Cactus to Clouds 4/27/2014
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 1:10 pm
Sean and I drove out to Palm Springs for the full C2C, starting at 3:15 AM. I parked in the Palm Springs Art Museum parking lot, but found a parking violation warning on my windshield when I returned. Better to park in the Free Parking structure across the street to avoid being towed. The lower parts of the Skyline trail are notoriously fragmented. We got lost multiple times, but every time we did, we went straight up the hill until we intersected the trail again. It was not an ideal strategy, but it worked. We passed the park benches, but missed some of the other landmarks I've seen in trip reports. Palm Springs lit up the night sky and for quite a while, we heard loud rave music coming up from below. Eventually, we learned to follow the white dots painted on rocks to keep us on track. At some point, we spotted a light from Mountain Station that appeared a discouraging distance away. By sunrise, we were at 4000'.
Start of the Skyline Trail
Palm Springs Art Museum from the start of the trail
Rescue Box #1
Distant light from Mountain Station
Sean at dawn
Sunrise
We took a break at a clearing around 5300' near the remains of a campfire. We refueled and followed the winding single track trail up. We could barely make out Coffman's Crag, and I could tell the worst of Skyline was reserved for the top. After hitting the manzanita section, the trail went mercilessly up with many fewer switchbacks. After 7000', we started hitting patches of snow, and shortly after Coffman's Crag, light slushy snow covered the trail. It wasn't really a hazard, just messy. We had a good pace going until the last 2000' of Skyline, where I slowed down significantly. We didn't see a single other soul on the Skyline Trail. It took 7 hours to reach the Long Valley ranger station where we got a permit to continue.
Still a long way to Mountain Station
Bloom
Striations, Gorgonio in the distance
Palm Springs from the manzanita section, upper Skyline Trail
Sean at Coffman's Crag
The ranger at Long Valley told us conditions were icy near San Jacinto and we shouldn't go without microspikes. Of course, we made the attempt, and the snow was slushy, not icy past Jean Peak. This is where I paid the price for not having waterproof boots. The slush on the trail could not be avoided and eventually, my boots and socks were soaked and freezing. I soldiered on to the summit where a half dozen people were shivering from the cold temps and strong wind. Sean and I stayed long enough to take some photos and video, but didn't linger on the windy summit. We got back to the Aerial Tramway and bought our tickets down. The Service Desk was nice enough to call a cab for us and it was waiting when we got to the bottom. We were a little roughed up, but no worse for the wear. GPS said 20.3 miles, 10614' gain, 12 hours 45 minutes.
Snow in Long Valley
Wellmans Junction
The clouds part
Toughest climb of the day, back to the tram
Start of the Skyline Trail
Palm Springs Art Museum from the start of the trail
Rescue Box #1
Distant light from Mountain Station
Sean at dawn
Sunrise
We took a break at a clearing around 5300' near the remains of a campfire. We refueled and followed the winding single track trail up. We could barely make out Coffman's Crag, and I could tell the worst of Skyline was reserved for the top. After hitting the manzanita section, the trail went mercilessly up with many fewer switchbacks. After 7000', we started hitting patches of snow, and shortly after Coffman's Crag, light slushy snow covered the trail. It wasn't really a hazard, just messy. We had a good pace going until the last 2000' of Skyline, where I slowed down significantly. We didn't see a single other soul on the Skyline Trail. It took 7 hours to reach the Long Valley ranger station where we got a permit to continue.
Still a long way to Mountain Station
Bloom
Striations, Gorgonio in the distance
Palm Springs from the manzanita section, upper Skyline Trail
Sean at Coffman's Crag
The ranger at Long Valley told us conditions were icy near San Jacinto and we shouldn't go without microspikes. Of course, we made the attempt, and the snow was slushy, not icy past Jean Peak. This is where I paid the price for not having waterproof boots. The slush on the trail could not be avoided and eventually, my boots and socks were soaked and freezing. I soldiered on to the summit where a half dozen people were shivering from the cold temps and strong wind. Sean and I stayed long enough to take some photos and video, but didn't linger on the windy summit. We got back to the Aerial Tramway and bought our tickets down. The Service Desk was nice enough to call a cab for us and it was waiting when we got to the bottom. We were a little roughed up, but no worse for the wear. GPS said 20.3 miles, 10614' gain, 12 hours 45 minutes.
Snow in Long Valley
Wellmans Junction
The clouds part
Toughest climb of the day, back to the tram
