Palm Springs, CA lies at the foot of mighty Mt. San Jacinto, (pronounce it “San Hah-SEEN-toe) said by some to actually be a higher peak than Mt. Everest. San Jacinto starts at about 300 ft above sea level, and soars nearly straight up to 10,834 ft. Everest, so I’m told, actually starts at a level of around 20,000 ft and goes on up to 29,002 ft, if memory serves, sooooo…….it’s a way of looking at it, I guess.

There is a cable tramway that starts at about the 2600 ft level and hauls you up over a mile - parts of it straight up - to 8600 ft in just 15 minutes.

This shot shows the upper portion of the tram cables, and the towers are visible, if you look carefully, going right up the center. It’s a thrilling ride, and worth every penny of the $20.00+ fare…..

 

 

The cars alternate, one at the top, one at the bottom, and pass at mid point. This is looking up at the vertical cliffs and the descending car. Each carries 80 people, as well as an 800 gallon water tank to supply the facility at the top. The floor of the car rotates, giving a good view to everybody, tho’ it’s frustrating when you’re trying to line up a shot. Reflections are bad, too…….

 

At the top, you’re let out onto the east side of a kind of tilted bowl about 3 miles across, and it’s necessary to register before passing the sign in office at .3 miles. From there you wind around and up and down, going generally west. Some portions are pretty rugged……

 

…..other portions are fairly level, a small creek flows thru, and there’s actually a swamp here at nearly 9,000 ft elevation……..

 

 

The creek has a small waterfall that I thought was kinda neat……

There are some pretty little flowers, about an inch long…..

and a kind of sticky looking translucent berry on a fuzzy plant….

This is a rugged area with some nice spots, but in general is kind of rough and ragged looking, with broken limbs, twisted trees, etc. This ends with a vengeance when you reach Wellman’s Divide at a little over 3 miles from the Top o’ The Tram. This shot is looking pretty much south to SW toward Mexico. Altitude here is around 9200 ft……

 

Farther around to the east is the neighbor to the San Jacinto mountain range - the Santa Rosa mountains. These two chains form an L shape averaging something like 6,000 to 7,000 ft high and the Coachella Valley communities nestle at the foot of them. In this picture, look at the peak to the left of the top of the tree in dead center. You can just see that it’s really a double peak, and one of my favorite places. The lower, west, peak is Santa Rosa mountain at 8070 ft., and the far one is Toro Peak - 8716 ft tall. In 1988 I buried my wonderful old Black Labrador Retriever, “Dawg,” between the peaks, but that’s a tear jerker for another time.

 

9200 feet seems to be a dividing line up here. Up till now, the hike was interesting, but not all that eye (or camera) catching. Leaving Wellman’s Divide, that changes in a hurry. Now you start to climb in earnest, and the scenery changes dramatically. The scruffy lowlands (??) are behind you, and you’re on the mountain for real…..

 

It’s only been a couple of hours, and a look to the east shows Toro Peak in the upper left corner above the tree, and a new forest fire just getting going. That’s a bad thing about these mountains in the summer….if a fire starts below you, it could be a very bad situation……….

 

Continue up the switchbacks and you’ll find yourself looking northeast toward Joshua Tree National Park in the distance. We’re a little past the 10,000 ft level now and the thin air is taking its’ toll…..

 

I was pleased with myself tho, ’cause when I stopped for one of my frequent breaks, I could feel my pulse hammering in my ears, so stopped for a check. Under full strain, pulse was 150 per minute. Within a minute or 2 it was down to 120, strong and smooth. Respiration was deep, but not gasping. Good deal….at 63 10/12 yrs old, I’m glad I’ve lived an active life. (and stayed active) Now, looking back down to the east, after a tremendous amount of effort, was able to identify this area. (Sometimes, even a pilot can’t identify areas from altitude) In the center of the picture, about 1/3 of the way in from the left, that fuzzy limb sticking up between the big dry wash and the 2 big water tanks covers my home in Cathedral City.

 

Finally, at about 10,500 ft, more or less, you’ll come to this stone hut that’s open on a 1st come, 1st served basis, and has 4 bunks and a fireplace for overnight hikers. If you’re not acclimatized to the altitude, I’m not sure an overnighter here would be a good idea…..

 

This marks another dramatic, and less welcome change in the climb. By now, the ol’ legs were getting a little rubbery……and the doggoned trail ENDed……….

 

Now, it was a scramble over these huge boulders for the last several hundred feet to the summit……

 

What I didn’t expect here on top of the world was a traffic jam. I’d passed probably 100 hikers during this 3½ hour ascent, and had been surprised at the numbers of them. Surprised, too, at how many of them jogged - ran ! ! ! - past me on the way up, and more running down. Phooey - I was having trouble just walking, and still had the trip back down to worry about. Here at the summit were probably 30 people sitting around resting, and many having picnics up here………

 

 

Poor old Lar wobbled the last few feet on rubbery legs, being careful with foot placement, and actually had to wait my turn to sit on the summit. I asked a Korean group if they’d take my picture with my 8800 for me, and 1 of them laughed and asked if I trusted them with that camera. I laughed back and said I could throw rocks faster than he could run. (there wasn’t a throw-able rock for quite a way) All got a chuckle out of this, and they kindly took this shot of the Lar…….

 

 

What a thrill, and what a feeling ! ! ! Now, I hadta get back 5.8 miles to the top of the tram, and it was misery by the time I got there, but it was sure worth it. I DID find my limits that day, and greatly exceeded them.

 

 

Posted: October 5th, 2007 under 06 California, 06-8-12 San Jacinto.
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