In August 2024 my brothers and I took an overnight trip to San Jacinto Mountain in Southern California. We took the Palm Springs tram up to 8,516 feet, and the peak is 10,834. The way we did it was hike first to the campground, which is about 2.5 miles from the tram station, find a campsite, setup and take a break.
We chose to hike in all of our water for the overnight in case the faucet was not running, so the trek in was not easy as we were carrying quite a lot of weight. Turns out the faucet was running, so it was still nice to have a water source just in case. The area is beautiful, the temperature about 35 degrees cooler than the valley floor. After setting up camp we dropped as much weight as we could and went for the peak.
The views on the way up are amazing, and the hike gets quite strenuous at times so don’t feel bad if you need to turn around. The elevation absolutely hits you here, constantly trying to catch your breath. The final stretch to the peak is a bit scrambly but if you take your time you can find a path that doesn’t involve any serious bouldering.
A lot of the gear we used on this trip is listed on this website. I will continue to keep this website updated with good picks for beginner and budget minded backpackers.
