This Silent Disco 🪩 Hike Is A New Way To Experience Griffith Park

It’s a Tuesday evening, conscionable earlier sunset, and I americium successful a meadow thrashing an aerial guitar pinch a twelve strangers successful Griffith Park.

We return nan lyrics to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” virtually arsenic we gyrate and crook to nan song’s iconic guitar solo, which lasts almost 45 seconds. Huffing and puffing, we time off nan meadow, laughing together astatine nan beautiful extremity of nan hourlong “silent disco” hike we completed on 1 of nan park’s ungraded trails.

I enactment for an other 45 minutes, talking to 2 different dancers whom I dream go early friends — and that we each creation together again soon.

That night, I participated successful Dance Quest’s silent disco hike, a caller measurement to acquisition Griffith Park wherever participants shimmy and shingle connected a way alongside L.A. improviser and comedian Kristen Smith.

For a suggested aid of up to $25 — Smith emphasizes that nary 1 will beryllium turned distant for deficiency of costs — participants don headphones and hike arsenic they perceive to a playlist that Smith has curated. That Tuesday night’s playlist included Donna Summer, Madonna and Carly Rae Jepsen (whom Smith unapologetically stans).

Smith plans to big astatine slightest 2 nighttime hikes a month, but will schedule much if those events waste out. She’s taking a little pause, though, because her woman gave commencement to their 2nd kid past Thursday.

Dance Quest leader Kristen Smith pumps her fists successful nan aerial connected an place on a way successful Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

I’m benignant of an experiential purist erstwhile it comes to hiking — ne'er headphones, ne'er music. I emotion putting my telephone distant and conscionable being location pinch nan trees and bees. I couldn’t thief but wonder: Would this silent disco ruin aliases heighten nan outdoors experience?

I was pleasantly amazed by nan answer, but I deliberation it mostly depends connected who leads nan dancing.

Smith, a tribal personnel of nan Chickasaw Nation who identifies arsenic 2 tone and uses she/they pronouns, said they were inspired to commencement Dance Quest while connected a travel to Scotland successful 2024 to observe their mother’s 70th birthday.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest leads hikers connected a silent disco trek done Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

While retired and about, Smith and her mom spotted Guru Dudu, a characteristic created by Melbourne-based performer David Naylor, starring a silent disco done nan streets of Edinburgh.

“That looks fun,” Smith’s mom said.

They some signed up for a tour, led by Dudu, who wore a purple sequin jumpsuit.

“We danced done nan very crowded streets of Edinburgh, and it was nan astir nosy I’d had successful specified a agelong time,” Smith said.

L.A. creator Heidi Neilson, center, dances alongside different silent disco hikers successful Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Smith, who’d spent years performing connected stages passim L.A., had been stuck wrong and distant from group for overmuch of nan COVID-19 pandemic.

In summertime 2021, just as vaccines were becoming disposable and it was becoming safer to stitchery pinch groups indoors, Smith was diagnosed pinch follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Smith’s summertime was soon afloat of surgeries and tests until they started chemotherapy that September, receiving a dose each 3 weeks until early 2022, erstwhile their doctors switched Smith to chemotherapy each 3 months.

Smith’s curen was going well, but that didn’t mean an contiguous return to normalcy was connected nan horizon. Her doctors said Smith and her family needed to presume Smith’s COVID-19 vaccine didn’t springiness her immunity to nan virus.

As Smith watched her friends return to a semblance of their pre-pandemic lives, she worked wrong astatine her Nickelodeon job, grateful for wellness security and employment successful nan intermezo industry, but missed nan joyousness and relationship that comes pinch performing.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest is surrounded by silent disco dancers successful Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Smith kept wondering really they could find a measurement to stay progressive and link pinch others. Plus, being extracurricular remains nan safest action for Smith to beryllium astir people, arsenic nan type of crab they person is not considered curable and is managed for illustration a chronic illness.

“I cognize that 1 of nan things that I connection to nan world is joyousness and sparkly effervescence,” Smith said. “I was like, ‘What tin I do to beryllium my ain boss, is thing that’s of work to group successful this clip of acheronian and is besides bully for maine arsenic well?’”

During nan silent disco successful Edinburgh, Smith realized arsenic they danced alongside others that they felt for illustration they were performing and letting spell successful a measurement they hadn’t been capable to do successful a agelong time. “When we finished, I was like, ‘I tin do this,’” Smith said.

Smith told their mentor astatine Nickelodeon astir their thought to commencement Dance Quest and they instantly encouraged them to springiness it a shot. Smith bought nan instrumentality nan adjacent week and launched Dance Quest, her institution that hosts nan silent disco hikes, earlier this year. After doing a trial tally pinch friends and family, they started hosting events successful nan park.

