San Jacinto Peak via Marion Mtn Trail 6-12-10

[Lcpl Hughes]

Got off work at 11:30 p.m...went to sleep about 12:40 and was up at 4 a.m. to start climbing up the trail at 6 a.m.
This hike ended up being a little harder than I thought it was gonna be..mostly the downhill, I don't even think I realized how steep it was till I was comin down and my knees were aching by about mile 4 downhill, the steepest section..
I ran into Ellen, Karen and Katherine at the summit, who came via devils slide..visited for a bit and off we were all off for our descent..ran into Rich (nice to meet you) as he was coming up from Fuller Ridge to camp at Little Round Valley..
A couple of snow crossings on the trail and snow in Little Round Valley, which makes it a little difficult to navigate, but not to bad..no crampons needed at all..
After the hike I drove to San Diego and did a sunset hike up Cowles Mountain in La Mesa with my friend (luckily it is easy)..crashed out and got up this morning (Sunday)..went to Sunset Cliffs and explored south as far as I I could, cause the tide was a -1.4 and then went and did a complete garage organization, which took 10 hours it's been a long weekend..

[RichMcG]

When I saw you coming down Deer Springs, you were the first person we encountered all day. You said you were doing Marion mountain so I knew it had to be you. We did that trail last year, and coming down you take a pounding, some times wondering "did I step up these 3 foot drops coming up?" Fuller Ridge is 95% clear, the wilderness boundry sign is unmelted (did you see hvydrt's photo from 2 weeks ago?) 11 of us started out at 8 am, hit Little Round Valley at 2, 4 stayed at camp and we peaked at 5. That Deer Spring Trail is BRUTAL on both sides of Little Round Valley! I'll get some photos and a full TR later.

[Sally]

Don, I had to laugh when you wrote "I don't even think I realized how steep it was till I was comin down" because I used those exact same words on a post about Marion Mtn trail last October.
Sounds like you had a board convention running into Ellen, Karin, Kathryn and Rich up there. It's amazing how you can "run into" people on such a big mountain. I ran into John M last week at the peak.
I'm planning on going up again this Wed. but can't decide between Marion Mtn or Deer Springs Trail.
Rich, lookin' forward to seeing those pics!

[Lcpl Hughes]

Hey Rich, thanks for the info on Fuller Ridge..hope to get out there soon..looking forward to those pics too!

and Sally, I was thinking of all kinds of names for that trail coming down..I honestly dont think I have ever felt that kind of pounding b4 with my knees..but thankfully after the hike was over, the pain went away.
Have fun on Wed. on whichever hike you do I look forward to your TR when you return..

[tinaballina]

Wow, you did have a long full weekend.