Forest Hike Is Set for Saturday

Mission Viejo’s Mike Sappingfield is hard at work dispelling the notion that Orange County is all paved over with no place to enjoy nature.

“There are wonderful day hikes all over the place in Orange County,” he said.

Sierra Club groups hold hikes almost every weekend on local trails, and Sappingfield is assistant leader on a hike Saturday in the Cleveland National Forest.

The hike, a 10-mile up-and-back trip on Morgan Trail, is not for beginners, but it won’t be overly strenuous for experienced hikers.

Interested hikers can meet the group at 8:30 a.m. in the park-and-ride lot at Ortega Highway and Rancho Viejo Road in San Juan Capistrano. The group will carpool up to the trail head. Bring lunch, two quarts of water and hiking boots with waffle soles. For more information, call hike leader Chet Stipe at (949) 363-1142.

TAKE ANOTHER HIKE

If you would rather walk on flat land, the Sierra Club is offering a guided tour of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in Newport Beach, also Saturday.

The hike is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there is a $5 fee. Bring lunch, water and walking shoes. Take Jamboree south from Interstate 405 and turn right at Eastbluff Drive. Parking along the road is near the first side road to the bay.