SoCal Summit Sufferfest Road Trip

Thanksgiving Holiday 2016

Winter was coming, and with it, the panicky snowy-inaccessible-mountains feeling. I wanted to squeeze in as much mountain climbing as possible before the prison of winter arrived. I envisioned spending 5 days to climb Mt Baldy, Mt San Jacinto, and Mt Gorgonio, camping on their summits, and maximizing my summit-derived pleasure. What actually unfolded was not quite according to my detailed plan. (Transcribed from my journal kept during this adventure.)

Peak-Bagging Itinerary

Day 1: Mount San Antonio aka Mount Baldy, Camp at Stone Creek Campground
Day 2: Mount San Jacinto, The Saguaro Palm Springs Hotel
Day 3: Relax in Palm Springs, Disperse Camp in Joshua Tree NP
Day 4: Mastodon Peak, Joshua Tree NP

Day 1: Ice Surprise on Mt San Antonio AKA Mt Baldy

Today has been just asinine. I woke up at 4:30 AM because I was convinced I would get up, pack up camp, and be on Baldy in time for a sunrise. That’s 4:30 AM and 1.5 hrs from said mountain, mind you. My face was cold when my alarm went off. I hit snooze and burrowed deep into my fluffy warm sleeping bag. At the second snooze, I unzipped my cocoon and popped into the cold early morning. I chugged some coffee, I ate a banana, and I got back on the road towards Baldy.

I thought I could make it all the way to Baldy after work on Tuesday. Drowsily, I conceded and pulled over to spend the night at Oak Flats Campground, which was just off of I-5. I originally missed the exit to get to it because at the midnight hour, it was a hidden, narrow passageway among dozens of semis that had pulled off the road for the night. Upon my pre-dawn return to I-5, I barreled through that semi slumber party. It was certainly one of the odder campsite locations I have visited, but admittedly convenient and barely off course! Of course… I was already off course, because according to my well-scheduled plan, I should have slept at the base of Baldy.

The trailhead was easy enough to locate. Getting situated was another challenge entirely. I had to change out of my pajamas in the front seat of the Prius, not the most private dressing room. Fill waters, make snack decisions, and layer assessments. I was finally ready to climb a mountain at 7:18 AM. The lack of sleep and elevation combination sent my heart pounding and lungs working, but the elation of being on a trail began to pour through my nervous system and overshadow those uncomfortable feelings of the flesh.

The trail was really steep, the trail makers tossed switchbacks to the wind. Up and up and up I went. I shed all my layers by the time I got to the ski hut – a nifty little treat. From the ski hut there was suddenly snow – and ICE. Scheisse! I had never intended to do a sketchy snowy mountain by myself. I was hoping this would be a casual, strenuous hike. My thoughtfully packed microspikes did not make the shortlist into my day pack while I assembled my supplies at the car. While I knew the snow and ice would get worse, I kept telling myself once the trail faced a different Cardinal direction, it would all be melted! Well… that never really happened. Instead, I just ended up jumping from powder to dirt to powder patches in order to avoid the ice. Progress was pretty slow. The last mile and a half from the ski hut took forever. However, I managed to not slip despite my lack of sleep. ~Adrenaline.~

On the way up, I met a backpacker on his way down, who had camped at the summit and had had a horrible time. He woke up with 8in of snow in his tent. Cool.

The snow did make the mountain incredibly more beautiful. It felt like it was snowing on the summit, strong wind blasting snow in every direction and up under my hood. I was hoping to hang out on top awhile and let the snow do some melting. While my original plan was to loop down along Devils backbone, the ice and snow made the steep slopes a much less appealing option. Suddenly, a distraction arose in the form of a marriage proposal. A couple decided to propose to EACH OTHER atop Baldy. It was pretty corny, they both knelt at the same time and spoke their proposals in unison…. But they were obviously very happy and had a group of excited random hikers photograph them. It was romantic in the summit proposal general concept.

I dilly dallied as long as I could but GODDAM was it cold and windy at 10,000 feet! I finally decided I would descend the way I ascended. If I slipped, I would be able to break my fall with trees rather than plummeting to my death. The way down was fairly uneventful. The ice had melted sufficiently that I only slipped minorly a few times. My feet were wet and cold because my waterproofing has worn off. I kept dreaming of hot soup.

