Last weekend my friend Caitlin and I went with my dad on a hike in Rattlesnake Canyon. 

Rattlesnake Canyon is a trail located in the Santa Barbara mountains. It is a popular spot to hike through the dry and shady oak trees next to a running river. We were surprised to see a good amount of water in the river. There was no snow melting, and it hadn’t rained in a long time when we went, so we couldn’t figure out where the water was coming from. The higher up the hill we got we found the water had stopped flowing at one point and saw that it came out from a rock surfacing on the ground. It was coming from an aquifer on the other side of the Santa Barbara mountains. The water travelled uphill from the pressure to eventually spit out on the other side where we were. It was the perfect temperature to wash our faces in after we walked through the hot sun. 

Around almost every bend we could look over our shoulders and there was a gorgeous view over the valley stretching all the way to the ocean. There were paragliders flying above us, overlooking the canyon and water down below. It was so refreshing to finally have a breath of air in the wilderness without masks on. We usually go camping a lot more throughout the year and haven’t been able to, so it was nice to finally get back out into the wild, mountain environment. 

Contrary to its name, we saw no rattlesnakes but many people. It wasn’t too crowded when we went last Sunday, but just enough to scare away any snakes that could have been lurking. Mostly there were families with younger kids, playing in the pools of water along the river. There were many colorful wildflowers and the hike had the perfect amount of shade and sun. It was a good short break away from AP testing this week and last. We were trying to make it to the ridge but it seemed to be too far away. After the 4 ½ mile hike we drove to get ice cream at Mission Street Ice Cream which serves only McConnell’s ice cream (my personal absolute favorite ice cream). 

I definitely recommend getting out onto the hills of Santa Barbara to escape from quarantine for a little bit if you can.