Cactus to Clouds (C2C)

posted in: Trail/Hike Information

Sure, it’s a big deal to climb Mt. Whitney-but on the highest peak in the lower 48, you begin at 8,360 feet. To conquer Cactus to Clouds, you start on the desert floor and ascend 10,700 feet-a vertical half-mile more than Whitney. Two fun ways to put your pain in perspective as you churn up the unmaintained trail: The trek to San Jacinto’s 10,804-foot, boulder-strewn crown is only 800 vertical feet shorter than the climb from Everest basecamp to summit-and comparable to doing more than a thousand flights of stairs.*


Disclaimer

Several times per year there are rescues on Skyline. Occasionally, people die on the trail. It is not maintained by any state or federal agency and it’s use is discouraged. Do not attempt this hike unless you know that you are capable, have completed the recommended training and can carry the recommended gear. If you are not capable, you put your entire group in danger, as well as any personnel involved in your rescue. If you do hike this trail, you are doing it at your own risk and you are solely responsible for any incurred medical or legal costs – you are the only person responsible for your safety and well-being.

Before reading about the hike itself, please take a look at this list of fatalities and rescue reports.

The following list was pulled from a forum post entitled ‘Learning from other’s mistakes on Skyline Trail‘:

  • Recent fatalities:
    • Mark Alexander, died May 2012
    • William Carroll, died July 2009
    • Robert Allen Liebler, died July 2009
    • Alexander Todd Major, died  May 2009
  • Here are some interesting/sobering comments from a Skyline regular and local resident:
    • “I’m not really counting the fairly numerous people who die on the lower portion, i.e. The Desert Museum, although perhaps I should. There are deaths there every few months, from some combination of heat/heart attack, which will probably turn out to be what killed the guy who died on Friday afternoon. As for rescues, I literally can’t remember how many there have been. Two of my close friends have been rescued from Skyline (on separate days, both fell down the traverse ice.) As a local who reads the paper, it seems to me that there is one or two pretty much every other week, on average. My ‘favorites’ have been the numerous groups of Marines who keep getting rescued.” -Posted by forum user Cynthia23

Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit Reports:

Keep in mind that the numerous reports above only include rescues that the RMRU was involved in. There are other agencies that do rescues in the area, including: the Palms Springs Police Search & Rescue, the State Park, and the County Sheriff.


Summary

The Cactus to Clouds hike starts in Palm Springs and climbs to San Jacinto Peak, reportedly having the greatest elevation gain of any trail in the contiguous United States.  The trail is broken up into two sections. The first part, usually referred to as Skyline Trail (aka Chino Canyon Trail, Sunrise Trail,  and/or Outlaw Trail), climbs 8,000+ feet from the desert floor to the Long Valley Ranger Station. Here it joins the San Jacinto Peak Trail, which gains another 2,600 feet on it’s way to the summit. Some people will only hike Skyline Trail, stopping at Mountain Station (upper tram station) and saving the hike to the peak for another day. In most cases, when someone refers to C2C, they are talking about the entire hike, from Palms Spring to the summit.

Hike Info

Difficulty Level: Very Strenuous (5th hardest dayhike in the US)
Distance: 23 miles (11 miles for Skyline Trail + 12 miles roundtrip for the San Jacinto Peak Trail)
Start Time: 2:00AM
Hiking Time: 12 – 18 hrs (6 -10 hrs for Skyline Trail + 6 – 8 hrs for San Jacinto Peak Trail)
Recommended Training: In the last month, a hike of 20+ miles (endurance) and a hike with 5,000+ ft of elevation gain (climbing). A couple of local hikes that have an incline similar to Skyline are Black Mountain Trail and Mt Baldy via Bear Canyon/Old Baldy Trail. It is recommended that you complete the ascent of Bear Canyon in 4 hrs or less before attempting C2C. If you double your ascent time for Bear Canyon, it will give you a ballpark figure for what may be expected for your pace up Skyline.
Elevation Gain/Loss: over 10,500 ft gain/2600 ft loss
Maximum Elevation: 10,834 feet

Gear

Hydration: Carry at least 4 liters of water (or maybe 3 liters water + 1 liter of gatorade/powerade/vitalyte for electrolyte replacement). Water can be refilled at the Mountain Station or Long Valley Ranger Station, but you will need to carry enough water for the first 11 miles
Food: You can burn in excess of 500 calories per hour on a strenuous hike. It is recommended that you consume at least half of those calories on the trail (think lightweight, high calorie foods). You also need to replace electrolytes through food or products such as Gatorade, SportBeans, ShotBloks, etc
Clothing: The hike starts in Palm Springs and goes to the peak of San Jacinto. There can be a 60 degree (or greater) difference between Palm Springs and San Jacinto Peak.  Here are the weather forecasts – SJ Peak || Palm Springs (dress appropriately and be prepared for bad weather)
Misc: 13 Hiking Essentials – Carry them yourself or share the load with someone in your group. Carry money for the tram ride down (~$12.00) and cab ride back to the trailhead (~$25.00 per taxi)

Trail Details

Over the last 18 months, I’ve spent lots of time collecting information on Skyline Trail, which you follow for the first 11 miles of C2C. This includes:

    • identifying and taking pictures of the landmarks that hikers refer to when talking about Skyline
    • recording the elevation of and distance between these landmarks
    • determining the average incline between these landmarks to help assess the difficulty of the trails sections
    • creating time/split tables to estimate total hike time
    • checking and re-checking this information several times

To see this information, please click on the link below to continue:
Skyline Trail & Cactus to Clouds Guide