Mysterious Landscapes

Climbing the Saddleback.

Towering above Orange County California from almost 20 miles away to the East is a pair of mountains, Modjeska and Santiago Peak which form a distinctive feature known as "The Saddleback". On October 10,2017 I was making the four thousand foot climb to the summit (5687 feet) of Santiago Peak. It was a long hike, out and back some 16 miles. Because the much of the climb is on the Southeast aspect of the mountain the sun beats down on you for much of the day and 4-6 litres of water was completely essential.

This photo, taken high up on the upper portion of the "Holy Jim Trail" on the flank of Santiago Peak looks down upon the main divide road hundreds of feet below. Far above, the communications towers send their signals to Los Angeles as wildfires rage through Anaheim and the Napa Valley to the North...

(please click on the photo for a larger image)

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To my Steemit explorer friends,

I have probably taken over a million photographs of the natural world since childhood; this is a daily series of some of those I most treasure.

Where They are From

1. Many are from an organic orchard that I created on the hill above my home. When you are raising trees from saplings you are out in all weather at all hours and see remarkable things.

2. Some are from my art studio and my efforts there- especially those on behalf of the Tibetan people.

3. Still others are from my wanderings in the wilderness with compass and map my companions. Many are featured from posts I have created here on Steemit and I will link to those whenever possible if you wish to read more of the how, when and where.

Please upvote if you liked this post, and follow for more journeys through our mysterious and amazing world. And please comment as I greatly value these and will answer any questions you may have (and generally go to look at your posts of course since I consider a group of friends the most valuable possible outcome from efforts on Steemit.

*This photo was taken with the Canon EOS 70D, 18-55 mm lens