California Coast Trails; A Horseback Ride from Mexico to Oregon

In 1911, J. Smeaton Chase, embarked on a journey across the length of the Western United States. Traveling upon horseback he spent the next two summers venturing along the coast from Mexico to Oregon. His fascinating California Coast Trails record in impeccable detail those journeys. Riding through this spectacular landscape Smeaton Chase immerses the reader in the beautiful cañons, the varied and stunning flora and fauna and the captivating people he meets along the way. The first section of his journey takes Smeaton Chase from Los Angeles to San Diego, accompanied by his reliable horse Chino and his friend the painter Carl Eytel. The next year Smeaton Chase explores the northern section of the Western United States through Oregon. California Coast Trails is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the western coast of America in early twentieth century or anyone wishing to take their own journey along the route that Smeaton Chase took over one hundred years ago. “The high point of the book - as it was the high point of his paseo for Chase himself - is the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Big Sur Country. Even though Chase saw it as we never can, before the highway, when the land was still dotted with isolated ranches accessible only by trail, before tourism, exclusive resorts and the advent of the weekend backpacker had made their numerous marks on the land and on the spirit of the place - even with all these changes, those who travel the backcountry can still see this truly magical place much as Chase saw it.” The Double-Cone Quarterly J. Smeaton Chase was an English-born American author and traveler. He has become an integral part of California literature: revered for his poignant descriptions of landscapes. He died in 1923. His book California Coast Trails: a Horseback Ride from Mexico to Oregon was first published in 1913.