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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
- Fire Poppy (Papaver californicum)
- Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California's Central Coast
- Arlington, Cathedral, La Cumbre Peaks Scramble & More
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- Cathedral Peak Cave
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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: Ventura County
A Great Interval of Silence, Chumash Wilderness
Boilin’ the billy. “Great intervals of silence are evidently conducive to our well-being. A meditative stillness, suggests Gary Snyder, was invented by waiting hunters. Perhaps this reflected the poised and ruminating hush of mothers of sleeping infants. High levels of … Continue reading
Posted in Ventura County
Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash Wilderness, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Travel, Writing
13 Comments
Piedra Blanca Creek West, Descent From Pine Mountain Lodge Camp
A smidgeon of Piedra Blanca. “Civilization has a relatively precarious hold on us and there is an undoubted attraction in a life of absolute freedom once it has been tasted. The ‘call o’ the wild’ is in the blood of … Continue reading
Posted in Ventura County
Tagged Backpacking, Bears, Camping, Creeks, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Piedra Blanca Creek, Pine Mountain, Sespe Wilderness, Wildlife
6 Comments
Chumash Indian Mortars and the Puzzle of the Midden
We had set out to go spearfishing, but a south wind and a west swell combined to ruin conditions. We drove up the mountain from the beach and hiked down into the canyon, the creek within which drains into the … Continue reading
Posted in Ventura County
Tagged Archaeology, Chumash, Creeks, Hiking, History, Indians, Midden, Mortars, Mussels, Native Americans, Writing
13 Comments
Sespe Hot Springs From Piedra Blanca
Fossilized oak leaf found along the Sespe Trail. Note the veins and serrated edges. A Late, Hot Start I didn’t start walking from Piedra Blanca Trailhead until a few ticks before ten in the morning, at least four hours later … Continue reading
Posted in Ventura County
Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Fossils, Hiking, Hot Springs, Nature, Photos, Sespe Hotsprings, Sespe Wilderness, Snakes, Swimming Holes
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SPAM, Backcountry Delicacy Par Excellence
“. . . the mouthwatering taste of SPAM® Classic seasoned with black pepper. It’s a delicious dream come true.” In a previous entry I dubbed the Santa Barbara County original, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, “a nutritionist’s nightmare, a glutton’s godsend.” Well, … Continue reading
Posted in Ventura County
Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Cooking, Food, Hiking, Hiking (2), San Rafael Peak, Sespe Wilderness, SPAM, Writing
6 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 