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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
- John Haines On Pool Rock
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California's Central Coast
- Arrowhead Springs, Drought Resistant Summer Seep
- Manzana Creek Schoolhouse (1893)
- Native Steelhead of Yore
- Mark of Conquest: Benchmark and Mortar
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Latest Dispatches
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Nino
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- March of the Mustard; The Spread of Noxious Weeds
- Mark of Conquest II: Benchmark and Mortar
- Save Old Mission Sycamore … __ __ __ …
- 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)
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: Hiking
Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
A friend captured this snapshot while sitting in camp creekside waiting for me to show up. We had left town at different times, arrived at the trailhead apart, and met up later in the afternoon. I arrived just in time … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Bald Eagles, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mazana Creek, Nature, Raptors, San Rafael Wilderness, Wilderness, Wildlife
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2 Comments
When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Nino
“Transmit the message To the receiver Hope for an answer someday” —Talking Heads, Life During Wartime San Marcos Foothills Preserve Political Theatre “Monkeywrenching can also be seen as a sophisticated political tactic that dramatizes ecological issues and places them before … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Public Lands, San Rafael Wilderness, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
Santa Ynez River once hosted the largest steelhead run in California south of San Francisco. “National Mall site approved for memorial to fallen journalists The site, which has a direct view of the Capitol, was chosen to evoke journalists’ role … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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6 Comments
March of the Mustard; The Spread of Noxious Weeds
Mustard blooming trailside in Los Padres National Forest, growing where we’ve never seen it before. “Like other mustards, black mustard grows profusely and produces allelopathic chemicals that prevent germination of native plants. The spread of black mustard can increase the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Firebreaks, Hiking, Invasive Plants, Los Padres National Forest, Mustard, National Forest, Nature, Noxious Weeds, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, wildflowers
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2 Comments
Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
Yellow lupine on Pine Mountain, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County (May 2025) I came across the first quote below back in 2019 when reading M. Kat Anderson’s extraordinary book, Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of … Continue reading →
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 