“This would be an awesome read! If I win this, I’m going to gift it to my boyfriend who has just recently discovered his love for hiking and backpacking.”

What an awesome way to share the joy of the trail with someone! Stephanie wins a copy of I Hike: Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking signed by the author, Lawton “Disco” Grinter; a very cool “I Hike” bookmark; and a sticker for The Trail Show, the monthly podcast featuring Disco, POD, Mags and D-Low.

As for everyone else who participated, I want to thank you for your support. I hope that you’ve found something to love about SoCal Hiker, and stick around for more fun in the future.

And special thanks to the awesome Lawton “Disco” Grinter himself not only for writing a great book (and hiking 10,000 miles as “research”) but for donating a signed copy for SoCalHiker.net!

And for those who are still wondering how they can get a copy of ‘I Hike’, it’s available here on Amazon.

Griffith Observatory

Mt. Hollywood at 1,625 ft is the second tallest peak in Griffith Park, with amazing views of the Griffith Observatory, downtown LA, the Hollywood Sign and much more. There are many trails that lead to Mt. Hollywood, but my favorite trail begins near the Ferndell Nature Area. This trailhead has plenty of parking, and some shade, particularly in the morning. As you climb, you have options to visit the Berlin Forest and Dante’s View en route to the summit.

Trail Details

Distance: 4.2 miles
Time: 90 min.
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation gain: 1,185 ft
Dogs: Yes
When to go: Year-round

The West Trail is a broad fire road that climbs up the canyon.

At 0.8 miles, you’ll cross Observatory Avenue — a public road used by cars and bicycles to reach the Griffith Observatory. Cross directly over the street to pick up the trail again.

When you reach the ridgeline, take a short detour to the right to visit the shady Berlin Forest. This is a great spot to catch your breath and enjoy the views, and there are restrooms nearby at the Observatory parking area.

Head back to the ridge and over the Canyon Road tunnel, towards the highest nearby point.

The trail to the left gives you two options. For this hike, take the single track spur that heads up hill.

At about 1.15 miles turn left and head north. At 1.25 miles, you’ll reach a major junction where five trails converge. Take the second trail on your right (more or less straight). This is a fairly level fire road that leads past Dante’s View.

Dante’s View  is a shady garden started in 1964 as a volunteer labor of love by Dante Orgolini. The garden is still a small oasis worthy of a detour.

Back on the fire road, bear left at the junction with the East Ridge Trail, and left again in a dozen yards as you head to the summit of Mt. Hollywood.

The summit is not so much a peak, as a rounded shoulder. There are picnic tables and a fence along the steeper slope overlooking the city. This is a popular destination for it’s views, and a great spot at sunset… as the city of LA begins to light up for the night.

On the day that I took this photo, the Space Shuttle Endeavor was making it’s final flight to Los Angeles. The crowds lined the trails to catch a glimpse of the history fly-by.

On the route down, stay to your left for views of the Hollywood Sign. You’ll eventually meet back at that five-trail junction, where you’ll take your first right — the Charlie Turner Trail. This is named after a retiree who volunteered many hours maintaining trails and also the gardens at Dante’s View. This fire road leads back to the tunnel overpass, and you retrace your path back to the trailhead.

Mt. Hollywood Trail Map

Photo Gallery

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Mt. Hollywood Hiking Tips

• Bicycles are only allowed on paved roads in Griffith Park
• Dogs are allowed on leash
• There is no smoking allowed anywhere within Griffith Park
• This hike has lots of exposure. Wear sun protection, and bring plenty of water.
• Hiking trails in Griffith Park officially close at sunset, but there are lots of folks who stay up on Mt. Hollywood until then. Just be sure you know your way back, and bring a headlamp or flashlight.

Mt. Hollywood Resources

• GPS user? Download the GPX file[urldisplaymode=nomap]
• View this trail in Google Earth[urldisplaymode=nomap]

Griffith Park Weather Forecast

[forecast width=”100%” location=”90068″]

Usually when people think of hiking, they envision forests, mountains and open space. Hiking in a city? Isn’t that a walk? Maybe. Unless that “walk” entends 35 miles over two days, climbing 101 public stairs, covering four parks, six community gardens, paved and dirt trails passing through a dozen neighborhoods. In other words, a walk like the fifth annual Big Parade.

