Tag Archives: Los Padres National Forest

San Ysidro Tank

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Jack Elliott

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

Wild Oyster Mushrooms and Reading the Nuances of Nature

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Jack Elliott

Oysters on a standing dead cottonwood tree in the Santa Ynez Mountains. You can see where the deceased tree’s canopy had filled in the now empty sky above, the other trees wrapping around it. “The hunter-gatherer lives on what is … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Nature, Oyster Mushrooms, Wild Edibles, Wildcraft, Wilderness, Writing | 11 Comments

The Ol’ Swimmin’ Hole

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Jack Elliott

“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

Fire Poppy (Papaver californicum)

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Jack Elliott

Great Scott! He’s found it. Our indefatigable wanderer of lands of lesser interest, fumbling, bumbling, stumbling his way onward deep within the myriad folds of the wildfire wasted, drought stricken, flash flood ravaged Santa Ynez Mountains, having mustered the resolve … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Pics, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, wildflowers | 10 Comments

Parks Management Company’s Red Rock Racket

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Jack Elliott

Red Rock, Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County “The writer’s duty to speak the truth—especially unpopular truth. Especially truth that offends the powerful, the rich, the well-established, the traditional, the mythic, the sentimental. To attack, when the time makes it … Continue reading →