In an earlier blog, I shared that I had to pull out of the last 30 miles of the San Jacinto section of the PCT due to heavy snow. Within a few days, Alesia and I were scheming on how to get back to complete this section. I did, and it was a big day. In my hiking vocabulary, a big day is just beyond reach, possible, but it calls forth more of everything; more focus, more energy, more endurance with a large splash of attitude.
The goal was to hike back to Saddle Junction where I left the PCT. The Devil’s Slide trail was the shortest route at 2.5 miles but added 1,700 feet of climbing to the front end of my hike. The starting temperature was 37 degrees, and it was below freezing on San Jacinto.
The climb was beautiful as the morning light filtered in from the east. I quickly climbed from 6,400 feet to Saddle Junction at 8,100 feet.
Once on the PCT, the climb continued up to 9,000 feet. I felt that this challenge was going much easier than expected. The morning had a brisk and brilliant feel, and my legs and lungs were more than excited to push forward.
The wheels started to come off as quickly as turning a bend on the trail. The deep snow returned and was not at all what I had heard from other hikers. I spent the next eight miles navigating snow on the ascent and descent. Fortunately, the cold temperatures over the previous days kept me from sinking deep into the snow (post-holing). I put micro-spikes onto my hiking shoes to gain some traction. Nonetheless, it was exhausting and my pace slowed to the point that I assumed I would need to shelter overnight.
After descending several thousand feet, I finally left the snow behind. I had only covered 13 miles in seven hours. Looking north, I could see my destination 7,500 feet below and 20 miles away. It seemed out of reach, but thinking about what is possible is much less effective than seeing what is possible – one step at a time.
The descent took me down over 15 miles of switchbacks from the lush forest to a barren desert. San Jacinto’s presence was apparent around every corner. My feet and legs begged for a break from the pounding, but the remaining miles started to look doable.
I covered 33 miles, climbed 6,700 feet, and descended 12,700 feet in under 14 hours. San Jacinto is a small wilderness by western standards, but it is wild and dangerous. I had read reports and watched videos of this hike, and it was hard for me to grasp why this area has taken the lives of PCT hikers and locals. I am so glad to have seen it first hand, and I admire it as a precious wild place.