July 2024 started with a record-breaking heatwave, with Idyllwild setting an all-time record by surpassing 90°F (32°C) for 12 consecutive days from 2nd-13th July. Remarkably most of those days peaked in the mid to high 90s. Although temperatures have averaged slightly cooler since, July 2024 is already virtually certain to be the hottest month in recorded Idyllwild history, with all 31 days exceeding the monthly average for overnight low temperatures, and almost all exceeding the average daytime highs also.
Despite some slight cooling on 14th-17th July, temperatures rose further starting Thursday 18th July and will remain well above average until Saturday 27th, with a second consecutive “heat dome” over the region. Overnight low temperatures in particular have been 5-15°F above average for the entire month and are forecast to remain elevated until the last few days of July. Some pleasant cooling is expected for 27th-29th (although temperatures will probably remain at or slightly above seasonal!).
The temperature I measured at San Jacinto Peak on the morning of Monday 22nd July (68.7°F [20°C]) set a new all-time record high for that location, just breaking a record set only two weeks earlier. More significantly San Jacinto Peak shattered its record for consecutive days of at least 60°F (16°C) with all ten days from 3rd-12th July surpassing that temperature (the prior record was just four days, observed three times since 2018).
Hikers must be prepared for unseasonably hot weather in the high country, with temperatures above seasonal at all times of day and at all mountain elevations. Please give considerable extra thought to start times, route choice (factors such as sun exposure, forest cover, water availability), appropriate clothing, sun protection, and hydration requirements, or indeed whether it is wise to be hiking at all in such conditions.
Onset of heat-related health problems can be very rapid but they are almost always entirely avoidable with planning. Earlier this month a 61-year-old PCT section hiker from Chula Vista day hiking on Saturday 6th July in the area of Miles 188-196 (immediately south and north of Fuller Ridge Campground) was found dead on 10th July near Mile 195. While cause of death has not been confirmed, Saturday 6th was the hottest day of the year in the San Jacinto mountains, and that section of trail is extremely sun-exposed chaparral with no shade.
Monsoon conditions are forecast as possible in early August. Consequently hikers should be prepared for rapidly changing weather conditions in the high country. Thunderstorms with lightning, intense precipitation, and rapid temperature drops can occur in the high country, usually in the afternoons, even when such storms are not forecast for lower elevations.
The State Park announced closure of the uppermost section of Skyline Trail – which forms the lower part of the C2C (Cactus-to-clouds route) – in their jurisdiction, i.e. above about 5600 ft, on 12th July due to “dangerously high temperatures impacting the Palm Springs region”. The trail “will continue to be closed until further notice”.
A comprehensive fire ban is in place on Forest Service lands throughout the San Jacinto Ranger District (link to USFS order here). Fires are completely prohibited in all camping areas, including those provided with fire rings. Fires are of course always prohibited throughout both the State Park and National Forest wilderness areas. Fires are now also prohibited in the Idyllwild campgrounds.
Survey hikes by the Trail Report every day year-round in the San Jacinto mountains include varied and often circuitous routes to San Jacinto Peak multiple times per week (most recently daily on 21st-26th July), plus a wide range of other trails on intervening days.
All major springs, creeks, and pipes are flowing adequately at this time (some example photos below). However flow rates are dropping rapidly at upper elevations and almost all ephemeral water sources are now dry. The Round Valley faucet continues to flow well as of 26th July.
Be rattlesnake aware. Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus [oreganus] helleri) have been abundant on the trail system this season. Above about 5000 ft, the venom of this rattlesnake species in these mountains is predominantly neurotoxic, almost always fatal for dogs and sometimes for humans (see my detailed 2020 article linked here for further information). Devil’s Slide Trail, lower Deer Springs and lower Marion Mountains trails, Suicide Rock, near Strawberry Cienega, and trails around Tahquitz Peak are common locations for sightings, but rattlesnakes have been recorded everywhere to 9350 ft. (See additional photos of another individual at foot of this posting.)
Be bear aware. Although rarely reported in recent years, up to three Black Bears have been in the San Jacinto mountains since 2017. I have seen at least one annually for the past six years, most recently on upper Marion Mountain Trail on 14th September 2023. I also found fresh prints in snow on 12th February this year at 9000 ft near PCT Mile 180.5 (photo here). Brief videos from Devil’s Slide Trail in September 2021 (available here) and at home in Idyllwild in 2018 (linked here) show two different individuals. There have been no reports of negative interactions with humans at or near campsites.
WEATHER
Remarkably temperatures have been above seasonal almost continuously since 21st June and forecasts suggest that this trend will continue into August. After the lengthy heatwave described above, temperatures dropped somewhat starting Sunday 14th July, although remaining at or above seasonal. From Friday 19th onwards, temperatures rose again (i.e. to 90°F or above in Idyllwild and around 60°F at San Jacinto Peak) and are forecast to generally remain at or above seasonal until the end of July. As is increasingly the case with a steadily heating climate in the San Jacinto mountains, overnight low temperatures in particular will continue to be well above seasonal throughout July.
