Saturday, September 22

Secret Stairs - Old Hollywood Revisted


This post has been sitting in the "draft" section far too long now. This Secret Stairs walk was a repeat of the very second one we ever did... and it will not be the last. Traipsing all over the original Hollywood hills neighborhoods, this is easily one of the more difficult walks, with some of the most beautifully shaded cases

In 2010 we did our first secret stairs walk, which led to enough enjoyment to continue, but this second walk was what really opened my eyes to what Los Angeles was really hiding in her canyons. These neighborhoods were stunning and so fully of vegetation.


The above picture is the approach to one of the stair cases. If you can look closely at the top portion of the picture, on the left side, you can see tiny steps where the case continues. The two pictures below are from the mid point & nearing the top of the steps. Just one of many...


Wonderful scenes off the busy boulevards.


Over time we have come to trust the author of Secret Stairs (book), he tends to have travelers hike a large case, but then wander around the neighborhood in flat sections before tackling the next arduous battle of 1920s concrete.


I tend to fall behind on these walks b/c there is just too much to take photos of while out and about. There is a perfect blend in many of the neighborhoods of strong colors, odd shapes, flora & breath-taking architecture.


The picture below is of a famous staircase, it has two sides to it, one fore traffic going up, the other for people going down. Alas, it is so steep there are concrete benches built into it from day one. Local residents have fashioned an abacus type contraption to count their accents of the case while exercising on this beast (seen below).


Georgette likes all things cat oriented.


Did I mention there were large numbers of shaded stair cases on this walk? We also managed to take a wrong turn at the very same point as the first trip. Back on the path we slowly descended out of the old 1920s Hollywood hills.


Back to our concerns of the modern world.


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