I went up today with Lance as this was the only day he could hike this week. We took the first tram and left the Ranger Station at about 8:25. The new snow was absolutely exquisite -- I have never experienced such wonderful virgin powder. Even in the cold temperature (30 degrees) and overcast skies, we were working hard enough in our snowshoes to peel off our gortex jackets and fleece before leaving the established trail. The sun came out shortly before we reached Tamarack Valley.
Lance decided to head up towards Miller Peak. We hit the saddle between Miller and Cornell and then followed the ridge (steep!!!) up towards the summit. We'd periodically slide back down in the new snow, which was quite tiring. The wind was a bit glacial once on the ridge so we donned our fleece jackets. I also got to test my new gortex mittens. At the bottom of the Miller peak rock pile, we removed our snowshoes and crawled up to the summit. I've never been on this peak and was surprised to learn that the summit was named for Frank Miller, who is well-known in Riverside for his connection with the Mission Inn.
We stayed at the summit just long enough for pictures as the weather was quickly deteriorating. It was 9 degrees at 12 noon. We got off top and just as we were taking a lunch break, it started to snow. Put the gortex jackets back on and headed down towards Miller saddle. We encountered two other hikers (Len and Sylvia) who were also descending. They got a late start (having to wait for hordes of people riding up the tram), had almost reached the Miller saddle, and decided to turn around due to the time of day and worsening weather conditions.
The four of us rejoined our trail in Tamarack. The snow really started to come down at this point. When we reached the main trail, we ran into numerous people snowshoeing. They indicated that the trail was well broken to Wellman's divide. I doubt that anyone reached the summit of San Jacinto today. We were all happy that the snow came down at the end of the hike and not the beginning. The four of us headed off for the ritual post-hike meal at the original Las Consuelas.
The NWS indicates a 30% chance of snow tomorrow (Sunday). The main trail will probably be doable to Round Valley and Wellman's, but no trail is broken past that point. Our trail to Tamarack will probably be covered by tomorrow morning with new snow. Snowshoes are essential but hiking will still be difficult due to the new snow. If weather conditions are similar tomorrow, visibility could be a problem.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
