Hiked: 11/11/2019
Distance: 8.6 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 8846'
Prominence: 766'
Elevation Gain: 2500'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 4 hours 12 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Humber Park
Difficulty: Moderate
Tahquitz Peak is a SoCal classic and one I had been saving until my wife could join me. She finally got a break from her EdD studies to head out with me. We drove to Humber Park stopping at the ranger station to issue ourselves a permit for the Devils Slide trail. In the summer, the number of permits on Devils Slide is limited, but not this time of year. I wasn't sure how busy it would be on Veterans Day, (thank you vets), but we didn't start until around 8:30 AM and the morning crowd was not bad. The trail gained steady ground at a reasonable slope. There was a delightful mix of pines, cedars, and deciduous trees. In short order, we had climbed 1700' to a flat section of trail heading toward Chinquapin Flats. The trail was easy here and stayed away from the cliffs. Another mile or so brought us to the junction that went to Tahquitz. We got great views on this stretch looking down on Lily Rock and Suicide Rock.
Looking up at Lily Rock and higher crags
Leisa heading toward Tahquitz
Looking down on Lily Rock and Suicide Rock
The final climb was a couple of hundred feet. The summit area had large boulders scattered around and the famous two story fire lookout. There was someone manning it who let us in to sign the official register and look around. We were the second party to summit. The fire ranger pointed out a lightning rod that had been struck in 2014 and was burned into pieces. A new one had taken its place. The benchmark was placed by the Army Corps of Engineers just outside the tower and stamped "Lois". That surprised me, but often the name of a peak will change over time. Views were sweet in all directions with San Jacinto looming large. Toward the coast, it was kind of hazy and smoggy. We sat down on a boulder to eat some snacks before packing up and heading down. On the way back, we met a lot of people heading up. It had warmed up considerably and we stopped a couple of times to adjust clothing. The trip was great fun and I was glad Leisa could make it with me.
Lookout tower
Smoggy toward the coast
Red Tahquitz down the ridge
San Jacinto
Toward Hemet
"Lois" benchmark
Cliffs on the way back
Awesome. That's a trip I still need to make one of these days.
ReplyDeleteMadison,
DeleteIt's a sweet trip all around. Keep it on your list. They strictly enforce permit limits on Devils Slide from June to labor day, but you can take the south ridge trail anytime. I love the area.
You've probably done a write up on this before, but can you go right up that canyon to the immediate northeast of Lily and Tahquitz (to the left of Tahquitz in your image above)? If so, how is that?
DeleteThat canyon leads to the north chutes, mainly used for winter climbing, class 4-5 terrain (https://www.summitpost.org/north-chutes/751140). On the other side of Lily (south) is a climbers trail that goes up a gully and comes up behind Lily. I used that to get Lily. There is a faint use trail from there that goes to the South Ridge trail staying at roughly 8000'. That use trail is also class 3-5 depending on your route. Both sides have some buckthorn and manzanita to deal with the first 1000'. Tough going off trail. It looks like an obvious loop candidate, but coming off Tahquitz directly toward Humber Park gets technical.
DeleteSo cool you did this one together--congrats on your fine summit, Mrs. W!
ReplyDeleteGloop, thanks! I'll pass it along. Mrs. W requires a view for the effort so it was an obvious hike to save.
DeleteMy wife and I did that hike together many years ago - we loved it. Some corn ice (?) on the trail in the shade before we got to the summit. At the top, the person manning the lookout had us sign up for the International Brotherhood of Squirrels. LOL We still joke around with that - every time we see a squirrel, one of us says "there's your brother". We chuckle every time. We took the DEvil's Slide trail when we did it together. Later I did the South Ridge Trail, as I added Red Tahquitz while up there. Great hike, Keith. Glad your wife was able to join you!
ReplyDeleteMike Martin
Mike,
DeleteDevil's Slide is so scenic. I'll have to look up the Brotherhood of Squirrels. Red Tahquitz is still out there for me and there is an unofficial Grey Tahquitz nearby. Great that you got your wife out there as well.