Category Archives: Santa Barbara County

Rock Art Ramblin’, Searching For Chumash Pictographs

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Jack Elliott

David Stillman standing at the base of the second fall in a series of waterfalls which flow when it rains. So we go and so it is, around this bend and that, up over and down under and around we … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Archaeology, Chumash, Hiking, Indians, iPhoneography, iPhonography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Pictographs, Rock Art | 10 Comments

Ballard Camp, Figueroa Mountain

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Jack Elliott

La Jolla Trail Trail through the oak trees. Dropping into Birabent Canyon on La Jolla Trail. A U.S. Forest Service stove at Ballard Camp, which was presumably named after the nearby town of Ballard or its namesake, W. N. Ballard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Backpacking, Ballard Camp, Camping, Campsites, Figueroa Mountain, Hiking, iPhoneography, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Pics | Leave a comment

Lost Valley, Hurricane Deck, Potrero Cyn 20 Mile Day Hike

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Hurricane Deck, the prominent ridge defining the skyline. There is no trace of water on Hurricane Deck, no trees and no campgrounds. It’s a 20 mile long ridgeline with south facing cliffs and steep grassy slopes on one side and … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Hiking, Hurricane Deck, iPhoneography, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Lost Valley, Nature, Photos, Pics, San Rafael Wilderness, Writing | 9 Comments

The Sisquoc Falls: A Little Known Region in California Explored (1884)

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Sisquoc Falls, located in a restricted condor sanctuary in the San Rafael Wilderness, is officially off-limits to the general public. The following narrative was originally published in the Santa Maria Times in 1884. It chronicles the bushwhacking exploratory adventure of … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, History, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, San Rafael Wilderness, Sisquoc River, Writing | 6 Comments

Grass Mountain & Zaca Peak Via Birabent Canyon

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Jack Elliott

The environs of Figueroa Mountain feature a diverse range of landscape. Open rolling grassland, gravely slopes sparsely studded with moss and lichen covered oaks, other nooks holding denser stands of oak and conifers, flowing creeks in the shady sycamore canopied … Continue reading →