Hollywood Sign Hike-a-thon and Ice Cream Eating Contest

Kids, daddy and mommy are just having a *discussion* over which way to go. Ah, Griffith park. The completely free L.A. Fitness.
When I first heard of the starting point I was a bit confused. Really? REALLY Michael? We’re going to start at the Batcave and you’re thinking this thing is an easy one early in the morning? Even when I was getting lost daily here I thought this was a needlessly long incline filled hiking path.
Sure enough, woke up bright and early on a Sunday (don’t do that often) and headed over here to find a tasty donut waiting. The folks in New Orleans may not like you, Katrina but you got my heart. or gut. or whatever.
We got herded like cats and got on with our march of doom in the sun. While some groups lagged behind, it was pretty chill (read: hot as f$#k) walking up. Question — why is it that you have to clean up your dogs crap but horses get a free pass?
Get to the cliché Hollywood picture spot, take some clicks and then the real hike gets going. Oh the fun walking around that Radio tower hill and seeing the Valley in all its glory. At least from up there you don’t get that dirty feeling you do if you actually visit it.
Getting to the top was pretty easy, though it was a slower process. Even rocked it with some vino on the top of the Hollywood sign. Can’t get more Hollywood than that.
There was more ways we could have gone, but the hike seemed like it needed to work its way down. Ah those awesome mountains. Where else can you see a snake eat another snake and the see people watch it. Haven’t you’ve seen Jurassic Park? I was expecting another snake to pop out like a raptor. Clever girl indeed.
And why was I carrying a knife? I dunno. Maybe I’ve watched too much Lost and feel every group needs a John Locke. You just don’t know when a smoke monster is going to pop out of no where.
On the way down we past by a giving tree, which was more like a «litter your stupid wishes and pipe dreams here» tree.
To cap the hike we stopped by the old 1960’s Batcave. Oh the fun times. If you notice, this place is always used in crappy commercials and low budget syfy friday night movies.
Over all, it was a good hike and my feet are finally healed. Good times!

Erin: Hey did you go to the Slaw Dog Hike?
Mike: No, I was so hungover and I just decided to go on a hike on my own. How about you?
E: I hung out with KM, she was trying to teach me how to surf. She totally yelled at me. No JK, she was über pro about, but it kicked my @$$. (payback I suppose). Yeah, I was bummed that I wasn’t able to go. So how was that hike?
M: Well remember when we went to Javi’s bacon wrapped hot dog event at Griffith Park, well the hike was around there. I even saw the giving tree. It was really cool. I hiked up to the Hollywood sign.
E: That sounds like fun. I totally want to do that. I had a friend who used to run around there. Dude, set up a UYE hike; Andrea and I are totally in.
M: Hey, I know I’ll set it up and let you guys know. This is going to be awesome.
Flashfoward to the actual day…
E: cough, cough, wheeze, snort, cough. EFFFF! I can’t breathe.
I dragged ass the whole way. Sorry guys.
Turned out I have bronchitis. As shitty as I felt, the shit filled dirt trail led to the quiet serene views of LA and the Hollywood sign. I have always wanted to do this hike. Now I can proudly say I did. So thanks Mike. C. for putting this hike together. It was really nice meeting some new Unilocalers and catching up with some of the usual suspects.
I would say the highlight of the hike was sliding down the painted dragon.
Sunday Funday continues, sweet!

Let’s see what this UYE entailed — snakes, signs, tasty treats, celebratory thirst quencher, bat cave, green dragon (no absinthe required) and the Giving Tree? What more could you ask for, you might ask? How about Scoops to top all of that off?
Got to start this off with props to Michael C. for organizing a great hike on an early Sunday morning. I would have to say about 30 or so Unilocalers showed up to take advantage of a truly photogenic hiking experience.
After juicing up on donuts offered by Katrina M. we made our way up the hill, where there were numerous spots to snag some great photos of the Hollywood sign itself, the rolling landscape and the city below (from both sides of the hill for that matter). Don’t take my word for it, check out Jin N.‘s photos, as he was snapping away entire time.
The hike was on the easier scale compared to other hikes that make their way into the mountains surrounding LA. The trails were wide and clear, and even parts were paved, which was nice, and made for a good time in that you could hold a conversation without being completely exhausted!
Aside from taking in the views, photos, and kick arse vegan brownies, (a la Andrea V.) in front of the Hollywood sign, most of the action took place after the pack split up. About half of us continued the hike that wraps around to the top of the peak to just above the back side of the Hollywood sign. After reaching the summit, Javier J. passed around some apropos spirits marking the accomplishment.
The trek back down the hill included some face time for Janine R. & Jin N. up close and personal with a snake that was trying to enjoy it’s lunch. The Giving Tree (which Mike vehemently insisted was «just around the bend» the entire hike) was filled with ton’s of hand written wishes when we finally stumbled upon it.
No, we were not out in the sun too long, nor taking psychotropic drugs, but we found the large green dragon (which apparently no one saw on the way up), which provided a good rest stop & photo op as we neared the end of our venture. Lastly, we took a quick detour to check out the bat cave, where the original Batman television show was filmed.
Got to meet a lot of new faces and had a blast with the familiar ones as well. The day spent in the sun was capped off perfectly with some frozen goodness at Scoops afterward.

