Anyhoo, I was free on Tuesday so I decided to take a hike...literally. I'd heard that the hike to Tahquitz Peak was beautiful, challenging, and long, so I figured it would be just the thing.
The Goal: The fire look-out atop Tahquitz, some 3000' above Astrocamp.
I was told the trailhead would be easy to find...head out like I was going to Ernie Max, hang a right on the forest service road, and then the trail would be right there. They neglected to mention that "right there" is about a mile, and the road is up, 1000' up, all the way. And this is not the trail head I wanted.
After 45 minutes on the forest service road, I finally came around the back side of the hill that flanks my thoughtful spot on the May Valley trail.
Lo and behold, the South Ridge Trail!
Only four miles to my goal. Four miles and another 2000' elevation gain.
The switchbacks and ever-increasing elevation along the trail gave me great views of the surrounding valleys. Here's Lake Hemet.
A bird's eye view of Astrocamp. The white rectangle in the middle of the shot is the gym and swimming pool.
The heart of Idyllwild. Bottom left is the grocery store, center is The Fort and the coffee shop.
Of course there were other lovely things along the trail. I love the rock jumbles around here...
At one switchback the rocks created a window.
Well, naturally I had to take a peek at was was beyond the window. Surprise! It's a tree.
This tree looked like it was meandering along the trail, too.
As I stopped for a snack, I noticed this pair of trees. The small one almost looked like a bonsai.
While I stopped for lunch, it occurred to me that my legs had turned to jello. Without a hiking buddy to talk me out of backing down, I decided to head for home without reaching the top of Tahquitz. Still, I did cover a lot of ground. My best guess for my finish is the green arrow:
Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
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