Kitchen Creek Falls and Laguna Mtn

I set out early in the morning for a solo hike to Kitchen Creek Falls. It was my first time to these falls. On the trail I hiked through Oak woodlands, High desert plant life and chaparral. Once I reached the top of a ridge, I worked my way down into the canyon to the creek and waterfalls. These are some of the most brilliant waterfalls I have been to. I precariously made my way all the way to the bottom of the falls. Then I found a nice perch about half way up the falls and just sat there taking it all in. I had the falls all to myself. Then I decided to hike out and drive up to Laguna mountain and see the source of all of this water and do some hiking in the snow. The silence of the snow covered forest and walking along in this winter wonderland was great. This was a really mind blowing day.

Trabuco Creek

It is amazing to me how I can walk from a rather busy part of a city and within a mile I am in instant wilderness. As i walked down the trail into this canyon just off of the busy road in Orange county, I had about an hour and a half till dark. As soon as I was a little ways down the trail, I could hear tons of frogs creaking, lots of rabbits scurrying around, sometimes 4 or 5 of them at a time running down the trail, lots of squirrels, lots of birds, lots of lizards and to my surprise I even saw three deer grazing in a meadow. This was one of the best hour and a half hikes I've ever taken. What an after work treat.