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Community Corner

Local Hiking Group Brings Perfect Strangers Together

Hikers of all walks of life gather a few days out of the week to get in shape, challenge themselves, or just enjoy the scenery.

Whether it's an end-of-week workout along Colby Trail with its rare and beautiful thread-leaved brodiaea flowers, a scenic jaunt through the narrow trails of South Hills Wilderness Park, or a grueling ascent atop Garcia Trail in Azusa, The SGV Trail Walkers are up for the challenge.

The group, led by amateur hiker Janette Sanchez-Perez, plans several hikes a week on the mentioned trails. The SGV Trail Walkers was born in September of last year after she took up hiking in August with another group, the LA Trail Hikers.

"We just try to keep active during the week," she said. Sanchez-Perez usually hikes five days a week herself, averaging about 20 miles.

Sanchez-Perez wanted to stay active, but couldn't always join the LA Trail Hikers, who stick to the LA-area wilderness. In that group she met residents from Glendora, Covina and other nearby cities and began setting up weekly meets.

The founder of the LA Trail Hikers, Jason Bazalar, helped Sanchez-Perez go public with her group and set up an Internet domain name and Facebook page. The group also has a Twitter feed publicizing hike dates.

The group sees an array of people eager to join, from amateurs, to those who can blaze a trail. Groups range in size from as few as three to as many as 11. Ages also vary. Her husband, Ray, accompanies her on most hikes and helps alternate between guiding the more experienced and less experienced hikers.

"We all have fun. We all have a different experience. Every time we come, a different person is in the group," Sanchez-Perez said.

Mondays, the group will traverse the trails at , Wednesdays, the group will tackle the demanding hike on Garcia Trail and end the week with a walk along Colby Trail.

Sanchez-Perez is very sympathetic to every hiker's needs. She will gauge everyone's breathing, which she said is crucial to maintaining enough energy along the hike, and has everyone take breaks along the way. Sanchez-Perez recommends South Hills Wilderness Park as a great hike for beginners, noting the ease of the trails and close proximity to urban areas.

Sanches-Perez also recommends to go easy and take smaller steps to help control breathing, especially on steeps hikes.

The hikers have not come across any bears or mountain lions yet, but a role of duct tape is now a necessary part of their aid kit to help with defending against another foe: cacti. Some of their participants became fascinated with cactus flowers that decorate some of the Prickly-pear cactus one day and decided to touch them, not realizing the flowers had little spines on them, Sanchez-Perez said.

Since the beginning of the year, Sanchez-Perez has also been hiking with a major goal in mind: to hike 1,000 miles to raise $1,000 in the next year to help fund and bring awareness to autism research. Her son Matthew, 19, suffers from autism and she felt greatly compelled to combine her love of hiking with a worthy cause, Autism Speaks.

"I set a personal goal of 1,000 miles for this year to walk or hike by December 31. I've been doing it three months now and I thought I should have done it for something good," She said. Sanchez-Perez is nearing 300 miles for the year so far.

Garcia Trail, in the foothills of Azusa near the Glendora border, can be overwhelming for some, but Sanchez-Perez is committed to seeing new hikers succeed.

"They think they can't do it and they can. We had someone who started two months ago. His goal is to lose weight and we said we'll start you small. His first trip out here took him an hour and 5 minutes, which is a long time. We told him 'go at your pace.'  It doesn't matter how long it takes them. If they want to get to the top, we'll wait with them," Sanchez-Perez said.

Do you have any photos of your local hiking advenures in Glendora? Upload your photos to Patch! Are you part of the SGV Trail Walkers? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.

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