I had made the "mistake" of carrying my daughter on a hike two days before my backpack. I say "mistake" not so much because it wasn't fun (it's very fun to take my daughter hiking) but rather because my daughter weighs 32+ pounds. Just imagine adding 15 liters of water over and above what you normally carry, and that's the weight of my daughter. Often she'll hike a fair distance on her own, but this was not to be on July 3rd. I carried her and all our gear, food, and water, probably around 55 lbs total (more than double what I would carry for a three day backpacking trip).
My daughter atop Echo Mountain near Altadena, CA:
My legs were really tired when I started my backpack on Friday morning, and I had been up late on the 4th. I was moving like a sloth on a slow day.
So, rather than trying to get all the way to the vicinity of Willow Creek Crossing the first day, I stopped short at the edge of the North Rim Zone near the State Park boundary. I didn't do too badly in that I did go up a new (to me) cross country route and bag three peaks (Marion, Shirley, and Jean) and descend by another cross country route.
The next day, mindful of being tired, I decided on "Plan B" -- The Seven Summits of San Jacinto -- seven peaks in the San Jacinto Mountains all above 10,000 feet. Nice thing about the San Jacintos is that "Plan B" is still a pretty good trip.
Here's a map of my route.
Now, I'm sure all the SAR guys reading this are cringing. Deviating from one's filed hike plan is bad. If one goes missing, there's no telling where one might be. But, rest assured, when I woke up Friday morning feeling very tired, I left my wife an email wherein I made mention of my "Plan B."
The Seven Summits are (by height) as follows below. The letters refer to the above linked map.
1. San Jacinto Peak ("R") - 10,834’ /3302m.
2. Jean Peak ("K") – 10,670’/3252m.
3. Folly Peak ("S") – 10,480+/3194m+ (no spot height available)
4. Miller "Peak" ("Q") – 10,400'+/3170m+ (no spot height available)
5. Shirley "Peak" ("J") - 10,388'/3166m (summit register says "LePake Peak" but Shirley Peak is the name commonly in use)
6. Marion Mountain ("I") – 10,362’/3158m
7. Newton Drury Peak ("V") – 10,160'+/3096m+ (no spot height available)
I put the word "peak" in quotes for Miller and Shirley peaks since there is some question whether these little bumps are in fact truly peaks. However since these names are commonly used to describe these points, I use them here.
I'm still in the process of uploading the 452 photos I took. Full trip write up to follow.
Teaser photos for now:
Lemon lillies (this is the height of the season, right now)
This is your climb on crack (Marion Mountain)
San Jacinto high country from Marion Mountain
Tram Station from Miller Peak
Folly Peak from San Jacinto
Some creek on the north side of San Jacinto. Not that anyone would ever want to go there.
DWA water works (Dreaded Warren's Agency)
San Jacinto from Folly
San Jacinto high country from Folly
Note: "The Rockpile" is my name for this formation and is not necessarily a name of common use.
"Backpacker's Gold" (water), Bed Springs (at the trail crossing)
HJ
