In August, 2009, the Station Fire burned almost a quarter of the Angeles National Forest, about 250 square miles from Big Tujunga to the West Fork of the San Gabriel River.

Many favorite hiking trails were closed for a couple of years, so now hikers are anxious to see how the fire has affected the forest.

Have you made a reservation for the Awards Banquet? Join the Angeles Chapter in honoring volunteers who have shown extraordinary commitment to the Sierra Club. The 2013 Awards Banquet will be held May 5 at the Brookside Country Club in Pasadena. Patio reception and silent auction begins at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and comments and awards start at 7 p.m.

Get outdoors! The online Schedule of Activities (OARS) at the Angeles Chapter website (angeles.sierraclub. org) lists hundreds of hikes, backpacks, tours, bicycle rides, ski and snowshoe trips and more. Enter a date range online to find outings in your area and beyond. Here’s a sampling of upcoming events. Details can be found online.

Named in the 1880s for its resemblance to a berry with its tip pointing up, Strawberry Peak has remained a popular climb ever since.

At 6,164 feet, it’s the highest summit in the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains, edging out nearby San Gabriel Peak by 3 feet if erosion and tectonic shifts haven’t changed things too much recently.

More than 70 members of the Angeles Chapter’s Camera Committee and their guests attended the 23rd Photo Auction Party at the G2 Gallery in Venice on Nov 10. This Camera Committee fund raiser is held every four to five years.

Here's a 2012 update on Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign.

• No new coal plants broke ground – the third year in a row that the campaign prevented any new coal plants from starting construction.

• No new coal export facilities broke ground in the Pacific Northwest.

• 13 proposed coal plants abandoned or defeated.

• 54 coal plants retired or announced to retire, with a grand total of 126 coal plants announced for retirement since January 2010.

Over the past 12 months, the nationwide campaign to phase out coal burning in the United States continued to win victories from coast to coast, including securing dozens of coal plant retirements and record investments in wind and solar. Facing unprecedented public opposition, the coal industry experienced numerous setbacks in 2012 as its market share fell and stock prices tanked.

My car was 22 miles away, so I started walking.