http://www.sandiego-romantics.com/hiking-adventures.html
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The Santa Monica Mountains. The range runs 50 miles from Griffith Park to north of Malibu. Excellent hiking area, but beward of the poison oak which is a common plant in the area.

Santa Ynez Canyon (Pacific Palisades) has a rather difficult hiking path that ascends steadily upward for 3 miles. At the top you’ll find fantastic views of the Pacific and Trippet Ranch a facility that provides water, public bathrooms and a picnic arrea for hikers.

Temescal Canyon (Pacific Palisades) is a much easier hike of from 1 to 5 miles.

For complete information on hiking in the L.A. area log onto:

http://www.latrails.com
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http://www.summitpost.org/holy-jim-trail/160764
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But frankly, I’ve been too spoiled by the trails in Yosemite to really enjoy the trails here in SoCal.
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I hope you are having a great day. I am very happy, because we finished the last of our Christmas gifts. Each year we can and dry fruits and vegetables from our trees and garden. Each friend and relative receives a big basket filled with quart jars of peaches, plums, strawberry Guavas, pickles, pickled green cherry tomatoes, jams, and dried and fresh fruits.

I have been a camper and hiker my whole life. I love the outdoors. I know almost every great nature place for hiking, camping, and fishing in the state of California. I usually do not tell because too many people. But I will give you one of my favorite because the area is so vast. You can branch out and learn others from here.

California has the second highest mountain in the United States within the Mighty High Sierra Nevada’s Mountain Range. The crystal clear lakes are full of wild Golden Trout which are only found in California’s high mountain ranges. You will marvel while you backpack with 3000 year old, born before Christ, redwood trees in which not even fire can destroy. I call all these things/places, “God’s beauty”. You must see the biggest and maybe the oldest living tree on earth and you will never forget “General Sherman”.

At night you can lie in your sleeping bag and count shooting stars. Your mind can run amok with the wonders and vastness of space. You can point out and view constellations which until now were part of chapters in a school text book. You can fall asleep viewing the heavens and our own Milky Way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)

Head up US395 and park your car in Onion Valley. Start off your trip by hiking over Kearsarge Pass, which is an old Indian trail, to Bull Frog at 10,000 feet with snowcapped peaks reaching over 14000 feet as a backdrop. The Indians are no more and very few people see this type of beauty.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701-s&va=sierra+nevada+mountains+california

Kearsarge pass will usually not open until after Easter. The snow can reach fifteen (15) feet deep in the winter. The website below follows the path with pictures and words. Physically I hope you are in good shape. Read left side of website as well. I usually hike this four (4) mile trail once a year. I try to time my trip with the coming of a shooting star event. As you can see from the website, there are hundreds of lakes. I have fished almost all of these lakes. This is my day only hike. I hike in and fly fish for dinner. I camp out and head back in a day or two. I spend my time hiking between lakes in this area.

http://www.naturalbornhikers.com/KearsargePass/KearsargePass.htm

For longer trips, Kearsarge pass will lead you into the John Muir wildlife trail. It does get cold at night. You will need a good sleeping bag. The John Muir Wilderness trail runs 211 miles throughout the Sierras. You will have to check website for partial distances. I have hiked the total John Muir Trail twice. In high school, we spent all summer in the Mighty Sierras. We lived off the land. Click on “The Trail” for images of the trail on website below.

http://johnmuirtrail.org/

Jonathan H., you can start this trip from Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Valley is on the western side of the Mighty Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The John Muir Trail is almost flat and very easy going for ten (10) miles outside Yosemite Valley. You will be hiking along with city folks, their kids, and tour guides. I have given you a starting point with very few people and no kids.

The wilderness can get dangerous. Stay on clearly marked trails or go with another person. You may see a few people or a mule pack, but all in all the experience and the lakes will just be you. Use your head. Stay safe.

You and your family have a beautiful week. Peace, from Los Angeles.
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