San Jacinto Wilderness - Desert Divide

“On Saturday, Newengland hiker and I headed out with from Humber Park on the Devil?s Slide Trail in San Jacinto. Our destination was South Peak along the Desert Divide, and after South Peak we hoped to pick up Red Tahquitz Peak on the way back. It was a great day for hiking. The sky was clear and there was a nice breeze blowing. We made it to Saddle Junction in an hour and headed to Tahquitz Valley. After Tahquitz Valley, we picked up the PCT. The desert and mountain views became spectacular. We passed the unofficial trail that leads to Red Tahquitz and kept traveling along the PCT. Neither of us had been on this trail before, so when we reached a point where the trail headed downhill there was a junction that we thought might be the trail off to South Peak. It turned out to be a trail to a campsite, but we thought that it would be easier to stay up higher and cut through the brush to summit South Peak. We had picked a pretty tough route to travel and when we reached the summit our legs were scratched up and we were tired. Much to our surprise, the peak register told us we were on Red Tahquitz. We took some time to laugh at ourselves and then enjoyed the views while eating lunch. The ?real? trail down Red Tahquitz was clear and easy to follow. When we got back down to the PCT at the intersection we had passed earlier, we decided to press on to South Peak. The thunderclouds were getting dark, but we didn?t think that they were close enough to be a problem. We reached the junction where we had turned wrong before and headed down the hill toward the ?real? South Peak. The rocks with their red and yellow hues, the wildflowers and the desert views combined to provide impressive scenery along this part of the trail. By the time we reached the duck that marks the route up the summit of South Peak, the clouds had come in around us and were getting darker. We made it a fast trip up the steep slope that brought us to the peak, signed in at the register and headed back down hoping we wouldn?t get caught in a lightening storm. As we headed back up the trail, it happened. The rain, lightening and thunder came. Suddenly, it wasn?t rain anymore. It was hail. Large pellets of ice were coming down from the heavens and they were coming down fast. Earlier, when the weather was so nice, we had both commented on how we were carrying less gear than normal. That morning I had tossed aside my rain pants, backpack cover, gloves, etc? There we were out in the freezing hail with shorts on. We did have some layers to put on, but not the ones we should have had. We moved as fast as we could to stay warm and work ourselves out of the hail. We had to climb higher before we could start ascending and the hail just kept getting worse for a while. It got to the point that there was about 4 inches of hail on the ground. Finally, it turned to rain and then eventually about a mile from the Humber Park trailhead the sun came out.

Even with the hail this was a great hike and one of the prettiest trails I?ve been on in the local mountains, but don?t forget your rain gear.

Newenglandhiker, thanks for posting this hike and providing such good company along the trail.

Next weekend, I want to come the other direction from the Spitler Peak Trailhead and pick up Apache Peak along the way to Antsell Rock. Antsell Rock would be the next peak along the desert divide past or before South Peak depending on which way you?re going.

Here are some of the pictures I took:

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1395621&a=13708833&f=0

The views were much nicer than they showed up in the pictures.”

“Hey Wingding- Looks like some pretty good views, alright. And definitely some threatening clouds!”

“Yeah, what bc said. Nice pictures too!”

“Thanks for the link b-66. Couldn't get through by c/p.

Done this hike a bunch of times. I stay in that camp site to watch the PCTers come up the trail. Great sunrises from there. You sure did get off track if you made it to Red Taquitz from there.
Pelting hail storms up there can really beat you up with no protection. Been there too.
Wish ther was a year round water source up there though. I would go more often. There's a spring (Apach Springs) along side the trail if you come up from Spitler. But it is sulfur tainted, so bring gatoraide or ??”

“wingding0 - Thanks for the great trip report and pictures! [For the benefit of those who do not know where Mt. San Jacinto (10,804 ft.) is, it is about 90 miles East of LA. On a "perfectly" clear morning, I can see Mt. San Jacinto from my driveway 70 miles due east.]”

“Thanks for that last bit of info, Phil. Wingding0, that sounds like an awesome place to hike. Thanks for the trip report and pictures. What is that area like when it is not the height of summer? We need to visit a new nephew in LA and I was trying to talk hubby into mid-April when the kids have off from school. Is there any good hiking for families at that time of year, or should I wait until the summer?”

“LyndyS - There is lots of good hiking in LA. Around Mid-April, depending on the snow pack, some of the higher elevation locations may be snowed in. However, the lower elevations will be available. The Palm Springs Tramway is on the side of Mt. San Jacinto and is very popular (either as an excursion by itself or shortcut to the trailhead). Mid-April would be a good time for the tram.

There is also the
Also, checkout "SoCal Hikers" in Yahoo Clubs. They are a serious bunch of local hikers and a rich source of information.

By the way, the hikes mentioned are all less than a 2 hour drive from downtown Los Angeles.

What city will you be in?”

“Thousand Oaks is where my brother in law lives, but we would not need to be there the whole week. But two hours is a good distance. I don't want to try to visit the whole state in one week.”

“oops, I didn't proof my trip report good enough. Please change the word ascending to descending - had uphill on my mind.

LyndyS: LA area offers some great hiking opportunities. You probably will run into snow at the higher elevations, but the children might like a little snow. In April the flowers will be blooming and there will be plenty of water along the trails. Summer can be very hot and dry in Southern California, but in April it's normally beautiful out.”

“LindyS - I messed up the link for the San Gorgonio Wilderness

Thousand Oaks is somewhat west of LA. There are lots of hiking opportunities out that way.”

“These storms have been blowing up over the SoCal mountains the past few days. A hiker was hit by lightning and killed yesterday atop Stonewall Peak east of San Diego. These summer storms can explode quickly and surprise you.

Another site with info on Southern California trails is at www.socalhikers.com”

“www.socalhikers.com is a great site.”

“Thanks, Phil and pctpacker, I bookmarked both those sites. It is amazing that you have so much hiking near such a heavily populated area.”

“LyndyS - I am very surprised that we don't have more of these 20 million people out in the mountains. Most people in LA never go near them.”