I started the morning with a hitch from Idyllwild to the Devils Slide trailhead, which meets up with the PCT after the fire closure. This would also take us by the trail to San Jacinto Peak, the 6th most prominent mountain in the lower 48.
We had a mile of climbing to go to reach the mountain’s 10,000+ foot summit and we wanted to get up before it got too hot.
There is still a lot of snow at the peak and the trail is a bit hard to follow. We ended up doing a little mountaineering in the snow to get to the top, before finding the well trodden trail.
After a few hours resting near the summit at a shelter, eating, talking, and waiting for other hikers, we started our 10,000 foot descent to the desert floor.
The summit trail meets up with the PCT and goes down fuller ridge before switchbacking down out of the trees. We camped just before the trees ended.
I had my first experience cowboy camping (no tent) and saw a shooting star during one of the times I woke up at night. It was a cool experience I’ sure I’ll do more.
In the morning, despite an early start, jt got hot. Until now, we had been lucky in the desert, but now we had temperatures in the 90s and the aun beating down on us all day.
At the base of the mountain a water faucet waited for us so we could refill and make the long hot walk across the desert. After the hardest three miles of my life (deep sand, high temperatures) we made it to the I-10 underpass. There we found coolers of pop, beer, and water. There was still ice in them!
After a couple hours in the shade of the bridge, we decided to hitchhike to the nearby town of Cabazon for some In N Out. In a moment of trail magic, we got a ride within a minute of standing on the side of the road.
The guy who picked us up told us he has some property on the PCT and wants to set up a hostel. This area could use something like that. He also gave us his number and said he’d pick us up and take us back to the trail.
We enjoyed a lot of food, drinks, and running water before heading back to the trail for our first real night hike.
As the sun set on San Jacinto, we climbed up into the Mesa Wind Farm and met up with our friends who didn’t go to town. We hiked 10 more miles with our headlamps, rounding out a day that ended up being a bit over 26 miles.
My first marathon.