Cactus to Clouds in Extremis!

[Ellen]

The following Skyline trip report was written by my hiking buddy Lance Tyler. He asked me to post it to the board.
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Disclaimer: Only experienced hikers with the appropriate equipment, clothing and an excellent knowledge of the Skyline trail in daylight should attempt to emulate this hike.

We succeeded in our quest of competing the full Cactus to Clouds hike on December 13 and 14. I had made a few attempts previously but had not succeeded in completing the full course from The Museum car park in Palm Springs to the peak of San Jacinto mountain. Today was the day when all the variables contributed favorably for a successful outcome.

Val and I left Loma Linda at around 11:00PM on Saturday night, arriving at the Museum car park around 11:45 PM. We were prepared and on the trail at 11:50PM. The temperature in the car park was a reasonable 51F. We climbed steadily and had a quick gel break at the "you will die" sign. The temperature had dropped enough by now for us to put on a layer of fleece as the wind had picked up. We were well prepared for the eventualities as I had checked the Tram forecast a few times before leaving and the 10:00PM readings in Long Valley were 24F raw with a feels like temperature of 12F due to the 16mph breeze.

We climbed steadily and put gloves on at shade rock. The climb from there to the 4300' cairn was uneventful except there was an unusually bright moon last night and also a large number of meteors tracing across the sky. We arrived at the 4300' cairn at 02:30AM and the temperature was now 28F. For my mind this was highly acceptable as I believe for myself the best hiking temperature is in the 20F's. After drinking some electrolyte replacement fluid and another gel we set off for Flat Rock at around 6000' elevation. The moon was so bright at this time that I forgot for a period that I had not turned my headlamp on again. It was truly a beautiful evening.

At 4:15AM Val and I arrived at our usual stopping place just after Flat Rock for another short break. This time when I went to drink my electrolyte it was slush heading quickly towards freezing solid. A quick check of the temperature revealed that it had dropped to 18F with a light breeze as well. We didn't stay long here because your body quickly begins to cool when you stop and you can chill. Moving up from Flat rock into the manzanita it was brisk to say the least. My hand for the first time started to really feel the cold so I place each one in turn inside a pocket in my fleece to warm them. This did the trick until we got into the timber again. I was feeling great and we moved purposefully without stopping up the steepest parts of the trail amidst newly fallen trees which had to be negotiated. By 5:30AM we were nearly at the place where the trail fades and you can get confused about where to go among the rocks. Taking stock and another quick swig of slushy electrolyte, which I had incidentally put inside my pack to stop it from freezing completely, we noticed the temperature was now 16F.

Not wanting to waste time looking for the poorly defined trail we decided to scramble up the rockfall towards a dimly lit patch of sky some 500' - 600' above us. It's one thing to do this in the daylight and even in the snow as you and I have done before, but quite another in the dark under the tree canopy. It took us about 35 minutes of serious exertion to get to the lip of Long Valley which we reached in 6 hours 15 minutes. Because we were meeting others on the first tram coming up to complete the hike to the top of San Jacinto we headed towards the tram station and up the concrete path. Of course at this hour of the day everything is locked and bolted. We settled down outside the double doors and ate some breakfast while we waited for the first workers to arrive. At 06:30AM one of the tram conductors unlocked the doors and let us in to warm up in the building which was a cool 40F at that time of the day. But, at least the hand driers in the bathroom worked!

Val and I watched the sun rise in the East a little later and I took a couple of pictures of that wonderful sight. In due course the person we were waiting for arrived on the second tram and we set off for the summit. The trail had numerous icy patches which had to be negotiated with great care. Crampons would have been an unworkable solution to this as the ice was very thin so we were able to work around the patches by walking on the side of the trail where the snow was not compacted. Our colleague was not able to make it to the summit on this occasion as the "magic was not there..." Val and I summited after scaling the icy rocks very, very carefully. The raw temperature at the top was a chilly 5F and there was at least a 20mph wind at the top. It was much too cold to stay there longer than to take a few photographs. There was one other young woman at the top and we ended up sharing a drink at the bottom and talking about our various exploits in the mountains.

The trip back to the tram station was likewise much slower due to the ice and the care that needed to be exercised in getting through the patches. Fortunately there had been a light dusting of snow recently which made the going much more reasonable on all but the last two hundred feet that led up to the peak.

It was a magnificent experience and one to be entered into the book of great hikes that I have shared with different people. The night was picturesque with the almost full moon and the meteorites falling so often. The cold really worked for me. How often do you remember your Gatorade freezing at Flat Rock? I am so happy to be able to check off my first Cactus to Clouds climb and it is a worthy challenge for sure. Remember to enjoy whatever you do in the mountains, be prepared, be safe, protect the environment and treat the wilderness with the respect it deserves.

[tinaballina]

WOW, great trip report....
I have a stash of gatorade right above flat rock, that must be frozen now too.

[Cy Kaicener]

That definately was a great trip report. Now I know why Lance and Ellen hike together. You both love the cold, and these challenging conditions. My teeth were chattering reading those low temperatures. Thats what I call tolleration

[Hikin_Jim]

Great post. Now that's what I call adventure.

lol 5F is for sisies. Sun tan weather.

[NormaR]

Brrrrrr... and a warm Congrats! Great TR, thanx for sharing.