![]() Arnold Schwarzenegger and fitness pioneer Betty Weider. National Park Service closes escrow on a 40-acre parcel donated by former California Gov. National Park Service receives grant money from Los Angeles County to purchase the properties that will complete the Backbone Trail. ![]() The Backbone Trail is established with significant gaps in Trancas Canyon and along the Etz Meloy Motorway. National Park Service builds eight miles of trails between Encinal Canyon Road and the Mishe Mokwa trailhead at Circle X Ranch. National Park Service builds segments of trail in the canyons area, and additional purchases extend the western route to Circle X Ranch. 1994-2000įurther land acquisitions allow for the Backbone Trail to be extended from Will Rogers state park to the Zuma Ridge Motorway in the Zuma-Trancas Canyons. Ron Webster and a crew from the Sierra Club build 10 new trails for the Backbone Trail. The newly formed Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the National Park Service acquire numerous properties for the Backbone Trail, leaving only a six-mile gap from Zuma Ridge Motorway to Mishe Mowka trailhead. California State Parks acquires more parcels for Topanga State Park. 1978Ĭongress establishes the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area to be managed by the National Park Service in partnership with state and local governments. Existing fire roads inside these parks have become part of the Backbone Trail. The establishment of Will Rogers State Historic Park opens the Inspiration Point Loop Trail, which would become the eastern end of the Backbone Trail.Ĭalifornia Department of Parks and Recreation acquires land for Topanga State Park, Malibu Creek State Park and Point Mugu State Park. Source of this article: The Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2016 Reach her at or 80.The Backbone Trail, a 67-mile route among the sycamore canyons and sandstone peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains, was a dream in the 1960s. “We giggle and laugh, and we have a grand time.”įor more information about the trails council and volunteer opportunities, visit .Ĭheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. "You just have to visit with your grandma,” Taggart said. Now, she heads out regularly with her children, grandchildren and friends to the Santa Monicas in their backyard and on bigger excursions. ![]() Taggart and her husband hit the trails when their kids were still young enough to be carried on their backs, she said. "That was like my favorite thing," Adriana said. They would wake up earlier than everyone else, get hot chocolate and walk on the beach. When she was younger, she remembers camping with her grandmother and all of her cousins. The junior at Newbury High School was in, the first of Taggart's grandchildren to make the trek.Īdriana grew up in the outdoors, too, she said. “I had such a great time that I wanted to do it again,” she said.įlores' daughter Adriana, 16, just finished all of her Advanced Placement tests, so her mom asked if she wanted to join. “My mom has always talked about how great it is, how much fun she's had and all the great people she meets," said Taggart's daughter Cortney Flores, of Newbury Park.įlores, who hiked the trail last year, figured it would be something different to try. Over the years, several of her children joined. Taggart was the trailblazer in her family on the Backbone. The supported-hike includes seven nights camping in between days of 7- to 13-mile hikes. The group organized the Backbone Trail Trek not as a fundraiser but a way to help inspire stewardship, event coordinator Jerry Mitcham said. ![]() Taggart, of Van Nuys, also volunteers with the trails council, which spends weekends maintaining trails in the mountains. "You hike to the highest peak and you just look at the world.” “You just look up, and you're in awe,” Taggart said of the Santa Monicas.Ī veteran on the annual trip organized by the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, Taggart's first time on the trek was more than a decade ago. The three generations of women spent the week leading up to Mother’s Day with two dozen other hikers, following the trail's narrow dirt paths, rocky downhill slopes and climbs over boulders from start to finish. Sandwiched between the ocean and valleys dotted with homes, the Backbone Trail connects paths from La Jolla Canyon in Ventura County to a grassy park in Los Angeles. Carlyn Taggart, 73, her daughter and granddaughter set out May 6 to hike a 67-mile trail that traces the ridge lines and canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.
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