This hike was a year in the making. I first attempted Mt. San Jacinto last year at around the same time. Last year's attempt ended just shy of Little Round Valley so about “a mile and a half” from the summit, when I reluctantly but pragmatically decided to turn around since it was 3PM and I knew I had 12 more miles on some unfamiliar trails up and down if I were to attempt the summit.

A couple of things went wrong with last year's summit hike: It took 2 exhausting hours of driving to even get there, I ran around for 45 minutes looking for a bathroom, and my meal plan consisted of brining a backpacking stove to boil water and cook food, which cost precious daylight time in a long summit hike. So this year, I booked  camping site to stay the night before, I streamlined my fueling plan for ready to eat food only, got lighter trail runners instead of hiking boots, and started my hike shortly after 6am.

An early hurdle was I was a bit tired from poor sleep the night before. Since it was memorial day weekend, the state campsite I stayed at was more rambunctious than usual. Campers karaoked until after 11PM. The close-quarters of our site to the next ones over meant I could hear everything going on next door, even with fancy noise cancelling headphones I wore to bed. At some point after 2am I did fall asleep, so I got maybe 2 and a half hours of sleep before waking up before 5am to prepare for my hike.

I had filled out the permit the night before and quickly dropped off the white copy at the ranger station box before driving to the trailhead. The trailhead was only a short drive from the campsite, and since I got there right before 6am I had plenty of parking options. A couple of other hikers and trail runners were also already at the trailhead to begin their day. I got my gear on and started the hike.

Despite being a bit tired from the poor sleep the night before, I my legs and body got warmed up to the gentle assent at the beginning of the trail. There were a lot less people than last year since it was earlier in the morning and it was a Monday (even though it was Memorial day). I noted the places where I took breaks at last year and hiked past them since I was feeling a lot better this time around. I was prepared for the terrain and sketchy parts this time, which was a huge psychological boost. I was also equipped with a new hiking watch that supported navigation so I was more assured of my progress even in parts where the trail was visually unclear.

I made it to the point where I turned around last time, and took a moment to note how different I felt this day than a year ago. Timewise I was also two hours ahead of where I was at last time.

I took a couple dozen more steps and saw the sign for Little Round Valley. This confirms my suspicion that I was basically at Little Round Valley before I turned around last year. I felt a little regret at my decision to turn around last year, but then moved on to do some exploring through Little Round Valley, which was a long string of multiple campsites leading up to the base of the final brutal ascent to Mount San Jacinto. It really looked like someone plopped a mountain on top of Little Round Valley. I looked at the sign saying “1.3 miles” to the summit, and then started the climb.

This last 1.3 miles HURT. Around this time I had already hiked for around 8 hours with 8 miles behind me, and the altitude sickness started rearing its mild but ugly head. I was sure I could do it, but I took more breaks here than the rest of the hike combined so far. The brutal switchbacks, rocky terrain, and uncertain trail path was a little demoralizing. Every corner I hope to see a sign saying “.3 miles” for the final turnoff to the summit. After much longer than it feels like it should have taken, I finally got to the .3 mile sign where the trail met the one from the tram station.

I thought it was .3 miles of scrambling, but it turns out it's some more hiking through some dirt and rock paths before the shelter and the final scramble actually came into view.

The final scramble was much smaller than I imagined, but it was no less challenging for me anyway since I do not usually do rock scramble. If you didn't tell me there was a summit up there, I would not have chosen to boulder up the rocks. There was a path indicated by some blue paint suggesting a route, but it didn't always work for me since I was shorter than average. I also tried to keep in mind some advice I heard about this scramble, which was “you should never be near the edge” was I selected my climb path up. Eventually I cleared the final set of rocks and saw two other hikers at the top of the pile. They pointed out where the sign was and I saw the final final approach to it. It wasn't falling off the mountain bad, but there were gaps in the rocks. I must have started at the gap for too long since one of them helpfully suggested “just go straight [over the gap]”. So I took a break and made the short jump to the rock where the sign was sitting.

Finally I was next to the sign, and took some photos and checked my watch. 3:30PM. I was a half hour behind schedule, so I resigned to at least some night hiking going back down the mountain. My new goal was to get safely down the rock scramble and be back at Strawberry Junction before sunset since everything after that is “easy” terrain.

Immediately I started off the wrong way on the scramble down, so I had to do some course correction and more sketchy rock scramble before joining back with the safe rock path down again. Once that was done and I was still in on piece, I took a quick look around the shelter before booking it to the Peak Trail (since I was going down towards Wellman's Divide on my way down) This was rocky and eventually quite steep, so I was very very slow going down this part. I also got a little bit lost coming off the Peak Trail to join up with Wellman's Cienega, so my watch took this speed as my average and told me I would be off the mountain at 2AM, which was insane to me.

Once I got Wellman's Cienega, I basked in some sweeping views of the area below and saw the tops of some clouds! The trail thankfully got a bit easier to manage so I was able to pick up some speed with the downhill. This part of the trail felt longer than expected but the awesome views made thing it feel easier. Finally I got back into forested areas. Aside from one navigation mistake caused by trail changes that I was able to quickly correct due to my watch, I made good time through the National Forest area before meeting up with the State Parks land again and to the Strawberry Junction area around 7:30pm. I was also back in cell phone signal, so sent a quick text to my friend who came camping with me that I was about 4 miles to the finish so I would finish around 10PM. I strapped on my headlamp, put on my puffy jacket, and began my final descent down Deer Springs Trail where I came up this morning.

It was all business after the sunset. Gone were the beautiful views and nice feeling of being in nature. I was in the dark with only my headlamp, views of my feet on the trail, and thoughts of mountain lions. I had done two night hikes before (in Yosemite and Mount Wilson) so I was not irrationally afraid. I knew the trail was the same in day or night, and as long I as concentrated and used my equipment correctly, I would be fine. I also reminded my self to go for the eyes if a hungry mountain lion comes by.

It was shortly before 10PM when I emerged back at the parking area of the Deer Springs Trailhead. I did a little cheer. I talked briefly with a car of people waiting for a pair of hikers coming down the mountain. I did not pass anyone on the way down, but I did see a couple going up Peak Trail while I was on my way down. I had assumed they were coming by means of the train station due to the time of day when I saw them. I confirmed they were at the correct trailhead (since there were 3 in the area). I wish them luck before getting in my car and texted my friend I was driving back.

Overall this was the longest hike I have ever done, but not the most grueling (that still goes to either Mt. Wilson or Cloud's Rest). I think it's the last time I'll take this approach to the summit since it just seems unnecessarily long, and I'm not a particular fan of the Deer Springs Trail. Though who knows, maybe in awhile I'll forget how monotonous that descent in the dark was and foolishly try this again! For the upcoming future though, I think I'll stick with the tram approach OR maybe a backpacking trip to the area so I can break it up into more days.