HIKING : Guiding Hikers Appeals to Swift

Jill Swift equates her fervor for hiking to religious zealousness. She does her worshiping in hiking boots on remote trails strewn throughout the Santa Monica Mountains.

The Tarzana woman has hiked those trails for 18 years as a Sierra Club guide, exposing hundreds of city dwellers to the flora, wildflowers and ecosystem that flourish in the rugged mountain range.

At 59, Swift has no plans of discontinuing her communion with nature anytime before her “rocking-chair days.”

Said Swift: “A person’s age has nothing to do with walking, as long as a person is physically fit and has the right attitude.”

Swift initiated numerous Sierra Club hikes and walks, including the popular Valley-to-the-Sea walk. For six years, Swift has led groups of 10 to 60 on the 15-mile walk. She uses eight different routes and ends up at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard in Malibu. Hikers take public transportation back to the Valley.

All that’s required is fare for the return trip, two quarts of water and proper walking shoes. It also helps to have the stamina of the wiry, energetic environmentalist who leads the walks.

“For the most part, walking is an easy, non-competitive, low-cost activity,” Swift said.

The Sierra Club has 28 walks in August, nine more before the end of the month. The Valley-to-the-Sea walk starts at the south end of Reseda Boulevard at 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 30.

Information: 818-344-8714.