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July 28, 2005

The Love Hike

Posted by Polly Stryker

For a cool night piece and a bit of exercise, we checked out the Sierra Club’s night hikes in Griffith Park. They have seven levels of difficulty, number 1 being easy; number 7 being really tough. I ran with the third level, also known as the “love hike,” the one on which people often meet. Level three turned out to be a bit more strenuous that I imagined, even though I run and work out regularly. I caught up with many of the people on the hike (over 30 people), asking them why they do it and what they see on the trail.

Everyone wanted to get away from their unaesthetic surroundings-cubicles, hospitals, and offices. They wanted to chat with friends, meet people, and breathe the cool hilltop air, so different from the heavy air on the ground. We climbed up the sides of hills, past a heliport, and up what hikers call “Razorback Ridge.” The directors of Lord of the Rings could have used this part of the treacherous, rocky, barren trail, except for the fantastic 360-degree views of Hollywood, the Valley, Glendale, the Griffith Observatory, the Greek Theatre, and downtown LA. All that lay somewhere down below us, like a bowl of jewels, city lights twinkling and distorted in the hot air.

Someone told me a funny story about how the hiking group happened upon a couple having sex once. The car bounced and jumped, and the hikers all giggled as they passed by. People told me they have seen rattle snakes, birds, deer, and horses, but no mountain lions. The hikers’ answers were so compelling, as we huffed and puffed our way up to Mount Hollywood, that I almost stepped off a cliff at one point. Moral of the story: look where you are going when you are doing a moving interview!

Five miles later, my group made it back to the parking lot under the light of the moon. I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. It was great.

Posted by Polly Stryker at 10:44 PM

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Posted by: LEON on August 3, 2005 4:45 PM

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