Some hikers may continue to find spikes useful for some of the minor icy patches but they are no longer required. In Idyllwild (data from 5550 ft) there was 1.14 inches of rain on Sunday 11th which turned to snow that afternoon, settling to 0.5 inch. Note that average depth is given; due to strong winds accompanying the storm there is extensive drifting, often particularly accumulating in the trails. scotchybob. At this time there is no further significant precipitation forecast prior to mid February. Willow Creek Trail remains a relatively slow, messy hike for a couple of miles. Camping Shade Solitude Views / Vista. The first number is the current average total snow depth at that location followed in parentheses where known by the combined fresh snowfall from the two minor storms on 13th-14th February. On my hike up to San Jacinto Peak late this morning there was a little drizzle on most of Devils Slide Trail, then an on/off mix of drizzle, freezing rain,, and fine snow in the high country. I postholed barebooting to 8900 ft before putting on crampons. Go right and continue for 4.5 miles to the Falls Recreation Area, past the town of Forest Falls. Devils Slide Trail has a relatively well-traveled and compacted track to Saddle Junction in place already. Aminian's body was found Jan. 14. Apartments with air conditioning for rent in San Clemente. Snow cover remains virtually continuous, but a few small patches are clearing below 7000 ft. Spikes are strongly recommended, at least for descending. The Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail has a well-traveled track to follow throughout its length, snow cover is about 80%. When to go: June-October. WEATHER UPDATE 23rd December: forecasts have been shifting dramatically in recent days. Trail conditions are updated below. Unusually for me, I followed the entire route of the established trail down to Little Round Valley. The snow continues unabated, although the pace has slowed somewhat in the past hour. Forecasts are inconsistent regarding the amount of snowfall in this next storm, but those that I trust suggest 12+ inches in Idyllwild over the next 24 hours, with 1-2 feet in the high country. At the Peak on Wednesday 15th February 2023 at 1030 the air temperature was 4.9F (-15C), with a windchill temperature of -26.3F (-32C), 65% relative humidity, and a bitter due North wind sustained at 19 mph gusting to 27.7 mph. An additional six inches of accumulation today brings the total in Idyllwild since 21st February to 20.5 inches. However it is thinning rapidly everywhere, and will look radically different in a week or so. Ernie Maxwell Trail has good tracks to follow along its entire length, through the continuous snow cover a few inches deep. Additional moderate snowfall is tentatively forecast for 28th February-1st March. Very light precipitation well before first light this morning included a dusting of snow above 6000 ft, <0.25 inch below 8000 ft and about 0.25 inch above that elevation, plus 0.03 inch of drizzle in Idyllwild. Even when the gate is closed there are nine legal parking spaces below the locked gate (which still require an Adventure Pass or equivalent to be displayed). U.S. Forest Service personnel were preparing similar advisories to be given to hikers who buy parking and hiking permits in the San Bernardino, Cleveland, Angeles and Los Padres national forests. I would like to ski San Gorgonio. Although not required, some hikers will find spikes useful especially for descending. For closure information, please visit our official PCT closures page. Spikes are not required. Hiking Mount San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek Trail is quite the challenge. Please allow at least 72 hours for processing of permits.And as a reminder, self-issue permits are only good for that day.In addition to the wilderness permits an Adventure Pass is required for each vehicle. Steady heavy snow started in Idyllwild at about 0830 but stopped at about 1400. The primary purpose of this update is an advisory of imminent major snow accumulation forecast due to a triple storm sequence. These icy slopes are notoriously treacherous. We are leveraging crowd-sourced info for water availability and other conditions. Thank you so much for your support. In the meantime, a lengthy video discussion of the current situation recorded at the Peak is available here, and a brief panorama video from the Peak proper is available here. Aspen Grove 12.75 miles, 4,092' gain You don't hike alone. Deer Springs Trail [updated 15th December] now has an accurate snowshoe track to follow all the way to San Jacinto Peak as I broke trail the entire way down to the Suicide Rock Trail junction on the afternoon of 15th. LockA locked padlock Use this trailhead address: South Fork Trail 1E04, 40800-40894 