Grandmother hikes Santa Monica Mountains' 67-mile Backbone Trail with daughter, granddaughter
Carlyn Taggart, 73, her daughter and granddaughter set out May 6 to hike a 67-mile trail that traces the ridge lines and canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Sandwiched between the ocean and valleys dotted with homes, the Backbone Trail connects paths from La Jolla Canyon in Ventura County to a grassy park in Los Angeles. The three generations of women spent the week leading up to Mother’s Day with two dozen other hikers, following the trail's narrow dirt paths, rocky downhill slopes and climbs over boulders from start to finish.
“You just look up, and you're in awe,” Taggart said of the Santa Monicas.
A veteran on the annual trip organized by the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, Taggart's first time on the trek was more than a decade ago. She became a regular.
“The views are incredible," she said. "You hike to the highest peak and you just look at the world.”
Taggart, of Van Nuys, also volunteers with the trails council, which spends weekends maintaining trails in the mountains. The group organized the Backbone Trail Trek not as a fundraiser but a way to help inspire stewardship, event coordinator Jerry Mitcham said. The supported-hike includes seven nights camping in between days of 7- to 13-mile hikes.
Taggart was the trailblazer in her family on the Backbone. Over the years, several of her children joined.
“My mom has always talked about how great it is, how much fun she's had and all the great people she meets," said Taggart's daughter Cortney Flores, of Newbury Park.
Flores, who hiked the trail last year, figured it would be something different to try. Once on the trek, she found a community.
“I had such a great time that I wanted to do it again,” she said.
Flores' daughter Adriana, 16, just finished all of her Advanced Placement tests, so her mom asked if she wanted to join. The junior at Newbury High School was in, the first of Taggart's grandchildren to make the trek.
Adriana grew up in the outdoors, too, she said. When she was younger, she remembers camping with her grandmother and all of her cousins. They would wake up earlier than everyone else, get hot chocolate and walk on the beach.
"That was like my favorite thing," Adriana said.
Taggart and her husband hit the trails when their kids were still young enough to be carried on their backs, she said. Now, she heads out regularly with her children, grandchildren and friends to the Santa Monicas in their backyard and on bigger excursions. One plus: The lack of cell reception.
"You just have to visit with your grandma,” Taggart said. “We giggle and laugh, and we have a grand time.”
For more information about the trails council and volunteer opportunities, visit smmtc.org.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 3 generations hike Backbone Trail in Santa Monica Mountains
