Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

[Rick F]

Does anyone know if there is still a trail from Tamarack Valley along the ridge below/south of Cornell and Miller Peak to the summit?

I have been to the summit a few times on the trail from Round Valley to Wellman Divide and then along the long taverse across the east slope to the Miller Saddle. Last winter I followed tracks in the snow that went almost directly from Tamarack Valley to Miller Saddle. I have a topo that shows a trail with some switchbacks from Tamarack to the summit. Yesterday(Sunday Oct. 4) I tried to go up through Tamarack but I could not find any clearly defined trail after the upper campsites in Tamarack Valley. I continued navigating off-trail for about a half-mile until my daughter persuaded me to turn back. I'd like to learn more about the Tamarack route if anyone knows.

p.s. The wind was gusty yesterday. We saw two-foot diameter, 50 foot tall pine tree snap off and crash down by the Tamarack campsites.

[lilbitmo]

[phydeux]

That trail was pretty easy to find about 15 years ago if you took the time to find where the State Park staff had obliterated it at both ends, but the brush has since grown in and obliterated it. Keep to the regular Round Valley-Wellmans Divide-summit trail in the summer. In winter, if there's a good cover of snow on the brush, and just head up from Tamarak towards Miller Saddle (take snowshoes!).
_________________
4 out of 5 voices in my head are telling me "Go For It!"

[Nick-SJM]

The old trail you are referring to was abandoned by the State Park a number of years ago. The reasoning was that it went through an important deer fawning area. The trail still shows on some maps. As was mentioned above, the beginning and end of the old trail has been obscurred. Much of the middle of the trail has been grown over by bush chinquapin and mountain white thorn. There is no prohibition against using the trail, but it is discouraged.

[Rick F]

Thanks for all of the very informative replies, this explains the missing pieces of the trail puzzle and why I see the old trail marked on my USGS topo map.

[Rumpled]

On my hike last summer I could make out parts of it heading down from just a bit SW I believe of Miller Saddle.

[Norris]

Hi, I just did this last Saturday as part of a successful C2C hike from the museum to the summit. It was my second hike of this old trail this year. The trail is amazingly clear once you get to the start of the switchbacks which start near the old campground at the foot of Miller / Cornell peaks. It appears as if the forest service obliterated the start of the trail in Tamarack valley and also the part where it joins the regular trail, but left the middle part alone. There is evidence that folks have been doing a little bit of casual trail maintenance, cutting brush, etc. To find and follow this trail, just use a tool like Garmin MapSource to plot key points along the trail and make a route to follow. Really, all you need to worry about is finding the start of the switchbacks. Plot a route that starts from where the topo shows the old trail leaving the stream, and you should have no trouble. There isn't a lot of brush or other obstacles between there and the start of the switchbacks. The trail disappears again when you get to the flat area just below the regular trail, but just go straight and you will soon encounter the regular trail.
Do it! It's fun.

[jfr]

Hey! My wife and I also took that trail for the first time last Saturday! I've been wanting to take it for years, but didn't know where it started. As it turns out, I recently bought a gps and was happy to see that it has the old trail on it, so I decided to find it for myself. The beginning has been disguised, but once you find it there is relatively little trouble staying on it, as it was a properly graded trail. An occasional deer trail leads off to the side, so keep your eyes peeled for the usual signs of a human-made trail, such as rows of rocks for edges and angled rocks across the trail for water drainage. Some people have left a few rock "ducks" to mark the trail, as well.

Here are a few pictures of the trail, including what it looks like at the beginning and ending.

http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm106/jfrpix/san-jac-tamarack/

To find it, head north from the water-spout in Round Valley on the campsite trail toward Tamarack Valley. The campsite trail climbs up above the meadow and tops out along a ridge. Just before you begin to descend into Tamarack Valley is where the old trail begins, on the left hand side. If you get going downhill you've probably passed it. If all else fails, you can hike "upstream" in Tamarack Valley until you get to a small meadow, just beyond Cornell Peak. The old trail passes by the meadow on the upper left (west) side, as you can see in one of my pictures.

BTW, does anyone know the name of the low bushes that cover the entire hillside on the stretch above Wellman's? Those bushes are slowly choking the old trail, so wear long pants when you hike it. And, yes, Norris, I also noticed where some concerned hiker trimmed them back in one spot. Now my wife wants to go back and trim the rest of them! (She was wearing shorts on the hike.) I somehow doubt that the rangers would approve of her cutting plants in the park, and I really don't want to sit out in the sun waiting for her while she does it! That would be the longest day I ever spent hiking to the top of the peak...

[Nick-SJM]

jfr- The two shrubs that cause problems for you going up the Old Tamarack Route (I don't call it a "Trail" because it is no longer maintained by the responsible agency - The State Park) are 1) bush chinquapin and 2) mountain whitethorn. The mountain whitethorn does have thorns that will tear at your exposed legs.

Also, it would be appreciated if park visitors do not try to maintain or establish unapproved trails. In fact you could get a citation for this. As mentioned earlier, there was a reason for abandoning this trail.

[Hikin_Jim]

[SoCalJim]

OK, Jim, I'm intrigued. What's the REAL reason?

[Hikin_Jim]