TR: Indian Summer in Little Round Valley

[jfr]

OK, so my title is somewhat misleading, as this trip report is a bit old. Over two months old, in fact. I'm calling it "Indian Summer" because it's October now and we were actually on the mountain in early August! Anyway, now that autumn is upon us, I thought that it might be nice for folks on the board to enjoy some photos and reminisce about the flowers of summer.

We spent three nights at Little Round Valley, hiking in from the Fuller Ridge trailhead on the PCT. Fuller Ridge was fully as beautiful as advertised, and much easier than the too-steep Marion Mountain Trail. The views were excellent in all directions, as the trail meandered from one side of the ridge to the other. Also, our old Saturn handily made it up the long dirt road to the trailhead, which was a relief. This trip to San Jacinto was planned, at least in part, as a way for my wife and I to get acclimated to high elevation prior to our main summer trip to the Sierras the following week.

For our second day we hiked the big 12-mile loop around the mountain counterclockwise from LRV, down the Deer Springs Trail to Strawberry Junction, then, always turning left, headed upward past Strawberry Cienega, Wellman Cienega, Wellman Divide, Miller Saddle, the trail junction near San Jacinto Peak, then back down the switchbacks to Little Round Valley. It was a long day.

The third day was easier. We bushwhacked our way to Marion Mountain and Newton Drury Peak. We weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be relatively easy whacking as the slopes were gentle and the boulders were far apart. The views from both mountains were spectacular, and the climb up the final crack on Marion's summit block was fun. The downclimb less so! We also discovered a spring that wasn't on the map, the source of one of the small streams that eventually cross the trail just below Little Round Valley.

The fourth day, Sunday, we hiked back out along Fuller Ridge, thinking about our big trip to the Eastern Sierra three days later, where we'd be starting out at 10,000 feet elevation. We were hoping that our acclimation would hold, because we were feeling great and hiking strong thanks to our extended stay at Little Round Valley.


Anyway, sorry it took so long to get my photos together. It's been a busy couple of months for me. In other words, the photos won't help much with current conditions, but they may serve to bring back the feeling of summer on our favorite mountain.


Way too many photos (as always) on my flickr page. Special bonus (or is it a punishment?): An absurdly long trip report to go with them.

Acme Mapper topo of our trip, with "A" being the Fuller Ridge Trailhead, "B" Little Round Valley, and "C" Marion Mountain.

[Sally]

Hi jfr, I just read your WHOLE TR and looked at ALL of your pics and videos. It took a while, but was definitely worth it! What a great vacation, four whole days in the San J's.

Can't wait to see your TR of your Sierra trip.

Thanks for a nice start to my day. I'd better get to work now!

[jfr]

Thanks, Sally! So that brings the total readership of the full TR to three people (including me and my wife), which is about what I expected, given it's length!

Anyway, we were up there about a week after you and your daughter took all those excellent flower pictures near Wellman Cienega, that you posted on your Wildflower thread. The flowers sure were great this past summer!

I'm trying to get the Sierra TR going next. I have a huge number of pictures to sort through, as almost everywhere in the High Sierra is worth a photo. And then I have to write the report. Maybe I'll try to write it bare-bones, as opposed to this trip's wordy travelogue style. That way it might be finished before New Years!

[Lermo]

Hey JFR,

I read the entire TR & saw all the pictures too. Great read & looked like a beautiful trip! I think I may have met you last March snowshoing up Sid Davis drainage.

Looking forward to the Sierra TR & Pictures too!