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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
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Renaming Los Padres: Names Of the 1930s
- The Candy Bag Bandit
- San Ysidro Falls
- Indian Creek Waterfalls and Narrows
- The Pine Mountain Punisher: 22 Mile Day Hike
- Fitzgerald's Fit: Man Leads Work Crew To Wreck Montecito Hot Springs
- Barger Canyon Arch
- Gooseberry Wildcraft
- Tarantula Mating Season, Santa Barbara County
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Latest Dispatches
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- 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
Lunar Phase

Tag Archives: Hiking
Los Padres Forest Association Backs Forest Closure
Los Padres Forest Association issued an obsequious letter to the Forest Service declaring their full embrace of the two month closure of Los Padres National Forest. They called the shutout “wise.” That’s a word of exceptional assuredness. Not just smart, … Continue reading →
Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
What I saw when I first turned to continue my walkabout. A beautiful disaster. “Lions often stalk their prey and attack by leaping on their shoulders and back, biting the top of the neck or head. Their jaws are strong … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Forest, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Mountain Lion, Nature, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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10 Comments
Forest Service Welcomes Hikers To Falling Trees, Flash Floods and Debris Flows
How much worse do conditions get? (Those are actually fantastic conditions! The worse the better.) And yet in the face of such natural horrors, the likes of which only Danny Hillman might venture risking limb and life to vanquish, they … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Forest Closure, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildfires
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17 Comments
Firefighters Save the Old Oak, San Marcos Preserve
“It had stood there for hundreds of years, and he thought it would always stand there. Its roots clutched the hill like a fist with fingers sunk into the soil, and he thought that if a giant were to seize … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Firefighters, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, San Marcos Preserve, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Trees, Wildfires, Wildlife
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1 Comment
Wild Iris Bloom, Santa Ynez Mountains
The wild iris are abloom now in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This particular flush shown may be the best bloom in many years, coming after the Thomas Fire of 2017 cleared the way, and a month after the torrential record-setting … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, wildflowers
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4 Comments













