Cahuilla Mountain Trail

I have to admit, this is a hike that wasn't my idea. Not only that, but it has already been featured in another blog, Hike Every Day by my good friend Hal Summers. I really enjoy reading his daily blog and I recommend it. I normally post photos, but since Hal had the still camera and I had a pocket video camera, I've posted a video instead of stills.

My weekend plans had been to climb at Suicide Rock, but due to the high heat and humidity, everyone that I was talking to about climbing ended up making other plans. Since I'm on call every third weekend, I started to panic towards the end of the week. It didn't help matters a whole lot when the weather reports said that the humidity would start to break on Sunday. I started to think about who I could get to go climbing and then I thought of my friend Hal. He is often lamenting the lack of options that he has for his daily hikes and one of the drawbacks is a lack of partners. So I fired off a message and waited for a reply. Then I sent an e-mail and after a while he wrote back, yes he would like the company, but he had to work and would meet me in Palm Desert after he got off at 3pm. Well, that threw rock climbing out the window, but I was willing to hike, as long as I could do something outdoors.

We arranged meet by the intersection of Highways 111 and 74. I didn't bother to ask Hal what he had in mind, so I brought lots of liquids, just in case we were doing a desert hike. A little after 3 I see a white jeep pull into the parking lot and I figure it must be Hal. I get out of my car and sure enough it's him. We start talking and since it's been so long since we've seen each other, we almost forgot to get going. It's great getting together with a friend like Hal and we had a lot of catching up to do. Fortunately with his blog I'm very up to date on his life since the first of the year. As we head up Highway 74 Hal tells me that we are going up to Anza and hike Cahuilla Mountain. I'm pleased since I've never done anything but drive through the area and I like the idea of doing something new. It seems like we are in Anza in no time, because of the lively conversation and because Hal doesn't waste time with his driving. We stopped at a convenience store for some last minute necessities and then on to the trailhead.

As we drive by the sign, we could barely read it and that was because we stopped. I guess the recession has been going on longer than I thought. We take a picture and then we roar on up the road. I have to say that Hal really enjoys his jeep. We soon arrive at the trailhead and make our preparations for the hike. Our hike is in the San Bernardino National Forest, trail 2E45 and the starting elevation is 4480 feet. As we start I try to video a introduction, Hal's a good sport, but he's anxious to get going and so we start hiking.

The trail starts in a small saddle and heads south up into the chaparral brush, classic rattlesnake country in my mind. Hal has a ski pole with him, for snakes he says. I decide to let him go first, especially since he'd run me over with his faster pace. We find the trail is in good condition and we soon are subjected to some nice views. We are on the east side of Cahuilla Mountain and we can see Mt. San Jacinto to the north, Anza to the south and east. We soon see a doe and it's fawn, we are amazed at how high they can jump as they climb the side of the hill. I figure that jumping over the brush is the only way for them to get around, since you can't walk through it.

As we follow the trail it maintains a nice steady grade along the side of the mountain and we begin to come across some groups of trees and open areas. We are making a transition from the chaparral into oak an Jeffery pine. The trail steepens and we suddenly find ourselves going up some stairs made out of sections of log and up into a grassy area. Off the side of the trail the ground looks disturbed and we head over and find an old mine. Not much left, just some filled in holes and tailings. This mine was at a saddle and we were wondering which way the trail was going to go, since we couldn't tell where the actual peak was when we were hiking below. We soon find out as the trail starts traversing along the west side of the mountain. Now we are out of the brush and in oak woodland.

We come to a fork in the trail, with a unique sign. It is a steel fence post with an old car spring welded to the top and inside the spring is a wood arrow. The "head" is broken off and stuck in the spring and we wonder what it means, then we notice that the arrowhead says "spring" on it. We catch on that the sign is a clever way of pointing the way to a natural spring and so we follow that trail. Just a few hundred feet later we find the spring, it's not very deep, but it appears to be enough for the deer, since the ground is covered with fresh tracks. We look around and then rejoin the trail to the top.

As start back up for the top we notice that the woodpeckers have been drilling holes in the trees and putting acorns in them. We see hundreds of holes and many are filled with acorns. We take a few pictures and then head up the last few hundred yards to the top.

As we near the summit Hal goes into overdrive and I struggle to keep up. I just manage to film him as he steps up on the summit rock pile, an elevation of 5604 feet. I had joked at the start of the hike that I was taking the place of Kahlua, his dog. Kahlua often goes on the shorter hikes Hal does close to home. I decide that I am not in as good of shape as Hal, but by being the dog, I claim I was off chasing rabbits. Of course if you believe that one, you should entrust me with all your savings, I know of a can't miss investment opportunity, trust me. At the top we enjoy the views, drink gatorade, sign the summit register and record the scene for posterity. All to soon it's time to head back down. We contemplate going cross country, but looking at the brush we think better of it.

On the way back down we stop and check out some flowers. I've never seen some of them before. We make good time and arrive back at the jeep just before dark. Almost exactly three hours since we left the car. Not bad for five miles round trip with several stops along the way.

As we load our gear in the car I notice that the rear passenger side tire on Hal's jeep has some cracks in the sidewall. He says yes, he knows and hopes to find the time to have it replaced soon. I suggest that maybe we should make a more relaxed trip back to the desert floor. Well, that's not in Hal's nature, but we made it back safely anyway.

I've included a link to the video that I made, I'm still experimenting so I hope you enjoy it. It's on You Tube, Cahuilla Mountain Trail. For photos of the trip, please go to Hal's blog, Hike Every Day.