Pacific Crest Trail: July 2011

A view east towards Palm Springs about mile 174.

Section B
Fuller Ridge to Hwy 74 - Sobo
Miles: 38.5
Hiking with: Gary, Sam “Hatchet”, and Frevont “Franny”

Lodging: A house/cabin in Idylwild. We got in about midnight and were gone by 7 am. I’m not really sure what the place looked like other than it had a bed and a shower. Idylwild is a mountain getaway for LA so there are a lot of places to rent.

Car Rental: Hertz Car Rental – Palm Springs Airport.

Dining: Breakfast at Denny’s in Cabazon at 11pm – it doesn’t get any better.

Start: Fuller Ridge Trail Head. From the main road out of Idylwild go north and then turn right onto Black Mountain Trail (Forest Route 4S01) which is a well maintained dirt road with some short patches of pavement and go for a good 30 minutes. Eventually you’ll see a sign for Black Mountain Group campsite…keep going. About another mile up you’ll actually cross the PCT – although I don’t recall any signs visible from the road. There is a a sign for the Fuller Ridge trailhead, turn right on the dirt road and the trailhead is 50 yards ahead. There is lots of parking and both times I was at this trailhead someone was camping here (not PCT hikers). This is not in the San Jacinto State Park so no state permit from the State is needed.

End: Where the PCT crosses Hwy 74 (Palms to Pines Hwy). There is a PCT sign visible from the road and and good size parking lot on the north side of the road.

People along the trail: We saw several people between Strawberry Junction (mile 183.5) and Tahquitz Peak (mile 188). In this area there are a couple trails that lead up from Idylwild to the top of the San Jacinto Mountains where the PCT is. There is a rather extensive trail network at the top of the San Jacinto Mountains you can traverse to the east side where the Palm Springs Tram is and also climb to the peak of Mt. San Jacinto. A great area for a weekend hiking even if you're not doing the PCT.

At Fobes Saddle (mile 166.5) we saw tents but no people.

About mile 155 we passed a Hispanic man and his young son (probably 10). They had backpacks on and were quietly hiking along. We said hi as we passed, the father just nodded. Those were the only people I've seen on the Southern PCT that might have been illegals.

Description: We left Phoenix Thursday night after work (6pm). It was dark when we descended in to the Coachella Valley (where Palm Springs is) and picked our rental car at the Palm Springs Airport. We then headed up the Palm to Pines Hwy (Hwy 74) towards Idylwild and Warner Springs. Where the PCT crosses Hwy 74 at mile 152 we parked the rental car in the parking lot on the north side of the road. It was the only car. We all hopped into the other car and drove into Idylwild, picked up keys to our rental, drove to the rental, and went right to bed (midnight). We were up and gone by 7 am, drove to Fuller Ridge trailhead and were on the trail by 8ish. After about 5 miles Sam said his back was sore and thought something in his pack was rubbing it. After looking through his pack he pulled out a 5 lbs. hatchet – we all laughed as we're all light backpackers. Sam got his trail name – “Hatchet”. The trail quickly climbs up through the pine forest until you suddenly turn the corner and you realize “this is Fuller Ridge”. From here to about Fobes Saddle the trail is a world class with great vistas as it winds along the top of the mountain ridge with big drop offs. Between Big Bear and the Campo this is the most spectacular stretch of trail. We hiked into the dark for about 30 minutes and then camped about mile 171 in a little campsite alongside the trail right on the mountain ridge. The wind was howling all night as the ocean air rose up over the mountain and dropped down into the desert below -- I thought I was sleeping next to train tracks.

The next day we got up with the sun, ate a quick breakfast and were on the trail again. The trail from here dropped down to Fobes Saddle where I now realize we could have broken this hike up into smaller chunks – oh well. From Fobes Saddle the trail went up and over a couple of small mountains and then dropped into a high desert area with huge boulders. This change in scenery was a nice way to finish the hike. We arrived at Hwy 74 in the dark about 9 pm, jumped into the car, drove back up to Fuller Ridge to get the other car (almost ran over a deer going up Black Mountain road), drove both cars down and arrived at a Denny’s along I-10 in Cabazon about 11 pm. I washed the dirt off my legs in the restroom sink and toweled off as much stink and dirt from the rest of my body that I could. We were out 1 night – I’m afraid to think what it would be like if we were thru hikers. It was midnight Saturday as we were leaving Denny’s and my daughter was giving a talk in Church the next day so we decided to cruise straight back to Phoenix. After dropping the rental car off at the Palm Springs airport and stocking up with every caffeine drink known to mankind – Franny drove unassisted and got us to Phoenix at 5 am (about 1 hr. faster than if I was driving). I crashed for 3 hours and went to church. We all go to the same church – the trip wasn’t over until we saw each other in church to confirm that everyone completed the adventure including limited sleep and attendance at church. This was a trip I will never forget.

The companions -- Sam "Hatchet"-L, Gary - C, Frevont "Franny" - R.
At the north end of Fuller Ridge. The arched tree is a result of blowing wind, rain & snow.