C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

General Palm Springs area.

C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby nobohiker » Wed Dec 15, 2021 12:48 pm

Hiking buddy’s wedding is coming up so the C2C has been chosen as a decent bachelors-party-trail:

2:45am: beep Beep BEEP. Meeting hiking buddy to position one car at the tram station. What, gates closed??? Ok, heading to the C2C Trail head. Headlamp foto and then setting foot on the C2C close to 4am.
Pretty soon, we are rewarding the steep uphill with amazing night views of Palm Spring. Did not see my hiking buddy in the past 6 month, so we are talking a lot, while hiking uphill…errr…ok, I am falling behind anyways and after an hour I DEFINITIVELY feel my legs and force myself to slow down a bit, but the view is breathtaking. Making good progress and we so excited once we reach the worlds most famos pile of rocks that we are heading down the wrong trail. Oh no, we soon realize, but have to hike back up again, wasn’t more that 1/4 Mile, oh well.
Starting to feel nausea, no surprise here. Slowing down a bit more and planning a decent rest at sun-up.

Sun-up, was breathtaking, snacking got rid of the nausea, YES. So I basically fell into this old trap again, confusing hunger with nausea, duhhh!!!

Passing a group of 20 hikers after not having seen anyone feels weird. Most of them do not respond to a friendly ‘good morning’???? Manners hikers, where are your manners! ;-)
Even though there is daylight, I am loosing the trail several times. Sometimes completely, because I start to develop Trail-brain and probably also because of the overgrown manzanitas. I have every intend to stay on the main trail, but it is sometimes hard to figure that out.

Reaching the snow where steepest part of the trail begins, but the snow is soft and there is no ice underneath. Making good progress, but definitively slowed down. Off the trail, climbing straight up the shoot by following someone else’s footprints and here I am, round valley.
Realizing I drank less than I should - 1.5L. So I am downing 1L while I wait for my buddy. Other hikers roll in and report my hiking buddy is cramping and they are throwing salt tablets and other home grown mitigation measures at him. The hiking community is great, everyone helps each other. After an hour, he arrives and we are resting a bit to see if he can keep going. While I pull the permit and refill bottles in the restroom, yikes, that water tastes awful.
We are trying but my buddy turns around and heads down the hill.
The long rest didn’t help, I am cold and glad I to back on the trail, making good progress in slush up the mountain. Reaching the top and enjoying great vistas. Definitively better views than the couple of times I have been up here before. Catalina island and the one behind it, the coastline and all the distant mountain peaks.
What a great day.

A trail runner sharing plans to do c2c2c and I feel inspired, but it turns out I dropped my headlamp on the way up and it has not been turned in at lost&found at the gondola, no headlamp to purchase either. Oh well, what a great day. So rewarding, feeling so alive!

Congrats to my hiking buddy’s upcoming wedding!

Happy Trails,
Rick

PICS:
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Headlamp 'ussie'

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drop dead gorgeous

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IMG_3920.jpeg

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peak
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby nobohiker » Wed Dec 15, 2021 12:51 pm

BTW, I tried to post more pictures, but hit a limit ;-(
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby zippetydude » Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:57 pm

Congratulations! The route can be a bit confusing and certainly is a physical challenge, so well done! If you do it a few more times it'll get much easier to navigate and your body will adapt to the style of hiking required so that your times will probably drop considerably. That's handy if you want to start during the daylight and still have plenty of time. I generally just do Skyline (museum to Long Valley) since that's the most challenging part, and it never gets old. Hope to run into you out there on the trail sometime!

z
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby futbol » Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:41 am

Congrats and thanks for the trip report!
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby guest » Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:58 am

