Trail routing in winter?

[ErikTurner]

I've summited San Jacinto in the summer previously, but with this new snow I'm anxious to head up and see if I can't reach it in snowshoes as well. Am planning to head up, camp @ Round Valley, then summit and head down the following day. Is there water in Round Valley year round??

I've approached from Idyllwild before, but I have a general question about the routes in winter- do the trails that get broken roughly follow the actual trails / topo maps?

Thanks- if the forecast stays the same I'll probably be headed up Sunday to set up camp, then summit and back down on Monday.

Erik

[halhiker]

There is water in Round Valley during the winter: it is called snow. The pipe will be frozen and under the snow.

Generally in the winter the trails to the summit go up the east face of the mountain once the bushes get covered. It's better than traversing the face from Wellman Divide.

[phydeux]

There really is no "trail" in the winter, since it gets covered with snow, so be prepared to navigate your way around the area between the Tram and San J's summit. That being said, the snow from the Tram to Round Valley gets packed down into a trail within a few days after a storm clears out. After Round Valley you're definately on your own; personally I never trust any old snowshoe or boot tracks I find out there.

The water pipe at Round Valley gets buried with snow during the winter, and/or can freeze up, so be prepared to melt snow for water (as mentioned above by halhiker). Its part of traveling in the backcountry in winter.

[ErikTurner]

Thanks for the info. How long does the tram ride take?? I'm trying to figure out if I can do the summit and get down in a day with these conditions. Weather looks much nicer on Monday, but unfortunately the tram doesn't start until 10am...that only leaves 6.5 hours figuring a 4:30 sunset.... anyone done a tram-summit dayhike in the snow?

[KathyW]

Once the trail is packed down to Round Valley or Tamarack Valley, it's not too difficult to get from the tram to the summit and back in one day. If you're breaking trail all the way, it's pretty slow going and very difficult to get all the way to the summit and back with how short the days are. Just set a turn around time and go as far as you can until you reach your turn around time - if you don't make the summit on your first trip in the snow, you can always go back another time. It's wonderful up there in the winter - you'll want to go back even if you make the summit on the first try.