At the Peak on Friday 6th January 2023 at 0930 the air temperature was 25.7F (-4C), with a windchill temperature of 14.7F (-10C), 44% relative humidity, and a chilly NNW breeze sustained at 5 mph gusting to 10.6 mph. Trails above about 7500 ft currently remain lightly covered with patchy icy snow (more continuous above about 9000 ft). This morning Anabel and I broke trail up Devils Slide Trail to Saddle Junction. The San Gorgonio Campground provides access to a variety of recreational opportunities, as well as a beautiful location in which to enjoy nature.
The New-York based artist's work is now found at San Gorgonio Street and Bubbling Wells Road in Desert Hot Springs. This rain produces huge masses of ice in the trees, including chunks I have estimated as weighing 40-100 lb this winter, which can dislodge dramatically once direct sunlight warms the trees. Were so happy to be back! The rainfall totals at mid elevations were unremarkable, especially compared to those of the storm in early November (discussed here). Spitler Peak Trail has a very visible boot track through light snow in its upper switchbacks to the PCT. San Gorgonio, also known as "Old Greyback", is the highest mountain in Southern California. We removed nine treefall hazards on 18th November and the trail is now completely clear again, bringing to 56 the number of trees we have removed from this trail since mid 2021. They are not however required, depending upon your comfort level hiking on shallow variable snow, mixed with slushy and icy patches. Dark Canyon Road (4S02, the access to Seven Pines Trail), and Santa Rosa Truck Trail (7S02) also closed to vehicle traffic for the season on 7th November 2022. With compaction of the trails over the next few days, snowshoes will become less useful on-trail, however they will remain valuable for off-trail travel at the highest elevations for the foreseeable future. Note that tracks discussed can be obscured quickly by drifting of snow from strong winds, sometimes in days or even hours. Spikes are recommended but not strictly essential depending upon your comfort level hiking on angled icy snow. For day use a permit is required on any of the trails in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. By 1st February there was a somewhat meandering snowshoe track from Round Valley (and presumably Long Valley) up to San Jacinto Peak, ultimately using the East Ridge route from near Miller Peak, that generally followed lower angle terrain and avoided the traversing slopes of the Peak Trail. See their announcement here. Kenneth Smith, 66, of Yucaipa died Jan. 5 while ice climbing in the Forest Falls area, not far from where Barbour is missing now. Azalea Drive, the access road to Marion Mountain trailhead, has not been fully plowed (surveyed Tuesday 14th). Started by: jack. Remarkably Tropical Storm Kay did not add any new treefall hazards to this trail. (800) 735-2922 (TDD/TTY), Offices may be closed on select federal holidays, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sbnf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=26575&actid=50. The Peak Trail track is also partially disappearing under fresh spindrift (photos below). The first number is the current total snow depth, followed in parentheses by the storm total for this latest storm 11th-12th December. We removed nine treefall hazards on 18th November and the trail is now completely clear again, bringing to 56 the number of trees we have removed from this trail since mid 2021. Many thanks to Kyle Eubanks who I chatted with at the Peak this afternoon. San Bernardino Trail and Forsee Creek trails, along with the campsites near those trails, are still closed. The next comprehensive Report update is not expected before Wednesday 18th January. However excellent well-traveled and compacted tracks are now in place for most of the major trails (details below). 10 inches on 9th), Wellman Divide (9700 ft): 0-1 inch (was 4 inches on 9th), Annies Junction/approx. I was very happy to find no new treefall hazards down on Spitler Peak Trail. This was a very mild system, producing rain to 9000 ft elevation (and consequently very icy conditions), and one inch of fresh snow above about 9000 ft elevation (increasing to 1.5 inch >10,000 ft). The San Bernardino Mountains are unique in that they have an eastwest orientation, making them transverse to the general northsouth orientation of most of California's coastal mountains. For those that are unclear, the Skyline Trail is the first segment of the C2C (cactus to clouds) from Palm Springs up to Grubbs Notch, the access point to Long Valley. Official websites use .gov A .gov
The highest peaks appeared to add slightly less snow than some lower locations, probably because they were above the cloud for some of the precipitation events. We talk about his top SoCal mountains, tips & advice for long day hikes and newbie hikers, salsa dancing up Half Dome, redemption on San Gorgonio, disappearing on Ontario Peak, completing the Six Pack of Peaks challenge in one month, Cactus to Clouds vs Iron Mountain, summit cypher, dance origins, and the one hike he would re-live all over again. The Weather section below is updated. Above Little Round Valley there are multiple tracks through the snow ascending toward San Jacinto Peak, none of which entirely accurately follow the established trail. If you have found this Report useful, please consider using this link to the Donate page. Conditions immediately following last weeks snow storm, the second significant Pacific system of winter 2022/23, that impacted the San Jacinto mountains on 11th-12th December were summarized in the previous Report (available here). Hikers should be prepared for temperatures near or below freezing in the high country, and generally well below freezing when considering wind chill effects (see below for my recent weather observations from San Jacinto Peak). Thank you so much for your support. Three periods of cold, cloudy days are now expected over the next ten days, but little if any precipitation.]