Chuck Graham

2 weeks ago | independent.com | Chuck Graham

The coarse black sands of the Lost Coast in Northern California were gritty and cool as naturalist Holly Lohuis and I backpacked barefoot along the classic 25-mile-long route from Mattole Campground south to Shelter Cove. The only blemishes on those glistening sands were the prints of foraging black bears, coyotes, raccoons, gulls, and the occasional skunk — lots of traffic between 12 creek crossings at the foot of the mighty King Range.

2 weeks ago | coastalview.com | Chuck Graham

The rockslide began as soon as I paddled into the dank, cobalt-blue cove at Cavern Point. At the time, I didn’t know it was caused by an earthquake. I was leading a kayak tour at Scorpion Anchorage near the southeast end of Santa Cruz Island. I had 14 participants follow me out to one of the biggest sea caves in the world. Fortunately, I had everyone stationed in the middle of the cove when we arrived. It was easily the largest rockslide I’ve ever seen on the islands.

2 weeks ago | montecitojournal.net | Chuck Graham

The long muddy rut on Simmler Road was deep enough to swallow my tires up to the axle. Alkali loam transforms into a gooey death sentence for vehicles attempting to experience the far flung reaches of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. However, there was something odd about this narrow trench on one of the grassland’s worst roads, on the east side of Soda Lake during the winter of 2006. I flashed on something small, mottled, trembling, and helpless.

1 month ago | independent.com | Chuck Graham

It was a stunner of a clear day as I kayaked around Fraser Point on the rugged northwest fringe of Santa Cruz Island. And like other paddling excursions I’ve completed around the largest isle off the California coast, it usually includes paddling to and around Santa Rosa Island. There’s a lot of reliable island topography that assists in navigating the Santa Cruz Passage; the long gritty finger of Skunk Point and the daunting, wave-battered cliffs of Carrington Point come to mind.

1 month ago | coastalview.com | Chuck Graham

They were foraging on a steep, crumbly scree slope in the Sespe Wilderness. Fourteen desert bighorn sheep were browsing on holly, prickly pear, chamise and other backcountry flora, while traversing the higher reaches of the Los Padres National Forest. Historically, the Sespe Wilderness has been the westernmost region in the desert bighorn sheep’s range.