Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Hiking at Satwiwa

As promised, I am sharing our day in the Santa Monica Mountains.  We hiked six miles of hills, cliffs and stream beds.  This is an area which was burned over during The Springs Fire last year.  That fire swept through the coastal mountains from Hwy 101 by (and past) my house and down to Pacific Coast Highway.

The next month, June, I hiked in the burned area and it looked like this:



Nine months later, it doesn't look much better.  There has been almost no rain to encourage new growth.  There are tiny spots of green where vegetation is reestablishing, but truly it still looks like a wasteland.



On the other hand, hiking here is still beautiful in its own way.  We shared the trails with birds


horses




and other hikers.


There are so many exciting places to explore
like the Chumash lodge


tops of hills


dry creek gullies


shale slides




Sometimes you just have to stop and sit until you catch your second wind.


 Were we really down in that valley?
Did we really hike that far?



Yes, we were.
Yes, we did.

6 comments:

Gracie Saylor said...

These photos make the drought and fire destruction more real to me...but you are right, there is beauty even in this, and I hope that the land will recover. Bravo on a successful hike, and thank you for letting us see some of it, Linda :)

ellen b. said...

Such a different look from the time I hiked there back in the day. Great outing with the littles!

Julene said...

There is beauty in ashes and how they change the landscape over time! You had a good workout besides being out in nature! So good to see the little ones, the older one and you!

Bethany said...

That sounds like fun!

Anonymous said...

That's an impressive hike for your two young ones! A happy memory, and the pictures take us there with you. You look wonderful, by the way. Mary P

snoopydogknits said...

Goodness, what beauty can come from seeming destruction! Ros