Tried this hike before Easter but turned around the car before Idyllwild because of a snow storm and no tire chains. So I decided to cheat and headed into Palm Springs to take the tram up. Once up, I post-holed in the snow until about a mile from the top and, exhausted, admitted defeat and came back down.
Not this time.
Cool day. Beautiful blue skies. Rare patches of snow. Didn’t see anyone on the trail until the top. Then ran into a convoy of PCT thru hikers taking selfies on the peak. No joke, there was a line! I ran into 30+ by the time I got back down. Learned a few things about PCT thru hiking: 1) hikers are definitely minimalist, so I stood out with my stuffed Osprey hydration pack and Arcteryx boots; 2) Altra shoes with patterned gaiters are de rigeur; 3) mainly 20-somethings and a few old guys (unlike that episode of Gilmore Girls where it was all women who read WILD). Had some good convos with hikers on the way down until the the Marion Mtn trail splits from the PCT. Nice folks from all over the US (and the Netherlands and the UK) dedicated to their hiking passion — good luck to you all?