Jenks Lake Rd W, Angelus Oaks, CA 92305. Since the depths given in the previous Report, there had been very minor storms on 28th and 29th December, which added a couple of inches at the highest elevations, down to 0.5 inch at 8000 ft. Snow cover is shallow up to about 7000 ft, but relatively heavy above 8000 ft. Melting on sun-exposed slopes is already well underway, e.g., on lower Devils Slide Trail, South Ridge and lower Deer Springs trails. Favorite hiking regions include the San Gorgonio Wilderness, Eastern Sierras, Channel Islands and San Gabriel Mountains . LockA locked padlock Your contribution keeps the Report available to all, free from advertising or paywalls, and independent from agencies. PCT Mile 179.9 (8070 ft): 0-1 inch (4 inches on 12th December), Devils Slide trailhead at Humber Park (6550 ft): 0 inch (3.5 inches on 12th December). Spikes are not essential but will be useful for most hikers, especially for descending. These icy slopes are notoriously treacherous. Summer months are the most popular for hikers. Spikes are not needed yet, but that will change soon with increasing compaction and freeze/thaw cycles. Please take the time after your hike to fill out the form your feedback will help local managers improve services and provide valuable trip planning information for other visitors. Currently trails above about 7500 ft (lower in places) are largely obscured by moderate to deep snow. Conversely in places scouring by the wind means the depths are well below the average. Heavy cloud cover at higher elevations meant helicopters had to transport rescuers to narrow ravines. Tracks are in place around Skunk Cabbage Meadow, and south from Saddle Junction toward Chinquapin Flat. Other Info. An excellent track is easy to follow to Little Round Valley. There is a well-traveled track on light icy snow from Long Valley/Tram to Wellman Divide. My tracks from today (Friday 6th January) from Humber Park to San Jacinto Peak and back will be largely visible but will be somewhat obscured in places. However this may change next week with new snowfall possible as discussed below. Deer Springs Trail [updated 22nd December] has an accurate track to follow all the way to San Jacinto Peak as I broke trail the entire way down to the Suicide Rock Trail junction on 15th December. I measured 15 inches of snow during a check of Devils Slide trailhead (6520 ft) at Humber Park this morning. Spikes will likely become more increasingly useful over the next few days and weeks as established trails become consolidated by hiker traffic and undergo freeze-thaw cycles. My blogging throughout the storms gave more day-to-day detail and is available here. Thank you for taking the time to read this. There is a well-traveled track to follow through the very light and patchy 1-3 inches of icy snow. The highest probability of precipitation is early morning on Friday 2nd. South Ridge Road is clear of ice and snow. There are five new major treefall hazards, plus many other limbs and branches, across the trail between the Suicide Rock junction and the Marion Mountain Trail junction. Ernie Maxwell Trail has a well traveled track to follow along its entire length, through the increasingly patchy icy snow. 7. An official website of the San Jacinto Peak (10810 ft): 45-48 inches (includes about 24 inches snow in latest storms), heavily drifted to 60 inches in places, especially on the East Ridge. Both storms were relatively cold, the second in particular dusting snow below 3500 ft elevation. Idyllwild (at 5550 ft): 0-1 inch (0.5 inch hail/sleet plus 1.04 inch rain on 5th). We survey the trail system daily, with hikes via different routes to San Jacinto Peak several times per week, Tahquitz Peak and vicinity at least weekly, and many other trails on other days. The Wellman Trail from Annies Junction to Wellman Divide has about 40% icy snow cover. Spikes tend to be especially useful for descending trails. Prior to this storm, conditions had been extremely unsettled for about ten days, with four storms in a week, although only one of those was a significant snow-producing system. Report An Accident; Traffic Cameras >> Interstate 10 >> California >> North Palm Springs >> News Reports. Sadly this phenomenon has become much more of a factor in the past 5-10 years with freezing rainfall (rather than snow) occurring at higher elevations at higher frequency with much warmer weather systems. Indeed the final third of December may be one of the warmest on record for the holiday period. They are strongly recommended on certain moderate and higher angle slopes, at a minimum on the Peak Trail above Wellman Divide, the Wellman Trail, Deer Springs Trail above Little Round Valley, and uppermost South Ridge Trail, and on both flanks but critically on the north face of Tahquitz Peak. Sites