Day 22 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 7.2 miles on Black Mountain Road - San Jacinto peak/ridge alternate. 6.5 miles on the PCT.
Total Ascent: 2,613.8 ft.
Total Descent: 3,067.3 ft.
I decided to hike out this morning without the OG tramily via the Black Mountain Road alternate. Going back up Spitler to Apache Peak and Fuller Ridge was too dangerous. I texted Sandy, our Idyllwild trail angel, yesterday about conditions and whether she thinks it is doable. She suggested I go with another hiker she’s picking up, heading out at 8am. Done! Can’t wait around forever and the snow has stopped.
The hike up the road alternate bypasses the treacherous parts on San Jacinto, but still counts toward the mileage of a thru hike. I was hoping to hike the peaks but the recent storm brought far too much snow to already compiling ice beneath. San Jac Jon, a local angel that runs a page on San Jacinto trail conditions, recommends PCT hikers to wait until at least mid April before attempting Apache Peak and Fuller Ridge. As much as I wouldn’t mind hanging out in Idyllwild, I’m here to hike!
Today was hard! I keep saying that. But, it’s true. The storm left a dumping of snow and hiking through it, especially wearing only trail runners and not boots or snowshoes, made for a difficult day. I’m so grateful to have met Patrick, the other PCT hiker Sandy picked up this morning. He has years of hiking and backpacking experience, having summited over 700 peaks. He led and I followed in his footsteps. Literally. We made first tracks up the Black Mountain truck road until we stopped for a break about 4.5 miles up. While we were breaking, a team of two passed us, not looking too pleased with the conditions. Then, another group, this time with four hikers, passed us, but they looked a lot more cheery. They mentioned trying to make camp at mile 197 which all of us were hoping would be enough of a decent to fall below the snow line. The Burglar had texted saying he made it up the road and to camp at 197 the day prior during the storm and it was, “brutal.” It was great following in the tracks of 7 hikers in front of me. It made the hiking much easier than just Patrick in front of me; trying to match his stride. I wouldn’t call todays hike brutal, but it was challenging.
The views up were spectacular and the snow made everything glisten. I was worried I would need my ice axe or microspikes but it turned out I didn’t, thankfully. At times, the snow was up to our knees. Most of the time the snow was up to our shins. The snow basket on my left trekking pole fell off twice and sent us into search mode. Thankfully it was found both times until I decided to just stick it in my pocket and go without. I’ll need to figure that problem out while I’m in Cabazon.
We tried not to break as there weren’t many decent areas to pull off. Most of our ascent came from the road walk. It was steep in areas and exhausting. Once we rejoined onto the PCT, it was downhill from there. While I would normally be thrilled to descent, the PCT going down was a serious workout. The snow covered the trail and we were following the earlier hikers tracks. At points, we figured we were actually off trail; somebody had tried to skip some parts by making a more direct route. On one of these route finding journeys, I slipped and decided with the steepness of the slope, it was safer to just slide down. I was wet from the snow anyway so it wasn’t a big deal and it was actually pretty fun. I fell going down a few times but the snow cushioned my fall. Patrick gave me some trekking pole tips and shared some useful snow hiking tips as well which made my hike down a little less chaotic.
I was so grateful to start seeing the trail under the snow as we descended further. I was getting tired and thought about camping at mile 195.4 but there was still snow and the campsites were exposed to the wind so we continued on. By the time we reached 197, I was exhausted and putting up my tent took the last energy I had. I couldn’t even cook dinner. Thankfully we had stopped at a creek awhile back to get water and I also collected my CNOC full of snow so I chugged some water, ate a couple quick snacks and crashed hard.
