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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
- Eating Poison Oak
- Matías Reyes, Santa Barbara Mission (1887)
- Indian Creek Waterfalls and Narrows
- Bedrock Mortar On Munson Creek, Pine Mountain
- Mono Narrows Camp
- Fire Poppy (Papaver californicum)
- Carrizo Plain Wildflowers: Temblor Range, San Luis Obispo County
- Condor Petroglyphs, Death Valley National Park
- Western Fence Lizard (blue-belly)
- Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
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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: Wilderness
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
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
Claw Marks In the Tiny Tank
I went for a walk to a tiny tank high on the mountain. The rain had fallen for days, for hours non-stop, in amounts not common around this neck of the woods. Records were set. And so we have to … 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, Wildlife
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4 Comments
Hiking Is Not A Crime; Hiker’s PreCheck Forest Entry Pass
Why is the Forest Service treating us like this? The Transportation Safety Administration treats people differently when conducting security screenings. Thousands of lives are on the line. Not just on planes. In buildings all across the country. Not throughout any … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Forest Closure, Forest Service, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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8 Comments
Hiking Is Not A Crime; Bull Moose and Titmouse
“As a result of his 1903 visit to California, Roosevelt was to create the Santa Barbara National Forest out of the Pine Mountain and Zaca Lake Forest Reserves. This was the land that McKinley had set aside on March 2, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Forest Service, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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5 Comments













