[pct-l] Palm Springs trail to San Jacinto

[AsABat]

I don't think Cactus to Clouds is by any definition a "good" trail,
although it is more well defined than most realize. It involves 8,000 feet
of gain in 11 miles, with a lot of the gain at the beginning and the end.
In season, a very early start is needed to avoid 100+ degree temperatures
with no shade on the lower part, but side trails can lead one off route.
In winter, there are icy chutes near the top that have resulted in many
falls and a few deaths, and currently buried in snow. The upper part of
the trail is less defined, with some hikers going off route and ending up
stuck on ledges where they can go neither up nor down. The last pitch is
deliberately left vague so tourists from the tram don't stumble across it
and start down somewhere they don't belong. It is strongly recommended
that the first time you do this you go with someone who has already done
it.

That said, it is a great hike for those in shape and reasonably skilled in
navigation. It is almost always hiked as a day hike, as the elevation gain
makes carrying a heavy pack painful to think about, and only rarely used
as a descent route (instead most use the tram to get down). It hardly
think it would be a good choice to start a thruhike or use for resupply.

Further discussion of this route can be found at www.mtsanjacinto.info .
As mentioned, you can also google for info - the main site is on
Geocities, where the author requires readers to pass a multiple choice
test before getting much info - an indication of how those that use this
route respect how dangerous it can be.

Now that I've said that, I gotta set a date to go do it again!

AsABat

> There's even a good trail that starts in Palm Springs and goes to the
> tram. Search for Cactus to Clouds online.