Hiking In Style to Round Valley

DAY THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY

When I watched Ken Burn's special about the National Parks I was quite impressed by how people used to dress while hiking, exploring and camping. Men wore coats and ties and the ladies wore long flowing dresses. Going to the parks was not a time to get grubby but a time to celebrate the wilderness and to dress in finery befitting the occasion. By comparison, today's hikers are slobs.

Walk up any hiking trail and you'll come across a motley assortment of poorly prepared and ill dressed tramps wearing T-shirts, baggy shorts and cheap shoes. It didn't used to be this way. People cared about how they looked and today I decided to follow their example. I put on a pair of Zanella trousers, an Emenegildo Zegna coat, a Neiman Marcus dress shirt and a Brooks Brothers tie and went out for a little hike. Of course, with a wool coat and trousers, there was no way I'd be hiking in the desert so I headed up to the Tram for a little walk to Round Valley.

One of my hiking heroes is John Muir. He thought nothing of hiking 50 miles in two days without anything but a wool blanket and a pocket full of hard biscuits. He did numerous first ascents in the Sierra Nevada Mountains including Cathedral Peak, Mount Ritter and the Mountaineer's Route on Mount Whitney. This man was no daisy sniffer. He was also quite a snappy dresser. Before going hiking with President Theodore Roosevelt, he went out and bought a new wool suit. There's no way he'd go hiking in a T-shirt. He had way too much style. I've really got to get a hat like that...and grow a cool beard, too.

The weather at the Tram was perfect for my little five mile hike. I needed to get a permit for my hike tomorrow so it was important I come up here anyway.

There are a couple of new signs up here. The two bottom signs are new.

There was a little dusting of snow last weekend and some of it remains in the shaded areas of the trail. Winter is on the way and I look forward to breaking out the woolens more often.

There's water still flowing at Round Valley but it won't be too long until there will only be ice and snow in this area.

Tomorrow I'll be back with the hiking slobs but for today, at least, classic style takes the day.

I'm not the only dapper dandy out on the trail today. This guy, Ron from Indio is sporting a real snazzy set of braces, or suspenders for those of you not up on your GQ vocabulary.

On the way back I come upon two deer cruising along the creek bed.

That reminds me that some deerskin gloves would be a nice addition to my wardrobe.

Even though it is after noon there is still ice in some little pockets along the trail. Next time up I'm going to have to remember to get a proper hat to complete my ensemble.

High Times

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THREE

This morning I got up at 6 a.m. and was planning on going on a nice hot morning hike and then going back to bed for a while. I told my wife my plan and mentioned that what I'd really like to do is go to the Tram but the boys didn't want to. She said she had traded her days off and was off so I went back to bed and then was on the first Tram up this morning. It didn't give me a lot of time up there but what I did have was wonderful.

67º at the top. My house is warmer than that with the A/C going all day.

They are doing some work on the path at the Tram so be aware of the construction when you go up there.

I head up the Sid Davis Canyon and go cross country toward Round Valley.

It's fairly dry up there but there are still a few flowers blooming.

They won't last long though.

These Corn Lilies might last for a while but that's about all.

I get over to the cabin near Round Valley and relax for a minute and enjoy the cool mountain air. I've got thirty five minutes to make it back to the Tram so I run back.

Not a problem, though. I make it there in twenty. I enjoy my last minutes breathing in the cool mountain air because tomorrow it's back in the heat.

Changing Plans Times Two

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN

Today I was supposed to do a long, cross country hike from just north of 1000 Palms, up to Stubbe Spring and then over to Key's View in Joshua Tree. Probably twenty miles. I'd planned to do this with Carl Garczynski, one of my best hiking buddies. Carl is seventy-two, going on seventy-three, and has done enough hiking and mountaineering for ten people. Whenever I get a crazy, harebrained idea I call Carl. I know he's always up for a challenge. He does the same with me.

Carl came up with this idea and I was really looking forward to it. Then my wife told me that I'd have to take my youngest son to school this morning because he had a big project due and he'd need my help. There was no putting it off on someone else. Disappointed, I told Carl I was out. We'll have to put that trip off until the fall now.

With the change in plans I decided to go to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, as I often do, and do a little hike down to Law's Junction and back.

I get off the Tram and the weather is perfect, a cool 55º.

I head down to the Ranger Station and get my wilderness permit. I almost stop to use the restroom but I decide to wait. We're in a drought here and there are plenty of trees that could use a little water.

