Can't Oil Derricks and Traffic be Beautiful, Too?
I'm already tired of winter, plus: sunset dance parties, snowshoe info for beginners, much better camping rules in state parks, my appearance on Lost LA, and the flattening of the internet!
howdy
Over the long weekend, Portland got hit hard by a snowstorm, heavy winds, and an extended deep-freeze cold snap. I’m currently writing this from the lobby of the Subaru of Portland dealership while I get some routine car maintenance because a). yes we are stereotypical Portland Subie people and b). our water line has been frozen for several days so it’s just nice to be around working plumbing. Please send all available good vibes toward the structural integrity of that pipe as we thaw, because I really miss washing my dishes and taking showers at home.
This could be a good spot for me to say something along the lines of “never would have had to deal with this in Southern California,” but I also remember that every time the wind blows in L.A., half the city’s power goes out, so we all really have our own little regional hardships.
That said, this is the time of year that I really start to miss being in Southern California—and it’s not just because it’s freezing and I’m almost out of clean clothes.
Winter and spring are the best times to be outdoors in that part of the world—you get to avoid the oppressive heat of the summer and fall, spot the awakening native plants as they soak up that winter rain, and the storm track tends to keep the air nice and clear, so when it isn’t raining, you can see a lot farther than you’d normally be able to.
As part of our whirlwind holiday season, my husband and I were in Los Angeles for a few brief days between Christmas and New Year’s. We were there to help celebrate a friend’s marriage at the Hollywood Methodist Church, but of course we also got a bit of time on the trails.
You know I’m not going to pop into L.A. without at least getting my boots dirty on some trails in Griffith Park. We had a great time catching up with an old friend on the trails to Griffith Observatory and the Berlin Forest (and naturally, I caught up with some plant friends along the way, too—the Toyon was really showing off!).
We ended our time in the city with our friend Stef in Kenneth Hahn State Park, where she had organized a sunset headphone dance party at one of that park’s exceptional overlooks.
As we all danced to a synchronized mix, the sun set behind the nearby oil derricks and sparkled across the Pacific Ocean in that spellbinding orange you really only get in Southern California. Car lights lit up in ribbons of white and red on the 10 freeway and an offensively bright LED billboard visible somewhere near the USC campus shot its artificial lumens miles in every direction (how the heck are those things legal?).
Many people I have described this scene to think that I’m describing some paved-over hellscape, but as I watched the sun sink and the city lights blink on, I truly felt a sense of awe and beauty. Again, here we were, basically enjoying the entire park by ourselves, surrounded by sagebrush and prickly pears while 12 million people were going about their Friday nights below us, each person experiencing this strange and wonderful place in their own individual way.
To me, that has always been a defining and special characteristic of L.A.’s outdoor scene—one that I will always enjoy and treasure, even when I’m away from it for a few months.
Modern Hiking
Good stuff from the Modern Hiker site
A Watershed Moment
Near NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the start of the nation’s first National Recreational Trail sits the Hahamongna Watershed Park, a beloved green space at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The area is popular with a variety of users—from hikers to disc golfers—and has not been without its share of controversy. The park and its basin are part of the system of flood control in the Los Angeles Basin, and there have been lawsuits and legal fights over whether the floodwater would be better controlled with a natural sediment basin or a scraped-out system of settling ponds.
Either way, the park makes for a lovely stroll or the start of a longer hike in either direction along the Arroyo Seco, and it’s the newest trail guide on the Modern Hiker site.
History of Hiking in Los Angeles
Episode 3 of KCET’s Lost LA premiered this week, and it’s focused on the history of hiking in Los Angeles and the region’s claim to laying the groundwork for much of what we think of when we think of hiking and outdoor culture today. The episode is now available on YouTube for free and—like all episodes of this show—is a great watch.
I joined host and historian Nathan Masters in Bear Canyon with Tongva artist, activist, and educator Samantha Johnson—who was much smarter than both of us and took an umbrella.
Behind the scenes, we had a blast on this project. Samantha and I spent a lot of time between shoots talking about our favorite native plants and how we are hopeful more people turn to native gardening in their own yards and gardens. Be sure to check out her Instagram account here for great information and beautiful illustrations, too.
Your Parks
Your Places
Showshoe Season
Since I spent the start of this newsletter complaining about the winter conditions here in the Northwest, why not look on the bright side (as soon as all this ice melts) and think about snowshoeing!
If you’re a hiker and you haven’t been snowshoeing yet, here’s the deal: it’s walking in the snow; you can do it. Just remember—that extra gear does help you keep your balance and stay atop snow you’d otherwise sink into, but it also requires a significant bit of more effort to move around in. So if you’re new, don’t go and map out a 15 mile trek for your first time, OK?
The good news is snowshoes are usually very cheap to rent and most of what you need, you already have in your hiking kit. So why not give it a try? Looking for more advice? These beginner / how to articles from REI and Snowshoe Magazine will get you on the right foot. Or, I guess, snowshoe, as it were.
Tech Talk
Gadgets, Technology, and Hype
Camping Reservation Changes
With a new year comes new laws and new updates to policies, and that includes trying to snag a site at your favorite campground. A number of states across the West have enacted some new ideas to try to make getting a site a little more equitable and to cut down on no-shows and online site squatters.
California State Parks used to let you cancel campground reservations up to the day-of-arrival with no penalties, which was kind of the worst of all worlds because not only did it mean people who wanted campsites couldn’t book them, but it also meant often those campsites were empty. Now, cancellations within 7 days of arrival will get you a credit toward future bookings while anyone who doesn’t show up forfeits the booking and still gets charged for it.
In Oregon, the state park system has begun pulling a number of spaces in their campgrounds off the advance reservations to ensure the availability of last-minute sites. Oregon State Parks tried a pilot program in a number of parks on the Oregon Coast and found it to be very successful, and now they are rolling out same-day reservations to 40 state park campgrounds. This policy change also includes the very popular yurts and cabins (with some special caveats), and same day reservations now also waive the $8 online reservation fee.
One More Thing
Oh yeah, before I go …
So … looking around for outdoor stories over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed there is a lot of … sameness. I’m not talking about the same stories being shared by different outlets—that’s just the nature of news—I’m talking about how the websites that tend to float to the top of search results all kind of look the same, sound the same? Even have the same structure and bullet points and subtitles?
It's not an accident—it’s what some commentators have taken to calling the flattening of the internet, and I ran across some really interesting pieces on this topic over the past few weeks. First, an article on The Verge on how Google shapes websites for Google first and readers second (if at all); and an upcoming book from journalist Kyle Chayka called Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture that looks more at how the algorithms of social media, streaming services, and other bits of modern society affect the way we act, think, and interact in ways we probably don’t even realize.
Chayka’s book just came out this week (I’m on the library waitlist), but there is a great review and analysis in The Atlantic and an enlightening interview on The Ezra Klein Show that surely will get some brain gears turning for anyone else who likes to think about these kinds of things.
Worth a listen on your next long drive to the trailhead at least!
Until next time,
Happy Trails.
