Saturday 15th July marks the 10th anniversary of the start of the Mountain Fire, one of the most impactful events in the modern history of the San Jacinto mountains, and certainly the most damaging fire to property, the forest, the local economy, and the trail system in living memory. About 27,500 acres and more than 20 buildings burned. Although some assessments have suggested the fire may have been beneficial to forest ecology (linked here) such positive impacts were confined to a relatively small area at the highest elevations where the fire burned. Elsewhere the fire was damaging to the forest, notably along the Desert Divide where the trails and surrounding vegetation will never be the same again. Many trails were shut for years, most require much more maintenance now than before the fire, and some remain functionally abandoned to this day.
A heatwave, more severe than the brief one at the beginning of July, is forecast to build and peak this weekend. Temperatures well above seasonal are forecast for all elevations on 14th-18th at least, and with near-record heat in the high country on 15th-17th. Above-average temperatures are expected to persist for 7-10 days. well into late July. Fire risk will be very high.
Hikers should be prepared for unseasonably hot weather at all elevations, with temperatures far above seasonal and early morning temperatures in particular expected to be about 15°F above average this weekend. Give considerable extra thought to route choice, start times, clothing, sun protection, and water requirements.
With the exception of heavily drifted areas that traditionally melt late (notably the East Ridge of San Jacinto Peak) the trail system is now clear of snow. The few snow patches that remain from this past remarkable winter will soon largely disappear in the forthcoming heatwave.
Daily survey hikes include a variety of routes to San Jacinto Peak multiple times per week, most recently on 7th, 10th, and 14th July, plus a wide variety of other trails on intervening days. A sample of recent weather observations from San Jacinto Peak is given in the Weather section below.
Currently perennial creeks, pipes, and springs are flowing well (e.g., see photos in the previous Report), as are most ephemeral springs and creeks, although some of the latter are starting to dry. This summer has seen the most water on the mountain since 1998 (following the great El Niño winter of 1997/98).
Given the intensity of this past winter, hikers will encounter new treefall hazards on trails. Trails are steadily being cleared by volunteers. In recent weeks the Trail Report has cleared South Ridge and Spitler Peak trails (14 and 38 trees, respectively), the PCT between Saddle and Annie’s junctions (approx. PCT Miles 179-181, eight trees), the informal trail from Willow Creek Trail to Laws (10 trees), and largely cleared Seven Pines Trail. In June 33 trees – from a total of about 68 – were cut from Willow Creek Trail by volunteers, steadily making progress on the condition of that challenging trail (impacted by the 2013 Mountain Fire).
Be rattlesnake aware. Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes Crotalus (oreganus) helleri are now present on the trail system up to at least 8800 ft elevation. Above about 5000 ft, the venom of this rattlesnake species in these mountains is predominantly neurotoxic, typically fatal for dogs and sometimes for humans (see my article here for some further information). Devil’s Slide and lower Deer Springs trails, Suicide Rock, around Strawberry Cienega, and trails near Tahquitz Peak are common locations for sightings, but rattlesnakes have been recorded to 9300 ft, usually favoring sun-exposed slopes.
Black Mountain Road (4S01) is in its poorest condition for at least a decade, but grading is scheduled to start in mid July. Until the road is graded 4WD and/or high clearance are recommended. Forest Service roads Dark Canyon Road (4S02) and South Ridge Road (5S11) remain closed to vehicles. Other than Dark Canyon, all Forest and State campgrounds have now reopened.
Tahquitz Peak fire lookout reopened for the season on 4th June. Black Mountain fire lookout is currently not expected to reopen until late July, once grading of the road is completed.
The annual maintenance closure of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is scheduled for 7th-31st August 2023, a month earlier than usual.
WEATHER
Six consecutive months of below average temperatures to start 2023 have ended abruptly. Following a minor heatwave in the first few days of July, a more severe heatwave is forecast for this week, starting on 14th and expected to last at least a week. Temperatures will peak well above seasonal averages on 14th-18th, with daytime highs approaching 95°F in Idyllwild at the weekend (15th-16th July) before cooling slightly next week, but expected to remain above seasonal. As is increasingly the trend in the San Jacinto mountains, the overnight “low” temperatures in particular will be as much as 15°F above seasonal at mid elevations.
The highest elevations will not be spared, with temperatures well above average for July for at least a week. Near-record temperatures are currently forecast around the highest peaks on 15th-18th July. At San Jacinto Peak temperatures above 60°F (15.5°C) are predicted for several consecutive days; most years there are only 1-3 days that warm at the Peak all summer.
There is no significant new precipitation in the forecasts. Despite the wet winter and cool first half of the year, vegetation moisture levels have already dropped below average. The fire danger in the San Jacinto mountains is currently categorized as high to very high.
At San Jacinto Peak (10,810ft/3295m) on Friday 14th July 2023 at 0705 the air temperature was 58.5°F (15°C), with no observable windchill, 34% relative humidity, and completely calm wind conditions (which are extremely rare at the Peak).
At the Peak on Monday 10th July 2023 at 0720 the air temperature was 49.6°F (10°C), with a windchill temperature of 40.1°F (5°C), 18% relative humidity, and a stiff SSW wind sustained at 15 mph gusting to 30.1 mph.
At the Peak on Friday 7th July 2023 at 0750 the air temperature was 52.7°F (12°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 46.3°F (8°C), 4.8% relative humidity, and a light but steady due West wind sustained at 11 mph gusting to 14.7 mph. This average relative humidity measurement (which briefly dropped as low as 4.2%) is the lowest ever reliably recorded at San Jacinto Peak, breaking a record set just two days earlier (see below). Prior to 2023, I had only recorded RH as low as 7% on three occasions.
