Dan and Hannah Hike the East Fork of the Cold Spring Creek, Montecito, California (2026)

As we prepare to hike up the East Fork of the Cold Spring Creek here in Montecito, the recent passing of our dear friend Nancy Rose, just three days ago (January 27, 2026), remains in our frontal lobe hourly still.  (Click here for my Nancy Rose eulogy.)

She died suddenly of a heart attack in her driveway this late January.  My Arizona State college roommate, Big Steve, also died suddenly one night of a heart attack.  In each case, there was just no time for good-bye.  That’s one more reason for me to tell the dear people in my life now that I love and care for them.  But telling is only half the story.  It’s time for me to write them, call them, see them, have coffee with them.  If I put in the time, my regrets will be fewer.

When younger, I thought living to 80 would be a win.  If I made it that far, I would not have been “cheated” in the longevity game.  But there is living to 80 and then there is living to 80 with good health and enough resources to travel and live comfortably.  Fortunately, I currently can check those two boxes.  And at 78, I am rethinking my assumption about 80.  I’ll get back to you in two years!!

An hour after we learned Nancy had passed, we played pickleball here in Carpinteria.  A wonderful distraction.  Life goes on, as it will when I have my ticket punched, when my barn door is slammed shut, when my organs are donated.  Three days later, Hannah and I hit the trail in Montecito.  Let me take you there.

We’ll make a loop from the Cold Spring Trailhead, pass the junction of the West Fork Cold Spring Trail and take the East Fork into the mountains. It loops around such that we take the Ridge Trail back to the trailhead. This hike is not nothing. It’s not quite three miles with 800′ of elevation gain.

Parking is ample. We begin along the creek, the East Fork as you might have guessed from the title of this blog.

The trail gently climbs into the mountains of the Front Country, as the transition into the mountains is called locally.

We’ll take the East Fork Trail. The West Fork is a four-mile there and back trail with steep gravelly/pebbly sections that are zero fun going up and especially coming down, for those of us of a certain age. The West Fork is on our Do Not Hike list. That said, if you are so inclined, our friends, Aimee and Don, hiked this West Fork trail and then hiked/climbed/bouldered to the 100′ Tangerine Falls.

The trail often lies above the creek but never does it seem perilous.

When it previous rainy years, we wouldn’t even think of crossing the creek, in 2026, creek stones are not submerged and the crossing is Marie Antionette – a piece of cake.

Falls of any sort, even these of modest size, bring peace to my valley (metaphor for my soul).

The trail crosses the creek a second time with little chance of slipping into running water.

Once across the creek we head to the junction of the Ridge Trail.

We’ll take the junction right and slowly descend back to the trailhead.

We’ve a view of the oil drilling platforms (those dots in the center) with the Channel Islands in the distance. The oil spills off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 were the catalyst of the nation-wide Environmental Movement that continues to this day despite Administration opposition.

Sunset over the Pacific that evening

The full Snow Moon the following morning!

Dan’s Image #255 – Carpinteria Sunset (February 25, 2026)

Dan’s Wednesday Quote of the Week #253 – Big Al (February 25, 2026)

Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.

Albert Camus, 1913 – 1960 – Nobel Laureate in Literature (1957)

Sent to us by Jackie Gilzow Horsfall, lifelong friend (and by that I mean since childhood in Fairport, New York) of Hannah Banana

Dan’s Image #254 – Nojoqui Falls, Solvang, California (February 24, 2026)

Fifty miles north of Carpinteria along The 101 heading to San Francisco are the Nojoqui Falls (pronounced by the locals thusly – Na-ho-ee Falls). Nature’s 80′ masterpiece has been fueled by recent rains.

Dan and Hannah Hike the Harmon Canyon Preserve I (#105 & Price Family Trails) in Ventura, California (2026)

The Ventura Land Trust would make Mama Bears across the planet proud of their attention to their young’uns.  And by young’uns, I mean the trails of the VLT. When it rains, they will close up shop faster than schools do in New England during Winter Storm Fern (late January 2026 with 25″ of snow in Maine); they’ll hoist the drawbridges if hiking/mountain biking will damage its trails.  For the first two weeks of our winter in California, the gate to the trailhead was locked and hiking was verboten.

Knowing their protective nature, I daily check online the status of the Preserve to see if today is our lucky day!. With no rain over the last three weeks, Hannah and I finally see the reopening of the Preserve and jump at the chance to hike the delightful trails of Harmon Canyon.

You might think, Danny my boy, aren’t all the trails on the Mid-coast of California delightful, from Santa Barbara south to Ventura?  Fair point.  But some trails are challenging slogs of 1000’ elevation gain into the mountains (Click here to read of such a trail – the San Ysidro blog). 

While others, like Harmon Canyon, are gently sloping, switchbacks into the foothills. If you have friends who are active but not seasoned hikers, Harmon Canyon is your hiking destination of choice.  Today our elevation gain will be a civilized 300’! 

