By Stacy Bare, Sierra Club Outdoors Director
Last week I had the opportunity to go for a hike in the Hollywood Hills with a few Sierra Club friends and veterans, as well as Brooklyn Decker (above).
Having never spent that much time in L.A., it was nice to drive off the freeway and up into the Hollywood Hills to Griffith Park, the 11th largest municipally-owned park in the United States, and where you go if you want to get up close and personal with the Hollywood Sign.
I had missed out on an opportunity to go to the Arctic with Brooklyn two years ago because we were finishing up a great trip in Glacier National Park with a group of veterans, but she’s stayed very engaged with our work and is a dedicated spokesperson for living a healthy, adventurous life outdoors.
Not unlike any other hike in the hills with new friends and old, the rhythm of the trail doesn’t take long to loosen up good conversation and as we meandered up the hill and ultimately down the wrong fork in the trail, we discovered that Brooklyn had been to a lot of the places a lot of our brothers and sisters in arms had been and still are (Kuwait and Brooke Army Medical Center). When I asked her why she cared about veterans, she replied simply that, “it’s the right thing to do.”
Winding our way back up to the top of the sign we were cheered on by power pup Betty and only occasionally would we get any sideways glances for getting to be on a hike with Men’s Health Magazine’s Perfect Woman!
You can read more on MTV.com about the hike from Brooklyn’s perspective and what we heard on the trail as to why she spends her time on supporting veterans and encouraging all people to get outside more.
Remember though, hiking isn’t and the outdoors aren’t just for the stars, its for everyone and getting outside will give you the best chance to see the stars anyway!
Griffith Park hike participants; Stacy Bare at far right. Photo courtesy of Saveria Tilden.
See you at the trailhead!