Mark your calendars, because Big Parade 5 is less than two weeks away. May 18-19, hundreds of Angelinos will join in this urban exploration, disproving the theory that nobody walks in LA.

The Big Parade is the brainchild of Dan Koeppel, writer and LA resident. Koeppel has been “obsessively walking stairs” for over six years, and published his first 17-mile, 48 stairway walk in Backpacker magazine in 2003.

What is Big Parade About?

It’s more than just an urban hike. It’s an opportunity to claim the city for walkers. It’s a chance to change the future, one step at a time. It’s an opportunity to really see LA in a way that you will never know from a driver’s seat. And it’s a parade — a chance to gather with friends — old and new.

Big Parade is more than a walk through LA

The walk begins on Saturday, May 18th in downtown LA at the Angel’s Flight stairway, and finishes on Sunday, May 19th atop Mt. Hollywood in Griffith Park. Koeppel planned the route in a series of connected loops so that you can pick a section that suits your fitness level and interest. Routes range from one to seven miles, starting and ending at the same point to make transportation to and from the event easier.

There is no registration or fee. Just bring your walking shoes, water and a smile.

Along the route, you will visit historic landmarks, meet community leaders, look at art, hear music, share stories, and eat! Saturday night there will be a potluck reception at the Micheltorena Elementary Garden in Silverlake (rsvp on Facebook). 

Although I’m a second-generation Angelino, I lived elsewhere for years, returning to Los Angeles less than 12 months ago. I’ve been determined to get to know the city on foot. I joined the Great Los Angeles Walk back in November. I trained for and ran in the LA Marathon this past March. And now I’m looking forward to exploring the city again, this time in the Big Parade. Join me!

Get the Details on Big Parade

• Complete information about the Big Parade, including FAQs and final route info (and super-handy print-ready PDFs) can be found at www.bigparadela.com
• Join the Big Parade – Los Angeles group on Facebook to interact with organizers and fellow walkers
• For parade-day updates, follow @bigparadeLA on Twitter
• See photos from past Big Parades, and share yours in the Big Parade group on Flickr

Photo credit: Walking Flowers

There are hikes, and then there are adventures. This hike up Whale Peak in the Anza Borrego State Park was a bit of both. This trail guide is one part throw-back (the hike was over two years ago), and one part a cautionary tale of what happens when three experienced hikers venture out into the Anza Borrego desert to bag the 5,348′ Whale Peak.

Trail Details

Distance: 9.5 miles
Time: 6 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 3,250 ft
Dogs: No
When to go: Fall to Spring

The plan proposed by Derek was a San Diego-based hike, since most of us hadn’t really explored that area. He suggested a 4-mile trip up Whale Peak, and then a car ride to a second hike up Vulcan Peak near Julian. Being the 100Peaks guy and our resident San Diego area expert, we differed to his wisdom.

We met up down in San Diego in the early morning hours and carpooled out to Anza Borrego. Our trailhead was off a rugged dirt road, passable by a car, but only with caution. The Xterra might have been a better choice in this case.

We found a place to park, and headed on foot down the road until we found what we believed to be the wash leading to the trailhead. No signage, but a quick check of our map and it appeared to be the right spot. I had my Garmin Trek GPS, mainly for tracking our journey. Derek also had a GPS and topo map, and it seemed we were starting off from the right point.

The “trail” was difficult to follow. Pretty quickly it disappeared entirely. We realized that the actual trailhead we were looking for was further down the dirt road, but figured we could go cross-country and meetup with the intended trail.

This we did, going up and down over several ridges, dodging cholla and clambering over boulders.

Finally we found our trail and headed to Whale Peak.The peak itself is more broad than angular, and the high point only found by climbing the big boulder to the USGS benchmark. The 360-degree views of Anza Borrego were phenomenal.

