Okay, it’s another non-kinky hiking post today, though probably the last one till next summer ;-)

I read about this insane “Cactus to Clouds” hike on Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs, CA, a couple years ago and I wondered if I’d ever be up to doing it. Basically you start on the desert floor in Palm Springs and climb up over 10,000 feet of elevation gain to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, going from the desert to an alpine environment in one long day. This mothah is tough! The desert heat can be deadly so spring or fall are about the only times to safely attempt it (in winter the upper trails get dangerously icey). The trail is sketchy and easy to lose too, so I found a good group to go with – didn’t want to end up alone and lost in the desert!

One cool thing about Mt. San Jacinto is that there’s an Aerial Tramway at the 8000 foot level. So when you’re coming down, you just descend partway to the tram station and ride back down – covering in 12 minutes what took hours and hours to do on foot!