Trip report
Apr 13, 2023 — Located on the eastern edge of Cleveland National Forest, the region surrounding the tiny dwelling of Mount Laguna overlooks the Colorado Desert. It's a forested and gorgeous landscape elevated from the heat below. The Pacific Crest Trail was planned well here, creating a great section that follows the rim for many miles. It felt silly to hike Monument Peak and Garnet Peak as short out-and-back hikes when I could instead enjoy this gorgeous stretch of the PCT. However, once traversing between the two peaks I'd have to return the same way, less ideal. Fortunately, there's a great trail system in the vicinity of Big Laguna Lake. This addition would tack on only a few miles to make a full loop, which made sense to me!
I parked where I did because I wanted to do Monument Peak first, but you could also park at the Garnet Peak trailhead here (32.91154, -116.46123). I started up the Big Laguna Trail, which met with the PCT shortly after. I was only on the PCT for a short time before a social trail forked toward the summit of Monument Peak. The trail was a bit steeper than the rest of the hike would turn out to be, and the views were excellent. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the rim was more impressive than I anticipated.
Rather than backtrack to the PCT, I continued along another social trail following the rim and up to a lump dubbed Hays Peak. Just a short add-on and with great views, I was happy with the decision. The social trail became more faint on the northwest side of Hays Peak, but soon I was back on the PCT. I followed it for a few miles, greeting the many through-hikers heading north and not envying their heavy packs. On the way I checked out Foster Point, a nice lookout spot with a peak identifier landmark.
The PCT parallels the Sunrise Highway for a time before ascending toward Garnet Peak, a section I found to be the most beautiful portion of the hike. Garnet Peak's cliffy form poked up ahead as Monument Peak fell behind in the distance. I took the Garnet Peak spur trail to reach its summit, but couldn't hang out due to some very intense wind. I backtracked along the Garnet Peak Trail to reach Sunrise Highway.
The first leg of my loop done, it was time to leave the sweeping desert views and exposed chaparral rim and now enter a more forested setting to check out Big Laguna Lake. Following the road led me to the Penny Pines Trailhead, where I picked up the Noble Canyon Trail for a short time. Keeping left at a junction with the wide Big Laguna Trail, I gained some gradual elevation through the forest. The trail then descended slowly into the basin housing Big Laguna Lake. Initially the basin was a wide meadow, but later on I reached the northern edge of the lake itself.
The trail followed the eastern perimeter of the lake basin for a few miles until reaching its southern end. A confusing trail junction leads east, sticking along the Big Laguna Trail. High rains this year meant I had to hike through a boggy mess, but normally I assume this is more of a pretty meadow section. The Big Laguna Trail had a lot of nice variety here as the meadow faded into forest. The trail crossed over a couple of creeks, followed a dirt road for a short time, and otherwise just wandered up through the hills and back to the trailhead where I'd parked my car.