Someone got a new backpack this weekend.
Though you can’t tell from the picture, she’s a huge fan.
To test it out, we headed out to Griffith Park Sunday morning.
Last week I was listening to an interview with Josh Spector who came in 18th at Badwater this year. He lives in north Hollywood and was talking about all of the great hill/trail running in LA. Now I see what he’s talking about. Miles and miles of trails and roads with only foot traffic.
You can barely see it, peaking out of the woods.
Last Sunday Paul got really amped to go for a hike. So we got up nice and early, dropped Spike off at daycare (Marsha), and headed east into Powell County. Which is dry. So no post-hike beer.
You may remember our last real hike in Kentucky, which pretty much turned me off to hiking here forever. I am a fan of hiking (see: origin of this blog), but round here it takes some serious convincing that we are going to a heavily populated area with absolutely no hunting within a 100 mile radius for me to go. Turns out Natural Bridge is like the HOTTEST tourist attraction in Kentucky outside of Derby, which was enough to convince me we wouldn’t be confused for deer.
After a post-drive bathroom break and some superior mullet spotting at the Hemlock Lodge, we headed out on the Original trailhead, then veered off onto the Hoods Branch Trail (the trip from the lodge up to the bridge ranges anywhere from .75 miles-4 miles.) Our mishmash route was about 3 miles to the top.
This site is adjacent to the Red River Gorge, so the rocks started getting pretty cool pretty quick.
I can’t really speak to this personally, but apparently rocks like this are a rock climber’s dream.
…so of course Paul started up with this.
…where the final stretch to get up to the bridge must prevent about 85% of the state’s population from actually experiencing the view from the top.
It is a seriously tight squeeze, I felt a little claustrophobic going through. I am genuinely curious if anyone’s ever gotten stuck before.
…completely void of any barriers to keep people from falling off.
…with a quick stop at the chair lift station to buy some more water from the two teenage kids in their John Deer hats sitting there drinking Ale 8 and listening to country music.
Then it was down, down, down.
The “stairs” really were that steep.
And…back to the car! Then, of course, a stop by Miguel’s, the climber hangout, for full pizza with potatoes, mushrooms, and kielbasa.
Fun, short hike, nice views, worth the trip to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Commonwealth.
Before we continue, did you know that September 17 is Constitution Day?
Chrissy did. And did you know that Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution? Now you do.
From the Inner Sunset we headed into Cole Valley for some uphill. Way, way uphill. Running sounded like a good idea, so that’s what we did.
It was easy. And by easy I mean painful. Ferg also figured out that skipping uphill is basically impossible. From here, it was time for steps…which we also ran up.
Stop #5: Michelle and Dave’s, Mount Sutro.
Dave and Michelle (and Cooper, their dog) had an amazing view and a RIDICULOUS amount of delicious food at their house. It was fantastic. We arrived sweaty and out of breath, and ended up hanging out there longer than the allotted 30 minutes due to some coordination problems with two other hikers who wanted to meet up (after about an hour we realized that they were waiting for us at Michelle and Dave’s old house across town. Whoops.) We decided to meet up with them at the next stop.
Fully fueled on pulled pork, mac and cheese, and brownies, we finally hit the road again. This next stretch would be one of the longer ones of the day. Road sodas in hand, we left Mount Sutro and headed down into…a forest.
…to the top of Tank Hill, for a pretty fantastic cityscape.
…we headed downhill (finally) toward Upper Market and passed a minibus that, like Chrissy, understood the importance of Constitution Day.
W-K MARKET! The same stop we made last year.
…to freeway crossing #2. Completed our second freeway crossing successfully, with some people showcasing their parkour skills down into SOMA. Counting strollers was long gone, but a few hikers were so happy to be on flat ground again that they just kept on skipping.
…and marched straight into the Tenderloin to our old favorite hang out, Harrington’s Pub: where people smoke inside and dogs are welcome (which worked out great for us). We asked a lady in the bar to take a group shot.
Time for The Outsider, another Tenderloin gem. From here we put on our blinders and made our way up the final hill to our FINAL STOP!
Victory. Pizza and football for everyone.
Flora and Fauna: Max, Lani, Cooper, and Huey.
*UPDATE: The Cutty Bang was on ice this year. General consensus is that’s why it was so much better.
Oh yeah. Back to our roots. Urban hiking. Get ready.
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