San Jac Trip Report - - February 25, 1995
Report filed by Bruce Corning
This club trip turned into a private trip after several participants dropped out. Participants were:
Joe Wheeler (leader)
Jerry Cole
Bruce Corning
Sandy Kobayashi
We met as planned at the Palm Springs tram station at 9:00 AM Saturday morning. After parking in the main lot I found out that there is a special lot for overnight parking, so I had to move my car. Oh well . . .
The weather was considerably better at the top of the tram this time that it was the last time. Only a slight overcast, and temperatures in the high 30s. An inch of powder had fallen the night before, as several people we met confirmed. The snow was well consolidated and icy in some spots. The snowshoes were actually not needed and became a nuisance--crampons might have been a better idea.
We reached Round Valley in a little over 2 hours, trailing behind a group of Navy Seals reserves who were on a training exercise of some sort. They were skiing in, and a few of them were having some trouble. When we reached the Valley we took a rest stop. Joe broke out his Magellan Trailblazer GPS receiver and we pinpointed our location on the topo using its readings.
We continued to head west while the Seals peeled off to the north--we wanted to remain out of earshot. We were mostly successful at this. After heading up the slope about 1/4 mile past the meadow we found a flat spot large enough for our three tents and set up shop. The snow was about three feet deep and somewhat icy. The skies had cleared, the wind stopped and it was a very pleasant afternoon.
After a while Jerry broke out the port and we imbibed until it was time to prepare dinner. Three MSR Whisperlites sooned fired up and we all were melting water for our various dinners. Jerry and Sandy brought some homemade chicken sausage which hit the spot. Cleanup was by lanternlight, and soon after dark we hit the sack.
The night was clear and calm, we saw a meteor or two and Venus was a spectacular morning star alongside the waning moon. We guessed the minimum temperature to be around 28F--it certainly wasn't as cold as other trips up here. Some of my heavy winter clothing stayed in the pack, unused.
We all rose around 7:00 AM, shortly after sunup, and had a leisurely breakfast before packing up to climb San Jac. We decided to leave the snowshoes behind, since they had been of no use the day before. The morning started out clear but soon began to cloud over much like the day before had been.
Joe was leading us up the slope west of Round Valley with a plan of eventually turning toward the saddle separating San Jac from Miller. We followed Navy Seal ski tracks for a while, then veered off up a rather steep slope. A half hour of climbing later we gained the saddle.
Once again Joe broke out the GPS receiver and we pinpointed our location on the topo. It was with some surprise that we realized that we had gone up the wrong gully and were on the wrong saddle! San Jac was to the north, and the peak we thought had been San Jac turned out to be Jean Peak. We confirmed this by more conventional methods (taking bearings on Cornell Peak and Round Valley and triangulating).
Apparently this wasn't the first time Joe had missed the turn going up to the Miller saddle. He seemed to remember another club trip in which the same thing had happened.
We soon set off in the right direction and about half an hour later all of us were on San Jac. The nameplate which used to be on the summit was missing, and only a lonely bolt was left in the rock. Jerry thought he spotted a fire rising from the Palm Springs vicinity.
By this time it was overcast, the wind was beginning to pick up, and there was a solid line of rain to the west. We ate a quick lunch, swigged some of Jerry's wine, and quickly headed down the slope toward Miller.
We passed the cabin which seemed to be intact, headed down the ridge to the saddle, then set off down the slope back toward Round Valley again. Joe showed us some of his skills as he literally skied down the steepest parts on his boots! The snow was such that it allowed for a little gliding even with lug soles. It would have been fun glissading, too. I tried to follow and got a little gliding, but mostly skated down. Joe was licking his chops at the thought of bringing his snowboard to that slope and cutting some turns.
The return trip to camp was uneventful, and we got back about noon. After a leisurely hour packing up, we headed back to the tram station. The overcast was complete by this time, but still not so cold or windy. We spotted one guy on the way back in his T-shirt and shorts, like he was doing Baldy on a hot July day.
Joe and I arrived at the tram station first, endured the stares from the day-trippers, and grabbed a beer at the bar. We watched Jean peak poke in and out of the clouds while we waited for Jerry and Sandy. They showed up almost an hour later, and Jerry joined us. Sandy had her own cache of rum which she drank from instead.
We headed down the tram and met for dinner at the dinosaurs (AKA Wheel Inn). When we finally hit the road for home it was sunset and the skies were crystal clear--the overcast had disappeared.