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| Hiking | 19.97 Miles |
11,461 AEG |
| | Hiking | 19.97 Miles | 10 Hrs 27 Mns | | 2.15 mph |
| 11,461 ft AEG | 1 Hour 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Been a year, and the temps looked agreeable, so tried this again. Got a few blinks of sleep outside of Joshua Tree and in the morning I realized I had made two mistakes: forgot my trekking poles and misjudged the tramway locked gate (I had brought my bike and had planned on locking it below the fee station, but the road is locked way down by Palm Canyon Drive - only way to do this would be to drop it off the day before during their operating hours, ugh).
Miles 1-3
This felt really easy. 78F temps at 2am, dropped quickly with elevation. More flat and downhills than I remembered, giving legs a chance to breathe. Light from half-moon wasn't as helpful as I had hoped. Had to force myself to take a break at the 3 mile mark to make sure I didn't burn out too early.
Miles 4-6
Cruising time. More vegetation, a slowly waking sky, and only between 400' and 700' of climb each mile. The cold started to get to me here, shivers in the shade, but I was too soaked in sweat to justify adding layers. Just like last year, I was all smiles on this section.
Miles 7-9
This is where the climb starts lol. Was able to start with a decent pace, and then that last mile hurt. 1200' of gain over a mile is no joke. Trail seemed better defined this time, only a few deadfall. Reached the top at 8am, paused long enough at the top to let the sweat dry and pull on a sweater.
Miles 10-15
Very quiet up here in the morning, since I beat the tram up. Definitely aiming for this on future trips. Ranger station was closed and I didn't find a tap, so I filled out the permit outside and pushed on - still had half my water in my pack anyways. Legs felt good and the altitude never got to me, strangely enough, and I reached summit around 1030am. Saw a few groups of people coming from the Idyllwild side and a father-son duo who had also done C2C, starting about 2 hours before me. After a few stories and views it was time to return.
Miles 16-19.9999999999
Reaching the tram before noon wasn't in the cards without jogging, so I decided to take the scenic route back. High / Willow Creek Trail was less groomed than Round Valley, though all the trails up here are pristine, so its like the difference between an A+ and A. Great views of the surrounding peaks thanks to some thinner forests, and more level / downhill sections than the direct route. When I returned to the tram things were predictably very busy, so I scowled at my almost-20 mile route, put on a face mask, grumped through the tram ride down, and got an Uber to return to the Jeep.
Carried 5L with the plan to water up at top, didn't need to. Supplemented water with a few bumps of tailwind. Brought 3000 calories, ate maybe a thousand, mostly in blocks and corn nuts. Never missed my trekking poles. Will probably use a vest next time. Felt amazing the whole time, no death marches, and no bonks either. Gonna aim for 9 hours next year  |
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Was able to (very slowly) jog from the top of Hedgehog to the parking lot, just in time to drive to kid's school and 30s after they were released.