The hike back should’ve been a piece of cake, but even that didn’t go smoothly. Peter was having some pain in his knees, and lagged behind. One minute, he was within sight. Next minute, he was out of sight. Wrong turn down a false trail, and a ~30 minute detour.

We finally made it down to the correct trailhead, out the wash to the dirt road. Then hiked another mile+ hike on said dirt road back to our car. In the end, our four mile hike up Whale Peak turned into 9.5 miles, and we realized we’d have to save Vulcan Peak for another day.

What We Did Right

Being experienced hikers, we knew well enough to bring plenty of water and food for the day. We did have a map (for the group) and GPS as a backup. We stuck together, found our bearings, and got to our trail, and our destination. And we had a good attitude. We were up for the adventure, and flexible with our plans.

What Would I Do Differently?

First off, make sure I know the trail myself. I treated this hike like a tourist–as if I was just along for the ride. Now I make sure I know the planned route, do my own research, and bring my own map. Yes, we had a topo map for the group, but we might’ve had a better start if we shared responsibility for the pre-planning.

Of course, there are three sides to this story, so don’t take my word for it. Be sure to read the perspectives from Derek and Peter as well.

Whale Peak Trail Map

Note that this route is not recommended as-is, as it includes our impromptu cross-country jaunt. Use this to follow the dirt road to where we came back out, and take it from there. You’ll shave about four miles off the trip.

Photo Gallery

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Whale Peak Resources

• Getting to the trailhead (the REAL one) via Google Maps – High clearance vehicle recommended
• Whale Peak – Sometimes Things Don’t Go As Planned – 100Peaks.com (Derek’s perspective)
• Whale Peak of DOOM! – EastWestHike.com (Peter’s perspective)
• Whatever happened to Kolby? He hiked the PCT.
• Anza Borrego State Park – official web site

Anza Borrego Weather Forecast

[forecast width=”100%” location=”92004″]

Postscript

In spite of the hiccups on this hike, we had a great time, and no one was hurt. And last year we had an even bigger gathering of SoCal hiking bloggers at Schabarum Regional Park.

In 1980, I spent 25 days on a thru-hike of the 211-mile John Muir Trail. The JMT was my first taste of long-distance hiking. And it is a truly epic hike. But the JMT pales in comparison to some of I Hike author Lawton “Disco” Grinter’s backpacking trips. Grinter has hiked over 10,000 miles, including the “Triple Crown” of the hiking world: the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail (twice!) and the Continental Divide Trail. All of these trails take four to five months (or more!) to hike from one end to the other. What drives someone to hike one of these trails? What is it like to spend nearly half a year on the trail? I Hike provides a glimpse into what it’s like to hike one of these truly, long trails.

I got a copy of I Hike for my birthday last month (thanks to Mom, who checks my Amazon Wishlist). I’d first heard about the book through the always-entertaining Trail Show podcast, where Disco, POD, Mags and D-Low wax philosophical on the life of a a hiker. On the show, they go by their trail names — traditionally bestowed on a hiker by other hikers on the long-distance trails.

Unlike some of the other popular books representing these long trails, Disco chose to share anecdotes from here and there, not necessarily in chronological order. I Hike is not a journal of any particular journey, but a sampling of the experiences along the trail. It’s easy to imagine hearing these stories told around a campfire–some making you laugh out loud, others keeping you on the edge of your seat.

What happens when Disco hits the town and downs a 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one sitting (guilt-free, no less)? Let’s just say, there can be consequences that can come along with the indulgence.

You’ll learn that there really are angels among us — trail angels who give selflessly and generously to help thru-hikers along their journey.

Disco gives us a taste of what its like to be stuck in the wilderness in day after day of rain, or low on food and water. And the cast of characters that populate the trail, each hiking for their own reasons, and each with a unique personality.

What I loved most about I Hike? Disco’s description of the camaraderie on the trail in the community of thru-hikers. It rang true to my own experience on the JMT, and might even tempt you to consider a long hike yourself.

If you enjoy hiking–even the casual sort–you’ll enjoy I Hike. Get it. Read it. Thank me later.