This right here is why I drag my all too hungover, donut toting, sleep deprived body out of bed in the morning…
Cause I knew it would be that great.

OMG I had so much fun on this hike. It was like I died and went to planet awesome. The gay I mean guy who planned this UYE is super cool and I don’t want to put him on blast or anything but I overheard a few girls saying that they totally wanted to make out with him (Seriously girls don’t be shy girls Mike’s a nice guy and would totally go for it).
Kidding aside, I want to send a big thank you to EVERYONE that came out and got a little dirty with the Unilocal Crew this Sunday. It was a great way to get a little exercise, meet a few new people, and have some FUN! Plus we got a ton of great photos…
For those of you who didn’t get the email from Jin with the pics just shoot me a PM and I’ll send you a link.
I LOVE YOU GUYS…

Great fun through and through! We saw a ton of $hit (literally) =D How come theres laws about picking up after your dog’s waste when horses can just do their business and its like 50 times larger in quantity?! Horse diapers… that’s where its at! =p
A bit of a late start, but our group made the most of it! Enjoyed shooting the $hit with a few new faces on the hike, welcome to Phil W! Katrina was a trooper after a night of dancing she still did the hike and even sprinted sections! Hopefully we didn’t scare you off on your first event. Mike C. took us to a good picture taking spot after a few meters of trespassing we had a good view of the Hollywood sign! Thank you Erin and Andrea V. for bringing fresh strawberries, trail mix, homemade brownies and those powdered cookie ball things! From here our group split up and some continued on the hike while others went home. Those that forged onward were rewarded in more amazing sights.
Upon reaching the very top of the Hollywood sign (backside), we got to a demonstration of Mike C’s athletic ability in hopping fences. o₀! I just crawled under a gap instead and got to take a picture with «HO» =p I wouldn’t advise trespassing at this spot without a seasoned guide because of the alarms and cameras…
At the very top Javier J. surprised everyone by putting out a full bottle of wine complete with wine and corkscrew! Very classy and thanks for sharing the wine and the ostrich jerky. ;) A good bonding moment as the rest of us took swigs directly from the bottle… victory! With talks being made for a possible Edward 40 Hands event, lots of $hit talking was already being said by Sal d with Joe backing him up.
On the way down we saw a snake eating a snake!?! I don’t know because I kept my distance, maybe Jin N or Janine R. can tell you more about this event they were like a foot away from whatever was going down.
We took a quick look at the giving tree, but found that the wish box was gone! We took a quick look at a few people’s wishes and a few of us wrote our own to put in the trunk.
We had a spur of the moment green dragon photo-​op. Yes we saw a dragon on our hike!!! Then onward to the Batcave, where it was another good view of the Hollywood sign but tinier. I’ve taken the hike to the Hollywood sign before from the Griffith Observatory… but this was waaaaay more fun all because of the people present. An easy walk, would recommend more people to go on this to get touristy and also get some light exercise.
Hot and dusty we cooled off with a quick drive across town to enjoy some scoops of SCOOPS! =p

I won’t go into too much detail, since others have already done a great job chronicling this event, but I will say that this is the best Unilocal event that I’ve ever been to! Of course, it was also my first (and so far only) Unilocal event… Seriously, though, I had a great time on this hike. The trail was moderately long, but pretty easy and provided a spectacular payoff. I was part of the group that made the additional trek to very top of the mountain, above the Hollywood sign, and I’m definitely glad that we did. It was cool to see the sign so up-​close. Not to mention the radio tower, which in my opinion is underrated. The side trip to the «Bat Cave» was also very cool, even if I was a little disappointed that there were no actual bats there… Finishing things off at SCOOPS was also a great idea. The ice cream was delicious and oh-​so satisfying after a long morning out in the sun. I’m sure I’ll be going back there soon, as it’s practically in my backyard. My only regret about this event was not wearing sunscreen.
Finally, it was wonderful to meet all the « Unilocalers» yesterday. Thanks to everyone for being friendly and welcoming to me on my first time out. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you again soon!

