Palm Springs trail offers top elevation gain

Palm Springs from low on the Skyline Trail.

Skyline Trail map. Click for larger version.

This article originally was written for and appeared in the Uken Report.

Hikers can tackle, right in Palm Springs, the trail with the greatest elevation gain of any walk in the United States.

The Skyline Trail – aka the Cactus to Clouds Trail – runs about 21.2 miles from Palm Springs to San Jacinto Peak with a hike back to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It sports 10,332 feet of elevation gain.

This is no day hike, but the trail could be treated as such. Indeed, if you were to walk parts of the trail just three times a week, starting in mid-August by going up only 100 feet in elevation the first time and then adding 100 feet in gain each outing, by mid-April you'd reach the summit. It's a worthy goal, and you'd be in great shape within just a few months.

To reach the trailhead, drive to the Palm Springs Art Museum (101 Museum Drive). The trail starts at the foothill just to the north of it, about 492 feet above sea level. Parts of the trail’s opening 6500 feet can be overgrown during summer and autumn. While spray painted markers initially show the way, you should carry detailed topo maps to ensure you stay on course.

The Cahuilla Indians called San Jacinto Peak “I a kitch” (or “Aya Kaich”), which translates to “smooth cliffs,” an appropriate name given that the mountain’s north escarpment at 10,000 feet is the most severe in all of North America. For the Cahuilla, this was the home of Dakush, their founder.

Beginning about 740 feet elevation, be careful of not turning onto the three side trails that run to the left; they do loop back to the main trail but add unnecessary mileage to your hike. Around 1350 feet, you’ll come to a trail running right and a picnic table. This is a good spot to rest and take in the sun rising over the desert hills. Continue left/west on the main trail.

Side trails
About 1390 feet up, a trail goes left/south then two more head right/north. Continue hiking straight/west (or up). Another side trail runs to the left/south at about 4240 feet.

Euro-American settlers in the area began climbing San Jacinto Peak in the 1870s with the first recorded ascent in 1874. The Wheeler Survey followed in 1878 and officially named the mountain “San Jacinto Peak.” In that era, grizzly bears inhabited the mountain, but they've since disappeared from the region. More slowly disappearing is the survey’s name for the peak, which increasingly is known as Mount San Jacinto.

About 4880 above sea level, a side trail goes right/northwest. Though shorter than the main trail, it's also steeper, so avoid going on it.

At just past 5700 feet, you’ll officially enter Mt. San Jacinto State Park, though the boundary is not marked.

Tram station
After you pass Rescue Box 2, the trail grows difficult. It’s very vertical for the next two miles until reaching the tram station.

At 8364 feet, the trail arrives at the area near the tram station and levels out for a while amid conifers and boulders. You've walked about 9.7 miles.

The last half of the hike covers 11.5 miles round trip. You're 5.75 miles and 2400 feet of elevation gain from the summit. Begin this portion of the adventure by veering right at the next three trail junctions.

At the next intersection, going right takes you to the tram station; instead go left. You’ll quickly come upon the ranger station, where you can refill your canteens and, if you so desire, change your socks. Because of this, you only need to carry enough water to reach the tram station and not for the entire hike, which cuts down on the weight hauled during the hike’s most difficult part.

Wellman Divide
From the ranger station up to Wellman Divide is an easy, shaded incline. Just after the ranger station, the trail splits. The Willow Creek Trail is to the south but go right/west into Round Valley.

The trail parallels an intermittent creek. You may spot coyotes tracks on the ground or hear their yips and howls in the distance. They generally stick to themselves and so are no danger.

At the next junction, with the High Trail, you’ve reached the Round Valley Meadow at 9000 feet elevation. Go right/northwest, continuing on the Round Valley Trail. In 0.3 miles, the trail reaches a seasonal ranger station.

A mile later, at a little more than 9600 feet, the trail reaches Wellman Divide and the Wellman Cienega Trail. Turn right/north for the peak.

Lodgepole pines dominate at this higher elevation. Sporting twisted needles that spiral out, the highly adaptable lodgepole is among the few trees that can grow at a subalpine elevation. They depend upon forest fires to propagate, as heat breaks the pitch on their cones, releasing the seeds.

Summit
Upon leaving the pines, the trail makes a switchback through manzanita bushes. After completing the switchback, you’ll probably notice a cool wind picking up and how taking a few steps is even more difficult than at the steeper part of the trail before reaching the area near the tram station. That’s because there is less oxygen at this high elevation. The good news is you’re almost at the summit.

At 2.4 miles from Wellman Divide, go right/north onto the spur, also known as the Mt. San Jacinto Summit Trail. You’ll pass an emergency stone shelter built by CCC in the 1930s. For the last 300 yards, you’ll scramble over granite boulders to the very top of San Jacinto Peak, elevation 10,824 feet.

The 360 degree panoramic views from the peak are fantastic. To the northwest is San Gorgonio Peak, the highest summit in Southern California. Little San Bernardo Mountains rises in the northeast. Looking east, you can see Palm Springs and Cathedral City in the valley below. The Santa Rosa Mountains are to the southeast. And on the clearest of days, the gleaming blue of the Pacific Ocean is visible to the west. As naturalist John Muir wrote, “The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!”

Tram down
After taking in the sights, retrace your steps back to the tram station.

