Back to Mount San Jacinto to climb Folly and Drury Peaks.
Having missed the HPS scheduled hike on July 13, I decided to try for these peaks today. After a 2.5 hour drive to the trailhead, I found the parking area completely packed with cars and people. So much for a wilderness experience...
The starting point had several road/trails going every which way, and I promptly took the wrong one, ending up at a number of cabins. I dropped down quickly to a dirt road and noticed a sign "TRAIL", and figured I was finally on the right track. The first 2 miles of the trail are very steep, and I had to make numerous breaks to catch my breath. I took a break a little before the junction with the Deer Springs Trail, where a large group of 40 Mexican hikers just got ready to move up the mountain.
After this point, the gradient got easier, and I quickly caught up and passed the loud Mexican entourage. Climbing further, I passed the Little Round Valley campground, going up the switchbacks to the turnoff for the summit of Mt. San Jacinto. Not knowing exactly how to get to Folly Peak, I pulled out my GAIA gps which directed me towards it by backtracking on the trail for a short distance where I found a duck. I got off the trail here, and with the help of the gps went cross country to the first high point of Folly. I climbed the huge boulders to the top, from where I had a great view of San Jacinto and the desert far below. I noticed however, that this was not the high point of Folly, so I clambered down the rocks and through brush to go to the higher area, again climbing over and around huge boulders. Once I reached the top, I took a break to enjoy the view and eat some snacks. I looked around, but did not find the HPS Register.
After a while I dropped straight down the Peak in order to get back to the main trail, having to circumnavigate large areas of manzanita brush. Once I found the trail, I noticed Drury Peak not too far in the distance. My thought was to hike straight to it from where I was, but unfortunately the manzanita was too thick to do this. So, I hiked down towards the Little Round Valley Campground, from where it was a fairly easy climb to the summit of Drury. At the top I did find the HPS Register and added my name to it. I did find the entry by the Bill Simpson group of a few days ago, and noticed they were there around 5 pm, so they must have had a loong day!
Going down from the peak I experienced the usual directional uncertainty, but ended up at the same point where I had started the climb to Drury, so all was well. Hiking back down the 4.5 miles to the trailhead was un-eventful, if not tiring, due to the steepness of the last few miles.
