Mr Trail Safety Speaks!

USFS Bobcat Fire Closure Map   As of October 7, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. Mandatory evacuations for the Bobcat fire burning in the Angeles National Forest have been downgraded to warnings, the U.S. Forest Service said. ... The fire has burned 115,769 acres and was 89% contained as of Tuesday, Oct. 6. [ Mercury News ] The course is charred from Chilao thru Chantry, then up and over Mt Wilson [prevented from incinerating the telescope complex] to Idle Hour, and down to Sierra Madre. In short, a shit ton of burn. Winter will bring mudslides and more downed trees on trail washouts. Those familiar with the course know that in many places the trails are 'notional', ie stapled to the side of the slope in the best of times. Now that the manzanita has burned off, be prepared to welcome The Purple Poodle Dog Bush [ Eriodictyon parryi ], which is a native recovery species. For those not familiar with it, it makes poison oak seem like a bad coffee date. T his is the likely end of the Angeles Cre...

AC100 Trail volunteers, between Charlton Flats and Shortcut Saddle in the burned-over Angeles Crest  of the San Gabriel Mountains. The Purple Poodle-Dog Bush has started to come in— the creepy sage/reefer-like bushes in bright green. April 16, 2011. While in the San Gabriels, you will, sooner or later, encounter  Poison Oak  and  Purple Poodle Dog Bush ( PPDB) .  I've been friends with poison oak for over 30 years.    PPDB  re-appeared after the 2009 Station Fire. I'd never seen it before. The PPDB lies dormant for years, until fire conditions burn off chaparral and manzanita. It then reappears, First it looks like a cross between marijuana and sage with oily lime-green leaves. As it grows, it sends up a stalk that can top out at 9' high. Watch out for the pretty purple flowers, which look like lupine, but stink like natural gas or decay.  Do not touch . When the flowers die off in late spring, the stalks have dried fibe...