Mt. San Jacinto

DISTANCE: 11 Miles
TIME: 6 hours

ELEVATION: 10,834 feet

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

COORDINATES: 33° 49' N; 116° 41' W

Mt. San Jacinto is #11 on the highest peaks in California, and is the highest peak in Riverside County and second highest in Southern California (next to San Gorgonio). It's prominence in between the dry desert floors of the Hemet and Palm Springs areas makes it viewable from many other peaks within San Diego and Riverside County, and as one of the few mountains above the 10,000 ft mark, it is often covered in snow during the winter months. The peak and the surrounding wilderness area are popular destinations for hikers.

There are several approaches up Mt. San Jacinto. This post describes the easiest route which begins with a ride up in the Palm Springs Ariel Tramway, which takes you from 2,643 ft to 8,516 feet in just 12 minutes. Because of this quick ascent and because the entire hike is achieved above the 8,500 ft. elevation, hikers should watch for signs of altitude sickness. At the time of this post the cost of a roundtrip tram ticket was $22.95. On weekdays the first tram leaves at 10 am, and the last tram comes down 9:45 pm

I had been to the San Jacinto Wilderness Area twice when I was younger and camped overnight, so this was my first day trip attempt, and I was joined by Steve Fenn and Byron Fisher. After we got off the tram, we headed down a ramp to the wilderness area where the dirt trail starts. It is a very wide, well maintained trail. All hikers must have a wilderness permit to be in the area. We got our permits by filling out a slip of paper posted on a door of a ranger station located a short distance into the hike.

The first two miles of the hike meander through dense pine forests on a gradually ascending trail to Round Valley, one of the permitted camping spots. Round Valley has bathrooms and running water. From Round Valley, the ascent steepens a bit until you reach Wellman's Divide at about mile 3. This is the first spot to enjoy the view to the Southwest, and is a good spot for a rest. The remainder of the hike is a continual ascent with little shade.

I was feeling a little lightheaded with a mild pounding in my head for the first three miles of this hike. I never felt nausea, though I did feel a little faint at Wellman's Divide. It was at this point that I think my body acclimated, because I felt fine the remainder of the hike. After leaving Wellman's divide, we ascended upward from the valley floor along a ridge toward the summit. Just below the summit is a cabin shelter, which is fully stocked with food, first aid, and other supplies thanks to the contributions of hikers. It also has four bunk beds and some religious reading material; I guess the people who left that knew that if you were in a bad enough situation that you had to stay in that cabin, you would probably be doing a lot of praying and religious contemplation. I have heard stories of unsuspecting hikers being caught in surprise snowstorms, as early as the fall months, so be sure to check the weather as it can be drastically different than the desert floor below. On the day of our hike it was a clear 70 degrees.

The trail falls off just before the summit (either that or we lost it), and the final climb is scrambling over large rocks. The summit is a true summit with an obvious high point that makes a great picture. Take time to enjoy view and snap some panorama photos. We were the first ones to the summit that morning, and arrived 2.5 hours after leaving the tram station. We spent about 1/2 hour at the summit, and made it back to the tram station 2 hours later, so our round trip was about 5 hours. We took it at a pretty fast pace, so realistically you should plan on at least 6-7 hours for this day hike.