Marching Orders : A hearty cafe breakfast fuels hikers for a day at Caspers Wilderness Park.

Listen up, pinheads! There’s a peak with your name on it at Caspers Wilderness Park. You can get an early start at Mollie’s Famous Cafe in San Juan Capistrano.

EARLY MORNING: 1

Mollie’s opens at 5:30 a.m. Its stated philosophy is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but Caspers park secretary Gina Drury says it’s her choice for breakfast or lunch. “Good food, lots of it,” agrees Mike Leone, a Mollie’s regular.

Mural-size photographs of a verdant creek scene wrap around the room; vintage photos--most of Newport Beach!--hang on the walls. All egg and omelet orders come with a choice of home fries, grits, sliced tomatoes, cottage cheese, applesauce, peaches or fruit cup. The omelets ($4.85) include local avocado, local zucchini and Ortega chiles (which sound local, given the restaurant’s proximity to Highway 74). Decidedly nonlocal omelets include Italian meatball.

While you’re enjoying breakfast, you may want to put in a lunch order to go. You’ll need something out on the trail. Sandwiches ($3.50-$5.95) come with a side dish. And--surprise--there’s pineapple in the cole slaw!

MORNING: 2

According to the local hiker’s bible, “Afoot and Afield in Orange County” by Jerry Schad, Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park is without doubt the crown jewel of the county’s regional park system. It is the largest park, the most remote from population centers and the least altered by human activity.

More than a decade has passed since children were attacked by a mountain lion at Caspers, but a rule remains in effect: No one under 18 is permitted on the trails, with or without an adult, unless accompanied by a park ranger or docent. All visitors require a wilderness use permit, issued free at the park entrance. (There’s a $4 entry fee per vehicle on weekends, $2 on weekdays.)

A visitor center includes a park museum and a view loft. The trail system is extensive. At least two manageable hikes begin near the windmill and Old Corral Picnic Area. Perhaps begin with the more substantial of the two, a three-plus-mile link-up of the Dick Loskorn, West Ridge, Starr Rise and Bell Canyon trails.

Start out from the Nature Trail Loop. After about a quarter-mile, you’ll see a shady bench beneath an impressive oak tree (a good place to return for lunch). Note the orange “witch’s hair,” a parasite of the dodder species, shrouding host plants along the Loskorn Trail.

Railroad-tie steps lead to a narrow sandstone ridge and a somewhat dizzying view down what Schad describes as “a modest but unnerving abyss.” The West Ridge Trail is a dirt road with stunning views of Old Saddleback (Santiago and Modjeska peaks) and other parts of the Santa Ana Mountains. Starr Rise descends to Bell Canyon, which features a creek crossing and welcome shade.

Whichever hike you choose, wear sunscreen and bring plenty of water.

LUNCH

Right about now you’ll be wanting that BLT or three-decker turkey club. Picnicking possibilities include the aforementioned oak-shaded bench, or the Old Corral Picnic Area, which has restrooms and offers views of the horses at the equestrian day use area.

AFTERNOON

It’s not marked on most park maps, but you can access the Pinhead Peak Trail just behind the equestrian area. The path is tad overgrown right now, so even if it’s hot, consider light long pants. Round-trip is a mile and a half.

Head across the meadow and up the scrub-covered ridge; Pinhead Peak is just beyond the wire fence that marks the park boundary. Though the 662-foot summit is not far geographically from the park entrance, you can see almost all of Caspers Park from its vantage.