• Get I Hike on Amazon
• Visit the official I Hike web site
• Follow Lawton “Disco” Grinter on Twitter @lawtong
• Subscribe to The Trail Show podcast (great for road trips)

Trail Details

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation gain: 1,142 ft
When to go: Year round

One of my hiking friends introduced me to this trail on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and I figure I burned off at least part of the feast I ate the day before.

The start of this trail is non-obvious. We parked on a bend in a residential neighborhood then hoofed it up a concrete culvert. Not an auspicious beginning to the hike, but my friend John assured us this was the best way.

The trail meanders through a valley, then quickly winds up and around the hill to reach the ridge-line.

At this point, most of the trail is double-track and well defined. But watch closely for a narrower trail leading off along the ridge to the right. That’s our trail.

The trail gets steep at times, and the gravel can make your footing treacherous. Trekking poles are highly recommended!

Looking back down the narrow ridge-line trail, you are rewarded with amazing views across much of south Orange County. On this clear day, we even saw the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island on the horizon!

As you can see from this panorama, it doesn’t take long for you to feel miles away, even in Orange County. Whether you use this trail as a great, quick, fresh-air cardio workout or simply an opportunity to reset your clock, Small Peak beckons.

Small Peak Trail Map and Elevation Profile

Photo Gallery

Click on a thumbnail to view a larger version.

Essential Small Peak Resources

• Download GPX file for your GPS[urldisplaymode=nomap]
• View trail in Google Earth[urldisplaymode=nomap]

I have fond memories walking along the beach in Carlsbad. My grandparents retired to Carlsbad, and I’ve been there first with them, and later with my own kids. South Carlsbad State Beach is a great stretch of bluff-lined beach that makes a beautiful place to amble about, exploring the beach, enjoying the sunshine and the ocean breezes. At low tide, the beach becomes a broad, almost level expanse of sand strewn with seaweed, sea shells, well worn beach stones and other treasures.

Trail Details

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 1-3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation gain: 465 ft
Hours: 6am-11pm

From North Ponto, head south along the fence at the top of the bluff and enter the gate to the campground.

You’ll follow the paved road south until you reach the first beach access steps on your right.

Once you get to the beach, amble south toward the outlet of the Batiquitos Lagoon and South Ponto — the southern terminus of South Carlsbad State Beach. The bluffs are lined with campsites that are always full during the summer, but often open in the off season.

At low-tide, the beach here is broad and full of interesting things to see. You may run across people fishing, skin-diving, or beach combing. Because it’s nearly flat, I’ve seen a lot of runners on the beach.

When you reach the outlet of the Batiquitos Lagoon, turn around and head back. You can choose to walk through the campground along the top of the bluff, or back along the beach.

Camping at South Carlsbad State Beach

South Carlsbad State Beach also has a bluff-top campground with 222 campsites — half of which are right along the bluff with great ocean views. The campground is very nice, but extremely crowded during the summer. I’ve visited in December and seen just a smattering of campers. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. Water and restroom facilities are nearby, and token-operated showers are available for a nominal fee.

The campground has a campfire center and store which are open seasonally (primarily the summer months).

South Carlsbad State Beach Trail Map

Photo Gallery

SoCal Hiker Tips

• Check the tide schedule. At high tide, the beach may be impassable.
• The campground has no day use facilities. Day use parking is available off Carlsbad Blvd at either the north or south end of the park.
• Grab lunch at my grandmother’s favorite spot, the Harbor Fish Cafe. It’s about a mile north of the beach on Carlsbad Blvd. just as you enter the downtown village. The patio has ocean views. Grandma’s favorite? The fish and chips.

Essential South Carlsbad State Beach Resources

• Official South Carlsbad State Beach website
• EveryTrail guide to South Carlsbad State Beach – Web, Android and iPhone-ready

Crystal Cove State Park is nestled in the coastal hills between Newport and Laguna Beach. This hiking trail traces the boundaries of the inland section of the park, climbing up and down ridge and valley through coastal scrub. I love this park, not only because it’s so well located for Orange County, but because you really do feel like you’ve been transported to another place and time. As you enter the wilderness here, you soon forget that you are only a mile away from a sea of suburban tract homes. A hike through Crystal Cove is like a mini-vacation from suburbia.

