MOUNT LAGUNA JULY 2026

bit late on this, but what's new. had a really wonderful time with my best friends, and at the time i totally needed it; i was really feeling like a crazy person, sometimes still am, but this was very grounding. i was gonna say i'll spare you the sentimentality, but that's really what i made this whole thing for so i won't. i used to go camping here pretty often with my family, so i have countless great memories of time spent here with people that i love, and to be an adult with the means and ability and friends who are willing to make the time and the effort to go make more with me is something i truly cherish. i've been feeling decidedly quite unlucky this year, but moments like these do put things in perspective. i have some photos to share too (they're totally out of order, i'll try to give context where i can).

 i wanna say this is the afternoon we got there (7/17), but it could totally be the 18th. sun streaming through the trees, it was hot, but not nearly as hot as san diego or los angeles had been, a nice reprieve.

the sunrise the next morning was beautiful. didn't sleep super well, but it really wasn't a problem. awoke to the sound of cows mooing.

good morning, cows at the meadow 

 wes and tay looking at the cows at the meadow

in all my years of camping here i'd never seen them make their way over to this side where the campsite is, was pretty neat.

there were so many, so i have a lot of pictures of cows lol.

zane in his one man tent. he seemed to really enjoy it, he even left the door open like he does at home sometimes.

breakfast sausage. i wish i got a proper picture of all the breakfast, but we ate real good. not sure if it was just cause we were exerting ourselves and hungry, but everything was delicious.

 friends by the fire.

saw some people on horseback while taking a hike later that day. i always use to tell people that this was my favorite place, this trip was a reminder why. these expansive, open, grassy fields, bordered by pine trees are so beautiful.

though it had been pretty hot and dry, there was still some water in big laguna lake. not much of a lake honestly, looked kind of gross, but happy to see there was still some water especially since there was none in the meadow.

the cows too had found their way to the lake and decided to take a dip. i love the way they lined the water around this bend.

i love the contrast of the blue to the green to the yellow.

camp site in the afternoon. not pictured is our massive 8 person tent (which we used for 3 lol).

encounter with a california toad.

 friends by the fire.

i can't remember what night it was, but it randomly rained (want to say night one). this is from footage of me going outside to show that it was raining, only footage i have with me in it. great trip. looking forward to the next one. peace!