Gary Valle's Photography on the Run

Montrail Mountain Masochist

Gary Valle — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:26:45 GMT

The trail shoes I've been running in the most over the last several months are the Salomon XT Wings, Salomon SpeedComp, and the adidas Response Trail 15. I've been happy with the performance of these shoes, but still like to try something new from time to time.

Recently, the cushioning on one of my pairs of XT Wings died, so I thought I'd give the Montrail Mountain Masochist a try. I've now run about 35 miles in the Mountain Masochist, on a variety of courses, including the Mt. Pinos trail run on Sunday. Trail surfaces have ranged from smooth dirt road to very rocky, technical single track trail.

From the first mile the shoes have been comfortable, and fit my moderately high-arched, D-width foot well. At 12 oz./each (US size 9.5) are on the lighter side for a medium weight shoe.

The outsole appeared to have good traction on a mix of dry surfaces without being overly aggressive and grabby. On the rocky sections of trail, the shield in the midsole did a good job of protecting against pointy rocks.

My foot likes a neutral shoe with little or no pronation control, and so far the modest amount of pronation control in the Mountain Masochist has not felt overly restrictive. Depending on individual biomechanics, many runners should benefit from some degree of pronation control.

The shoe seems to encourage a more forward body position and foot strike, which I prefer. The forefoot cushioning is good, and the strike-to-toe transitions feel smooth. On rough trails, the shoe has been stable, and I have not noticed any abnormal tendency to roll an ankle.

Overall, the Mountain Masochist appears to be a balanced, well thought out design. I hope to get them out on a 20+ mile mountain run soon.

Chumash Wilderness Trail Run

Gary Valle — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:21:58 GMT

The out and back trail run from the Chula Vista parking lot on Mt. Pinos to the top of Mt. Abel is one of the best "short" mountain runs in Southern California. Most of the run is on the Vincent Tumamait Trail -- a technical single track trail in the Chumash Wilderness in Los Padres National Forest.

Ranging in elevation from about 7700' to 8800', the run packs a lot into its 15 mile length, combining great scenery with demanding uphills and superb downhills through old growth pine and fir forest. The summit area of Mt. Pinos is open and alpine with views that can range from the ocean to the Sierra.

About 4 miles from the parking lot is the North Fork Trail junction. A short side trip on this trail leads to the seeps, spring and wildflowers at Sheep Camp. The Vincent Tumamait Trail ends at Cerro Noroeste (Mt. Abel) road, but it is not difficult to work up through the pines about 1/3 of a mile to the campground on Mt. Abel's summit.

Usually about 20-30 degrees cooler than lowland hot spots such as the San Fernando Valley, the run is a great way to beat the heat on a hot summer day. See the post Vincent Tumamait Trail for more info and additional trail running options.

The title photo is of Lynn Longan, running up the switchbacks near the Condor Observation Site on Mt. Pinos.

Kearsarge Pinnacles & University Peak

Gary Valle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:13:56 GMT

From Sunday's out and back trail run from Onion Valley, over Kearsarge Pass, to Glen Pass. University Peak is the peak in shadow on the left of the photograph.

Onion Valley - Kearsarge Pass - Glen Pass Trail Run

Gary Valle — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:43:58 GMT

Mt. Cotter and Mt. Clarence King from Glen Pass.

The last time I was on Glen Pass was a brisk and brilliant October morning in the late 70's. Overnight, the first cold front of the season had covered the trail with a few inches of snow. Working up toward the pass, bright fingers of gold had reached through long shadows to illuminate the angular, lichen-covered rocks, and the new snow had sparkled in celebration of Winter's rapid approach.

Today, I'm back on Glen Pass, once again reveling in the wildness and beauty of my surroundings. There is almost no wind, and even at 12,000' the day is warm. Refreshed by late season storms, the remaining snow is bright and youthful, accenting the elegant lines of the rugged alpine terrain. In counterpoint to the snow, a patchwork of clouds decorate the intensely blue sky.

In the outdoors, each place and day is remarkable in its own way.

Here are a few photographs from the run:

University Peak (13,589'/4142 m) from the Kearsarge Pass Trail.

Spectacular running at 11,000' near Bullfrog Lake. The snowy peaks are (l-r) South Guard, Mt. Brewer, North Guard, and Mt. Francis Farquhar.

