Linda Mullally - Best Dog Hikes Southern California

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Copyright 2016 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

All photos by David S. Mullally

Maps: Alena Pearce Rowman & Littlefield

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mullally, Linda B. | Mullally, David S.

Title: Best dog hikes Southern California / Linda S. Mullally and David B. Mullally.

Description: Guilford, Connecticut : FalconGuides, 2016. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016023562 (print) | LCCN 2016031004 (ebook) | ISBN 9781493017942 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781493017959 ()

Subjects: LCSH: Hiking with dogsCalifornia, SouthernGuidebooks. | TrailsCalifornia, SouthernGuidebooks. | California, SouthernGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC SF427.455 M834 2016 (print) | LCC SF427.455 (ebook) | DDC 796.5109794/9dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016023562

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

The authors and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Dedicated to Gem, our sweet, enthusiastic Siberian husky, who joined our pack in time for the last of the Southern California adventures. Her youthful, bouncy nature has given Gypsy renewed spark in his senior years and added bushels of joy to our life at home and on the trail.

It may not have taken a village to put together the best dog hikes of Southern California, but it would not have been as pleasurable an adventure without the enthusiastic support and responsiveness of all the public land employees and volunteers we approached for input during the course of the year we spent exploring Southern California trails. Its an understatement to call road traffic in Southern California a frustrating experience. But the warm reception we received, from rangers and park administrators to business owners and local residents, when we approached them to talk about all that is canine including hiking, lodging, eating, and playing was friendlier and more open than we could have imagined.

Several public land agency representatives shared their expertise and answered our questions about the local ecology as well as future plans for expanding trails.

Thank you to Ranger Jamie Neville and Ranger Pattie in the Sierra National Forest, as well as silviculturist Dave Smith in the Bass Lake District. Carlos Mendoza and Elise McMillen helped us discover Fiscalini Ranchs amazing open space in Cambria. Shawn Cooper, senior planner with the San Luis Obispo County Parks and Bob Jones Trail project manager, was eager to answer our questions about the future of the trail expansion. Ranger Larry at the Monterey District for Los Padres National Forest personally researched additional resources on dog policy for Sand Dollar and Pfeiffer Beaches.

Our gratitude to recreation officers Bob Frenes in Kernville and David Kotlarski at Big Bear Lake for taking time out of their busy schedules to meet with us. Ranger Jim in Santa Barbara helped us navigate the different land management arms for the Front Country hikes in the Los Padres National Forest.We are grateful to Ranger Ann Boggess at La Purisima Mission State Historic Park for her trail recommendations. Whether it was the Sierra Nevadas Mount Whitney Ranger Station and Visitor Center or the State Beach Parks Department, we found dog lovers eager to assist with Best Dog Hikes Southern California.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, we owe a special note of gratitude to the owners of all the photogenic pooches who wagged their way in front of the camera on so many of the trails.

As dog owners and dog-loving hikers, the health and safety of four-legged furry family members and trail pals are of utmost importance. We feel privileged to have the continued generous cooperation of Dr. George Bishop, our family veterinarian of thirty years, as a resource for veterinary wisdom and first-aid on the trail.

Gem gives special thank-you wags to her friend and trainer, Andee Burleigh, CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed) for all the praises, not to mention tasty morsels, that helped her learn the good manners she practices on the trail as a role model for the fellow canine hikers she meets.

Last but not least, a heartfelt thank you to Sherri Del Pozo for bringing David, Gypsy, and me together with Gem, the eleven-month-old husky that joined our pack for the last twenty hikes of this book. We look forward to miles of trail and travel with her at our side. Gem was a born cover girl, who quickly became a jewel of a hiking companion.

The song California Dreamin, sang by the Beach Boys in 1989, never ceases to make people from all over the world sigh and long for a piece of the Golden State. From Fidos point of view, theres much to wag and bark about for dogs dreaming of California. Theres a reason the third-largest state in the union is also the most populous. The diverse climate and geography, from beach and valleys to mountains and deserts, offers year-round hiking to suit every taste and caliber of hiker and their dog. The moisture-loving giant redwood and sequoia tree habitats at the northernmost boundary of the Southern California region covered in this book are a sharp contrast to the Mojave and Sonoran desert landscape of the southernmost region. At the heart of Southern California, you can travel between the highest point (Mount Whitney, 14,494 feet) and the lowest point (Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level) in the contiguous states in one day.