There is a guy at work - John Adler - who took Calvin and me on our first Mt. Whitney hike who organizes hikes from time to time. This time we returned to an old favorite - San Jacinto! The peak is 10,834 feet above sea level and the trail starts somewhere around 6,400 feet and the roundtrip is a little over 16 miles. This is a hike that Calvin and I have made several times - the first time back when Calvin was 14-ish years old.
This is our group as we were preparing to leave the parking lot and start up the first steep part called - Devil's Slide!
The vistas are spectacular as you begin to climb up the side of the mountain.
There a bit of haze out in the distance but the mountain air is cool and smells heavenly. And the sound of the wind through the trees - well it's better than the sound of cars on the freeway!!
The higher you climb - the blue the sky!
There were more people hiking today than I've ever seen on the trail before.
We started later than ususal from Idyllwild because the rangers had said that there was still snow at 9000 feet and we planned to turn at that point. But we climbed higher and higher without seeing much snow. There are definitely more and bigger rocks though.
This was one impressive (and determined) tree. It had grown right over the top of this large rock and just kept on going.
It's a little difficult to tell the difference between the large rocks and the snow drifted between the trees but we are standing in snow below with snow immediately behind us and then rocks further back.
More blue sky and patches of snow.
Very near to the summit is a shack built by the rangers - I'm guessing for protection in case anyone is ever stranded on the mountain in bad weather.
Leaving the shed is where we really found the snow! We trudged the last hundred feet or so over rocks and snow drifts. It looks much worse than it actually was.
This is John's son - from Hawaii. This was the first time he's worn actually shoes in over a year. Brand new hiking shoes and the blisters to go with them. Look at that view though of Palm Springs below!
This was to document that we made it. It was Susan's first time. No group shot this time. Two of our party had to turn around before the summit due to some effects of the altitude - headaches, nausea - fun stuff!
Last year we were buzzed by a glider - it came close enough that we could see the "pilot" smiling and waving as he swooped in on us. Nothing that exciting this year - just a large group of Japanese tourists who wouldn't move out of the way after taking their pictures at the sign!
The trip back down is much quicker and it always impresses me what you notice going the other way that you may have totally missed on the way up.
As we were nearing the bottom of Devil's Slide - the afternoon sun was beginning to drop towards the horizon. The shadows were stretching out and it was easier to see the moon high in the sky over Tahquitz Peak.
Almost back to the trail head. I think the photographer was a little tired - couldn't even hold the camera straight. All in all - it was a great hike - a climb of roughly 6400 feet over 16 miles and about 10 hours (with lots of breaks).
For those who aren't quite so interested in hiking this - you can take the tram from Palm Springs up to about 9,000 feet and then hike to the summit and back. There's even a restaurant at the top of the tram!
1 comments:
Wow, you hiked it when you could have taken a tram to shorten your hike?! Just kidding, that is amazing that you did that and still took so many beautiful pictures. Wow, I think you are in better shape then I was at twenty and you definitely could out do me now!
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