High Sierra Topix

On Saturday I took the Palm Springs Tram up to Long Valley and hiked out the Mount San Jacinto. It was beautiful out there with light snow falling in the morning and sun in the afternoon.

Here are some pictures:

http://kathywing.smugmug.com/gallery/1326380/1/62706073

Wingding..really pretty pictures..It looks like from the trees that it snowed there friday night too just like here...We got in 1 1/2 hours 1 foot of new snow on Friday night..I could not believe we got that much in that short of time! It is now raining here and rained most of the night last night. Thank you for sharing

Nice, Kathy! We used to climb San Jacinto quite a bit when we were growing up - my Dad was a scout leader and would take the troop up there at least once a year... he'd let my sister and me tag along. It was always so fun! I was up there this last August when I came down for my parents aniversary; it's always been a special place for me.

I've never been up when it's been covered with snow though - really pretty!

Wow! Thats fantastic!
Did you snowshoe?

Thanks for looking at my pictures madeintahoe, rosabella, and krudler.

krudler - I carried my snowshoes on my back all day. They might have helped for a while in the afternoon, but I didn't feel like putting them on and having the snow ball up on them and then have to take them back off, so I opted for a little post-holing. Until the steep section it was soft snow on top of icy hard snow and then it became a mix of soft snow on top of icy hard snow, soft snow that I post-holed in, and icy spots that I had to kick steps into.

I've been trying to break in a pair of boots that are heavier than I'm used to, so I'd rather have the extra weight of snowshoes on my back unless I really need to have them on my feet. 4.5 pound boots and 4 pound snowshoes with snow balled up on the crampons makes it really tough for me to move.

cool pics, aint snow grand.

nice pics!

Kathy - your pictures got me thinking... I'm going to be going down to San Diego to visit my parents for a few days next week, so I might try to squeeze in a day hike up from the tram. My question is - will I need snowshoes or any other specialized gear?

This is kinda embarrasing to admit (especially for someone living in Washington State) but other than the occasional snow field or snow-covered passes, I've done very little hiking in snow. (call me a fair-weather-hiker )

Good shots.

I have to get up there, it's close to home and looks like a great hike/ski!

Rosabella:

Even with the new snow, bynext week the trail should be well traveled and packed snow all the way to Round Valley, so you won't need snowshoes to hike out there. From there it's hard to tell. It's a nice hike to Round Valley, so you could go that far and then head out past there depending on what conditions are like. Snowshoes might be needed past there, but they might not be either. The trail does get a bit icy once it's hard-packed, but it's so gentle going to Round Valley that I don't think you'll need crampons either. If you use hiking poles, they'll be helpful.

Kathy