Hiking up Mt. Bell
Published February 18th, 2007Today, after consulting my hiking book, I set off for Mt. Bell in Griffith Park. Mt. Bell is the third highest peak in the park and it is situated between Mt. Hollywood (the highest point, right behind the Griffith Observatory) and Mt. Lee (home of the big radio tower and the Hollywood Sign). In between Mt. Bell and Mt. Hollywood is Mt. Chapel, the second highest peak. Mt. Bell is nothing special, except that it’s a pretty small summit and has a great view of SFV. I was kinda hoping to get a good shot of my apartment! I also wanted to chill out on top of a mountain with a granola bar and watch some planes take-off and land at Burbank Airport. That just sounded really relaxing to me. I was hoping that with the wind kicking up and the weather shifting, it would be pretty clear out. No such luck, it was pretty hazy. Apparently it was clear yesterday. Typical.
As I came to a fork in the trail, my directions said to travel a short way down one path, then take the trail on the left. That would lead me to Mt Bell. I kept going and going, but no path. Finally, just as I was about to turn around and double-back, a path appeared. The description of Mt. Bell said that the trail leads near the peak, then there are some smaller paths to the top. As I continued along the path I was on, it stayed the same size. As I reached the summit I saw picnic tables and fenced overlook. I had found my way to Mt. Hollywood. Dumb book has wrong directions. Oh well, I made the best of it, took pictures and enjoyed the day. I decided to try and find the way to Mt. Bell, but I got a little turned around and confused, so I just headed home. By the time I found the way up to Mt. Bell - a LEFT from the fork - I was pretty tired and hungry.
For the most part, the hike was relatively uneventful. Lots of people - the hike to Mt. Hollywood is very popular (another reason why I wanted to head up Mt. Bell). Lots of dogs on the way, pretty much all of them friendly. Really made me want a dog! Plus, some of the owners were very attractive too - not that I did anything about it.
I plan to go back and actually summit Mt. Bell someday. I also want to visit the ruins of the Old Zoo and Bee Rock in Griffith Park. Another day. But I also think it’s time for a new hiking book - hopefully one that knows right from left!
Here’s a 360 panorama from the top of Mt. Hollywood. Click for a much larger version. (2.5MB)
[…] before my penchant for doing the right things the wrong way, in a sense. Like using a map to hike up the wrong mountain. I pulled something similar today. I had to venture out to a bookstore to get the book for my book […]