TR - Tram-San Jac Peak-Strawberry Jct-Wellman's Loop

[magikwalt]

Got up late after celebrating the 4th and Jean wanted a long hike. We caught the tram up and were hiking by 10am. The views from the peak were the best I have ever seen. We were able to see the entire Salton Sea. Jean was naming every reservoir in the area (too much time in airplanes) and there was almost no one on the trails.

Anyway we had a snack below LRV and surveyed several of the camping sites. The lowest elevation on the hike is right above 8,000 ft so the temp was great. This was Jean's longest hike to date and only her second time to ever summit San Jacinto. I suggested that we forget the summit and hike on into LRV. She vetoed that idea by reminding me hiking is like golf. The hole isn't over until the ball goes into the hole not just by it. The peak can't be claimed unless you are standing there. She now has a picture to prove it. Maybe she's been reading to many of Rick Kent's adventures.

Florian's idea of reversing this hike is great. I hate coming down from the Peak due to to much time pounding down hill. By reversing it you are up hilling into Wellman's and then have just the 3 miles to cover.

Anyway Jean enjoyed the hike. The pace was set to keep her from huffing too much and she was even joking about how bad we smelled after 17 miles.

She has Skyline in her sights for Oct.

[tinaballina]

Hey Walt,

Glad you had a great hike with Jean, and it makes me so happy to hear that she has skyline in her future. I would love to do that hike sometime, let me know next time you do it.

I ended up doing skyline saturday morning at the butt crack of dawn (people that know me know 3:30 is the earliest i do). it was hot but doable, kind of bonked towards the top a bit. Michael went up ahead, Fernando past me up and i ended up coming in at 5:20. made it down and back to my car in time to celebrate my family reunion thanks to Florian picking me up at the tram. Thank you again for doing that Florian, you were my life saver.

Yesterday i went up Baldy via Manker flats, looped around devils backbone and down the ski lift. i went with someone that had never been before and he loved it. it was a beautiful day for hiking.

[Kathryn]

Thanks Walt!
Your post gave Ellen the idea to take me on your 17 mile loop on Saturday. We took the Sid Davis Drainage to Tamarack and along the way had the pleasure of meeting Jack! We continued to Welman's and headed down and took the "Strawberry Cienaga" sign to Strawberry Junction. From there we were on the PCT for quite a while and then followed Deer Springs to Litttle Round Valley. We noticed that once we headed to Strawberry Junction, we didn't see any other people until we got close to Little Round Valley. That section of the trail had outstanding views and a lot of lush plants. It almost seemed tropical at times. There was running water in streams on and off and at times lots of bugs. Ellen moved fast and I had to jog sometimes just to keep up with her! We went all the way to the peak, at least 12 miles, without even having a proper picnic!! But then at the peak, we hung out at least an hour and rested. There were a lot of people up there, but it wasn't packed. By the last mile of the hike I felt pretty tired. We started that hike around 8:30 and got to the tram bar by around 6pm. Overall, it was a great hike and a good workout with magnificent views and scenery. As for the direction of the hike, I really enjoyed going downhill for the last 5 miles because by then I was already getting tired. I don't think I'd want to go uphill at the end of a 17 mile hike! Thanks Ellen for taking me along and thanks Walt for introducing "Walt's Loop 2" to us. It was an awesome day on San Jacinto.

Jean, I look forward to seeing you on Skyline this fall!

Kathryn

[Ellen]

Howdy All

Thanks to Walt for suggesting the loop and to Kathryn for hiking all day with me. My legs were still tired after Whitney and my body was still tired after the quick Alaska trip. We had a great time meeting Jack (aka "Indie") and I ran into Paul, who I usually see over in the San Gorgonio range. Don't believe a word Kathryn says about jogging to keep up with me.

I told Kathryn that we couldn't very well pass on going to the summit after reading Jean's comment about summiting I finally got cell phone coverage on the peak and called a bunch of people, including Steve to let him know we were still in one piece. I ran out of water in Round Valley and decided to keep hiking when I saw the massive line at the faucet. On the positive side, being dehydrated made the Fat Tire at the tram bar taste even more exquisite.

So Steve, who was that woman who gave you a ride back to your car

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Florian]

Loop hikes are nice. I did the tram > Willow Creek > Saddle Junction > Wellmans loop today (Sunday). I passed a young woman a bit east of Saddle Junction that i think was doing the loop in the opposite direction than me. She looked a bit familiar. I think i've seen her on the mtn before. Anyone reading this recognize themselves?

A few pics from today .. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fboyd/sets ... 91/detail/

-Florian