Hiking Trip

I went on a hiking trip with a couple of co-workers this morning. I haven't hiked since the NewSong trip to the California Poppy Reserve almost three years ago so I was worried if my hiking boots still fit. I left my only pair of sneakers in China so all I had at home were dress shoes and sandles. We met up at Steve & Sunny's house and ended up at the Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park near the 73 freeway and Laguna Canyon Road.

We took a trail that went around the entire wilderness area and it took a little over two hours. The first part of the trail was a pretty steep climb so I was already tired when we got to the top of the ridge. The trail then flattened out, then looped back to the parking lot. We were worried that it would rain this morning but the weather was pretty nice, though it got a bit cold when the wind picked up.

Near the end of the hike, we were unsure of how to get back to the car; all we had was a hand-drawn trail map. I pulled out my GPS receiver (Garmin nüvi 650) but all it showed was a car in the middle of a large green area. Not sure if I can get topographical maps for a car navigation device.


View from Steve & Sunny's garage in Laguna Beach


James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center


Ear muffs!


Strange spiky fruit


Blue skies


Hiking/biking trail


Cactus


City view


"Mount Rushmore"


Wild flowers + bee in upper right