When I reached the car, I de-summited Baldy some more. I fulfilled my soup fantasies at a Panera – pure bliss. Then I spent far too much time at REI, where I managed to exchange my sidewalk-safe microspikes for more more rugged mountain-spiky spikes, and also bought a headband, fuel, and an eno hammock.

Next stop was Trader Joes. Twas the day before Thanksgiving, and it was an absolute clusterfuck. I managed to get an assortment of items that may or may not have been necessary. I got out of there as soon as I could and then was on my way to Summit #2: Mt San Jacinto.

*Aside* So. I spent the better part of 2 days making myself a detailed itinerary for this trip. Oh the summits I would camp upon! The presence of snow was a game changer. Snow makes things MUCH slower. Instead of backpacking and sleeping on Jacinto summit, I decided to camp near the Marion Mountain Trailhead, summit Jacinto Thursday, and then spend Thursday night in a hotel. The campground I aimed for, courtesy of Google Maps, turned out to be closed for the season. >>No big deal, I have broken into campgrounds before!<< I don’t know exactly what was different this time, but I could not bring myself to pack in. I was scared. I had bears and mountain lions and murderers on the mind. I sat in my car, googled shit, social media-ed, everything but locate a spot to pitch my tent. I finally moved along, decided to check the other closed campgrounds, sides of the road, etc. to no avail. I even headed into Dark Canyon campground, which turned my Heebie jeebies on to full volume (over-reaction, I’m sure).

Because I was being such a bitch, I decided what I needed most was safety by being around other humans. I headed for the RV resort campground. On the way, I hit the freaking STATE PARK CAMPGROUND. That was OPEN. Why didn’t you show me that, Google???? Pitched my goddamn tent, drank a beer (I forgot a corkscrew), and realized I forgot my journal. Le fuck.

Plan for the rest of the trip is to climb this peak tomorrow, enjoy the hotel pool on Friday, and potentially do Gorgonio if my legs are up to it. Or not. Maybe I’ll find a smaller mountain from which to do a safes snowless sunset summit. However, I kind of expect Jacinto to take all day tomorrow. It’s nearly 12 miles and its already 11 pm.

Day 2: Mt San Jacinto

After my ridiculous pansy campsite hokey pokey, I ended up at the developed campsite for the state park, Stone Creek. There was a nice shelving unit there?

I had a tortoise-slow morning. My alarm went off, I snoozed it. Who snoozes an alarm in the wilderness? I snoozed it a few times, to be honest. I missed my sunrise, which I seek so passionately. It was far too frigid. The air on my face was wintery. Instead, I dove deeper into my down bag. In the middle of the night, I had felt so cold (first time feeling cold in my zero bag) that I finally got up, retrieved a blanket from the car and put it around my sleeping pad to decrease heat loss to the ground. I was finally able to sleep a few hours.

Eventually, the need to poop forced me to rise, I actually ended up hopping in the car and speeding around the campgrounds looking for the toilet. Close call.

Breakfast followed, along with other camp chores, including mentally preparing for my mountain climb. I was much better prepared this go around, though I still underestimated how long it would take me. Packed enough food, just enough water. The snow buried the trail about a mile and a half from the Marion Mountain trailhead. There had been one other car at the trailhead, so I expected this person would cross me on their way down. However, I passed her, despite her 2 hour head start. I was a little worried about her considering I finished as the sun was setting.

The hike itself was through a beautiful pine forest, covered in snow. The microspikes were a godsend considering how much ice there was, I realized this in their full capacity on the way back down, when I removed them prematurely and busted my ass on invisible ice. A woman at the top (she had taken the tram) offered me one hundred dollars for them. No way in hell would I have made it down in one piece if I had succumbed to her offer. (PS: This wine is delicious – 2012 Velvet Crush Cab). The campsite at Round Valley, about 3(?) miles in, was covered in snow: so so so glad I opted out of backpacking any of these peaks. It would have been so miserable. Especially my initial Jacinto summit camp plan. TERRIBLE IDEA.