Good job to Mike. being a great organizer and a fun talker. :) Everyone was nice and easy-​going. Sorry for not getting the chance to say goodbye to some of you. I really had a great time!
Would you trek along the trail
With your head to the sun
As it bends in the east
With the thought of the end
At the beginning’s quest
On you trek!
Maneuver through the rocky road
Venturing as one, with one common goal
Across piles of waste and dirt
Packed our soles against the earth
Paced our way against the heat
Escaped the grip of a fire-​breather
Witness to some bizarre feat
As the snake swallows up its brother
As we made our way towards the end
Saw sights like no other
A victory, no need to comprehend
As we looked at one another…
The dream. now realized.

I write to you today with sore calves, quite sunburned shoulders + a somewhat weary spirit… but this review isn’t about today. It’s about yesterday’s awesome adventure to THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN!!!
We started out as a pretty mixed group of Unilocalers from Elites to newbies to non-​Yelpers in search of this elusive sign that seems so close… but was in fact quite far. I believe 2.5 miles was what our intrepid leader Michael C said? Not too bad, but considering it was the wee hours of 9am after a night of clubbing with bottle service in Hollywood… uhhh, yea… LoL.
The hike itself was inspiring + a good level for hikers of all abilities. As someone who probably hasn’t hiked since their 7^th grade class trip to Yosemite, it was great exercise. I sweat a gazillion gallons + wished I had brought more water, but with the company of great fellow Unilocalers I met along the journey, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I was fearing. The surface was partially paved, partially dirt, + partially horse poop so we didn’t have to venture through any real shrubbery or anything… just had to avoid the poop, falling off the cliff edge + watch out for the occasional snake eating a lizard. Jin N was our handy photographer documenting every moment of the trip as well as the scenery around us + the aforementioned snake sighting. We made it to «No trespassing» sign + went around it to reach the closest point we could get to in front of the sign (without risking getting arrested) after only a little over an hour + took photos galore! Andrea V whipped out some delicious vegan brownies at that point + it was definitely a highlight of the trip!
Heading down to a fork in the road, the group split ways as the more adventurous ones vouched to continue on for another path higher up to the true top behind the sign. Though at much more of an incline for a good 45 mins or so, this part of the hike proved fruitful with views of Burbank on the way up + then eventually a lovely 360 view of Southern California from the top! We made it! Aaaaand then proceeded to celebrate by passing around a bottle of white wine spontaneously produced from Javier J’s bag, hahaha!
The going down part proved much easier than going up. And by then many more adventurers were on the trail around us. Near the bottom, we took a mini detour to see «the Bat Cave» (aka Bronson Caves) where the original Batman + Robin would zoom out to save the day.
Good times indeed! Great people, lovely weather + there’s nothing like a good hike to bring people together… especially with the sugary cold awesomeness of Scoops ice cream that followed! Major props to Michael C for putting this whole event together! And yes… we did finally find «The Giving Tree» on the way down. =)

Wow what a great time, it was a little stressful in the beginning due to showing up at the wrong side of Griffith Park, due to construction. And the group had to forge a head to me and Joe being about 20 minutes late, but it gave me and Joe time to polish off our Long Island Ice tea and bust a jog for 2 minutes up hill that almost killed us. But we met up with the Unilocalers within a few minutes, and wow we surprised by the amount of people.
Once we met up with the group it was great times, hiked to the front of the Hollywood sign, and let me tell you the views were spectacular. Took some cool pics, had some good brownies and cookies. After that the group split up and some of us, hiked to the top of the Mountain, well worth it. At the top we all shared a little wine thanks to Javier, who kept it classy with a glass, while we all drank straight from the bottle like whores. Some laws were broken up there, and the conversation got a bit dirty, I of course heading it in that direction. We even got to see some cannibalism, all in all a great day.
Thanks Mike for busting a great UYE, we need to do this again 40 style

Great event! Thanks Michael!
I rarely do anything like this (hiking) so I had to do this especially since it was on a Sunday
The hike to the top was very easy. Once there we all started taking pictures with the Hollywood sign in the background. Thanks Jin!
Also thank you Andrea for the delicious brownies! I couldn’t get enough Hahaha
All in all we had a great turn out and it was a great way to start a Sunday morning with fellow Unilocalers!

