Mt. San Jacinto
From the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of Mt. San Jacinto with Bill and Aaron.
An attempt from the base of Mt. San Jacinto is possible, but it's almost the full 10,834' . . . which means starting at 4:00am and ending well after dark. Plus the associated pain involved with a 15 or 20 mile hike and that much elevation gain.
We did the more reasonable route, starting from the 8,500' elevation end station of the Tramway, then 11 miles round trip to the top of Mt. San Jacinto and back. Unlike previous killer hikes we've done, this one wasn't bad, even with our late start. (aka, we drove to a different starting place, then realized that a 5,000' elevation gain was probably too ambitious, so we drove to the Tramway instead.) Most of the hike was very moderately steep, with only one really noticeable section of steep-- and compared to previous experiences at Mt. Baldy, it was nothing! The series of extremely long switchbacks made stopping very easy to forget, as we were pacing ourselves well and simply didn't need to stop. Motored up, lingered for a few minutes after scrambling the rocks at the top... then motored down. Not bad at all! =)
Unlike previous hikes, we had several encounters with rangers, who verified our wilderness permits and were actually quite helpful in guiding us up the mountain. In trademark fashion we always forget something essential on the hike, and this time it was a compass. The rangers pointed us the correct direction, since the trail book we had was not super detailed.
We also neglected to bring Lil' Smokies (minature sausages), but those don't really count as a vital piece of gear. *grins*
Shade most of the way helped as well. The only area really exposed was the long switchbacks from the top of the ridge up to Mt. San Jacinto peak itself, but the view more than made up for it. Looking down over I-10, the windmill farms, and the towns along the freeway... very pretty. So much shade, nice and green everywhere, and beautiful views. It's hard to ask for much more.
(ok, dinner in Rowland Heights was pretty tasty, too!)
