#11 April 2003

Welcome to the Foundation’s eleventh E-News, an end-of-the-month monthly newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date with developments and progress related to the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail.

Maxim of the month

It’s not easy being green.
Kermit the Frog

Trail updates

The Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve section of Trail between I-15 and Black Mountain Road has been reopened. You may remember that this Trail section suffered heavy damage during the last rains, with two of the three bridges being washed away. “The second bridge has been put back in place," said Ranger Gina Brown, “And we’re beginning to rebuild the ramp approaches. The third bridge will have to be rebuilt, probably sometime in May."

Philip Erdelsky also reports that the passage under Black Mountain Road is no longer blocked. “Of course, it’s flooded, as usual, and virtually impassable. The ‘contaminated water’ signs are still there, but the construction equipment isn’t."

Courtesy of Paul Ford (aka Borrego Paul) and his company Outback Tours, we’ve spent some time this month working to pick the most appropriate multi-use route from Borrego Springs to Fonts Point Wash in Anza-Borrego Desert. Touring in one of Paul’s Pinzgauers is probably the most efficient way to mark out a Trail – they can cover pretty well much most terrain and are so much fun. Additions to the Trail are noted here. In fact, if you’d like to experience Paul’s adventures for yourself, click here – Paul’s now offering a ‘Creature, Sky and Bumps in the Night’ tour – three hours of unique night time beauty.

Trail days – the work goes on!

Please note we’ve changed May’s work dates to cater for Mother’s Day and Memorial Weekend. May 18 we’ll be out in Poway, working to the west of Old Pomerado Road. And June 8 and 29 we’ll be working out below Nokia on the east side of the I-15, doing some really interesting rock wall building and stream bed diversions. Please e-mail Kristen if you would like to join us on these dates, and for directions.

Rancho Bernardo Industrial Fair, Earth Day

The Foundation was out in full force at the RBIF on May 24, courtesy of BAE SYSTEMS, Hewlett-Packard, Phogenix Imaging, Sony, and UNISYS. Thanks to volunteers Dana Law and Chuck Miller for helping on the booth, and a welcome to all those who signed up for their first E-news - we hope to see you out on the Trail very soon!

Updated Trail maps

With the trusty help of dedicated volunteers, we’re now offering marked-up USGS topo maps of the Trail as it currently stands. Courtesy of Philip Erdelsky, we’ve complete maps from the Pacific Ocean to Sycamore Canyon Road, and a few extras as you continue east. Click here to see them. Philip is regularly adding maps to the site, so keep an eye out for his updates.

Toyota Desert Cleanup

Our Desert Cleanup Day, kindly sponsored by Frank Motors Toyota, was such a success that we have plans to make it a biannual event. With not a cloud in the sky, and desert bloom still in evidence, we succeeded in clearing every bit of trash from Fonts Point Wash to the Salton Sea. Many thanks to Ann and Michael, Dana and Donna, Chuck and Lee, Mike, and, of course Kerry from State Parks.

New grant!

We’re delighted to have received a grant of $5,000 from the Samuel J & Katherine French Fund this month, which will go a long way towards the Foundation’s education program, ‘Taking the Trail to Schools’.

Where on the Trail is it?

Congratulations to Dave from Ramona who won the first quarter’s prize. He found our very distinctive Compass Barrel cactus along the north facing section of the Trail as it heads up from Hellhole Canyon Trailhead in Borrego Springs. The new ‘Where is it?’ photo has been posted. Deadline for the second quarter competition is June 30. Be in to win!

Geocaching hits the Trail!

Got a GPS and a sense of adventure? Then this is for you! The DeepOutdoors & Sea to Sea Trail Foundation Geocaching Challenge will run along the entire length of the Trail, kicking off on June 7 to help celebrate National Trails Day. DeepOutdoors has donated 25 great prizes for the 25 caches that will be hidden along the Trail. Prizes include DeepOutdoors fleeces and daypacks. Additional cache prizes are also being donated by geocaching.com. And Magellan has donated two GPS units as well as cool additional prizes!.

On Wednesday, May 21 at 7pm, we’ll be co-hosting with REI and Magellan, a geocaching and GPS clinic, at REI. Come and learn all about the Challenge and lots of tips on buying and using a Magellan GPS. Everyone who attends the clinic will receive a free DeepOutdoors T-shirt, REI carabiner and Magellan GPS info sheet! For more details, click here.

