Tramshoeing on Groundhog Day

[Sally]

Since my last four hikes have been out of my comfort zone due to injuries, sketchy terrain, bringing the wrong equipment, and just plain too long and hard days, Marilyn and I decided to do something a bit gentler. On Tuesday (Groundhog Day) I met Marilyn and Neverwashasbeen at the lower tram station for the 1st tram up. I was a antsy because there was a large group of what I understood to be Australian cheerleaders who were in PS for a competition. They were cute and well-behaved, and luckily we did get to ride the first tram up.

Stepping outside to walk the ramp to the ranger station we made note that it was 20 degrees on the big round thermometer. There had been freezing rain-ish stuff the day before and the tram employees were trying to chisel ice off the ramp. It was amusing to see the tourists holding on to railing for dear life as we hustled past them in our microspikes. While Marilyn filled out the permit I chatted with Kevin from Utah. He was hoping to go to the Peak via the trail, but had never done San Jacinto before. I told him that we planned to take a more direct route up. He seemed to want to tag along, and I had a good feeling about him so I said sure. The 3 of us had snowshoes but Kevin did not. I warned him that if he started to post-hole and wanted to retreat, the wind would probably wipe out our track, leaving him on his own. As it turned out, Kevin was a strong hiker and easily kept up with us with a minimum of post-holing. The lower part of the trail was wet and sticky and I had balling issues with my snowshoes.
Neverwashasbeen was our leader and got us up to Miller Saddle Via the Sid Davis Drainage in an efficient manner. The higher we got the drier the snow was, and at no point was the powder very deep. I was surprised that there was a bit of manzanita peeking through because I had thought that this storm would dump enough snow to cover it.

As usual, the wind really picked up at the saddle. It became overcast as we progressed, and when we reached San Jacinto Peak we were slightly socked in. The trees were clothed in rime-ice. It was probably about 0 degrees out. The wind was howling but we quickly took some summit shots and high-tailed it to the Hut. Lots of food and some spirits went around, but we had not much luck warming up so we headed back down. I believe we were all wearing everything we had with us.

The hike down was very pleasant with occasional very clear views of the Salton Sea and the desert dotted with cloud shadows.

Except for being a little cold, it was one of those perfect days shared with good friends. In a nutshell: Snowshoes are nice but not entirely necessary. Kevin booted it up in micros and did not post-hole too badly. I hear it is really warming up this week, so get out there and enjoy it while you can!

Please enjoy the photos. Some pics were taken by Neverwashasbeen and Kevin.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1009477359 ... directlink

[Ellen]

Howdy Sister Sally

Fabulous trip report and pictures -- thanks so much Looking at the pictures, I felt that I was with my fellow musketeers. Nice to see Cameron sporting a beard again.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[sdtrackrunner]

Thanks for the great pictures! Coverage still looks pretty good up there. That hut... so many days I have wished for it to be warmer in that little icebox.

[Sally]

Howdy Ellen and sdtrackrunner! Ellen can vouch for the hut being an icebox! Being as it is nearly the anniversary of "Chillin with Ellen," I took the liberty of telling Kevin the tale of the brave woman that spent 2 nights in that hut with a pulverized ankle and having to resort to eating frozen sardines.

Ellen, we really missed you more than you will ever know. Cameron took your place of breaking trail. The snow wasn't all that deep, you probably would have been thinking, "Ho hum, bring on more snow!"

sd, am I correct in remembering that you are a skier? Well, get out there!

I was just re-thinking about my recommendations for foot gear. If the weather really warms up, one may be more likely to post-hole. Therefore, you may want to bring those snoeshoes , just in case.

[sdtrackrunner]

Haha, been out there! Video is in the conditions thread from a couple weeks ago. I'll be out there this weekend too.

[tekewin]

Beautiful photos. It looks very very cold. Brrrrrrr!