Distance: 73.8 miles
Summit Elevation: 6240' (Butterfly) to 8720' (Red Tahquitz)
Total Gain: 21,305'
Total Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 17
Total Hike Time: 47.7 hours
Parking/Fees/Fares: Adventure Pass
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
The Desert Divide is an unofficial group of peaks that run north-south on a long ridge extending from the San Jacinto Mountains and are accessible from the PCT. The divide ridge cuts the desert in two with high alpine forest. Peak elevations range from 6240'-8720'. This list is somewhat arbitrary since Red Tahquitz might be considered part of the Tahquitz family and the San Jacinto mountains proper. Grey Tahquitz could be added due it's proximty with Red, the same with Rock Point, a popular peak south of Butterfly (I bagged both peaks while doing the divide). I stuck with Hikin' Jim's original list of twelve as the northern and southern boundaries, but added Little Desert Peak for a total of thirteen. Little Desert is a small bump just off the PCT but is an official peakbagger peak and fit all other criteria. Most of the peaks are on the HPS list.
I broke the divide into six hikes, summiting two or more on most trips. Antsell Rock deserves special mention for the difficult approach and solid class 3 finish. Antsell is the shining star of the divide. Cone Peak has an impressive and exposed class 3 summit block. Pine has an easy class 3 block and a monsterous 60' class 5 boulder that is rarely attempted (I didn't). The Palm View Peak summit is surrounded by trees and ironically has no view, the worst summit on the divide. Due to distance, brush, and route finding, it is unlikely all thirteen could be done in a single day.
Distance and Time in the table is for the round trip. Note: a zero (0) for distance, gain, and time means that peak was part of a multi-peak day hike and the stats were combined for one peak in the trip.
| Peak | Summit | Distance (mi) | Gain | Time (hrs) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Tahquitz | 8720' | 14.9 | 4704' | 8.8 | report |
| South Peak (aka Southwell) | 7840' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Antsell Rock | 7679' | 7.2 | 3156' | 6.8 | report |
| Apache Peak | 7567' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Spitler Peak | 7440' | 15.7 | 4520' | 9.5 | report |
| Palm View Peak | 7160' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Cone Peak | 6820' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Little Desert | 6868' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Pyramid Peak | 7035' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Pine Mountain | 7054' | 11.2 | 3087' | 7.3 | report |
| Lion Peak | 6868' | 0 | 0' | 0 | report |
| Butterfly Peak | 6240' | 9.2 | 2962' | 8.5 | report |
| Ken Point | 6423' | 15.6 | 2876' | 6.8 | report |
Other Reports:
Hikin' Jim's Desert Divide
Congrats, Tekewin--truly quite an accomplishment, all things these days considered. Onwards & Upwards!
ReplyDeleteGloop,
DeleteThanks! It's not a big thing, just a small part of the HPS list that was of particular interest.