JAUNTS : Rancho Simi Trail Blazers Like Mixing Work With Pleasure : The group’s first priority is building and maintaining the nature paths. But they enjoy trekking, and schedule regular outings.

The hikers who make up the Rancho Simi Trail Blazers didn’t pick their name justbecause it was cute and snappy. Sure, they like to hike, but they actually build trails and maintain them too.

The group has existed officially for a year now, and they’ve attracted some 40 members. During that time they finished one trail segment and have since tackled another.

They got their start when the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District appealed to the community for help with its network of trails in the Simi area, according to Lisa Klockenteger, vice chairman of the group.

“The district didn’t have the funds to maintain the trails or the money for new trails to be cut,” she said.

Since then, the group has built the new Hummingbird Trail, a half-mile stretch at the north end of Kuehner Drive along the eastern edge of the city. Eventually they hope to extend it into the Chumash and Rocky Peak trails.

For now they’re working on another trail, this one a longer project called the Stagecoach Trail that will run over Santa Susana Pass, connecting Simi Valley with the San Fernando Valley.

Although all their hikes are free, membership in the Rancho Simi Trail Blazers runs $10 a year, or $15 for a family. For that, members get a newsletter detailing upcoming hikes and projects.

Despite the grueling work, they still manage to hike often. Members meet for five- to six-mile treks around Simi Valley late in the afternoon on Thursdays and Sundays. On Saturdays they car-pool to a hiking spot, usually outside the city.

This Saturday they plan to take a 5 1/2-mile hike out of Rancho Sierra Vista park in Newbury Park. They’ll car-pool from Simi Valley to the park where they’ll head for “the old cabin site,” as it is called on the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area map.

The cabin, once used by cattlemen working for Rancho Sierra Vista, burned in 1956 during a fire that swept through the mountains, leaving only the rock chimney. The route, listed as strenuous on the map, cuts across grassy meadows, then zigzags over switchbacks taking hikers near a seasonal waterfall before reaching the cabin site.

The group has other Saturday outings planned. The weekend of Oct. 1 and 2, they will backpack to the Sespe hot springs for an overnight. On Oct. 8 they plan to hike Sissar Canyon above Ojai.

The Thursday and Sunday hikes are more spontaneous. “We don’t decide where we will go until we’re all there,” Klockenteger said. “They’re kind of a potpourri.”

Anywhere from five to 15 people show up for the group’s hikes, she said. If the turnout is large, they might split into two groups to allow slower hikers to take their time. They have young families with babies in backpacks and a number of people in their 60s.

When they work on trails, they know what they are doing. Some members, such as Klockenteger, have gone through a one-day class on how to cut trails.

“You can’t just start hacking,” she said. They learn things like how to build the trail so that water drains properly and trail maintenance is easier.

“We go out there with hand tools and cut and hack a four-foot-wide trail,” she said. “We don’t use anything motorized. It’s all sweat.”

Not only that, the trails they build are accessible to a multitude of users: hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, even wheelchairs.

“They don’t have to climb over any rocks,” she said.

Details

* WHAT: Rancho Simi Trail Blazers hike.

* WHERE: Rancho Sierra Vista park in Newbury Park. (Take the Wendy Drive exit off the Ventura Freeway and go south. Turn west on Potrero Road until you come to the park at Pinehill Street).

* WHEN: Saturday. To car-pool, hikers should meet at 7:30 a.m. at the rear of Jack’s Restaurant, Royal Avenue and Madera Road, Simi Valley. Hike begins about 8:15 a.m.

* FYI: Bring a quart of water and a snack. The trail to the “old cabin site” is not well marked, so it is wise to hike it with a group such as the Trail Blazers.

* ETC.: For the regular Thursday (6:30 p.m.) hikes and the Sunday (5 p.m.) hikes, hikers meet at the west end of the Ralph’s parking lot at Los Angeles Avenue and Sycamore Drive.

* INFORMATION: 520-1470.