Tag Archives: Hiking

The Mysterious Three Stone Stack

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Jack Elliott

Who? Why? When? The rocks did not fall from the wall or ceiling of the cave that I could tell. There is no trace of a break or fracture in the cave or some such occurrence that may have sent … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Adventure, Artifacts, backcountry, Caves, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Santa Barbara, Wilderness | 1 Comment

The Twelve-Inch Experience, Baron Ranch Corridor

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Jack Elliott

Humboldt lily seed pod. “Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath the rhododendrons, to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Arroyo Quemado, Baron Ranch, Gaviota Coast, Hiking, Microplastic, Nature, Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife | 1 Comment

Figueroa Mountain Bug Bloom

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Jack Elliott

Along the road to bugville in autumn. Springtime wildflower blooms on Figueroa Mountain capture all the attention. But I’ve long marveled, too, at the winter ladybug blooms of the mountain. December 2023 I hold onto a childhood memory of ladybugs … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Figueroa Mountain, Hiking, Ladybugs, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, Wildlife | 7 Comments

Discreet Sensitive Habitat Signage, Sespe Wilderness

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Jack Elliott

A thin sign in Sespe Wilderness only but several inches wide with not another sign in sight. Once upon a time not long ago, following wildfire, thoughtful land managers in Ventura County reposted sliver-thin signs along Sespe Wilderness trail, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Baron Ranch, Condors, Conservation, Gaviota Coast, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Mountains, Sespe Wilderness | 7 Comments

Spring Potrero Mutilated, San Marcos Foothills Preserve

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Jack Elliott

Restoration travesty (January 2023) “Paths are human; they are the traces of our relationships.” —Robert Macfarlane Channel Islands Restoration, her purported protector, deflowered the virgin. A screaming outrage. A grotesque violation. This was not restoration. This was mutilation. I met … Continue reading →