Made it to the summit, there were not zero people there as I expected after passing the single human from the Marion Mountain trailhead. There were several! I had not realized the tram would be running on Thanksgiving. I sat down on a flattish summit rock, 4h and 5min from my start time, and scarfed down my TJs eggplant wrap. I went full tahini on that shit. The summit was not a camping friendly summit, covered in lopsided boulders and interspersed with snow. I don’t know what I would have done if I had ended up there with the intention to camp. Abandon plan? I rested, took my obligatory summit photos, wondered why John Muir thought this was the most sublime view on Earth, and then headed back down. I was sure that I would be able to maintain a 2.5 mph pace on the way down but I was very consistently at 2 mph. That made me sad, and stressed, I really wanted to finish before the sun set. I spent a lot of time on this hike calculating time. I was so anxious to get to the top, then the bottom. Why can’t I just relax and enjoy the hike, dammit?

About a mile from the end of the hike, the sun began to set, the colors of light in the trees became mesmerizing, and I calmed down. I whipped out my last snack (Epic jerky trail mix) and munched on that to give me a boost of energy and distract me from counting down mileage. I have never seen lighting like I did at the end of this hike. It was red and orange and dappled throughout the leaves and trees and on the trail. It was strange and beautiful and intrigued me to no end. I watched the big orange sun set over the mountains, each range a different shade of purple. The hues of pink and orange began to flare up in the sky. This wonderful sense of peace hit me. I had been stressed about the hike all day, but finally, I was at ease. I would not be in Palm Springs before dark. That was okay.

I was quite exhilarated when I made it back to the space pod. I removed my soaking boots, I’m sure the added weight didn’t make things any easier. I drank a ton of water. I put in directions to my hotel-vacation-destination and got on the roaaaad! I was able the enjoy fiery sunset colors most of my drive down the mountain and into Palm Springs. I was greeted with neon cacti and a rainbow colored room, and was very pleased with my hotel decisions. It was everything I needed to come back to life after this double mountain adventure. I took off my filthy clothes, I drank a BEER, I took a SHOWER, I went down to the HOT TUB. Life is good. I tried to plan my tomorrow a bit but I gave up and went to sleep butt ass naked in my clean warm temperature controlled bed.

Day 3: Summitless Day

I am just giddy with pleasure right now! I am sitting against a rock face in the Joshua Tree backcountry because all the developed campsites were full. I am an easy one mile from the road, but I the adventure feels maximal. I popped a lovely bottle of Cabernet, these days I don’t fret how much I carry into my short backpacking trips. It briefly increases the kind of suffering I desire, and at the destination, increases pleasure at least two fold.This morning, I woke before my alarm. No need to snooze, or frantically search for a bathroom. To be honest, I was a little disoriented. More so than when I wake up in the wilderness! I made myself two cups of coffee, ate my yogurt, did some yoga. My legs were feeling QUITE done. I even did my abs & cardio HIIT workout. GO JESSICA!

Then I took ANOTHER shower. Excessive, I know. And threw on my a bathing suit and headed for the pool. It was gloriously warm and sunny out. I enjoyed my Desert Solitaire in its natural(ish) habitat. I dreamt about the wonders of the desert, the sun and the cacti and thriving life. The incredible sunrises and sunsets. The desert is a romantic place for me. I relaxed. It was pleasant. Because my checkout was noon, I had to go move back into my car before I could continue to enjoy the rest of my afternoon as a blissful barnacle. Instead of relaxing, I kind of stressed about my next camp/hike situation. I was looking for peaks, lower ones because I am feeling quite over snow. I was not very successful. I became of the persuasion I could drive to Morro Bay and hike Valencia peak for sunrise, but the weather forecast was rainy. Big Bear Lake became appealing, but all those mountains had snow likely, courtesy of Instagram. No snow, please! I finally made the super sudden decision to fuck it all and just go to Joshua tree. It was not far, about one hour, and a fucking national park. Therefore, everything about it must be grand.

So here I am. The developed sites are full, my tent in tucked into a rocky nook, I will sleep amongst the Joshua’s and the stars.

Day 4: Joshua Tree National Park

I woke up in the middle of the night with so much discomfort in my leg and hip and back. I ended up staring at the stars and reading Desert Solitaire for a bit till I could fall back to sleep. In the morning, I caught the last colors of the dawn before the sun rose over the range. The best I could do was sit up and force my eyes wide before I fell back horizontal and let my heavy lids shut. Eventually I popped up and brewed some hot chai tea to take with me on a walk, to explore my surroundings. I saw a few tents lodged into other rock piles, however, seeing as how my tent disappeared from sight within a hundred yards, I expect there were more tent homes camouflaged around me. The Joshua Trees are so odd, and in the park, they are so big and numerous in their arms! I had a big stupid grin on my face as I walked among them, feeling pure contentment at being in the desert, in solitude.

