WHAT IF YOU COULD HIKE AND CAMP THE ENTIRE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS BACKBONE TRAIL AND SOMEONE ELSE:

• carries your 70 pound pack,
• makes all the camping arrangements,
• leads you along with a congenial group on an extended guided tour of the mountains,
• provides the fixings for a trail breakfast and bag lunch,
• provides a delicious dinner after a pleasant day in the canyons and on the mountains of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area,
• and provides interpreters to answer all your questions on the flora, fauna, geology, history, future, ownership, and other subjects?

THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS TRAILS COUNCIL, an organization dedicated to establishment and maintenance of the public trail system through the Santa Monica Mountains is organizing the Backbone Trek 2006 to bring attention to the Backbone Trail that runs the length of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The Backbone Trek 2006 will take seven consecutive days, meeting at the western terminus of the Backbone Trail on May 6, 2006 and completing the trek at the eastern terminus on May 13, 2006. There will be a fee to cover expenses for campgrounds, gear and equipment transportation, insurance, food and the like, with any excess fee going to improve and maintain the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Trek fee is $450 for Trails Council members; $500 for non-members. Membership is open to anyone for an annual membership fee of $35.

The Backbone Trek 2006 will be conducted by volunteers with passion for trails and open space. The hike will not be for the casual hiker. Even though each hiker will only be carrying a light daypack with lunch, water and trail incidentals; the entire hike is about 65 miles long and a total of 11 thousand feet are gained and lost as the mountains and ridges are crossed.

This Trek is limited to 25 hikers and fills quickly. To receive more information on Backbone Trek 2006, or to obtain a registration form, contact Registrar: Annie Salerno, Evenings/Weekends 818-705-9192 Anytime 818-419-9192 or E-mail: anniesalerno@yahoo.com.