Return Trip to Mt. San Gorgonio
Earlier I blogged about our first overnight trip to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, a planned three-day, two-night trip to the summit that ended up getting cut a day short and a one less summit than expected due to trail conditions (too much snow, no cramp-ons, heavy backpacks, not wanting to slip up and end up at the bottom of the mountain sooner than expected, and so forth and so on).
We re-tackled the mountain over the July 4th, 2006 weekend, five weeks after our earlier Memorial Day weekend trip. This time our three-day, two-night plan worked as expected and we reached the summit. On this July 4th trip we took a different route - an overall shorter trip, but one that started with a grueling 1.6 mile climb up very steep terrain (the Vivian Creek trail, for those who are interested). This second trip we had the benefit of experience. My pack weight was, upon final weighing, close to seven pounds lighter. The gear also had improved - we skipped out on renting the bulky, weighty synthetic sleeping bags and instead bought some ultra-light and ultra-compact down sleeping bags. What we gained in experience, however, mother nature took away in heat and bugs. On our Memorial Day trip, the weather was brisk. At night, it dropped well below freezing. On this July trip, however, it was much warmer - in the 70s or 80s during the day (in the sun) and a very comfortable low of 50 at night.
From the trailhead to the summit was a little over 8 miles, one way. And some people (crazy, crazy people) do this trail in one day, starting off at 4 or 5 in the morning, or perhaps later and not getting back until well after night has fallen. In fact, we ran into one pair of hikers - an older man and his son - who had about another mile to go to the top at 11:30 AM, but had been hiking since 4:30 AM. We are not that hard core, and instead spread out the hike over three days, in part to further acclimate ourselves to setting up camp, sleeping on the ground, eating dehydrated food, and all that fun other stuff that will be protocol for our seven-day, six-night hike on the John Muir Trail coming up in under a month now.
The first (and last) day was spent hiking through very green, lush scenery. In certain flat, riverbed areas, it looked as if we were walking through scenery from Southeast Asia, with the waist-high grass. At other parts it looked Appalachia-like.
On the Memorial Day trip our plan was to do a loop. From the trailhead, up to the summit, and back down another path. This time, we more wisely planned on making a striaght course to the summit and back. The benefit? After camping for the night at 9,200 ft., about 3.5 miles from the summit, we were able to leave our gear - the tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, the bear cannister, and so on - at the campsite and head up with just water, food, and other emergency equipment, easily shedding 25 pounds. And thank goodness we were able to do so, as the ascent was not a cakewalk. It wasn't terribly difficult, but it did have some very steep parts and the air was quite thin from about 10,000 ft. on up.
The second day's ascent's terrain was rockier and brown compared to the first day's. And once above 10,500 ft., or so, it was pretty barren save for shrubs.
This hike wasn't too difficult, but had its tough spots. The heat and steep ascent on the first day took a lot of energy. The final two miles up to the summit were hard, too, with the combination of a steep incline and the thin atmosphere (but at least the temperature was much more comfortable).
A little after noon we reached the summit. At 11,506 ft., Mt. San Gorgonio is the highest point in California outside of the Sierra Nevadas. You can, I'm told, see the LA downtown lights at night. Mt. San Jacinto, in the Palm Springs area, is clearly visible, as is Big Bear Lake and Mt. Baldy. We could also see Dry Lake campground about 2,500 ft. down, which was where we stayed on our Memorial Day trip.
After resting at the summit for a half hour or so, we headed on back to the campground, packed up, and made our way back down another 1,500 ft. to our final campground, Campground Mosquittos. The next day we hiked the remaining 2.5 miles out and made it back to LA a tad after noon.
The three days wasn't too hard, although there were some challenging spots. Granted, we averaged only 7.5 miles a day (or so), and for part of one day had a very lightened load. Come August, when we undertake the John Muir Trail, we'll need to average close to 10 miles per day, will be in higher elevation, and won't have the luxury of lessening our load. Plus, from what I've read JMT has more aggressive mosquittos and bears!
In all honesty, though, I think the hardest part of overnight hiking is psychological and hygenic. We are constantly fed entertainment and stimulus. However, when you're on the trail there's nothing there to capture your attention (the scenery, granted, but it doesn't change too much and you're out there all day and night). And, for summit trails, on the way up, you're just going one way - up. It's all uphill. It's hot. You're tired and there's nothing to entertain you. Just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'm not complaining, mind you, it's just that, personally, I think the mental challenge is more trying than the physical one. And then there's the hygene. I'm not a neat freak in the least, but I do much enjoy wearing a fresh set of clothes every day, bathing, and defecating in toilets where you can sit down and flush away the excrement. On the trail, you pretty much just have two pair of everything - one to wear and one to pack in. At night, wash the ones you just wore the best you can and wear the other set the next day. If you want to bathe, you're doing it in a river or lake. Bathroom breaks involve a shovel and squatting.
For some, the challenge is the physical. For me, it's the mental and hygenic. And that's part of the enjoyment, in steeling myself mentally, using tricks to zone out so that time just moves, you don't feel bored, you don't feel tired, you just walk. One foot in front of the other in front of the other in front of the other. There must be part of my brain I tap into that is associated with music because, even without an iPod or any other music device, my brain latches on some tune and it keeps repeating in my head. It was a smattering of 80s songs, for some reason, on day 1. On day 2 I was singing along to some well-known tunes, but with my own lyrics (of which I don't remember, but it was short and hiking-related, and they just kept repeating over and over and over). On day 3 I just thought about showering, since I knew I'd get to do that later in the day. Who knows what will be going through the ol' noggin come JMT time.
