Although people have been hiking different variations of this trail for decades, 2016 was the first year the entire network of trails was recognized as a whole by the National Park Service. as a hiking town, they certainly don't think of it as a place with great public transit.Ģ) The timing was highly relevant. If the general public doesn't think of L.A. bus just a block from my house in Los Angeles. The trailhead could be accessed by the Sunset Blvd. I like to think of my approach to interacting with landscapes as “Aesthletics” - in other words, a method and style of physical interaction with an environment more beautiful and powerful than our feeble minds could ever hope to create.Ī few different ideas were thrown around to make this series, and we ended up picking the Backbone Trail for several reasons:ġ) It was local. I fully believe, however, that the difficulty or hazards of a project is not mutually exclusive with its worthiness. This type of attraction is often confused with that of the adrenaline junky. As someone who had spent my entire adult life in pursuit of an ephemerally pure aesthetic, what could be better than tracing a proud ridge line with my whole being? If a big mistake is made, the route would not be erased, but perhaps I would! As twisted as it may sound, this commitment was a big initial attraction for me. Miles Davis famously said “There are no wrong notes in jazz: only notes in the wrong places" Well, that's all fine and good when you're onstage and a wrong note will only cost you some embarrassment, whereas a mistake in the mountains may just take your life (or perhaps a limb). A very palpable reality made itself felt that the challenges of the natural world present an entirely different discipline from “the arts.” Sometimes we did this with nothing to guide us but a full moon lessons were certainly learned. We got into trouble by abandoning the well-groomed trails in favor of steep scree slopes that led to steeper cliffs or large patches of some god-forsaken impenetrable brush. We learned about the unique plants that thrive in the chaparral ecosystem. Most of us had an incredibly strong draw to the wilderness, but really had no business being there for much more than casual day hikes.Īs we continued to explore the watersheds that made up the Los Angeles Basin, our appreciation for mountains in general expanded. My background is as a touring and recording musician, so naturally our initial membership was comprised of mostly musicians, artists, and other like-minded people. A new episode will be released every Friday through September 8.įour years ago I started something called Seeing Trails Hike Gang as a way to rope in hiking partners to explore the San Gabriel Mountains with me. With a pocket cigarette lighter, Kote Lotah, a Chumash Indian, lit sage leaves and chanted a Chumash blessing over the trail as the smoke perfumed the area.Watch the series, " Backbone Trail," available online. The association began working with state and federal parks officials to get signs posted and speed completion of the trail.Īfter speeches recognizing key supporters of the trail, the crowd walked behind a wailing bagpipe to a stand of eucalyptus trees, where a red ribbon stretched across the end of the dirt trail. “It just occurred to me that I knew these mountains just about as well as anyone, and if I couldn’t find it, who else would be able to?” There were few signs and Kilday couldn’t find some segments. The idea began when Ruth Kilday, a hiker who chairs the Santa Monica Mountains Parkland Assn., attempted last year to hike the trail. The building of the trails has been done by members of the California Conservation Corps, Los Angeles Conservation Corps and volunteers from such groups as the Sierra Club and Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.Īpart from its political overtones, trail buffs conceived the ceremonies as a way to bring attention to the trail and push to get it finished. Of the 48 completed miles, about half are new trail and about half were existing trails and fire roads that were linked together. If the bond act passes, “I guarantee you within a year, 18 months, we’ll have the Backbone Trail completed,” Edmiston said. “We have to, in effect, buy back America, buy back the Santa Monica Mountains for future generations,” Edmiston said. In particular, officials said they were concerned about preventing development along the trail’s final seven miles, held by more than a dozen landowners, including some very hard-nosed negotiators. Edmiston, executive director of the conservancy, and others took the microphone to urge support for Proposition B.
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