Let me take you to the single path trails through the verdant sage of the hillsides, stepping across the serpentine creeks, among the shade of the willowy Live Oak California pines. Thanks for tolerating my waxing poetic!

Welcome to Harmon Canyon. To the left, volunteers prune the sage bushes along the trail.

We will hike on the foothill trails #105 closest to the right of the Farm Road (center right of map in light green), get back on the Farm Road, then take the Price Family Trail paralleling the Farm Road. We return via the Farm Road for just over three miles of coastal desert hiking.

Hannah along the wide Farm Road sans farmers

Harmon Creek, which in the five years that we have been hiking here, has never previously been aflowing.

The single path trail to the interior bursts with green due to all the recent rain.

We share the trail with mountain bikers, who, in this case, do not pick up the quite attractive hitchhiker.

Prickly pear cactus along the trail

Though a mostly sunny trail paralleling the Farm Road, we have ample shade to lower the ambient temperature from time to time.

It’s easy stepping to cross the Harmon Creek four or five times along the trail.

Just cruising for chicks in my circa 1942 Jeep

The following afternoon we walk along West Beach in Santa Barbara in the sun’s reflective glory.

Dan’s Image #253 – Tamales (February 20, 2026)

A little after 6 AM, we drive down Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria for tamales – pork, chicken, and chili and cheese. They are $3 each!

Dan’s Image #252 – Democracy (February 19, 2026)

Seen this morning on a front lawn in Carpinteria, California

Dan’s Wednesday Quote of the Week #252 – John Steinbeck in “Travels with Charley” (February 18, 2026)

Beyond my failings as a racist, I knew I was not wanted in the South. When people are engaged in something that they are not proud of, they do not welcome witnesses. In fact, they come to believe the witness causes the problems.

John Steinbeck, 1902-1968

John had just witnessed a mob jeering a slight Black girl in New Orleans as she entered a “white” public school in 1960. He was concluding three months on the road in an attempt to learn about his fellow countrymen and women. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

I have just reread his masterpiece, “Travels with Charley.” I am on to “East of Eden.”

Dan and Hannah Hike to Inspiration Point, Santa Barbara, California (2026)

Our plow guy, Nolan, calls from the road, and by that I mean the snow-covered backroads of York, Maine during a blizzard.  About to plow our 150’ driveway off Chases Pond Road, he says the snowfall totals have topped out at 25” for this late January storm. Ten inches is a lot of snow, my friends! 25 is insane! That’s the most he has seen in his 41 years as a snowplow-meister!

We have a village taking care of our domicile while we are in California.  Bob (to the right) plows a path to and moves the snow away from our propane heating exhaust vent.  If that vent were to get covered by snow, our heating system would shut down. In short order, the temp in our house would drop below 32F (it’s near zero outside this snowy morning) and the hot water pipes would freeze, then burst.  Not surprisingly, we wouldn’t know that there is a problem until the spring thaw.  And then water would be spewing here, there, and everywhere in the walls of our home.

Our trusty ping pong/transportation specialist neighbor Paul checks in wondering if our generator (picture to the lower left) is uncovered.  We’ll need our generator cranking away if the power goes out.  By the way, stand-alone generators automatically turn on ten seconds after the power goes out.  When ice storms are predicted, it provides us with quite the peace of mind. He says he’ll check out our generator and dig it out if necessary.

Maryanna collects our mail while we play the role of California Sunbirds! The US Post Office recommends not forwarding mail for a three-month getaway.  It takes time to make the forwarding change and then time to change back.  Tax papers are in the mix at this time of year.

So, when I say it’s win/win for us in California, I mean, we are not in the snow, black ice, and bitter cold and we are basically golden in the Golden State.

While our neighbors deal with two weeks of below zero wind chills, Hannah and I take to the mountains above Santa Barbara to Inspiration Point.  Let me take you there.

We take to the the Edison Power Company fire road for the first mile of our hike, which continues above Hannah’s left shoulder.

When heavy rains fall, landslides plague this area. This heavy metal netting keeps the fire road clear, most of the time.

It’s been a mile of climbing to get to “You Are Here.” We’ll hike an additional mile to Inspiration Point overlooking the lowlands and the Pacific Ocean.

At last the “trail” veers off the fire road into single path descent to Mission Creek.

Two years ago, with our daughter Molly’s family (hubby Tip, sons Owen and Max), we were turned back at the creek crossing at the bottom of the trail behind Hannah.

This morning it’s an easy peezy, lemon breezy rock step across the fairly benign creek.

From the creek, we climb the sandstone rocky trail to Inspiration Point.

Two miles from the trailhead, we look to the valley below, the Pacific Ocean with the Channel Islands in the distance.

Facing away from the shoreline, Hannah toasts our hiking morning with the 3000′ Santa Ynez Mountains behind her.

Returning from whence we came, Hannah climbs the slight assent from the creek heading to the trailhead.

That evening in Carpinteria looking to the west

Dan’s Wednesday Quote of the Week #251 (February 11, 2026)

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things.

Hans Christian Andersen, 1805-1875