Escaping the Heat in the San Jacinto Mountains

I took the Palm Springs aerial tramway up to the higher elevations in an attempt to escape the heat on Wednesday.  It was 104 degrees in Yucca Valley and 113 degrees in Palm Springs.  Up at 8,516 feet in elevation, it was only about 78 degrees.  Needless to say, it was well worth dealing with all the tourists who had the same idea. 

I hiked approximately 6.5 miles (out and back) as I headed down toward Willow Creek.  I wanted to check the condition of the trail since I'll be making an end-to-end hike from Idyllwild to the upper tram station on Sunday (8.5 miles).  I'll be sharing this hiking experience with Steve, who will be in town visiting us for a couple of days.  Tony is nice enough to help us with the logistics since we'll need a car at each end.  Here is a photo from my hike this past Wednesday: