I did it! The PCT from 74 to I-10

[JenG.]

On Thursday I finished my solo hike from hwy 74 to I-10! Conditions were great through the Desert Divide, although there are snow patches on the shady parts of the trail from Apache Peak to the south face of Red Tahquitz Peak. None of them required crampons, but I used my ice axe for balance anyway. When I hiked around the north side of Red Tahquitz the trail disappeared into deep snow; I used my GPS to guide me to the trail and set up camp in a great snow-free hill after about 20 minutes of slogging through soft snow. Crampons were not much help with the post holing. I also saw prints of a female mountain lion and cub on the trail, which was pretty cool. The snow persisted to Tahquitz Meadow, then the trail is bone dry through Saddle Junction and all the way up to 9,000 feet. At the top of the hill, near the junction with the Jacinto Peak trail it is sill very snowy, and microspikes or crampons are helpful. I elected not to do the Jacinto Peak alternate. The trail was dry and fast around JacintoPeak, then patchy and heavy snow all along the northern stretch to Fuller Ridge, although I did find a dry flat camping spot off the trail. I also saw HUGE mountain lion tracks in this area - I swear they use the trail like a highway. The most difficult section by far was Fuller Ridge. I had to use my GPS to navigate since the trail is buried with deep, soft snow on a steep slope. It was time consuming and exhausting, but after about 2-3 hours I came to the dirt road that leads to Black Mountain Trailhead. I walked the road down and skipped a section of the trail in order to lose elevation and get out of any more snow. Below 7400 feet it is dry again and then it was a really nice hike down to the end in Snow Creek. I did the hike in 5 days because I was limited on time - 6 or 7 nights would have made for a more relaxing hike. Overall this was an amazing hike with beautiful views along the entire route. I'm from Colorado and wasn't expecting the San Jacinto mountains to be that challenging;I was so wrong. It was great to stop and talk to the hikers that I saw. Tres Amigos it was so fun to meet you!!! Good luck on your hike to Paradise.

-Jen

[Sally]

Congratulations, Jen! That was a real undertaking - I know, because Ellen and I did the Snow Creek to the tram in a day, and then we did the section from Hwy 74 to the tram with my daughter on another day. Both days nearly killed us, and we didn't have any snow to deal with and we were only carrying day packs. You rock!

As cool as it is to see mountain lion tracks, it would have given me the heebie-jeebies.

Just curious, where did you camp besides the hill after Red Tahquitz and the spot on Fuller Ridge?

[JenG.]

Hi Sally. Wow - 74 to the tram in a single day?? That's so much hiking and a lot of elevation gain. PM me if you ever need a hiking partner Yes - the mountain lion tracks made me very jumpy, I was looking around at every rock and bush as to not let him have the ambush on me. It was a bit creepy for sure. None of my camping spots were at the places I planned. The first day I left super late and only made it five miles in from the 74. Second night was just south of Spilter Peak, then north of Red Tahquitz, Fuller Ridge and finally my last night was around 4,000 feet on the switchbacks down to Snow Creek. My plan was to stay at established sites marked on the map, but most nights I stopped when it was getting late or I was exhausted.

-Jen

[Ellen]

Howdy Jen

Congratulations on a butt kicking backpacking trip in less than ideal conditions. Sure wouldn't have wanted to cross some of those snowy exposed sections, you're braver than I am Hope to meet you on the trail sometime.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[OldnSlow]

Congrats! Great accomplishment!

[KathyW]

Good for you Jen - there's nothing better than spending a night out in the wilderness.

[Ulysses]

Thanks for sharing about your hike. I'm jealous that sounds like my dream vacation. Just curious about your water sources. Where did you get water between Hwy 74 and Apache Peak? Did you drop down to Live Oak or Cedar Spring?

[dunedevil1513]

Hello Again Jen ! This is Robert one of the Tres Amigos. Impressive hike to say the least. WE are so glad you made it and most important doing it safely.
We were going to Idyllwild, started at Hwy 74, we camped at Apache Spring on our 2 day adventure and decided to turn because of the unknown snow conditions on the north sides of trail higher up in elevation. Thats when we met you . We had a wonderful hike retracing to cedar springs trail that ended our 2 day hike.
It was a thrill to meet you on the trail.

[JenG.]

Ulysses - I stopped for water at Live Oak Spring (1 mile off trail), Eagle Spring (0.25 miles) and again at Apache Spring (0.5 miles). Of all those, the Live Oak spring water smells/tastes the best; there is a pipe that the water flows out of. Eagle Spring was a bit tricky - there is a big horse trough filled with green mucky water, then you have to look around for a small circle of rocks, look down there about 18 inches to see the water. The water was clear and tasted fine (I didn't use a filter, just iodine). The Apache Spring is easy to find but the water smelled like sulfur. The rest of the trail was easy - lots of snow-melt streams. There is no water from Fuller Ridge to I-10. There is a seasonal spring at mile 194 that was dry. I carried three liters.

-Jen

[cynthia23]

Congratulations JenG! This sounds like a wonderful and very challenging trip. I applaud your determination and guts!