Thanks for the TR Rick, well done, the snow can make it a bit tougher for sure. I know what you mean re some hikers not being friendly, (same with road bike riders, ha). When I used to do Skyline weekly, the faster the hiker I caught, the less they were likely to give way and exchange greetings.
Not sure if you know about the locals / ranger route that avoids Wellmans Divide, (with it's great views), but it cuts off about a mile each way. Although steeper in some sections, I much prefer the footing and less worn trail. It's not easy to follow in sections, and best to do it with someone who knows it a time of two. It reconnects at the beginning of the long grade (switchback) to Miller Saddle, (base of Jean pk), where the main trail switches back towards summit, (NW). I prefer not to let lots of people know about it, (no secret, for sure), it's just not a route for those relying on gps, or minimal skills at navigating terrain & direction. ss
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby Ed » Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:25 pm

Scott,

I assume you are not talking about the old trail from Tamarack Valley, still shown on the old topos, which was closed years ago, for some reason?
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby guest » Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:05 am

Hi Ed, Yes, that's the one, and I've not been aware of any formal closures of that route over the years. I've bumped into rangers heading up Sid Davis on it to E Tamarack, and know they can sometimes use a one-wheel liter on it when needed, (probably not the lower Davis section because of all the obstacles). I usually take a different, more challenging route until Tamarack, and then up to the main trail where is heads NE.
I know when there's snow, many head up more north, if the coverage allows it. I rarely use the main trail, and have always found it interesting that the SP spends their resources, (possibly allocated for other projects), on new wooded pit toilets, and campsite connector trails, but do little if anything to the main trail, (even after heavy rains).
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby Ed » Fri Dec 17, 2021 10:02 am

Scott,

It has never been clear to me, and I suspect to most people, when and why it was closed. I think I read once that it was a wildlife habitat issue. I have not used it, because it was not clear to me where it began, at either the upper or lower end, and I suspected it was overgrown with brush. I think Ellen has mentioned taking it at times. It certainly must cause some confusion, as it is on the old topos. Also, I checked CalTopo, and it is there, though without the switchbacks on the old topos.

After a heavy snow, the rangers sometimes warn people away from the stretch between Wellman's Divide and Miller Saddle, because of avalanche danger. The area where the trail bends inward around the broad chute between San Jacinto and Jean does seem like a natural avalanche path. But I suspect it takes a wet winter to build up enough snow to keep the manzanita and trees from holding it in place.
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby Florian » Fri Dec 17, 2021 2:00 pm

When i first started hiking from the tramway around 1973 or so the alternate trail through Tamarack was maintained and was just another trail to the peak.
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Re: C2C Trip report 12/12/21 Hike

Postby guest » Fri Dec 17, 2021 4:04 pm

Hi guys, (not meaning to highjack your post Nobohiker :)
Yes Ed, as you know, that section from Round Valley jct, (spigot), to Wellman's is north-facing and gets drifts & ice. I didn't realize that fairly flat section beyond Wellmans could have avalanche potential, but it makes sense with the large ridge west of trail.
Florian, you also remember the boyscout? trail, that was part of this locals trail, but which went through thick manzanita and chicopin towards the north. That trail seemed to head to Miller, (makes sense with the boyscout plaque and large, flat camping area), jst below Miller.
Ed, this trail reconnects at a wide-open flat area of main trail, with fairly large boulders, right where that large drainage you mentions runs, and right as that long climb to Miller Saddle. I usually skirt just south of the small Tam meadow, then SW and west from there.
Going down, It heads down that fall-line, east, for a couple hundred yards, before angling to the south for a while, then again to the east and upper Tam.There is a noticeable trail from a bit below Diorite campsite, I believe, but one still needs to pay attention once on it, as there are some campsite connectors and that "horizontal" boyscout trail at times. I liked to explore on the way down, as there's some cool areas and campsites in NW Tam, which get little use. Plenty of deer around there at times too.

If you learn it, you'll most likely use it instead of the main one, especially on crowded weekends. I've found people back in there that were pretty confused and disoriented, but it's not that big of a forest. I'll take a bit steeper trail that's got some give & traction, over the hammered down, rocks, roots and large step main one.
There are some steep chutes here & there in the forest, as you guys know, (even the east facing side of Hidden lake gets gnarly, and north & east of Shangri-la bouldering area. scott
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