One of the things I really wanted to do on this trip was hike in the amazing hills Southern California has. but which ones? I thought about Turnbull Canyon in my hometown and Griffith Park, but finally decided on Runyon Canyon above Hollywood.I learned about Runyon Canyon from my friend, Wendy. She hikes it regularly with her dog and posts about it on Facebook and her blog. I looked it up online and it sounded like a great hike. I let her know that I was thinking of hiking there on Friday and we made plans to meet.

Now, let me tell you about Wendy. I have known her since I was in 4th grade and she was in 5th. Her sister was in my class. So we went to the same elementary school. When I was in 7th grade and she was in 8th we went to the same junior high. We went to the same high school and I was in Drama class with her for 1 semester (she is a fantastic actress). Then, believe it or not, we went to the same college!!!!!! So I have gone to school with her all the way from elementary through college!!! I reconnected with her on Facebook.

OK, back to the hike!

We met at the top of the trail off of Mulholland.

She had her awesome dog, Riggins, and 2 guests..Bear and Jax. I loved that we did this hike with the dogs!! Runyon Canyon is dog friendly and for most of it the dogs are allowed to be off leash. I had the honor of walking Riggins when he had to be on leash 🙂

Since we started at the top we went downhill (obviously!). The views were spectacular

We went down the easy trail which is wide and gently sloping. You can see the dogs in these pictures, too.

Down there is the foundation of a home that used to sit in the canyon. I believe the owners gave this land for hiking.

A foggy view of Park La Brea. A housing community in Hollywood

Up above is the hardest trail

And the beginning of it

Wendy gave me a choice of which trail to take back up. I did not choose the most difficult. Now Wendy could and and has done that one, but for me it was a little too advanced! My other choices were the one we had just come down which is the longest or a shorter, but steeper hike. I chose the steeper one.

At the bottom, heading up

Century City?

Hollywood and beyond

On the medium trail, looking across to the easy trail and above is the hard one

Oh, and here is what I am hiking

What was I thinking???? LOL. I needed a break. (with the fabulous Riggins!!)

Great view of the Hollywood sign

Look how far we’ve come!!!!

Maybe I am ready for this one???

Maybe not lol.

Hollywood sign again

We made it to the top!!! Wendy said I did really well and I was very proud of myself. It was tough!! But it will make hiking the Kansas Flinthills a breeze lol

there was a home up here and they had this beautiful bougainvillea

Here I am with Jax, Riggings, and Bear

And the fabulous Wendy!!!

More homes in the hills

And a tour bus!!!

2 days later I took these pictures from the parking garage at the Grove. Just to give another perspective. We hiked the trail on the right!

If you ever get a chance to hike in Runyon Canyon I highly recommend it!!

Robyn’s bio (from her blog) – What can I say about me? Well… I am very random and quirky. I live in Kansas, am married to a sexy biker dude who works for Foot Locker and am mom to a crazy cat. I am a runner and vegetarian and I watch entirely too much Reality TV. I am also a Mormon, explorer, crafter, drama queen, native Californian and Spoiled Brat.