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We checked Charles Fleming's "Secret Stairs" out of the library and tackled the longest trek through Echo Park - starting at Chango Coffee shop and ending at Delilah bakery (1,000 steps later - what a reward!)

There are six loops in the Echo Park and dozens from around L.A. The book counts the steps and gives a brief history and points out some landmarks and oddiites - such as the bird statuary in the trees along Chavez Ravine.

Published in April, 2010, the book hit No. 5 on the Los Angeles Times paperback bestseller list.

Fleming is part of the adjunct faculty at the University of Southern
California's Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism, where
he teaches entertainment reporting, arts reporting and news writing.