| Peak | San Jacinto |
|---|---|
| Group | N/A |
| Trailhead | Idyllwild |
We started our San Jacinto hike around 2am. We were hoping that it wouldn’t take us too long and that we would be high enough to catch some of the sunrise (or even summit). As I was scanning up the mountain I saw a little pair of red eyes. I scanned back and told my hiking partner to stop moving that something was up there. When they scanned with their flashlight another 4 pairs of red eyes were looking back at us. A pack of coyotes or wolves (we really were not about to find out)!!! We started making a lot of noise hoping they would continue their route but they continued getting closer. We began to walk backwards with knives in our hands. We decided to stop hiking and wait for sunrise to be on the safe side. We sat back to back in full “ready to fight mode”. Once we began to see some sunlight we continued our route. The trail was easy to follow and considering we were full with adrenaline from our wildlife experience we continued our hike in a fairly good pace. The entire hike was beautiful. And the summit had some of the best views! We stopped and dropped off some snacks at the emergency cabin which was also very nicely kept. On our way down we got to see some deer right by the trail. Something that we really enjoyed about this trailhead was that we were able to travel on the PCT for a couple of miles. Overall I think this hike was one of our favorites, not only because we survived, but also because the views were some of the best!
