Big Laguna Trail

A high view of the desert.


There is a strange beauty to the desert. It doesn't move me in the same way as snow-covered peaks, but there is something about it that, from afar, captivates my imagination.

The Big Laguna Trail forms a loop with diverse terrain, eventually skirting the edge of the Anza-Borrego Desert and providing some spectacular views, free of humanity. We started at the Penny Pines Trailhead and did a clockwork loop through Noble Canyon, then Indian Creek Trail, and finally the Pacific Coast Trail before ending up back at the car. This was not the initial plan when we started the day, but that's how things worked out.

An old, non-fuctioning well, at the start of the trail

The hike through the high meadows was nice due to the lack of man-made structures, which gave it a feeling of remoteness, even though civilization isn't too far away. We encountered a handful of groups, but much less than one would expect closer to Los Angeles.

Mountain dandelions

The day started off with rain, but as seems to be the pattern in the spring, clouds turn into bluebird skies by the afternoon. Fortunately, there was a constant breeze that kept things cool.

The eternal battle between woodpeckers and squirrels

The best view was from Garnet Mountain, a similar experience to Mount San Jacinto.

The summit of Garnet Mountain, with a view similar to Mount San Jacinto

I think we'll come back to this area, but do the southern loop instead (towards the townsite of Laguna Mountain). This was one of the rare times in southern California where I could sit for hours just staring at the landscape.

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