Cactus to Clouds (C2C) Hiking

The Cactus to Clouds Trail (C2C) is a hiking route in California. It begins in Palm Springs, California, and ascends to San Jacinto Peak. With a net elevation gain of roughly 10,300 feet, it has one of the greatest elevation increases among day-hike routes in the United States. The elevation gain happens in only 16 miles, also making it one of the steeper trails of its length in the world.

Its ranked 5th as the hardest day-hikes in America by the famous backpacker magazine. It was on my bucket list for some time and I had the opportunity to hike this amazing trail on November 09th, 2019.

During summer, the most notable weather hazard is heat. Between May and September, the temperature at the trail head can easily exceed 115°F, prompting the hikers to start hiking well before sunrise (usually between 12-3am) when the temperature is in the mid to high 80s.  I would not recommend doing C2C in summer. There is no way to abort a hike once you start. In other words, once you get onto Skyline, you are committed. If you go up, but get too tired to continue, you can’t just head back down.

During winter, the portion of C2C between the elevations of 7,500 and 8,500 feet can be especially icy and contain slopes with angles up to 30°. Ice axe and crampons are highly recommended in such conditions.

So, the most popular time is between late October when the desert floor has cooled down some and mid November before the first real snows.

For most of the year, there is no water between the trail head and Long Valley (9.5 miles, 8,400 ft elevation). There are also water fountains on the second floor of the nearby tram station at mile 9. I started the hike with 3L of water, 2 bottles of Gatorade and 2 bottles of coconut water.

Before any big hike or Marathon, I won’t get a good sleep and I’ll wake up before my alarm sounds. So, I went to bed at 10:30 the previous day, had a disturbed sleep for 3 hours, woke up at 1.30AM, got ready and started driving from Orange county at 2:30AM, reached the trail head at 4AM, just in time before starting the hike. We, LA Hiking group (A group of 13 of us) gathered at the trail head at 4:10 AM. The Skyline trail starts at the parking lot of Palm springs art museum. The first 9.1 miles and 8,390 ft of gain of C2C between the trailhead and Long Valley is known as the Skyline Trail. We began our hike exactly at 4:30AM.

The first 0.8 miles of trail (Museum Trail) after leaving the trailhead can be a little confusing. There are several use-trails which branch off in many directions. As long as the trail dosn’t start to fade or suddenly gain a lot of elevation, its probably the right one. At 0.8 miles, a set of picnic tables marks the end of the Museum Trail. 0.1 miles after the tables, another trail will branch off to the left, stay right to continue up Skyline.

At 2.2 miles you pass Rescue Box 1 on your left. These boxes were installed recently in response to all the Skyline rescues. Each box contains food and water. By sunrise, we were at 3000 feet. It was cold and we welcomed the warmth from the sun. The sunrise over Palm Springs was spectacular.

At 4.4 miles and 4,300 ft elevation, you may or may not come across a series of pebbles arranged so they spell “4300.” We took a break at a clearing around 5000 feet. The next few miles were characterized by a series of rolling hills with a string of small ups and downs. Some call this part the Never Ending Ridge. At 7.4 miles, the trail goes right by the famous Flat Rock – a large and smooth (but not really flat) slab of water-polished granite.

The San Jacinto peak trail starts as soon as the Skyline trail ends at mile 9.1.  This part of the hike is very straightforward. The San Jacinto Peak Trail is well maintained, well signed, and is used by tram riders who want to get to San Jacinto Peak. From Long Valley Ranger Station, the trail gains 2,600 ft of elevation in 5.5 miles to San Jacinto Peak. From the ranger station, the trail heads southeast to Little Round Valley, where there is a seasonal spring-fed water pipe. After Round Valley, the trail heads to Wellman Divide. Take the right fork at Wellmans to get to San Jacinto Peak, now 2.3 miles away. As the trail reaches a well signed saddle just before the summit, take a right and travel 0.3 miles to the summit. Along the way, you will pass by an old stone cabin which serves as an emergency shelter. Scrambled up some boulders for the final hundred feet to the summit and enjoyed the view.

After spending some time there in the top, we returned to the tram station and we were dead tired. In addition to that, the waiting time for the tram was nearly an hour. We couldn’t stand in the line and we laid down on the floor. Finally, reached the Arial tram way at around 8’o clock and said good bye to everyone. Started driving back to Orange county at around 8:30 in the night and reached home at 10 in the night. So, I was 18 hours away from home and finished one of the toughest day hike in the USA.

Here is the video of this hike: