22 November 2024
Palm Springs Art Museum to San Jacinto Peak and back to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
(20 miles, +10,600/-2,500 feet).

Wow!

I mean, Wow!

I have always wanted to do this hike. But I was quite intimidated by it. It starts at the base of Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs and goes all the way to the top.

That’s over TWO MILES in elevation gain! San Jacinto has the sixth highest prominence of all peaks in the lower 48.

And then once you reach the peak, you have to keep going.

But fortunately, not all the way to the bottom! Halfway down there is a tram back to Palm Springs.

One reason I was worried about this hike is that it is 2,000 feet more elevation gain than my previous PR. That was set on Rabbit Peak. I totally bonked hard that day, maybe the worst ever.

So I was worried today. But all went according to plan.

No Breaks and I drove up the night before and got an airBnB that was less than a mile from the trailhead. And by 4:30 am this morning we were headed out the door.

It was a tough scramble in the dark with my headlamp, and we got a little off track a couple of times, but by daybreak we made it to the first hiker aid box.

Which was convenient since we both packed too much food! We each left a bar in the box, and then we pressed on.

There was another hiker emergency box at 4,300 feet.

At about 7,600 feet the trail heads around a steep traverse. I got a little off track when I was separated from No Breaks for a while. But I eventually caught up with him just below the plateau at 8,400 feet.

The trail changes dramatically at 8,400 feet, flattening out and heading through a gorgeous forest full of Jeffrey Pines.

We stopped at the Ranger Station around 10:30am to refill our water bottles and get a permit to hike to the summit. And though we were already very tired, the hiking definitely got easier in the next 5 miles to the summit.

It was noticeably cooler up here, but perfect for a long climb.

No breaks got his trail name today. Every time I wanted to sit for 10 minutes it turned into 2. I would say “I need to take a break.” He would reply, “No breaks!”

But I forced him to enjoy the summit for 15.

Too soon it was time to descend.

And the rest of the way down was uneventful. My knee started bothering me a bit, but with some stretching it resolved itself. And by the time we made it back to the tram I was feeling healthy and wonderful.

We asked at the tram where to buy tickets. They said to us “First, congratulations! Second, you can get the tickets in the gift shop.”

I know they see people like us all the time, but it was fun to have our accomplishment recognized by a stranger.

When we finally boarded for the descent, the tram was full of kids. Every time we passed a pole support the tram would speed up a little and the kids screamed with delight. It was a lovely scene.

At the bottom we grabbed an Uber back to Las Palmas, my favorite brewery in Palm Springs.

And then we tried hard to stay up for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.

We made it.

(Just barely!)