TAKE A HIKE VALLEY RESIDENTS ENJOY MULTITUDE OF HIKING TRAILS.

Minutes from the tangle of freeways and endless rows of homes that make up the San Fernando Valley's suburban jungle, residents enjoy a real wildlife experience hiking on trails in the various parks and protected lands located in the surrounding mountains.

Accessible from Malibu Creek State Park, the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve and La Tuna Canyon, to name a few, a slew of trails are available to Valley hikers.

At Stough Canyon in Burbank, 13-year-old Kristine Danielian went on a Children Exploring Nature hike with some young family members and her mom, Karine Filikyan.

Danielian spoke about the differences between her first-time hiking experience at Stough Canyon and playing video games.

``In video games you just sit and go into the T.V.,'' Danielian said. ``You go into your own world and don't pay attention to anything. Here, you exercise and it's beautiful.''

Complete story / Page 8

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Photo:

(color) Mike McHorney, far right, leads a group of kids on their first hike at Burbank's Stough Canyon. Front left: Sarkis Kaladjyan, 8, Hairo Danielian, 11 and Arthur Ayvazyan, 9. Back, from left: Stephan Trdatian, 12, and Kristine Danielian, 13.

Rick Coca/Valley News