Hiking Hollywood
August 13, 2018
One of the things that Pierre and I badly wanted to do in LA was to see the Hollywood Sign up close. The closest that we can get. Heck, if it were possible (which we thought was), we wanted to sit on the sign. I scoured the internet to find the most reliable information for people who want to do the hike but do not have a car. Believe me, nearly every search result I got said people had to drive to the nearest trailhead. But we don't easily take no for an answer, so I continued researching. And this is how our experience went!
Getting to the trailhead, a few of our options were:
Take UBER or LYFT to the nearest trailhead from Mid-City, where we were staying. It was doable, but there were two problems: It was hella expensive, and how were we supposed to return to the city, assuming calling an UBER or LYFT from the end of the trail would be difficult?
Commute to the nearest trailhead. Though it would take a couple of twists and turns, various commutes, and additional walking, it was doable.
Option 2 seemed more feasible for us, and hey, we didn't mind the extra walking (at least that's what we thought at first), and so we mapped out the commute.
THE COMMUTE
We took LYFT to Hollywood Boulevard from Mid-City for a power brunch before our big hike. The ride took around 15 minutes, which is pretty standard for every LYFT ride we took in LA (Mid City is a great place to stay if you want to get around LA within the 15-20 minutes range via LYFT or UBER). After brunch, we went to the subs. The nearest station we found was HOLLYWOOD/VINE. From there, we needed to get to the VERMONT/SUNSET station, where a bus station had buses running to and from the Griffith Observatory. So we hopped on to the Metro Red Line towards Downtown Union Station.
The good thing about this route is that we could kill two birds with one stone. The Griffith Observatory is one of those tourist spots that I often see, and although I wasn't really keen on visiting it (not one that I would break a leg for), why not? I mean, we were already there, after all. And I could be wrong, but the hiking trail nearest to the Griffith Observatory is by far the only one you can reach via public transport.
The bad side of this, though (and this is subjective), is that it seemed to be the longest route of all hiking trails available. This is generally because the Observatory and the Sign are separated by a mountain, so hikers will have to literally cross a mountain to get from the first point to the second.
If you're not big on walking, I suggest driving to the shortest trail possible. But again, this is for losers like us who don't drive.
THE VIEW
The hike to Mount Lee took us an hour, give or take. OK, maybe one hour and fifteen minutes. I went in with a tee and arrived with my sports bra and leggings stretched and folded toward my thighs. It was a super sunny day, and I was drained. One mistake we made was forgetting to bring cold water rather than warm. Well, Pierre didn't mind that, but I'm a cold water kind of person, and I especially like it when I just finished a workout, so I was feeling really dehydrated after the hike despite having downed a bottle. The thing is, even a bottle is not enough to quench my thirst.
But you know what, upon taking the last turn up the peak of Mount Lee, I forgot all about my thirst looking down at the view that greeted us. The whole of Los Angeles below us looking so picturesque. For a moment, I was emotional realising that that was something I've only ever joked about with Pierre; being on top of the Hollywood Sign looking down at the LA skyline. I mean, come on, we're from halfway across the globe. Seeing things that we only used to see in movies, well, that's quite an achievement IMHO.
Now, Mount Lee gives you the view of the Hollywood Sign from the back. We wanted to see it up close from the front and to do that, we had to walk back down then a little more hiking up towards a viewing spot which I totally forgot what it was called, but according to my recent searches, seems to be somewhere near the intersection of Deronda Drive and Mulholland Highway. Not exactly that but close (sorry if I'm not making any sense, but it makes more sense when you're actually there).
Anyway, after the much needed photos and videos, selfies and whatnot, we needed to get back to Griffith and try catch the sunset. By this time, it was pas 4PM and knowing that it'll take an hour for us to get back, we knew we really needed to go. Like heck, I don't wanna get stuck in the dark on the hills without network coverage. Who does? So we made our way back.
An hour past and we're back where we started, just in time to catch the sun set behind the Hollywood Sign. I think I said this somewhere but it was the most magical thing ever. Ugh, just typing that made me reminisce for a second and all I wanna be right now is back in LA.
I digress.
Back in Griffith Observatory, it was already too dark to take photos with us in it so pretty much we just stayed for a bit to catch our breathe. But our lucky stars were with us that night when we came back to a planet viewing session happening in the Observatory. Apparently, Venus (the planet) was visible that night. There were telescopes readily available for visitors view the planet up close. Curious as we were, of course we joined in.
Hmm, what did I expect? I don't know really, but looking through the glass, I thought Venus looked just like the moon. But maybe that's just me.
After that little encounter, we were ready to hit the road back to our Airbnb. The same way we came, we took the bus back to VERMONT/SUNSET. This time around, we did not take the Metro but called a ride back to our place by way of LYFT instead. I think we can forgive ourselves for the comfort of a shared ride having walked pretty much all day already. But before we called it a day, we headed to the nearby El Pollo Loco near our place for a much needed dinner. Remember that our main sustenance for the day was our one and only brunch from noon and some water. You can imagine how hungry we were by then. We we had a hearty meal that consisted of everything we shouldn't be eating post hiking but whatever (hey, it's chicken and there's salad on the side, kay?), then walked home and called it a night.
THINGS TO NOTE
Now before I finish off this post, I'd like to give a few reminders just in case you're planning to go down the same path that we did:
The hike from the Observatory to the Sign is graded level DIFFICULT. If you're not used to hiking or walking for that matter, I strongly suggest to find an alternate route.
Wear shoes that you're okay with getting dirt on. While most of the path is cemented, there are areas where you'll be walking on soil (and mind you, there's plenty of horse poop on them too!)
Bring more water!
Eat before you go or otherwise, bring some light snacks to munch on.
And of course, don't forget your camera!
By the way, there's a part in one of my LA vlogs where I briefly talked about the hike. If you'd like to see that bit, head to my youtube channel or watch the video on the right.