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The name, "Boots on the Trail", came from my friend Steve Mills (aka old man mountain) I have been hiking with him for years and we would set a time to meet at the trail head but once there it would take some people longer to be ready to hit the trail than others, so Steve started saying that we would have "boots on the trail" at a certain time that way everyone knew we would be hiking at that time.

Hiking with friends was very sporadic, we might hike twice a month or twice a year, so to get something a little more consistent I started planning a hike a month. The overall reason was something a friend of mine said "you can't expect to be mission-ready if you only do SAR once a month". With that in mind, these hikes keep me in shape, give me first hand knowledge of our mountains in all seasons, try new gear and clothing options, build comraderie with my teammates and it's a great reason to do what I love to do.

The hikes are for all levels of hikers, family and friends. I usually plan something substantial for those that want to bag a peak and set a shorter destination for everyone's ability, so don't be shy if you can only hike a few miles.

The first official Boots on the Trail hike was in December 2008 and it was supposed to be to the summit of Mt. San Antonio, but the Mountain SAR team got a callout the night before at 2200 hours for a rescue in Lytle Creek. By 1000 hours the next day we had rescued 10 people in 5 vehicles that were stuck in the snow on top of a ridge. We still went on the hike but it was up Middle Fork in Lytle Creek because it was closer. With that being said everyone should know that missions come first and if there is a callout then some of us might not be there for the hike.

The next hike will be to San Bernardino Peak from Angeles Oaks on August 28th 2010. I don't pick the hikes in advance I ask the group that I am hiking with where they want to go next and I plan it. I send out a map with mileage and elevation gain and a description and start time and field questions that anyone has through e-mails.

Think about this, that is twelve hikes a year to twelve different areas in every season and motivation to exercise in between so I can enjoy the hikes even more. I can confidently say that I am "mission ready".

Contact John Metzger at his sbsar email address for information on these hikes.