Solo Travels: Solo Hiking in LA
& the LA smog
I planned to write more about my trip to LA when I got back, but January really got away from me. I’ve been dealing with some stress-related health issues again. A few years ago, I was sick for most of the year with a stress-related, undiagnosed something - so I’ve been fearing another year of illness. In an effort to not focus on that, I’ve been spending time reflecting on my trip to LA.
So, here’s the first in a short series of posts about LA!
Solo Hiking
Solo hiking felt like a bigger jump into this world of solo traveling.
While I have hiked before, living in Eastern Nebraska, it’s obviously not much of a routine part of my life. I mean, the only hill in my small town was built for sledding.
I (surprisingly) planned ahead for my LA trip, so I had looked at a map and researched enough to know I needed to bring water into the park, as the water fountains are usually off. I didn’t, say, walk on a treadmill at an incline or consider the smog, however.
Walking uphill from Hollywood Blvd into the park with rain clouds looming overhead didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but I stuck with my plan to hike.
When I got to Runyon Canyon, I started up the ridge that would take me to Inspiration Point and then Clouds Rest Overlook.
The hike was fairly humbling. I stopped quite a few times on the way up – both to take photos and to look like I was taking photos in order to take a breath. However, people who seemed to be in much better shape than me also stopped to take breaks along the way as well. On my hike up, I only saw two people hiking along, carrying on a full conversation – their dog was also the only dog I saw gliding up the path behind them.
While it wasn’t the easiest path, I’m glad I stuck with it to the top of the trail. When I got to the top, I realized there was a paved path I could’ve taken to the overlook – but I’m actually glad I took the more difficult route and saw the trail. (I did hear people talking about hikers having died falling off of the other ridge though, so I’m fine with having missed that.)
In keeping with the plot of my life, as I was reaching the top of the trail, it started to sprinkle. Rain clouds quickly covered my entire view of the ocean and city, so I don’t have great photos from the top. I was happy enough to watch the downpour pass over LA and not hit me, though.
Since it rained, I took the paved path back down. It didn’t end exactly where I’d entered the park, but fall-prone as I am, I opted not to take the slippery steps back down.
With the rain, I didn’t wait at the top for sunset as I had planned, which I do sort of regret. I made it to the top much earlier than I thought I would, so honestly, I just got a bit impatient waiting at the top with the rain. If I return to LA, I think I’d watch a sunset from the overlook.
So, all in all, my first solo hike was a success!
Throughout the dark, cold, and snowy days of January, I have thought a lot about how nice it was to hike and spend time in the sun in the winter, even on a rainy day like that day.
Part of my push to travel this year is to consider if and where I might move. As I’ve started these travels, I keep wondering who I might be, and who I could be.
If I lived in LA, would I hike more often?
What difference to my mental health would it make if I lived somewhere sunnier in the winter? Would my overall health be better?
It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I spent an afternoon at Runyon Canyon for my first solo hike. I don’t know what my year will hold, but if I can keep traveling more, I’m adding places I could solo hike to my list.
(An overview of Runyon Canyon is also included in my LA trip post.)
A Note on LA’s Smog
I’m not sure how much the smog actually affected me. When I was driving home from the airport, I breathed in and thought, “Wow, the air quality is better here…” before realizing I was driving past a factory in an area that notably does not have good air quality. I felt like I was taking deeper breaths when I returned, but I didn’t consciously notice it in LA.
I did, however, pretty constantly see the smog, and noticed that the ocean didn’t smell much like the ocean, because of the pollution.
My travels have made me face more clear signs of the climate crisis (I was in Miami right around the time the seawater hit hot-tub-level temperatures last summer, for example). I don’t know how to incorporate climate action into more of my daily/professional life, but I can feel myself shifting to this, as the planet continues to have more and more climate-caused crises and I start to see more of this impact firsthand.
I plan to share more about walking alone at night as a solo traveler and more of my overall reflections on my trip over the next week - look for those soon!
Solo Travels is one of multiple series on the from Hannah Michelle Bussa Substack. As Hannah begins to embark on more solo travel journeys, she will share about her trips for those who may be interested in traveling more.
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