itinerary: detail Crystal Cove option

days/2026-09-26.md

@@ -24,15 +24,30 @@
 
 These options do not repeat the group's Malibu, El Matador, Point Dume, Santa Monica or Venice day. Schedules use DTLA as the starting-point baseline and assume an LAX return target of **4:30–5:00 PM**; adjust them once LK's hotel is known. The Hertz booking must be changed and confirmed first. Drive times below are routing baselines—allow additional time for Saturday traffic.
 
-### Option A — Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach · recommended
+### Option A — [Crystal Cove](https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=644) and Laguna Beach · recommended
 
 Best balance of ocean, hiking and manageable driving. Approximately 104 miles total from DTLA via Crystal Cove to LAX; about 2 hours 45 minutes of baseline driving.
 
+**Crystal Cove hiking choices:**
+
+- **Recommended if hiking is the priority:** Moro Canyon → East Cut Across → Moro Ridge → BFI loop · 4.9 miles / 7.9 km · about 2 hours · 1,053 ft / 321 m cumulative gain and loss. The steep climb reaches a ridge with Pacific views before descending to the canyon
+- **Easy alternative:** Moro Canyon out-and-back · 3 miles / 4.8 km · about 1 hour · broad coastal-sage canyon with oak and sycamore near seasonal Moro Creek
+- This is a dry, open canyon—not a narrow slot canyon like Annie's Canyon. Carry water and stay on marked trails
+
+**Laguna Beach afterward:**
+
+- Start at Crescent Bay Point Park for the headland view
+- Walk the coastal path through Heisler Park toward Main Beach
+- Have lunch downtown; if time remains, continue to Treasure Island Park for another bluff walk
+- Tide pools are worthwhile only when the tide is low and the rocks are safe. The predicted low on 2026-09-26 is **3:39 PM PDT**, later than the conservative airport schedule
+
+**Working timing:**
+
 - **6:30 AM** Leave Los Angeles
-- **8:00–11:00 AM** [Crystal Cove State Park](https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=644): Moro Canyon or a shorter ridge-and-coast walk, then the beach and tide pools if conditions permit
+- **8:00–10:30 AM** Crystal Cove hike
-- **11:15 AM–1:00 PM** Laguna Beach viewpoints and lunch
+- **11:00 AM–1:30 PM** Crescent Bay, Heisler Park, Main Beach and lunch
-- **1:15 PM** Leave for LAX
+- **1:30 PM** Leave for LAX
-- **3:30–4:30 PM** Return the car; meet the group afterward
+- **3:45–4:45 PM** Return the car; meet the group afterward
 
 ### Option B — Palos Verdes coast · least driving