Frazier Park and Perseid Meteor Shower

Mt. Pinos, Frazier Park

Want to make wishes on hundreds of falling stars?  Well, you actually have this chance annually in August when the phenomenon meteor shower attracts hundreds of stellar and planetary enthusiasts to clear evening skies!!   This is difficult to do in Los Angeles and near the coast, as light pollution and cloud covers are difficult to thwart, but if you head to the mountains or the desert the conditions are....stellar!!!  A few hours from Los Angeles, Mount Pinos in Frazier Park affords hiking in the pines to breathtaking views of Ventura County and San Juaquin Valley as well as a peek of the Pacific Ocean, and the parking lot at night is full of astronomy enthusiasts.   But before you head out, lets clear a few misconceptions about the shooting "stars" and give you some facts to take to the hike and viewing!  

An astronomer took this
3 nights ago

Comets are not falling stars, but particles of dust and dirt held together in a matrix of frozen ice.  When the comet nears the Sun, the ice melts and the comet sheds particles of dust, which then spreads out into space over millennium of time.  Each separate particle creates a  meteoroid.  When the particle is in space it is called a meteoroid, when it enters the Earths atmosphere it is referred to as a meteor, and the meteorites are the ones that make it to the ground. So, basically you are making wishes on falling dirt debris from a comet.  For us hopeless romantics, we are still calling them falling stars, and we are still making wishes.  


The Earth orbits the Sun, as do the comets. This enables us to predict certain meteor showers. The Earth is bombarded with tons of meteors daily, when the particles slam into our atmosphere at speeds of up to 100 km per second and create trails as they burn up.  There are predictable showers when the Earth comes in contact with debris from a particular comet.  During the Perseid Meteor Shower, when the Earth plows through the particles of debris left by comet Swift Tuttle,  the viewer can behold as many as 50-60 meteors an hour!  The peak time is at midnight, right in the middle of dusk and dawn, from August 11 - 13.  

We decided to go to Frazier Park and Mt. Pinos, less than a 2 hour drive from Santa Monica and Los Angeles.  Mt. Pinos, located in between Ventura and Kern County, is the highest point in Ventura County and the highest peak in Los Padres National Forest at 8847 ft.   The Nordic Base Camp parking lot is close to the summit and is very popular with the astronomy crowd and there are small hikes through pines and meadows of flowers to amazing views. 

Beautiful forest of Pinion and
Jeffrey Pines

We arrived at the Nordic Base Camp  around 3:00 p.m. so that we could hike and then return to to the parking lot to eat a packed dinner and view the stars.  When we arrived, there were already people setting up their telescopes for the night viewing.  We parked then looked for trail maps.  The hikes are not clearly defined, although there are many to choose from that lead off of the parking lot.  I wanted to hike to Sawmill Peak, but had no clue which trail led there.  Also, there is a wildlife viewing area where you can look for condors, the most rare and the largest flying land bird in North America with a wing span that can reach 10 feet and can weigh up to 24 pounds, among other creatures like black bears and mule deer.  

Gooseberries

Fields of yellow flowers in
meadows

We took a trail above the Nordic Base building and stayed on the well marked trail and it turned out to be 2 miles to the wildlife viewing area and views of the  valleys.  The trail is half shade as you meander through pine forests with a few sunny meadows in between. Its an easy hike with nominal elevation change, but you are up 8300 feet so I became winded a few times when rock scrambling at the top.   Bring water, sunscreen, camera, a light jacket and a snack for the trail.  We saw an unidentified animal bolt across the trail (lower to the ground than a deer, but beige short hair) and also found a geo cache treasure box on top of one of the boulders the boys climbed up.  

Cell phone picture I took of the moon
through a telescope!!

Bob and home made
telescope

When the sun went down, it was incredibly cold for August.  It is about 20 degrees cooler as you drive up the mountain to the base camp, so bring winter wear.  Seriously, it was 90 degrees on the 5 freeway and we were freezing when the sun went down at the star viewing so we will bring sleeping bags, beanies, gloves, and ski jackets next time. The energy and excitement kept us going until sunset, but then we were struggling to keep warm while waiting for the planetary show.  We had a crescent moon, but once it set, we saw so many stars, saw nebulae, Saturn, and the moon through amazing telescopes with state-of-the-art technology, met Paul who creates the night sky on t-shirts with glow in the dark paint, and Bob who made his own reflecting telescope with a 26 inch mirror.  It was all very entertaining, while we waited for the true "stars" to show up, and they did not disappoint. 


 I made lots of wishes on dust debris last night, heard lots of "oohhhsss"  and "ahhhhs"  from the crowd as we watched
natures fireworks together, and had an amazing adventure with my favorite boys.

To get to Mt. Pinos, take the I-5 freeway 85 miles north of Los Angeles  to the Frazier Mountain Park Road exit.  Turn left and go up the mountain 7 miles, where it will turn into Cuddy Valley Road, continue 5 more miles.  You will come to an intersection with arrows, turn left and follow directions to Mount Pinos Road.  Follow this road 8.5 miles to the top and Nordic Base Camp parking lot.