View along the trail in Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. Forty minutes from downtown.

There is no need for hiking trips to be epic. The Laguna Mountains, less than 50 minutes from mid-city San Diego, are a lovely alpine retreat and world away from the city. Even quick trips are rejuvenating. Trail stats at bottom of page.

“Chào buổi sáng,” Chad calls out from somewhere inside his sagging hammock cocoon. “Good morning,” I return, chuckling at his unmelodious howdy. It’s dawn, and I sit up from my sleeping pad’s slight tilt to appreciate eye-level western wallflowers and California fescue encircling my meadow bed. An oak tree’s gnarled husk splits the view of a far-off scrubland hill. Baby blue eyes speckle the ground.

“Man,” I marvel, a bit bleary. “I love waking up in the forest.”

Laguna's Noble Canyon Trail

Chad and I embark on Noble Canyon Trail from the empty parking turnout at Penny Pines on the Sunrise Highway (S1) late Friday after work. The drive from City Heights took less than 50 minutes. Both of us need of some open air but neither has much time from full-time jobs and everyday commitments. We briefly discuss this conundrum on Wednesday night.

“I’m hoping to go to the Lagunas this weekend,” I say.

“Oh yeah? How long?” he asks.

“Less than 12 hours.”

“That sounds perfect. I can bring a pepperoni sausage I got on sale,” he says.

“Perfect. I have a few leftover packets of Top Ramen.” It’s a plan.

The well-marked path leads around one of Cleveland National Forest’s wide slopes under the setting sun and gains modest elevation alongside a grassy valley flanked by Pine Mountain’s forested crown.

Weaving slowly around the hillside over the trail’s gradual swells, I start to think we somehow missed our junction. As we approach Deer Park Road, an unmaintained forest service road closed most of the year, a quick check of my ever-helpful Tom Harrison San Diego Backcountry map confirms our course is correct. In less than three minutes, we reach our intersection and turn left on Big Laguna Trail.

Twelve hours away from it all

Another five minutes of unhurried pacing goes by, and we reach the edge of Laguna Mountain Recreation Area. Having moseyed one mile in 30 or so minutes, we finds a flat spot for my under-the-stars tarp setup and two suitably close trees for Chad’s berth. The barely audible din of vehicles speeding on S1 can occasionally be heard through the chatter of countless birds.

After dinner, I scratch through an almost impenetrable thicket of snarled Palmer’s lilac and hollyleaf cherry to an adjacent chaparral hill’s granite crest. From the top, I watch the murky blue marine clouds creep over purple peninsular ranges. The gorgeous peach horizon fades behind Cuyamaca Peak. I talk with God.

A fulfilling backpacking or hiking trip has no need to be epic in scope, but you'd never guess it by perusing the glossy pages of most outdoor magazines. I rather begrudge the pop culture focus on sponsored adventure travelers, out-of-this-world rock climbers, and extreme mountaineers – all making an average Joe like myself feel wimpy as if I should spend my free time dangling from sandstone precipices by my fingertips or solo-trekking Lhotse. I can’t imagine enjoying such unpleasant conditions and remember that my own rather unimpressive walks through the woods are wonderfully satisfying. I am happy being my own humdrum self.

I wake up at sunrise feeling completely rested. The route back hugs a gentle slant through tall grass meadows bathed in morning sunlight, giving everything a soft, 1970s folk album cover feel.

We follow an almost level trace between dense walls of scrub oak, narrow lawns, and stands of burnt tree pillars from 2013’s destructive Chariot fire. I spot plentiful chaparral nightshades, diamond Clarkia, scarlet buglers, unopened bush mallow, and wooly yarrow.

Back at Penny Pines within 20 minutes, Chad and I smile at each other.

“See?

Even a quickie overnighter is refreshing,” I say with conviction. “Oh yes. This is exactly what I needed,” Chad replies with equal conviction.

We both mean it.

~ June 6, 2015

• Dan Points: “6” for fulfilling, easy access alpine scenery
• Difficulty: Easy
• Distance: 2-mile loop
• Time: One and a half hours of hiking
• Trails: Easy to follow
• Elevation: 200 feet cumulative gain
• Permit: Required for overnight backpacking along with Adventure Pass ($5) for parked vehicles. Swing by Descanso Ranger Station at 3348 Alpine Blvd on the way to the trailhead. Overnight backpacking is not permitted within boundaries of Laguna Mountain Recreation Area.

Getting there

From San Diego, go east on I-8 and take “Sunrise Highway” exit about 35 minutes away. Follow the beautifully winding road to Penny Pines pullout two minutes north of Laguna Campground. Noble Canyon trailhead is on west side of road.

More information can be found at the National Forest Service’s website. See also this beautiful post about hiking Big Laguna Trail by ModernHiker.com. (This article was inspired by a recent post from 100Peaks.com’s Derek Loranger.)