SJ Summit via MMT or Devil's Slide?

[davesd]

Looking to head up San Jacinto this weekend w/ my son, but can't get on the trail until about 11am. Any recommendations whether the peak via shorter MMT is preferrable to Devil's slide?

Sounds like there's plenty of snow left up there, is one trail preferable to another from a conditions or even route finding perspective? This is our first time in the area...

Thanks!

[Hikin_Jim]

Looking to head up San Jacinto this weekend w/ my son, but can't get on the trail until about 11am. Any recommendations whether the peak via shorter MMT is preferrable to Devil's slide?

Sounds like there's plenty of snow left up there, is one trail preferable to another from a conditions or even route finding perspective? This is our first time in the area...

Thanks!

You're going to stay over night or do a day hike?

If a day hike, trying to make the peak from the west side and back before dark starting at 11:00 AM is going to be pretty tough no matter which route you take. You might want to set a turn around time and stick to it even if you don't get all the way to the peak. Maybe you guys are cross country runners and are really fast, in which case you may ignore me.

HJ

[davesd]

Good idea about setting a turnaround time - I know we're probably cutting it close for a 1 day hike.

I'm worried mostly about whether the snow conditions will make for either challenging footing (exposure?) or route finding. Is one trail more preferable in this regard than another?

Thanks..

[Hikin_Jim]

Good idea about setting a turnaround time - I know we're probably cutting it close for a 1 day hike.

I'm worried mostly about whether the snow conditions will make for either challenging footing (exposure?) or route finding. Is one trail more preferable in this regard than another?

Thanks..

Have you considered gaining the summit via the tram? That's the shortest route to the top.

If not, probably the second most popular is coming in from Humber Park via the Devil's Slide Trail. There's a lot of traffic, so I think you'd be OK in terms of route finding. I haven't been up lately myself, but just from reading reports here, it doesn't sound like the snow is all that bad. Pay attention and you should be fine. There will also be a fair number of people out on the trail on most weekends.

Marion Mountain is shorter; it's the shortest route to the top from the west side. Short though doesn't always mean fast. It's pretty steep. If you're in really good shape, then you can take advantage of that directness. If you're not in such good shape, then you'll have to slow down so much that you won't save any time. I don't think Marion Mtn is all that big of a challenge navigationally, but sometimes people get confused near the trailhead.

HJ

[davesd]

Thanks for the tips!

[rb]

planning to hike devil's slide - wellman divide to peak in late June. what's water availability along trail?

[Florian]

planning to hike devil's slide - wellman divide to peak in late June. what's water availability along trail?

Should be plenty of water at Wellman's Cienega. No water after Wellmans.

-Florian

[peakbgn]

We got a late start on Wednesday (11 am) and had to turn around just past Little Round Valley at about 10,000 ft. Unfortunately, there was a lot of areas where the snow runoff had made it impossible to find the trail. In fact, coming back down we crossed a meadow following some flags, which took us off the MMT and onto the Pacific Crest Trail taking us 2.3 miles in the wrong direction (Strawberry Junction). We had to backtrack to MMT uphill and back down in the dark, arriving back at the MMT trailhead by 11:30 p.m. So be careful!

[Hikin_Jim]

... arriving back at the MMT trailhead by 11:30 p.m. So be careful!

Yipes! Not much fun, particularly since it doesn't sound like it was planned that way.

Were you able to follow along en route with a map & compass?

HJ