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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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- Eating Poison Oak
- Slippery Rock Stagecoach Road (19th Century)
- The Elusive and Fleeting Fire Poppy
- The Storied Life of Davy Brown (Davy Brown Campground, Santa Barbara County)
- The Bandit of Ballarat
- Don Victor Valley and Pine Canyon
- Manzana Creek Schoolhouse (1893)
- Native American Rock Art (Kern County)
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Latest Dispatches
- Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
- Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
- Last California Grizzlies Seen In Santa Barbara National Forest? (1926)
- Eccentric Artifact, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Fog Drip Morels
- Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
- Mark of Conquest; Benchmark and Mortar
- Hat Tip to the Selfless Samaritans In Service to Others
- The Intelligence of Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata)
- The Journey of a Root (1907) and Plant Intelligence
- Santa Barbara County Morels
- Hollyleaf Cherries Golden Morph
- Barefoot Prints In Volcanic Ash, Hawaii (1790)
- Skinny-Dipper Detained, Cuffed and Cited at Montecito Hot Springs
- Red Horny Toad
Lunar Phase
Category Archives: Reference
The Mighty Chia Seed, Cuyama Badlands
The Cuyama Badlands can be a wicked and terrible place for a human on foot with minimal supplies. Heaved aloft, scorched and desiccated, it’s a land clawed open and washed away by spotty cloudbursts that quench a sparse growth of piñon pine, juniper and sagebrush. … Continue reading
Posted in Reference
Tagged Backpacking, Badlands, Chia, Chumash, Ethnobotany, Flora, Hiking, Native Americans, Nature, Non-fiction, Travel
7 Comments
Jack Elliott’s Custom Deluxe Trail Cakes
The more time I spend hiking the more important food becomes both in taste and nutritive content. Sooner rather than later it seems every sort of energy bar, snack, meal and caloric form is tried. Some are hard to choke … Continue reading
Wild Cucumber, Trout and Pictographs
Wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus, previously called Echinocystis macrocarpa), also known as Manroot or Bigroot, was called molo’wot’ in Barbareño Chumash and chilicote in Spanish. Got it? “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah; for … Continue reading
Posted in Reference
Tagged Chumash, Fishing, Flora, Foraging, Hiking, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Pictographs, Rock Art, Traditional Knowledge
9 Comments
Manzanita Flower Tea
Manzanita flowers. Manzanita is flowering at the moment. The Chumash Indians ate manzanita berries or fruits by preparing them in a variety of different ways and other Native Americans used the leaves for medicinal purposes. The wood was used by … Continue reading
Posted in Reference
Tagged Backpackng, Drinks, Flora, Flowers, Foraging, Hiking, Indians, Manzanita, Native Americans, Nature, Photos, Wild Edibles
7 Comments
Jack Elliott’s Original, Custom Deluxe Campfire Cuisine
This here’s the backcountry beans and sausage mix suitable for making soup or stew. (Lentils with Bavarian Bratwurst, Porcini Mushrooms and Mixed Vegetables) “An army marches on its stomach.” —Napoleon Bonaparte Trail food serves a dual purpose for me when … Continue reading
Posted in Reference
Tagged Backpacking, Bug Out Bag, Camping, Cuisine, Food, Hiking, Photos, Pics, Recipes, Reference, Trail Mix
10 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 