Barbara and I hiked part of this trail on a side trip from our Oak Grove Loop hike in May of last year, but we didn't really grasp the importance of the Hahamongna Park, the watershed, and the surrounding habitat restoration area. Water is a major issue in L.A. So here's the deal: this watershed lies in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains and channels mountain rainfall and snowmelt to outlets like the L.A. River and the Pacific Ocean. Looking at the map of our hike, the small lakes that form the spine-like visual from above play an important role in maintaining water quality and contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem by acting as natural water storage systems while regulating water quality by removing excess nutrients, sediment, and other polluted contaminants from the flow of mountain water (like a mountain water laundromat). So much for the science behind the map...well, except for the expanse of buildings housing NASA'S  Jet Propulsion Laboratory bordering the watershed to the east, set up here because they couldn’t test rocket motors at Caltech due to risk of fires or explosions. On our drive in, looking down at the watershed from above, the layout and flora looked disheartening. Lots of buildings next to lots of dry dirt and rocks. Yet the hike turned out to be a unique trip around a truly pretty, well kept trail along lakes in portions of the watershed's 168 acres. A fellow hiker on the trail told us that just a month ago the rains had filled the lakes and the dry expanse of dirt and rocks with rushing water. Today the water in the series of small lakes we passed was clear to the bottom, the wide watershed rocks and dirt base was dry, and the birds and bunnies were in full romp. Barbara and I followed the circular  trail counterclockwise from south to north and around. The only tricky spot—the hidden path in the wildlife preserve that had us climbing up a hill on our knees to get back to the trail. The whole hike was a fun adventure and a truly interesting learning experience! P.S.: Note multiple spellings of Hahamonga—non-native immigrants and historians named the area, not the Tongva peoples from tribes who inhabited the area for centuries.