It’s 90° and straight up noon as I start out from I-10 and head into the San Gorgonio Mountains. This is terrible timing, but it’s the way things landed after the reshuffling of gear in town. I want to get to the Whitewater Preserve tonight in order to make it up the washed out Mission Creek section in one day tomorrow. I do not do well in the heat. I start out with a damp sun shirt, my sun umbrella, and plenty of water. I am well fed and well hydrated, but still I don’t tolerate the heat very well. Waves of panic surge through me as I head into this part of the desert, seemingly alone. “What am I doing here? Everyone else is sitting out the heat of the day under the bridge. This could be a huge mistake.” The heat is beating down on me from above and rising up from the earth. The plants are all so small that there is no shade. I’m finding it hard to breathe. When have I felt this way before? Oh yes, hot yoga! Recalling this, I realize that I know what to do. I close my mouth and breathe in more slowly for a count of three and breathe out for a count of three. I calm my thoughts. This helps, and my feet carry me forward. As the sweat begins to flow, I actually start to feel better, stronger, more capable.

The last two days have been marvelous. After a week in the adorable town of Idyllwild for my Master Coach Training classes, I headed up Spitler Trail to re-join the PCT and hike over the San Jacinto mountains with a trail friend that I met last year. Tim and I hiked together for about a day and half last year, and he mentioned that he lived in Idyllwild. I contacted him when I got to town, and he decided to come with me on this short but intense section of the PCT. This was really reassuring because there was still snow clinging to these high mountains. I had only recently learned that this is statistically the place on the PCT with the highest number of fatalities compared to anywhere else on the trail. This is because of steep trails with high levels of exposure and high risk of falls due to residual snow that often clings to the north facing slopes well into the spring. There had been a very serious rescue just last month.

We hiked up the 5 mile connecting trail to the PCT in the morning sunshine, gaining 2000 vertical feet just to get up to the trail. At the top we met Mr. Sunshine who was waiting for other hikers to go forward with into the snowy sections. When we did encounter our first snow patches, they were steep and nerve-wracking for my companions who are not as familiar with walking on snow as I am.

We covered 17 miles and 4500 feet of elevation gain and camped in a lovely open spot with beautiful views of San Jacinto peak and across the valley to the San Gorgonio Mountains. The temperature dipped just to freezing, cold enough to ice down my water bottles, but fortunately there was no wind, and I was cozy in my tent, sleeping quilt and bag liner.

The next day the trail we covered was probably 70% solid snow pack, and it was slow going. I did not find it dangerous but made use of the micro spikes I’ve been carrying for the early morning hard packed snow. It took us 11 hours to cover 14 miles. We made it up and over the true PCT route of Mount San Jacinto, which does not include the summit. I would have like to tag the summit, but with our pace it would have taken us 3-4 more hours. We camped at Black Mountain Road campground with several other hikers who had also just come over the top. This marks the snowiest section of Southern California, also the highest elevation before the Sierra for those continuing on north. Some people chose to skip it altogether due to safety concerns. It feels to me like a pretty big landmark to have accomplished. The elevation, the cold and the snow is followed immediately by the longest single descent on the PCT: a relentless 7000 vertical feet down to the valley floor, just in time for an early spring heat wave.

I press to the top of the first big climb and head down into a surprisingly green and beautiful valley. I am constantly surprised by the beauty of this trip, and I notice that my anxiety has dissipated. I’m walking a field of miniature wildflowers! I recognize the desert form of Indian Paintbrush and smaller than usual Lupine and a tiny, beautiful fuchsia star I later learned is called Fringed Redmaids, which contrasts with the bright green grass. These colors against the stark granite rocks and contours of the hillsides surrounding me is breathtaking. The desert section of the PCT is never just one thing. It was Mount San Jacinto at over 10,000 feet tall. It was pine forests and large granite boulders. Later on, it was oak forests and Red Manzanita. And now it is a field of butter cups…

I’m going to be OK. I pour a little water on my head, make good use of my umbrella, drink plenty of water with electrolytes, and I notice that I don’t even feel overheated anymore. The White Water Preserve, where I will be greeted by shade, camping on grass, and a stream large enough to dip my whole body into, is only a few miles away.

Mountains, Deserts and Wild Flowers

Starting at the end…