SoCal and aenemic airplanes

So I finished the instrument rating, which was indeed no fun at all and
am in the process of completing the move to LA. Already accomplished is
picking up low-altitude and sectional charts.

What I see is that for a lot of trips out of the LA area, the sort of
airplanes I normally rent can't get there from here. Minimum cruising
altitudes are often 12,000 or 13,000. Won't be doing that a lot on hot
days in a Skyhawk. Or cold days, for that matter.

What do y'all do about this? Follow roads VFR through the passes? Use
more powerful (more expensive) airplanes? Only fly up and down the
coast? Go surfing instead? Stay home?

I've gotten used to thinking of high altitude as anything over 3,000
ft.
All that bumpy terrain does seem to get in the way there.