Anniversary of the "Coast To Cactus" Guidebook to San Diego Outdoors

EL CAJON, Calif. - Aug. 30, 2017 - PRLog -- San Diego, CA—This September marks two big events for the Canyoneer trails guides at the San Diego Natural History Museum. First, their hiking season picks up again after a summer hiatus, making available to the public free tours of San Diego's hiking trails with these highly trained citizen science naturalists. Second, they'll celebrate the one-year anniversary of the publication of their wildly popular book, Coast to Cactus, which puts all their collective knowledge about San Diego County outdoors into a single 636-page guide. The date will be marked with a celebration at the San Diego Natural History Museum Store on Saturday, September 9^th from 1-4 pm, where Canyoneers, including the book's three editors, will be on hand to answer questions about hiking and sign books.

Canyoneers are citizen scientists and volunteers who have had comprehensive training by Museum scientists and local experts on the natural history of the region. Founded in 1973 by Helen Chamlee Witham, Canyoneers lead weekend hikes at 70 locations from September through late June. Friday Guides also lead elementary school groups on shorter hikes in local canyons during the school year.

When you hike with a Canyoneer you are encouraged to stop, look, listen, touch, smell, and examine—to understand that everything is linked together. Canyoneers provide a unique opportunity to explore the wild places of San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties, highlighting the rich biodiversity of the region.

Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors was released in September of 2016 with much ado, including a launch party at the corresponding "Coast to Cactus in Southern California" exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The book was initially conceived by Canyoneer leadership in 2002, though it wouldn't be until 2012 that the writing would begin hike-by-hike, as Canyoneers resumed the late Jerry Schad's popular "Roam-O-Rama" column in the San Diego Reader. Like the Canyoneer program, the book introduces readers to San Diego County's unique natural wonders, providing readers with a "virtual Canyoneer," that allows them to enjoy an experience akin to a Canyoneer-led foray into nature. The Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC) awarded Coast to Cactus the honor of "Best Outdoor Guidebook" in their 2017 Craft Awards.

The celebration at the museum store will allow Canyoneers to answer questions about hikes featured in the book and to explain the book's many features including a list of habitats encountered in each hike and 525 different species of plant and animal described in full detail. Additionally, the 2017-2018 Canyoneer hike schedule will be available.

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