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| Hiking | 19.74 Miles |
10,413 AEG |
| | Hiking | 19.74 Miles | 13 Hrs 8 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 10,413 ft AEG | 1 Hour 14 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | At long last... Cactus to Clouds. I have known about this hike for roughly four years and have been considering it more seriously in the last two. My long time hiking partner and I decided that May 17th was going to be the day. We tend to plan chaotic hiking trips. The only other time I have been to California was last year to climb Mt. Whitney. Drove a rental car in on August 11th. Started hiking at 1 AM on August 12th. Finished around 1 PM and made it back home that same night. This trip was similar. Drove in Thursday night. Pretended to sleep. Got about one hour. Alarm went off at 2:30 AM. On the trail by 3:30 AM. Finished around 4:30 PM. Back home in Phoenix by 10 PM.
To start off, the Skyline trail/route is very well maintained. The white dots are well placed and following them along with a GPS route made for casual route finding. Looking down at Palm Springs all lit up while you gain elevation is great. Almost feels like you are looking out of an airplane. The sun rose about half way up our ascent to the ranger station. The middle zone was unlike anything I have hiked before. Lots of plants I have never seen. I thought I was looking at weird Century plants for a while, but they are apparently called "Parry's Beargrass". At a certain elevation range these things are everywhere. The bees love them. Several miles of this hike were packed with bees. Every once in a while on the ascent you get a peak down a different canyon. The mountain is so large it is hard to put it in perspective.
I used to eat very little on hikes and when I kicked that habit I saw my performance skyrocket. If you don't eat constantly on this one you will suffer. Cliff Blocks, Tailwind, Bagels, Goos, whatever you can get down. Once you hit the first tree line (before the tram) it gets a bit steeper but it really wasn't anything crazy. I was expecting something else from the videos I watched. Sometimes hiking videos sensationalize aspects of trips for clicks to such a level that it distorts what it actually feels like to hike them. We topped out by the first Ranger Station/tram area in a little over six hours.
I refilled my Camelback at the Ranger Station. Probably drank 2 L on the way up out of my 3L. The water at the Ranger Station was out of a hose in the back. It had some sort of warning about drinking the water routinely. You know how California is with the Cancer warnings. I guess if I grow another hand or something I will know where it came from.
In the weeks leading up to this hike the biggest concern was the snow. There was a lot of snow after the Ranger Station. The first mile or so wasn't bad but it slowed us down in the next five. At certain points there were snow paths leading to nowhere and the "correct" snow path didn't always follow the GPS route. It was the kind of snow that makes people have trust issues. Sometimes you are on firm ground, other times you are post holing. The miles to the peak once the snow was a factor were slower going. Once we got above the second tree line the area opens up and you can start to get a sense of the range.
The peak was packed with snow. There were minimal clouds (slightly disappointing) but the views were still fantastic. Made peak at the 10 hour mark. Lots to look at to the West. Many peaks in the distance that I am unfamiliar with. Another 3 hours back, and we were at the Tram. We walked in the visitor center as victors and boarded a Tram full of people who smelled a lot better than we did. Wasn't expecting the party vibes on the Tram. A couple of Sweet Carolines and we were down at the tram station parking lot.
I play mind games with myself on long hikes. For example, the miles back never count in my head. It could be five it could be ten. Doesn't matter. They don't count. Planning for this one I didn't think much about the miles after the Ranger Station because I was so concerned about that desert ascent. The last six miles to the peak actually felt longer.
Great day. Took all of 24 hours for me to think about doing it again but faster.
Watch said 19.74 miles and 10,413 ft of gain. Probably the last big route I do with the Garmin Instinct Solar. |
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