7/20/21 Looking for a quick trail day in the Palm Springs area, I decided to do a partial C2C. A little past halfway up Skyline and back down for over 12 miles and 4,500' of gain. It was 91 degrees when I started, and 119 when I finished. An absolutely brutal day.
1 Starting out at 8am, and it's already 91 degrees.
2 I brought plenty of water, and was being very conscious of heat issues.
3 Always a cool view to see the city slowly fade away.
4 Fortunately, I'm not going all the way to Long Valley today.
5 This sign is always so encouraging.
6 I've done really short, flat hikes at 127 degrees in Death Valley before, but that's nothing compared to heading-up Skyline when it's over 100 degrees.
7 A look at the mountain range to the East.
8 First view of the Long Valley ridgeline. Hard to believe that's still about 4,000' above.
9 San Gorgonio in the distance.
10 My turnaround spot at just past 6 miles in and about 4,500' of gain.
11 Headed back down. As I dropped down into the 119 heat, I really struggled for the last couple miles. I ended-up using every drop of my 3L of water, and I was trashed by the time I got back to the car. It took me a couple hours to start to feel normal, and I didn't pee for the rest of the day. I probably pushed this one a little too far.