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Peak San Jacinto
Group N/A
Trailhead Marrion Mountain

I’m sure I would have loved this hike had it not been so crowded: it was a challenge to find decent parking once up at the trailhead and the summit was ridiculous.

Liz and I met up with her brother and sister Anthony and Emily as early as we could all manage to get up to Idyllwild for our permit then up to the trailhead. We were car camping that night at Stone Creek campground after summitting so we also made a quick stop in the local market for essentials like sausage, beer and ice.

Once on the trail everyone was in a rush to get going except me, I guess I just need a little more time to warm up sometimes but I was falling behind in the first mile or so with the three Kings up ahead chatting away. The trail is quite nice climbing mostly pretty gently through old pine forest and scrub. We passed a few areas where conservation corp workers were clearing trail where some trees had fallen or and as we approached the noise I thought it was the tram, obviously having no idea where we were relative to the tram!

A few miles up you pass through the Little Round Valley campground which looks like an amazing spot to backpack in and summit early in the morning but we pressed on past. Once at the junction to the summit the trail got very, very crowded and the summit was just a mob of loud, obnoxious people the likes of which I’ve never seen on a mountain. There were groups of 8-12 people all summitting together and yelling and whooping as they did as if they had just crossed the finish line of a marathon. Personally, and I think a lot of people would agree, the mountains are a place for peace and unity with nature, not cross-fit style exhibitions of masculinity.

The way back down was also quite crowded with some groups stretching to almost 20 people all in a row. My group was slowing which was adding to my frustration since Liz and I typically blaze down the hills and I wanted to set up camp and get going on those Torpedos we brought along. Once we were down though I was happy with the hike and impressed by Anthony and Emily toughing it out who do not typically hike at all, let alone a 10,000 ft peak.

Camping afterwards was a blast with a hot fire, overcooked sausages and more beers than probably needed and the next day we stopped off in Idyllwild to check it out. It’s a cool little town, not a lot going on, but a couple of good looking eateries – we chose Idyllwild Brewpub which is very nice and modern.

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