Taquitz Peak, California 08-30-08

[Felicia]

A long holidayweekend in Southern California.....what to do?

We decided to hike up out of Idyllwild this morning to Taquitz Peak. We were looking for some elevation gain in a higher altitude environment. The weather was great and me made it up to the Taquitz Peak Fire Lookout tower in great time. It is about 4.5 miles up with about 2300 feet of elevation gain.

From the top:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0098.jpg

Then we noticed:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0101.jpg

After leaving the lookout, we stopped and had lunch. After our break we began to descend. It started to hail! Good thing we had our rain jackets:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0108.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0112.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0115.jpg

The hail session was short and the sky cleared:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0117.jpg

THEN the sky got REALLY DARK!!!!

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0118.jpg

And the THUNDER began and was REALLY LOAD!!!!

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0124.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/IMG_0135.jpg

Then came the REALLY BIG HAIL!!!!!

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110003.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110004.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110019.jpg

It seems like a LONG walk out to Hubbard Park. The trail became a riverbed. Water cascaded down the sides of the mountian and washed away the trail in many places.

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110021.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110024.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110030.jpg

The parking lot was covered in debris. The Town of Idyllwild had some damage and debris on the roads as we went home.

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/P4110054.jpg

It was a great afternoon. Who would have known that we would get so wet - goes to show you that you always need to be prepared! :mrgreen:

And, by the way, my new boots got very wet. But they were comfortable.



:five:

[Win]

Well, that certainly looks like an exciting day. Thanks for taking the time to take pictures.

We were up to Idyllwild last year, what a beautiful area. We went up RT 74 and came down RT243. The sport bikes were out playing on RT 243 and I couldn't believe them passing me at close 100 mph.


Win

[sparker1]

A really beautiful area. Too bad about the weather, but that is what you will always remember about that hike. Hope no one was injured in the hail.

[stefan]

nice photos, thanks for sharing the day. i like the sugar pine cone to start off the thread. i enjoy the way the mood in forests changes when the clouds and rain come ... though flooding trails make things more interesting.

as far as the boots go, i've found that you need to waterproof them regularly, and that boots with mesh don't work nearly as well in the rain with waterproofing as solid leather boots. also something needs to cover the top of them, like rain pants or gaiters which also have been waterproofed. otherwise ... pay no mind and enjoy the rain ... which it seems you did :2thumbs:

[Felicia]

Thanks guys!!!

Those motorcycle guys are crazy! We did not know until we were at the fire lookout that one had gone down earlier that morning on the 74 and the highway was jammed in both directions. For a change, we came up the 243 off the 10. Good choice. ps: it was a fatality

I have some nice weather photos from our hike at the end of July. I will add them in a minute. The weather really makes the hike interesting.

My boots were brand new out of the box yesterday. They are gortex and held the water inside very well! :roflol: We really need our 5-10's in certain spots. Before it started raining, I had gotten some hotspots, but when the feet got flooded out, all was good. :haha:

Here is a it of video I tried to make:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/th_3dc070bc.jpg (http://s511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/?action=view&current=3dc070bc.pbr)

[Felicia]

July Photos:

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0827.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0830.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0831.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0834.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0840.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0873.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0882.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0883.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0891.jpg

http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s358/iamfeliciaus/Taquitz%20Peak%20August%2030%202008/Taquitz%20Peak%20July%202008/IMG_0904.jpg

[greyhair biker]

that's really a pretty area, and I love smell of the sugar pines in the rain! :2thumbs:

[Mooseman70]

Nice TR! Good to see some photos from back home, and hear of some familiar names and peaks for a change. I don't know many of the names or peaks here in UT still - even after close to 4 years of living here.