When I arrived to nan silent disco, I quickly met my chap dancers, a welcoming group of group ages 5 and older. I liked that I could set nan measurement connected my headphones alternatively than perceive to euphony each astatine nan aforesaid volume.

Holly Gray, an L.A. arena planner, throws her arms successful nan aerial alongside different dancers successful Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

We took a wide ungraded way successful nan parkland that’s not arsenic celebrated arsenic different routes, which allowed america to dispersed retired and really do immoderate we wanted. I quickly realized this was chiefly going to beryllium a batch of frolicking to a bully beat, which was precisely what I wanted.

Along nan way, Smith pointed retired invasive plants for illustration achromatic mustard and autochthonal plants and animals that unrecorded successful nan park. Whenever a hiker headed our way, we made a passageway of “spirit fingers” for them to walk through, which I detected 95% of group really enjoyed. In today’s fast-paced and often negatively focused world, it’s benignant of bully to move a area and find strangers cheering for you.

Smith, who taught improv to children, teenagers and business professionals, will not unit participants to dance. That isn’t nan intent of Dance Quest.

Kristen Smith of Dance Quest, center, leads 2 children on a ungraded way successful Griffith Park.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Rather, it’s to find joyousness pinch others and flight nan harsh governmental situation that queer and BIPOC group look connected a regular basis.

“When you put connected nan headphones, you hide really you look, and hopefully I supply a no-pressure situation where, nevertheless your assemblage tells you to move, you move that way,” Smith said. “And there’s spot successful numbers pinch nan silent disco.”

3 things to do

Families play volleyball astatine an L.A. County overnight camping arena astatine a section park.

(Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation)

1. Camp pinch family and friends astir L.A.
Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation will big family campouts connected weekends successful July and August astatine 5 of its parks. That includes campouts astatine Castaic Lake Recreation Area astatine 6 p.m. Friday; Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park successful San Dimas astatine 6 p.m. Friday; Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area astatine 6 p.m. July 17; and 6 p.m. July 24 astatine Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. Those parks, on pinch Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, will big further family campouts successful August. General admittance is $15. Children property 13 and younger are free. To register, sojourn anc.apm.activecommunities.com.

2. Clear retired streambeds successful L.A.
Friends of Griffith Park needs volunteers from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday successful nan park’s Fern Dell hiking area. Participants will cleanable streambeds and trails, yanking weeds and restoring habitat. Learn much astatine friendsofgriffithpark.org.

3. Kayak nan L.A. River adjacent Van Nuys
L.A. River Expeditions will big a two-hour kayak circuit astatine aggregate times Saturday done nan Sepulveda Basin, a lush area of nan Los Angeles River. Paddlers will move done nan tree-lined, mud-packed riverbanks, watching section food and birds. Trips are astatine 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $53.74. Register astatine eventbrite.com.

The must-read

Mary Saba Tehran takes portion successful a Mindful Archery people astatine nan Woodley Park Archery Range successful Van Nuys.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Times unit writer Deborah Vankin precocious learned via a front and arrow nan value and state that tin travel pinch virtually letting go. Vankin wrote astir her experiencing astatine Mindful Archery, a people led by belief counsellor and archer Angie Fadel astatine Woodley Park Archery Range successful Van Nuys. Fadel said her extremity is to thief female and BIPOC participants merchandise thing holding them backmost aliases return purpose astatine a goal. “An archery scope tin beryllium a very white, male-dominated space,” she said. “And nan stance, pinch a front and arrow successful your hand, shooting — it’s very male. And [men] don’t person immoderate problem, astir of nan time, taking up space. So it is simply a believe to punctual ourselves, arsenic a queer woman, a trans person, nonbinary person, anybody that’s benignant of othered successful our society, to beryllium capable to return up space. To adopt a powerfulness stance and be, like, ‘I’m allowed to beryllium here.’”

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Great news! State lawmakers person selected nan California State Library park pass to person ongoing backing successful early fund cycles. Previously, lawmakers had to o.k. backing each twelvemonth for nan programme to beryllium added into nan state’s budget, according to nan California State Parks Foundation. This improvement intends Californians will beryllium capable to cheque retired a authorities parks walk for free astatine their section room for nan foreseeable future, unless a politician aliases nan Legislature announces otherwise. In L.A. County, participating parks see nan Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Leo Carrillo State Park, L.A. State Historic Park and Malibu Creek State Park. You tin find retired which room adjacent you offers nan walk by visiting this interactive map. Have nosy retired there!

For much insider tips connected Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, cheque retired past editions of The Wild. And to position this newsletter successful your browser, click here.