Two hour drive... I started dreading it on Friday evening. Less than a year it would have been a normal drive to a hiking spot, somewhere in Yosemite or Kings Canyon probably. But now it seemed like a long long drive. I guess you get used to good things quite easily and quickly. Yet, with the help of my friend, I decided to go.
I took the highway through Julian, a small town in North San Diego County that is famous for its pies. It was very early in the morning, so I did not get a chance to stop by to get a taste of what they've been bragging about. Next time...
The drive was rather boring and foggy in some areas. I reached the trailhead and was pleasantly surprised by the cool temperatures. Indeed, it was 59 degrees. The air was so fresh and crispy, and right at 8.06 AM, as the group leader promised, we started the Big Laguna Mountain Loop Trail hike.
The first part of the hike was on a narrow trail covered on both sides with healthy vegetation. I was glad I wore pants. Very soon we came to an open meadow, still green since there was a large pond at the base of it. It looked so peaceful and serene that I wanted to stop for a few minutes and just stare at this untouched beauty.
The group kept going, so we needed to keep up. Another meadow, this one filled with lounging cows, came next. One of the cows stood out to us. Look at those lashes! Naively, I hoped that this cow would live a long life. It's sad that humans raise animals for slaughter, but it saddens me even more when cows are stuck in a tiny fenced dirt-filled area with multiple stalls. This cow appeared to be happy (for the time being) and healthy grazing in the field filled with delicious grass.
As we continued hiking, the trail started to go uphill. The rocky ground did not make is easy, but soon enough we reached our first view of the land below and it was gorgeous!
As the climb continued, we finally started to get a better idea where we were at - on the right side there was Anza Borrego Desert State Park, sandy and yellowish-brown, and on the left side Cleveland National Forest, green and luscious. What an odd landscape!
We stopped at two of the peaks and started our descent along an undefined path. Eventually, we found the trail and finished the hike around 1.30 PM with a total of 11.5 miles and 1,500 ft elevation gain.
I took the highway through Julian, a small town in North San Diego County that is famous for its pies. It was very early in the morning, so I did not get a chance to stop by to get a taste of what they've been bragging about. Next time...
The drive was rather boring and foggy in some areas. I reached the trailhead and was pleasantly surprised by the cool temperatures. Indeed, it was 59 degrees. The air was so fresh and crispy, and right at 8.06 AM, as the group leader promised, we started the Big Laguna Mountain Loop Trail hike.
The first part of the hike was on a narrow trail covered on both sides with healthy vegetation. I was glad I wore pants. Very soon we came to an open meadow, still green since there was a large pond at the base of it. It looked so peaceful and serene that I wanted to stop for a few minutes and just stare at this untouched beauty.
The group kept going, so we needed to keep up. Another meadow, this one filled with lounging cows, came next. One of the cows stood out to us. Look at those lashes! Naively, I hoped that this cow would live a long life. It's sad that humans raise animals for slaughter, but it saddens me even more when cows are stuck in a tiny fenced dirt-filled area with multiple stalls. This cow appeared to be happy (for the time being) and healthy grazing in the field filled with delicious grass.
As we continued hiking, the trail started to go uphill. The rocky ground did not make is easy, but soon enough we reached our first view of the land below and it was gorgeous!
As the climb continued, we finally started to get a better idea where we were at - on the right side there was Anza Borrego Desert State Park, sandy and yellowish-brown, and on the left side Cleveland National Forest, green and luscious. What an odd landscape!
We stopped at two of the peaks and started our descent along an undefined path. Eventually, we found the trail and finished the hike around 1.30 PM with a total of 11.5 miles and 1,500 ft elevation gain.
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