Trail Details

Distance: 9.1 miles
Time: 3-5 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 1,800 ft
Dogs: No
Hours: 6am-10pm daily
Parking: $15

This loop is sometimes referred to as the Perimeter of the Park hike. The trails form a loop surrounding the backcountry of Crystal Cove State Park, and provides a grand tour of its features.

The route begins at the top of the El Moro Visitor Center parking lot. Pass around the gate and head up the double-track trail known affectionately as No Dogs. (Odd only because dogs are not allowed on ANY of the trails in Crystal Cove’s backcountry). Note that the sign calls this No Name Ridge, but the maps all call it No Dogs here.

As you head up the ridge, you’ll come to a couple of junctions heading right at the power poles (the aptly named “Poles” trail). Stay left and continue up and down the roller coaster hills of No Name Ridge.

At mile 2.25 you will reach the junction with Ticketron. This single-track trail veers to the right, winding down to the Deer Canyon trail. Turn left at Deer Canyon, watching for the campground on your left.

The Deer Canyon campground is one of three backcountry campgrounds at Crystal Cove. All have picnic tables, but do not allow open flames. There are a few chemical toilets, but no water; if you want to camp here, you’ll have to backpack in with everything you need!

I wondered who would go backpacking so close to civilization, but a friend pointed out that the backcountry campgrounds at Crystal Cove makes a great location to do an equipment check. It’s close by, so you could even hike in on a Friday afternoon. And if things go awry, you’re not far from the comforts of civilization.

Follow the Deer Canyon trail all the way up to the back of the park, passing through the gate to the Bommer Ridge trail. Technically, Bommer Ridge is part of neighboring Laguna Wilderness, but this trail is preferable to the parallel Fences trail that gets a lot of mountain bikers.

At about mile 4.75 you’ll reach Moro Ridge. Turn right through the gate and follow this ridge back towards the coastline. Along the way, you’ll pass two campgrounds on your right (Upper and Lower El Moro).

This ridge gives you great views of the ocean, Moro Canyon to you right and Emerald Canyon to your left. If you’re alert, you may also see artifacts from the days when this land was used for cattle and sheep herding.

Eventually you’ll turn right on to the affectionately titled BFI (Big F-ing Incline) trail, descending to Moro Canyon and the final hill back to the visitor center.

Reward yourself with a milkshake at the Shake Shack about a mile north on Coast Highway.

Trail Map

Photo Gallery

Essential Crystal Cove State Park Resources

• Official Crystal Cove State Park website
• SoCal Hiker’s Inside Crystal Cove State Park
• Crystal Cove Interpretive Association
• You can pay your Crystal Cove day-use fees using the Passport Parking app after you safely park your vehicle. Complementary ParksWiFi is available to assist with processing your payment.
• Ruby’s Shake Shack

Every Southern Californian can point out the white topped Mt. Baldy — actually it’s real name is Mt. San Antonio. Baldy is a SoCal icon that stands out boldly as a snow-covered backdrop for much of the year. At 10,064 feet above sea level, the snow often sticks around well into June. The higher altitude and easy access makes it a popular training hike for Whitney (or in my case, the John Muir Trail). And in fact, I included Baldy as peak #3 in my Six-Pack of Peaks progressive training series.

Trail Details

Distance: 10.2 miles
Time: ~7 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 3,900 ft
Dogs: Yes
When to go: June-October

This hike is the third in my Six-Pack of Peaks series of training hikes that I originally used to train for the hiking the John Muir Trail. 

It should be noted that the previous weekend we hiked up Cucamonga Peak and it was almost too hot. A week later I found myself atop Baldy where it was 35 degrees with fierce winds. Thankfully, I was well-prepared with plenty of layers. Even so, we didn’t linger as long at the summit as we might have wanted.

The trail begins up a paved road which quickly turns to gravel as it passes the San Antonio Falls overlook. This windy fire road eventually crosses the Mt. Baldy ski area, and meets up at Baldy Notch. The ski lift to the notch operates throughout the summer. It’s about $10 for a one-way ticket up (or $8 one way down) and some people use this as a short cut for what’s probably the least exciting portion of the hike. On the plus side, this route provided a nice easy grade to climb and made warming up much nicer.

