Take a walk on the wild side

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

When people say they’ve been “thrown for a loop,” I often react with

confusion, much like my response to those who reportedly “push the

envelope.”

At Laguna Coast Wilderness Park on Saturday, I believe I was

adequately thrown for a loop -- about an eight-mile loop -- and

probably pushed the envelope by approaching a sun-bathing rattlesnake

to count the rings on its rattle. Nothing like a good hike to give

meaning to a couple of the English language’s sillier idioms.

Those who haven’t ventured into Laguna’s backcountry are missing

one of Orange County’s most rare locales. What other nearby city can

boast of even having a backcountry? A case could be made that the

ocean is Newport Beach’s backcountry, but Laguna Beach’s backcountry

stamps the ocean as its front-country.

For only $2 per vehicle, visitors can pile into SUVs and spend

their weekends away from the city’s inevitable good-weather traffic

jams by entering one of the few Orange County territories virtually

unstained by human hands. Walk about a mile into Laguna Coast

Wilderness Park and you’ll see a lot of what many Lagunans call

heaven -- open space.

More important than its openness, however, is what the open space

looks like. If the South Coast Wilderness system looked like the

quite open San Joaquin Valley it wouldn’t be so sacred, and I

wouldn’t have spent my Saturday applying meaning to silly idioms by

walking through it.

Just one left turn on the Laurel Canyon trail, behind a natural

wall called a mountain, the sound of speeding cars just a few hundred

feet away was drowned by chirping insects and singing birds, and the

smell of wildflowers and sagebrush replaced asphalt and exhaust.

Far from an expert when it comes to flowers, I can say there were

several red ones, blue ones, orange ones, purple, yellow -- all your

basic colors are covered out there. And like the flowers you can buy

from florists, they smell good. Crazy.

For the curious, or some may say stupid, you can also hear the

famous warning of the rattlesnake if you choose to encroach on its

idea of open space -- about five feet, in the case of the one I ran

across. Hiking with one of my best friends, we saw the snake from

about 20 feet away. We passed without incident, but it took exception

when I crept back for a good look at the rattle. It assumed striking

position, put its rattle to work, we went on our merry way, and that

was that.

About 2/3 of the snake’s two-foot length stuck proudly into the

middle of a wide (in hiking scale) Bommer Ridge Road, soaking in the

2 p.m. rays. Behind it, from our viewpoint, was a peak only slightly

higher than us, and behind that (and to the right and left of the

peak) was the ocean. This was my fourth rattlesnake encounter, but

the first framed by an ocean view.

I’ve hiked and backpacked all over Northern and Southern

California, and the site most comparable to the South Coast

Wilderness system, especially Crystal Cove, is Point Reyes National

Seashore, just north of San Francisco. South Coast Wilderness is far

younger and less known than Point Reyes from a visitor’s perspective,

but I expect its popularity to boom as the cause to expand its

grounds and promote its beauty continues to spread. I’d suggest

getting out there while it’s still only $2 (if you drive).

My friend and I hit the trails after the 11 a.m. celebration of

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park’s 10-year anniversary. Thanks to the

organizers of the celebration, complimentary veggie sandwiches and

carrot sticks helped fuel our completion of an unnamed eight-mile

loop that included travel through Laurel Canyon, Emerald Canyon,

Bommer Ridge and Laguna Ridge.

The hike offered the varying terrain we were looking for: Cactus,

wildflowers, oak trees and ocean views with a decent dose of climbs

and descents. Change is always good on a loop hike.

To become an avid day hiker, you have to relish the idea of

traveling in a circle (or an oval) without a destination. The idea is

to finish where you started, which in the working world generally

means you’ve accomplished nothing. An ideal hike is one that involves

no backtracking, allowing every step to be on ground you’ve never

trod before. The loop is the hiker’s friend, and Laguna Coast

Wilderness Park rangers highlight eight that range from 1.8 to 11

miles.

I’m a firm believer that an eight-mile loop hike through a place

like Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is less strenuous than a

round-trip, two-mile city walk to a place you need to be. The park is

open only on weekends, from 7 a.m. to sunset, with the parking lots

open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but weekends are perfect vessels for

practicing hiking philosophy.

I’m an adamant proponent of the cause to spend weekends traveling

in a variety of circles at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, or other

parks in the South Coast Wilderness system, for only $2. It’s the

best bargain in town, and one that Lagunans ought to know of and

share with others.

For exemplary advice on which local hikes are best for you, call

Park Ranger Barbara Norton at (949) 494-7549.

* MIKE SWANSON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot.

He covers education, public safety and City Hall. He can be reached

at 494-4321 or mike.swanson@latimes.com.