Katherine and I started shortly after 5 AM. Steve, Tina, Fern and the rest of the uber hikers started about an hour after. Within 30 minutes, I realized that this was the coldest I've ever been on Skyline at this point. Woo hoo!!! That joyful feeling lasted until it started raining -- I was in my customary shorts and tee-shirt. Kathryn had wisely dressed appropriately. At Shade Rock, I donned additional clothing (Smart Wool long sleeve shirt, glove liners, and balaclava), fueled up, and we kept climbing.
Shortly above Shade Rock the rain stopped and we were treated to a spectacular double rainbow to the west and brilliant reflection off the Salton Sea to the east. At 4.3 K, Steve texted Kathryn and asked if I was wearing any clothing yet
At 5 K we experienced glacial winds and a breath-taking view of snow on the Never Ending Ridge. The upper reaches of San Jacinto were shrouded in clouds and mist.
For once, I was happy to be out of the wind on the Never Ending Ridge. By 5.5 K, the snow was consistently covering the trail and we followed the tracks of the Sierra Club from the day before. There were no tracks going back down -- which I intrepreted as a good sign
Flat Rock looked completely different with snow. The juxtaposition of snow and desert plants was spectacular. The artic wind was whipping up the wash so we sought refuge higher up on the trail. While we ate lunch, I put on pants, gortex jacket and mittens.
Although we didn't stop long, it was enough to drop our body temperature. We were grateful for the heat production generated by the steep climb up through the manzanita. Suddenly, we heard Steve's signature whistle to announce the arrival of the uber hikers. I had heard their voices since 4.3 K (yes, I am crazy
but that's not relevant) and Team Artic Wolf was formed.
We marveled at the contrast between the desert below us and our winter alpine environment. Evergreen branches were frocked with snow and icicles dangled from rocks. Steve maintained the merriment by throwing snowballs at fellow team members. We continued along the traverse and paused for a moment of respect when we reached Coffman's crag. The mist and snow increased the magnificence of this grand granite edifice. We gathered ourselves for the final push. When we reached Grubbs notch, Team Artic Wolf gave thanks to the mountain and we hugged each other.
We celebrated with food and warm beverages at the tram bar (one of us celebrated with Fat Tire beer). We experienced the phenomenon known as "dumping the core" -- warm blood from the core mixes with cold blood from the extremities and drops the body temperature. Craig and Patrick stopped by to say hello. Sadly, the great day had to come to an end and we froze our butts off on the tram ride down. I think I've set a personal record -- two Skyline hikes without going to Las Casuelas afterwards.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen
