Tahquitz Peak - 5.5.2020
We parked at the South Ridge Trailhead near the town of Idyllwild... the last mile of dirt road to this trailhead requires 4WD or AWD... and a high clearance vehicle is not a bad idea... the road and the trailhead sign are kind of in the same condition.
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There were lots of big blooming manzanita trees on this hike.
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After hiking a half mile we entered the San Jacinto Wilderness.
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A window.
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Gaining elevation and looking south across Garner Valley to Thomas Mountain.
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After hiking 1.9 miles we reached a bench (maybe a plateau) that gave us our first good look at Tahquitz Peak in the foreground... Suicide Rock and Lily Rock are the dominate rock formations to the left of Tahquitz... with the prominent San Jacinto peaks in the distance on the left.
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Broad views from the bench... looking south to Thomas Mountain on the far left... west to Strawberry Valley and the town of Idllywild in the right foreground... with the town of Hemet and Lake Matthews in the distance on the right.
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We have left the bench and started switchbacking our way up the SW face of Tahquitz Peak... with lots of awesome rock formations along the route.
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Lots of prominent rock formations on our way up to Tahquitz Peak.
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Still gaining elevation... looking south to Garner Valley and Thomas Mountain.
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Looking SW to Rouse Ridge and Blackburn Ridge in the foreground... with the Margarita Mountains on the horizon.
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Looking north... beyond the rock formations in the foreground to the higher 10,000 foot peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains.
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An impressive rock wall in the distance.
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Denali Girl on the South Ridge Trail... the trail is in much better condition than the last mile of road that got us to the trailhead.
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We saw 4 other hikers on this supposed very popular hike... and one helicopter.
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We are getting close to the Tahquitz Peak Lookout... there is an option to go over to Saddle Junction here, but we will go to the lookout... San Jacinto Peak (10,804') is in the distance... just to the left of the sign.
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After hiking 3.4 miles we have arrived at the lookout on the summit (8846') Tahquitz Peak.
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Some info on the lookout... which is 10 years older than me!
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Time to go up to the lookout balcony... no dogs, no crampons and no hiking poles are allowed.
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Looking east along the East Ridge of Tahquitz Peak... with the Little San Bernardino Mountains on the left-center horizon... and the Santa Rosa Mountains on the right horizon.
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Looking SE to the 2017 burn area that almost got the lookout... the PCT runs along the ridge line... with Martinez Mountain and Santa Rosa Mountain on the center horizon.
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Looking south down the 2017 burn area in May Valley to Garner Valley and Lake Hemet at the foot of Thomas Mountain... with the Santa Rosa Mountains on the left-center horizon... and the Margarita Mountains on the right horizon.
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Looking south to Thomas Mountain and Lake Hemet on the far left... SW to Strawberry Valley and the town of Idyllwild in the center foreground... and west to the town of Hemet in the distance on the right.
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Looking north to the heart of the San Jacinto Mountains.
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A poor attempt at a summit selfie.
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I walked a short distance along the east ridge of Tahquitz Peak... hiking along charred terrain from the 2017 fire... and looked back at the lookout to get a idea of how close the fire came to the lookout.
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Heading back down the switchbacks on the SW face of Tahquitz Peak.
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If you are a big fan of huge pine cones, this is the hike for you.
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After hiking 5.1 miles we have returned to the bench that gave us our first good view of Tahquitz Peak.
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Back to our car... and a 75 degree temperature... pretty nice considering that in an hour and a half we will be in 108 degrees in Palm Springs... the hike was 7 miles, gaining 2428 feet of elevation.
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