NORTH LA COUNTY (LEONA DIVIDE, GRASS MOUNTAIN, TULE DIVIDE, & BURNS CANYON) SCENIC RUN - First Run

Folks,

We did some pre-running, and it looks like I will have to change plans/routes slightly. As of last Sat, the gate to Grass Mountain Summit was closed, so we can't go up there for our lunch stop. See below for updated info on the route. The good news is it looks like the weather is going to cooperate with partly sunny skies, and a high of about 60 degrees up there. Note, that's the HIGH for the day it will likely be quite a bit cooler at 9:30 AM. There's also usually a bit of wind in that area. So, I suggest you wear layers. Last but not least, there's been some confusion about where we are going to meet. Here's a link to Google Maps with the meeting location on it. https://goo.gl/maps/ju58NCPFiTp3USySA

See you all on Sat.!!

It's time to do something up this way on North LA County again! If you live up this way this is a great chance to do a run without having to drive 2-3 hours or more to get there.

This will be on nice easy 2 and 3 rated trails including Leona Divide and Tule Divide/Burns Canyon with a lunch stop along the way on Grass Valley Summit. The views, however, are pretty spectacular, so I think it should be a lot of fun. Note that this is going to be weather dependent. If it's been raining a lot the USFS might close the trails, we won't know until closer to the event so keep an eye here for updates. Also, we have some elevation here, so there could even be some snow. Please, be prepared for the conditions, and defiantly keep an eye on this page for updates and changes.

What you'll need:

1. Snacks, water, and a lunch (we will be stopping along the trail for lunch.)
2. A GMRS radio, a hand held will do the trick, tuned to GMRS channel 16 (462.5750)
3. The usual recovery gear.
4. The ability to air up/down.
5. A good attitude, patience and flexibility. The weather in particular could make changes to the trail, etc. so we may have to make changes "on the fly". Also, with a large group, there's going to be a lot of starts and stops, etc. Bring your patience hat.

Here are some trail details (I'm posting a .gpx file that you can import into OnX or GaiGPS or whatever your favorite software is. In short here's what I'm planning:

1. We will meet where Leona Divide Fire Rd meets Bouquet Canyon Rd just east of Bouquet Reservoir. https://goo.gl/maps/ju58NCPFiTp3USySA
2. We will then air down there. Note there is limited space, but should be enough if we pack in nice and tight so be friendly. ;-)
3. Then we will head up Leona Divide Rd all the way to San Fancisquito Rd.
4. We then head up San Francisquto Rd. to Tule Divide/Burns Rd
5. We will stop for lunch somewhere along the way on Tule Divide
6. Once we finish lunch we will head back down the mountain on Lake Huges Truck Trail
7. Lake Huges Truck Trail drops us off in Lake Huges

Note that if we are a large group (which it's looking so far that we will be) that both the air down and air up points aren't huge, but both have room along the highway for us to spread out a bit, so we should be able to accommodate everyone.

Overall, I think that the run should last 4ish hours, including the lunch stop. If we meet at 9:30 am, and get rolling by 10 AM, we should be done by 2-3PM in the afternoon assuming no major breakdowns, etc. *knock on wood*