

-
Join 934 other subscribers
-
“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

-
“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”

Search Jack’s Blog


Recently Read
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- Smith's Pool
- Hiking Is Not A Crime
- Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Dick Smith Calling a Condor, Piru 1970
- Hiking Is Not A Crime; Hiker's PreCheck Forest Entry Pass
- The Pine Mountain Punisher: 22 Mile Day Hike
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- Hiking Is Not A Crime; Bull Moose and Titmouse
Photos from the blog
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
-
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: Santa Ynez Mountains
Foreclosure
They outlawed walking in the forest. They said it was too dangerous. They told me it was “critical” that I didn’t walk in the woods for my “own safety” and that of others. They said the conditions in other places … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged COVID-19, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Non-fiction, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, US Politics, Wilderness, Wildfires, Writing
|
23 Comments
Petroglyph, Santa Ynez Mountains
“The symbols of shamans were potentially dangerous because of their material spirituality connecting them to the sacred…The vulva itself was considered unusually perilous. For example, a Northern Paiute account indicates that the worst from of sorcery a man could endure … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Archaeology, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Petroglyphs, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains
|
10 Comments
Long Lost Trail Discovered, Hiking In A Time Of Lockdown And Distancing
Jack-in-a-crack doing what he does. Wandering. Searching. Hunting. Looking. Seeing. Sometimes discovering. Looking to get my hike on, and so surveying various trailheads through my car window during the COVID-19 governor’s lockdown order, I saw more cars parked than expected, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Archaeology, Artifacts, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
|
19 Comments
Baby Blue Eyes Wildflower
A single baby blue eyes now blooming in the folds of the Santa Ynez Mountains, standing tall and strong though alone, maintaining proper social distancing from family and friends in the background, beneath a blue spot of sky above. Happy … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Pics, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
|
4 Comments
Farewell To The Rock, Gibraltar Party Place
El Roca Grande circa 1909 overlooking the Santa Barbara littoral, Pacific Ocean and Santa Cruz Island in the distance. Note the metal poles and cable handrail. “In the 1970s this was The Place. Well, if you were a teenager on … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, History, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Non-fiction, Outdoors, Rocks, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Travel, Writing
|
2 Comments













