PCT San Jacinto

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Port flora

with 1 trail buddy

4,112 224 970

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Trail stats

Distance: 66.61 mi
Elevation gain: 13,609 ft
Technical difficulty: Moderate
Elevation loss: 17,310 ft
Max elevation: 8,983 ft
TrailRank: 66
Min elevation: 1,224 ft
Trail type: One Way

Moving time: one day 4 hours 36 minutes
Time: 5 days one minute
Coordinates: 19025
Uploaded: November 24, 2019
Recorded: November 2019

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near Thomas Mountain, California (United States)

Viewed 843 times, downloaded 2 times

Trail photos

Itinerary description

A 6 day hike in the San Jacinto area around the picturesque town of Idyllwild. Maxini and I got an Uber from Palm Springs to drop us off at the PCT parking lot on the Pines to Palms Highway (#74) about a mile east of the Paradise Cafe. The hike was mostly on the PCT (going from mile 152 to mile 207) but we did miss a small section around Idyllwild as we took the Devils Slide route in to town and exited via the Deer Springs trail. At the end of the hike (just south of Interstate #10) we got a ride back into Palm Springs from a local resident.

The weather was great, ideal during the day but November temperatures did drop to freezing at night. We really enjoyed the views and the diversity of the landscape. Water needs planning and can be an issue. And while the signage was sparse (missing/burnt/stolen) staying on the trail was pretty easy.

Some campsites were really nice (Cedar Springs) others were spartan. Weather conditions (wind and temperature) can make a big difference in where you choose to camp and some really nice spots appeared at the wrong time of the day.

We really enjoyed it, so much so that we added on a few more days and headed south bound after re-supplying and returning to our original starting point.

Waypoints

Campsite

too soon in the day... but a nice site so we stopped for a snack.

Campsite

Campsite Lions Peak

some space here... but we pushed on

Small campsite 161.0

very small campsite, we passed on this one.

Cedar Springs at PCT

Water and a nice campsite are a mile off the trail. We decided to go for it.

Cedar Springs

Spent our first night at this great campsite. Complete with water, a nice forest, several flat areas to setup a tent and nice views of Palm Springs below. There was a nice fire pit but a fire ban was in place. It is a mile off the PCT, but we felt it was worth it.

Intersection and campsite

Apache Springs trail

Water to the right

Apache Springs

We came here for the water and took a break with some food. There were a couple of small campsites and a very small spring for our water supply.

Campsite

Our second night campsite did not have much room and was exposed to the west. We had some strong winds that night but November temperatures were still good (above freezing). No water here but the site was just a few steps off the trail.

Rock slide

The trail is blocked by some large rocks. There is a rope in place to help you get around on the low side (what we did). Over the top is also an option.

Campsite sweet

Really nice campsite with great views and tons of room. But it was was too soon in the day and we were gunning for Idyllwild.

Tahquitz Creek

Good supply for water and it marked where we turned off the PCT.

Tahquitz Valley

Carumba trail

Humber State Park

Devil's slide trail starts/ends here. We originally thought we would spend the night in the park but it was still early and we felt good so we walked on the road for a couple of miles to get into the town of Idyllwild where we spent our third night at the park right in town.

Deer Springs Trail

Our campsite in the state park was near the road we needed to be on. We hopped over the fence to give us jump start on the big climb back up the mountain. The trail is marked and is a right turn off the road (get ready, its up hill baby for the next 7 miles).