I had a lovely hike to Mount San Jacinto Peak.  The trail was shaded most of the way as my friend and I started under the trees starting from Humber Park.  I had started on this trailhead once before when hiking to Tahquitz Fire Tower.  At the saddle we headed the opposite direction to the left. We passed Wellman’s Junction as we headed to the peak.  It was an upward trek at first with views of Suicide Rock and eventually Diamond Lake.  We hiked a lot of switchbacks.  My friend told me there were 22 up to the peak.  She has hiked this trail many times and was a great hiking partner.  We saw a number of wildflowers : Indian Paintbrush, Columbine, Sticky Geraniums, Yellow Monkeyflowers, a lot of lupine, a few lemon lilies,and what I believe was California fuchsia.  A lot of the flowers were in the wetter portions where water crossed the trail.  We walked through a fern covered path along part of the way with cornflower plants that weren’t blooming yet.  The weather was perfect with unexpected cool temperatures and even a slight breeze as we neared the end of the hike back to Humber Park parking lot.  I enjoyed scrambling up the boulders at the end to the peak and the amazing views.  This was the perfect start to my Southern California Challenge.