The Triple Crown. The Three San's. 39mi, 12000ft gain and loss.
It seemed the perfect challenge to undertake. Right at the limit of what I thought my body (might!) let me do given proper planning and training, it would be a fantastic way to see three familiar peaks in a new fashion.
Working the logistics of the effort quickly became a challenge in and of itself. If driving times are to be minimized, the geographic locations of the three peaks mandate either an Antonio->Gorgonio->Jacinto or a Jacinto->Gorgonio->Antonio ordering. It seemed best to finish with the easiest of the three hikes (Jacinto), so A->G->J it would be.
The proper time of year? For an endurance effort where hydration is a significant challenge, summer seemed a foolish option. Snowpack ruled out (for me, anyway) a winter assault -- completing the three peaks on firm, dry trail would be challenge enough. Early fall, I hoped mightily, would offer sufficiently cool temperatures yet little chance of snowpack and a long enough day to allow me to do much of the hiking in the daylight.
With a date on the calendar, all I needed now was someone willing to suffer with me. Elwood, hiking companion for many a long hike in the SGs, seemed a natural choice. But while he seemed moderately interested, he never did commit when I floated the possibility of making a Triple Crown attempt. And while I always enjoy hiking with Elwood, on our previous hikes I'd noted that Elwood is faster than me when descending while I am faster than Elwood when ascending. I worried that I slowing Elwood on the descents and Elwood slowing me on the ascents would result in failure for the both of us.
Fortunately my friend Brent agreed to come along without hesitation. Brent's calm confidence would be a good antidote to my nervous pessimism. The fact that Brent has completed several full-Ironman triathlons in about 10 hours is also a nice feature -- I would have strong help if things went south.
As for start time, I knew I'd need almost all of the allotted 24 hours, so in many ways the choice was an arbitrary one -- we would be hiking at all times of the day. But we had no desire to finish in the dark, preferring instead to make the push through the darkness earlier in the effort. A 5:00PM start meant we would likely not have to content with significant heat upon starting at (the relatively low elevation) Manker Flats. It would also give a bit of cushion (before the final tram down at 9:45PM) should I find myself slowly staggering back to the tramway station a bit behind schedule.
After numerous training hikes and an anxious few days hoping that the early season snowfall atop San Antonio would melt away, it was go time. A few last minute changes to the shuttle driving plans and an accident on I-210 had us starting just a few minutes behind schedule, but finally we were off. No more planning, no more optimization of shoes, socks, and pack weight. Time for doing.
Of the three mountains, I am most familiar with San Antonio, having summitted Baldy tens of times -- in the heat, in the snow, in the light, in the dark, under calm conditions and under high winds. It was comforting to be on such familiar terrain as we faced the daunting challenge ahead and hiked through the psychologically unsettling fall of darkness. And the hike up Baldy did pass rather uneventfully, though we did (as we crossed the base of the Bowl) encounter a group of downbound hikers searching for a missing terrier. We were treated to a gloriously setting sun closely chased by a delicate orange slice crescent moon as we worked our way up to the windy summit.
We'd wanted to start the effort slowly, and I'd allowed 2:45 to ascend and 2:15 to descend Baldy. Alas our eagerness got the better of us, and we found ourselves summitting in a bit over 2:00 and descending in comparable time. (Detailed time breakdown below.) It was encouraging to be ahead of schedule so early in the effort, but I worried that perhaps we'd gone out too fast and would pay the price later.
We'd hoped to catch a bit of sleep in the car between trailheads, but this proved to be wishful thinking, as there was plenty to do. Discuss optimal gear selection for the next peak based on the weather encountered thus far. Dry the feet. Turn here? Refill the Camelbak bladder. And most importantly, attempt to take on as many of the 5000-or-so kCal we would need for the effort. Chocolate milk? Gulp. Donuts? Down the hatch. Risotto? Yum. At best I was able to rest my eyes for a few moments. Still, the chance to step out from the void of the cool and moonless night, to see beyond the narrow beam of my headlamp, and to receive a few words of encouragement from my supportive wife was a welcome mental relief.
Passing through Forest Falls we continued toward the Vivian Creek trailhead only to encounter a gate immediately past the Big Falls parking area -- "Closed for the Season". This cannot be happening! We were just issued a permit! All the planning, all the training, only to be thwarted by a Forest Service SNAFU. I knew the Vivian Creek trailhead was further up the road, I just couldn't recall exactly how far, and I was unsure if it would significantly delay our efforts or fatigue our bodies. In any case, there wasn't much of a decision to make. Fortunately, it was but a few hundred yards to the Vivian Creek trailhead, and we were on our way up San Gorgonio with little delay.
We made steady progress on the lower trail, resting on occasion as we passed through Vivian Creek camp and Halfway Camp. We briefly lost the trail as it wound through the closely spaced campsites at High Creek, and to our regret we disturbed several of the campers sleeping there. "What's going on out there?" Our whispered replies appear not to have eased concerns, as we watched a headlamp mill around camp for some time while we ascended the switchbacks above.
