You know, when I go hiking, I really look forward to that minimalist shamanistic experience. So, today, I committed to not carrying anything except a knife and some ID.

So - once again, I didn't have my camera. What a drag.

As I wound my way into Towsley Canyon, Santa Clarita (CA) things began to get pretty interesting. The petroleum flows out of the mountains are impressive. At the bottom of the canyon, a black slick oozes out of the hillside, even covering vegetation. There are several areas where petroleum is coming out of the mountainside. In one area, approximately 500 vertical feet up the switchbacks, petroleum was beginning to pool. I would estimate that there was approximately 5 to 7 gallons of the black slick in a mud bordered pool.

Further up, is an active sulfur vent. This was impressive. The smell hits you about 100 feet below it. If it weren't for the smell, you might pass it by thinking it was a lichen growing. As I approached it, the yellow sulfur was caking on the soil. Even freshly fallen oak leaves were covered with the sulfur.

I can't say whether this is increased activity, or what. Either way, I'm sure that any geology professor would want to march their students through this canyon. In addition to the petro and sulfur, the visible strata are incredible - not to mention the light dusting of snow that treated us today.

Tony