hemet to Idyllwild (Tram)

[hawkbill666]

Hey all,

I may have a chance to come at the tram from the Hemet side this October. I know there is a good trail from Idyllwild to the tram, but it doesn't look good from the hemet valley to Idyllwild?
Any options here..?

Thanks!

Scott

[Wildhorse]

It is an interesting question. I have not heard of any "good" trails or routes from the Hemet Valley to Idyllwild or to the tram. As you may already know, a number of dirt roads traverse the area that are used by jeeps and dirt bikes. With you, I would like to hear of better options, if they exist.

It may be interesting to follow the San Jacinto River to Strawberry Creek and then up the creek to Idyllwild, if that were possible in our time.

[Ellen]

Howdy Hawkbill

Check Cal Topo. There are numerous fire roads going up from Hemet to Idylwild. In fact, my eyes started crossing when I looked at potential routes

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[David W]

Bee Canyon Truck trail comes to mind.

[hawkbill666]

Hello again all!
I questioned the wisdom of replying to a thread this old, but then thought it would be nice to have all of this in one place.
After multiple delays, I am pushing to make this hike in May assuming I can beat the PNW winter weight

I have found what I believe is my entry to the trails starting on HWY 74 in Hemet. Its a mountain biking downhill called HellRazor . I have seen some videos of the trail, but not alot. I risk struggling with it being somewhat overgrown but can navigate that I believe. Then (see picture) I hit the Idyllwild area trails and am in route finding hell!

I was a very early adopter of GPS's 20+ years ago, but have not used one since my very 1st C2C 11 years ago.
Can any of you recommend just a cell phone using GAIA? That is where this picture comes from. That seems like a good solution, but one I will test locally here on some PNW hikes, but still would appreciate any input.

As always thanks for everything all of you are doing to "keep up" Mt. San Jacinto. Born and raised in PS, so my "home" mountain.

Scott

[Sally]

I LOVE Gaia! I own a very snazzy but older Garmin that has too many bells and whistles that are beyond my understanding. I find Gaia to be very user friendly and it has great maps. My only complaint is that the stats are often a bit off when it comes to mileage and elevation gain/loss. I can hike a ten hour hike with my phone on airplane mode and Gaia turned on and it only uses about 15% of my battery. I will add (heads up!) that when I want to hike out of my local So Cal area, such as Sierra or out of state, I need to upload maps of where I'm going onto my Gaia while I'm online (before I go off the grid).

[hawkbill666]

Thank you!
I am hearing similar in other hiking forums and blogs on Gaia. What I am finding is it boils down to the accuracy of my GPS chip in my phone.
So I am researching that and doing some local hikes I know well to test it.

Thanks!

Scott

[SoCalJim]

+1 on Gaia. Been using it for a few years and see no need for a dedicated GPS unit. Saved my butt a few times when visibility was poor or the route wasn’t clear. I typically have a minor difference in mileage logged compared with a friend who relies on Apple Watch tracking, but if you used five apps or devices to measure, I bet you’d come up with the same number of minor variations. I just listened to a podcast with avalanche expert Bruce Tremper and he likes it too. Very helpful with map layers in assessing avalanche risk in real time.

[hawkbill666]

Thanks Jim!

I watched some youtube videos last night from tenured hikers showing how they use it, pretty amazing. I am old school paper and compass and will continue to have those in my pack. But some of the planning that can be done with this tool is amazing. This "potential" Hemet to Idyllwild hike is a good example. Gaia is revealing things that I would not see otherwise. Of course I still have to do ALL the real work when/if I make this hike, but its nice having the options this tool puts forth.
Arriving in 2021 tool wise I guess

Scott

[hawkbill666]

All, I am starting to make progress here, and I am excited about the possibility of this hike.

It looks like I might have a route from Hemet to Idyllwild, but my question to you is the best route from the Tram to Idyllwild. I see several options. My approach is a cross country hike, I am looking for easiest . After having to "hike" through Idyllwild, here is what the map shows:
>>I see some as yet unidentified road or trail from North Marion Ridge Drive to StrawBerry Junction and then onto Wellmans.
>>I see Deer Springs Trail to StrawBerry Junction, and then Wellmans.
>>I see Tachquitz View Drive to Ernie Maxwell Trail to Devils Slide Trail and then onto Saddle Junction to either Wellmans Divide or Hidden Lake Divide.

Part of my answer will boil down to the fact that I cannot escape walking through part of downtown Idyllwild, so it may be which part has sidewalks so I am not in full hiking gear on the side of the road trying to avoid cars...

Thanks ahead for helping me make this odd hike work.

Scott