Cactus to Clouds. It’s a 26 mile hike with a 12,000 foot elevation gain… pretty much one of the toughest day-hikes in the United States.

We weren’t telling people about the pregnancy yet so I am trying to hide the mini belly with my down jacket!

I asked Peter to do it with me and then Gabe signed on too. Greg and Cathleen signed on to take the Palm Springs tram up, meet us at mile 14, and then hike the remaining 12 miles to the summit and back. Then, 6 days before the hike, I got the flu. That in addition to being pregnant made doing the whole hike a bad idea.Sniff sniff. Fortunately Gabe decided to keep his end of the deal so he and Peter took off from San Clemente at 4:00am and headed to Palm Springs with a start time of 6:30am. I felt good enough to do the second part so I met Greg and Cathleen at the tram, almost crapped my pants on the way up (that thing is scary!), and waited for Gabe and Peter to arrive.  When they showed up to the ranger station we continued with them up the remaining 2,000 feet to the summit of San Jacinto Mountain. It was a beautiful hike and we even braved it through a small hail storm.

Cathleen proved that she is indeed a bad-ass. Apparently this was her first hike. For a first hike, 12 miles with 2,800 feet of elevation gain is no joke. She rocked it! We were all very impressed. Peter and I have the most wonderful friends. I love our friends and I love that they will come and do this stuff with us. Thank you Gabe, Greg and Cathleen for being the most wonderful addition to our adventure. We love you guys.

Peter and Gabe starting the hike in Palm Springs

View from 1,500 feet above palm springs

After meeting up with Peter and Gabe, we stumbled upon this tiny frog!

Looking out towards Lake Perris, with Catalina Island (100mi) and San Clemente Island (120mi) visible

Looking North from the Summit

Another view from the top

Relaxing after the final summit push

Greg and Cathleen

One last shot and we’ve got to get down before dark