Traditional Ascent to Mt. San Jacinto

Come join us for an epic day hike to the tallest of the six peaks over 10,000 feet in the Mt. San Jacinto Range. If you have never hiked to the top before, this is your chance to get there with qualified guides following the "standard" maintained trails up and back, except for a prefered short cut at the top to Mt. San Jacinto. Along the way there will be an energy snack and hydration rest stop at the lush Round Valley Meadow where we might encounter some of the beautiful local resident Mule Deer, peacefully grazing while keeping an eye on us.

The next rest stop is Wellman Divide at 9720 ft elevation and our first opportunity for expansive views especially Tahquitz Peak Lookout and the ranges to the south including Palomar Mountain in San Diego County. There's also a spring near here with a seasonally vast garden of wildflowers including Corn Lily and the spectacular endemic Lemon Lily. However, we won't have time to take this detour but you might want to return sometime when all is in bloom. It's very special!

From Wellman Divide, the trail gently traverses a wide, open slope on the final stretch to our main goal, Mt. San Jacinto, 10834 ft. elevation, the highest peak in the Peninsular Ranges of Baja California and the second highest peak in California south of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It's a true crown jewel of Southern California hiking.

It's said that John Muir once stood on this very summit and called it "the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth." When we reach the top, we'll take plenty of time to fully appreciate the serenity and awesomness of this place --a destination you will have earned through determination and dogged perseverance and pleasure too.

OPTIONAL READING:

Some fun facts about Miller Peak:

Miller Peak 's name sake is Frank Augustus Miller, Boy Scout Leader and "champion of boyhood” along with being the founder of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside. When Miller Peak was dedicated shortly after his death in 1935, over twenty Boy Scout troops ascended the highest peaks in Southern California and simultaneously lit bonfires. Imagine getting that ‘fire permit’ today!

Other famous names atop San Jacinto include Cornell Peak [one of the three Iives along with Harvard and Yale]. U.S.G.S. geologist Robert Hill named the 9,750-footer for his alma mater, Cornell University. Apparently, he didn’t think Hill Peak sounded impressive enough.

U.S.G.S. topographer Edmund Perkins Jr. named Marion and Jean peaks — 10,362 and 10,670 feet, respectively — for his girlfriends in 1897. Marion taught school on the Morongo Indian Reservation. But Jean, whom he met in Northern California, eventually won his heart. They married in 1903. Marion could theoretically claim the last laugh, however, because an entire ridge was named after her in 1967.

As for Mt. San Jacinto itself, it is the Spanish version of Saint Hyacinth, a Polish Doctor of Sacred Studies (1185-1257) who worked to reform women’s monasteries in his native country.

DETAILS:

Click on all blue highlighted text for important help and information.

• Event Date and Time: June 17 at 10:45 a.m. ( for instructions on purchasing Tram tickets and arriving on time)
• Meet at: The Long Valley Ranger Station. Proceed from the ground floor terrace of the Mountain Station down the ramp to Long Valley. At the bottom turn right and follow the trail to the picnic table at the Ranger Station.
• Hike leaders: Jack Pansegrau and Kathryn Barrows with Spencer Ballard, veteran hiking guides
• Difficulty level: Moderately strenuous. 12-Miles out and back, 2,500 ' of total elevation gain. Base Elevation: 8,350’ – Peak Elevation: 10,834’, there is 10% less oxygen than sea level.
• Hiking Time: up to 8 hours including breaks.
• Cost: ( for instructions on parking and purchasing Tram tickets and arriving on time) Remember, receive a 20% discount on Tram tickets.

REQUIREMENTS:

Each qualified individual must register. Qualified means you must be fit and ready to hike for up to six or eight hours at high elevation. The time on the trail will be largely determined by the slowest member in the group.

Important: You may read the , online at your leasure before the hike. The hike leader will have a copy which you must sign before departing on the hike. This liability waiver is required for all NHA hiking events.

Take the 10 a.m. tram car to arrive at the meeting location on time. Please you need to know in order to arrive on time.

Bring water: We recommend a minimum 3 liters of water per person, trail snacks, lunch and a daypack carrying what is normal on a day hike including the 10 essentials, Energy snacks can make a huge difference to maintain your energy level throughout the hike. Be well supplied.

Age: Anyone under the age of 18 (minimum age 14) must be accompanied by a legal guardian

Proper hiking attire i.e. hiking clothes with extra layer, hiking boots with good soles, rain protection, hat, sunglasses NO TENNIS SHOES PLEASE!

Hiking poles are strongly advised

We depart from the Long Valley Ranger Station at 10:45 a.m. and return around 4:00 p.m.

If you have any questions please contact leader Jack Pensegrau at: [email protected], or co-leader Spencer Ballard at [email protected] or [email protected]

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