PCT between San Jac and the 10?

[chris in redlands]

Silly question...

Where would one park if they wanted to go up the PCT from the 10 toward the summit of San Jac? Are there any issues with access? Looks like the trail picks up in the same area where people are regularly harassed when starting up snow creek.

I don't think I've ever read one thing (good or bad) about this section of trail, and it occurred to me that it's one of the few sections of trail in the San Jacintos and San Bernardinos that I've never been on, and may be clear of snow for the first few thousand feet still.

Thanks!

[zippetydude]

Hi Chris. If you want to go on the part that crosses the desert floor from the 10 to the base of the mountain, you can exit at Haugan-Lehmann, turn right, and go about 1/10 of a mile west. The PCT goes under the freeway in the wash that is right there. The bridges for the freeway and the railroad are easy to spot. There's a trail marker just south of the bridge for the train tracks.

If you actually want to go up from the base, it's one of my favorite trails and I've posted pics a few times. You would not exit at Haugan-Lehmann, but instead take the 111 towards Palm Springs and then, after only about 1 mile, turn right onto Snow Creek Road. Park along the road near the sign that looks like it's out of the Blair Witch Project, and follow the narrow paved road that heads off to the east. Stay to your left, and you'll go about 1.2 miles up to a big rock that says PCT, where you'll turn right onto a beautiful single track trail. You'll probably be able to get 10 miles in before the snow becomes too deep. Well, normally anyway. If this Monday night storm pans out, it could snow almost down to the freeway!

Here's a link for some pics I posted some time ago.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/56 ... YW?start=0



z

[Ellen]

Howdy Chris

I was hoping to hike the Snow Creek PCT > Fuller ridge > LRV > San Jacinto summit > the tram last fall, but it snowed the weekend before our trip It's 31 miles with over 11 K of gain. I've only done it once and look forward to another trip.

As Z noted, right now you'd be postholing in snow probably before even reaching the spot where the PCT crosses Black Mountain road. It's a long, gradual climb of 18 miles to get to the Fuller Ridge trailhead. The brush is overgrown, so recommend wearing pants.

There's no way I can do the route in one day in snow. I think it would be fun to do it as a backpacking trip in two days.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[chris in redlands]

Great info. Thanks guys! Zip, you guessed my plan. Was hoping to find something that would get us into the hills aways without needing snowshoes. Hopefully if it dumps today it'll warm up enough to give us a few miles of passable trail.

Originally planned to try the Marion mtn trail (enjoyed it this past summer) but this makes more sense.

Thanks again!

[whitebark]

Has a trail crew has cleared the brush from the PCT snow creek switchbacks? The hike would be a lot nicer without the brush, which was pretty annoying when I hiked the trail in June.

[zippetydude]

whitebark:

Last time I was up they hadn't gotten that far up. God bless the trail crews - trails turn into an overgrown mess in no time, and it's a lot of work to clear it off.

Chris:

The pct heading north from the Cottonwood trailhead is nice and stays too low for snow, and the PCT continuing north out of Whitewater is great too, so you really can't lose. I bet the route you're talking about will be fine though, and it has really nice views.

By the way, that sign I mentioned is the first pic on the link. I think it's supposed to be artsy, but it looks a little spooky in the dark.

z

[chris in redlands]

Zip: I saw that, and concur! I also saw the other two signs you posted photos of and had to shake my head. Why don't the land managers get with the water authority people to come up with some sort of agreement about access to the trail and snow creek in general? I know this has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere but it always leaves me scratching my head.

Ellen: thanks for the heads-up on the brush. I'll make sure the team is fully clothed.

Might even take my pruning shears! Surprising that there's a lot of brush growing on the trail that low. Higher up the buckthorn, chinquapin, and manzanita seem to take over the less-used trails. Will be interesting to see what the trail-invaders are down low...or are they the same?

[zippetydude]

By the creek crossings it's just grass, but it grows tall enough where the trail disappears entirely. There's a different plant, HJ knows the name, it has white stalks and small green leaves - it's shaped about like a tumbleweed, and they stick out across the trail from both sides as you get up about 7 miles. Some sections are clear, others can be problematic. If you just go up 5 or 6 miles, you'll still have some great views and probably avoid the bushy stuff. It's been so dry that there probably isn't much grass growing to cover up the trail.

z

[Backwoods]

I am planning on hiking down the PCT snow creek to white water reserve later this week I was planning to go on to wrightwood and starting today but it look's like the weather has put a end to that for this week I figure it's better than just waiting it out and letting my feet and other body part's get soft. This early start on my thru hike is going to take longer than I planned but it's all good I'm livin the dream it's just taking longer. All I can think about is the PCT and that's cool to. There are a few more hiker's that left campo last week and it will be nice not to be first on trail this year. Haveing 50% of the people I meet along the way tell me I'm early has gotten old. Like I don't know I'm early. I have to explain my plan over and over. Anyway's Zippydude would you have any idea how much postholing will be involved starting from black mountain rd/243 heading down the PCT and is the brush that thick? There were a few places south on the PCT that were pretty bushey and packed with TICK's! Ticks suck should I coat myself with deet. I never had 1 tick on the whole San Jacinto part to black Mt hopfully that will continue down snow creek? Anyway I'm packing extra food if it takes longer than planed it will still be better than waiting.

[zippetydude]

Actually your plan sounds great, if you can get to the black mountain/pct intersection. If there's a ton of snow up top, the road will be closed. I've taken the black mountain trail up when the road is closed, and that's fun too. If you figure the snow will be fresh and only out there for a few days, it'll probably be fairly easy to plow through it since it'll be shallow and unconsolidated. Hope you have fun.

z