Once you reach the Baldy Notch, you can hike straight up the ski run to the east, or follow the trail that runs slightly south east. The ski run is a little steeper and more direct, and that’s the route we opted for. You are quickly rewarded with great views in every direction.

When you finally reach the boundary of the ski area, the infamous Devil’s Backbone trail begins. This trail sounds worse than it is. It runs along the top of a narrow ridge, but when it’s clear of snow and ice, it’s a pretty safe trail.

Those with a fear of heights might feel a touch of vertigo, but it doesn’t require any technical equipment (although trekking poles are nice). Check with the ranger station at Baldy Village to confirm trail conditions. On the darker side, there have been deaths on the trail. With snow and ice, it can be very treacherous.

The trail skirts the side of Mt. Harwood, opening up to a sweeping view of Baldy Bowl. This bowl is pure scree and essentially unclimbable except when covered with snow, and then only with an ice ax and crampons. It’s great training for even higher mountaineering, and something I hope to do next winter. This time of year, the snow is gone from the bowl, and the trail clear of all but a few patches of snow.

The last climb is a series of steep switchbacks up the side of Mt. San Antonio. It’s a busy trail, with all sorts of people going up and down. Pick your route and take your time. If you’re used to living at sea level like me, the high altitude begins to slow you down just a bit.

Looking back down the final ascent you’ve got a great view of Mt Harwood.

The summit of Mt. San Antonio is a broad knoll with a large iron plaque marking the spot. You’ll see several ad hoc stone shelters erected to provide some protection from the wind, which on this particular hike was fierce. Though it was comfortable down at sea level, it was 35 degrees at the summit, and much colder when you factor in the wind chill.

To return to Manker Flats we took the Baldy Bowl trail, which actually skirts the bowl on a ridgeline before steeply descending in a series of switchbacks to the base of the bowl and the Sierra Club ski hut. The log benches at the ski hut provide a great place to take a break and the sound of babbling San Antonio creek is refreshing.

As we descended toward San Antonio Falls, the wildflowers became more plentiful. If you have time, you can stop for a closer look at the falls. This year’s heavy snowfall has made them spectacular.

We reached our cars at the bottom and toasted our hike in true 6-pack style with a ice cold Stellas

Mount Baldy Trail Map

PRO TIP: I track all my hikes using GaiaGPS. It’s the best solution for staying on the right trail, it works even when you don’t have cell service, and there are versions for iOS and Android. The app is free, and you can get a discounted membership for maps here.

Trail Fly-by

Photo Gallery

Bag the Six-Pack of Peaks

1. Mt. Wilson 
2. Cucamonga Peak
3. Mt. San Antonio (Mt. Baldy) (you are here)
4. San Bernardino Peak
5. Mt. San Jacinto
6. San Gorgonio

What is the SoCalHiker Six-Pack of Peaks?

Additional Mt. Baldy Resources

• GPS user? Download the GPX file
• View trail in Google Earth
• Manker Flats trailhead parking on Google Map
• Weather conditions at the summit
• Mt. Baldy webcam
• A couple more great trail guides on Dan’s Hiking Pages and Modern Hiker

Note that this is a wilderness hike. Come prepared with the ten essentials, including a map that you’ve studied beforehand and the knowledge of how to navigate and find an alternate route in case of wildfire or other emergency.

There is no clear signage to the Ski Hut Trail from the summit, and it’s easy to find yourself headed down the wrong route. I recommend carrying the Harrison Mt. Baldy and Cucamonga Wilderness Map, and backing that up with the GPX track loaded in GaiaGPS on my full-charged phone. If in doubt, you can (and should) hike this as an out-and-back, returning via the same route you took up to the summit.

Mt. Baldy Weather Forecast

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Special thanks to Bob from Pasadena, Tyler, Kelly, Ivana, Tari and of course Joan for joining me on this hike!

Title photo credit: Doc Searls