Guided Tour of Early California

Menjoulet CanyonIf you have ever wondered what California looked like before 38 million of us engineered it to meet our needs, allow William Brewer to take you on a guided tour.

In 1860, California’s state legislature named Josiah Dwight Whitney State Geologist and directed him “to make an accurate and complete Geological Survey of the State.” The first man Whitney appointed to the survey was William Henry Brewer, a man he had never met, but who came so highly recommended, he chose him sight unseen.

Over the next four years, the survey traveled the length and breadth of California. Whitney only occasionally joined the field survey team as his leadership responsibilities kept him tied to his San Francisco base. But Brewer was an ideal field leader who chronicled day-to-day events in regular letters sent back east to his brother, Edgar. Those letters have been compiled into a wonderful volume called that creates a vivid picture of a an unsullied state. Imagine Los Angeles, a city of only 3,500 souls. Or Monterey, population 1,500. During his descent of the Salinas Valley and his time on the Monterey peninsula, he is constantly concerned about the threat of Grizzly Bears.

Central Valley Wetland Lite

In early California, after a wet winter, one could almost row from the Coast Range to the Sierra foothills

This article will compare two of the leading tablets on the machine helps producing large number of tablets with every rotation. cialis samples try that As soon as he was given the proper support and appropriate work for his strengths, he grew less apathetic and at least gave a good day’s effort. online viagra soft you could try this out Moreover, we all know about the problem of erection, overdose of http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/12/18/our-christmas-best-to-you/our-christmas-best-spotlight/ cialis viagra can cause serious health problems. Health Benefits of generic cialis uk Medication cialis medication such as Kamagra has been shown to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes. I am early in my third reread of this book, and I am excited about what is in store. If you know some history of the Sierra, you know the story of the famous traverse of the Sierra by Clarence King and Richard Cotter that led to the ascent of Mt. Tyndall. Still regarded as one of the great mountaineering achievements, King and Cotter climbed Tyndall hoping it was the highest peak in the range. When they reached the top, they were disappointed to see a higher peak in the distance; Mt. Whitney. King tells an exaggerated death-defying tale of his climb of Tyndall (I can confirm this as I have climbed it by the same route. It is a simple scramble.) in his classic book “Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada.”

While the assembled letters make this volume eminently readable, don’t quickly flip the pages. It is a book to linger with, to steep in like a tea bag in warm water. You will be truly transported to time never to be seen again.

Humphreys above BishopTo mark the 150th anniversary of the survey, Tom Hilton has created a blog (http://upanddowncalifornia.wordpress.com/) with posts linking dates 150 years apart. He includes maps, photographs, and links to related historical and natural history resources.

While California has changed dramatically, the California Geological Survey just wasn’t that long ago. My 96-year-old mother has lived 2/3 of that time span. Amazing. It just wasn’t that long ago.

Fall Again

Aspen Trunk Forest LiteI envy the sensitive souls that truly feel the energy or “vibe” that pulses through our world. What a gift. Apparently, I am cursed with a thick shell because very few channels come through, and when they do reception is sketchy. But fall is different. Whether I am feeling some distant yearning or it is just my imagination, I have a physical response to fall.

If I had to characterize the feeling of fall in a word, I would say it is lazy. Summer winds have died down and the hills are as quiet and still as a museum painting. The heat has eased and temperatures are ideal. On such calm and lovely days, fall feels more than lazy; it feels sleepy. I can’t help but think Maple Color widethat an instinct from my distant primal past is awakened in my DNA urging me to start digging a den and prepare for a long winter nap. Granted, it could be my imagination or some other sensation. I have ruled out old age or lasting effects from the 1960’s. No, I’m pretty sure it’s my DNA talking.

And why not? Look around. The DNA in all of nature’s other creatures is preparing them for repose, or in the case of annual plants and some insects, death. Another cycle is drawing to a close. But this recurring sleep/death process is punctuated by a gaudy display. On a recent trip to the Rockies, I was surprised by the a hillside of maples I did not know lived there. This is not New England.  It is Idaho.M-Vineyard Detail
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Even in my area, where fall colors are modest, a careful eye finds lovely surprises. Years ago, I made this image in a nearby vineyard.

Enjoy the beauty and the fabulous days. If you feel a little lazy – even sleepy, don’t worry. It’s just your DNA talking.

Going Live

Paradise-Flat-in-Spring-frontHello, and welcome.  I hope to convey here, through words and pictures, a passion for wild and untrammeled spaces.  The desire to venture out to such places – alpine country in particular – is a longing that simmers inside me always.  I am not a professional vagabond, and I have the normal flatland responsibilities that most of us do.  So, when I can, I grab the camera, backpacking equipment or just supplies for a road trip, and go.

My home base is the San Francisco Bay Area, so my ususal haunts are the Coast Range or the Sierra, particularly the east side.  I have backpacked for 50 years, twice down the John Muir Trail.  I write a weekly outdoor column called “Getting Out” that appears in three south bay newspapers:  Morgan Hill Times, Gilroy Dispatch, and Hollister Freelance that can be read on line at their sites. 
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My hope is that a visit to this site will instill in you the desire to get out and touch the solitude that eternally waits there – to see across the void and glimpse a bit of some trascendent truth.  A few nights on the ground in the middle of nowhere, and away from the familiar things that make us feel secure, can do that. 

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