SIMI VALLEY : Trail Blazers Lead Hikers to New Heights

John Downey can be seen marching around the hills and mountains surrounding Simi Valley at least three times a week. The retired aerospace worker does it for the workout, the view and the peace.

“If I don’t get out, I start getting a belly,” said Downey, who often hikes with pal Al Bandel. “And it keeps my legs in shape for backpacking. It also settles your nerves.”

Downey and Bandel, also of Simi Valley, often lead hikes for the Rancho Simi Trail Blazers, a nonprofit group that hikes and builds trails within the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. They also help build and maintain the trails they use.

“If we don’t do it, it doesn’t get done, because the state and park district don’t have the money,” he said. “So it’s up to us who like to hike and bike to get out and maintain the trails.”

The new Trail Blazer schedule, offering both day and evening hikes, is now available through the park district. The hikes, which are all led by volunteers, are offered at no charge.

“But we encourage donations to the Trail Blazers,” said Sharon Hamilton, volunteer program coordinator with the Rancho Simi district. “They have costs for their monthly newsletter, as well as tools and gloves and food. They always try to feed their people when they’re out building trails.”

The hikes include ventures into the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains along the Rocky Peak, Chumash, Medea Creek and Hummingbird and Happy Camp trails.

The hikes draw anywhere from three to 130 people, Hamilton said.

The evening hikes on Sundays and Thursdays are the most popular, she said. The group also has Saturday morning hikes outside the district, with no appointed leader and no predetermined destination.

The hikes, many of which are five-mile round trips up steep or rocky trails, range in difficulty from moderate to strenuous.

“We tell people ahead of time so they know what to expect,” Hamilton said. “Our leaders are all in pretty good shape so they go at a pretty good clip,” she said.

For Bandel, a retired aerospace engineer, the Happy Camp Trail is the prettiest hike.

“There are beautiful oak trees and a stream down below,” he said. “From the upper portion of the trail, you can see all of Simi Valley and Moorpark, and on a clear day, you can see the Channel Islands.”

For more information on the hikes, call the district at 584-4400, or write the Trail Blazers for membership or newsletters at P.O. Box 4269, Simi Valley 93093.