Tag Archives: Hiking

The Crackling Oak Forest of Aliso Canyon

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A stand of charred oak trees on an elevated flat overlooking the Santa Ynez River. The White wildfire was touched off by careless recreationists barbequing at White Rock Day Use Area in May 2013. A thick and lumpy Pacific marine … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

California Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A California stream orchid growing beneath a large boulder beside a seep in an otherwise dry creek feeding into a seasonal tributary of the Santa Ynez River. I think that all but the keenest, most experienced observers would never suspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Teardrop, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Bare bunned at Teardrop. Teardrop was named for its shape. It’s a small swimming hole, a large bathtub, bored out of sandstone bedrock visually and audibly accented by a waterfall dropping into its emerald water. Like many swimming holes, its … Continue reading →

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Indian Wells Canyon, Southern Sierra

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A view of the ridgeline running down from Owens Peak, which was named by Major General John C. Fremont after Richard Owens, a captain who served in his California Battalion during the Mexican-American War. During the war Fremont captured the … Continue reading →

Posted in Kern County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fossil Falls, A Glacial Relic of the Pleistocene

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Jack Elliott

David Stillman scrambling up familiar territory, through the gullet of Fossil Falls and over the slick, water polished basalt. Standing in the arid Owens Valley of California, beside an ancient dry riverbed that can barely be discerned amid cragged lava … Continue reading →

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