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“He may be just a tramp, a guy that likes to roam about this great country without any special aim, just to thank the Lord for these beautiful mountains.”
-B. Traven, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
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“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”
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Recently Read
- Eating Poison Oak
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- Mugwort: A Natural Poison Oak Preventive
- Potrero Canyon, Hurricane Deck, Manzana Creek 20 Mile Day Hike
- Old Mission Santa Barbara
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- Parks Management Co's Selective Fee Enforcement
- Otter Point, Gaviota Coast
- Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California's Central Coast
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Latest Dispatches
- Parks Management Co’s Selective Fee Enforcement
- Otter Point, Gaviota Coast
- Ridgetop Tank, Santa Ynez Mountains
- California Name Origins: Joseph Wood Krutch, The Forgotten Peninsula (1961)
- The Extraordinary Rains of August 2023
- Howling Coyote, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Repatriation of Native American Remains and Artifacts
- The Mysterious Three Stone Stack
- A Sea of Debris and Plastic Microtrash
- The Twelve-Inch Experience, Baron Ranch Corridor
- Figueroa Mountain Bug Bloom
- Discreet Sensitive Habitat Signage, Sespe Wilderness
- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
- Spring Potrero Mutilated, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Big Bummer At Baron Ranch: Trashing the Place To Save It
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Monthly Archives: February 2023
Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
What I saw when I first turned to continue my walkabout. A beautiful disaster. “Lions often stalk their prey and attack by leaping on their shoulders and back, biting the top of the neck or head. Their jaws are strong … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Forest, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Mountain Lion, Nature, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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10 Comments
Forest Service Welcomes Hikers To Falling Trees, Flash Floods and Debris Flows
How much worse do conditions get? (Those are actually fantastic conditions! The worse the better.) And yet in the face of such natural horrors, the likes of which only Danny Hillman might venture risking limb and life to vanquish, they … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Forest Closure, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildfires
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17 Comments
Firefighters Save the Old Oak, San Marcos Preserve
“It had stood there for hundreds of years, and he thought it would always stand there. Its roots clutched the hill like a fist with fingers sunk into the soil, and he thought that if a giant were to seize … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Firefighters, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, San Marcos Preserve, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Trees, Wildfires, Wildlife
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1 Comment
Wild Iris Bloom, Santa Ynez Mountains
The wild iris are abloom now in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This particular flush shown may be the best bloom in many years, coming after the Thomas Fire of 2017 cleared the way, and a month after the torrential record-setting … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, wildflowers
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4 Comments
Claw Marks In the Tiny Tank
I went for a walk to a tiny tank high on the mountain. The rain had fallen for days, for hours non-stop, in amounts not common around this neck of the woods. Records were set. And so we have to … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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4 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 