Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Highpoint Trip Report
San Jacinto Peak (10,804 ft)
Date: May 26, 2005
Author: Bob Bolton
This hike was a repeat for me as I had climbed San Jac in 2002, also from the tram.
There was still way more snow on 'Jac than there had been in late April 2002.
The stream was so full that the normal crossing not far above the tram terminal
was impossible without wading. We found a log jam some distance above the
normal crossing and were immediately in snow on the other side of the creek.
Since I had been up there before, I had a pretty good idea where the summit was
but I had failed to get GPS readings for the summit before leaving home, so we
were flying somewhat blind. We wound up traversing north from Wellman Divide to
the east ridge, then straight up the east ridge to the summit.
On the descent when we arrived at the stream crossing, we retraced our steps to
the log jam and, when I went to step off the logs onto the ground, I got the
surprise of my life when the nice flat debris-covered step I chose resulted in a
waist-deep plunge into the icy water. Duane sympathized by complaining that I
got outta there quicker than he could get his camera ready. The floating debris
was so thick that it covered my pants and boots as I walked down the trail.
Happily it wasn't too far back to the tram and no blisters ensued even though I
was sloshing along with no time to waste because we didn't want to miss the next
tram down.