This hike was another backpacking trip. It was planned to have a 3 day adventure of backpacking the peaks. Jacinto was our first hike because we wanted to get out the highest altitude first. There were so many issues that happened this weekend. The first was the fact that we were taking a risk and made the drive out to Jacinto without a backpacking permit. We were lucky and they had permits available! The first problem was that they only accepted cash only at the ranger station. So make sure you take cash!!! The nearest ATM was at the very bottom near the parking lot. So my partner went to go see if he could get cash back at the store while I stayed near the ranger station asking if people had two things: $10 cash and venmo. Some people did have money but did not really trust a stranger (I dont blame them!). Finally, a young male hiker was kind enough to round up $10 from his group and we exchanged Venmo information. He went off on his merry way while I bought the permit and needed to wait for my partner to come back. I had no signal so I couldnt reach out. It took what felt like 1.5 hours for him to return! He ended up having to take the tram back down and got cash and came back up.

So we started the hike, no major issues during the hike other than the fact that I was having a hard time towards the end. We were talking to other hikers and backpackers. We ran into a group who was day hiking with full backpacking packs. They were training to backpack Whitney. I could not remember what they looked like and kept introducing myself to them. I was deemed the nickname, “Dory.” We were able to catch up to the group who gave us money. My partner gave the group $20 and we thanked them for trusting a stranger!

Getting to the campground, we had a hard time finding the designated camp sites. We did not want to risk getting caught somewhere not designated which is a fine of $200. No thank you!!! Finally found a site, it was secluded. We backpacked back up to the peak. Spent some time there and then headed back down to rest the remainder of the night. The weather was perfect! I would backpack Jacinto again!!