A perfect day, spent in “My Church”.
So, Easter Sunday was to be my 31st summit of San Jacinto Peak. Spending Easter in what I refer to as “My Church”. Unfortunately, as I was leaving my campsite and go to the Marion Mountain Trailhead, my truck would not unlock using my key fobs. I spent the next 2.5 hours trying to find some help and ending up calling AAA. Turns out my truck battery was dead. They jumped it and it is not maintaining a charge.
That said, I had to defer my Easter Sunday “My Church” hiking to Monday. Which as I reflect on the day turned out to be a very rewarding day for me and possibly a few PCT hikers.
My truck started right up on Monday morning and I was able to make it to the trailhead right around 6am and began my hike at 6:30am. It was a little chilly and overcast most of the morning. There was a threat of rain, but I didn’t get caught in any. I had layers for the expected colder temps at the summit and a light raincoat if I needed it.
I had a great hike up. The first 3 miles up to the Deer Springs Trail intersection gained about 2425 feet in elevation and I didn’t see a soul on trail. As I continued toward Little Round Valley, another 2.2 miles and 1,125 feet in gain, I only saw one other hiker (a PCT hiker) coming down from the summit. Once I made it to Little Round Valley, there were at least another dozen PCT hikers there who were getting ready to head down toward the Fuller Ridge Trail.
Once I made it to the summit the temps had dropped to below freezing. I clocked 6.75 miles and about 4,550 feet in elevation gain. There was one other PCT hiker on the summit with me. He dropped his pack at the Fuller Ridge Trail and flew by me just before the summit. As I normally do after summiting San J, I headed down to the Rescue Hut to relax and eat before I headed down.
While there I must have seen at least a dozen more PCT hikers and two-day hikers who had come up the day before via the Tram and camped at Round Valley, so they could summit this morning. There was also a young lady, trail running in shorts and a tank top while I was trying to keep my frozen fingers warm as I ate. Turns out she was attempting to clock the fastest time for the Cactus to Clouds (C2C) hike. She missed it by just a few minutes and told another hiker she would be back the following weekend to attempt it again.
For those who are unaware C2C (which I have completed five times) is a grueling 15.5-mile hike from the desert floor (400 feet elevation) to the summit of San Jacinto (10,834 feet elevation), followed by a down climb of 5.5 miles to the Tram Station at about 8,500 feet. It takes me well over 7 hours to get to the summit and she was attempting to do it in under 4 hours. Wow!
While I was sitting at the hut, I recognized a PCT hiker named Crispy as she and another hiker were coming up to summit. I’m pretty sure I met her on trail several years ago while doing the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks Challenge and I had just recently read and started following her blog on The Trek: Pacific Crest Trail. She has an awesome write up in there that I strongly recommend reading.
As I began my descent, I ran into Marble (a friend of Crispy’s) and the two of us shared stories as we hiked down to the Fuller Ridge Trail together. That was his turn off to stay on the PCT. Right about that time Freebird had kind of joined us. He was heading back toward the Deer Springs Trail so he could go into Idyllwild and spend a zero day there. So, I offered to have him follow me down the Marion Mountain Trail (much shorter than going all the way back to Deer Springs (Strawberry Junction). Once back down to my truck I would then take him into town, saving him a lot to time and miles. As it turns out I am also available on Wednesday morning to pick him up in Idyllwild and give him a ride back to the trailhead.
Anyway, I finished the day with 13.6 miles and just over 4,500 feet in elevation gain. My 31st summit of San Jacinto. Oh, and did I mention, while I did miss the potential for rain at the lower elevation, it did snow (ever so slightly) while I was at the summit.
A perfect day, spent in “My Church”.
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