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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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Latest Dispatches
- 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)
- The Journey of a Root (1907) and Plant Intelligence
- Santa Barbara County Morels
- Hollyleaf Cherries Golden Morph
- Barefoot Prints In Volcanic Ash, Hawaii (1790)
- Skinny-Dipper Detained, Cuffed and Cited at Montecito Hot Springs
- Red Horny Toad
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: Santa Ynez Mountains
Big Bummer At Baron Ranch: Trashing the Place To Save It
Yikes. Alright already, sheesh. A wall of nearly impenetrable willow needs no sign. Nobody is going in there. And we destroy everything we can find And tomorrow when the human clock stops and the world stops ticking We’ll be an index fossil … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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2 Comments
Renaming Los Padres: Names Of the 1930s
Detail showing Abel Mtn. on a 1938 map of Los Padres National Forest. Backstory I’ve long had an interest in place, in the particularity of natural settings and the composition of undeveloped scenes, and in the forest placenames chosen by … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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7 Comments
Native American Trout Gutter
April 2023 A place in the canyon caught my eye. The character of the mountain. The viewshed through the canyon of the Pacific Ocean and Santa Cruz Island. Geography and aesthetics. I felt compelled to go there. Years passed before … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Artifacts, Hiking, History, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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5 Comments
The Elusive and Fleeting Fire Poppy
I found the fire poppies once more, trailless along a tributary fork of a coastal creek high in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Five years had past since my last sighting. I think the fire poppy, Papaver californicum, may be among … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, poppies, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, wildflowers
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2 Comments
Return To Scene Of Lion Standoff
I returned to the place of the lion faceoff, to measure the distance between us on that day; the most memorable day of my life in the Santa Ynez Mountains of Condor National Forest. Using the yard measurement instrument of … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Deer, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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13 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 