[pct-l] Continuous hike - Idyllwild

[Gary Wright]

On Feb 17, 2010, at 4:07 PM, Paul Mitchell wrote:

> I've hiked up Black Mountain Road - it's fine, nothing noteworthy.  The
> highway is a different story.  Not much to say about it - high speed
> vehicles, small shoulders, dangerous.  If you can live with it not being a
> perfect walk, it'd be safer to get a ride to Black Mt Rd.

I hope someone more familiar with the area can comment, but I think
it is possible to get from Idyllwild to the end of Fuller Ridge
without actually hiking on Fuller Ridge or on Route 243 out to Black
Mountain Road.  The downside is the elevation change. You climb all
the way up to 9000 on the PCT near the junction to Wellman Divide
and then drop all the way back down to just below 6000' to cross
Mill Creek and then head back up to 7720 at the end of Fuller Ridge.
You'll save about 1000' of the gain by taking the Deer Springs
option below.  A wild guess is that you would be adding 4-5 miles
of distance also (as compared to Route 243).

From Idyllwild
   take Devil's Slide to PCT to junction of Seven Pines Trail
or take Deer Springs Trail to PCT to junction of Seven Pines Trail

Head back down Seven Pines Trail to a parking area.
My map shows that from the trailhead you can traverse a dirt road
across Mill Creek to connect with Black Mountain Road.  From there
you head back up to the PCT at the end of Fuller Ridge.

The Tom Harrison San Jacinto Wilderness Map is what I'm using as
my source for this route.

Radar