Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness, Palm Springs, California, USA

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After nearly two and a half years of the Australian Governments border closures, we were at last able to head to Los Angeles and see our daughter.

Having been to Palm Springs before, I was keen to again head uo on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and visit the Mount San Jacinto State Park. Previously, I had been up on the Tramay and visited the Mount San Jacinto State Park at Christmas time and with the elevation gain, it was very cold. This time, in mid June, at the Tramway starting point, the temperature was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degress Celcius. At the top, the temperature dropped to 66 degrees Fahrenheit or a very comfortable 19 degres Celcius.

The tramway takes about 11 minutes to make the trip up to an elevation of 8,516 feet or about 2,600 metres. After reaching the top, I made my way to the Ranger Station, where you have to register if you intend to hike.

After talking with a Ranger, I decided to do the Round Valley Loop, or RV Loop. I was told this was a 4 mile or about 6 kms hike. So off I started to follow the trail. The sky was a perfect blue and weather great.

The track was good, weather lovely and with few people on the track it was a real pleasure. Lots of trees had fallen, which made the landscape quite dramatic.

I reached the turning point of the RV Trail, where I should have turned and headed back to the Rangers Hut, but decided to head down the Willow Creek Trail which would also take me back to the Rangers Hut. The Ranger had told me that a large fire had gone through this area some while ago and you could clearly see the evidence.

However, after about an hour, the track disappeared and was covered with a very nasty spiked brush which ripped at my legs. I decided to turn back and after a while, found the trail again and started to retrace my steps. However after a while, the track came to a dead end and I must have taken a wrong turn. I decided to rest for a few minutes and after a littel while I thought I could hear voices ! After about 5 minutes, I saw 5 ladies walking on a track about 30 metres below me. The only way to get down to where they were, was to bush bash down through the bushes. I guess I startled them as when I caught up to them, they could not understand where I had come from. I explained to them what I had done and they agreed that the track needed some clearing.

After getting back to the RV Loop, I bade farewell to the ladies and headed back on the RV Loop which was well marked and pleasent. As I approached the Rangers Hut, I saw this sign, which was interesting.

I arrived back at the Rangers Hut and what was supposed to be a 6.5kms trail had ended up for me a 12.5kms trail ! I had had a great day though and would love to go back again and so some more trails in the State Wilderness. The Tramway alone is worth the trip and the views over Palm Springs are excellent.

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