PCT Day 4 – Mount Laguna

I slept well despite not wearing my puffy jacket to bed. Temps were in the mid 30’s. I am getting used to this environment.

Keith and I start moving around at 5 am. I put my camp shoes on and go out to pee. I get back in my quilt and start putting on my hiking clothes while nibbling on some breakfast – a bar and some dried fruit. I mix a liter of energy drink and start sipping on that too. I put my hiking shoes on, exit my tent and break down my bedding and tent, packing it all in my backpack. The whole process takes about an hour. At 6:15 we are ready to go. Hannes and Mika are still in camp.

The plan

Yesterday, when we crossed I-5, we entered the Laguna Mountains. Today we will ascend to 6000 feet and walk through the resort town of Mount Laguna. We will buy food for the four-day hike to Warner Springs. If we are lucky we will get some restaurant food. We plan to stay at Laguna Campground on the far side of town.

To the top

The hiking is fine and we make good time, but the trail seems dull. The birds are the only ones awake. At the top of the climb we turn to see what lies behind. Some of the mountains on the horizon are in Mexico!

The heart people have been at it up here. It makes me smile. But seriously, what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding? 😉

The oaks of the lower altitudes give way to pines up here. The sun brightens the trail.

The heart people have been up here too. If the restaurant serves heart-shaped pancakes, I just might finally lose it. How much love can one person take before 8 am?

As we reach the side trail to town, our pace quickens. It’s our first resupply on trail. I am curious about what we will find.

Mount Laguna

The town is really spread out with large campgrounds on either end. We make for the general store. Inside, the store is well-stocked with the kind of food that hikers eat. But, Good Lord, the prices are triple the cost of a grocery store back home! We bite the bullet and get what we need.

A sign across from the store reveals what this town might be like in the winter and that mudslides and wild fires are not the only hazards in California.

Hikers are congregating in the only open restaurant, The Pine House Café and Tavern. The food is excellent. I get a really good cup of tomato bisque. A bunch of French people are running the place, so I am not that surprised about the food quality.

Back to the PCT

We have about six miles of hiking before settling in at Laguna Campground. As we leave the town road for the trail, a helpful local man points the way through the maze of trails. “Have fun on the PCT!” he hollers after us. “It’s the adventure of a life time!” I guess it never hurts to be reminded.

I have been told that San Jacinto can be seen here. At 10,700 feet, San Jacinto is The highest peak in Southern California. It is about 90 miles north of us and just off the trail near Idyllwild. We hope to climb to the top of it in just about 8 days. The air is clear, so maybe we will see it!

The sun is bright today, washing out the landscape. My glasses are clear. Maybe it’s my eyes. I think I need a nap. The trail goes around Monument peak to an open vista looking north.

And there it is: San Jacinto. The upper part of it is snow-capped. Unfortunately this photo does a poor job of showing it, but if your eyes are sharp, you will see it on the horizon just slightly left of center.

We are looking down Storm Canyon at the Mason Valley. The Sawtooth range runs away from us across the middle of the valley. At the far end of the valley is the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Down to camp

The way to camp is beautiful but anticlimactic. It’s time for camp and rest. The campground is one of those primitive RV campgrounds run by the National Forest. It is supposed to be along the road from Mount Laguna. The PCT bends close to that road near one of those roadside observation platforms.

I find the turn-off from the trail and climb the stairs to the observation platform. The view is nice up here, but it doesn’t come close to what we have seen in the last 3 miles.

I walk over to the road and look toward the campground. There are no campers of any type in view.

It dawns on me that Keith seems late arriving. I go back to the observation platform and ask a motorist if he has seen a hiker go by. He has – just a few minutes ago! I see Keith hiking toward the horizon about 500 feet past the platform. He is heading to Canada without me! I yell enough times so that he eventually hears me and starts heading back. He didn’t see me on the platform when he went by so he kept on going. I should have waited for him.

Laguna Campground

We find our friends Hannes and Mika in the campground. We all pile into the same site. There is a bathroom and clean water nearby!

There is someone new with them. Her name is Lindsay. She is from San Francisco.

An hour later another new hiker appears. Her name is Morgan and she is from Oregon. Both Morgan and Lindsay are studying film.

We all have a nice dinner together and get ready for a big day tomorrow. Warner Springs is 60 miles away. We need to get there in 4 days. If everything goes smoothly, it should be no problem.

• May 8, 2023
• Starting marker: 37.1
• Ending marker: 47.5
• Miles hiked today: 10
• Total miles hiked: 48
• Fun fact. The snowball sign used to also list the exact amount of the fine. But the fine changed so often that the sign was constantly being replaced. So the state now simply refers to the statute by number. It was either that or just impose the death penalty.