Tag Archives: Backpacking

A Feeling of Aliveness Hard to Find In Any City

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Sunset in fall, Los Padres National Forest. Rich sensory perception is the essence of human existence and it occurs in nature more strikingly than perhaps anywhere else. In the remote, less visited tracts of unsettled land exists a feeling of … Continue reading →

Posted in Tales | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Wildlife, Writing | 6 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

Deluge and Drought In Santa Barbara County

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Cachuma Lake at Bradbury Dam, September 2013. The reservoir is well below the floodgates and currently less than half full. It seldom rains in Santa Barbara. “Probably the most striking feature of Santa Barbara County,” a story published in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Backpacking, Cachuma Lake, Camping, Drought, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Precipitation, Rain, Writing | 1 Comment

Searching for Soul Outside the Cage

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Stillman walking point in the San Emigdio Mountains. “The environment we’re used to is designed to sustain us. We live like fish in an aquarium. Food comes mysteriously down, oxygen bubbles up. We are the domestic pets of a human … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | Tagged Backpacking, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photography, Photos, San Emigdio Mountains, Santa Ynez Mountains, waterfalls, Writing | 2 Comments

Reyes Peak and Haddock Mountain, Sespe Wilderness

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Motorcycle accident victim being airlifted to hospital from Highway 33. On my way up Highway 33 to Pine Mountain I came around a corner and was flagged down by Los Padres Fire whose engine was stopped in the northbound lane. … Continue reading →