So true, Kevin! I was hoping we'd have that luck, but everyone at the tram station when we got there were diners. I don't believe anyone in the bunch hiked at all that day. We got a lot of odd looks carrying packs.
Some pics from the day...
Sunrise looking back at Palm Springs (only brought the cheap camera because of weight, but couldn't get a clean shot with it at sunrise)
Somewhere around 5k feet (more vegetation than in the valley, but no pine trees yet):
Somewhere around 7k feet (thin but noticeable pine trees at this point):
First real snow of the trail, just after the creek crossing on the peak trail. Slush on the hike up, ice on the way down:
Summit looking south:
Summit looking Southeast:
Summit looking north:
Success!
Unfortunately, it was just a bit too cloudy to get shots looking west. When the clouds broke occasionally, we could see Lake Elsinore in the distance, but not much further. With the sun setting on that side, it was tough to get a picture without washout anyway. On a clear day, I hear you can see the coast. We'll have to make it back sometime!
