Robert A. Black, Mathematical Storyteller

The Thomas Fire is finally coming to an end, but not before it grew into the largest wildfire in modern California history. I personally was never in any danger, but the smoke was pretty bad for two full weeks, even forcing us to close the factory area in day-job land once or twice and send people home. All through that time, I kept an eye on the fire's progress as it moved through the Ojai Valley. Thankfully, the city of Ojai itself was spared, but the trails I hiked through last spring weren't so fortunate. I knew they were hit hard, and yesterday I drove out there to do some scouting, to see just how bad it was. There's a lookout point along Highway 150, where you can stop and gaze across the entire Topatopa range. A plaque points out all the peaks and canyons, including the ones I visited. All of them are thoroughly blackened now. Here's what the three spots looked like, with links to my old posts if you'd like to see what they looked like before. ...

I've had a number of different blog post ideas cross my mind this past week or so, on various subjects related to the Trumpocalypse. Russian interference, racism, authoritarianism, white privilege, deception, inequality... the list goes on and on, to the point where you get tired just thinking about it. Even this post, where I'm telling you about how crazy and unsettle I've felt trying to write about these times, has gone through multiple versions. But it all comes back to something I realized while hiking last Saturday. I've realized it before, but it seems I need regular reminders. I was hiking back up Sisar Canyon and the Red Reef Trail, toward Topatopa Bluff. It was the same hike I'd done two weeks earlier, but it had been cloudy on my first trip and I hadn't been able to see the face of the bluff at all. This time, the bluff was in full view - and what a view it was - but the hot sun really wore me out. After five miles of climbing the six-mil...

Over the course of three hikes into the Topatopa Range outside Ojai, I've discovered that the toughest part of hiking these mountains is getting to them . If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle and can get National Park Service to let you through the gate onto Nordhoff Ridge Road, visiting the peaks is easy. You can do several of them in a day. But everyone else has to hike up several miles of canyon - which can be nice, but it takes a lot of time and can really wear you out. Back in April , I made my first trek into the area, going up Nordhoff Peak. Then last month , I hiked up Chief Peak, which was longer and tougher than I expected, but that was a good thing. It prepared me for the main event - Topatopa Bluff, a massive mountain with large, prominent rock outcrops, visible from thirty miles away in Oxnard where I work. I've looked at Topatopa on my lunchtime walks for years, and I've been thinking about hiking it since last spring. But it's a tough challenge...