Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a hiker. I’ve never hiked long distances or had the proper gear to do so, and I’ve honestly never really seen the appeal in walking up a hill. However, as a part of Caltech’s Engineers Without Borders chapter (which you can read more about here), I’m traveling to Ecuador next month with three other students to implement a new water supply system for a local community there. A huge aspect of the project is replacing pipeline and building a new catchment (to collect groundwater) in the mountain, which naturally requires a lot of hiking to reach the site. Therefore, I knew I had to practice and gain some hiking skills before the trip.
I enlisted the help of some of my friends (who love to hike) to help me buy the right hiking boots and backpack. They also found a really nice 8.5-mile hike at the Brown Mountain Dam (a 15 minute drive from campus and located right next to JPL!) so I could break in my boots and go on my first real hike. The trail even had a waterfall a little after the four mile mark, and I was really excited to see it!
We left for the trail early on a Saturday morning to beat the crowd. It was pleasantly not very hot outside, and the breeze definitely made the hike more bearable. My friend brought her speaker, so we played upbeat music (Shakira and Bad Bunny!) while we were walking. On the way to the waterfall, there were a lot of river crossings, where we tried to balance on the rocks to cross over but miserably failed. After a point, we just gave up and walked directly through the shallow water. My feet were soaked, but it was honestly very refreshing after a few miles in.
When we reached the waterfall, we made the impulsive decision to go swim in it! The water was freezing, but after hiking all that way, there was no way we weren’t swimming. My friends and I even tried swimming closer to the waterfall, but the crashing water was hitting us and was kind of painful.
After lounging in the sun for a bit to dry off, we hiked the path back. At the parking lot, there was a fruit stand, so my friend and I had to get a large fruit cup with mango, pineapple, and watermelon topped with lime, Tajin, and chamoy (the best fruit combination!). After our quick snack, we were still really hungry, so we stopped for food at Amara Cafe, a cute brunch spot in Old Pasadena. Overall, I would call my first hiking experience a success, and I’m looking forward to exploring other hiking spots in the LA area.
