C2C conditions Early April 2021

General Palm Springs area.

Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby xcnuck » Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:22 pm

xcnuck wrote:hello all -

I was looking for information regarding water sources at the base of the Skyline Trail around the art museum. Does anyone know if there is a water fountain or bathroom sink or something at/near the trailhead? Thank you!


In addition to this, does anyone have experience going through Long Valley Ranger station at night? My plan involves reaching this point around 2am. My main concern is if water will be accessible (do they lock the doors to the restroom?)

Thanks in advance
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby guest » Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:08 am

Hi xcnuck, (cool name!),
Don't know of any water fountains close by the Museum, (trailhead). There is a Starbucks that opens around 5 or 6am, close by, (The Rowen hotel may have it for purchase). Reaching Long Valley at 2am sounds odd, (sorry), as heat is now a concern, as you may know, and following the trail from the trees, (approx 7,200ft.) and up, can be challenging in the dark.

You should be ok finding the Ranger Sta, (75 yards from bottom of concrete walkway from tram), if you head West / NW from the top of Skyline. It's about a 1/4 mile of flat ground w/ well used trails to the ranger sta. There usually is a spigot outside the ranger building, (call to confirm), and restrooms may or may not be locked, (another source of water). It seems & tastes a bit funky, but potable.
The spigot at Round Valley CG jct., 9100ft. (1 mile before Wellman's Divide), may have water, (recommended to purify).
scott
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby Ed » Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:13 am

xcnuck wrote:
xcnuck wrote:hello all -

I was looking for information regarding water sources at the base of the Skyline Trail around the art museum. Does anyone know if there is a water fountain or bathroom sink or something at/near the trailhead? Thank you!


In addition to this, does anyone have experience going through Long Valley Ranger station at night? My plan involves reaching this point around 2am. My main concern is if water will be accessible (do they lock the doors to the restroom?)

Thanks in advance


xcnuck,

Welcome to the discussion board. Puzzling questions, I certainly don't know the answers. Perhaps others do. Might help to know your overall plan. Are you Canadian, by the way?

Regarding the first question, I don't know whether there is a water source at the trailhead. Probably not. But I've never looked for one or thought about it, and I suspect others on this discussion board are in the same category. Because everybody brings to the trailhead all the water they expect to drink between there and the tram station. If you are not familiar with the area, downtown Palm Springs is only a few blocks away, but shuts down overnight, at the usual hours.

Regarding the second question, again I don't know the answer, some people on this discussion board may. If there is no water at the ranger station, I would think you would find some in the stream at this time of year, after hiking a little ways. Why would you be there at 2am? If temperature is a consideration, as it should be at this time of year, the low for the day is at sunrise, or slightly before. While starting well before sunrise is certainly advisable, to put it mildly, I am not sure hiking in the middle of the night buys you much, and following the trail could be a problem for a first-timer.

And I assume you are aware that the tram is currently open only Thursday through Monday.
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby JFisher4 » Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:42 pm

Hi - looking to hike C2C beginning early (2AM) Sunday morning and am looking for a hiking partner. I am in fairly decent shape but am happy to do whatever pace! Just want to enjoy the hike :) Let me know if you are interested in hiking it with me!
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby guest » Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:51 am

Hi Jfisher4,
Just wanted to drive home the point that this is one of the tougher hikes in the country, and if you don't have a few hikes of 3-5k ft. gain, (and you weren't beat at the end), you may want to reconsider.
Starting at 2am is fine, but you really don't want Skyline to turn into a 10+ hr. day, unless your carrying a ton of water & food, and even then, you can plain run out of energy.
Happy hiking, scott
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby Ed » Fri Apr 23, 2021 8:24 am

JFisher4,

I second Scott's remarks.

'Fairly decent shape' is a broad term, and requires some elaboration. Perhaps you are a strong endurance athlete, many people are today. Others may not agree, but I would rate Skyline as a bit less than running a marathon, without pushing for a good time. But not much less. And I am sure C2C is considerably more.

I don't think many people are eager to take on a first-timer they don't know. When I did Skyline for the first time, I did my research, went on hikes such as Baldy by the Bear Flats trail, and hiked it alone. I had some problems with the route in the dark. I ran into Ellen, and she was kind enough to slow down and keep me company for while, which I greatly appreciated. By the time I started the final haul up to Grubbs Notch, I was hoping to encounter a friendly mule with a tow rope. I suspect you are better prepared than a 69 year old man with a wobbly knee was, but you are talking about C2C, not Skyline.
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby Florian » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:51 pm

xcnuck wrote:I was looking for information regarding water sources at the base of the Skyline Trail around the art museum.


