Every May for almost 20 years Chuck has been holding a race in the Angeles National Forest called the El Prieto Handicap (pictures here of previous races). It’s named for the trail that is the toughest part of the course: a mile and a half of steep single track trail that runs through a lush area shaded by old trees and lots of vegetation (or as a young friend called it, a riparian area) and often lots of poison oak. It was always a beautiful place to run. Each year we alternate the direction: in downhill years the race starts at Millard Campground, and in uphill years it starts at the Hahamongna Watershed Park parking lot. This was part of the area devastated by the Station fire over the past week or so. A biking friend of a friend was up there recently and took some photos. They are heartbreaking if you have ever run, hiked or biked there. The photo at the start of this post is Millard Campground this past May. It’s all gone now. More photos:

The news is reporting that it was arson.