This outing will explore the areas of the Wildland Conservancy's Whitewater and Mission Creek preserves along the I-10 corridor northeast of Cabazon / northwest of Palm Springs. We will hike on a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on Saturday at the Mission Creek Preserve and do another short portion of the PCT on Sunday at the Whitewater Preserve. If you have never visited these places, you are in for a real treat!
SATURDAY - Passing through a locked gate at Mission Creek, we will have the camping area all to ourselves. We'll set off for an easy 5-mile out-and-back hike that includes a portion of the PCT and a view of the Preserve we'll visit on Sunday. We will do a gear talk/demo in the late afternoon or evening if time allows; on Sunday morning if not. The only drawback of this trip is that the Preserve only allows camp stoves, not open flames, so no campfire at night. Please bring lanterns or Luci lights and we'll entertain ourselves with trail stories, trivia, or Mad Libs!
SUNDAY - After breakfast at camp and packing up everything, we'll drive 14 miles west to the Whitewater Preserve. We'll visit the beautiful Visitor's Center then do a gorgeous 4-mile loop dayhike that travels another section of the PCT, which includes a long, very steep section of switchbacks (the only Hard part of this Medium-rated trip). Note that this same section has some steep dropoffs, if those make you nervous. Plan on being back in north San Diego by mid-afternoon.
Special Outing Requirements: Bring 2 lunches, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner and trail snacks. Daypack and Ten Essentials, sturdy hiking shoes with good tread, rain gear. Artificial lighting for Saturday's camp. There are picnic tables at the campsite, but bring a comfortable chair if desired. We will have 3 water crossings (IF we have rains in the next week or so), so be prepared by bringing hiking poles for balance if desired.
Note: Leader's pace on the timed dayhike was 49 minutes.
Water Requirements: 2 gallons for the weekend, plus an additional gallon in your car. |