. Spikes could potentially be used to ascend to the highest peaks at this time, although crampons are certainly safer for traversing. Two and three-tenths miles further is High Creek Camp (water available - 9,200'). Snowshoes are not advisable due to the angle of the icy snow. Your contribution helps SGWA protect the Wilderness and educate visitors! The high country currently has the deepest snow accumulation in the San Jacinto mountains in almost four years, since March 2019. I have kept crampons on for most of the descent, removing them most of the way down Devils Slide Trail. An official website of the
February has been more settled than the very eventful January, but temperatures remain on something of a rollercoaster ride. These data only reflect snowfall measurements, and do not incorporate rainfall totals. Very shallow snow is often icy and potentially perilous, while deeper powder can actually be much safer, albeit slow-going for most hikers. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sadly at first light the precipitation turned to drizzle at all elevations on the western slope between (at least) Idyllwild and 8100 ft at Saddle Junction, and consequently the snow quality was deteriorating fast at mid elevations this morning. UPDATE Saturday 17th December 2022: Early this morning we hiked South Ridge Trail to Tahquitz Peak, and I broke trail from Tahquitz Peak to and from Chinquapin Flat through moderate snow. Although that day was not as cold and windy as 15th, I ascended in heavy cloud conditions with steady snowfall for the first three hours. "The vegetation is not strong in burned areas; more rocks are falling than ever before in those areas. Trail Details. The highest probability of precipitation is early morning on Friday 2nd. Length 19.0 miElevation gain 5,492 ftRoute type Out & back. Snow cover is about 60% from Strawberry Junction north for about 1.0 mile (roughly 8500 ft), and thereafter >90% to San Jacinto Peak. Note however that snow depth itself is rarely indicative of the difficulty (or otherwise) of hiking a particular trail. Due to the very high freeze level snowfall was restricted to a light dusting above 8200 ft, increasing to one inch above 9000 ft and 1.5 inch above 10,000 ft. Impacts will be minimal on high country trails, but trails between 7000-9000 ft with pre-existing snow may be a mix of slush, snow and ice, and will require some caution. The freeze level will initially be above 10,000 ft, ultimately only falling to about 9000 ft, so many of the main access trails to the high country may get no new snowfall. The State Park boundary is not marked but is near the site of the old Florians Cache, below Flat Rock. I snowshoed down from San Jacinto Peak via Wellman Divide, Saddle Junction, and Devils Slide Trail. My track largely followed the established route of the trail, especially below the Fuller Ridge junction, but higher up the track is much more direct in places. On 13th, Idyllwild received 2.75 inches, and I measured five inches at San Jacinto Peak, with 3-4 inches at locations in between. Snow at all elevations will become increasingly firm and icy following multiple freeze-thaw cycles, and compaction by increasing hiker traffic in places, and I cannot overemphasize the importance of having both appropriate equipment and the right skill set for the terrain. For driving directions, the trailhead address is: Vivian Creek Trailhead. Note that snow depth itself is rarely indicative of the difficulty (or otherwise) of hiking a particular track or trail. All trails above about 4500 ft are snow-covered. There were posthole tracks heading south from Saddle Junction toward Chinquapin Flat. but her friend Joyce Schwartz took some short videos from which this still image is taken. According to "tarol" Adventure Passes are now required at only the Vivian, Momyer, and South Fork Trailheads - the other SG Wilderness Trailheads are free. New treefall hazards on major trails have been reported to relevant agencies, and those on Spitler Peak Trail have already been cleared by the Trail Report. Although good tracks are now in place for most major trails (details below), cautious navigation is recommended everywhere. At the Peak on Monday 12th December 2022 at 0715 the air temperature was 9.7F (-12C), with a windchill temperature of -13.4F (-25C), 100% relative humidity, and a sharp WSW wind sustained at 12 mph gusting to 21.2 mph. The map below shows the new updated El Dorado fire closure area. This is a summary of conditions following the second significant Pacific storm of winter 2022/23 to impact the San Jacinto mountains. Note that average depth is given; due to strong winds there has been extensive drifting, often particularly accumulating in the trails. In addition to snowshoes, and as conditions change, spikes are strongly recommended for the foreseeable future everywhere above about 6000ft. San Diego County Trail Map Sale Price: $13.88 . When the gate is closed there are nine legal parking spaces this side of the locked gate (which still require an Adventure Pass or equivalent to be displayed). The Wellman Trail from Annies Junction to Wellman Divide has about 20% icy snow cover. Put on snowshoes and went up to the base of San Gorgonio . On 2nd, 5th, and 6th we barebooted to San Jacinto Peak on well-traveled and compacted tracks through increasingly patchy light icy snow. Rain started overnight in Idyllwild, and by late this afternoon (at 1550) totals 1.22 inch.