Project Kengikat

The Little Hike That Could

// February 13th, 2010 // Uncategorized

After my day to “escape” with Dodger at Griffith Park, we set out on yet another adventure and this time we made time to help people along the way. The before we encountered homeless people in the park and I wished I had taken some things to try to help them if they would accept them, so I made plans to do just that the very next day.

Dodger and I left home around 11:00AM on Friday morning walking to Griffith Park, home and the Los Angeles Zoo, Travel Town and the awesome and beautiful Griffith Park Observatory, there are also plenty of other attractions in this amazing place that including hiking, biking and even horse back riding. This is simply a beautiful place to spend a awesome Southern California day.

Before leaving home I packed water and treats for Dodger as well as water and a banana for myself. In addition I also backed three Do Something Kits in my backpack to pass out to the homeless people we saw on the grass near the entrance to the park the day before. On that day we only saw three men, so we took three Do Something Kits, however when we reached the park on Friday I discovered that I did not have enough Do Something Kits and this sort of bummed me out, but I was able to help three people.

I had plans to go back to the park today to take lunch to homeless people, but time got away from me and now I will have to make plans to do this tomorrow which is cool because not only will I be able to take food I can also take Do Something Kits as well. Dodger might have to miss this trip, because I will be pulling my bike trailer and I dont want him to jump out while I am riding. I guess I am going to have to find a way to secure him in the back of the trailer so he is able to go along with me on the outreaches when I ride the bike.

Friday was so awesome, the sky was filled with sun and it was completely blue. It was a perfect day to hike to the top of the trails and see the Observatory and right before we began we were able to help three homeless people which was awesome. It is estimated that there are only 65,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County, I know this number is a huge exaggeration, because I know plenty of homeless people who do not seek services, do not go to missions or shelters and will not ask for help from any agency simply because it is too much trouble and the help you get many times is not worth all the hassle you must endure. I also feel this way because I was homeless for 29 months here in Los Angeles and I know from experience, not from some report or from what someone who never even speaks to homeless people, let alone know how to help them has to say about the homeless situation here in Los Angeles as well as the United States

For those who don’t know what a Do Something Kit is, it just a hygiene kit that is packed in a large zip lock bag thatcontains travel size items that assist a homeless individual with basic hygiene needs such as shower supplies, oral hygiene items, socks, water, beanie and gloves. The Do Something Kit also contains either a granola, power or protein bar and sometimes things like a candy bar or sweet treats. I started passing these items out along the Santa Monica beach when I had an extra to homeless people. I later called them Do Something Kits after the name of the outreach Do Something Saturday~that empowers people. The grass roots organization and the Do Something Saturday outreach celebrated three years of service on February 3, 2010 and did a three year celebration outreach on February 6th 2010 along Santa Monica and Venice Beaches reaching out to homeless people with Do Something Kits and food.

Thanks to donations from Phillip and Lee I was able to purchase more items for the Do Something Kits and this is how I was able to help the homeless individuals we saw on our hike up to the Observatory on Friday. It has been through what little money I have left over after paying rent and bills as well as money from my recycling that I am able to help people through my outreaches. It is also from people just like Phillip who find it in their heart to reach out and help when they can. I do have a small core group of supporters who are always able to supply items for the outreaches. Two of these supporters have been part of my organization as well as my two best friends since 2007 shortly after I started my efforts to help those in need.

After talking with the homeless people for a while Dodger and I set out to hike to the top of the mountain. I have not done this in a very long time and I was sure I would be able to do it, but didn’t know it would take less time then I thought. I figured I would have to stop a bunch of times for rest and to allow myself to recharge, but this wasn’t the case at all. I simply walked at a pace that was comfortable and didn’t try to rush or over do it.  I was able to take some awesome pictures along the way, I was even able to send pictures to my friend Leah from my cell phone. This was another first for me.

Walking up the tail is so beautiful and peaceful. Soon after you leave the main entrance, the noise from the world fades away and it replaced by the sounds of nature and this calm comes over you and before you know it all that really matter is being in the moment and enjoying every single second of it.

Once again Dodger loved being in the park, he hears and sees so much and this just make him go wild. Especially when he sees things like squirrels that drive him crazy. It was funny how one squirrel ran up to the middle of the try and then turned around to look down at Dodger and make noises as if he were taunting him. Little did this squirrel know that he really didn’t go high enough because Dodger ran toward the tree and leaped and nearly reached the little monster. After this the squirrel went further up the tree and did not look back down.

Once through the picnic area you are able to see two of the massive telescopes from the observatory and all the way up the mountain they sort of server as a motivation to get you to keep going all the way to the top. Along the way Dodger and I saw much wild life and heard the chirps of many birds. Dodger even saw plenty of small lizards he might have otherwise had in his mouth if I didn’t have him on his leash securely anchored to my backpack.

Right near the top of our hike Dodger chased a squirrel down into a hole and spent about 10 minutes doing his best to dig him out. It was cool how people walking past us would stop to see what he was up to and then cheer him on. In the end we walked away and Dodger and I were at the top of the mountain taking in all the beauty of the Observatory. Dodger quickly made a new friend and played very well until the other owner had to go on his way. However this didn’t stop Dodger from finding someone else to play with and pet him.

We took in the awesome sights at the top of the mountain, Dodger at the snacks I packed for him and drank water out of my hand. For some reason everyone just thought this was so cool to see him do this. Dodger being the show off that he is way also very happy to show them how cool it was to drink from my hand.

We walked back down and as we came down Dodger wanted to explore the sides of the hill where the grass was tall and he heard as well as saw birds moving about. He seemed to have this energy almost like a kid that was finishing up his day of playground activities. Once back down where we started Dodger saw more squirrels and began to jump and bark. Right as we exited the park I sat on the grass with him and he sat right next to me and we enjoyed the sun for a bit before heading home.

Once back home I realized that Dodger and I had been gone for over four hours and we had such a great time. Dodger jumped up on his spot on the back on the arm chair and I uploaded the videos from the day before laying down on the bed to take a long nap. It wasn’t until after 7:30PM that Dodger woke me up licking my face and wanting me to pet him. I did just that and then took him out for our evening walk.

When we got back Dodger took hot bath and got all the dirt off him from digging, jumping and playing and just like asmall child after his bath he pulled his blue blanket off the top of the arm chair and went to sleep. This was my clue that it was time for my long hot bath and to burn some sage, ring my bell and say “thanks” for yet another awesome day.