Somewhere shy of the saddle above High Creek, things began to take a turn for the worse. Refusing to believe that I could succumb to symptoms of AMS at such a relatively low elevation, it was easy to ignore the initially weak and intermittent waves of nausea. But passing through the trail junctions below the summit at 3:00AM, my condition was rapidly degrading. Weak from having eaten little in the last hour, I would stop to rest. But merely seconds after stopping, I would begin to shake violently from the steady chill of the northeast wind. "I must eat!". But lining my teeth and gums with dry yet sticky Carrot Cake Clif Bar that I simply could not swallow brought strong and immediate waves of nausea. Thus a potent combination of hypoglycemia, nausea, and (potential) hypothermia nearly put an end to our attempt. Only a fistful of crumpled tortilla (provided by Brent) washed down by Fruit Punch Gatorade got me up the mountain.
Buried in the fog of a sleepless night, I remember little else of our hike of San Gorgonio. Brent (a philosophy PhD now finishing up medical school) noted that his "memories were not consolidating properly" in the sleep deprived darkness. Indeed the falloff in detail as short term memories are now transitioning to long term memories seems especially marked. I can recall having memories of our time on San Gorgonio upon returning to the car at the Vivian Creek trailhead. But I cannot now recall what those memories were. Brent tells me we held a reasonable pace, an indeed we must have as we ticked off San Gorgonio in exactly the time I'd allowed -- 5:00 up, 4:00 down.
Upon reaching the Palm Spring Tramway station, my wife went inside to purchase tram tickets while Brent and I sorted gear in the parking lot. Here we caught a break, with the next tram leaving just as we were able to finish packing. After the considerable suffering endured on the heights of San Gorgonio, taking care of remaining business on San Jacinto was pure pleasure. The contrast was astounding; instead of plodding through cold, windy, and lonely darkness, we scampered along a gentle trail under a warm sun surrounded by friendly and conversant hikers. It was hard to contain our enthusiasm. Over 30 miles in and we're feeling strong. I'd summitted San Jacinto twice before, but gazing across to Baldy and San Gorgonio where we'd stood just hours earlier was an entirely new and incredibly satisfying experience.
My thanks to Brent for the good trail conversation, steady motivation, and calorie-laden tortillas; to my wife for shuttling us from trailhead to trailhead, saving precious minutes; and to Elwood for the fine company during many training hikes.
TRIPLE CROWN TIMELINE
05:08PM Depart Manker Flats
07:17PM Summit San Antonio
09:25PM Return Manker Flats
11:00PM Depart Vivian Creek Trailhead
03:58AM Summit San Gorgonio
07:59AM Return Vivian Creek Trailhead
09:02AM Arrive Palm Spring Tramway Parking Lot
09:30AM Depart Palm Springs Tramway Upper Station
11:55AM Summit San Jacinto
02:25PM Return Palm Springs Tramway Upper Station
Triple Crown (2010-10-10)
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cougarmagic
- Posts: 1409
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 5:21 pm
Congratulations! That's great!
First, most people are proud to knock off any ONE of these peaks in a day
Then, anyone would be proud to merely get all three done, if they had to crawl back to the car. But YOU - (and your friend of course) go and make it look easy!
First, most people are proud to knock off any ONE of these peaks in a day
Then, anyone would be proud to merely get all three done, if they had to crawl back to the car. But YOU - (and your friend of course) go and make it look easy!
Absolutely outstanding Turtle, glad you found someone to do that with, having someone with us when we do those crazy challenges always helps us maintain the needed encouragement to keep going. 
By the way "Turtle" will now become "Mountain Goat" as anyone willing to do that in 24 hours has to have some "goat in them" 
By the way "Turtle" will now become "Mountain Goat" as anyone willing to do that in 24 hours has to have some "goat in them" 
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words.
CM, while I'm surprised that we were able to finish as strong as we did, I still wouldn't go so far as to describe the hike as easy.
HJ, the origins of the Turtle are somewhat obscure and make for a long and boring story. Suffice it to say that they trace back (way back) to my time in high school and the fine piece of cinema North Shore. 8)
Does anyone have any info on the lost dog? The owners were of course quite distraught.
CM, while I'm surprised that we were able to finish as strong as we did, I still wouldn't go so far as to describe the hike as easy.
HJ, the origins of the Turtle are somewhat obscure and make for a long and boring story. Suffice it to say that they trace back (way back) to my time in high school and the fine piece of cinema North Shore. 8)
Does anyone have any info on the lost dog? The owners were of course quite distraught.
turtle - wonderful post! the triple crown (or the 8,000 meter challenge, as we call it around REI) is one of my bucketlist goals. I was planning on doing it this past summer but lost all of my conditioning due to fatigue a month before race day. i am envious of your trip, great job!
Thanks Matt! Do you know if Jansport and/or the local retailers are still holding a semi-organized event each year? My searches turned up nothing more recent than ~2005/6.MattCav wrote:turtle - wonderful post! the triple crown (or the 8,000 meter challenge, as we call it around REI) is one of my bucketlist goals.
It still existsturtle wrote:Do you know if Jansport and/or the local retailers are still holding a semi-organized event each year? My searches turned up nothing more recent than ~2005/6.