In preparation for hiking the famous / infamous Cactus to Clouds (C2C) hike this season, I did a preparatory hike last February about which I posted about here, exploring the bottom side of the trail. This last weekend I went back, took the tram to the top and found where the trail ends. I hiked down about 0.8 miles and descended 877 vertical feet from the top ridge. The top end is known to be the steepest and also the most dangerous in bad weather, that being snow and ice.

I hiked this section just to see what it was like, so I didn’t have to worry about getting lost on my way up when I’d be the most exhausted, tired, possibly dehydrated and all around not as sure-footed.

The weather was cloudy and much of the time I didn’t see much but the trail ahead of me. Here are a few pictures. You can enlarge them by clicking on them:

I took this photo from the tram riding up. We’re about half-way up here. You can see the cables disappearing into the clouds. The mountain station is above these clouds, actually in sunshine.

Once on the trail, I found it quite rough and in some areas not too well defined. Can you see the trail in this photograph? Occasionally I had to stop, backtrack a few steps, when I found myself in the rocks or brush or on a slope with no obvious place to go. I can see how this would get very tricky in fresh snow. Without a GPS guiding the way, it would be a disaster to be trapped here.

The clouds were dramatic. Here is a typical view from the trail.

Once I got to exactly 7,500 feet (I started from the ridge at 8,377), after descending for about an hour, I decided the weather looked too dangerous to go on. So I took this video so you can get a feel of it. The clouds actually moved this fast. It was very dramatic.

After I turned around, it took me about an hour to climb back up to the ridge. I then took the Desert View Trail for some dramatic views down the mountain to Palm Springs, over 8,000 feet below. Here is one picture:

On the way down in the tram, I was well positioned to take a video of the opposite tram car coming up. This tram has two cars. They are both parked at the top and bottom at the same time and loaded. Then, as one goes up,  the other comes down. They meet in the middle. When the two cars meet, the rider has a unique opportunity to actually gauge the speed of the cars approaching each other. Here is the video:

After this exploratory hike, I think I am ready to do the full C2C, from Palm Springs at 400 feet to the mountain station at 8,600 feet. That’ll be enough. Next time, all the way to the peak at 10,800. But that’s another project.