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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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Recently Read
- Chanterelle Mushrooms
- Mission Falls
- Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Contact
- Western Fence Lizard (blue-belly)
- Largest West Coast Tsunamis Generated in Santa Barbara Channel
- On Adventure
- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
- Carrizo Plain Wildflowers: Temblor Range, San Luis Obispo County
- Old Cold Spring Tunnel (1897)
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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

Tag Archives: Backpacking
The Sign
Santa Barbara backcountry The men emerged at dawn from the confine of darkness with strained faces wet and ruddy as writhing newborns and the forested land materialized before their bloodshot eyes by the minute in the lightening day, ever larger, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Fiction, Hiking, Nature, Non-fiction, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, Writing
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12 Comments
March is For Morels
March 2020. “Some of the false morels are dangerously poisonous,” Aurora warns. Morels may be the most elusive mushrooms in Santa Barbara County. “Morels can be extremely difficult to see,” David Aurora writes in All That The Rain Promises And … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Foraging, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Morels, Mushrooms, Nature, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
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2 Comments
The Rescue of a Baby Lion
The fleeting, odd bit of noise sounded mechanical when it first hit my ear. But we were in a designated wilderness wherein nothing of the sort is allowed. And so brief was the sound I almost wasn’t sure I heard … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash Wilderness, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mountain Lions, Nature, Pics, Santa Barbara, Wildlife
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12 Comments
The Chumash Arrowhead
April 2019 Black So what am I supposed to do with you, Professor? White Why are you supposed to do anything? Black I done told you. This aint none of my doin. I left out of here … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Wilderness
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12 Comments
The Mood Altering Stream Orchid
A stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea) growing near the Santa Ynez River in late May of 2019. Stream orchids grow where constant water is found at seeps, springs and perennial streams. The plant is known for its mood altering and sedative … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, wildflowers, Wildlife
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4 Comments