Charlotte Dome from the PCT/John Muir Trail, south of Glen Pass.

Switchbacks on the south side of Glen Pass. If you look closely you can see a pair of hikers working up the trail.

Nearing the top of Glen Pass (11,978'/3651 m).

The out and back trail run from Onion Valley (9200'/2804 m), over Kearsarge Pass (11823'/3604 m), to Glen Pass (11,978'/3651 m) worked out to about 20 miles, with an elevation gain/loss of about 4750 ft. Here's a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of my route and an elevation profile generated in SportTracks.

Related post: Up and Over Kearsarge Pass

Where the Heart Is -- and Lungs, and Stomach and...

Gary Valle — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:32:20 GMT

Maybe because we're involved in outdoor sports, we're more aware of basic human anatomy than some other segments of the population, but I am still stupefied to read the results of a recent study in which less than one-third (31.4%) of the participants correctly identified the location of the lungs on a diagram of the human body.

The study, published in BMC Family Practice (2009, 10:43), was intended to evaluate the anatomical knowledge of different patient groups and the general public, and compare the results to a similar study done in 1970.

In the 2009 study, less than half (46.5%) of the participants correctly identified the location of the heart, and a little more than one-third (38.4%) could identify the location of the stomach.

The percentage correct for each item of the anatomy tested (heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder, thyroid, liver and kidneys) averaged 51.4% in 1970 and 52.5% in the 2009 study.

Tinqui Entertainment Inc.

Gary Valle — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:06:51 GMT

Our stopover at the Peruvian highland village of Tinqui was one of many memorable experiences on my running trip to Peru. At 12,400', Tinqui is the trailhead for the Ausangate Circuit -- an adventurous route around Mt. Ausangate that crosses two 16,500' passes.

A 4-5 hour bus ride from Cusco, Tinqui is pleasantly remote and rustic. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and after getting settled into our hostel, walked down the dusty main street to the market. Music and laughter erupted from a nearby crowd...

"She told me her name was billie jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round"

Boombox at his side, a blue-jeaned and baseball-capped performer treated the crowd to his best Michael Jackson.

Later that evening, breathing deeply and thinking of the run ahead, I drifted to sleep on the distant, interleaving harmonies of a Catholic Mass sung in the native Quechua language -- far from home, but not very far from the nearest boombox, and the influence of Michael Jackson.

Technorati Tags: michael jackson, trail running, Peru, adventure travel

It was So Muddy That...

Gary Valle — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:27:51 GMT

Exactly as I found it on my run at Ahmanson today. Looked like a fairly new running shoe.

Cool Running in Southern California

Gary Valle — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:04:56 GMT

Last year on this date, Southern California was in the middle of a heatwave. On June 20, 2008, Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills reached a record-setting high of 111°F, and on June 21 the temp reached 108°F!

Not so this June! So far this month, Downtown Los Angeles has not had a day when the average temperature was above normal. And it's not only the low elevation stations that have been cool. Several times this month the overnight low at the Big Pines RAWS, near Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains, has dropped into the thirties, and daytime temps have averaged more than 10 degrees below normal.

This translates to great running weather in Southern California, and near perfect weather for trail running in the San Gabriel Mountains. Today, did the Three Points - Buckhorn loop, along with a short detour up to the summit of Waterman Mountain. The route worked out to about 23 miles with a reality-checked elevation gain/loss of about 3800'. Here's a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of the run.

The title photo is of Dave Burke, cruising down a nice section of the PCT between Cloudburst Summit and Cooper Canyon.

Kotolo Milkweed

Gary Valle — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:28:02 GMT

Kotolo milkweed (Asclepias eriocarpa) on Lasky Mesa.

From a run last week in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

Chumash Astronomy: Reaching into the Upper World

Gary Valle — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:15:18 GMT

There is nothing quite so compelling as an unanswered question.

Several years ago, in the middle of a trail run, an unusually shaped rock formation caught my eye. After a little bushwhacking and exploration, I found a way to climb the formation, and on its summit found a small pictograph. I wondered if there might be other pictographs in the area, and on the way back to the trail found the inscription pictured above.

