I won’t say it was easy for my wife and I to wake up at 7 on a Saturday morning, but once we made it to the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve in time for registration and the 9 a.m. interpretive hike departure, we had no regrets.
The UCSB Sedgwick Reserve—which serves as a field station and wildlife preserve managed by UC Santa Barbara—opens up to the public on the second Saturday of each month during the cooler months of the year. The hikes are led by volunteer docents and naturalists, and come in three different difficulty levels: easy, moderate, and strenuous.
We opted for the easy hike, and were glad we did, though not because the day was particularly hot or the terrain too rugged. The easy hike allows for much more time dedicated to the interpretation provided by the hike leader. Not only was the easy hike less populated and more intimate, but we also lucked out with a well-informed and friendly hike leader.
Dr. Fred Emerson was our knowledgeable guide for the two-hour hike through the peaceful oak woods. A retired trauma physician, Emerson earned a Ph.D. in Wildlife Management before he ever turned his talents to medicine. He’s lived in Santa Barbara County for many years, becoming very familiar with the local natural history.
Hikers learned how to spot and differentiate between the coast live oak, the blue oak, and the valley oak, as Emerson pointed to differences in their leaves, bark, and amount of pale green lichen hanging from their branches. The various rocks on the trail gave Emerson a chance to talk about the differing minerals found along the trail that had slowly rolled down from the distant Figueroa Mountain and its neighboring peaks and ridges. Different piles of scat were identified along the trail, and we learned that coyotes enjoy grapes fresh from the vine, though they may not take the time to chew them thoroughly.
The hike ended with a visit to the reserve’s pond, which, Emerson explained, is valuable habitat for various local species as well as a watering hole for thirsty mountain lions, deer, birds, bears, and more. Hikers who brought a lunch rested their feet and recapped their experiences at the reserve’s picnic area.
Bit by fascination and intrigued by the scenery and the info provided by Emerson, my wife and I made our way back to Highway 154 and drove up the beautifully scenic though sometimes harrowing San Marcos Pass, which brought us down into Santa Barbara and our destination: the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Having not returned to the famous museum since a childhood school field trip, I felt wonder and awe at the various plant, animal, geological, and anthropological artifacts. It was both mind-expanding and nostalgic. From the bones of a pygmy mammoth found on the Channel Islands, to the carefully chipped stone tools of the native Chumash Indians, this inspiring sense of time and both biological and cultural evolution came to me.
The halls of extant animals were wonderful as well, both for close-up views of wild creatures and for a fine display of the taxidermists’ art. A current traveling exhibit titled The Bird Man: John Gould and his Illustrators displayed various prints and originals from prolific 19th century British ornithology book publisher John Gould and illustrated the expansion of wildlife cataloging as well as the necessary art technique that evolved shortly after Charles Darwin’s publishing of On the Origin of Species.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History at 5 p.m., so we enjoyed several hours to wander its halls before leaving with gift shop items in hand. For the remainder of the evening, we enjoyed the attractions of State Street, although all those shops, restaurants, and the rest of it seemed a tad pale in comparison to the astounding natural wonders we took in that day.
Arts Editor Joe Payne is a curious primate. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 13-20, 2014.