Continued...
I was in Huntington Beach where I met up with my wife who was reffing pro beach
volleyball here for the week. While she was working today, I headed off to
do some easy summits in the hills above Laguna Beach the Dana Point areas.
Inland temps were forecast to be in the mid-90s, but along the coast was a far
more comfortable 70s - thus my choice to avoid the warmer areas around the
Southland.
Temple Hill
This point is found at the end of Alta Laguna Blvd above Laguna Beach. The topo
map shows the highpoint to be in a development above Alta Laguna Park, but
grading there seems to have made it no higher than the more accessible point
to the north labeled Top of the World on Google Maps. It is one of
for a very popular in the Laguna
Hills, popular with hikers and dog walkers as well. The
are pretty good, too. The outing takes all of about 5min.
Niguel Hill / Aliso Peak
This is a nice little hike on the edge of the Laguna Sur development above South
Laguna. A trail starts from just outside the
, going over of Niguel Hill with a
collection of provided along the way, most with nice
views. The trail then becomes unmaintained and eroded as it goes
to the saddle with Aliso Peak about 3/4mi to the
southwest. The trail is quite popular, at least on
weekends, and its steepness seems to catch quite a few not-in-great-shape folks
by surprise. There is a atop overlooking
the . Below the north side of the peak lies the Ranch at
Laguna Beach, that has little to do with ranching, these
days at least. There are
other trails coming up to Aliso Peak from below for those wishing a tougher
workout. I spent about 45min round trip on the easier route from Skyview Park.
Peak 710ft
Mark McCormick on PB describes this one as having been graded to an elevation
of 620ft. That would be 90ft of the top removed which seems highly unlikely.
More likely, the topo map is in error, showing the highpoint at a location along
St. Christopher Dr. The actual highpoint is on a bluff to
the east, the top of which has not been graded. An old firebreak now serves as
a public trail along the ridgeline. The highpoint appears to be at
of two
trails with nice views overlooking and the Pacific Ocean.
Peak 890ft / Folsom Ridge
This pair of minor summits is located in the hills above Dana Point on the east
side of Interstate 5. There is at of Camino Las
Ramblas leading
into the Open Space areas above the community that are also popular with
mountain bikers. There are a variety of options to reach
, from
slippery, straight up, to more gentle grades. The bike track I followed down
looked particularly challenging with banked turns and jumps built into the
steep trail. After returning back down from Peak 890ft, I went up the south
side of the saddle to Folsom Ridge, a leisurely hike along
. There is a water tank
about 3/4mi from the TH,
found at the southeast end of the fence around the tank. The ridge
is surrounded by some , some of them unbelievably
. Lots
of money in these parts. It wasn't yet noon when I returned to the Jeep, but
that was about all I wanted to do today. Time to go watch some volleyball...