Last week we decided to escape the heat in San Diego and hike Mt. San Jacinto. San Jacinto is one of the six highest peaks in Southern California, one of the "Six Pack of Peaks" challenge, which we are going to do next year - so this would be good practice.
I always check the weather before we go for a hike, and this is especially important when hiking in the mountains. I monitored the weather forecast at San Jacinto, and there were thunderstorms forecast for Sunday, but Saturday, the day we hiked, was supposed to be partly cloudy and mild. The last check that I did was on Friday night before we left.
We arrived at San Jacinto and took the Palm Springs aerial tramway up to just over 8,500 feet. From there, we proceeded down the paved pathway to the ranger station to get our permit. Hikers who are hiking to the peak must get a wilderness permit (it's free). When we completed the required paperwork, we were told that the Rangers strongly advised against hiking to the peak because they were expecting thunderstorms throughout the day. (lesson learned, CALL the ranger's station to learn about weather conditions - they have a weather station on the mountain). They did, however, let us hike to Wellman's Divide at 9,700 feet (San Jacinto peak is 10,834 feet). It was absolutely beautiful. As we hiked up, we saw frogs, chipmunks, squirrels, deer and all kind of beautiful birds. When we arrived at Wellman's Divide, the view was spectacular. It was fascinating to sit and watch the weather roll through....one minute it was so cloudy and grey we couldn't see 20 feet in front of us, a minute later it would be bright and sunny. The mist would roll in followed by the brilliant sunshine in a matter of minutes...we sat and watched the clouds seemingly evaporate and then reform. Breathtaking.
On the hike back, we started to hear the roll of thunder in the distance, and by the time we arrived back at the ranger's station, the thunder was rolling and crackling loudly, and it was pouring rain. It was awesome, in every sense of the word. At the end, we were treated to a rainbow while we dried off and waited for the tram to take us back down. Perfection.
I'm thankful we didn't summit...next time we will - when there isn't a thunderstorm rolling through. I am, however, happy to have done the hike, it was truly amazing and I would highly recommend it. I look forward to doing it again. ...and one day, Cactus to Clouds (The Skyline Trail) :-)
I always check the weather before we go for a hike, and this is especially important when hiking in the mountains. I monitored the weather forecast at San Jacinto, and there were thunderstorms forecast for Sunday, but Saturday, the day we hiked, was supposed to be partly cloudy and mild. The last check that I did was on Friday night before we left.
We arrived at San Jacinto and took the Palm Springs aerial tramway up to just over 8,500 feet. From there, we proceeded down the paved pathway to the ranger station to get our permit. Hikers who are hiking to the peak must get a wilderness permit (it's free). When we completed the required paperwork, we were told that the Rangers strongly advised against hiking to the peak because they were expecting thunderstorms throughout the day. (lesson learned, CALL the ranger's station to learn about weather conditions - they have a weather station on the mountain). They did, however, let us hike to Wellman's Divide at 9,700 feet (San Jacinto peak is 10,834 feet). It was absolutely beautiful. As we hiked up, we saw frogs, chipmunks, squirrels, deer and all kind of beautiful birds. When we arrived at Wellman's Divide, the view was spectacular. It was fascinating to sit and watch the weather roll through....one minute it was so cloudy and grey we couldn't see 20 feet in front of us, a minute later it would be bright and sunny. The mist would roll in followed by the brilliant sunshine in a matter of minutes...we sat and watched the clouds seemingly evaporate and then reform. Breathtaking.
On the hike back, we started to hear the roll of thunder in the distance, and by the time we arrived back at the ranger's station, the thunder was rolling and crackling loudly, and it was pouring rain. It was awesome, in every sense of the word. At the end, we were treated to a rainbow while we dried off and waited for the tram to take us back down. Perfection.
I'm thankful we didn't summit...next time we will - when there isn't a thunderstorm rolling through. I am, however, happy to have done the hike, it was truly amazing and I would highly recommend it. I look forward to doing it again. ...and one day, Cactus to Clouds (The Skyline Trail) :-)
The Vistas
MACROS
Kristin's Fairy Mound :-)
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