Trail Notes: Pinnacles May Double Fee, Snow Mountain Act, and More

A handpicked list of news and notes of interest to those who travel the outdoors of California.

L.A. County

The late Darrell Readmond will be honored Wednesday morning at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area with the unveiling of a memorial to honor his work. Readmond, who passed away in 2005, is credited with his commitment to trails and equestrian facilities in L.A. County and beyond. If you know about the Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, you can thank him for coming up with the idea.

Orange County

If you see smoke coming from the Cleveland National Forest over the next several months, it might be from prescribed burns. No specific dates are given, but pending weather conditions, officials will conduct on-and-off controlled burns of up to 700 acres through next June. Specifically, burning may be noticed from the communities of Rancho Carrillo, Rancho Capistrano, Decker Canyon, and El Cariso. The North Main Divide Fuel Break, situated above the City of Corona, and located along Eagle Truck Trail Road, will also undergo treatment. "The goal of these activities are to reduce the threat of wildland fires and lower the costs of wildland fire suppression, as well as lower the risk to wildland firefighters," according to a forest statement.

Central Coast

Pinnacles National Park is soliciting comments from the public about a proposal to increase the entrance fee from $5 to $10. The extra money would go toward increased shuttle service, something needed during peak season when the small parking lots at Bear Gulch Day Use Area fill up, forcing hikers to walk more miles just to reach trailheads. Comments must be received by November 30 and can be submitted online.

Northern California

Senator Barbara Boxer on Wednesday will testify at a Senate subcommittee meeting in support of her Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act, a bill that would designate nearly 350,000 acres of existing federal land in Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties as a National Conservation Area. The bill would consolidate the land, currently managed by three separate agencies, to be managed under one plan. To boot, creating a national conservation area would be a boon for the region's tourism, she says.

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