Humber Park to Summit (almost) Friday May 28th

[john m]

Set off at 815am from Humber Park hoping to make the summit via the Devils Slide trail and then north on the PCT. Snow is not an issue up to the Saddle and north until about 8,950'. At the point where the trail enters the shaded trees, the snow cover is still about 90%. There are various footprints to follow but the general idea is to stay high on the slope. After getting through the first set of trees I was able to find the trail here and there until the federal/state park border signs. At that point it really became tough to figure out where to go. In addition, even in the sunny south facing slopes that normally are snow free were snow covered. In fact, past Wellman's Divide, it's almost still 99% snow covered and not much of a trail at all to follow. The higher you go, the fewer tracks or old trails in the snow. I used crampons on the way up in the morning and on the way back the snow was soft enough they weren't needed.

I got to approximately 10,100' in the flat area just before the last switchback up to the right and then back left to the summit. At that point, I could see that the entire slope was solid snow instead of the dirt I had hoped for on the south facing slope. I figured I had another hour to the summit and 45 minutes back. It was quite windy. I was tired from the snow slog and didn't want to go back through the woods on the way back later in the day when the snow would turn back to hard pack so I had lunch and turned around. Still, it was a great day!

For those of you thinking about trying to make the summit this Memorial Day weekend from the Idyllwild/Humber Park side, I would only do it if you know the trail extremely well and start very early. I have done that trail to the summit 38 times in the last 6 years and it is still a challenge for me to find my way through the trees and heavy snow cover. I also forgot to bring my GPS, increasing the challenge! Judging from what I saw today, this trail is for experienced and conditioned climbers only. It might take another month before the snow finally melts based on the amount I saw up there.

Good luck everyone and enjoy the Memorial Day weekend.