Later, I took a friend with more ethnographic experience to the top of the rock, and it was his opinion that the pictograph, as well as the nearby inscription, were not of modern origin. He also mentioned that the rock likely marked the point on the southeastern horizon where the sun rises on the Winter Solstice, as seen from a Chumash shrine several miles away.

The pictograph on the solstice rock appears to have been painted using an ochre pigment, which may have been mixed in an adjacent cupule. It is in a harsh environment, fully exposed to the sun, wind and rain. It's my guess that the white "alignment" reticule surrounding the pictograph is an unfortunate recent addition.

The petroglyph is in a concavity on the north side of a large boulder, and is better protected. That the drawing appears to be astronomical in nature, and is adjacent to a rock possibly used to mark the Winter solstice is probably not a coincidence.

To speculate on the purpose and meaning of such a drawing is to travel in time, and through the thoughts and eyes of another, visit a world far different than our own.

In this case that someone was probably an 'alchuklash -- an astronomer-priest-shaman who was a part of a religious-spiritual cult known as the 'antap -- a pervasive power elite within Chumash society.

The 'alchuklash were adept astronomers, not only observing the Winter and Summer Solstices, but the moon, individual stars, asterisms, constellations, planets, Milky Way, eclipses and more. The observation and interpretation of the Upper World were an integral part of the Chumash cultural and world view.

But the Upper World did not exist on its own. The Chumash appreciated and celebrated the interdependency of Nature, and events in the Upper and Lower Worlds were inexorably tied to those in the Middle World of everyday existence. Using their specialized knowledge, the 'antap facilitated communication and interaction between these worlds to the benefit, or peril, of the People.

It is in this context that in the drawing I see the powerful personage of an 'alchuklash, who has reached into the Upper World. Perhaps the drawing is a commemoration of the power of the place. Perhaps it is a kind of owner's manual, a premodern PDF, illustrating the purpose of the solstice rock. Or, perhaps it is something we cannot know.

Note: The contrast of the lines in the image has been increased to make them easier to see. In the ten years since I first photographed the etching, some detail has been lost in the lower right corner of the drawing. This image is from April 21, 2009.

Reference: Crystals in the Sky: An Intellectual Odyssey Involving Chumash Astronomy, Cosmology, and Rock Art. Travis Hudson and Ernest Underhay (Foreword by Anthony F. Aveni and illustrated by Campbell Grant). Socorro, New Mexico: Ballena Press Anthropological Papers No. 10, 1978, 163 pp.

Technorati Tags: Chumash, petroglyph, pictograph, rock art, solstice, astronomy, ethnography, shaman

PCT from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle

Gary Valle — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:31:45 GMT

Overnight the lows on the high peaks had dipped into the 30's, and today the high temps would be 15-20 degrees below normal. If I could have ordered the perfect mix of temperature, clouds and sun for running in the Angeles high country, it would be difficult to top the weather this weekend and last.

Now that Hwy 2 was open between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap, and we could do a car shuttle, Miklos, Krisztina and I had decided to run from Inspiration Point to Islip Saddle on the PCT. Starting at Inspiration Point instead of Vincent Gap adds about 4.5 miles to the run, but the miles are relatively easy, and the stretch is a good warmup for the 2800 ft. climb up Mt. Baden-Powell.

Here's a Google Earth browser view of a GPS trace of our approximately 18 mile route. We wandered down the south ridge of Mt. Baden-Powell, so this is a little longer than the usual route. The elevation gain was about 3300 ft., with an elevation loss of about 4000 ft. Continuing over Mt. Williamson to Eagle's Roost would add about 4 miles and 1400 ft. of elevation gain.

Note: The speck in the summit photo is one of several violet-green swallows working lift and zooming along the top of southeast face.

South Ridge Relic

Gary Valle — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:07:22 GMT

From Sunday's hike/run up and down Mt. Baldy's South Ridge.

Sage Ranch Recovery Run

Gary Valle — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:53:58 GMT

Like many runners, I like to do a recovery run the day after a race, or strenuous run. Combined with some stretching before and after, an easy-paced run helps to work the bugs and stiffness out of the body and mind.

It may have been only 14 miles long on the map, but from my legs point of view, yesterday's hike/run up and down Mt. Baldy's South Ridge felt more like about twenty normally hilly miles.

The photo above is California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum), at Sage Ranch Park.