DRAFT: Is USC starting to feel more like Lost Angeles?

Is USC starting to feel more like Lost Angeles?

Like many other students living at USC, I find it easy to get disconnected from nature when living deep inside a concrete jungle. Today we are going to explore what it’s like to break free from routine and learn four ways to reconnect with nature in Los Angeles.

As I look outside my window on a sunny Sunday morning I see the similar sight of idle cars hesitant to move from their precious parking spots. Students walking towards campus are mustering the energy to study or eat. The stucco walls on the opposing building mock me with their blandness. Then I spot a tree. The grand Sycamore tree holding on to its last resilient leaves, and I remember there is life in Los Angeles.

My goal for the next two weeks was to find my roots and reconnect with nature. Rather than watch the same idle cars, lugubrious students, and mocking stucco exteriors, I was going to find new paths to explore. My journey led me from the sandy shores of “El Porto”, up the trails of the San Gregorian mountains to conclude with a ride down the snowy slopes of Big Bear. Let’s Begin:

Surf’s Up

About once a week I love to wake up before the Sun rises and set course for USC’s closest beach, El Porto. Forget morning showers, the crisp water washes any remaining sleep from my eyes as I resurface feeling empowered and connected with my roots.

I was born and raised in Southern California, so my preferred way to reconnect with nature is to zip-up a wet suit and plunge into the water with my board. Once my board and I sit outside the waves, I immediately feel discounted from my accounting homework, I-405 traffic and other inland responsibilities. I don’t have to worry about time, as I use the Sun as my clock.

For this article I wanted to explore how the average student would set off to connect to the Ocean. After a day of homework and studying, I took a surf board -- instead of my normal body board – and braved afternoon traffic to go on a sunset-surf session. In the first paddle-out my shoulders were burning from using new muscles and it took me twice as long to reach the outside. However, the same feeling overtook me. I felt my problems melt away.

While I was straddling my seven-foot foam board I noticed the cargo ships that I usually ignore. Today I had read an article on Captain Cook and his journey settling the California coast. (CONTINUE about connecting with nature)

Challenging Climbs

Do you like your calves to burn? If you answered yes to that question, then try out the Old LA Zoo Hike. Officially listed as an intermediate hike, I immediately thought that my lack of hiking experience had prepared me for this journey. Boy, was I wrong!

Despite the physical exercise, on the trail you can reconnect with nature. Following the rains of the past days, the path was muddy, but the plants were green and alive. The path is around four miles long and loops, so the scenery is constantly changing. The skyscrapers of DTLA are exchanged for enormous trees with birds soaring instead of planes and critters running around like cars.

At the climax of the trial I stumble upon the location of the former LA County Zoo. Its hard to imagine such an iconic treasure hidden so deep inside the seemingly empty hill of Los Angeles.

TALK ABOUT CONNECTING HISTORY OF LA

Powder Peaks

While the other ways to connect with nature only take a few hours, sometimes we need to get away for a day trip with nature. When I feel this lost, I prefer to go an excursion to Big Bear Mountain.

My girlfriend and I have recently taken up the sport of snowboarding. I was very out of my element. I normally don’t choose to stay in sub-freezing temperatures, yet at the peak of Snow Summit I felt eerily calm before going down my first ever double black diamond…. I mean green slope.

Although my skills lag, I always feel connected to the environment in the mountains. Various birds depart from their tall nests to gracefully swoop down the slopes as I effortlessly fall on my back. The naked trees stand abreast on the edges marking the height of the snow, and as I tumble past them I imagine their decades-old story. A story that has seen droughts and blizzards, one as unique as the geography of its state. Where else do we have the opportunity to surf in the Pacific, hike near a desert and snowboard the peaks in the same week – or even the same day.

(Talk about history of California Snowboarding)

The story of a nature-oppressed USC students is a familiar one to my ears. I wanted to break this mold which has led me from the Pacific Ocean to the San Bernardino Mountains. I hope that I can inspire other students to hear the waves crashing, birds chirping and snow crunching, because at the end of the day, nature will be our guide to reconnect with Love Angeles.