Tropical Storm (formerly Hurricane) Jova passed roughly 1000 miles to the south-west of the San Jacinto mountains last weekend. Despite the great distance, cloud bands from the storm on Sunday 10th September produced some localized light rain, with 0.05 inch in Idyllwild (at 5550 ft), 0.03 inch at Wellman’s Cienega (9300 ft) and 0.04 inch at San Jacinto Peak, but none measurable at Saddle Junction (8100 ft).
Humber Park will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic for at least two weeks starting 1st October 2023 due to major road work at the uppermost end of Fern Valley Road. All hikers, notably PCT hikers, should use the Ernie Maxwell Trail access via Tahquitz View Drive to get to/from Idyllwild. In addition be prepared for potential disruption accessing trailheads near Idyllwild throughout September-October due to resurfacing work on Fern Valley Road and both North Circle and South Circle drives.
Given the intensity of last winter, and the additional wind and rain of Tropical Storm Hilary that passed directly over the San Jacinto mountains on 19th-20th August (as described here), hikers should anticipate encountering treefall hazards, minor washouts and debris on trails, see Trail Conditions below.
Daily survey hikes in the San Jacinto mountains include several different routes to/from San Jacinto Peak multiple times per week, most recently on 8th, 13th, and 14th September, plus many other trails on intervening days. Recent weather observations from San Jacinto Peak are given in the Weather section below. The trail system has been clear of snow since mid July.
Water sources such as creeks, pipes, and springs are generally flowing remarkably well for the time of year (see photos below and those in the previous Report linked here). Consequently I am not reporting water details for specific locations at this time. This summer has seen the most water on the mountain since at least 1998 (following the great El Niño winter of 1997/98), even prior to the additional input from Tropical Storm Hilary in late August.
Be rattlesnake aware. Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes Crotalus (oreganus) helleri have been active on the trail system up to 9300 ft, even on recent cooler days (see photos in previous Report linked here). Above about 5000 ft, the venom of this rattlesnake species in the San Jacinto mountains is predominantly neurotoxic, almost always fatal for dogs and sometimes for humans (see my 2020 article here). Devil’s Slide and lower Deer Springs trails, near Strawberry Cienega, and trails around both Suicide Rock and Tahquitz Peak, tend to be common locations for sightings.
Be bear aware. Although rarely reported, up to three Black Bears have been in the San Jacinto mountains since 2017. As I descended upper Marion Mountain Trail at about 8250 ft elevation late morning (0948) on 14th September 2023 I had an excellent sighting, initially in the open at 40-50 metres, of what appears to be the same very large (>250lb) dark brown individual with a white chest blaze that I had previously seen on Devil’s Slide Trail in July 2022 and September 2021 (a poor quality video from the latter observation is available here). This is clearly a different individual, based on colour pattern and size, from the “blond” one I saw on Devil’s Slide Trail in August 2020 and had previously filmed walking past our home in Idyllwild in 2018 (video here).
Black Mountain Road (4S01) was in its poorest condition for at least a decade this spring. The partial grading undertaken on 17th July improved the situation somewhat, but it remained a bumpy drive that deteriorated further following Tropical Storm Hilary. Forest Service roads Dark Canyon Road (4S02) and South Ridge Road (5S11) remain closed to vehicles. Dark Canyon campground and the South Ridge yellow post sites remain closed.
WEATHER
Pleasantly cool (and periodically cloudy) autumnal weather has been, and will continue to be, the theme for most of September. This coming weekend, 15th-17th September, will briefly have above seasonal temperatures, before dropping to near- or below-average temperatures on 18th-23rd at least. Air temperatures above 10,000 ft elevation are now in the 40s Fahrenheit (5-10°C) with windchill temperatures typically a few degrees either side of freezing depending on wind strength. There is no significant new precipitation in the forecasts.
