Early Sunday morning, hundreds of hikers and Dodger fans gathered in a parking lot at Griffith Park. They were dressed in blue, huddled together in groups and dancing to energetic music to shake off the pre-dawn chill. As more people arrived, the sea of T-shirts and baseball caps licked the edges of the parking lot.
They call themselves the Dodgers Blue Hiking Crew. Among the team's fervent followers, they express their passion for the game in a particularly Angeleno way. Instead of standing in line or hosting viewing parties, these devotees celebrate each Dodger season by hiking a steep 6.5-mile loop through the peaks of Griffith Park.
The eight-year tradition began with Carlos Bérruz. In 2011, the 43-year-old Eagle Rock native climbed to the top of Mount Hollywood and had an epiphany.
Back then hiking was new to him. Bérruz, a runner, had recently injured his left side in a mountain bike accident. Forced to slow down, the man who believed “hiking is for people who can't run” found himself huffing and puffing on a peak in Griffith Park. What greeted him at the top — the sun setting over the city, with South Bay and Catalina Island in the distance — planted a seed.
A crowd of hikers from the Dodgers' blue hiking team cross a bridge on their way to Mount Hollywood.
Hikers are reflected in Dodger fan Juan Peregrina's sunglasses during the hike.
“As I looked out over Los Angeles, I thought: How many people live in this city and how many people have actually seen this view?” Berruz said. “I thought, 'I want to share this.'”
At first, doing so meant organizing biweekly walks with an intimate group of friends. Then the news spread, the walk became weekly, and suddenly friends of friends showed up. Bérruz met the growing demand by creating a hiking club called Everyone's Hike in 2015. Shortly after, someone asked him to organize a Dodgers-themed birthday hike. Its popularity was such that Bérruz began offering one every season for a small group of friends. In 2017, he opened the hike to the public and the Dodgers Blue Hiking Crew was born.
In its first year of existence, the Dodger Walk attracted 300 people to the hills of Griffith Park. The following March, the group's size doubled, Bérruz said. Since then he stopped counting and was sometimes forced by unforeseen circumstances (such as the pandemic) to skip the annual event. But over the years in which the meeting is held, he said participation remains overwhelming.
This year was no exception, with more than 300 blue-clad fans flooding the still-green trails of Griffith Park, led by Juan Adams, a former hiking leader and local. Adams replaced Bérruz, who was unable to make the trip from his new home in Sonoma County this year.
Crowds of hikers, including the Dodgers' blue hiking team, cross a bridge on their way to Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park.
Vicente Morales of Los Angeles sports a wig and pom-poms on a hike in Dodger blue hiking gear.
Hortencia Barajas cheers on hikers as they climb Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park.
The hikers were in high spirits despite the early hour. As they began the Fern Canyon trail, people chatted with those next to them. As the trail turned back on itself, fans stopped at the edge and shouted encouragement to the hikers below. “Go Dodgers!”
Adams, a self-proclaimed slow hiker, was near the back. As he walked, he communicated with attendees who had stopped to drink water and remove their layers.
“How are you?” he asked a woman wearing a No. 50 Mookie Betts jersey. “Take a breath, there's no rush,” he reminded a mother and her son.
At the tail of the winding crowd, a handful of hikers swept the ground for trash to make sure they left no trace.
More than a decade after organizing his first group hike, Bérruz said his best memories come from watching the transformation people go through on the trails.
“When you see someone struggling, they can't go any further, but they dig deep into their being, making their way to wherever our destination is, whether it's a waterfall or a summit, and they get there, you can see how their eyes change.” . “Berruz said. “They say thank you for not giving up.”
Many walk-goers start with little or no experience, Bérruz said. They wear inappropriate shoes or do not carry enough water. But many stay with it.
“Some people did their first hike with me and now they've done Mount Whitney and I haven't even done that,” Bérruz said. “It's really inspiring. There's a quote I like to use and it says, “We lift ourselves up by lifting others up.” That's what he does. It motivates me too.”
A hiker wearing custom Dodgers Blue Hiking Crew merchandise takes a break to peel a tangerine sandwich.
One hiker climbed up to get an aerial view of the Dodgers' blue hiking team attendees.
Attendees like Yacxiri Leiva, who started hiking with Bérruz in 2022 as a New Year's resolution, have made lifelong friends and formed their own hiking teams.
“I joined because I wanted to do hikes that I didn't feel comfortable doing on my own,” Leiva said. “We now have our own group chats on Instagram. We’ll get up at 3 a.m. and drive to Death Valley or Mammoth.”
Whatever the individual takeaways from those in attendance, whether it's a workout or a sense of community, the blue stripes that snake across the hills each March make one thing clear: Everyone is there for the Dodgers.