Temperatures will remain well above seasonal averages until Friday 26th, with a notable (albeit brief) cooling on 27th-30th July. Temperatures may even drop just below average on 27th-29th. Thereafter temperatures are forecast to rise rapidly again to well above average into the first week of August.
There is little relief in the high country, with a record duration of unusually warm temperatures, combined at times with record high temperatures, even above 10,000 ft elevation. There is no significant precipitation in the forecasts, but monsoonal thunderstorms are possible in late summer afternoons, currently forecast as most likely in the first week of August. There is a chance for residual tropical storm rainfall around 5th-7th August, but that is speculative at this time.
At San Jacinto Peak (3295m/10,810ft) on Thursday 25th July 2024 at 0720 the air temperature was 55.3°F (13°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 51.3°F (11°C), 61% relative humidity, and a steady WSW wind sustained at 7 mph gusting to 10.4 mph.
At the Peak on Wednesday 24th July 2024 at 0755 the air temperature was 60.8°F (16°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 57.2°F (14°C), 48% relative humidity, and a very light SSE breeze sustained at 2 mph gusting to 4.7 mph.
At the Peak on Tuesday 23rd July 2024 at 0725 the air temperature was 57.6°F (14°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 53.6°F (12°C), 69% relative humidity, and a light SSE wind sustained at 5 mph gusting to 9.4 mph.
At the Peak on Monday 22nd July 2024 at 0730 the air temperature was 68.7°F (20°C), with no meaningful windchill, 47% relative humidity, and almost calm conditions with an occasional SE breeze gusting to 2.5 mph. As described above, this is an all-time record high temperature for San Jacinto Peak, surpassing the 68.2°F I had recorded exactly two weeks earlier, which itself broke the prior record of 67.6°F I observed during a prior heat dome event on 12th July 2021.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
Snow was gone from the high country trails by mid June.
Treefall hazards remain a major problem along parts of the Pacific Crest Trail, most notably between Antsell Rock and Red Tahquitz, with 132 recorded in my recent 2024 surveys between Miles 170.5-175.5. The disinterest of Forest Service and PCTA in maintaining this section of a world-famous trail for the past five years is unconscionable. Concentrations of large downed trees make for especially slow-going around Miles 170.5-172 (east side of Antsell Rock) and Miles 174-175 (south and east sides of Red Tahquitz). A further 15 smaller trees are down from Miles 168.5-170.5 (Spitler Peak Trail to Zen Center Trail).
About 12 treefall hazards on Deer Springs Trail include 8-9 in the upper trail that have been down and reported repeatedly for years but with no action from the State Park. All but one of the treefall hazards down between Strawberry Junction and the top of Marion Mountain Trail (roughly PCT Miles 183-185) were removed by the Trail Report in late June (example photos in prior Report linked here).
On Willow Creek Trail the smaller treefall hazards on the Forest Service section were cut in June. One of the two huge hazards remaining on the Forest Service side was removed in early July, but the larger, more difficult obstruction, remains. An additional four need to be cut to restore the original trail route. Whitethorn along the trail is starting to grow back rapidly, and is becoming a problem on both the Forest Service and State Park sections (photo below). Treefall hazards currently on the State Park side include two large ones remaining from last year, plus three small new ones, but none pose major problems for hikers.
The 34 treefall hazards that came down across Spitler Peak Trail during ice storms in February 2024 were almost all cleared by the Trail Report on 14th June. The couple of minor stepover branches that remain pose no problem for hikers. This work brings to 120+ the total number of trees removed by the Report from this trail in the past three years. Note that currently the upper trail in particular is heavily overgrown with lush seasonal vegetation.
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 an app). An informal use trail to Laws is much more direct, 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 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). Eleven trees down on the King Trail were removed in June-July 2023. The tread of the trail received some damage from Tropical Storm Hilary last year. 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 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.
The Trail Report “adopted” Seven Pines Trail as a priority for maintenance work as the trail had a disproportionate number of lost hiker rescues in the past decade, and both State Park and Forest Service have shown no interest in maintaining the route for years. Since 2020 we have removed 75 downed trees and the trail is thoroughly trimmed and cleared multiple times annually. As of July 2024 the trail is largely clear of treefall hazards, with three down across the trail in its upper section, all easily passable for hikers. A further half-a-dozen downed trees close to the PCT junction would need to be removed to fully restore the original route of the trail. Although the condition of the trail is hugely improved, Seven Pines remains a genuine wilderness trail unlike the wider, bare, 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. Be aware in particular that Seven Pines Trail becomes most obscure in the mile closest to its junction with Deer Springs Trail/PCT.
The Zen Center Trail continues its deterioration that started following the 2013 Mountain Fire, with a combination of vigorous regrowth and treefall hazards further obscuring the route with each passing season. The lower and upper parts of this trail are partially cairned and not too bad for those who are very familiar with the former route, but even the experienced find navigating the central section tricky. Long trousers, scrambling gloves, and an enjoyment of bush-whacking are all strongly recommended.
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