Mt. San Jacinto, Southern California

May 29, 2021 Tom Boylan, Mike Harris, and I started out in Idyllwild at 5,400 feet and made the challenging hike to the top of Mt. San Jacinto at 10,834 feet, then back to Idyllwild as a 19.4 mile day hike.

The Deer Springs Trail we took typically requires 4 liters of water. Moving all 4 liters (8.8 lbs) to a couple of water belts around the waist is much easier than having the weight of 4 liters in a backpack. Each water belt can carry 2 liters. They are worn one facing forward and one facing backward. The hips and legs have to carry all the weight anyway, might as well eliminate 8.8 lbs from pressure on the spine in the backpack and put the weight directly on hips. We came across a stone cabin located near the top. The cabin is always open as a rescue shelter for unexpected winter storms. Just a tourist attraction in the summer.

View at the top is spectacular! On a clear day a hiker can see the top of Mt. Charleston near Las Vegas, look down at Palm Springs, and out over the Pacific Ocean.

Naturalist John Muir wrote of San Jacinto Peak, "The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!"

The account of Muir visiting Mt. San Jacinto appeared first in Frederick, K. P. (1926) Legends and History of the San Jacinto Mountains. Long Beach, CA.

Scenic views from the Deer Springs Trail       

Scenic views from the Deer Springs Trail

Mileage, direction sign and patches of snow. 9.2 miles up from the Deer Springs Trail Head       

Winter stone cabin for emergency shelter

At the top of Mt. San Jacinto 10,834 ft       

Mt. Yale

On August 3, 2019, I had the opportunity and pleasure of hiking up Mt. Yale. At 14,198 ft, Mt. Yale is one of the 58 fourteen thousand foot peaks in Colorado. Mt. Yale is noted for its beautiful vistas and Class II scramble over rocks. A popular trail with many friendly hikers enjoying the pine scented air and spectacular scenery.

Colorado Mt. Yale forest trail       

Pine tree along the trail loaded with cones

Nearing the elevation of the tree line       

Leaving the shelter of the trees

Sun rising on the mountains       

Significant amounts of snow still left in August at these altitudes

Very upset marmot squeaking at us around 13,000 ft of elevation       

Breathtaking views

Last mile of the trail is all rocks       

No trail to follow, just keep going up

Human made rock piles (cairn) to show the best route up       

Very steep Class II scramble at the top

Happy to be at the top of Mt. Yale, 14,198 ft elevation       

Spectacular view from the top

View from the top towards the town of Buena Vista, CO       

Mammoth Mountain

So far this season, Mammoth Mountain has received 47 feet of snow. The amount for February is an all-time record. On February 22, 2019, I had the pleasure of skiing at Mammoth in perfect conditions – no wind and perfect snow in bright sunshine. Although, we needed to have extra layers in near zero degrees Fahrenheit. In decades of skiing, this was as good as it gets!

Mammoth Mountain

Mt. Sherman, Colorado

On August 4, 2018, I had the pleasure of hiking to the top of Mt. Sherman in Colorado. The goal is to start early in the morning, hike up to the top, enjoy the view, meet some other hiking enthusiasts, enjoy camaraderie with friends, and hike back down before the afternoon thunder storms.

Trail at 13,000 feet.

Trail to the top at 14,030 feet.

Top of Mt. Sherman, Colorado.

View from the top.

View towards Fairplay, CO near Breckenridge.

Hiking buddies Brian, Steve, Bob.

Palm Springs Tram Trail

In November, 2017, I hiked 10 miles up the Palm Springs Tram trail. The trailhead is at the back of the Palm Springs Art Museum parking lot at an elevation of 440 ft above sea level. The trail goes up over 8,000 feet to the top of the Tram at 8,516.

I started the hike at 3:30 am to avoid the desert heat at low elevations, and arrived at the top of the Palm Springs Tram at 12:15 pm for lunch and a leisurely ride back down to the valley floor on the Tram.

This is the second time I have made this spectacular hike going from cactus to pine trees. Hope to return many times in the future.