Distance: 10 miles
Duration: Day Hike
Last Traveled: 1/29/2022
San Jacinto Mountain
Adventure 1
Map
Intro
I wanted to get more experience and comfort in the tail end of winter where the snow on the ground is manageable. San Jacinto peak is close by, can be done in a day, and there are detailed reports which let’s you assess the current conditions pretty easily.
This trip was planned as a day trip and with the Palm Spring Aerial tram, let us focus more on traveling through snow and ice while bagging a peak.
There were at least 4 rescues that day due to icey conditions and probably distressed hikers from poor weather. Winter hiking poses unique challenges and you should be prepared.
GPS/Navigation
I carried redundant GPS. I have a Fenix on my wrist and a Garmin 65s handheld with a compass/map as a spare. I did not do any navigation on my phone.
Snow and ice completely obscured the trails. All you will see are the footprints and even those should not be trusted. You should have redundant GPS. It’s very easy, especially on the way down to the tram station, to get lost. As you descend from the peak into the bowl that leads you back to the Tram, the forest line will obscure the tram’s station. As you descend, you can see the tram station and get a bearing but afterwards, it’s difficult.
You shouldn’t rely on “following” others. While staying in a group is recommended, you may get the issue of the blind leading the blind. Be comfortable with the GPS, plot a route, and stay safe.
We did encounter one group of three that had no navigational aid and appeared ill prepared. Please don’t be a statistic.
Ice and Snow
Almost immediately we needed spikes. This is not a “maybe”. This is a “must”. Some of the grades are impassable without traction and the rangers will warn you that you need spikes to continue.
Day 1 (Day Hike)
Snowfall has been relatively light this year due to the persistent drought affecting California for multiple years. While the drought has been terrible for us, it did have the side effect of allowing an earlier that usual winter ascent without requiring postholing or heavy risk of snow fall or whiteouts. I had been monitoring King’s reports as to the degree of snow depth and conditions prior to planning this weekend. I was waiting for two conditions a) no weather predicted and b) snow had rescinded to a point that post-holing was not needed. I was also paying attention to reports of icey conditions.
We decided to do a day hike to the peak via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
The Way Up
The Palm Spring Aerial Tram dumped us at the station and we meandered down some stairs from the station to exit to a series of paved switchbacks that eventually lead to the dirt/snow. We headed straight toward the ranger station to fill out a day use permit, drop it off and then we continued to follow the GPX route. If you have no GPS and the trail is covered in snow, don’t assume all footprints lead the right way. The purpose of the day use permit is ensure the rangers know who is on the mountain and hikers should fill one out.
As we departed from the ranger area you could see multiple trails made by foot traffic. It can be pretty confusing but often the one with the most foot prints ended up being the “right” path. For this trail, I wasn’t concerned as to staying 100% on trail as long as the general direction was correct. I would check from time to time our position on GPS.
We entered the bowl with all the campsites a short way from the tram area and they were all covered in snow. This area would be great to spend some time here in the mountains. The trail ascends west past the southern border of the camps toward Wellman Divide Junction.
The section between Wellman Divide and Left Fork Junction is relatively steep and was extremely icey. This area seems to have experienced a lot of wind and re-melt, leading to the icy conditions. The thought of slipping and sliding down the hill spooked me from time the time but it’s relatively low risk. The consequence of sliding down means you’ll just slide down into the bowl (relatively safe as long as you’re on your butt) but getting back up will be a royal pain due to the incline and slippery conditions.
We proceeded north from Wellman Divide Junction, if you head South/Southwest, you’re heading to Idyllwild (wrong way!) Note, you do NOT have to go through to Wellman Divide Junction, you could also cut through the camps and go mostly due West. You want to navigate to Left Fork Junction.
From Left Fork Junction we then navigated to Deer Springs Junction. We followed the trail north up a gentler slop and single switchback west to Deer Springs Junction. The slope is very steep if you don’t use switchbacks. Once we hit the junction we pointed toward the peak and up we went.
Coming Down off San Jacinto Peak
Heading down is much easier, you can retrace your route and as you drop toward Wellman Divide Junction, if there is enough snow, just sled on your bottom down the hill. It will save you a lot of time and it will shoot you in the right direction somewhat perpendicular to the trail you took up toward the junction.
Mind your timing. If for any reason you feel you may get stuck in the darkness, bring a headlamp or emergency flashlight.
Gear
Kahtoola ExoSpikes - I used ExoSpikes since they are in-between the Nano and the Micro. Micros are little steel triangle teeth (the most aggressive) while the Exos are carbide spikes. Nanos are more for moving or running around town and not recommended. On the traversal I did wish I had longer spikes but my Exos did the job just fine and I’ll be keeping them.
I would get these from REI or another outfitter. For reference, I wear size 12 US Nikes but needed the XL. If on the edge, size up. Despite the urge to abuse REI’s return policy, please don’t buy, use once then return. This just steals from other members and dishonest. Take this as encouragement to plan other winter adventures instead!