Top of Riverside County

10,834 feet high, the separation point between the Mojave and the urban sprawl of four counties, Mt. San Jacinto is the roof of Los Angeles. Though Mt Gorgonio is higher, it doesn't separate the two areas so neatly.

I climbed the 4,500 foot, 16 mile route, avoiding the "easy" 12-mile, 2,400 foot route that comes from the Palm Springs Tram, finishing a few hours before my view would have been marred by tons of smoke and ash from fires in Malibu, Santa Clarita, and all over San Bernardino County. As it was, I had a fantastic view from the Santa Ana winds that ended up causing those fires.

On the way back down the mountain, I took some liberties in descending the mountain without watching where I was going (the very top doesn't really have a clearly-defined trail, and is covered with a forest of short pine trees), and soon found myself much further down the mountain than I wanted to be without knowing where I was. Whoops.

Good thing I put food, water, light, and extra layer of clothing in my trusty backpack. Except that trusty backpack was hidden between two boulders further down on the mountain: my aching shoulders led me to cache the thing about a mile and a half below the summit, and make my ascent with one partially-filled water bottle. Which was empty at that point. Suddenly the alpine winds felt a little chillier blowing on my sweat-drenched t-shirt.

Fortunately, it isn't too hard to navigate when you can see the outskirts of Palm Springs. I knew I had to walk far enough in the town's direction that the wind turbines (pictured left) would be behind me. I actually had to head back up the mountain slightly and jump over some hairy-looking boulders, before I spotted the trail. I had come out almost as far down as where I left my backpack. Ultimately, I think it was a shortcut.

So, scratch off the top peak in the San Jacinto range. I already have the top Santa Monica peak (easy) and the top San Gabriel peak (tough). Next, San Gorgonio.