When you’re in Palm Springs and surrounded by mountains, one stands out above all others, San Jacinto, often snow covered, always craggy and 500 million years old. John Muir said it ‘was the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth.’ From the top on one side you can see all of Palm Springs and beyond the Salton Sea, and on the other side, you can see across several other ranges. Palm Springs is unique in that here is one of the steepest escarpments in the US, where the lowest and highest points are within spitting distance. You can be almost at sea level in Palm Springs, take the tram up the cliffs and be 8400’ up within 10 minutes and 2 1/2 miles. Further up is the top of San Jacinto, at 10700’. It beckons.
There are 2 main ways to get to the top from Palm Springs. One is called the Cactus to Clouds hike, hiking the 22 mile trail from the base of the mountain to the top of San Jacinto. Of course, you then need to get down: 6 miles hiking back to the tram and - here’s the neat thing - the tram down is free. Whoop-de-doo. We met a guy on our South Lykken hike several days ago who had actually been in the Cactus to Clouds race. They gave the participants 15 hours and he made it in 14 hours. Wow. I’m impressed.
The other way is to take the tram to 8,400’ and begin your hike there, 12 miles and only 2300’. Sounds much saner, right? We’ve been looking at it for 3 years now and have wanted to climb it. But, we’re always here in the winter when there is slow on the top, often quite a few feet deep. This year there hasn’t been much rain in the valleys here and thus little snow on the top. Sounds like our year, doesn’t it? I read that the snow was only 1” deep near the top. I must need new glasses.
Hiking in the snow is great and neat to do. We've done it several times and really liked it. Mostly, we've done it in the powder - the first ones on the trail after a snowfall. Of course, you don't make much mileage, it's pretty slow going but that's not the point. It's quiet, it's pristine and the sun sparkles off the flakes. What a trip.
We got up at 5:30 so we could make the first tram. Since it's dark at 5:00 pm here, and we wanted as much time as possible to hike before dusk, we needed to be on that first tram. It was mostly empty: one other hiking couple (she’s in the picture below, does she look anxious?),
a guy meeting his kids who have been camping out on the top in the snow for 2 nights, a retired ranger and the tram operator. Taking pictures and moving around the tram kept me pretty occupied. Plus, it wasn't crowded.
At the top, we realized that the snow was much deeper than I had read and that the trail, used heavily, was icy in spots and slippery, packed snow in others. Switchbacks which usually go uphill steeply on the corner were treacherous. They were like little sledding hills. Oops. We struggled up the trail trying not to slip but it was really hard and the going was slow. Luckily we had poles which were a great help. However, microspikes would have been much better and will be one of our first purchases in SD when we get there. Sometimes, we got off the trail and several times, I found myself up to my knees in the snow. Maybe, a pair of gaiters might have helped too. A possible 2nd purchase in SD. Often our poles sunk deep into the snow. Maybe we need rubber baskets on them. A final purchase.
On the other hand, we did have gloves, hats, stretchy things that go over ears, head lamps, 4 layers of clothing and long underwear on. We were well prepared for the cold. We had food and lots of water.
But it was great fun and the views when we hit the mid-point where we could see over the ridge to the other side were absolutely stupendous. Layers of mountains off in the distance on an overcast day. Gives a meaning to the phrase 'Blue' Ridge Mountains. We ate lunch at this spot and had to eat fast since our hands were getting cold.
At one point we hiked through Round Valley, a camping spot. And, look at the fine facilities here. Granite countertops, porcelain commode, plush carpeting? Nope. Pretty handy little kiosks to have in a camping area - especially in the cold.
We also saw 2 young men huddled over a stream looking pretty cold and forlorn. Sure enough, they were the sons of the guy in the tram. We saw them later on the hike. They were pretty personable young men, not forlorn at all but, yes, they were a bit cold. They and their father were going to do so rock climbing.
We got pretty far but had to turn back before we reached the top since we thought going down on the slippery, icy snow would be slower than going up. We met quite a few couples and groups heading up as we were heading down. Some slipping and sliding on the trail in sneakers, one with spindly poles which must have been tree branches laying in the snow, most without the proper clothing and most without a clue about how long the trail was, how far they were from the tram station and when dusk would come on the north side of the mountain on a cloudy day. What were they thinking? Oof-da. But we had a great time.
Back at the lodge, on the paved trail going up, we met a 'city' couple coming down. 'See any animals?' he asked. 'A grey squirrel' Gary answered. What does he expect, right at the lodge with hundreds of people milling about and kids screaming as they played in the snow? A moose, a bear? The woman with him was wearing calf-length tight pants and sandals on her feet - she was barefoot in the snow with temps in the 40's. What was she thinking?
Here we are at the end of the hike, with the sun on the mountains on the other side of Palm Springs. Can you tell that our socks, our feet and our shoes are soaked? Or do we look like two models right out of the REI catalog? Or, are we a perfect example of how couples begin to look alike as they age?
The tram down - absolutely full to the gills. No room to move and not pleasant. How thick is that wire? How many can a single car hold? How far down is it?
We'll definitely do that hike again, in the snow with microspikes, gaiters and pole baskets and also in the spring sometime, when the snow has melted. An awesome trail. And, we want to get to the top.
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