I packed my home away neatly into my pack, and headed back out to the space pod. I brushed my teeth, poured myself some cold brew, and changed my underwear while sitting in the front seat of my car in the parking lot. I could severely use a shower.

I took a long look at the park map and began driving, figuring I would hit some little stops, make my way to the east end of the park, and then up north to see the palms oasis. I first stopped to do the interpretive 1 mile trail in Hidden Valley. The valley was once a little oasis, protected by the rocks from the drying wind, allowing junipers and scrub oaks to grow within. Cattle rustlers came and blew a hole entrance into this rock valley, making for a natural corral. The sky was saturated blue and the sunlight was bright and cheerful although I still had my nanoair and a down jacket on. I wandered around the trail, patiently, taking it all in. Trying to remember and identify the trees and their leaves, while sipping my coffee. So casual.

Next I stopped off at Jumbo Rocks and hopped around looking at cacti and feeling playful. I didn’t go very far, just spent some time admiring the cactus diversity in theIs area, and reflecting how, in my green hooded down jacket, I blended right in with the paddled cactuses themselves.

I drove the dead ended road up to Keys View, it takes you to the highest (at least highest road-accessible) point in the park. From it, you can see San Jacinto and San Gorgonio. It was crazy to see them from over on this side of the valley! I wanted to tell everyone at the Keys View, look! I climbed that! But I kept it to myself. Keep it humble, and introverted.

I continued east to the Cholla Cactus garden, where numerous signs say to keep your kids close because the infinite spines on the cholla cacti will lodge themselves in children’s curious fingers in a numerous and painful fashion. Despite that, the screams and whines of kids being pushed into or curiously poking the cacti were fairly regular. I couldn’t help but laugh.

At the very east end of the park, I made myself some lunch, had some more coffee, and revved myself up for a less easy hike. I passed Ryan Mountain on my way east, and just didn’t feel like making the effort. Instead, I entered the cottonwood oasis, tempted by Abbeys writings of the cottonwoods in Desert Solitaire: a saintly sight in the desert, an omen of water. The cottonwoods were turning yellow with autumn, sandwiched between a few great big palms. These big deciduous trees looked very out of place in this desert landscape. As I hiked on, I saw some more weird deciduous plants. These looked like big seaweed plants, growing 15 feet high out of the sand, and eerily swaying in the wind. The hike was a 3 mile loop with ~1,000ft elevation gain, so, quite chill for the weekend of sufferfesting. At the midpoint you reach Mastodon Peak, which is an “optional” scramble. Optional my ass. I went up a fairly direct, if not easy, way. It was fun to scramble up. Pretty precarious though. If I had fallen, my day would have been not so good. At the top, I enjoyed the views. Mountain ranges to one end, expansive desert flats behind me. A gust of wind blew my hat clean off my head. Luckily, it blew it straight to the easiest unmaintained trail route to the top of the Mastodon, around the rear of the rock pile. Otherwise, I would not have known that route was even there. I tried to scramble down the way I had come, but I was a bit disoriented at the top and kept hitting sheer faces and impassable rock obstacles. I got a little panicky. Then I remembered the gradual looking area where I had collected my hat from, resummited, and worked my way to the rear of the rocks to dismount that direction. It was much much more manageable and my panic ebbed to gratitude.

It was getting into late afternoon, and I decided that I had found the peace and the solitude that I had escaped for, and now I wanted to go home. I wanted to see the worlds biggest dinosaurs! too. Instead of going to the palms oasis on the north end of the park, I hopped on I-10 and made my way to Dinoland. Unfortunately, I got stuck in horrendous traffic followed by a wicked storm and THEN the sun began to set, so the weather/late afternoon darkness canceled my fun dinosaur plans. Straight home I would go. The drive was long. So so long. I got in my car around 3pm, I got home at 3am. I made stops to stretch, get coffee, and 2 stops were required for napping. Each nap was AN HOUR. I was so sleepy. It was very good I stopped. When I got home I removed my clothes, despite my smelliness, collapsed into bed.