The Obligatory
"Play safe. Ski only in clockwise direction. Let's all have fun together."
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Social Hiking?
Earlier last week, I got an invite from a few of my friends for a hike in the Angeles National Forest. Switzer Falls, a short 4 mile hike with a very low elevation gain, leading to a two-tiered waterfall.
My first thought: Just 4 miles? Second thought: No elevation gain? Third thought: 6 other people?
Yes, I had become a hiking elitist, turning my nose up at a hike my asshole-ish instincts told me was too easy. Either that, or I'd become some sort of outdoors junkie, needing hikes to be painful or frightening in order to enjoy them.
So I was initially noncommital, offering up my Adventure Pass but not making any definite plans on joining. While I was having a late lunch with a production assistant I'd just abused for a few hours, she encouraged me to think of it more as an early morning social outing. And so, at the very last minute, I joined the party and hoped in the car with Aimee to drive out to the Angeles National Forest.
LocalHikes said the Switzer trailhead was generally pretty crowded, and they were right. The bottom parking lot was pretty full by 10:30, and there were several picnics and parties already in full swing. Now, I don't mind when a lot of people get out to National Parks and Forests to experience them. That's part of what they're there for. What bothers me, though, is when people don't treat these areas with respect.
Several trash bins at the parking lot were literally overflowing with garbage, trees were carved to shreds with peoples' initials, there was spray-painted graffiti on the cliff walls, and a fair amount of garbage thrown from the trail itself. Of course almost all of the trash was recyclable - water and gatorade bottles, mostly.
That stuff bugs me. A lot.
I don't want to make it sound like the trail was a giant garbage dump wasteland, though, because it was actually very nice. Most of the trail runs right alongside a boulder-strewn creek, which was still running pretty heavily when we were there. We had to cross the stream a bunch of times, which wasn't too difficult ... but I did have to keep an eye on where I was walking for most of the hike. Twisted Ankle City over there ... but hey, the views were nice.
About halfway through the hike, the trail emerged from the streambed and hugged the side of a steep canyon, bringing us into the sunlight and heat, but giving us some pretty impressive views of the deeper parts of the Forest ... where I'd probably be had I gone alone and gotten up at the ass-crack of dawn.
None of us minded the temporary temperature increase, though, as we were very shortly treated to the sight of Switzer Falls - a two-tiered gently flowing waterfall, which collected its cold, clear water in a nice pool at the bottom. We all took off our shoes and scrambled across some of the fallen logs above the pool, trying - unsuccessfully - to get our canine hiking companions to swim out to us.
After hanging out at the bottom for a while, we watched a pair of hikers climb the side of the falls to the top and squeal with a combination of delight and shock as they hopped into an icy pool in the middle of the rocks. Aimee and I were interested, and were soon climbing up the side trail ourselves. Aimee didn't hesitate before taking off her shoes again and hopping in.
It took me a few more minutes of self-convincing before I followed suit. Cotton pants and all.
Note the grafitti on the walls. Why someone would hike all the way out there just to spray paint a boulder, I'll never know. And how they were able to do it while their lower body's temperature hovered slightly above freezing I'll never know, either.
I've got a few landscape pics up on Flickr, but luckilly Aimee was photographically active throughout the whole trail, and took a lot more pictures of our fellow hikers. Well worth a look, even if just for some pictures of one of the world's most adorable small dogs.
So 'social hiking' can be fun, too ... Although, to be honest, I'm already itchin' for my next peak hike. Anyone interested?
My first thought: Just 4 miles? Second thought: No elevation gain? Third thought: 6 other people?
Yes, I had become a hiking elitist, turning my nose up at a hike my asshole-ish instincts told me was too easy. Either that, or I'd become some sort of outdoors junkie, needing hikes to be painful or frightening in order to enjoy them.
So I was initially noncommital, offering up my Adventure Pass but not making any definite plans on joining. While I was having a late lunch with a production assistant I'd just abused for a few hours, she encouraged me to think of it more as an early morning social outing. And so, at the very last minute, I joined the party and hoped in the car with Aimee to drive out to the Angeles National Forest.
LocalHikes said the Switzer trailhead was generally pretty crowded, and they were right. The bottom parking lot was pretty full by 10:30, and there were several picnics and parties already in full swing. Now, I don't mind when a lot of people get out to National Parks and Forests to experience them. That's part of what they're there for. What bothers me, though, is when people don't treat these areas with respect.
Several trash bins at the parking lot were literally overflowing with garbage, trees were carved to shreds with peoples' initials, there was spray-painted graffiti on the cliff walls, and a fair amount of garbage thrown from the trail itself. Of course almost all of the trash was recyclable - water and gatorade bottles, mostly.
That stuff bugs me. A lot.
I don't want to make it sound like the trail was a giant garbage dump wasteland, though, because it was actually very nice. Most of the trail runs right alongside a boulder-strewn creek, which was still running pretty heavily when we were there. We had to cross the stream a bunch of times, which wasn't too difficult ... but I did have to keep an eye on where I was walking for most of the hike. Twisted Ankle City over there ... but hey, the views were nice.
About halfway through the hike, the trail emerged from the streambed and hugged the side of a steep canyon, bringing us into the sunlight and heat, but giving us some pretty impressive views of the deeper parts of the Forest ... where I'd probably be had I gone alone and gotten up at the ass-crack of dawn.
None of us minded the temporary temperature increase, though, as we were very shortly treated to the sight of Switzer Falls - a two-tiered gently flowing waterfall, which collected its cold, clear water in a nice pool at the bottom. We all took off our shoes and scrambled across some of the fallen logs above the pool, trying - unsuccessfully - to get our canine hiking companions to swim out to us.
After hanging out at the bottom for a while, we watched a pair of hikers climb the side of the falls to the top and squeal with a combination of delight and shock as they hopped into an icy pool in the middle of the rocks. Aimee and I were interested, and were soon climbing up the side trail ourselves. Aimee didn't hesitate before taking off her shoes again and hopping in.
It took me a few more minutes of self-convincing before I followed suit. Cotton pants and all.
Note the grafitti on the walls. Why someone would hike all the way out there just to spray paint a boulder, I'll never know. And how they were able to do it while their lower body's temperature hovered slightly above freezing I'll never know, either.
I've got a few landscape pics up on Flickr, but luckilly Aimee was photographically active throughout the whole trail, and took a lot more pictures of our fellow hikers. Well worth a look, even if just for some pictures of one of the world's most adorable small dogs.
So 'social hiking' can be fun, too ... Although, to be honest, I'm already itchin' for my next peak hike. Anyone interested?
Labels: hiking
that one guy you know, 7:30 PM
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