CALIFORNIA TRAIL DAYS : LOCAL TRAIL ENTHUSIASTS UNITE.Byline: Terry Wood Special to the Daily News If you give outdoors-minded people a trail to build, they will come. During this weekend and next, more than 6,000 volunteers statewide are to take part in the 12th annual California Trail California Trail route used by pioneers, extending from Wyoming to Sacramento. [Am. Hist.: WB, 21: 440f] See : Wild West Days, the umbrella title An umbrella title is a formal or informal name connecting a number of individual items with a common theme.[1] It is most often used in lieu of listing separately the separate components or providing a convenient "label" for a collection of disciplines. for the roughly 120 to 150 individual trail-building projects or trail fairs taking place on public lands throughout the state. The projects are open to anyone, and local trail-users - hikers, cyclists, equestrians, wanderers-at-large - can choose from several nearby events in order to participate. No experience is required. ``People see it as a way of giving something back to the trails that they enjoy year-round,'' said Charlie Willard, statewide trails coordinator for the California Parks and Recreation Department. ``With all the cutbacks the parks have faced, volunteers have provided trails with much-needed maintenance that they would not have received otherwise.'' Co-sponsored by the state parks system, the California Recreational Trails Committee and the California Trails and Greenways Foundation, the concept was initiated three decades ago by the fellow who today serves as the foundation's executive director, Tony Look. Look was the director of a land-conservation agency in 1969 in the Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, city, United States Santa Cruz (săn`tə kr  z), city (1990 pop. 49,040), seat of Santa Cruz co., W Calif., on the north shore of Monterey Bay; inc. 1866. area and wished to see two state parks, Castle Rock and Big
Basin, enlarged. He managed to recruit 2,500 people to build the 26-mile
Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail [1] is a 29.5 mile (47.2 km) hiking trail that descends from the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California to the Pacific Ocean, passing through Castle Rock State Park and Big Basin Redwoods State Park. - 11 miles of trail, 15 miles of modified
roadways - in a single day.
Similar though smaller trail projects have taken place each year throughout the state ever since, and in 1986 the state parks system added its endorsement to create the first official California Trail Days. ``We're seeing it grow from year to year,'' Look said. ``It's very satisfying.'' The foundation also participates in National Trails Day on June 7. ``We just think more people in California will want to take part in April, when things are a little cooler,'' Look said. Local projects include: Saturday: Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los , Arroyo Seco Arroyo Seco (Spanish: "dry creek") may refer to:
Rangers oversee volunteers as they repair sections of the Gabrielino Trail The Gabrielino Trail is a National Recreation Trail that runs through the Angeles National Forest with trailheads at Windsor Avenue in Altadena, CA on the west end and Chantry Flat, just north of Arcadia, CA, on the east. and the Strawberry Peak Trail. Meet at 8 a.m. at the Red Box Ranger Station's parking lot, about 15 miles north from La Canada Flintridge on Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) segment of California State Route 2 in the United States. The road is 66 miles in length, with its western terminus at the intersection at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge and its eastern (2). Forest Service personnel will provide all tools and instructions. Bring a trail lunch, at least two quarts of water, plus gloves, shoes, bug repellent, sunglasses and clothes appropriate for trail work. Project concludes at 3 p.m. with soft drinks and snacks at Red Box parking lot. Information: (818) 790-1151. April 26-27: Rancho Simi Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi is one of the land grants in California by the Spanish government. The name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. Trail Blazers are planning a work project and hike on Hummingbird Trail in Simi Valley. On April 26, trail-work volunteers should arrive at the trailhead (located about a quarter-mile north of the 118 freeway on Kuehner Drive) at 8 a.m. Some tools (for pruning brush and restoring the trail) will be provided, but bring items such as pick mattocks or loppers Loppers are a type of scissors used for pruning twigs and small branches. They are the largest type of manual garden cutting tool. They are usually operated with two hands, and the handles may be around 65 cm long to give good leverage. , along with proper clothing, gloves, water and food. The project concludes at 1 p.m. On April 27, guided walks along the trail, which leads to a meadow and a cave, will be offered between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. Information: (805) 526-8588. April 26-27: Point Mugu State Park Point Mugu State Park is a large park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. It is in the Western Santa Monica Mountains. The park can be accessed from the north in the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center and from the south hosts its 16th annual trail-work ``convention'' in Big Sycamore Canyon. Volunteers are permitted to car-camp overnight for free within the park, at Danielson Ranch; a free evening meal will be provided for workers on April 26. Workers and campers in cars will be escorted to the site via the park's north entrance in Newbury Park only at designated times. Bring lunch and water for each day, though volunteers can work just one day. Tools are provided; bring your own if you wish. Information: (818) 222-4531 by Monday. |
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