This post is sponsored by Eddie Bauer and Travel + Leisure.
In case you didn't know - and it's likely that you don't - I moved to California a few months ago. I was out here in Los Angeles doing some work and, after picking up a friend for dinner who mentioned the bungalow next to hers was for rent, I signed a lease, flew home the next day and started packing up the life I had lived in New York for the past decade. It was...impulsive.Needless to say, it's been wonderful calling the west my home. It still feels a bit surreal, but I'm getting used to it more everyday. You can hike before work (or during) and if you feel like sleeping under the stars after you've finished eating tacos, you can. You don't even have to think about it. Just keep your camping stuff in the trunk.Sure, the summer here has been hotter than F. 100+ degrees most days and barely an drop of rain since I got here at the end of March. Angeles National Forest is just a stones throw from my house, but driving up the Crest for a hike is usually an early morning or early evening activity so you can beat the heat. (And by beating the heat, I mean hiking in that "cool" 90 degree shade.)
I partnered with Travel + Leisure and Eddie Bauer to document my favorite hike in the area. I asked Sinuhe Xavier, my favorite California/Colorado traveling companion, frequent hiking partner-in-crime and photographer extraordinaire, to come along for a sunrise jaunt up in Griffith Park last week. We were treated to a cool - dare I say chilly - morning of fog, a rare treat for us east side dwellers. Very few of the photos I take while hiking are gray, but I'm psyched that Sinuhe and I were able to capture that calmness here.Griffith Park is a special place. It's the woods, mountains and desert, all within a short drive from everyone's favorite restaurants and bars. It might not have the grandeur of the San Gabriels to the north, but it's just about the best urban hiking I've come across while traversing this great country of ours. And that's worth shouting about, right?Take a look at more pics from our foggy hike below. We were psyched to be wearing Eddie Bauer from head to toe (that's jacket (JACKET!!!), shirt, pants, shoes) while exploring a spot that Sinuhe and I like to call "Little Big Sur."
Friends in California! If you're going to be around Big Sur, Berkeley, SF, LA or Ojai, go and support one of Cold Splinters' favorites, Range of Light Wilderness. They're doing a few record release shows at some pretty nifty places. Go have a beer, listen to/watch some music and then sleep under them West Coast Stars. Dreamy.
Just when you think California is perfect. I guess I'll be needing to keep a few bottles of this in the back of my car now.
Trust me. Get it. Even if you'll never DIY. 
