San Jacinto

[Chad Eagle]

Anyone have current info for San Jacinto. Temps,water availability, snow?, etc. Looking to go on three day in two weeks.

[drowning in spam]

Dutch Creek and the adjacent creek had water a couple weeks ago before it rained for a week. No snow at 8000 feet. Fobes Saddle should still be running, and I believe Live Oak spring is supposed to run all year. Boulder Basin and Black Mountain campgrounds are closed, and I'd assume that any water to those campgrounds are shut off as well. There is a spring and faucet a couple miles from the top of Black Mountain road..the faucet is off, but pipe spring is running. I'll also be out there in 2 weeks. I'll be watching the pct water report, the tram web cam and the mtsanjacinto.info forum for info on water, snow and weather.

[Jeff M.]

A little of topic but have either of you snowshoe'd on San Jacinto? I'm looking to do some this winter for the first time and could use some recommendations on what type of snowshoes would work best.

[Lance M]

You might try the Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation Forum. Lots of trip reports and discussion.

San Jacinto Forum

-Lance

[Chad Eagle]

What is the deal with that forum? I have tried to access, but can't get past the home page.

[Jeff M.]

I haven't had problems with it. Do you get some kind of error message? Try this link: http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewforum.php?f=1

[drowning in spam]

It's working for me.

[Craig Savage]

Willow Creek runs year round. The Skunk Cabbage Meadow area offers access to adjacent zones with ample hiking near the creek.

Laws Camp is one of the more popular areas to overnight in due to the stellar desert floor views. Caramba is worth scouting out for an overnight as well.

Temps have been moderate, daytimes in the high 50s to mid 60s with a few 70s thrown in the mix. Overnights have been in the 40s with barely any 30s except in the +8000ft range. Most of the Skunk Cabbage & Desert zones sit about mid 7000ft.

No snow but we have had more than a few days of showers that were not in the forecast. For the most part, sun.

Have fun & I hope it helps!

[Craig Savage]

Idyllwild dropped down into the 20s last night & has a 5-day forecast that barely has us getting out of the 50s during the day. Gotta' imagine it'll stay purdy chilly at +2000ft on Idyllwild.

[Hikin’ Jim]

> A little of topic but have either of you snowshoe'd on San Jacinto? I'm looking to do some this winter for the first time and could use some recommendations on what type of snowshoes would work best.

Something that can handle ice. In So Cal it can be 50F during the day and 20F at night. If you go right after a storm, you can get beautiful powder, but within a very short time things start getting icy. A woman who frequents the San Jacintos forum had on aluminum cleat crampons a couple of years ago, slipped on an ice patch, and fx'd her ankle. She spent a couple of very cold nights (shivering all night) in the old stone hut near the summit until SAR found her.

HJ

[Nick Gatel]

Jim is right on. Do not underestimate the San Jacintos or San Bernardinos. Conditions can be similar to the Sierras, to include avalanches. I have been at the Tram station with 8' of snow on the ground.

[Jeff M.]

Yeah, I read about that. I plan on going with a group of experienced people while I'm developing my mountaineering skills. I also have a snow skills class planned. Thanks for the info.

[Hikin’ Jim]

> Jim is right on. Do not underestimate the San Jacintos or San Bernardinos. Conditions can be similar to the Sierras, to include avalanches. I have been at the Tram station with 8' of snow on the ground.

There have been several deaths that I'm aware of in the local So Cal mountains where guys out with ice axes didn't stop when they attempted to self arrest in an emergency situation.

Noted author R J Secor went out of control in the Baldy Bowl will doing some ice axe self arrest practice. He was in the hospital for months.

No, they're not the Sierra, but don't underestimate them.

At the same time, don't freak out. I and 100's of other people have done a lot of XC skiing and snow shoeing without incident. Do your homework, keep your brain mode set to on, and it'll be no big deal.

HJ

[Craig Savage]

I guess I should add that some climbers got caught in some weather that turned ugly last Sunday. According to the Idyllwild Town Crier, RMRU was called in:

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"Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) pulled two climbers off the face of Tahquitz Rock during what Lee Arnson called “brutal conditions.” What began as a textbook rescue on a beautiful Sunday, Dec. 7 night quickly deteriorated “into a full blown technical over the side mission with weather as dangerous as it gets,” as described by Arnson.

Two 23-year-old climbers from Santa Cruz, properly clothed and equipped, began their climb in beautiful weather Sunday during the day on a moderate ascent route and got off track. They wound up stranded 80 feet from the top of the peak, near White Maiden’s Walkaway, unable to go back or forward. “They went into a bad route and got way above their climbing ability,” said Arnson. The climbers used a cell phone to call 911. RMRU mobilized at 7, and had three members in place on the top of the peak by 10 that night. Arnson described rappelling down to the stranded climbers in rain, snow, winds gusting up to 50 M.P.H. and fog beginning to set in, using the voices of the climbers to orient the descending team."

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I would have to concur with the rest of the posters about the dangers here. While I have not had any bad experiences in THESE mountains, my Dad was RMRU back in the day. Holy wow, the stories I would hear growing up…

[drowning in spam]

> Idyllwild dropped down into the 20s last night & has a 5-day forecast that barely has us getting out
> of the 50s during the day. Gotta' imagine it'll stay purdy chilly at +2000ft on Idyllwild.

Someone told me that on Tuesday night it got down to 22F at the top of Devils Slide. I was sleeping in Round Valley. I should have checked my thermometer. While it wasn't warm out there, it was the wind that concerned me more than anything, but I still hit the summit a half hour before sunset while wearing a thin long sleeve t-shirt…I don't recommend that for most people though.

As far as snow/ice/water… There was plenty of water. Most creek beds and springs were flowing. I don't think you could walk more than 3 miles up there without finding water crossing the trail. There were a couple small patches of ice, but mostly near the peak. I saw about 2 square feet of very thin snow.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Always good to get a first hand update on the conds. Thanks for the post.

HJ

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