Ultimate Stairmaster to Sweeping Desert Views on San J

I woke up early one morning and decided to restart this challenge after a knee injury and being evacuated due to the Line Fire in 2024. Now I was even more determined. I started with a solo hike to Mt. San Jacinto from Marion Mtn Campground. The first thing I noticed was that the trail markers were all wrong. The signs kept insisting it was 5.3 miles to the top. Even after going up a couple miles, there it said again – 5.3 miles haha. Anyway, from the start, I had the whole trail to myself for miles. Perhaps it was because this was the first peak I did in some time and it was a solo hike, but the first 3 miles did feel relentless. So steep. Like a stairmaster into the sky. But the wildflowers were beautiful. Everything was peaceful and the weather was perfect. I finally saw a few humans once I reached Little Round Valley and from there, I felt like it wasn’t too difficult getting to the top. Maybe that was because a lot of the climbing is done in the first few miles or maybe I got a second wind. Visiting the hut near the top was really cool even though I wasted my registry entry writing about a boy who didn’t deserve the space in that notebook. I wanted him to join me on the journey, but looking back, I’m so glad I did it on my own. Anyway, scrambling to the top was so fun! I reached the sign and scrambled around some more – very rocky summit. There weren’t many people up there, but it still felt crowded because there isn’t much room to walk around. But it’s unique. And I enjoyed the desert views – the windmills appeared as Q-tips from the peak and the solar panels were otherworldly. As I sat up there and ate my lunch, I looked around at all of the other peaks I knew I would soon complete.

Now, scrambling down was interesting. I went down a different way than I came up and had to slide down some rocks and walk through some tall brush. I had the trail map downloaded, which helped me get back to the trail. I got a little turned around, so watch out for that confusion. After the fact, I appreciated the bit of extra excitement, but I was slightly concerned in the moment haha. My knees hurt on the steep downhill trek back to the campground and I had to rest for about 20 minutes. Future me is fine with it, since I haven’t had problems since and have done some much needed prehab exercises to strengthen my quads and glutes and improve my knees for all of the downhill.

But I made it back and felt accomplished! I will say that I parked a little far from the trailhead and added an extra mile, at least, to my hike. Confusing as there was a trail marker where I started and then another later on, with the same amount of miles listed on it (incorrect). It’s more like 7 miles to the top. Please prepare to do 14-15 miles, not at all what it shows on AllTrails.

My final thought on San J – it was the most painful for me, which is fine because it was the first of the year after an injury and proves I’ve gotten stronger now. I loved driving through Idyllwild and Hwy 243. And it was nice to come up without the tram and have the trail to myself for most of it. It was a tough, but enjoyable day – mental strength needed to push myself, but I loved it. And it set the tone for the rest of the year: determination and reaching new heights.

Solo hike/10,834 ft/15 miles / 4,448 ft elev gain / 7.5 hours moving time