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Mountain View News Saturday, July 19, 2025

A MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEWS EXCLUSIVE*:

NEWS BRIEFS

“CAMINO DE SANTIAGO-MY JOURNEY MY WAY IN 29 DAYS

April 17-May 15, 2025”

by: Lorie Veiner-Clause

BACKPACK HOUSE

Clothing contents to bring in my backpack house. 

Wearing my house on my small, petite 4’10, 100 lb. body for 500 miles. What a concept. My large 
brown eyes were glued reading several articles pilgrims recommended. Some conflicted with my 
needs. Realizing an equation of this subject can be subjective. Clothes. Undergarments. Jackets. 
Hats. Socks. Shoes. Overwhelming to process. This shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. Or is it? 

I will be hiking for 500 miles. Several miles daily. Unknown weather. I had to get this right. No second chances. 

Thin warm layers. Clothes that will fit in my house on my small back. Tank top shirt was the first layer. Followed 
by a thin long shirt specific for temperature change. Merino wool shirt with open hands for finger movement 
hugged my small, petite body for extra warmth if it was cold. 

You’re thinking wool? This was a thin merino wool shirt that was highly recommended. Dri fit leggings. Hiking 
pants over the leggings if it rained. Adjusting my physical closet of clothing as the day progressed if needed.

Layers would be added if nature sprung an unpredictable weather surprise on me. I also removed clothes from my 
small body if it was getting warm. 2 jackets were residents in my backpack home. Rain and puffer. 

Down vest kept my body warm and comfortable daily.

Hats were essential. Running cap and hat. Ear cover for warmth. Wool and sun brimmed hat. All perfect with 
the daily weather changes. Socks with padding. Absorbing water and moisture. Dry feet were crucial to prevent 
blisters. This pilgrim had 0 blisters. 

The width of my feet had limitations of hiking shoes. Gravitating to a brand I wore at trail races worked. However, 
I needed a thicker sole for better treading. Lucky feet. The brand offers that and in purple! 

Other clothes were short term guests in my backpack house including a sports bras. Very uncomfortable. Ladies, 
you understand this. They eventually got shipped to Santiago Compostella, Spain in storage. Clothes are selected 
and ready to move in their backpack home.

Did I just officially start my Camino?

Buen Camino

#Loriescaminojourney #caminodesantiago #camino2025 #camino #caminofrances #caminodesantiagofrances #caminopilgrim 
#caminoespiritual #americanpilgrims #caminodesantiagoallroutes #caminasabuddysystemforwomenonthecamino #americanpilgrimsonthecamino 
#pilgrimsofsantiago #womenonthecamino #lamarathon #parismarathon #parismarathon2025 #pasadenapacers 
#AzusaPacers #whittierpacers #sierramadre #sierramadrecommunity #sierramadrecalif #sierramadrestrong 
#ilovesierramadre

*This is the fourth in a series by Sierra Madre resident Lorie-Veiner-Clause's incredibly courageous journey. Follow 
her recollections of 'Camino' each week.. By the way, if you aren't familiar with the Camino Santiago, you will be!

S. Henderson, Publisher/Editor


ARCADIA HOUSE UNDER 
INVESTIGATION

ARCADIA (CNS) - Arcadia police today continued investigating 
a case of alleged child abuse or neglect that led authorities to take 
custody of 21children -- all born via surrogate -- who were under 
the care of two people arrested in May.

 According to Arcadia police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo, a hospital notified

them on May 7 that a 2-month-old infant had been admitted with a 
traumatic head injury and brain bleeding.

 Detectives responded to a home in the 600 block of West Camino 
Real, where a search warrant was served, Cieadlo said.

Seized surveillance cameras showed a nanny employed by the infant's

parents violently shaking and hitting the child on May 5, causing the 
baby to lose consciousness, according to Cieadlo.

 ``Despite being made aware of the incident, the child's parents failed

to seek timely medical attention,'' Cieadlo said in a statement. ``The

child was not transported to the hospital until two days later, after the 
onset of seizures.''

 On May 9, arrest warrants were issued for the parents, 38-year-old

Silvia Zhang and 65-year-old Guojun Xuan, and the nanny, 56-year-
old Chunmei Li. 

 Zhang and Xuan were arrested on suspicion of felony child

endangerment/neglect, with bail set at $500,000 each, Cieadlo said.

 They have since been released, according to Los Angeles County

Sheriff's Department inmate records. Li remains at large.

 ``As a result of the investigation, the (county) Department of

Children and Family Services was notified and responded to the residence,'' 
Cieadlo said. ``The remaining children in the home were 
taken into protective custody.''

 A total of 15 children ranging in age from two months to 13 years 
old were taken into DCFS custody and six other children had been 
moved to other homes, but all 21 were confirmed to be the children of 
Zhang and Xuan, according to a broadcast report that quoted Cieadlo 
as saying many of the children were born through surrogacy before 
Zhang and Xuan took legal guardianship of them.

 He said the children suffered severe verbal and physical discipline

that caused authorities to suspect they were being abused.

 A woman who gave birth to one of the children told ABC7 she 
conceived through IVF before turning the child over to the couple 
through an agency called Mark Surrogacy. The agency is owned by 
Zhang, and now goes by the name Future Spring Surrogacy, according 
to news reports and online records.

 The surrogate mother said she was told Zhang and Xuan had only 
one child.

 It's unclear why Zhang and Xuan wanted that many children under 
their care.

 Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.


IN MONROVIA: PECK ROAD AND 
MOUNTAIN AVE INFRASTRUCTURE 
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT BEGIN

The City’s contractor All American Asphalt will continue the Peck 
Rd. and Mountain Ave. Infrastructure Improvement Project.

For the week of July 21 through July 25, residents should expect the 
contractor to perform work along Mountain Avenue (from Foothill 
Blvd. to Huntington Dr.) along the southbound lanes, including repair 
of damaged concrete sidewalks, driveway ramps, and curbs and 
gutters.

Drivers should expect a single driving lane open for south-bound 
traffic during the construction hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Please 
plan for delays, and we appreciate your understanding.

Local residents should expect on-street parking restrictions and increased 
noise during construction hours. Regular street sweeping will 
not take place in the work area during construction hours, so please 
take note of posted construction parking signage.

We recognize that construction can be messy and inconvenient, and 
thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience as we work 
through these improvements!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com