At the trail sign, I go straight rather than follow the trail; it's a little shortcut.

I head up the trail and am thinking this is a perfect day. I really enjoy the solitude of hiking alone but sometimes it's nice to have someone along to share the experience.

I get to the trail junction where one trail goes to Round Valley and the other to Willow Creek. I spot some hikers who took the first Tram car up on the trail ahead and one still at the trail sign. It's Carl! He's out hiking with two of his buddies, Don Hay and Harland Walker. He invites me to join them and I gladly accept. I've already changed plans one time, what's another? Don and Harland are birding and tell me they are looking for a White Headed Woodpecker. I don't know a lot about birds and the only way I'd know a Woodpecker is if I saw it in action. In addition to a new flower book, now I'll need to get a new bird book.

We hike along the High Trail to Round Valley and stop along the way to listen to bird songs. Just before we get to the Round Valley Trail junction, we veer off into the woods heading for the ridge to find a nice lunch spot.

This rock looks pretty good.

And the view is spectacular. We get a whole panoramic view of Tahquitz Peak and the Desert Divide. We can look down into the Willow Creek Drainage and beyond. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the Tahquitz Fire Lookout.

Come on up, guys! It's nice and flat on top.

Still spry in his seventies, Carl makes his way up the rocks.

After lunch, we part ways. I have to head back to pick up kids at school and the guys haven't spotted that White Headed Woodpecker yet. I head across this little bridge and am going to head cross country over to Sid Davis Canyon and back to the Tram.

I really wish I had more time up here, though. It really is perfect and the meadow at Round Valley is just starting to green up. Hopefully, in the next week or two I'll get enough time to hike up to San Jacinto Peak.

I get past the campsite that the trail I'm on leads to and discover that there is a pretty well used route leading over to Sid Davis Canyon. Along the way I spot a doe in the trees but she's a little too quick for me so I don't get a picture of her. With no hunting in the State Park, there are plenty of deer up here in the backcountry.

I continue on the "trail" and it goes steeply down this hillside amongst the pines.

Snow Plants (Sarcodes sanguinea) are starting to appear.

The "trail" leads right to the convergence of Sid Davis Canyon and the Round Valley Trail. It comes down right where I need it to.

As I sit in the Tram waiting room thinking about what a great hiking day it was, I am thankful to have a friend like Carl and grateful for the luck of running into him out on the trail. If he'd been another minute ahead of me, I'd have missed him and gone on to Willow Creek.

Of course, if I'm going to run into someone I know out here in these mountains, chances are it'll be Carl. That guy's everywhere.

Roundabout Round Valley

DAY ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE

Finding time to hike is never a problem. Finding time to do all the hikes I want to do is quite a different matter. Today I dropped my kids at school and was ready to head to the Tram when my son noticed his glasses were not on his face where they belong. I had to run home and get them and then drive to the Tram hoping I could still make the first car up without getting a speeding ticket.

I pull into the parking lot just in time to watch the Tram head up the cable. Luckily, today Tram cars are running every 20 minutes instead of every 30 so my wait won't be too long.

I'll just sit here and enjoy this fake waterfall and funky Bighorn while I put on sunscreen.

I go to the Ranger Station, get my permit and head off on the Round Valley Trail, at least for a while. Where the trail crosses the creek, I head to the right instead and go up Sid Davis Canyon. This is a little shortcut to get up the mountain and is MUCH preferred to the trail. In fact, I almost never take the trail. It's rocky and crowded. Just don't tell anyone about this shortcut. I don't want it to become crowded, too.

I quickly get to Tamarack Valley.

And from there, follow a regular maintained trail to Round Valley.

I figure I'll just top off my water bottle at this spigot. Purify before drinking, it says. Sure, no problem.

I've been drinking this water straight outta the pipe for over twenty-five years. I hope this isn't the year it finally catches up to me.

I head back toward the Tram but cut off to the right on this trail that points to Willow Creek. I don't know if it has an official name but I always call it the High Trail. After Sid Davis Canyon, this is the preferred way to go to and from Round Valley.

It offers great views looking up toward San Jacinto and Jean Peak.

It also offers a nice place to sit and enjoy those splendid vistas.

From the trail, you also get a nice view looking back toward the Tram. I go off on another cross country shortcut in order to make it back to the Tram on time. It's a good thing, too. I get to the waiting room just as they were putting out the last call for the car to go down.

I may not have all the time to do what I want to do but who does? I'm grateful to be able to do what I love in the time I have.