Summary Day 1: Left San Diego at 4:30am and caught the first tram Saturday morning. Hiked up the Sid Davis Drainage to our campsite (Andesite) in Tamarack Valley. Laid around reading all afternoon.
Our primary goal for this hike was to spend as much time as possible up at high elevation in order to prepare Vicki’s blood for the lower oxygen levels found in the High Sierra. In a week or so we would be hiking over a 12,000 foot pass, and she knew that her body wasn’t going to be up for it without a bit of preparation. The nearest and easiest place for us to acquire acclimatization in Southern California was in the San Jacinto Wilderness, where we could catch a ride on the Palm Springs Tram. We would start our hike at 8500 feet, getting up there the the lazy way.
And that’s what we did. We woke up in the wee hours of a Saturday morning and drove three hours to the lower tram station. We arrived extra early, but that was OK because it was midsummer in the desert. Hot! We grabbed our packs and headed for the air conditioned station. We bought our tickets, waited a while. and took the first tram up at 8am. When we arrived at the top the air was cool and fresh, smelling of pine trees. Ahhh! This was great!
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