Mount San Jacinto

It’s been a while ...

I was expecting the drive from San Diego to Palm Springs to be barren and desolate.  Just a few abandoned buildings scattered here and there along a lonely highway.

God am I naive.  It’s one town after another ... the entire way.  And they’re all the same.  Boring, sterile, cookie-cutter.  I’m now convinced there are more Home Depots in Southern California than there are McDonalds.  I’m just not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing.

Actually, the towns do dry up, but only when you reach the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm.  Seemingly endless rows of wind turbines stretch across the entire valley.   I couldn’t help but think of the Human Farm scene from the Matrix as I was driving through.  It’s as creepy as it is impressive.

I decided to head straight to the Palm Springs Tram instead of hitting up my hotel first.  The ride to the top of Mount San Jacinto is quick and would be quite enjoyable if not for all the tourists who react to the bouncing of the Tram as though they’re on a roller coaster. 

The Tram stops just shy of 9,000ft and once out in the open, that unique California forest smell overwhelmed me.  Perhaps “that smell” can be experienced in Algonquin Park or Temagami, but I certainly haven’t experienced it in any forest I’ve been to across the east of North America.  The air smells, tastes and simply feels thick with the essence of the trees.  I’m pretty sure my dormant allergies would have been brought back to life if I spent any considerable amount of time there.

My first mistake on the run was opening up the trail map and scanning the section on the wildlife of the mountain.  Cougars ... f@ck ... I love running trails and being out in nature, but unfortunately, I have an unbelievable, irrational fear of large clawed animals.  Should I blame Stephen Colbert?  Perhaps, but a cougar ain’t a bear ... 

I met up with one of the Park Rangers to ask about a suitable loop to run and he showed me a nice 4 miler he claimed to run every morning.  I couldn’t help myself and asked him about the cougars.  He reassured me that in his 30 years living in nearby Idyllwild, he had never encountered one.  That calmed me down for 30 seconds or so.

I started out tentatively on the run and within two or three minutes I passed by a few deer calmly grazing away.  That settled me down for 10 seconds or so until it dawned on me that they are a food source.  To say that I went into a bit of a panic would be an understatement.  I was alone ... very alone ... out in nature, not really sure where I was going and feeling like I was at the absolute bottom of the food chain.

Like I said, irrational.

For whatever reason, I kept going.  Looking back, I’m really not sure why?  Besides my parents, I don’t believe I had told anyone I was going to do this run, so no one would be the wiser if I simply went straight back to the Tram and hauled ass into Palm Springs.  That said, simply soldiering on doesn’t always end in a memorable experience.  I honestly don’t remember much other than constantly looking over my shoulder. 

Were the vistas impressive? Don’t know ...

Did the altitude affect me?  Not sure ...

Was I glad when I saw some hikers close to the end of the run?  Hell yes ...

I got off that mountain quickly and looked forward to the next day when I’d be running at Joshua Tree.