Volunteers to Sweat for a Cause, Sleep Under Stars

Here is a chance to camp under the oaks deep in Point Mugu State Park, miles from noisy traffic and glaring city lights. There is just one small catch: You have to be willing to get your hands dirty, and maybe a little blistered.

It’s Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days from April 26 to 28, part of a statewide effort to spruce up California’s parkland. State park officials and a number of local groups are coordinating the two-day workout in Point Mugu State Park.

Here is the deal: If you offer to sweat for the cause, they will let you sleep under the stars that weekend. They will also throw in a barbecue and a ranger-led campfire program Saturday night.

This isn’t any little work party. Last year nearly 200 people volunteered, and the crowd camped out at Danielson Ranch in the heart of the 15,000-acre park. Now is the time to sign up, and reservations are required.

“It’s getting bigger every year,” said Cara O’Brien, the state park ranger who is coordinating work days in Point Mugu State Park. “It’s so beautiful now--the wildflowers are in bloom.”

This is the 11th year for the statewide California Trail Days, but it’s the 15th for the local Santa Monica Mountains effort. It all comes down to dwindling budgets over the years.

“There are too many trails and not enough funding,” O’Brien said. “We need help.” Several other agencies are helping out with the work effort, including the California Native Plant Society, Sierra Club and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.

This year volunteers will work on several trails in the park, including Old Boney Trail, which cuts through the heart of the 6,000-acre Boney Mountain State Wilderness area. Some will be on the Sycamore Canyon Trail helping to install a new retaining wall made from a special netting material that holds the soil without stifling plants.

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Although some volunteers will work with shovels, rakes and picks, it won’t all be strenuous. Others will pull up nonnative plants, such as milk thistle or fennel, that are driving out the native plants. Still others might pick up litter.

“No special skills are needed,” O’Brien said. “Training will be provided.” If workers have tools, they should bring them. Otherwise, they will be provided. Boots or sturdy shoes and gloves are a must.

Workers will begin arriving Friday night, then work Saturday and Sunday. Of course, they don’t have to camp out, but that is the really fun part about this outing. Kids are welcome and whole families come, O’Brien said. Some volunteers get hooked and come year after year. Some only come out to work for a few hours.

Cars are prohibited in the park, but at designated times during the weekend volunteers’ cars will be escorted into and out of the Danielson Ranch area via the Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa entrance in Newbury Park.

If you decide to pitch in for trail days, there are a couple of other sights you might take in while in the area. The new Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center opens April 28 at Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa.

The festivities start at 10 a.m. with a special blessing, followed by a performance of the Chumash Dolphin Dancers, a group organized about 30 years ago. At noon Bill Neal, a Cherokee, performs on the flute. The rest of the afternoon is billed as an Iroquois social, with dancing and picnicking.

The new 1,200-square-foot center--with its open rafters, skylights, picture windows and redwood siding--replaces the modest little ranch house a stone’s throw away that served as the culture center since 1985.

On April 27 a National Park Service ranger will lead families in Native American games and stories at Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Pinehill Street parking lot, includes a short walk and concludes at 7 p.m.

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The Rancho Simi Trail Blazers also have a work party scheduled during California Trail Days. On the weekend of April 27 and 28, volunteers will tackle an extension to the Rocky Peak Trail in eastern Simi Valley that will take hikers to the very top of the peak.

Last year’s work party drew about 175 people. Work on the new quarter-mile segment is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. Volunteers should meet at the Rocky Peak trail head, at the south end of Rocky Peak Road, off Santa Susana Pass Road. Bring water, gloves, boots, snacks and tools, if possible. For information, call the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, 584-4400.

DETAILS

* WHAT: Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days.

* WHERE: Point Mugu State Park. Meet at Rancho Sierra Vista, off West Potrero Road and Pinehill Street in Newbury Park.

* WHEN: April 26-28. Camp out Friday and Saturday nights. Trail work 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Escorts into and out of the park: Arrivals, 4, 6 and 8 p.m., Friday; 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Saturday; and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Departures: 4 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m., 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

* HOW MUCH: Free.

* CALL: (818) 222-4531 or (805) 488-5223. Reservations required.