Saturday, November 24, 2012

Day 733: Mt. Lee - Hollywood Sign = Sunset Ranch

Sunset near the Hollywood Sign

Day #733 * Hike #889 * New Track #705
Sunday November 18, 2012
Hike to the Hollywood Sign - Hollywood, CA
Sunset Ranch - Mt. Lee _ Beechwood Drive

My Tripometer: 1.5 Hours * 3.75 Miles * +750 Feet

 We'll be hiking to the Hollywood Sign Today...

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Hollywood, take the Gower/Beechwood Drive exit and head north all the way up Beechwood Drive until you reach the dirt parking area.  Last time we were here we tried our luck on horseback.  Then, the rain turned into hail and we were turned back before reaching the sign.  We hiked a mile or so on that day but today our goal was to reach the sign with no Horsie Interference...

 Trailhead
 

 We are close, but it's almost sundown

 Do Not Enter - Possibly the quick way up to the top?

The sign mentions hazardous chemicals.  Due to the sun fading, Jess decided to pass this switchback and run down the main road.  Oy!  I wish I had been the Line Leader, but Jess sent me back to the car to fetch water and every time I closed in on her and the kids, they sped away so I decided to take pictures...

 A single track trail off the main road

Hmm, I believe this would have done the trick.  It appears this trail leads up to the ridge above, which crosses over to the Hollywood Sign.  Instead, Jess continued down the main road.  The Griffith Park Observatory came in view and we were closing in on it - Wrong Way!  I wish I had read Sky Hiker's blogpost of Mount Lee, but this was a spur of the moment hike before dusk...

 We cut up here off the main road...

 It brought us here and then we took a new dirt road

 Hollywood Reservoir rests below...

 Today's Final Destination - A Water Tower!

There is a narrow ridge trail that appears to head lower and then back up the next hill where the Hollywood Sign was.  I remember Sky Hiker calling it Mt. Lee.  I'm going to need to confirm the correct way to the sign and then revisit the area when there is more day light.

Great Views!!!

So we didn't accomplish the sign but we raced back in the dark completing a New Track.  With so many distractions in my life like work, family, etc., it seems that most of my journeys fall short of target.  That being said, I've hiked all around the Hollywood sign from this trail to the Bronson Canyon Trail and Bat Caves.  One day, I will summit Mt. Lee and I can only imagine how great it will feel.  As Bobby Brown once said, Every Little Step I Take.  --I don't think he was talking about hiking though -- New Track #705 is complete and in the books...

2 comments:

  1. They've got some construction going on that dirt Mullholland Highway section, which is why the "Do Not Enter" sign is there. Unfortunately, that's normally the easiest and hardest-to-get-lost path to the top of Mt. Lee.

    I think you either need to get up on to one of the ridge trails (not appearing on the official trail maps, I think), or park on the other side, on Canyon Lake Drive.

    The hike from Canyon Lake Drive would be shorter and harder to get lost on. By contrast, the ridgeline path is only obvious after you've hiked around a couple of different use trails. All are passable, but some are much easier than others.

    Of course, by the time you get back, it's possible the construction on Mulholland will be done, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
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