By Jeff Johnson
Photo above: At Mt. Lee, looking southeast past the Hollywood sign toward Los Angeles. Photo Jeff Johnson.
Like many GLS hikers, I have hiked in the eastern part of Griffith Park many times, to Mt. Hollywood and to other destinations. But never in the western part of Griffith Park, which includes the peaks above Cahuenga Pass, added to the park only in 2010. That was the area where we hiked on February 11.
Nancy lead 17 of us from the Wonderview Trailhead, at the top of Lake Hollywood Drive. We climbed the Burbank Peak Trail, which is rough and steep and, on the day of our hike, busy. Considering the steepness, the recent heavy rains, and the heavy foot traffic, I was surprised that the trail was not rougher and even dangerous.
Our first goal was the Wisdom Tree, a prominent landmark on Burbank Peak, at the western end of Griffith Park. The tree is a solitary survivor of fires that have swept over these hills in past decades.
From Burbank Peak we headed west on the Aileen Getty Ridge Trail, on the ridge that’s the backbone of the park, with Hollywood below to the south and Burbank below to the north. The trail crosses Cahuenga Peak, the highest point in the park, and ends at Mt. Lee, above the Hollywood sign. From there, we could see familiar Mt. Hollywood across the way and, in the distance, downtown Los Angeles.
We descended Mt. Lee Drive from there, heading down and down into the neighborhoods below the sign. At each turn, there seemed to be a new spot with a view of the Hollywood sign and crowds of walkers taking selfies with the sign. Our route followed the split-level road called “Mulholland Highway” down through the neighborhood, down past Lake Hollywood Park, almost down to the reservoir, then back up Lake Hollywood Drive to our starting point.
In this one hike we had the panoramic views we hope for on our hikes, crowds of cheerful tourists pursuing an iconic Los Angeles landmark, and green hills with lots of Spring wildflowers beginning to bloom. It was more taxing than some of us may have expected for a 6-mile urban hike but it was worth it.
One disappointment was that Elaine was feeling under the weather on the day and could not lead. She had planned and scouted this hike to be her provisional hike on the way to being an O-rated hike leader. Fortunately, Nancy was able to step in and lead us. We look forward to Elaine’s provisional hike some time in the future and hope it will be as good as this one.
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Our chief flower spotter, Susan, had many opportunities to photograph early wildflowers we saw along the way.
Here are some of her pictures.