Hi xcnuck. There is a drinking fountain on east side of Belardo a couple hundred yards south of Alejo.
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby xcnuck » Fri Apr 23, 2021 4:31 pm

guest wrote:Hi xcnuck, (cool name!),
Don't know of any water fountains close by the Museum, (trailhead). There is a Starbucks that opens around 5 or 6am, close by, (The Rowen hotel may have it for purchase). Reaching Long Valley at 2am sounds odd, (sorry), as heat is now a concern, as you may know, and following the trail from the trees, (approx 7,200ft.) and up, can be challenging in the dark.

You should be ok finding the Ranger Sta, (75 yards from bottom of concrete walkway from tram), if you head West / NW from the top of Skyline. It's about a 1/4 mile of flat ground w/ well used trails to the ranger sta. There usually is a spigot outside the ranger building, (call to confirm), and restrooms may or may not be locked, (another source of water). It seems & tastes a bit funky, but potable.
The spigot at Round Valley CG jct., 9100ft. (1 mile before Wellman's Divide), may have water, (recommended to purify).
scott


thanks, Scott! I have considered the Starbucks, however this is an "FKT" type thing and I'm trying to preserve the "unsupported" aspect of it.

the reason I ask about the ranger station at Long Valley is that when I was there in October the rangers directed me to the restroom for filling up my bottles. I will give them a call to find out.

Ed wrote:
xcnuck,

Welcome to the discussion board. Puzzling questions, I certainly don't know the answers. Perhaps others do. Might help to know your overall plan. Are you Canadian, by the way?

Regarding the first question, I don't know whether there is a water source at the trailhead. Probably not. But I've never looked for one or thought about it, and I suspect others on this discussion board are in the same category. Because everybody brings to the trailhead all the water they expect to drink between there and the tram station. If you are not familiar with the area, downtown Palm Springs is only a few blocks away, but shuts down overnight, at the usual hours.

Regarding the second question, again I don't know the answer, some people on this discussion board may. If there is no water at the ranger station, I would think you would find some in the stream at this time of year, after hiking a little ways. Why would you be there at 2am? If temperature is a consideration, as it should be at this time of year, the low for the day is at sunrise, or slightly before. While starting well before sunrise is certainly advisable, to put it mildly, I am not sure hiking in the middle of the night buys you much, and following the trail could be a problem for a first-timer.

And I assume you are aware that the tram is currently open only Thursday through Monday.


Hi, Ed! Thank you! I am in fact originally from Canada (Montreal, QC) - I've been local to SoCal for a little over 5 years now (San Diego area). Yes, I agree 2am is a weird time to be at Long Valley ranger station. My route involves starting from Idyllwild at Deer Springs TH, over the summit of San Jacinto, down the Skyline trail and back the same way to finish in a pure out & back fashion. The goal is to start at 10pm on April 30th for the "out", and hopefully get to the base of the Skyline trail around 5 or 6am for the start of the "back" portion. Maybe I'll see some of you all out there!

Florian wrote:
xcnuck wrote:I was looking for information regarding water sources at the base of the Skyline Trail around the art museum.


Hi xcnuck. There is a drinking fountain on east side of Belardo a couple hundred yards south of Alejo.


I just located it on Google streetview. Thank you Florian!
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby Ed » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:07 pm

Thanks, xcnuck. Makes perfect sense now. Looking forward to your trip report.
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Re: C2C conditions Early April 2021

Postby xcnuck » Mon Apr 26, 2021 9:20 am

Ed wrote:Thanks, xcnuck. Makes perfect sense now. Looking forward to your trip report.


I'm not sure if it makes sense, but it's something to do!

question (again) for you all - I've read conflicting reports recently about the section between Wellman's Divide and the summit. I've read (from SanJac John) that the section is mostly clear of snow. However, a group I am familiar with attempted the C2C2C route this weekend and stopped just after Wellman's due to difficulty route-finding in the snow cover. I'm assuming due to significant snowmelt and colder temperatures at night that the trail can get wiped out quickly since there is not much foot traffic.

Are there any recent anecdotes that can help clarify what it's like up there right now? Thank you in advance!

-Marcus
(I realized I hadn't given my name and this seems like a first-name basis place!)
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