Yesterday, 4 friends decided to walk a segment of the LA River and discover a different side of the city they live in. They met Atwater Village in the morning at and planned to walk the river until Chinatown. They’re all ready with liquids, snacks, cameras and sunglasses. The morning was cool and a bit foggy, but everyone was prepared for a scorching day.

They drove down to Rattlesnake Park, just off of Fletcher and near the 5 freeway and entered the River’s path from there. No one seemed to mention why the gateway was called Rattlesnake Park and no one really seemed bothered by the idea of the off chance they might encounter one. The group was excited about embarking on their River adventure. It was like a concrete version of Huck Fin…

The River immediately smelled of salt and fish stench. It’s banks was lined with wild vegetation, wire fences, houses, sheds, and the back lots of some industrial buildings on one side. On the left, the River’s side, the slight breeze and the small tilt of the land were gently pushing a trickle of water. Between the water and the bank there was steep down slope of concrete. This was part of the river that was encased for flood control purposes. But it made the River look like a big gutter.
Besides the Flora on the right, there was some trees, plants, and wild bush that thrived in the middle of the river as well. The Greenery was a harsh contrast to the blaring white concrete that was surrounding it. It was also a statement in a sort of way. No matter how much you try to pave down nature, it will always spoil and crack your plan.

As the foursome walked along the path they encountered an elderly couple on their Saturday morning walk, a woman walking past them with her dog and most of all they were surprised to see people fishing in the River.

“Do you think they actually catch anything and eat it you know? ” Lory asked.
“I think it might just be the thrill of the catch,” Sarin said.
“I wonder if they catch any mutated fish, like the three eyed fish from the Simpsons.” Nathan wondered aloud.

They kept going. They sang Tori Amos songs. They took pictures of odd objects they found: Birds in flight, grocery carts covered in cobwebs, the skyline
“Did you know, that there were all these Indian villages, near the river. And they would take boats and float all the way down to Long Beach area to do trade and commerce with the other Indians.” Lory said. She used to work at the Southwest Museum by Griffith Park.

The Morning cool was beginning to wear off just as the sun was settling in the sky. The heat wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been and the topic of discussion had turned to a debate of whether or not Tigers were really carnivores. If they only ate protein, where did they get the rest of their Vitamins from?

“Shoot, I should know this!” Sarin said, “I just taught my kids this lesson!” Sarin taught 4th grade in one of the Glendale public schools.
They passed by another fisherman down near the trickle of water.

“Hey, it looks like he caught something.” Sarin pointed. “What kind of fish is that?”

“Why don’t you come down and take a look!” The fisherman said. And the group followed suit. They walked down the concrete encasement over to the fisherman. “This here, this here is a Carp,” he said kneeling down next to the flopping fish.
“Are you going to eat it?” Lory asked.
“Noh, I’m going to let it loose. But I’m going to measure it first.”
“That’s a big Carp.” Nathan said.
“Not so big. I’ve seen bigger,” he turned his head up for a moment and looked at Nathan through his sunglasses. “You know where Hyperion is?” he asked pointing in that direction.

Nathan nodded.

“Well, over there, the fish are as long as my leg!” he exclaimed while opening his fanny pack. “Carp as long as my leg!”
“So, you come down here a lot?” Lory asked.
“Yup. Everyday. Everyday. Oh it’s tremendous fun. Tremendous! I come down here, catch some fish measure them and then let them go.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. You’d be surprised to know there are all sorts of wildlife here in the River, fish, ducks, some of the exotic birds you might see here have escaped from the zoo, and even coyotes.”
“Coyotes live here?”
“Yeah, they live right there in the bush. They live in the middle right there and on the other side is the river too. The sad thing is though they eat the ducklings. I come here one day and see a momma duck with 11 babies. And then, the next day its 7…the Coyotes eat them. ”

The fisherman took a moment and pulled out his measuring tape from a fanny pack. He bent down to measure the Carp that was on its side gulping for water and getting bits of air. “17 inches” the fisherman exclaimed and gently took the hook out of the carps lip and let it go. The fish then muscled its way from the shallow step to the slightly deeper parts of the river. “That was a fighter. It got caught. Then it tried to hunker down from one rock to the next trying to wiggle itself loose.” He said and got up.

“Do you know if there are any plans to clean the river up? Any programs?” Lory asked.
“No, I don’t know if any sort of initiative has been taken. People come here to walk and there all are sorts of little parks they’re putting nearby. Nobody seems to know, but the River is alive…”