

-
Join 950 other subscribers
-
“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

-
“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”

Search Jack’s Blog


Recently Read
- Old Cold Spring Tunnel (1897)
- Matías Reyes, Santa Barbara Mission (1887)
- Teardrop, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Chanterelle Mushrooms
- Old Mission Santa Barbara
- 'Akaka Falls, Hawaii & Cliff Climbing Goby
- Through From Santa Barbara to San Francisco in 48 Hours (1873)
- Tafoni Weathered Stone
- Indian Creek Waterfalls (Dick Smith Wilderness)
- Dragon's Back Ridge, Carrizo Plain
Photos from the blog
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
-
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: Hiking (2)
Chocolate Lily
Fritillaria biflora Argh. The entire state of California (yes, that’s hyperbole) at the moment seems to be either gripped by what journalists and the news media love to hype as a wildflower “super bloom” or is suffering in the throes … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Backpacking, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Pics, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, wildflowers
|
6 Comments
Smithy’s Pool
The Santa Ynez River was once hailed as “the most productive of all the little steelhead rivers of the south” in California. (Native Steelhead of Yore) Sitting in the public library some twenty years ago or more I stumbled upon … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Landscape, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Pics, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
|
3 Comments
The Mighty Chanterelle and the Gnarly Oak
Santa Barbara County Chanterelle “In an oak forest alone, more than a hundred different species of fungi may be present in different parts of the roots of the same tree. From the oak’s point of view, this is a very … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Backpacking, Foraging, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Nature, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
|
5 Comments
San Ysidro Tank
A cave’s eye view of San Ysidro Canyon in the Santa Ynez Mountains; the Thomas Fire burn scar and initial regrowth evident. Total rainfall county-wide for Santa Barbara measures in at 95% of normal so far this season. With the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Pics, Santa Ynez Mountains
|
5 Comments
The Ol’ Swimmin’ Hole
“Most of these places, however, were not marked as special on my map. But they became special by personal acquaintance. … I remembered what Ishmael had said in Moby-Dick about the island of Kokovoko: ‘It is not down in any … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Pics, San Rafael Wilderness, Santa Barbara, Swimming Holes, waterfalls, Wilderness
|
6 Comments













