Surfing Waves

Today Roxy Ridgeback and billie hiked the easy part of Fremont Ridge Trail in the Santa Ynez Mountains. The trail head is about a 20 minute drive from the the tiny home they share with Mrs. Morini. Roxy and billie have been on this trail many times. billie and nephew, Julian, have ridden motorcycles on it, too.

The trail is named after John Charles Frémont. He ran for US President as a Republican in 1856. At this time, the Republican party was brand spanking new. Fremont lost this election to James Buchanan, whom ran on the Democratic ticket. Fremont blazed this trail in December 1846 leading US Army troops from Monterey to Santa Barbara. Once in Santa Barbara, the Army took Santa Barbara from the Californios, which were members of the Bear Flag Republic. The Californios took a portion of California from Mexico and Spain. Just to add to the confusion, recognize, the US also owned part of California at this time. This was 2 years before the California Gold Rush began and 18 years before Chinese immigrants began building California railroad.

It was a great day to go into the mountains. It was warm, almost too warm, and sunny. There was also a lot of water for Roxy to drink due to the generous precipitation we've had (Don't get too excited. The Central Coast is still in drought). Here are some photos from today. One shows a portion of the trail from high elevation. Another shows Roxy surveying the valley to the east of the trail. One additional photo shows Roxy surveying the Lake Cachuma Valley to the west of the trail.

View shows easy portion of trail near trail head.

Roxy surveys the valley to the east of the trail. We have bushwhacked in there and it is dense! It is very easy to get lost when off trail. Routinely, I carry a short wave radio in case we get into trouble. If anyone is curious, I possess a General Class Radiotelephone Operator's License obtained by exam from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The General Class is nice because it provides use of nearly all the good frequencies. My licensed call sign is KJ6GDS. Mrs. Morini also holds a General Class license. She tested the same day I did, also scored 100%, and has call sign KJ6GDR.

Roxy surveyed the valley to the east. Off in the distance is Cachuma Lake. This is an important reservoir for Santa Barbara. Due to the last 6 years of drought, the lake was down to less than 30% capacity. Even with the recent "proper rains," this reservoir remains less than 50% full.

The Santa Ynez Mountains are predominantly marine sandstone. Specifically, you see a lot of Cold Spring Sandstone. This formation typically expresses itself in in rounded and weathered boulders. It is easy rock to climb because the sand grains are coarse.

Dog-like sandstone formation? Roxy says, "Yes," with two whoofs. One whoof equals, "No."

One of many types of pointy "stick you & make you say Ow!" yuccas and mesquite bush.

Roxy and billie are not only interested in the macro view. Here are some micro views. The first one is an attempt to capture nature's natural artwork.

Lichen and algae on the same sandstone boulder ground on an exfoliation feature. Even though the Santa Ynez Mountains have relatively low elevation (3000 to 4000 feet above mean sea level [915 to 1200 m]), they experience extensive and rapid weather extremes. It was sunny and warm when we arrived, but damp fog was blowing in by 15:00. This dramatic weather erodes the sandstone, but also promotes life like this lichen and algae. And, the lichen and algae also decompose the sandstone.

billie forgets what this yellow wildflower this is. The recent and heavy rain means there will be phenomenal wild flower displays throughout California. Roxy, Mrs. Morini, and billie will head over to Figueroa Mountain and Happy Valley later this Spring to see the best nature show in 6 or more years.