Hiking for Good in Hollywood

A last minute head's up to join a friend for a hike last Tuesday turned into a lovely afternoon. While at Outdoor Retailer, a couple of weeks ago, a friend, and Director of Sierra Club Outdoors, Stacy Bare said he was might be doing a hike to the Hollywood Sign. Despite being born in Hollywood and living in Southern California for a couple of decades, I have never done this hike. So I figured what better excuse than a friend coming in from out of town to head into the Hollywood Hills.

Realizing that I had not actually asked what day the hike was going to happen, a quick email exchange cleared up that the meet-up point was at the top of Beechwood Canyon/Sunset Ranch @ 1pm. Paul, Betty and I met up with some Stacy, some Sierra Club volunteers, veterans, and actress, Brooklyn Decker. We were a small but merry band with Betty embarking on her first hike! This is a family-friendly & pet-on-leash-friendly hike with the best views of the sign being from a mid-way point below it. Once you get to the top there is a chain link fence preventing you from getting to the actual sign and you have a view of the back of the sign. Round trip the hike is 3-4 miles and all fire roads.

You may not believe me, but until I Googled her after the hike, I had no idea who Brooklyn was.  During the hike we learned about her volunteer work with the military and veterans, and that she is going to be helping bring awareness to getting youth outdoors as an Ambassador for Sierra Club Outdoors! It was great to form an opinion of someone based on actually getting to know them a little and not have a pre-conceived idea of what they might be like based on their celebrity. Always inspiring to meet someone using their influence for good and supporting a great organization like Sierra Club Outdoors!

The Sierra Club Outdoors is something we believe strongly in. We are instructors for the Wilderness Travel Course (WTC) which is part of Sierra Club Outdoors, as well as volunteers for the Advanced Mountaineering Program (AMP). We are also on the path to become rated Sierra Club trip leaders to bring others into the wilderness. How can we expect people to want to save our natural places if they have never experienced them? Last night at our first WTC class a friend described WTC as "a gateway drug" to the outdoors, we all laughed but it is true. We are teaching outdoor skills that give people the confidence to go out and enjoy nature…. and maybe even bring friends and inspire others…. and so on and so on. Wouldn't it be great if everyone could become addicted to nature.

So here is my shameless plug to check out Sierra Club Outdoors. They have tons of programs and events focused on getting people outdoors!

CONNECTING PEOPLE TO NATURE, BENEFITING BOTHSierra Club Outdoors reaches across economic lines, cultures, and communities, to engage all Americans -- including military and youth -- to explore and enjoy the natural world.

For more info on Brooklyn's involvement with Sierra Club Outdoors, click here!

Getting Outdoors with the Family - New Year's Resolution!

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="132,133,72,68,69,67,64,65"] So much of our outdoor time is "training". We head out to the gym, go for a run, or hit the trails with a specific goal in mind, whether it be time, distance or skill specific. We usually do these adventures with just the two of us because they are so specific. The one bummer about these outings is that part of our family usually gets left at home... our four-legged adventurer Norman. It is not that he doesn't want to come... because he does, but being a bulldog he can only go so far and so long. Although if left up to him he would go until he dropped....literally.

So we have been trying to designate one of our weekly outings as a "family" adventure so we can take him with us. These have become some of our favorites, because they are really about enjoying the moment. We stop and take lots of pictures, notice things that we may not otherwise see, let him get dirty and overall just have fun! Our New Year's Resolution is to do this regularly.

We often joke that he is our child, but the reality is I can imagine this is very similar to taking young kids outside into nature to play. The exercise component may be lacking for you, but the quality time spent with your family, exploring nature, seeing things from a different perspective are totally worth it. Even a short hike can be filled with new experiences, things to see and learn about, opportunities to get a grimy and a great chance for you to become a kid again.

Let us know what your favorite kid friendly adventure is!