Tahquitz Peak and Stolen Souls
Summit #53 of 70
By Monday evening, I could feel our week-long trip to Southern California already drifting toward an end, though we had yet to get into the higher elevations. I'd been eyeing a few peaks in the San Gabriel and San Jacinto Mountains. Since Mitch and I were close to the latter, my sights settled on the mountain town of Idyllwild, where two intriguing peaks competed for attention: Suicide Rock and Tahquitz Peak.
We drove into town midday, snagged a campsite at San Jacinto State Park, and actually relaxed a bit. I have a habit of arriving at campgrounds around or after dark, so it was a nice change to pitch the tent in daylight and laze a while in Idyllwild. Somehow this intriguing village 5,000 feet above sea level had escaped my radar on prior trips to Southern California.
We wandered the town, it's center a copse of tall trees impressively decked out with long strings of Christmas lights. I'd expected a good number of tourists in such an attractive, almost unassuming place, but only a few others like ourselves were out and about. We found a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended by the campground staff, and later loitered at a simple bar before ambling back to our tents.
We strolled around again in the morning, this time finding the historic Red Kettle Cafe for a mandatory coffee and breakfast. We also spent a couple minutes deciding which peak to slog. Tahquitz Peak was a slightly longer hike to a higher summit than Suicide. Since we had all day to do it and most of our knees were still operable, Tahquitz won out.
The drive to the trailhead revealed that Idyllwild was much larger than it seemed, with perhaps hundreds of cabins tucked in the trees. We discovered later that Mitch had some in-laws who owned a cabin here in the past and loved it. A multitude of celebs have spent time here as well, from Clark Gable, Dolly Parton and Michael J. Fox to Sean Connery and Timothy Leary, who was soon to be followed by a throng of hippies in the late '60s. More recently, a golden retriever, Max, has served as “mayor.”
The hike up the mountain keeps a moderate grade with frequent views, including the imposing face of Suicide Rock, a rock climber’s delight. We ascended into some snow and ice below a saddle on the ridge crest where we'd intersect the PCT.
Strutting down the trail were four PCT through-hikers about 180 miles shy of completing a six-month southbound trek from Canada to Mexico. They were about to enjoy a rest day and a hot shower in Idyllwild. One was from Australia, one from Russia, another from Louisiana, the last from Olympia, Washington, not far from our own home in Bellingham. They'd all met on the trail and teamed up for the grand finale.
Once on the ridge and now above 8,000 feet, snow cover was more continuous, though never more than a few inches deep. We passed a couple coming down and inquired about the conditions above, knowing the last pitch was north-facing and probably still frozen. Steep snow and ice, they said, adding they would not have done it without Microspikes, which we hadn’t bothered to bring. We said we’d go have a look, and fortunately found the going not so bad.
We arrived at the summit lookout a little before 2:00 pm, our unofficial turnaround time. Now in full sunshine, most of the snow had melted away on top. The view was among the best of the trip, as was the satisfaction of reaching an 8,800-foot summit in December.
We reversed our way down the steep snow and ice section—certainly no place to slip off the trail—and paused for a late lunch on flatter ground. The balance of the hike down was straight-forward, but beautiful in the low-angle light. We marched into the sunset, just able to reach the car without pulling out the headlamps.
Later, I did some checking on the name, Tahquitz. It turns out to be the name for an evil spirit that lurks in the mountains here. A native Cahuilla legend says that when Tahquitz turned his powers from good to evil, he began to steal people, steal their souls and devour them. He was banished to a cave beneath Tahquitz Peak, and would unleash his anger as fireballs and thunder erupting from the mountains.
Happily, we seemed to have climbed the peak on an off-day for that bad boy, our souls still intact as best we could tell. That said, the sun setting over Idyllwild became quite the fireball during our alpenglow descent.
NEW: To better appreciate those who support my work, paid subscribers at the annual rate ($50/year) will now receive a free signed copy of one of my latest guidebooks: Hiking Whatcom County, 7th Ed., or A National Jaunt: Footster’s Guide to Washington, D.C., including free shipping (U.S. and Canada). I’ll be in touch once you subscribe. Enjoy! —Ken
Outstanding!!! Suicide Peak is impressive and the story.👍