A Walk On The Wild Side

No - this post isn’t about a visit to Venice Beach which is a walk on the wild side of a totally different kind – this post is intended to be an intelligent, informative, witty little piece about the joys of discovering the natural landscape, flora and fauna of Los Angeles.

Well okay, it’s about going on a walk in the countryside.

 

For the most part Los Angeles is an unattractive urban sprawl. It’s a mass of concrete and flying in to LAX (the main international airport) for the first time is a truly horrifying experience for someone like me who has been brought up in England’s lush green and pleasant lands,  I wanted to turn around and go straight home before I’d even got off the plane. If you are planning a trip to LA then aim to arrive in the dark - the night time descent into LAX is like landing over a giant circuit board – during the day it’s just a grim grey grid that stretches as far as the eye can see. 

 

So, it has been a very pleasant surprise to discover just how many areas of unspoilt countryside there are to explore relatively close to this gridlocked metropolis.

Pasadena, where we now live, is a mere 10 miles from the centre of downtown LA, but I can lie in my bed, looking straight out onto the whole vista of the San Gabriel mountains. A five minute drive out of town and you could be a million miles away from city and the constant noise of the traffic.  Get out of the car, slip on your hiking boots  and head up into the hills. Not only are the views terrific – on a clear day you can see to the coast; the skyscrapers of downtown LA rise up spectacularly out of the mist (well its actually smog but it’s surprisingly picturesque) and the only sounds up here are the tweeting of birds and the gurgling of the mountain streams.

 

There are numerous tracks and trails to be followed, we’ve crossed makeshift bridges over babbling brooks; stumbled across waterfalls – it really is a different world, and totally unexpected.  We’ve come across little log cabins lost in the forest at least a mile away from the nearest road – rather like an earlier version of Centre Parcs but without the sub-tropical swimming paradise – just you, nature and very rustic looking toilet facilities.

And as for wildlife, although we haven’t seen any as yet, there are signs on all of these trails warning of mountain lions, rattle snakes, as well as the local favourite, the Californian Black Bear.  

We have seen coyotes – you can spot these rather mangy grey wolf like creatures early in the morning trotting down suburbian streets; and just this week whilst out for an early afternoon stroll, not even off the beaten track, we startled two large deer by the side of the road.  We know people with raccoons lodging in their  loft and have heard  of friends coming home late at night to discover those Californian black bears frolicking in the hot tub.  Even the wild animals know how to live it up out here!!

Up on my balcony I keep a nectar feeder for the hummingbirds – tiny little exotic birds the size of a giant bumble bee.  And talking of insects – praying mantis are so far the worse I've seen; huge stick insect like things that blend into the background and take on the colour and appearance of whatever they happen to be hanging on to, making them very difficult to spot.  If they settle on a plant they pretend to be a leaf but when they sit on your deckchair….urgh!

  

And talking of all things nasty, if anyone ever does suggest you visit Venice Beach and tells you it’s one of LA’s must see’s and you just  have to go there – ignore them.  Venice Beach is one of the reasons why California is affectionately known across the rest of America as  “the land of fruit and nuts”  -  and they’re not referring to anything you might find growing on a tree.  Trust me, the “wild life” you spot on the boardwalk at Venice Beach could even make that praying mantis seem cute!!!