Unbounded Days Hike of San Jacinto

During Unbounded Days, every Webb student enrolls in an intensive course for three to five days.  Our course, "Adventure Winter," was intended to take students into the depths of winter on San Jacinto. After learning navigation skills on campus, the group departed Thursday for the Palm Springs Aerial Tram, and then a hike into Round Valley.  We dropped our packs there and continued on to the peak on a sunny, crisp afternoon. Making for a surreal hike, the storm that had moved through earlier that day left ice coating the upper reaches of San Jacinto.  After retiring to our tents, a new front moved in, depositing an inch of snow by midnight.  Unfortunately, it warmed up slightly after that, and the snow turned to a heavy, wet rain.  On the hike out, even though the whole group was uncomfortable (we had contests to see who could squeeze the most water out of our gloves!), there was nary a complaint.  The reward was pizza at San Biaggio's and a hot shower at home.

 The group at the start.

 Apollo, Jackie and Raphael on the ascent.

 Dylan led with a perfect pace during the early stages of the hike.

 Ms. Bauman, Adam, Johnathan and Robert

 Once we started gaining altitude, the terrain turned surreal, as ice coated everything. Click any of these pictures to enlarge them.

 Wellman Divide is about halfway to the peak.  Here, the group shows off their micro-spikes, which we strapped over our boots to give us grip on the ice.

 Andrew gets a little snack.

 Stacy

 Johnathan and Adam take in the view on the way up.

 The sun mixed with ice to create glowing landscapes.

 Getting near the peak now…

 The final push to the peak involved scrambling over icy boulders.

 San Jacinto, 10,834'

 RJ, Andrew, Apollo, and Stacy at the peak

 Darren looking down into the wind farms surrounding Palm Springs. If you enlarge the photo, you'll see the rows of windmills below.

 Brooke and Savannah

We used the ice axe to chip away ice on some of the boulders so we could get down without slipping.

This was taken at the same spot as the first photo above.  Slightly different conditions. A huge thank you to the group for their indomitable spirits!

Hiking San Jacinto

Although we didn't plan to be there for the occasion, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway celebrated its 50th birthday on Saturday.  The free cupcakes we received at the top of the tram were just one of many unexpected surprises we had on our journey this past weekend.  Another: all 15 Webbies who went on the trip made the peak. A hearty group of hikers forged over rock and trail to a celebration at the peak involving salami, cheese, crackers, and even a brief meditation.  And despite a couple of altitude-induced headaches, this crew was defined by its happiness and spirit.  It had me wondering why we don't do this every weekend. Hmmm...

Free cupcakes set the tone for what would be a day-long picnic.

 The Wellman Divide, which connects the Palm Springs side of Jacinto to the Idyllwild side, was our spot for lunch and grand views.

 If you haven't heard, Dolly gets along pretty well with granite.

 Mr. Owers, Andrew, Alan, Adrian, Dolly, Danielle, David, Lauren, Robin, Bulat, Alvin, Lucas, Kristen, and Susan at the peak of San Jacinto, elevation 10,804'.

Kristen and Lauren (and Dolly).

 Bulat.  Of course.

 Lucas, levitating

 Did I mention this group was characterized by its happiness?

 Finally, picking our way down the boulders strewn around the peak.

 Susan, Danielle, Alvin, Alan, and David pose for a junior class picture.  Some among them were talking about a "20,000 Foot Club," which they plan to join by hiking all three 10,000 foot peaks TWICE.

The last of our pleasant surprises on the day was this deer we saw on the way down.  Thanks everyone for a fantastic trip!

Hiking San Jacinto

In the fresh snow of a late-week storm, Jack, Vicente, John, Terence, Adrian, Mr. Owers, and I set out to San Jacinto on Sunday for a rigorous hike through a wintery landscape.  Mini-spikes gave us extra traction as we navigated up to around 9,700 feet.  After that, the terrain got even more challenging as we approached the 10,834 foot peak.  

 Near the trailhead

 Terence, John, Adrian, and Jack wade through knee-deep drifts. Luckily, we didn't have to do too much post-holing.

 Terence, Adrian, Jack and Vicente at Willow Pass (9,700')

 After Willow Pass the snow got deeper and softer, so we had to abandon our hopes of reaching the peak as a group.  Vicente, however, borrowed my spare set of snowshoes and the two of us pushed on.  Since he's already climbed Gorgonio and Baldy, this was the only peak he needed to join the 10,000 Foot Club, and the others in the group graciously yielded to his attempt.

Exhausted by the final push, we collapsed at the peak.

Vicente displaying his 10,000 Foot Club medal.  Congratulations!

Taking in the view.  Baldy is off in the distance on the left, and Gorgonio is the snow-capped peak straight ahead.

 Vicente tests the winds with Gorgonio looming in the background.

 

 The valley of Palm Springs, over 10,000 feet below.

We were joined at the peak by one other hiker, who was kind enough to take our photo before we headed down.

 While Vicente and I were hiking to the peak, the rest of the group brought a snowman to life at Willow Pass.  Though we didn't all make it over 10,000 feet, everyone had a great time playing in the snow and breathing the mountain air.