Evergreen notes that (hopefully) improve with age
NOTE: This post was written in 2018. Some trails have been reopened. Others are closed because of 2023’s high rainfall. To find out more about trail closures in the Los Padres Forest, visit the Los Padres Forest Trail Association’s News link. Along with the loss of life and property caused by 2017’s Thomas Fire, there…
So you want to venture into the wilderness but you don’t want to fork out the dough to build an ultimate adventure rig? No problemo. Outside Magazine tips you to what you need to venture off the beaten path no matter what kind of car you’re driving. At the top of their list is traction…
A road trip is the ultimate journey into the unexplored territory of one’s soul. FastCo Design asks the question “how will that change when cars drive themselves?” Honda invited creative director Morihiro Harano to highlight the company’s autonomous driving tech by talking about his love for exploration: “My inspiration for this project came from a…
Despite drought conditions this year, the Shrubby Brushweed plants are covered with yellow flowers in Ballinger Canyon. Other flowers blooming in the canyon are Hareweed, Phacelia, and Bush Lupine. It’s a different story in Quatal Canyon to the south where hardly any wildflowers are blooming at all. On this trip to the Ballinger OHV park…
The drive to Big Caliente isn’t challenging enough to be a good Jeep trail, and it isn’t smooth enough to be pleasant. But when you finally make it to the floor of Blue Canyon, you feel like the time was worth it. The canyon is a large meadow area with sycamore and oak with the…
White-tailed Kites are fairly common around here. You often see them hunting in freeway medians. They have a characteristic way of hovering in one spot like…well, like a kite. I saw this fellow hovering at the base of the Mount Cleff Ridge in Wildwood Park. Slowly, deliberately the kite dropped ten feet, fifteen, feet, and…
Hungry Valley is a State Recreational Vehicle Area just off Interstate 5 near Gorman. The park is packed with 130 miles of trails for dirt bikes, ATVs and 4WD vehicles. This might conjure up an image of a nuclear-broiled landscape swarming with jump-suited Suzuki pilots–something like Mad Max meets the Power Rangers. And that wouldn’t…
Entering from Highway 33, just south of Ventucopa, Quatal Canyon Road is the superhighway of Jeep trails. After several hours of bashing my brains out on the moguls in Ballinger Canyon it was actually kind of nice to be on a smooth dirt road for a change. (I really have to install some anti-sway quick…
Ballinger Canyon is a high desert Off Highway Vehicle area similar in terrain to Hungry Valley, but about half the acreage. Ballinger has 11 jeep trails interlaced with about two dozen ATV and motorcycle trails. There are two main roads through the canyon, both easy to moderate with a few more challenging connectors. Entrance to…
The Topatopa bluffs run from West to East, serving as a gigantic reflector for the Ojai valley. They are a numinous presence in much of the surrounding county. I can see them from my house in East Ventura. This weekend, however, is the first time I’ve hiked anywhere close to them. To hike the Sisar…
This particular track starts at Canwood Street just off the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon Road. It’s an easy hike over a spur trail out of Liberty Canyon through a shady oak grove and on to Cheseboro Canyon where the trail gets quite wide and flat. If you’re planning on biking then be advised that this first leg gets…
In some parts of the world roads are almost an afterthought. People want to get from point A to point B and there’s a piece of land that a coyote walked through once. Why not make it a road? It was once said of the infamous Mosquito Pass in Colorado (the highest motorway in the…
Note: This post was written before the Thomas fire which killed one of the trees. A replacement tree was planted. Both trees appear to be struggling now. The trees are being cared for by the Rancho Venture Trust. Hikers are being asked to stay off the land until it recovers from the fires. Perched on…
Business Insider has a run-down of all 50 states with The Most Breathtaking Natural Wonders in Every State. Some of the suggestions are obvious – in Colorado you go to Pike’s Peak of course. But some of the recommendations are a bit provocative. When in Delaware go see the cypress swamps. 50 states, 50 natural…
The Huffington Post lists their picks for must-do adventures in California. There are some great spots on the list, even if it is a little heavy on campsites and hot springs. I’m a little surprised to see Two Harbors on the list – I think I’d opt for camping on Anacapa Island instead. That said,…
