Hiking Mount San Jacinto via Deer Springs Trail

 Hiking Mount San Jacinto via Deer Springs Trail

by Armando Ortiz

I started the hike at 5am, right as the sunlight began cresting over the horizon, and returned to my car by 6pm. This was my first hike up to Mount San Jacinto. This was a journey through changing landscapes that opened my eyes to what once was happening in these areas. Slopes of the mountain face underwent a remarkable transformation as I ascended, shifting from a sandy dirt trail surrounded by manzanita and oak trees to rugged gray rock boulders intermingled with pine outcroppings. The shadows of trees, and bushes just as well changed throughout the day and were like on complete sundial. Rock formations and uninhabited clearings indicating past life. The hike to the summit makes the Deer Springs trail unforgettable. Any hike that allows you to see the change in the different ecosystems within a mountain range is always special and memorable to the senses. 

To reach the top of Mount San Jacinto an early morning start is recommended. If this hike is done in the summertime there will be sufficient time and sun to complete the hike. There will be two places where water can be gathered depending on which route you take once you reach Strawberry Junction. This day I chose to take a left and head north along the trail. The morning breeze was refreshing and the day was clear. These stretches of the trail are wooded and there will be plenty of shade.

Along the way one might see things that otherwise are overlooked at times. Fallen tree trunks at times looked like crow wings that decorate the ground as signs of past fires that had burned through the area. As one continues climbing you see granite outcroppings, some looking like Olmec figures covered in shrouds while other rocks are huge boulders that have been weathered for millenia. 

Although the hike was difficult, the desire to reach the top became more and more intense as the landscape changed. Although difficult the trail gives a sense of serenity as you discover different fauna and hear the wind blow through the branches of pines and chaparral. There is enough variance in this changing environment that the eye stays stimulated. Before reaching the summit I refilled all my water bottles at Deer Springs, which seems to have water flowing year around and a few feet away the PCT connects with the trail.

As I began my descent the trail revealed some things along the way that allowed me to make connections to what I had seen on the way up earlier in the day. I took a loop on the hike up, and descended on the east facing side of the summit along Peak Trail. This side of the mountain is more exposed to the elements, hiking down the trail is easy, and lined by bushes. Palm Springs can be seen at a distance if you stop and look east. I reached a section that was marshy and had plants that seemed to spiral up tall with a vibrant green. Water seeped out of the mountain on this section of the trail. White granite rubble piled up along a slope seem like caves where natives might have sat and studied the sky. The thick walls and hangs serve as protection from sudden storms of summer heat. 

As the afternoon sun slowly moves across the horizon the shadows of the boulders seem to turn into prehistoric statues and monuments. These looked like the ruins of Greek temples with its slabs laying flat one on top of the other. Most of the trail was quiet, with occasional hikers and backpackers headed up to the summit. The trees sway and the plants stand tall and vibrant indicating that water is near. I leaned on one of the boulders to keep my balance as I stepped over a root and the warm boulder told me of the warmth that was still ahead on the other face of the mountain.

 As I reached Wellman Divide, the sun’s rays served as a reminder that it's summer, and was suddenly rewarded by fabulous views of Idyllwild’s granite canyons making it the perfect location to take a water break and enjoy views of the town below. At this junction bedrock mortars, like giant buried bowling balls, reveal signs of ancient communities that once existed and made their trek to this place reinforcing a belief that this mountain has always been visited and has been the perfect place to take a rest. Once you begin nearing Strawberry Junction you see broken pine trees damaged and altered by boulders that freed themselves from the upper slopes, held sideways by black oaks that resemble canoes. As you descend you feel the rough edges of the rocks rub against the soles and sides of my boots.

On the way down there were times where the trail seemed to change directions, and I had to stop and reorient myself. It was as if something were pulling me towards other directions where I could have gotten lost. I began to wonder and ask myself if the mountain was communicating something to me. Of course this is all idle talk. As I was coming down I began to notice what appeared to be directional markings covered in pine needles and dirt that indicated to a direction or a place. These markers were likely man-made, as I later learned that Native American inhabited this place in the past. At some point I wondered if the dead manzanita branches were covering up what lay beyond. Cleared spaces seemed to be evidence of possible seasonal villages or places where people once processed nuts.

I made it back to the car, my mind remained filled with the dazzling sights I had experienced and remarkable connections I had made along the way. Intrigued by what I had seen, I decided to do some research after returning home. I searched for the trail that I had hiked earlier but now seeing it from a slightly different perspective. I discovered that along the trail there are areas that are like patches of meadows where people could have set up communities. It turns out that the surrounding Native American tribe, the Cahuilla people, had a connection to the mountain and seasonally migrated to these areas. There is even a boulder, about a mile away from the trailhead, that has pictographs that women would visit and write on the walls of this boulder as a coming of age ritual. The boulder that looked like a giant bowling ball most likely was a site for processing acorns and other nuts. 

The top of the mountain was crowded with all kinds of people feeling accomplished, and as I write this down I wonder if the ancient had the same feelings once they reached  the summit and gazed down at the lands and places that they called home. People from all directions, Idyllwild and Palm Springs reaching the top and taking pictures, me included. Different tribes at the top of this mountain exchange greetings and rest on the rocks. Truly this is a mother mountain that has had a significance for people all over the area for a millenia and continues to be silent.