that are currently available: (2) Palm Innovation Academy - 2:05 PM-5:35 PM (2) Three Rings Ranch Elementary - 3:00 PM-6:30 PM (1) Sundance Elementary 2:20 PM- 5:50 PM (2) Summerwind Trails- 2:20 PM-5:50 PM (2) San Gorgonio Middle School- 2:45 PM-6:15 PM (1) Mountain View Middle School- 2:30 PM-6:00 PM Incomplete applications and . The second significant Pacific storm of winter 2022/23 is currently impacting the San Jacinto mountains. The source is here. The Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail has a well-traveled track to follow throughout, snow cover is 90%. The TOPOZONE MAP states an elevation of 11,499 feet shown at the trail's end at the higher summit. Nevertheless, snowshoes will be valuable anywhere off trail above about 8000ft for the foreseeable future, and on trail where tracks have not yet been broken. In Idyllwild (at 5550 ft) additional light rain this morning has added up to 0.1 inch. These icy slopes are notoriously treacherous and have been an area of multiple hiker fatalities in winter conditions in recent decades. There was a further 0.5 inch dusting of snow above 8000 ft on Thursday 29th (as I describe in this video). If there are Road Closed signs further down as was often the case last winter at weekends and holidays then those nine spaces are also unavailable for legal parking. Spikes are recommended at least for descending, and will become increasingly important with increasing compaction and freeze/thaw cycles. The fourteenth and fifteenth storm systems of winter 2022/23 impacted the San Jacinto mountains back-to-back on 13th and 14th February, as discussed in the previous Report available here. The USFS gate at Humber Park remains closed. San Gorgonio. The system was cooler in the early hours of Friday morning, with a dusting of snow to 6000 ft and a covering of icy sleet below that in Idyllwild. Spikes will likely become increasingly useful over the next few days and weeks as established trails become consolidated by hiker traffic and undergo freeze-thaw cycles. The 0.4 mile section of South Ridge Trail between Chinquapin Flat/PCT and Tahquitz Peak has no steps to follow through the steeply angled icy snow. Obviously these depths are expected to change dramatically over the next few days. PCT Mile 179.9 (8070 ft): 0-1 inch (was 3 inches on 9th November), Devils Slide Trail at Humber Park (6550 ft): 0 inch (was 2.5 inches on 9th November), Idyllwild (at 5550 ft): 0 inch (was <1 inch on 9th November). Snowshoes are not required anywhere on the established trail system, where snow is now too shallow, icy and compacted. SNOW DEPTHS measured on 19th December (east side) or 15th December (west side) 2022 are as follows. DM, The correction has been changed. This is the third time this century that Idyllwild has surpassed 60 inches of snow in a winter (62.8 inches in 2000/01, and 62.4 inches in 2010/11), so 60+ inch winters might be considered to occur roughly once every decade. Storm number 20, and the last of a stunning first two months of 2023, produced another major snowfall with 10 inches overnight in Idyllwild, and it is still snowing heavily. Snowshoes are no longer required on the established trail system, which is now too compacted for snowshoes. Spitler Peak Trail had 10 new treefall hazards, almost all in the upper switchbacks. Forsee via Jackstraw 15.18 miles, 4,702' gain. One major treefall hazard is across the trail almost exactly midway between the trailheads at Humber Park and Tahquitz View Drive. Spikes are recommended, at least for descending. Generally the San Jacinto mountains have just caught the southern edge of these systems, with nothing like the dramatic precipitation being reported from further north. There are two new treefall hazards to pass on the upper trail. Discover your local Girl Scout council: about Girl Scouts, what they do, what activities are available locally, and how to contact us. However excellent well-traveled and compacted tracks are now in place for almost all major trails (details below). South Ridge Road (5S11) is also currently closed to vehicle traffic. This is expected to be a seasonal closure until next year. Snow on this east slope is drifted, and remains 3-8 inches deep in places. They are not however required, depending upon your comfort level hiking on shallow variable snow, potentially mixed with slushy and icy patches. Between the dustings of snow yesterday and today, high country tracks are becoming obscured and cautious navigation is strongly advised. There are two new treefall hazards to pass on the upper trail. On the morning of Monday 12th a further 2.5 inches of snow settled in Idyllwild. