Sally and I haven't hiked together since our PCT to tram hike 2 1/2 weeks earlier and were looking forward to an adventure. Although we wanted to check out snow conditions on San Gorgonio, we didn't want to put on chains or get snowed in. This left Skyline or snowshoeing from the tram. We picked Skyline
When we pulled into the museum parking lot, we were pleasantly surprised to see Speedy Steve, Patti and Kurt. Indie Jack pulled in right as we were heading up. It was a lovely, cool morning and by the picnic tables, Sally and I were down to t-shirts (I had on shorts).
We felt a noticeable drop in temperature at the Enchanted Garden before climbing up the switchbacks to 5 K. Took a short break and savored the views -- clouds had rolled in over the Coachella valley and obscured San Jacinto from about 7 K on up. Once on the Never Ending Ridge, we could see our friends' footsteps in the dusting of snow. Stopped at St. Florian's cache for lunch, where I put on tights and we both donned long sleeve shirts and fleece
Flatrock was absolutely gorgeous with snow-covered rocks, brush. and cacti. The snow became a bit deeper as we climbed through the manzanita and it started snowing lightly. It was a lovely, dry snow with little wind. We felt that we were between dimensions -- below us the Coachella valley was a contrast of light and shadow from clouds and above us were clouds and mist. The views were so beautiful we were close to weeping with joy.
At about 7 K, we entered the dimension of the clouds and mist. We gauged our progress by specific landmarks, most noteably downed trees which have been trimmed. At the Thankyou Jesus rocks (start of traverse), we were overheating from the steep climb in the snow covered trail (there's an oxymoron for you) and stripped down to t-shirts covered by fleece jackets. We could hear but not see Patti, Steve and Kurt -- they weren't too far ahead of us. It was an exquisite day and no one was in a hurry to finish.
Coffman's Crag was invisible in the mist. It was cool to look down and see the footprints in the snow switchbacking below us. I heard Steve calling "come on girl!" and went into beer mode. After getting the requisite pictures at Grubbs notch (only recognizable due to the sign), we walked through Long Valley (it felt much colder there) and headed up the concrete switchbacks.
Picked our way through the throng of tourists to the bar (where Diana was waiting patiently) and enjoyed celebratory beverages. We wished our tram family Happy New Year and jammed ourselves into Sally's car for the trip back to the museum. A perfect day was completed with a fabulous meal at Las Casuelas.
May my San Jacinto family have a Happy and safe New Year
From the heart,
Ellen
PS Sally took some great photos and will post them soon. We carried microspikes but did not use them as the snow was still soft and offered good footing. Diana and Steve and fiends did a wonderful job breaking in the trail. I suspect the trail will become quite icy with melting and refreezing.
