What started as a way for his son to get Boy Scout credits became a passion for Chad Hinkle.
The president of Santa Maria Valley Open Space—a grassroots organization dedicated to establishing public trails in a natural setting for hikers, bikers, and recreaters, and works to maintain trails through cleanups and advocacy—was Hinkle’s son’s scoutmaster.
“Since 2013, I’ve been involved with open space; they’d just formed when my son was in Boy Scouts,” Hinkle said. “Boy Scouts need projects, and they have work.”
Hinkle realized he uses the Santa Maria trails as much as anyone and began working with the organization. Now, he’s a Santa Maria Valley Open Space board member in charge of forming and overseeing fundraisers like the Nov. 6 Orcutt Trails running event.
“We want to expose more people to having a good time locally. We don’t need to drive to San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara for hiking, we have spots right in town,” Hinkle said.
As land in Hinkle’s hometown of Orcutt gets developed into housing, he noticed people going to Santa Maria City Council and Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meetings to raise concerns about trail loss—but the development projects were already in motion, he said.
“It’s a long and painfully slow game, but the stuff people are complaining about today went in as a plan six or eight years ago,” he said.
Santa Maria Valley Open Space works with landowners and developers to ensure the availability public natural spaces. The run’s funds will go toward trail development, maintenance, and continued advocacy efforts, he said. There’s no fundraising goal; rather, Hinkle wants to show people local trails.
“By raising awareness of more open space, it gives people a sense of ownership and enjoyment. They can make a connection with the land and advocate for it,” he said. “Many hands make light work, and the more people we have looking out for trails, the easier it will be.
“We get to promote Los Flores Ranch Park, a park a lot of people don’t know exists. It’s a giant park where people can run 13 miles of unrepeated trails five minutes from Santa Maria, and it’s a city park,” he continued.
This is the fourth running event that Santa Maria Valley Open Space has hosted, and the city parks department has been very helpful with logistics and setup, he said.
“They have an interest in making their space more known to get more people out there,” he said.
The park opens its gates at 6:30 a.m., and all races start at 8 a.m. Runners can sign up for a 5K, a 10K, or a 21K online. Those who don’t enjoy running can sign up for a 0K option to come in as a spectator and be a part of the atmosphere, he said.
“From start to finish, you can see the whole course; this will be a little more friendly for the spectators, and the radio operations [volunteers] helping with communications,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle encourages people to pre-register online rather than paying on run day because they’re only taking cash at the event, and it’ll be more expensive. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, runners need to bring their own water cups, and volunteers will hand out snacks and use water dispensers to limit contact.
“The weather is the only thing I’m worried about. I hope we have a nice day; I’ve run in the rain for some races, but I need to talk to the park people. I would do a race in the rain and make it a muddy Sufferfest, but it’ll be up to the park,” Hinkle said. “I know they’ll close the trails because they don’t want to damage the surfaces by having people run in the mud.”
To join the run, sign up online at active.com. Signup costs range between $25 and $45 depending on the race. Contact Santa Maria Valley Open Space at (805) 598-2846 for more information.
Highlight
The Santa Maria Public Library and the Santa Maria Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) is hosting a free presentation to celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month on Nov. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. The program features two guest speakers, Dr. Niki Sandoval who will discuss “amuyich,” or the spirit of generosity; and Linda Ana Ramirez with a discussion of connecting indigenous heritage through art. Sandoval is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, and Ramirez is a Santa Maria born and raised fiber artist. The library is located at 421 South McClelland St.; call (805) 925-0994, Ext. 8562, for more information.
Taylor O’Connor wrote this week’s Spotlight. You can reach her at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 4-10, 2021.