Trail Events 2003

We have so many events running to date, there’s too many to list here. Click here to check them all out.

Last chance bookings for first OE2003 event

June 1 is our first Outdoors Education 2003 event for middle school children, to be held at Lake Cuyamaca. For all information on this and the other four OE2003 events, click here. Our OE2003 events now have a very cool flyer – if you’d like copies to distribute at a middle school near you, please let Kristen.

Coastal Snapshot Day!

On Saturday, May 17, citizen monitoring groups will join forces to sample the water of California’s coastal rivers, streams and ocean in the state’s first Coast-Wide Snapshot Day. With support from the state’s first Water Resources Control Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Coastal Commission is partnering with citizen monitoring groups up and down the state to coordinate monitoring along the entire California coast.

The Foundation would like to put forward one to three volunteer groups to help undertake this baseline testing, from Oceanside to Ensenada. San Diego Baykeeper is offering free training on May 3 and May 10, from 9am to 2pm. Please contact Kristen ASAP if you would like to be professionally trained to help create this historical reference point.

National Trails Day

Saturday, June 7 is National Trails Day 2003, and this year’s theme is ‘Healthy Trails, Healthy People'. We’ve two great events for you to choose between, or even do both! First, we’re launching the DeepOutdoors Geocaching Competition. Click here for more details. This will be your first opportunity to get out on the Trail with your GPS and find great prizes. Second, there’s going to be a party at Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve at 10am to officially open the new stretch of Trail between Black Mountain Road and the I-15. Join Mayor Murphy and all the Rangers and volunteers who worked so hard to make this all happen! More details to come.

San Diego Regional Trails Forum

Saturday April 12 saw the International Mountain Bicycling Association, San Diego Mountain Biking Association and San Diego Department of Park & Recreation presenting the 2003 San Diego Regional Trails Forum at the Mission Trails Regional Park Visitors Center. Those attending the biannual event from a variety of government and local outdoors organizations learned a lot about the design and maintenance of trails to be used by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew of Mark Schmidt and Lora Woolner gave a thorough and illuminating presentation devoted to passing on their expertise in trail building and maintenance. From all their advice, it seems that the three most important design criteria for unpaved paths are drainage, drainage and drainage, water erosion being the main cause of trail deterioration. The Sea to Sea Trail Foundation and California Trails Council were co-sponsors of the forum. If you’d like to learn more about the sort of information passed on, click here.

California Bike Commute Week

is May 12-16. If you’d like to organize your own Bike to Work event, click here. San Diego’s own Bike to Work Day is May 16. Register here and be in to win a free T-shirt. And see if you can find some of the Sea to Sea Trail to get you to work or school by checking out our Trail Directions.
 
Make your own Trail maps!

Want to customize your own maps of the Trail? Well, now you can. We’ve partnered with MapCard and MyTopo to bring you the latest nationwide US Geological Survey topographic maps and aerial photos, lake contour data, road and highway overlays, public land survey data, and an impressive suite of annotation tools. In fact, the editors at Backpacker magazine awarded MapCard its Editors’ Choice Award for Best New Product of 2003, saying, “The best one-stop map shop we’ve seen is as close as your home computer." MapCard offers subscribers the ability to customize, save and print unlimited topos and air photos. With this link, you can take a free 24-hour test drive. The site has a terrific set of annotation tools enabling you to draw trails, insert text, mark waypoints from their GPS device, etc. on your own map. Try it out by clicking here. For an example of a customized MapCard map, check out the map here. And if you subscribe to MapCard and MyTopo from the Foundation’s Web site, you help support the Foundation.

Mountain biking in NZ?

A great way to wet your appetite for some awesome MTB Kiwi scenery is by checking out Groundeffect’s Web site. There are heaps of photos that’ll get you chomping at the bit, and if you sign up to their e-mail list (under ‘Stay in Touch’), you’ll be in the draw for NZ$250 of pretty cool MTB gear. Groundeffect will be a sponsor for an upcoming San Diego County MTB event the Foundation will be hosting, so chances are you’ll be seeing more of their gear being worn around our local trails.

