Yesterday we went for a hike to the top of mount San Jacinto. A revolving Swiss tram takes you up the sheer cliffs fronting the mountain, and then hiking trails vein out to diverse destinations. The hike to the peak was an 11 mile round trip. The mountains are astoundingly beautiful. They're studded with huge granite boulders, blindingly white. The mountainside is forested, giving way near the top to low, purplish bushes covered in bright green leaves. The mountain is at least 10 or 15 degrees cooler than the valley floor. Going up was really refreshing and cool. The elevation was also closer to what I'm used to, so it was pretty nice.
The valley floor is about 300 feet in elevation, the top of the tram is 8,500 ft. From there the hike goes up to 11,503 ft, so from the valley the elevation jump in altitude is 11,200 ft.
The tallest peak in the United States is Mount McKinley, Alaska, is 9,486 feet taller than San Jacinto, and Gorgonio, the tallest peak in southern CA is 669 feet taller.
The way up the mountain was mostly uphill. As we got higher up, the views were spectacular. It felt like we could see almost the whole world. Of course, as we got close to the top, we were so tired we could barely stand. To get to the very top you have to climb up a huge summit of boulders, but being up there is completely worth it. From the top one can see for miles and miles around. The day was pretty hazy, so the view was very veiled, but it was still staggering. It's extremely gorgeous up there, just completely amazing.
Of course, I couldn't even bear to think about going back down the entire thing. We were both so tired. But we made it. It took us at least 6 or 7 hours to go there and back, and our legs and feet were in serious pain, but it was so worth it, the hike is beautiful the whole way. Everything's absolutely silent except for the occasional melodic bird call, and the sky up there is the bluest I've ever seen. If you're ever around this area, even in San Diego or LA, I would wholeheartedly recommend coming up here. You don't have to go all the way to the top either- there are shorter hiking trails and campgrounds you can go to. It' really amazing.
The valley floor is about 300 feet in elevation, the top of the tram is 8,500 ft. From there the hike goes up to 11,503 ft, so from the valley the elevation jump in altitude is 11,200 ft.
The tallest peak in the United States is Mount McKinley, Alaska, is 9,486 feet taller than San Jacinto, and Gorgonio, the tallest peak in southern CA is 669 feet taller.
The way up the mountain was mostly uphill. As we got higher up, the views were spectacular. It felt like we could see almost the whole world. Of course, as we got close to the top, we were so tired we could barely stand. To get to the very top you have to climb up a huge summit of boulders, but being up there is completely worth it. From the top one can see for miles and miles around. The day was pretty hazy, so the view was very veiled, but it was still staggering. It's extremely gorgeous up there, just completely amazing.
Of course, I couldn't even bear to think about going back down the entire thing. We were both so tired. But we made it. It took us at least 6 or 7 hours to go there and back, and our legs and feet were in serious pain, but it was so worth it, the hike is beautiful the whole way. Everything's absolutely silent except for the occasional melodic bird call, and the sky up there is the bluest I've ever seen. If you're ever around this area, even in San Diego or LA, I would wholeheartedly recommend coming up here. You don't have to go all the way to the top either- there are shorter hiking trails and campgrounds you can go to. It' really amazing.
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