Secret Stairs #15: Avalon-Baxter Loop, 3.5 miles, 695 steps.

The toughest and my favorite hike so far. Echo Park neighborhoods so old some of the sidewalks were stamped 1925. A big payoff at the top following a trail along the west side of Elysian Park with a view of the hiking paths below and the palm trees surrounding Dodger Stadium to the east. Back down through a funky (charming!) artistic neighborhood once populated by the likes of
Woody Guthrie, Upton Sinclair, John Huston, Jackson Browne, and Frank Zappa. If you're in the neighborhood, don't miss Delilah Bakery on the corner of Echo Park Avenue and Lucretia. Yum.