San Jacinto Peak via Devils Slide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail
14.7 mi
Distance
7 hrs 3 min
Time
terrain
4,241 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
This is a difficult out and back trail to San Jacinto Peak in San Jacinto Wilderness.
This trail goes by Jolley Spring (Dry), Middle Spring, Wellman Divide, and Powderbox Spring.
Sights to See
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
Hiked Thurs 06/29/2023 solo – Devil’s Slide to PCT to Wellman’s Cienega to Round Valley. Cross Country to Cornell-Harvard-Yale-Cienega. Warm day with just enough wind to keep cool and a very nice hike to Round Valley. Great trail conditions, aside from the bugs on the way down Devil’s Slide. Got an early start scrambling up Cornell from the east saddle, working around clockwise to the chimney at the base of the summit block. Dropped my pack and put on my harness to go up the block. After free climbing the chimney, I sling anchored from the chock stone wedge in the top, clipped in and went up the block. Coming down Cornell has many fun scrambling options that most anyone would enjoy and a couple of great, optional rappels when equipped for it. After following and linking the animal use trails to Harvard Peak, the scramble to the twin summit blocks was just as much fun as Cornell. After trekking over to Yale, I chose to climb the west side of Yale since I brought the ropes, rack and helmet. The north scramble up is a saner way to go (my choice down). Cienega Peak is just south of Annie’s Junction and is a very short pleasant hike up with great panoramic views. Very fun, adventurous day. Logged 16.7 miles/5066 vertical ft. with Gaia.............................................................................................................................................................Hiked Friday 05/26/2023 solo – Was amazed how dry the Devil’s Slide trail has become over the last few weeks - bare boots from Humber Park to a mile past Saddle Junction and then micro spikes up. An early start provided firmer snow on the northern slope traverses after Annie’s Junction to the SJ and Miller peaks with a decent boot packed track to follow. The trail crews have done a great job removing the downed trees across Devil's Slide. The weather was perfect with little wind, great views but not cold enough to keep the snow firm on the descent. The snow softened on the way down but spikes kept the sliding to a minimum. Had crampons with me but never used them. The boulders east of Miller are dry for the most part and fun to climb right now. You could make it to the summit with trail runners using boot prints on the slopes for support but I would still recommend boots and micro spikes. Met a lot of nice people on the way down including a few rangers checking permits and got back to a full parking lot. Wellman’s Cienega is flowing nicely and a good place to fill up. Check the San Jacinto Trail Report (https://sanjacjon.com) for the latest trail conditions before heading out. Logged 15.4 miles/4369 vertical ft with Gaia ................................................................................................................................................................................. Hiked Friday 03/31/2023 – Nice weather on the warm side with little to no wind and nice views of the San Bernardino Range and the desert. Was a challenging (off) day for me early into the hike but I decided to make the best of it and stick to my turn around time. The snow was okay, better than last week’s loose powder but not as firm as early March. I had micro spikes on almost the entire way to Saddle Junction and then snow shoes to the east face of San Jacinto. After going up Miller Peak, I went up the east face of San Jacinto, stopping 200 feet short of the actual summit as it was already half an hour past my turn around time on a solo hike. In spite of having an off day, coming down from the high country through the forest in the late afternoon is still a great experience. The water crossings were not too bad and fallen trees easy to hike around. I was treated to an amazing sunset while coming down from Saddle Junction, a fitting way to finish off a long day. Big thanks to Jon King, San Jacinto guide/volunteer ranger, for finding my lost micro spikes that had fallen off my pack (also the only person I saw all day). Logged 13.8 miles/4230 vertical ft. on Gaia.******************************************************************************************
Hiked Friday 01/20/23 - Got an early start to climb Jean Peak from the Devil’s Slide Trailhead. I knew the snow would be deep and the temps on the colder side from reading Jon King’s excellent 1/19 San Jacinto Trail Report (https://sanjacjon.com). Lots of ice laden tree branches dipping down on to the trail and five or so water crossings near the trailhead to add some fun. Traded micro spikes for snow shoes at the saddle to get through the loose powder on the way to the east base of Jean. The wind was pretty tame all day but the powder was light enough for the occasional spindrift to blow by. The direct ascent up the east face of Jean Peak was rapid at first with a crampon walk and a pole/axe hand combo but slowed down quite a bit for the last third as the snow was less stable/consolidated and the axe spike had to be planted deep for every two front point sets while on all fours. Absolutely stellar, well-lit afternoon views from the summit including San Gorgonio, the desert and the Salton Sea. Opted for an easier ridge descent back to Annie’s Junction with some postholing but was able to snowshoe all the way down to the car at Humber Park. Logged about 14 hiking miles and 4390 vert ft on a very scenic day. Be careful of the rime ice falling from the trees right now – a baseball sized chunk hit my helmet on the way out!*************************************************************************************************
Hiked 01/12/23 – Started early on the Devil’s Slide Trail and went just past the PCT/Wellman’s Cienaga Trail junction to the base of Marion Mountain. Climbed the southeast ridge and then the south face of Marion Mountain/Peak 11362 by axe and crampons. The ridge snow was great for pointing with an occasional helmet hit from rime ice falling out of trees while the last part of the face had some small slides of rime to navigate around. The snow on both of the Marion/11362 summits was deep enough to make the last bit of bouldering easier. Climbing Shirley Peak was similar but with a few blue ice areas at the top. Hit my turn around time so I descended to the saddle between Shirley/11362 and then back down to the Cienaga Trail and headed back to Humber Park. The day’s warm weather had softened the snow on the last 4 miles of the trail making it impossible to avoid postholing so I put my snow shoes on to avoid it which made the several runoff water crossing tricky, the last 2 by headlamp. Great day to hike/climb with little wind and awesome views off of the summits. A couple of deer waiting at the car in the dark to greet me. First hike out in a long time where there weren’t fallen trees to navigate. Logged about 14.5 miles and 4200 feet the fun way!
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This was a great hike but my wife and I were unprepared for the ice on the trail. With only one set of crampons for her it was extremely difficult for me to find safe footing in some areas slowing us down a lot. This is the wrong time of year to make this peak due to how early it gets dark. We hiked the last 4 miles back to the car in the dark.extremely windy, 65 mph winds at the peak and very cold. I highly recommend this hike but at a time of year when darkness doesn’t fall at 5:00 P.M.
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