UPDATE Tuesday 29th October 2024: a light dusting of snow above 9000 ft overnight is described in more detail in a short video report linked here. A further update and photos to follow this afternoon.
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Temperatures remain well above seasonal for late October until Monday 28th. While an air temperature of 52.0°F (11°C) at San Jacinto Peak in the early morning of Wednesday 23rd may not sound especially warm, it is about 15-20°F above normal (based on my decade of past data), and it was remarkable to be completely comfortable in just a t-shirt and shorts at 10,800 ft elevation in late October. Thankfully next week temperatures drop dramatically to truly autumnal temperatures, hopefully this time staying that way until winter (details under Weather below).
With a failed monsoon season in most of Southern California, fire risk remains severe everywhere, at least until temperatures drop markedly and humidity rises. A comprehensive fire ban is in place on Forest Service lands throughout the San Jacinto Ranger District (link to USFS order here) and in all Idyllwild campgrounds. Campfires are of course always prohibited throughout both the State Park and National Forest wilderness areas.
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 typically 2-4 times per week, Tahquitz Peak weekly, plus a wide variety of other trails on intervening days.
Major springs, creeks, and pipes largely continue to flow at this time (example photos below). Flow rates continue to drop steadily at all elevations and ephemeral water sources have been dry for months. The Round Valley faucet continued to flow well as of 25th October. In the Tahquitz area meadows, the ephemeral creek in Tahquitz Valley is dry, however the Tahquitz Valley pipe (for those who know where it is) continues to flow well. The creek in Skunk Cabbage Meadow continues to trickle where it is crossed by the meadow trail. Tahquitz Creek is flowing gently at the northern end of Little Tahquitz Meadow, and near its source where it crosses the PCT at Mile 177 (photos below). Two tiny springs at Strawberry Cienega are now barely trickling and not useful for filtering. Hidden Lake was 25% full in mid October (by surface area, not volume). Stone Creek is no longer flowing where it crosses Deer Springs Trail at about PCT Mile 183.6, and has dried downstream of that point.
WEATHER
A major cooling trend starts Monday 28th October, replacing above average temperatures that have prevailed in recent days with temperatures that may be well below seasonal into the first few days of November. From 29th October to at least 2nd November temperatures will be below seasonal at mid elevations (but about average in the high country), with a slim chance of light precipitation tentatively forecast for 29th-30th. Throughout next week, air temperatures in the high country will be near freezing, with windchill temperatures around the high peaks below freezing.
At San Jacinto Peak (3295m/10,810ft) on Wednesday 23rd October 2024 at 0800 the air temperature was 52.0°F (11°C), with a “windchill” temperature of 51.6°F (11°C), 13% relative humidity, and a hint of a NE breeze sustained at 1 mph gusting to 2.0 mph.
At the Peak on Monday 21st October 2024 at 0825 the air temperature was 43.6°F (6°C), with a windchill temperature of 41.2°F (5°C), 26% relative humidity, and a very gentle due West breeze sustained at 1 mph gusting to 2.7 mph.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
According to the State Park Facebook page (linked here) the Skyline Trail remains closed in the section under their jurisdiction (from about 5800 ft to Grubb’s Notch), although no reason is given.
Treefall hazards remain a significant problem along parts of the Pacific Crest Trail, most notably between Antsell Rock and South Peak. The disinterest of Forest Service and PCTA in maintaining this section of a world-famous trail for the five years prior to this summer was simply unconscionable. The good news is that nearly half of the 132 trees down between Miles 170.5-175.5 have finally been cleared by work in the middle two weeks of October 2024. A concentration of large downed trees make for especially slow-going around Miles 170.5-172 (east side of Antsell Rock), with the other formerly challenging area (Miles 174-175, east and south of Red Tahquitz) now largely cleared. A further 15 smaller trees are down from Miles 168.5-170.5 (Spitler Peak Trail to Zen Center Trail).
The Trail Report has been trimming the formerly overgrown Wellman Trail since August. Although only a short trail, it forms a major part of a well-traveled route to/from the high country peaks. It was last trimmed in 2020, also by the Trail Report, as sadly the State Park shows little interest in maintaining this trail (and too many other trails) in their jurisdiction.
On the Fuller Ridge Trail section of the PCT there are 12 trees down on the State Park section of the trail (Miles 185.5-189), which has not been maintained by that agency for many years. Several of these pose quite significant hazards for hikers. On the Forest Service section, the only treefall hazard is two massive trunks at about Mile 190.1 that has been present for about three years.
Trees down on the Strawberry Trail section of the PCT (Miles 180.8-183, Annie’s Junction to Strawberry Junction) have remained uncut by the Forest Service for nearly a decade now. About six hazards on this section are thankfully all relatively easy for hikers to negotiate.
About 12 treefall hazards on Deer Springs Trail include 8-9 in the upper trail that have been down and reported repeatedly for nearly a decade but with no action from the State Park. All but two 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 an earlier Report linked here).
Willow Creek Trail is significantly improved and nearing its 2020 condition (the last time the original trail route was fully cleared and passable). Almost all significant treefall hazards on the Forest Service section were cut by mid August (several uncut trees remain that need to be removed to fully restore the original trail route). Whitethorn trimming was largely completed, mainly by volunteers, on the Forest Service side in August and early September. On the State Park side some localized whitethorn trimming of the worst patches was undertaken in September, and the minor treefall hazards new in 2023/24 were removed, leaving just two major long term downed trees (both have simple workarounds for hikers).
The 34 treefall hazards that came down across Spitler Peak Trail during ice storms in February 2024 were cleared by the Trail Report in June. 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 September 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 serious 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 thirds 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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