The San Jacinto mountains are the first real mountains of the Pacific Crest Trail, going northbound. Rising up from the desert floor, these mountains reach elevations well-above 8,000 ft, with the pinnacle being San Jacinto Peak at an elevation of 10,834 ft!
The unrelenting uphill battle to get over the San Jacintos is difficult not only due the increasing altitude, but also due to the trail being horribly unmaintained, as if it’s been left forgotten since the pandemic. Beautiful, towering trees are fun to observe when standing, but navigating their post-mortem is not nearly as fun.
Brightside and I struggled to get over the plethora of ginormous logs that consistently blocked our path ahead. As soon as we managed to climb over an almost insurmountable log, there would be another waiting for us on the other side. It was exhausting and felt never-ending, but we trudged on, determined to keep going, knowing that we would be rewarded with a big meal and a soft bed waiting for us in the little mountain town of Idyllwild.
Brightside and I conquered it together; through the spiky shrubs, up and over the giant logs, hugging the rock walls so as not to fall down the steep drop-offs, sweating from fear of heights and the beating sun. We finally got to a point on
trail where the elevation gain eased up. The trail started flattening out and the trail went interior – phew, no longer on a cliff’s edge. But a new obstacle presented itself, one very surprising amid the desert mountains – snow! Our first snow encounter on trail! We laughed like maniacs as we shoved snow down our shirts and slapped it onto our faces. It felt so good, so cool on our sun-beaten skin. But our joy was short-lived as we realized large sections of trail were hidden under snow which made it difficult to keep track of where we needed to go.
After the tenacious determination it took to get up the mountain, it was all unravelled by the walk down into Idyllwild. Thousands of feet of elevation that we worked so hard to gain, were suddenly lost on the way down into town – a pit stop among the San Jacintos. I pushed away the disheartening thought that we’d have to hike all the way back up again to continue our journey along the PCT.
We took a zero day in Idyllwild. A much-needed day off from
hiking, and the first one on the journey so far. It felt good to rest my swollen,
throbbing feet. We gorged on food and rested – it was heaven. While in town, I
bought myself a new sleeping mat, since mine had already acquired 11 holes in
it! I opted for a more durable non-inflatable mat.
After a much-needed day of rest, we hit the trail again with
renewed enthusiasm. It felt good to leave civilization behind once again and to
re-emerge into the forest. My body and soul yearned for it.
Along the trail I noticed a red, fungi-looking plant. It popped out of the pine-needled floor with a thick stem and an adorning asparagus-looking display of leaflets. I had never seen anything like it before! The entire plant was a shocking bright red colour – quite a contrast to the brown and evergreen hues of the forest. I later discovered that it’s called
a Snow plant (Sarcodes sanguinea). It’s a unique kind of plant that doesn’t photosynthesize, kind of like fungi. Instead of getting its energy from the sun, like other plants, this one taps into the food network provided by mycorrhizal fungi which live beneath the soil and connect to tree roots. Fascinating! Every now and then I’d see a cluster of them illuminated by a streak of sunshine.
Much of the San Jacinto mountains were still covered in large patches of snow. From up here in the snow, we could see the dry, arid desert down below – such contrasting landscapes with very different sets of challenges and only altitude separating them. We could see the snowy peak of San Jacinto behind us as we trekked on towards Fuller Ridge – a notorious north-facing slope still covered in large amounts of snow. The snow was encrusted in hard ice which made it slippery and difficult to cross. Neither Brightside nor I had microspikes, so we cautiously proceeded over the ice. We aimed for the dirt islands among the blanket of ice-encrusted snow, the only safe refuges of traction, but even then we slipped and fell several times in the process.
Once we were back below the snow line, the hiking became a lot smoother and faster. I never thought I’d be so relieved to be back in the land of sand and high sun exposure.
Just as I was easing up my guard and settling back into my lulling trudge in the sand, I heard a loud menacing rattling come from a rock outcrop beside the trail. I turned to face a massive rattlesnake entwined in the rocks with a headless lizard at its side. AAH! My heart was pounding as I slowly proceeded to walked by, its incessant rattling continuing well-after I’d gone past.
Brightside and I made it to the pleasant shaded refuge of the I-10 overpass. It felt very hobo-esque, laying on my mat in the dirt under the busy highway overpass. There were cars zooming by and loud trains rolling past. It felt dizzying to be under this main artery of transportation and yet be so far removed from it.
The evening was spent at the Mesa Wind Farm. To our pleasant surprise, Marla showed up! We were overjoyed with the reunion of our friend. That night I dreamt of hamburgers, cake, and vinaigrette salad. The infamous “hiker hunger” has definitely kicked in.
My feet were soaked before 6:30am, and continued to be soaked throughout the day as the PCT crossed Mission Creek over 33 times! The trail kept zig-zagging back and forth through the water. It seems that whoever designed this part of the trail was indecisive.
We celebrated in the fact that we’d made it over the San Jacintos and had our sights set on reaching Big Bear, the next town-stop along the PCT. With every passing day we felt ourselves getting stronger and becoming more resilient. Every day brought new experiences and new challenges. The constant changing scenery and differences in plant distribution among shifts in elevation never cease to amaze me.
Thank you enjoy looking at all the scenery and the flowers and fungi😀