We Explore Earth has full-moon hikes, yoga, stargazing and community

As the last bit of the afternoon sun beamed down on a patch of grass right outside Elysian Park, hikers unfurled yoga mats and stretched beside a busy street. Dogs tugged at their leashes.

William Vazquez moved through the crowd, greeting familiar faces and welcoming new ones. He asked for a show of hands: “Who’s here for the first time?”

At least half the group raised their hands. L.A. local Vazquez, who founded We Explore Earth, a nonprofit outdoor group, welcomed and introduced himself.

“It’s the perfect time to appreciate, to admire — but also to harvest,” he told the group, referencing the sturgeon moon rising later that evening. Named after the giant fish once abundant in North American lakes, the sturgeon moon is August’s full moon and has long been associated with seasonal harvests.

Trash grabbers were handed out as the group crossed the street together to begin the short hike. Like most of We Explore Earth’s outdoor experiences, this one included a cleanup component.

The group hosts free community hikes, cleanups and nature experiences across Los Angeles. Its most popular event — a full moon hike capped with yoga, a sound bath and stargazing — happens every month, timed to the moonrise, and often draws dozens of newcomers. These experiences rotate between Elysian Park and Griffith Park.

At the top of the hike, attendees participate in 30 minutes of volunteer-led yoga.

The gatherings are open to all ages and experience levels and are substance-free by design. Vazquez caps RSVP numbers at 100, though turnout usually lands between 50 and 60. The hikes are short — usually one mile up, one mile down — with 30 minutes of yoga and a 30-minute sound bath under the rising moon.

“I think a lot of people find their tribe here,” Vazquez said. “A lot of them are taking their first steps into nature with us.”

Before founding the group, Vazquez worked in the music industry, producing events for artists such as Steve Aoki and on shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” But after a few years of burnout and depression, he stepped away, unsure of what would come next.

He started organizing cleanups and group hikes just for fun at first. But the response was so strong, the demand so clear, that he began building something bigger. Now, We Explore Earth hosts up to 14 events a month. There are intro-to-backpacking workshops, herbal walks, camping trips, trail maintenance projects and more. The group has chapters in New York and San Francisco, and counts REI, Patagonia and Arc’teryx among its sponsors.

Attendees take part in volunteer-led yoga at the top of the hike. The free, monthly events are also dog-friendly.

Still, Vazquez runs it all as a volunteer, covering his own bills with side gigs like Instacart delivery and marketing jobs, while applying for grants in hopes of doing this community work full-time. He’s also a certified wilderness first responder, adding an extra layer of preparedness to the group’s outdoor events.

Vazquez has found greater purpose in leading this group and says he will always provide these experiences for free.

“Our goal is to put on a good experience and pass on knowledge of exploration, conservation and also mindfulness,” he said. “At the end of the day, nature’s free. Why would we charge people?”

Yvonne Temal, vice president of We Explore Earth and head of its women’s department, was still catching her breath as she made her way up the hill during the hike. Temal met Vazquez a few years ago while leading her own women’s hiking group. They merged efforts under We Explore Earth.

August’s sturgeon moon rises over Los Angeles during a community hike at Elysian Park.

“As we get older, I feel personally like it’s a little harder to find the space, also the comfort level when you’re out in nature,” Temal said. “I’ve heard so many stories of women not feeling safe out in the environment, so being able to provide a women’s-only group really helped.”

Temal has found purpose in giving women the tools to feel safe and empowered outdoors — tools she wishes she’d had when she was younger.

During a break in the middle of the hike, new volunteer and full moon first-timer Aria Middleman took a seat on a nearby rock. She said that before joining We Explore Earth, she had been completely disconnected from nature.

“I email all day, every day. I’m behind a screen all day, every day. It gets suffocating,” Middleman said. “Screens haven’t been around forever. What has been around forever is the Earth.”

When a college friend posted about a hike, Middleman decided to join. Although her friend canceled, she went anyway. “I was welcomed with open arms,” she said. “It felt like I had the space to be a beginner, and the space to be ignorant.”

She has since helped with the group’s social media and says the events have transformed how she sees the city. “It just gets me better familiar with the Greater Los Angeles topology,” she said. “And it gives me a bit of spirituality.”

At the top of the hike, participants laid out yoga mats as the roar of the crowd at Dodger Stadium echoed in the background. For the next hour, they were led through 30 minutes of yoga followed by a 30-minute sound bath as the moon slowly rose above the horizon, and Vazquez began setting up his telescope.

Nicole Johnstone leads a sound bath for participants lying on yoga mats during a full moon event at Elysian Park.

As twilight settled in, sisters and We Explore Earth first-timers Abigaille and Sarah Leon sat on a rock, looking out over the city. “I loved it. There was no pressure,” Abigaille said. They had found We Explore Earth on Instagram, unsure of what to expect.

Now L.A. locals, the sisters are originally from Yucatan, Mexico, where they say the moon holds spiritual significance. As children, their grandmother would ask them to speak to the moon, sharing what they wanted to let go of — and what they hoped to welcome in. “It’s really nice, because now we get to do it with other people,” Abigaille said. “That’s energy — at least to me.”

Sarah, who sometimes gets anxious about hiking, said she would absolutely do it again. “There’s no pressure to do anything,” Sarah said. “It’s very inviting.”

As the sun fully set and people waited in line for the telescope, sound practitioner Nicole Johnstone packed up her instruments. She often volunteers her time with We Explore Earth.

“It felt like a group exhale,” Johnstone said. “Listening to the sound of the Dodgers game and having 100 people just meditating at the top of the city — I was smiling ear-to-ear.”

When she struggled with grief and mental clutter after losing her father, Johnstone found that sound baths helped her reconnect with herself. Now, she sees the same peace settle over the group each time.

“I feel like everyone, when I go above their face, I can see a little smile,” she said. “I would do this day in, day out. It feeds me.”

She also believes representation matters in the sound-bath space. “It feels really good being a Black woman in this space — a Black, tattooed woman,” she said. “It’s important to show up and be myself, not to try to fit into the cookie-cutter yoga beige world.”

Among the group was Rico Coria, who said the full-moon hikes and We Explore Earth events have become a grounding routine in his sobriety journey. Now three years sober, Coria said having a social experience that doesn’t center on alcohol has made all the difference.

“I was looking for things to do that didn’t involve drinking, but also to help mental health,” Coria said.

A participant looks through a telescope aimed at the sturgeon moon during a night hike at Elysian Park.

He’s now a regular and has met friends through the group — even inviting longtime ones to join.

As the event wrapped up, Vazquez began leading people back down the trail. A few hikers lingered on their mats, watching the moon rise.

He’s seen the group grow every year, especially during the pandemic, when more people began seeking meaning and fresh air.

“The perfect person to come,” he said, “is someone who wants to learn more about nature or connect with the community — someone who wants to find their tribe.”

Some come for the views. Others come for the yoga, or the telescope or the trash cleanup or a night of sobriety. But most come back for the sense of community.

The next full-moon event will be Sunday, Sept. 7. Reservations fill up quickly. Monitor We Explore Earth’s Eventbrite page for up-to-date information.