Just cruising along on a busy-ish trail in Temescal Gateway Park in the Pacific Palisades. Was with a lovely couple of families and their kids, noticing the great oaks, sycamores and arroyo willows when – WHOA! We stopped and there was a sizeable California Coastal or California Mountain Kingsnake! Kingsnake I’ve hiked the greater Los Angeles area for 25 years now and have seen just a few snakes: a couple rattlers, a gopher snake or two but never the Coastal […]
Today I led a hike up to the Hollywood Sign. 700 feet in elevation gain, 4.4 miles round trip with some fairly steep sections of road/trail. Two lovely parents from Mountainside, CA with their 18 month old girl made it the entire way with a little help from me and our hiking mates. What I loved about this couple was their absolute determination and ‘what me worry?’ attitude. It was a tremendous day with exceptional views made only better by […]
This is a thorough video for anyone wanting to explore this magnificent hike. Just down the road from Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. A must for everyone who loves to hike! Ted Mattison, also known as Ranger Ted, is a Certified California Naturalist, trained in Wilderness First Aid, and has explored, hiked, canoed and kayaked extensively from his home state of Minnesota to Alaska, Washington and California. He’s a graduate of Oberlin College and a former Social Studies teacher. Ted […]