Today, I hiked in the Verdugo Mountains, starting from the Beaudry Fireroad trailhead, off Beaudry Blvd in Glendale, up to Verdugo Peak, the highest point in the Verdugo Mountains. Total distance was about 10.2 miles, in just under 4 hours. This was one of my longest hikes, and i was pretty BEAT when I was done.
I have been to Verdugo Peak quite a few times from other starting points - up the Hostetter fireroad from La Tuna Canyon, and up from the Stough Nature Center in Burbank. This is actually the longest route I have taken. I tried this once before, but ran out of time, and turned around at the Brand Library trail crossing. But I made it all the way this time.
One funny thing - when I got far enough up that I thought I would be able to see my destination, I first spotted a mountain top with radio towers, as I expected. But it was REALLY far off. I thought to myself "you must be kidding! No way are you going to make it up there!" Then I realized I was looking at Mt Lukens - about 8 to 10 miles away, across the La Crescenta valley. I hope to hike that someday soon. But I was glad it was not my target today! Soon, I spotted my real destination - and it looked pretty far off as well, protected by a big hill - but as I got closer, it did not seem so bad - and it wasn't.
Click here to see just a few photos I took along the way - nothing special, and not comprehensive, but they may give you a feel for the trail. They were taken with my cell phone - sorry for the poor quality.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hello there, and welcome to my new blog about hiking. I'm pretty new to hiking - just about a year and a half - doing day hikes in the Los Angeles area. But I love it, and hope I can interest others in starting to hike.
Now, there are others who know MUCH more about hiking than I do - I read and learn a lot from many sources - but I hope I can appeal to others like me - older, not in the best of shape, looking to get started. I thought about calling the blog "Old and Slow" - but that seemed to negative. And I'm not really old, and not really slow - I just feel that way sometimes when I read about the exploits of others.
Anyway will post as often as I can - I don't expect any readers until I build up some content, obviously. I will post about current hikes, past hikes, and general thoughts about hiking. I will try to figure out a way to post GPS data for my hikes, as well as Google Earth files so you can see the hike info there. I hike alone mostly - more about that later - but I always appreciate finding GPS data so I know where I am going, and what the hike entails. I am not up to too much going-without-knowing-where yet - that's for the future, and much better with someone else, rather than being alone. So hopefully you will find my GPS data useful.
Again, welcome - and enjoy the trip.
Dan
Now, there are others who know MUCH more about hiking than I do - I read and learn a lot from many sources - but I hope I can appeal to others like me - older, not in the best of shape, looking to get started. I thought about calling the blog "Old and Slow" - but that seemed to negative. And I'm not really old, and not really slow - I just feel that way sometimes when I read about the exploits of others.
Anyway will post as often as I can - I don't expect any readers until I build up some content, obviously. I will post about current hikes, past hikes, and general thoughts about hiking. I will try to figure out a way to post GPS data for my hikes, as well as Google Earth files so you can see the hike info there. I hike alone mostly - more about that later - but I always appreciate finding GPS data so I know where I am going, and what the hike entails. I am not up to too much going-without-knowing-where yet - that's for the future, and much better with someone else, rather than being alone. So hopefully you will find my GPS data useful.
Again, welcome - and enjoy the trip.
Dan
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