Tag Archives: Sespe Wilderness

The Extraordinary Rains of August 2023

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Jack Elliott

The organic curves of chaparral-cloaked Condor National Forest. I’m growing like a seedRain’s been falling on me — KT Tunstall, Feel It All “I’m wondering if we won’t see August thunderstorms.” I wrote that in June, a freak premonition. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Sespe Wilderness, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife | 3 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

Piedra Blanca Creek West, Descent From Pine Mountain Lodge Camp

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A smidgeon of Piedra Blanca. “Civilization has a relatively precarious hold on us and there is an undoubted attraction in a life of absolute freedom once it has been tasted. The ‘call o’ the wild’ is in the blood of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged Backpacking, Bears, Camping, Creeks, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Piedra Blanca Creek, Pine Mountain, Sespe Wilderness, Wildlife | 6 Comments

Hiking Every Season In All Conditions

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Bryan route finding off-trail in Sespe Wilderness. “I came to know that country, not in the way a traveler knows the landmarks he sees in the distance, but more truly and intimately, in every season, from a thousand points of … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, iPhoneography, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Sespe Wilderness, Travel, Writing | 10 Comments

Sespe Hot Springs From Piedra Blanca

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Fossilized oak leaf found along the Sespe Trail. Note the veins and serrated edges. A Late, Hot Start I didn’t start walking from Piedra Blanca Trailhead until a few ticks before ten in the morning, at least four hours later … Continue reading →