Category Archives: News

A Powerful El Niño Is Building. What Does That Mean for Southern California’s Mountains?

NOAA sees an increasing chance of a historic El Niño this winter. Here’s what that could mean for our national forests, mountain communities, and backcountry.
 
El Niño is getting stronger, and Southern California could be in for an unusually wet winter.
 
On October 8, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that ocean temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific continued to climb through September. The Niño-3.4 region reached 3.8°F above average, while portions of the eastern Pacific exceeded 7.2°F above normal.
 

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Missing for Decades, Claude Chana Statue Returns to Placer County

Missing for Decades, Claude Chana Statue Returns to Placer County

The long-lost sculpture, which served as the model for Auburn’s famous 45-ton gold miner, has returned to the historic Colfax Hotel.
A statue of California Gold Rush pioneer Claude Chana has returned to Placer County after disappearing decades ago. The sculpture, created by Auburn dentist and artist Dr. Kenneth Fox during the 1960s, once stood outside the historic Colfax Hotel. Now it’s back, thanks to an unexpected discovery on Facebook.

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Radio Free California Shout Out!

What a great way to start my day!

Just heard a shout-out on National Review’s Radio Free California podcast today. Hosts Will Swaim and David Bahnsen mentioned me – ME! – and my book series, California Historic Landmarks – North, Central, and South!

How AWESOME is that?

HUGE thanks to Will, David, and the whole crew behind one of the BEST shows about all things California (and USC Football … for some reason).

Make sure you listen to this and EVERY episode (it’s a weekly): Radio Free California

Oh — and BUY MY BOOKS! They’re famous now!

United States District Court Orders OHV Route Closures in the West Mojave Desert

United States District Court Orders OHV Route Closures in the West Mojave Desert

A federal judge has handed down a decision that will reshape how we use some of the Mojave’s most familiar dirt.

A January 2026 ruling against the Bureau of Land Management requires the closure of up to 2,200 miles of off-highway vehicle routes inside designated Desert Tortoise Critical Habitat unless and until the BLM completes a new route designation plan. The closures could begin as soon as March 2026. There are many hard conversations ahead.

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After the Flood: Southern PCT and Trail Towns Counting the Cost

Last week’s storms slammed the length of California, dumping heavy rain, triggering floods and debris flows from the Coast Range to the Sierra and through the Transverse Range all the way to the tip of the Peninsular Mountain Range.

The Southern California stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail — a place near and dear to my heart; I live here and have section-hiked the PCT for years — took an especially hard hit, with trailheads, road approaches, water crossings, and low camps dragged or buried by mud and runoff. That stretch changes from low desert washes and sage-and-chaparral foothills up into oak and mixed-conifer slopes on the San Gabriel and San Bernardino ridgelines, then climbs into the higher San Gorgonio and San Jacinto country where pinyon, fir, and true montane/subalpine stands hold late snow. Expect everything from loose, rocky tread and brushy switchbacks to steep gullies that channel flash runoff — which is precisely the kind of terrain that turns a heavy storm into road-and-trail damage in a hurry. Post-storm, gateway towns are digging out, businesses and volunteers are scrambling, and land managers are triaging access and safety across the corridor.
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