Tag Archives: Backpacking

Deal Canyon, Rancho Nuevo Canyon 17 Mile Day Hike

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jack Elliott

The trail we hiked through California’s Dick Smith Wilderness. David Stillman and I recently hiked the Deal Canyon/Rancho Nuevo Canyon trails. Five years after the Zaca Fire destroyed most of the forest, with sooty deadfall logs lying about and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County, Ventura County | Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash, Dick Smith Wilderness, Hiking, Hiking (2), Indians, iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Pictographs, Rock Art | 14 Comments

Camping Out in California: Pine Mountain Narrative (1887)

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Jack Elliott

A man by the name of John R. G. Hassard wrote the following narrative of his “camping expedition of sixty-eight days” in the Ventura County backcountry of California. As an aside, Ventura County was created on January 1, 1873 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged Adventure, Adventure (2), Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Hiking (2), Nature, Non-fiction, Outdoors, Photo, Photographs, Pics, Pine Mountain, Writing | 8 Comments

Davy Brown’s Cabin (1898)

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Jack Elliott

I recently unearthed this drawing of Davy Brown’s cabin in an edition of The Herald newspaper that was published on September 25, 1898. Santa Barbara backcountry enthusiasts know Davy Brown as the name of a drive-up campground on the backside … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Adventure, Adventure (2), Backpacking, Camping, Davy Brown, Drawings, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, John Muir, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, San Rafael Wilderness, War of 1812, Wilderness | 1 Comment

Giant Puffball Mushrooms

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Jack Elliott

I went for a hike on Monday and, after several rain showers in the prior weeks, giant puffball mushrooms (Calvatia booniana) had sprouted up everywhere. I stopped counting after coming across fifty of them. They were all well past their … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Backpacking, Foraging, Forest, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Nature, Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Puffballs, Wild Foods | 8 Comments

Cover Photo Contribution For Sierra Club’s “Condor Call”

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Jack Elliott

I contributed a photograph of spring wildflowers on Figueroa Mountain to the local Sierra Club’s newsletter, Condor Call. Editor John Hankins requested it and placed it on the cover for the April/May issue, which can be read in PDF format … Continue reading →