Travel, Photography, Good Food, Hiking, Landscape, Adventure, California, Riverside County, San Jacinto Mountains, San Bernardino National Forest, Idyllwild, Pacific Crest Trail, San Jacinto Wilderness, Tahquitz Peak, Devil's Slide Trail, Humber Park, Saddle Junction, Strawberry Valley, Caramba Trail, Little Tahquitz Valley, Antsell Rock, Apache Peak, Red Tahquitz, San Jacinto Peak, Skunk Cabbage Junction, Tahquitz Meadow
Unfortunately I forgot to turn on my data collector until Charlie and I were already 1/2 a mile into our hike. Regardless, we had an incredible pace up Devil's Slide climbing two miles of trail and 1600' vertically in just over an hour, starting 6500' above sea level.
We continued south from Saddle Junction on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), heading east from the cutoff for Tahquitz Peak. Maintaining an easterly heading past the cutoff to Little Tahquitz Valley on the PCT, we started looking for the unofficial side trail to Red Tahquitz. The faint trail was marked with a few branches and some rocks.
Charlie and I began our steep ascent now more than 8000' above sea level. The going was slow and the trail was unmanaged. We had to detour severely for a few hundred feet due to some blow down.
We finally reached the peak at about 2:30 and had one of Charlie's epic gourmet sandwiches and some other snacks. We were unable to find a summit log and were beginning to feel a bit of altitude sickness so we decided to head back down.
Just as we left, Charlie lets out a yell and finds a baggie under some rocks with a few pieces of paper left by some hikers less that a week earlier. Charlie and I add our names and head back to the PCT.
Back on the PCT for awhile I take Charlie bushwhacking down the side of Red Tahquitz detouring into Little Tahquitz Valley. We rejoined a forest service trail heading north towards Skunk Cabbage Meadow and then head west on Carumba Trail back to Saddle Junction.
From Saddle Junction we made our descent down Devil's Slide Trail back to Humber Park where the car was parked. After getting resituated we drove down into Idyllwild and had burritos and beer at Arriba Restaurant, a classic tradition for me.
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