Itinerary
May 8th, 2021
People die on this hike, especially in the summer. October is the best month for C2C. May is also decent, but we had a few snow patches blocking the trail.
Palm Springs
Mount San Jacinto Peak
Health, Hydration and Elevation
4:30 AM to 6:30 PM was our total hiking time, or 14 hours. We planned to turn around at the tram, but were lucky the tram was running until 8 pm on our particular day.
I was in moderate health, doing mild cardio several times a week. This hike still hurt. We passed several groups who were attempting to summit, but were moving too slow to catch the tram back home.
I carried 7 liters of water. I dropped 1 L in the first rescue box, which was pretty full; the second rescue box was almost empty. I drank the rest by the time I reached the ranger station. They have a hose to refill, but it has a warning of a high exposure to a carcinogenic chemical and the water tastes unusual, but was palatable.
I experienced elevation sickness as a mild headache starting at about 9,000 feet. This made for a slow climb up the peak. The headache resolved after descending below 9,000 feet. I had been living in Los Angeles at sea level before the hike.
Research and Links
Helpful links we researched before doing the hike.
Trail Report
Know before you go
Weather
- Palm Springs — Weather Underground
- Mount San Jacinto Peak — Mountain Forecast
- Mount San Jacinto Peak — National Weather Service
Parking
- 101 N Museum Dr, Palm Springs, CA, 92262, USA
- Park on the street next to the garage and lot, which is free.
- Do not park in the Art Museum parking lot, or in the covered lot across the street because of the 4 hour maximum.
Timetable
Below is a fast timetable by the HikingGuy. This crew was in shape and had done training hikes. We took 3 hours longer to complete the hike than them.
“It helps to mentally break the hike into sections and tackle one at a time. Here’s the skinny. Distances are approximate and will change depend on how many wrong turns you make (if any). I’ve seen some mileage charts online that had different (and lower) milage values. Take them with a grain as salt and use it as a rough guide.”
HikingGuy
| Landmark | Dist. | Elev. | ETA | Activity | Plan |
| Palm Springs Art Museum Trailhead | 0 | 470 | 0200 | Begin | Start at 0200 Sharp! |
| Picnic Tables | 0.8 | 1340 | 0220 | Hike | Thru Hike -Tables for reference |
| Rescue Box 1 | 2.6 | 2340 | 0305 | Break (5) | Health Check. Point of no return. Snack |
| 4,300 ft Rocks | 5.1 | 4400 | 0410 | Break (15) | 2nd Food Stop, push for daylight lunch |
| Rescue Box 2 | 7.4 | 5400 | 0520 | Break (5) | Snack, Regroup |
| Flat Rock | 8.4 | 5900 | 0550 | Hike | Thru hike |
| Start of Traverse | 9.5 | 7400 | 0620 | Break (30) | Breakfast/Lunch. Mandatory 30 min, feet up |
| Grubb’s Notch – Ent. To Long Valley | 10.5 | 8400 | 0820 | Hike | Thru Hike – Ranger station is very close |
| Long Valley Ranger Station | 10.8 | 8400 | 0825 | Break (10) | Permits and re-fill H20 |
| Round Valley Campground | 12.3 | 9400 | 0910 | Hike | Thru Hike |
| Wellman Divide | 13.1 | 9700 | 0930 | Break (5) | Snack, Regroup |
| San Jacinto Peak | 16 | 10834 | 1045 | Break (15) | Summit time |
| Tram Station | 21 | 8400 | 1300 | Party! | We did it! |
Glass Hammmock 
Leave a Reply