Thanks to the ADIDAS ORIGINALS X OC Fall/Winter 2013 collection, we're feeling sportier than ever! In the "LET'S GET PHYSICAL" series, we check in with friends to find out how they stay in shape.
Ain't no mountain high enough! OC alum Nora Beckman, OCLA's Greg Luna, and photographer ANDREW VOTTERO are avid fans of the wilderness and a good adventure––case in point: the Hiking Club LA that they've founded to embark on weekly excursions. So it only made sense for us to tap them to take the rock climbing-inspired adidas Originals x OC collection for a little spin. The trio brought their friends Johanna Breiding, Kelly Cline, and Paul Soto to Vasquez Rocks, a 25 million year old rock formation in nearby Agua Dulce, to hike, climb, and explore. We asked Nora and Greg exactly what it means to "take a hike"––in a good way.
Names: Nora Beckman, Greg Luna
Occupation:
Nora: Creative project coordinator / Saturn return
Greg: Team OCLA / filmmaker
How long have you been hiking for, and when did you start?
Nora: I’ve never been much of the workout type. I had somewhat of an aversion to the term hiking, linking it to obligatory childhood hikes in Oregon. So when Greg and I started Hiking Club LA in January 2013, it was more as an excuse to see each other once a week and have meandering, break-filled conversations while walking.
Greg: I grew up in Altadena, which is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, so hiking has been a part of my life for a while. I thought hitting the trails would be a good way for me to reconnect with my hometown and to help orient Nora with the bizarre and immense geography of LA. Our first hike was on a congested trail above Los Feliz in Griffith Park but the hikes got more ambitious, and we acquired more hiking companions, with each week. When we summited Mount Baldy through wind and snow at 10,000 feet, we realized we’d found our calling.
How often do you hike, and where?
Nora: We hike every week, usually Wednesdays, on trails around Los Angeles; summiting myriad peaks in the San Gabriels; snaking through the canyons and hillsides; winding through Joshua trees in the desert. For me, it's an exercise in grounding into this foreign environment, this new home.
Greg: We'll go anywhere we can reach by car in a single day. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes out here––within 45 minutes behind the wheel, you can reach wild formations like Vasquez Rocks that sit upon fault-lines or dense Coulter Pine-tree forests high up in the mountains.
How do you prepare/warm up?
Greg: Hiking is all about preparation. We rarely have cell phone service on the trail so studying maps in advance is crucial. Hydrating is critical too. When you get down to half of your water supply while on the trail: turn around! Stretching before a hike is always good for your legs. And I can't stress the importance of proper footwear. Seriously!
Favorite sports snacks or drinks?
Nora: We eat traditional trail food, mostly. An apple and PB&J sandwich never tasted as good as after a four-hour climb. Jerky, raw almonds, bananas—whole foods, heavy on protein, that give us energy to keep going. And always enough water!
Fill in the blank: Immediat
Ain't no mountain high enough! OC alum Nora Beckman, OCLA's Greg Luna, and photographer ANDREW VOTTERO are avid fans of the wilderness and a good adventure––case in point: the Hiking Club LA that they've founded to embark on weekly excursions. So it only made sense for us to tap them to take the rock climbing-inspired adidas Originals x OC collection for a little spin. The trio brought their friends Johanna Breiding, Kelly Cline, and Paul Soto to Vasquez Rocks, a 25 million year old rock formation in nearby Agua Dulce, to hike, climb, and explore. We asked Nora and Greg exactly what it means to "take a hike"––in a good way.
Names: Nora Beckman, Greg Luna
Occupation:
Nora: Creative project coordinator / Saturn return
Greg: Team OCLA / filmmaker
How long have you been hiking for, and when did you start?
Nora: I’ve never been much of the workout type. I had somewhat of an aversion to the term hiking, linking it to obligatory childhood hikes in Oregon. So when Greg and I started Hiking Club LA in January 2013, it was more as an excuse to see each other once a week and have meandering, break-filled conversations while walking.
Greg: I grew up in Altadena, which is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, so hiking has been a part of my life for a while. I thought hitting the trails would be a good way for me to reconnect with my hometown and to help orient Nora with the bizarre and immense geography of LA. Our first hike was on a congested trail above Los Feliz in Griffith Park but the hikes got more ambitious, and we acquired more hiking companions, with each week. When we summited Mount Baldy through wind and snow at 10,000 feet, we realized we’d found our calling.
How often do you hike, and where?
Nora: We hike every week, usually Wednesdays, on trails around Los Angeles; summiting myriad peaks in the San Gabriels; snaking through the canyons and hillsides; winding through Joshua trees in the desert. For me, it's an exercise in grounding into this foreign environment, this new home.
Greg: We'll go anywhere we can reach by car in a single day. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes out here––within 45 minutes behind the wheel, you can reach wild formations like Vasquez Rocks that sit upon fault-lines or dense Coulter Pine-tree forests high up in the mountains.
How do you prepare/warm up?
Greg: Hiking is all about preparation. We rarely have cell phone service on the trail so studying maps in advance is crucial. Hydrating is critical too. When you get down to half of your water supply while on the trail: turn around! Stretching before a hike is always good for your legs. And I can't stress the importance of proper footwear. Seriously!
Favorite sports snacks or drinks?
Nora: We eat traditional trail food, mostly. An apple and PB&J sandwich never tasted as good as after a four-hour climb. Jerky, raw almonds, bananas—whole foods, heavy on protein, that give us energy to keep going. And always enough water!
Fill in the blank: Immediat