Cactus to Clouds Sept 22/23

[DesertTrailRunner]

I am a hiker/ultra runner from Las Vegas who will be in the Palm Springs/ Redlands area for a wedding this weekend. I really want to do C2C but I'd like to go with someone or a group who is familiar with the trail because I've never been. I met some hikers on the top of Mount Charleston (near Las Vegas) yesterday and they told me about this forum. I have all the gear and am pretty experienced with climbing. I did Mount Whitney twice this summer, plus a couple other 14ers and recently did a 3 day hike/run in Colorado where I climbed 35,000 feet of elevation gain, so I think I could definitely do C2C, but I'd just prefer to go with someone. Let me know if anyone is interested. In exchange for someone showing me the trail, I would be happy to show you Mount Charleston area near Las Vegas if you are ever in this area. Thanks!

[zippetydude]

The low for Saturday is predicted to be 65 in Palm Springs, so as long as you start early and move fast you can stay ahead of the heat. It's finally getting to be nice weather for Skyline! You mentioned Mt Whitney...I'll be doing Whitney this weekend myself or I'd probably go. As a rule of thumb, Skyline will take you about as long as climbing Whitney. It's a good idea to plan on being a few thousand feet up at sunrise. Sorry I can't be more help. Maybe bluerail or someone else from this forum will be going. Hope you have fun.

z

[DesertTrailRunner]

Thanks for the suggestions! I found a friend to go with me and we will start around 12:30am or so on Sunday. So we can park one car at the trail head and another where the tram lets us off? Is the trail hard to follow? Is there any camping nearby? Whitney sounds fun. That was my backup plan for Sunday because I have a friend who has an extra permit but I've already done it several times. I would like to try c2c since I've never done it before.

[zippetydude]

A couple of things that might help. First, I'm guessing you're pretty fit since you have done Whitney multiple times. You probably know how long it took you from Whitney Portal to the summit. Since Skyline takes about the same amount of time, subtract the number of hours you plan to spend on the trail from 8:00 (the time the tram opens) and that's probably the earliest you want to start. Let's say Whitney takes you 5 hours - then you'd probably wait til 3:00 or so. You don't want to do the whole trail in the dark.

BTW the tram parking lot doesn't open until 5:30, so unless you leave a car there the night before you'd have to either take a cab back, hitchhike, or start at around 6:00. That would put you in the sun the whole time and might get kinda hot.

If you can scout the trail up to the picnic tables the day before it will make finding your way in the dark somewhat easier the next morning.

z

[DesertTrailRunner]

Thanks for the advice- very helpful. What time does the tram parking lot close? Is there any camping nearby or do people just sleep in their cars near the trailhead? How much water do you recommend bringing? Also, do we need a permit? Sorry for all the questions!

[bluerail]

ill be starting around 7 am sat.


give the girls our best zip, see you soon?

[zippetydude]

Hi Steve. I was hoping you'd post. I'll be out of town the next couple of weekends, but I'm planning on October 5. Hope to see you then. I'll be camping up in Barton Flats the last weekend of Sept if you wanna drop in and maybe do San G or something.

DTR: I don't know what time the lot closes, but you can usually get a ride back if you just ask someone. Since bluerail is going, you will hopefully have a chance to do some of it with him. I usually bring less water than most of the usual recommendations because I plan on being done in a fairly short period of time. I hear people say they bring 5 liters and such. I usually carry a 1.5 liter hip pack and 2 24 ounce bottles, one for each hand. As this is your first time and you might want to take a leisurely pace and look around, I'd say you should bring a bit more than that. Better too much than too little!

z

[DesertTrailRunner]

Thanks for the advice. We are actually starting Sunday morning so I'll miss the other guy. Hopefully it won't be too complicated. I'll look at some of the info from the forum for more specifics. Thanks again for your help!

[Hikin_Jim]

I'm a hiker not a runner, but FWIW, I wrote up my trip up the Skyline Trail last year. There are maps and photos if nothing else.

Good luck!

HJ

[Dave]

This weekend looks perfect for skyline! i'll be running up both Saturday and Sunday morning- leaving around 6am both days. You're welcome to tag along though the trail is really well defined so you should have no trouble going solo. 12 am is probably much earlier than you need to start. I'm a middle of a pack runner- so if you're anything like me, expect to get to the tram in under 4 hours.