New Web page – Trail Training

Introducing another new page on the Trail’s Web site – Trail Training. We’re offering tips on ways to get in shape – or fit – for adventures out on the Trail. Or anywhere for that matter. Our first tip is an article by Steve Edwards, courtesy of Altec.com, on getting super fit using stair climbing. Also discover the best outdoor natural gyms in San Diego, and tips on finding someone to share it all with! Check it all here. And if you’ve any tips for everyone else, feel free to send them into us.

Team building opportunities for your employer

If your company wants to try something a little different in terms of team building or undertaking a local service community project, then the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail could well be just the resource you’re looking for! What better way to bring people together and make a difference for the community and for the environment by working to protect native habitats, plant trees, and build a recreational resource for San Diego County. For more details on how we can help your company achieve something meaningful, please contact Kristen.

Sign up to the Foundation’s eScrip Program!

As another way of raising money for the Foundation’s education program, we’re thrilled we’ve been accepted into the national eScrip Program. Many of you, especially those with school-aged children, may be already familiar with eScrip. eScrip’s a hassle-free way for non-profits such as the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail Foundation that support children’s programs to raise funds through everyday purchases made at eScrip merchants.

eScrip and over 150 merchant partners have created a system that rewards customer loyalty by contributing a percentage of purchases to your chosen group. You shop the way you like to shop (grocery shopping, buying clothes, travel and entertainment). It’s simple, safe and convenient; all you need to do is register your grocery club card and debit/credit card(s). It’s also simple to register:
• Log on to http://www.escrip.com/ and go to ‘sign up’ (orange bar at the top), or e-mail Kristen for details.
• Designate the Foundation to receive contributions. Our Group ID is #150734477.
• Register your grocery club card from a participating merchant, your Chevron card and your debit/credit cards.

And that’s it! Visit eScrip merchants to shop and earn. It’s automatic! For more information, just click here.

Sign up as a Friend of the Foundation or renew your membership for 2003

We’re very keen for our valuable supporters for 2002, to look on their Friends donation as an annual membership to the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail Foundation. To assist us in our ongoing mission, feel free to renew your membership for 2003, or join up as a Friend of the Foundation, by clicking here and helping us make it all happen! And don’t forget to check out our valued Supporters page.

Adopt a Tree out on the Trail!

Adopting a tree – a native California Oak or Sycamore – along the route of the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail is a gift for a 1,000 years. Not only is it a wonderful gift for someone close to you, or even for yourself, but it is an excellent way to help support the building and maintenance of the Trail. And importantly it helps preserve and add to the Trail’s native habitats. All for $100.

Adopting a tree is easy. We do all the work for you, working with the agencies along the Trail to identify the planting sites, order the five-gallon trees, plant and care for the planting sites. And for your support, we’ll send you or your loved ones, a certificate of their adoption. For more information, just click here. 

Trail Trips for day or weekend adventures

The San Diego Sea to Sea Trail is not only an amazing thru-trail, it’s also an excellent opportunity to get out-and-about for a day or weekend adventure. Whether you’re a hiker, biker or equestrian - or a mixture of the three - there’s something for everyone, for all levels of experience, on the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail.

A new page on the Web site is dedicated to giving you as many ideas as possible to make the most of your time on and around the Trail. Where else in the world can you experience such a range of environment in just 140 miles?! Check out the second Trail Trip here.

We’re also hosting a quarterly competition, sponsored by Gregory Mountain Products, if you would like to make your own Trail Trip submissions. More details below. 

Traveling?

If so, try Orbitz.com. Just click here and then click on the Orbitz button. Every time you make a travel reservation of any sort, the Foundation receives a commission. That means more of the San Diego Sea to Sea Trail can be built and maintained for your enjoyment, and more of its environmental and historical treasures can be preserved for future generations.

Schools Community Service Credit

If you know of anyone who needs to collect credits for their community service projects, then we may be just the right project for them. We’ve got lots of opportunities for students to join us on Trail Work Days in the weekends. And if there’s an entire group or class who would like to get out on the Trail working as a team, we can arrange a workday just for them, any day of the week. The teams will by fully supervised by Rangers (as are all our workdays), and it’s a great outdoors experience! Our Volunteer Program Application Form can be found by clicking here, and includes a section specifically for California Schools Community Service Credit. Please e-mail Kristen for further information.

Did you know?

Each of your feet gives off a full cup of sweat during an average day of hiking. That amounts to 3 1/2 quarts a week for the pair. Or 45 1/2 gallons a year.

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For previous issues of E-News, click here.