Late September Mt. San Jacinto Recommendations

[kileybrown]

I'll be in San Diego late September for business and have reserved a day for hiking at the end of my trip. I've had my heart set on C2C and was pleased to find this site and all of the great info here. But it had somehow escaped me until a few days ago that the tram is scheduled to be closed during the time I will be there. I am incredibly disappointed, but not enough so to go for a C2C2C. There are plenty of challenging trails where I'm from near the southern Appalachians, but nothing remotely like this. So as I come to terms with the fact that C2C is not going to happen, I'm looking at alternatives in the area. I figure I'll still go for a summit of San Jacinto starting from one of the trailheads in the vicinity of Idyllwild and the take the opportunity to visit another peak or two along the way. I would appreciate any input or recommendations on how to make the most of a day in the San Jacinto area.

Thanks in advance!

kb

[Hikin_Jim]

The classic non-tram hike in the San Jacintos is to go from Humber Park to the summit of San Jacinto Peak. You do need a day hike permit, and you will also need a parking permit (the "Adventure Pass") to park a vehicle at Humber Park. It's approximately 8 miles each way (16 mi R.T.) all on reasonably well marked trails with about 4,500 feet of vertical gain.

I have no idea as to your level of fitness, but the elevation (nearly 11,000 feet above sea level at the peak) is significantly more than on the eastern sea board of the United States. Altitude sickness can be a real issue.

As for bagging other peaks, for most people just attaining San Jacinto Peak from Humber Park is more than enough, but for the truly fit, you can bag Jean Peak and Marion Mountain on the way back. These are fascinating peaks that take you through some trackless and less travelled areas of the wilderness. They're well worth your while but be aware that there is no trail and that the navigation, especially to Marion Mountain, is not trivial. Best to have a good 7' 1:24,000 topo and a compass on hand and of course you'll need to know how to use them. Be aware also that there's a lot of rocks you'll have to climb up, over, and around in the vicinity of Jean Peak which adds to the difficulty. The summit of Marion Mountain itself is class three rock climbing but is fairly straightfoward to attain via a crack in the north face of the summit block.

HJ

[Fred]

Or take Deer springs trail and make a loop- thru Little Round valley to the SJ peak then down to Wellmans jct then the PCT back to Deer springs.

19 plus miles of beauty and like Jim said there are other Peaks to bag along the way
FJ

[kileybrown]

Thanks for the suggestions ... the Devil's Slide and Deer Springs trails are where I had begun to focus my attention, so sounds like I'm on the right track.

As far as fitness level, the distance and elevation gain are not a problem, but like you said the elevation is quite a bit above that which I am accustomed to. My hikes and runs generally top out at about the elevation of Humber Park. I have spent some time up around 8000 ft without issues, so I'm not too concerned, nevertheless, I'll probably stay pretty conservative and stick to the trails.

Thanks again and if anyone is ever in the southeast, I'll be glad to steer you to some great spots.