ambulance to take her to the hospital. So we have Sierra Madre Search and Rescue available to us. We can get a helicopter here if necessary; it depends on what the situation is.


For lots more information on the race, log on to www.ac100.com.

Going Solo

I haven't been hiking on my own for some time and it can be difficult to self-motivate on a cozy Sunday morning. I dug deep and somehow got myself to the trailhead by 8:00am. The road to our favorite trail has been closed for so long I can't remember the last time it was open. The rains last year resulted in the road collapsing in several places and it is just now being propped back into place. Usually, we walk up the three mile road but on this day I brought my bike. I'm always telling Sharon that the bike up would be easy and I must remember to mention to her that it is more tiring than I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I locked it at the pack station and set off to re-discover some peace of mind and re-acquaint myself with me.

Today I was lucky. The morning in Santa Anita Canyon welcomed me with just enough cloud cover to keep me cool and a slight breeze to discourage the blackflies. The golden leaves covering the trail suggest autumn but the air is absent a morning chill and I reached the shade of the tall pines just as the sun began to explode through the tiny cracks in the grey sky.

Sharon and I know many of the cabin owners and our hikes in this canyon often include visiting friends. This morning I saw someone I didn't recognize emerging from his cabin and he greeted me with a raised cup of coffee. Sharon, however, is the friendly one of us and all I could muster was a lifted palm with a wilting 'hello' as I whisked by. Had Sharon been with me, that guy would be featured here. Insecurity - 1.

Few others ventured out this day and I intruded on none but the quick squirrels with their mellifluous squealing to break the sweet silence.

Until next time.