Tahquitz Peak - 11.8.2024
We parked at the end of Forest Road 5S11 located near the town of Idyllwild, California... 5S11 is a one mile dirt road drive to this unsigned trailhead for the 'South Ridge Trail'... your vehicle will need some clearance... our Subaru has 8.7 inches of clearance and that was enough.
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After hiking a half-mile we entered the San Jacinto Wilderness located in the San Bernardino National Forest.
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Shortly after entering the wilderness we got a view of Tahquitz Peak up there in the middle of the photo... the massive rock formation in the left-center of the photo is 'Lily Rock'.
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Denali Girl has found a nice window as we continue to gain elevation on the 'South Ridge Trail'.
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Every step higher gives broader views... here looking south across May Valley, Apple Valley and Garner Valley to Thomas Mountain and Little Thomas Mountain in the middle of the photo... with Lake Hemet barely visible at the base of Thomas Mountain.
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After hiking 1.75 miles we got this nice view of Tahquitz Peak.
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We will be switchbacking our way up the treed south slope in the distance... several 10,000 foot peaks are in the distance in the left-center of the photo... but the 10,834 foot San Jacinto Peak is blocked by a few other 10,000 foot peaks.
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After hiking a total of two miles we are starting to switchback our way up the treed south slope of Tahquitz Peak.
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Continuing to switchback up the south slope of Tahquitz Peak... here looking over at 'Suicide Rock'.
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Continuing to switchback up the south slope of Tahquitz Peak... here looking west and NW out to Moreno Valley and Riverside.
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As we continue to gain elevation more impressive rock formations appear.
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Denali Girl is breaking off a chunk of this rock formation.
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Continuing to gain elevation on the South Ridge Trail... here looking south (left) to Thomas Mountain and Lake Hemet... and looking NW out to Moreno Valley.
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More nice rock formations... here looking north to several of the 10,000 foot peaks.
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Looking north... the high point in the photo is the 10,670 foot Jean Peak... which is blocking the 10,834 foot San Jacinto Peak (the high point in the San Jacinto Wilderness).
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Well... we know we are getting close to the fire lookout on Tahquitz Peak.
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After hiking a total of 3.5 miles we have reached the 8,846 foot summit of Tahquitz Peak.
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Looking east (far left) to the SW (far right)... the Pacific Crest Trail runs along the mountains in the foreground.
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Standing on the fire lookout... here looking north at the higher peaks in the San Jacinto Wilderness.
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Denali Girl with Ranger Joe on the fire lookout... the highest lookout in the San Bernardino National Forest.
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Some of the fire lookout history.
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We walked a little beyond the fire lookout.
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In the distance on the left we can see the Coachella Valley leading down to the Salton Sea... with the Santa Rosa Mountains on the horizon in the middle of the photo.
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Looking north at the higher peaks in the San Jacinto Wilderness... not sure who is who... but Marion Mountain, Jean Peak and Miller Peak are in the photo.
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We are halfway back to the car... and here we are looking SW toward San Diego... and the shiny portion in the left center of the photo is the Pacific Ocean... and the large body of water in the right foreground is the Diamond Valley Reservoir... the total hike was 7.1 miles, gaining 2382 feet of elevation.
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