Seriously. What kind of moron sets up a hike on an early morning on Sunday after a night of drinking… and shows up LATE anyways??? (edit: Katrina M.)
That moron would be our fearless UYE leader: Michael C.
Gotta love the guy, and I do. I came out in support of his event. It was nice to see a large group did in fact show up. A good mix of elites. regulars and many new comers. (BTW… for anyone interested in coming to a Unilocal event, this type of event is a perfect opportunity. So casual and relaxed).
Andrea V. summarized the day pretty well. I can’t add much to it apart from a few details. The hike wasn’t as bad. I’ve been on many harder ones. But if you’re a resident of LA I think you should make it a must do in your lifetime. Most of the trails are paved or hard dirt. There aren’t any hard switchbacks or rough terrain to climb.
We made our way up the trails, being fully nourished by Katrina M’s hangover dozen donuts. The sugar worked because they wound up sprinting to the summit. The laggers (me and Erin) caught up with the rest in front of the Hollywood sign. After taking the gratuitous touristy pics, we fed on Andrea’s glorious tray of vegan delights. Brownies and salty nut balls (yes laugh).
A part of our group split off and left for the day, shunning the ice cream and opting instead for Thai food. damn you all. We made our way to the top of the peak near the tower. We were treated with fences, the back of th Hollywood sign and a lovely view of smog covered LA Basin and a wonderful sight of downtown Burbank.
We were supposed to find the Giving Tree along the way. Mike said he knew where it was. «It should be around this bend»
«Ok maybe this bend»
«I am positive I went before, Jin!»
We finally did stumble upon it on the way down. A few of us left some hand written notes. I believe the chocolate bars Mike was planning to put in the tree were eaten. Javier left his rave glo-​stick as a gift for the next visitor.
The hike is a must do for an Angeleno. Ya gotta try it once. Its not that hard. Just bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat.
Thanks Mikey.
p. s. if you attended the hike and would like to view the entire photo album, please send me a message with your e-​mail address. No need, if I already attended an event with you.

I was really surprised that Mike C. setup this hiking on a Sunday morning, I mean, who woke up at 9am after a night of partying??? Well, WE DID apparently! We have about 20−25ppl turning up ready to hike the Hollywood Sign.
Yes, I was part of the group (Katrina M, Juliana D, Felicia C, and Eduardo G + 2 guys that I’m not sure your name tho) that split up for food, instead of going to the Giving Tree, but hey, we had tons of fun and we got great pictures from Jin (Thank you for carrying those big camera up there!!!)
Happy Brownie and Sugar balls from Andrea V and Erin, it was the most delicious thing I got after inclining hikes. Please bring some more on the next hike (Mike C, when is the next one eh???)
Definitely big shout out to Katrina for making me jog a bit while we hiked, it was fun!
Thank you to Mike C once again for organizing this, it was a really great group and I applaud the ppl who showed up at this event, then continued to Unilocal Noir Elite. You guys are Troopers!!!

I need a foot massage. Thanks Mike. No, really, thanks. It was worth it.
Mike, Mike, Mike and the Hike, Hike, Hike.
Mike C. organized about 30 or so Unilocalers for this mini-​adventure– hiking UYE. We hiked up to the Hollywood sign and Jin whipped out his camera to take some pictures of us all down below the sign. (Thanks Jin for always being our photographer!) We lost about half our group after this, but for those who labored on, we had more adventures in store. Down we went, then back up a different trail to reach the area above the Hollywood sign. Then back down and to the Bat Cave.
On the way, we saw lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Oh wait, I have that wrong. We saw a snake eating another snake (Jin demonstrated his bravery to get a close up shot of this), a few lizards, a fire breathing dragon [picture], and lots of dogs and horses! And lots of poop from aforementioned creatures.
We stopped at the giving tree, met a super cute Afghan Hound, played with Brenna’s dog Amanda, did some jumping, sliding, running, walking, resting, walking, more walking and a little more running. But surprisingly no skipping.
After our (not quite) grueling 4 hour hike, we went to Scoops. Like hungry, hot and tired vultures, we descended on this Ice Cream shop just moments after they opened for business. We enjoyed our salty chocolate and other varieties as we rested and ate more calories than we had just burned during the hike. Calories… what a great ending to a UYE involving exercise.
Thanks Mike for organizing this and thanks to everyone who showed up and made it so much fun. It was great to meet some new Unilocalers, hope to see you all soon!