Ride Report RR: Mt. Laguna aka The Meadow of the Gods(video added)

BEEP BEEP BEEP.... BEEP BEEP BEEP. 5:15 a.m. on a Saturday. Must not hit the snooze button. Ice cold CamelBak. Check. Trail snacks. Check. Riding gear. Check. Stumble out, load up the bike, and hit the road.


Met up with some of the usual suspects (Indy, Tim, Rob, and Aaron) plus a few new faces at Costco in Mission Viejo to start our convoy down to Mt. Laguna. 120 miles and running.


We make good time and get to the trailhead by 8:15. A couple of people forgot Adventure Passes and the store didn't open till 9:00. So, not ready to roll quite yet. Plus, we had to wait on Cisco and Tony. As usual, Tony was late. Tried to blame it on Cisco's toy (Smart) car.


Let's roll. Climbing? Already? Who is in charge of this route? Anybody know where we are going? That way. No that way. Turn around. Back that way. I am already tired and we haven't even started yet.


What kind of pace is this? Where is Tony? He needs to get out front and slow this thing down. Drop down and to the left . . . wide open meadow and flowy singletrack. Am I dreaming? This NorCal boy is thinking . . . are you sure this isn't the Sierras? Freaking awesome.


Have to stop for a picture. Wait . . . we are riding with Indy. Have to stop for 36 pictures. But it is o.k. because we are on the bank of a lagoon in the middle of a grand meadow. This must be Nirvana. How can this get any better? With the breathe of the Heavens giving us a soothing breeze, the early summer grass danced and swayed upon the meadow. What could have been a hot and miserable ride was blessed with perfect weather.


Where do we go from here? More singletrack. Did I mention it was flowy? And the trees . . . Singeltrack for days. Miles of singeltrack meandered through the meadow until we had to climb again. To Gatos Ravine we must go. Let's play on the logs for a while. Oh what's this? A table top log jump. GoPro time. Down we go. Lean left. Lean right. Cruising.


At this point some of the unfamiliar faces were continuing to push the pace. The usual suspects decided, "This trail is too awesome. Let's enjoy it." You don't drive 120 miles from the land of dusty fire roads to race through the Meadow of the Gods. Where are the guys in a hurry to get to? The parking lot? Back to Orange County? No thanks.


Pull out the cameras, picture time. The crew took our time on the backside of the meadow. Rock climbing? Check. Rest on a hilltop under a swaying tree gazing upon the lush valley? Check. Indy posing for 100 hundred pictures? Check. Indy taking 200 hundred pictures? Check. We don't want to leave. No hurry to leave the land that time forgot.


Finished off with sandwiches in the shade. It was a good day to be alive.


Pictures to come.

 

Sweet..glad u guys enjoyed it so much. wish I could join.

 

Woot! We did it. I still can't believe it. Glad I didn't cancel the ride. It was one of the most beautiful trail in SoCal. They said the weather was gonna be HOT but actually it was perfect all around. Endless view. So much to explore. Speechless...Breathtaking!!!

Pics with iphone,

BTP


Endless view


So much to explore


:: I'm in Heaven ::


:: S P E E C H L E S S ::


I really like the view from here w/OC Boy


to be continued...

 

Looks beautiful. Should have gone

 

i was really on the fence about doing this ride because of how far it was to get there and not knowing if it would be worth the trip. i had decided to go last minute because i didn't want to be the guy to missed out if it turned out to be a great ride. well i'm glad i didn't miss out. this place was freaking awesome. i've never seen so much single track. the weather was perfect. all in all a good trip. lets do it again!

 

I bummed I missed it. Looks like it was worth the drive. I have to go next time it looks like a great place to ride now it's on my bucket list of must do trails.

 

More pics,

Group shot,



Rock Climbing,


Rest on a hilltop under a swaying tree gazing upon the lush valley...

Can't resist to take a lot of pics

Can't wait to come back in fall,

 

Great report. Looks like an awesome place, going on my to do list. Maybe in the fall.

 

Glad y'all had a good time. Mt. Laguna is great, fun riding. You should have hit Noble canyon though! Can't imagine going all the way down there and not.

 

We had a couple beginnerish rides. They barely made Mt. Laguna. Plus, Noble was REALLY hot. We plan to go back in the Fall with our usual crew and do he 29 mile loop with Noble.

 

That was the most positive Ride Report you've ever written, BtP! Looks like you had a great time in a beautiful place.
Thanks for the stoke :beer:

 

Not just regular Big Laguna Trail Mountain Biking Video...first time Gato Ravine!

First time ride Big Laguna Trail with friends...it was amazing.


[video=youtube;tSk_5qcUxvc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSk_5qcUxvc[/video]

 

Great Video!
Big Laguna Trail is good one. Did you guys ride any part of Noble Trail?
Thanks for sharing...

 

we didn't do noble this time around. had a rider that was out of shape and was barely able to do big laguna so we're saving it for next time

 

So this is the trail you've told me Indy? very nice. Pine trees everywhere. This trail similar to kernville cannell plunge. Looks like you guys had a great time.

 

Might want to consider editing the 2 glorified skids at 3:00 minutes or you might get some heat for it.

 

This is a must for me, going to have to arrange the full 29 miles of that trail!

 

Great vid; beautiful place. Thanks for sharing!