Side Trip Summit
It’s off the trail but most people hiking the Pacific Crest Trail will try and summit if the weather conditions are favorable. We plan to hike out of Idyllwild and camp near the bottom so we can either hike it and find somewhere nice to camp and enjoy the views. We will update this post when it gets closer to our hike with some ideas.
After getting on the trail, we would love to summit this mountain if the conditions are not too dangerous.
San Jacinto Peak (often designated Mount San Jacinto, is a 10,834 ft (3,302 m) peak in the San Jacinto Mountains, in Riverside County, California. Lying within Mount San Jacinto State Park it is the highest both in the range and the county and serves as the southern border of the San Gorgonio Pass. Naturalist John Muir wrote of San Jacinto Peak, “The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!”
San Jacinto Peak is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States and is ranked the sixth most prominent peak in the 48 contiguous states. According to John W. Robinson and Bruce D. Risher, authors of The San Jacintos, “No Southern California hiker worth his salt would miss climbing ‘San Jack’ at least once.”
Known for its spectacular north escarpment, the peak rises over 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above San Gorgonio Pass. It plays host to the famous Cactus to Clouds Trail.
You have to be careful with snow and ice that can await you and you don’t want to be caught in a storm. From Backpacker magazine you can read about a man who died on the mountain here. We will only go up if the conditions are right and bypass it if needed.
