Devils Slide - First Timer

[andrewrpettit]

Hey All,

I haven't been to San Jacinto before, but planning on hiking Devils Slide trail on Saturday or Sunday. I hiked the Grand Canyon last summer and have done some trail running, but I'm otherwise a fairly novice hiker.

How long does it typically take to hike Devils Slide, base to peak? Will I be okay if I start around dawn? Any campsite recommendations in and around the park or Idyllwild?

Thanks.

[KathyW]

I'm assuming that you're going all the way to San Jacinto, so it would be a 16 mile round-trip with 4600' elevation gain - much like doing a day hike from the S. Rim to the River and back up to the S. Rim. I think it's probably a 8 to 10 hour round-trip for the average hiker (fast hikers will take less time and slow hikers will take longer). It'll probably take you about the same amount of time the Grand Canyon Hike took.

What might slow you down is the snow you may run into up there now. I haven't been up the Devil's Slide this spring, but I think there might be some patches of snow to deal with just before Wellman's Divide and between Wellman's Divide and the summit of San Jacinto. There's probably a boot path beaten through it though, which will help. Sounds like there might be a dusting of new snow up there now too, but it'll melt off fast.

The ranger station might have a better idea of the snow conditions or maybe someone around here has been up there and can post regarding conditions on that route?

Kathy

[KathyW]

CAMPING:

http://www.towncrier.com/camping.html

[halhiker]

If you're looking to hike to the Peak there are certainly better options than Devil's Slide, esp. on Memorial Day Weekend. Devil's Slide is the most popular trail in the area and permits are limited. They may limit them to about a million but they are limited.

I hiked out of the wilderness one year on the Friday before Memorial Day and it was like hiking against a parade. The sheer volume of people coming up the trail was astonishing. Boy Scout troops, families away for the weekend, old people, a dude with a cooler and folding chair.

I would suggest another trail. Don't know the conditions on all of them but I like the Marion Mountain, Seven Pines and the Fuller Ridge trails.

[andrewrpettit]

Thanks Kathy and Hal. Good advice. Avoiding the crowds is definitely preferred. At the GC, we made it from S. Rim to River in 2-3hrs, and back up the next morning in 4.5hrs. That was with ~40lbs of overnight gear, so I'm excited to get on a real trail with just a light daypack.

I think I need to research the other trails a bit, and depending on how the weather plays out over the next 24 hours I might alter my plans some. Maybe just a day hike around the LA-area if the storms are hanging around SJ.