At the Peak on Wednesday 5th July 2023 at 0745 the air temperature was 55.8°F (13°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 53.2°F (12°C), 5% relative humidity, and a light but steady SW wind sustained at 5 mph gusting to 6.3 mph.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
The trail system is now functionally clear of snow. Traction devices are no longer required.
Snow cover averages about 5% around San Jacinto Peak. With careful route-finding – such as ascending the Peak via southern rather than eastern routes – no snow hiking is required.
Deer Springs Trail is now clear of snow, but has about 15 significant treefall hazards. Little Round Valley is now functionally clear of snow (a handful of minor drifts remain). Water is flowing very well there and in all of the springs and creeks along the Deer Springs Trail route.
Trails around the Skunk Cabbage and Tahquitz area meadows have significant treefall hazards throughout. There are seven treefall hazards across the trails between Little Tahquitz Meadow and Chinquapin Flat, four major trees down across Willow Creek Trail between Saddle Junction and the Skunk Cabbage Meadow junction, and another four down on the trail south from Saddle Junction to Chinquapin Flat.
The Wellman Trail has a couple of tiny snow patches remaining on its southernmost sheltered 0.4 mile north from Annie’s Junction [surveyed 10th July], but is otherwise clear.
The Peak Trail has extremely limited patchy snow. The initial traverse north from Wellman Divide to 9900 ft is clear. For about 0.6 mile between 9900-10,100 ft snow cover is <10% and the trail is obvious. The ascending switchbacks above 10,100 ft are clear. The East Ridge Trail remains partly obscured under about 25% snow cover, but the remaining snow is heavily drifted and has melted very unevenly forming “sun cups” (photo in prior Report linked here).
Fourteen treefall hazards from this past winter on South Ridge Trail were removed by the Trail Report in May, and trail trimming is undertaken regularly. South Ridge Road remains closed to vehicle traffic and is not expected to reopen until graded, possibly in July.
Marion Mountain Trail is clear of snow but there are four notable new treefall hazards in the State Park (upper) section.
Willow Creek Trail remains been a slow, messy hike for a couple of miles due to treefall hazards and whitethorn overgrowth, but thanks to the work of volunteers the situation has improved in recent weeks. There are plans in place to cut the remaining trees on the Forest Service section in the next month or so, weather permitting. As of early July 2023, about 35 treefall hazards remain across the trail, most of which are large and some are challenging to hike around (or over). There are four large trees down between Saddle Junction and the Skunk Cabbage Meadow junction, and then a further 25 trees down on the next 1.5 mile Forest Service section until the State Park boundary. Another six trees are down on the State Park section of trail up to Hidden Divide. Some of the trail with the most trees down – between Willow Creek and the State Park boundary – is also disappearing under thick whitethorn. The considerable amount of work that Bill Rhoads and I undertook to clear whitethorn along this trail in 2020 was not completely in vain and parts of the trail would have largely disappeared by now otherwise, but the whitethorn does make some treefall hazards more complicated to negotiate.
The Trail Report removed all 38 treefall hazards from Spitler Peak Trail between late May and early June this year, bringing the total removed to 85+ since July 2021. Several minor washouts from this past winter in the upper switchbacks have significantly impacted the tread in places; these are not problematic for hikers, but the trail is impassable to stock.
The PCT is now clear of snow throughout the San Jacinto mountains. Treefall hazards are a problem in many places but most notably between Apache Peak and Red Tahquitz, where I counted 106 between Miles 169-175 in June 2023. Large downed trees make for especially slow-going around Miles 172-175 (a section severely burned in the 2013 Mountain Fire).
Trails clear of both snow and treefall hazards include Black Mountain Trail, Ernie Maxwell Trail, and Devil’s Slide Trail.
The Caramba Trail from near Reeds Meadow through Laws Camp and on to Caramba, and the Cedar Trail from Willow Creek Trail to Laws, are euphemistically described by the Forest Service as “not maintained”. In reality both trails have been abandoned and no longer exist. They are so heavily overgrown with dense whitethorn, which obscures dozens of downed trees, that I strongly advise hikers do not attempt to follow them (regardless of how much you may trust a certain app). An informal use trail to Laws is much more direct, well maintained by the Trail Report, and avoids the challenging bushwhacking of the unmaintained trails (local Idyllwild hikers dubbed it the “King Trail” when I established the route in 2019). It leaves Willow Creek Trail exactly 1.0 mile from Saddle Junction, 0.46 mile from the Skunk Cabbage turning (trailhead at N 33.7796, W 116.6590). The route descends largely following established deer trails for 1.2 miles, meeting Willow Creek about 0.2 mile upstream from the site of the historic Laws Camp (the remains of which were destroyed by the 2013 Mountain Fire and subsequent flood and treefall damage). The 11 trees down on the King Trail after this winter were removed in June-July 2023. From Laws east to Caramba the route of the original Caramba Trail has been well-cairned by myself and others and can largely be followed with very careful route-finding. My May 2023 survey counted just over 100 trees down on this 2.1 miles of trail. It is especially obscure for the first 0.3 mile east of the Willow Creek crossing, becoming more obvious (but still subtle) as it descends towards Caramba. Very cautious navigation is advised throughout the area.
Seven Pines Trail is now clear of snow. The crossing of the very swollen North Fork of the San Jacinto River at 1.5 miles (just after the State Park boundary) currently requires considerable caution. The Trail Report has “adopted” Seven Pines Trail as a priority for maintenance work as the trail has had a disproportionate number of lost hiker rescues in the past decade. Since November 2021, 67 downed trees have been removed and almost the entire trail thoroughly trimmed and cleared. Nevertheless Seven Pines remains a genuine wilderness trail unlike the relatively wide, bare, and obvious routes of, for example, Devil’s Slide or Marion Mountain trails. Cautious navigation remains essential for those without considerable experience of hiking this trail.
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