Take the tram the rest of the way down. As the tram station on the valley floor is several miles from the art museum trailhead, you’ll want to arrange to have someone pick you up. There is a fee to use the tram.

Temperatures will cool as you go up the trail – the summit can be 20 degrees cooler or so than the valley floor. However, if hiking this trail as a series of increasingly longer day hikes, watch the temperatures on the valley floor; you may want to start early in the morning and return before the valley floor’s heat tackles you, especially as spring approaches summer. If hiking the trail in winter, you will encounter snow on the peak.

As the first several miles and the last couple of the trail are exposed to the sun, be sure to don sunscreen, sunglasses and a brimmed hat. Always carry enough water. A trekking pole and good hiking boots are a must.

Discover California’s top mountain pines

The male cone of the Coulter pine, a common California
mountain tree seen on the Panorama Point Trail.

Panorama Point Trail topo map.

This article originally was written for and published by the Uken Report.

Coachella Valley day hikers can explore a transition zone between two mountain forests on the Panorama Point Trail in Mt. San Jacinto State Park.

The 1-mile loop to a scenic viewpoint is a perfect hike for those looking to escape the desert heat or those taking a day trip to Idyllwild. During late summer, morning temps usually are in the mid-60s with highs reaching near the 80s around noon.

To reach the trailhead, for those living in the northern Coachella Valley, take Interstate 10 west over the San Gorgonio Pass. In Banning, turn left/south onto Calif. Hwy. 243. From Palm Desert and all points south in the Coachella Valley, take Calif. Hwy. 74 (the aptly named Palms to Pines Highway) into the mountains. At Mountain Center, turn right/north onto Calif. Hwy. 243. Both routes lead to Forest Route 4S02; turn north onto it into the Stone Creek Campground. At the next two intersections in the campground, veer right and look for the small parking lot on the right/south.

From the parking lot, walk northeast on the campground road, staying right at each junction.

Once you reach the road's east side, watch for the trail sign and turn right/east onto the dirt but extremely well-graded path.

Stone Creek Campground sits at roughly 6000 feet, so you’re more than a mile above the Pacific Ocean. This area of the San Jacinto Mountains is a transition zone in the forests.

Low forest
The lower forest largely consists of manzanita and black oak, which thrive on the drier, hotter slopes. You’ll also find fragrant ponderosa and Coulter pines.

While ponderosa pine is widespread across the western United States, there are several subspecies and varieties. The type in Southern California sticks to mountain ranges and can be found all along the Pacific Coast north through Oregon and in the Sierra Nevada. The California species boasts the longest needles, which sometimes measure nearly eight inches.

Regardless of the subspecies or variety, all ponderosa pines are easy to identify by their bark color. Younger tree sport a very dark brown bark and so were nicknamed blackjacks by loggers. As the tree matures, its bark turns yellow to orange-red and appears in broad plates with black crevices between them.

Coulter pines are common in Southern and Baja California, but its numbers are decreasing. Its spiny cones are the largest of any pine species, usually between 8 to nearly 16 inches long and weighing up to 11 pounds. Foresters working in Coulter pine groves call them “widowmakers” for good reason!

High forest
The higher forest boasts two other common California mountain trees – sugar and Jeffrey pines.

Sugar pines are the tallest and largest of the pines, growing up to 195 feet high with a trunk diameter of 4 feet 11 inches to 8 feet 2 inches. Under the right conditions and if given enough time, they can grow much larger; the tallest recorded one at 273 feet 9 inches was discovered in 2015 at Yosemite National Park. Their slender cones also can grow longer than the Coulter pines (but don’t weigh as much). No wonder naturalist John Muir nicknamed them the “king of the conifers.”

Sugar pines got their name, however, from their sweet resin. Native Americans for centuries used the resin as a sweetener, and Muir even preferred it to maple sugar.

Jeffrey pines – aka as Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine, or black pine – usually grow at an elevation of 5,900 feet to 9,500 feet in this part of its range, and can be found from Baja California to Oregon. The higher the elevation, usually the shorter and slimmer the tree.

Because the Jeffrey and ponderosa pine are closely related, their appearance is often confused, especially when they mix as they do on this trail. One good way to tell them apart is to look at the cone. If the barbs point inward so that the cone feels smooth in your hand, you’ve got a Jeffrey pine. The ponderosa pine’s barbs point outward and will feel like you’re holding needles if in your palm. Just remember this common memory device – “gentle Jeffrey and prickly ponderosa.”

Making their homes amid and below these various trees along the trail are chickadees, squirrels and plenty of harmless lizards.

San Jacinto and Panorama Point
Beyond the trees, 10,834-foot San Jacinto Peak looms on the northern horizon. If facing the summit so that it's at 12 o'clock, Palm Springs would be at the 1 o'clock position on the peak's other side.

Another highlight of the trail is Panorama Point, which looks south to Hemet, Menifee, and Lake Elsinore on the plain below. On a clear day, you can see the Pacific Ocean.

While the chickadees and slight breeze rustling through the pines provides an impressive soundtrack to the hike, you can download an audio tour of the trail to play on your portable media player. Created by the state park service, the mp3 format files can be downloaded here.

Since the loop runs through a state park, there is a nominal fee for day-use. Dogs are allowed if on leash. And while the trail is dirt, it is level and packed so well that it has been deemed wheelchair accessible.

Final note: Don’t confuse this route with the mountain biking trail of the same name off of Interstate 10 in Redlands.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.