At San Jacinto Peak (10,810ft/3295m) on Thursday 14th September 2023 at 0815 the air temperature was 46.9°F (8°C), with a windchill temperature of 38.1°F (3°C), 72% relative humidity, and a cool ESE wind sustained at 8 mph gusting to 12.2 mph.
At the Peak on Wednesday 13th September 2023 at 0830 the air temperature was 47.7°F (9°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 45.9°F (8°C), 17% relative humidity, and a very light due West breeze sustained at 1 mph gusting to 2.8 mph.
At the Peak on Friday 8th September 2023 at 1005 the air temperature was 56.1°F (13°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 51.4°F (11°C), 47% relative humidity, and a brisk WSW wind sustained at 7 mph gusting to 11.2 mph.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
The trail system cleared of snow in July. A couple of icy snow patches remaining in the Snow Creek drainage (between 8500-9500 ft) have persisted into September, but others higher up were finally melted by the rains of Tropical Storm Hilary.
Hilary resulted in many minor washouts across the trail system, considerable treefall debris – branches, cones, sticks – in the trails, and water flowing across and in the trails. Damage could have been much worse, and few problems are particularly challenging for hikers. Most trails have one or two new treefall hazards, and only Willow Creek Trail seems to have been more severely impacted.
The rough route cleared along Willow Creek Trail in early August remarkably lasted only two weeks before Tropical Storm Hilary brought down 19 new treefall hazards. Seven of these are on the Forest Service section, including one huge trunk just east of Willow Creek that some hikers will find challenging to pass. Of the 12 on the State Park section, eight have already been cut; there is now a cleared route from Long Valley to Hidden Divide, but four remain uncut between the divide and the Forest Service boundary. The whitethorn trimming is inconsistent and scrappy but overall the trail is more passable than in July. Eight trees – of the 60+ down after last winter – remain to be cut on the USFS section for the original trail route to be fully restored, but that is unlikely to happen soon, if ever.
Deer Springs Trail has about 16 significant treefall hazards remaining from the winter. Water is flowing very well in Little Round Valley and in all of the springs and creeks along the Deer Springs Trail route.
Trails around the Skunk Cabbage and Tahquitz area meadows have some significant treefall hazards throughout remaining from last winter. There are seven across the trails between Little Tahquitz Meadow and Chinquapin Flat and another two on the trail south from Saddle Junction to Chinquapin Flat.
Fourteen treefall hazards from this past winter on South Ridge Trail (above the trailhead at the top of South Ridge Road) were removed by the Trail Report in May, and trail trimming has been undertaken regularly. No significant new treefall hazards resulted from Tropical Storm Hilary on this trail. South Ridge Road remains closed to vehicle traffic and is not expected to reopen until graded, probably not until 2024. Eleven of 13 downed trees were removed from the middle section of South Ridge Trail (between May Valley Road and the top of South Ridge Road) on 15th July.
Marion Mountain Trail has four notable treefall hazards in the State Park (upper) half. One new huge stump came down in Hilary low down on the Forest Service section, but it is easy to pass. The State Park installed new signage near the USFS/State Park boundary on 23rd August.
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, and were worsened by Hilary; these are not problematic for hikers, but the trail is impassable to stock.
On the PCT treefall hazards remain a problem in many places, most notably between Apache Peak and Red Tahquitz, where I counted 106 between Miles 169-175 in June 2023. This section has not yet been resurveyed since T. S. Hilary. Large downed trees make for especially slow-going around Miles 172-175 (a section severely burned in the July 2013 Mountain Fire).
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 functionally 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, 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 lat/long 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. The tread of the trail received some minor damage from Tropical Storm Hilary. 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 August 2023 survey counted about 110 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 largely clear of treefall hazards. Five new trees came down across the trail in Tropical Storm Hilary, all in the central mile, but they are easily passable for hikers. Be advised that the trail in general becomes more obscure in the mile closest to its junction with the PCT. 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, about 70 downed trees have been removed and the trail is thoroughly trimmed and cleared several times per year. 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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