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Cautious navigation is strongly recommended everywhere. PCT Mile 179.9 (8070 ft): 8 inches (8-9 inches), Devils Slide trailhead at Humber Park (6550 ft): 4 inches (total 4 inches). At the Peak on Monday 13th February 2023 at 1010 the air temperature was 16.8F (-10C), with a windchill temperature of -1.3F (-19C), 95% relative humidity, and a wintry NNW wind sustained at 7 mph gusting to 13.2 mph. Print. per winter back then. Note that averages are given; due to strong winds accompanying storms there is extensive drifting. Altitudes are approximate. Spikes are strongly recommended as the snow is now hard, compacted and very icy in places. Two 17-year-old hikers were rescued on Friday after getting lost on the Pacific Crest Trail, near the San Gorgonio Mountain, during a winter storm earlier in . My tracks from Wednesday were still largely visible and helped a little with traction. Although not essential, spikes are recommended and many hikers will find them useful especially for descending. With storms accompanied by strong west winds, the slopes above about 9500 ft on the east flanks of San Jacinto and Jean peaks may develop a snow structure with minor to moderate avalanche risk by the weekend of 25th-26th (as last seen on these slopes in early 2017). Donate via PayPal using the link below, Viewing 15 topics - 1 through 15 (of 533 total), Overnight Whitewater Preserve- 1/28/2023. The 0.4 mile section of South Ridge Trail between Chinquapin Flat/PCT and Tahquitz Peak has no steps to follow through the steeply angled ice with overlying deep snow. Although the flakes are small, it has been steadily accumulating at an inch per hour, with about six inches fresh powder so far today, for a Peak area total of about 30 inches. By my measurements, Idyllwild is up to 51 inches of snow to date for this winter, compared to the average for the thirty year period 1991-2020 of 31 inches. Even as melting proceeds steadily (details below), trails are very icy due to daily freeze/thaw cycles and compaction from hiker traffic, and spikes are recommended throughout the trail system above about 8000 ft (lower in places). From the large paved parking area, the trail starts on the opposite side of the road across from the vault toilet. While many hundreds of hours of time and effort are volunteered every year, the San Jacinto Trail Report uses small private donations to help cover modest operating costs. The 0.4 mile section of South Ridge Trail between Chinquapin Flat/PCT and Tahquitz Peak [checked 9th January] has no steps to follow through the steeply angled icy snow. Map Information. Very cautious navigation is strongly recommended everywhere. From the 10 freeway (coming east or west), you'll take Highway 38 through Forest Falls to get to the trailhead. At the Peak on Monday 6th February 2023 at 0930 the air temperature was 11.1F (-12C), with a windchill temperature of -11.0F (-24C), 59% relative humidity, and a frigid NNW wind sustained at 12 mph gusting to 20.2 mph. This table gives the weather forecast for San Gorgonio at the specific elevation of 3505 m. Our advanced weather models allow us to provide distinct weather . Multiple mild storm systems are forecast to bring extremely unsettled weather to the San Jacinto mountains starting Tuesday 27th December, lasting well into the first week of January. Generally considered a challenging route. My track largely followed the established route of the trail, especially below the Fuller Ridge junction, but higher up the track is much more direct in places. All have been reported to US Forest Service. 10 inches on 9th), Wellman Divide (9700 ft): 1-2 inches (was 4 inches on 9th), Annies Junction/approx. Major snowfall months have also occurred recently, in winters that did not otherwise end up with exceptional annual totals. Snow cover is shallow up to about 7000 ft, but relatively heavy above 8000 ft. San Gorgonio Mountain is the highest peak in California south of the Sierra at 11,499 ft. . Did you know? The fresh snow overnight could have covered any tracks or other signs of a campsite, but "if he's still moving, we'd be able to see his footprints clearly," Amrhein said. There is evidence of a relatively well-traveled track south from Saddle Junction on the PCT, but as of the morning of Saturday 17th this track did not make it through to Chinquapin Flat. TAKE A MAP. The Fire lookouts at Black Mountain and Tahquitz Peak were closed for the season ahead of schedule in anticipation of the snow storm in early November. The high country remained above the cloud for this one, with no fresh snowfall above about 8000 ft. With the light dusting of fresh powder overnight, accompanied by strong winds causing extensive drifting, prior tracks had been partially obscured everywhere and almost completely erased above 8900 ft so I was again breaking trail in the high country.

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