Three years ago today the Woolsey Fire swept through nearly 100,000 acres of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountain ranges.  1,600 homes were lost, six billion dollars of property damage was incurred and three people lost their lives.  It was the largest fire to hit my area of Malibu in decades, or perhaps ever if you’re speaking in terms of houses lost and people displaced.  My family was fortunate.  Many neighbors were not. Stepped out my front door to see that this fire was serious and on it’s way.            ..read more

Hiked on 9-13-17 I was beginning to run out of new places to hike within a two hour drive of my house.  So I decided to branch out even further.  Here is my first foray into Orange County.  The streets are clean, the people are friendly and the beaches are beautiful.  For what more could one ask?  Having to endure the 5 Freeway might be the only drawback.   I parked in a pay lot near the Balboa Pier.  I chose this starting point as it is the midpoint between the eastern and western ends of my route, meaning I would be back at my car at the halfway point of my ..read more

Hiked on 9-6-17 Has it really been four years since I did this hike?  Incredible.  Here’s the way I remember it.  And again, sorry my memory may be faulty when it comes to the fine details. My original plan was to hike Mount Williamson, much further east along CA-2 than Mount Wilson.  Mount Williamson’s sister, Mount Islip, sits directly across the highway.  The first time I attempted Mount Islip, the drop offs frayed my nerves and I turned back just before reaching the summit. I returned later, twice, to bag that peak.  I had an even rougher and shorter day at M ..read more

Hello to all the lovely people who visit this site.  Although I don’t know you personally, I feel we have a kinship of sorts, a love for the mostly peaceful, yet sometimes exhilarating, nature of hiking.  Although I haven’t been out with my camera in quite a while, far too long, I am always making plans to re-enter that magical world and jump start this blog again. As I may have mentioned, I have been sitting on photos from about 30 great hikes.  Problem is, whenever I look at them I have trouble remembering.  Trouble remembering not just important technical details, such a ..read more

First Posted on 10/15/2018 “May all beings have happiness…”, is part of a traditional Buddhist prayer.  I’m not a Buddhist but I assume this prayer is a way for devotees to send positive energy out into the universe.  This act is so important for spiritual health, to wish well for our fellow beings in a sincere and selfless manner.  Giving selflessly benefits all. The largest Buddhist temple in the United States is right here in the Southern California city of Hacinda Heights.  Hsi Lai Temple is a massive complex filled with treasure upon treasure, golden art and architectu ..read more

First Posted on 9/25/2018 I began floating in sensory deprivation tanks about a year and a half ago.  While first lured by tales of psychedelic insight I stuck around for the profound physical and mental relaxation.  The float tank environment is a combination of conditions humans do not normally encounter – absolute darkness, silence, weightlessness and solitude.  Ideally, sensory input does not exist inside the float chamber. The user is left free from distraction and alone with their thoughts, perhaps for the first time since they left their mother’s womb.     ..read more

The Hollywood tour with an edge.  You can forget about seeing Betty White’s house along the way.  I was driven into some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles on a hip-hop based tour brimming with cultural and historic landmarks.  From the childhood homes of legendary gangsta rappers to the flashpoint of the LA Riots, from the beautiful houses in affluent Baldwin Hills to the projects in Watts, the LA Hood Life Tour is electric from start to finish.  This tour provided a unique opportunity to see things and go places I’d not dare on my own.  It also puts a ..read more

Welcome to the very first post of Peaceful Tourist. I went on a roadside attraction scavenger hunt today. Through Topanga and on to the Valley I encountered an eclectic sugar rush of visual oddities.    I concocted a plan for the day.  I hopped in my car, positive vibrations humming.  From Pacific Cast Highway I wound my way north on Topanga Canyon Blvd. My first stop was a thrift store called Hidden Treasures.  I thought this appropriate as Peaceful Tourist will be dedicated to searching for hidden treasures of all shapes and sizes.       Adorned wi ..read more

I thought it would be fun to post the three trips I originally posted for my second, very short-lived blog “Peaceful Tourist”.  When I was doing real hiking and taking photos for Silent Hiker, I always liked to stop at fun curiosities while on the road.  So why not make a whole day of it?  After a few hikes I decided it wasn’t right for me – too expensive and not enough physical activity or solitude.  Still, I look back and these were fun days where I got to get a little more creative in my planning than usual.  I will leave the original writings for the first three e ..read more

I really needed to switch things up for awhile. Over the last year and a half many of my hikes involved walking out my front door with only a vague notion of what lay ahead. No planning, no driving and most often no camera. This offered a tremendous sense of freedom. On the days I did stick a camera in my pack, the following photos are the result. While hiking down the beach one day I stumbled upon the most incredible sight.  Dozens of migrating whales swimming just offshore.  Some were so close it seemed I could dive into the water and play with them.  I had my little camera with me so this ..read more