Annual Backbone Trail Festival Starts Nov 6:

On Sandstone Peak photo by Howard Kraton

Join Santa Monica Mountains Task Force and Wilderness Adventures Section in a Time-Honored Tradition

Here is the opportunity to hike as much as 53 miles of the 70 miles of the Backbone Trail. On each of the first three weekends in November and the first weekend in December the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force and the Wilderness Adventures Section are co-sponsoring both moderate and strenuous hikes that will cover most of this trail as part of the Thirteenth Annual Backbone Trail Festival.

Hikes will include both the western terminus of the trail, at La Jolla Canyon, and the eastern terminus, at Will Rogers State Park. Since the trail follows the 'spine' of the Santa Monica Mountains (hence the name 'Backbone Trail'), you can get to the highest point in these mountains, Sandstone Peak, as well as lesser known peaks like Mesa Peak, Saddle Peak, Temescal Peak, and Tri-Peaks.

The more strenuous hikes are generally on the four Saturdays, and the moderate hikes on the Sundays. Some hikes are one-way hikes with car shuttles. The longest hike is 14 miles with 2800' of gain; shortest is 7 miles. One set of hiking leaders, Ron & Mary Ann Webster, have been leading Backbone Festival hikes every year since the Festival began in 1998; others have lead in 10 or more years.

The Backbone Trail, long a dream of local hiking enthusiasts, is nearing completion, with only two segments still in private hands. The concept originated in 1974 with two legislative acts that funded trails to connect the various Santa Monica Mountain state parks. Originally conceived to connect Pt. Mugu State Park to Griffith Park, it was later modified to terminate at Will Rogers State Park, because of the overdevelpment of the Hollywood Hills. In 1981 a critical turning point occurred when Assemblyman Howard Berman sponsored a bill that funded $6 million to complete the trail that linked Topanga State Park to Malibu Creek State Park. Milt McAuley was one of the people who pursued this dream and also initiated the Backbone Trail Festival.

In 1986 Ron Webster and friends 'flagged most of the trail' to enable later trail crews, which included Sierra Club volunteers, CCC crews, and the L.A. Conservation Corps, to do their spade work in laying down the actual trail. The three most recent segments were completed by the National Park Service.

Please consult the Chapter Schedule or the Southern Sierran for a listing of the eight hikes. We hope you will join us to see what a dedicated group of active conservationists has accomplished. You will marvel at this beautiful local trail, with its views from high above the Pacific coast.