Mt. San Jacinto

Just to prove that my foolishness last week in Joshua Tree National Park wasn't an aberration, I went on a little walk yesterday in Mt. San Jacinto National Monument.

I took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to Long Valley (Elev. 8400') and set out for Round Valley where I intended to have lunch. The 2 miles and 560' climb went so fast and easy, I decided to wait on lunch until I reached Wellman Junction. This stretch was 1 mile during which I climbed another 600'—definitely more challenging. Along the way I saw this tree scarred from bucks rubbing their horns on it in the spring.

The view from Wellman was just spectacular—a sea of mountains. I had my lunch and was about to head back when someone said, "May as well go on to the top. Won't be any worse than from Round Valley to here." I think I actually wanted to go to the top from the very beginning, and that little nudge was all it took. I headed up the last leg of the hike.

Along the way I saw many wonders, such as this tree, hollowed out by a lightening strike and still fiercely surviving in spite of its injury. A lesson in there somewhere.

The views were also spectacular—like this one of the desert far below and the mountains beyond.

OK, Mr. "Won't-be-any-worse." It's worse. I'm climbing another 900' in 2+ miles. And my legs have already done 3 miles. And the air is getting thinner and thinner.

But along the way, each bend holds another treat like this collection of rock slabs.

I begin to enquire of hikers coming down, "Much farther?" All assured me I was almost there. Right.

The trail ends about 30 or 40 vertical feet from the top, and so I scrambled up the pile of boulders that caps the mountain. "Scrambled" may not be the right word; it implies a speed and energy I did not exhibit on this last part of the climb.

But finally, there it was! The sign that told me I had made it! "Mt. San Jacinto Peak. Elev. 10,834'." I have to say I was pretty proud of being able to snap a picture of that sign. The guidebooks warned that this hike was "strenuous" and suitable only for "expert hikers." I don't consider myself an expert hiker. But here I was, at age 67, on top of the second highest peak in southern California.

I sat down and finished the food I'd packed.

Then I headed back down.

Going downhill has its own share of challenges. It gets at a different part of the legs, and my toes jammed against the end of my shoes. And boy oh boy was I tired. Those 6 miles going down now seemed almost interminable. I had gone up in stages, realizing all along that, at any point, I could simply stop and go back, but now I had to keep going. Six miles. No choice. I constantly marveled that I had actually hiked up all those footsteps, each one of which now felt like a whole hike of its very own.

Along the way, my cell phone suddenly came alive with Amy's characteristic piano chords. I couldn't believe I could get a signal on top of Mt. San Jacinto. AT&T oughta put it in their ads. Amy was up to her eyebrows in little girls auditioning for the new Coen brothers film she's working on.

I got a good scolding. Again. "Stop doing these huge hikes!" she said. "Act your age! You're scaring me!" Ok. Justly deserved. I may even listen to her this time.

But San Jacinto is only the second highest peak in southern California. Hmmm . . . .