The river has been open to the public as a navigable waterway for decades, though it was encased by private land owned by timber companies and covered by hunting club leases and posted against trespassing.

WSJ: OUT THERE: Upper Hudson opening to canoeists

Though much of their three-day journey was accomplished on foot, their adventure convinced the Environmental Protection Agency to deem the waterway navigable, and thus subject to a variety of environmental regulations.

BBC: Paddling Los Angeles�� rebounding river

Three years before, environmentalist Joe Linton, George Wolfe of LA River Expeditions, and a few others had trespassed onto the then-closed river in an attempt to prove that the waterway was navigable by kayak.

BBC: Paddling Los Angeles�� rebounding river