ENTS,

Speaking of big Western mountains and San Jacinto Mountain
in particular, I have good memories of that awesome mountain. Back in 1971, San
Jacinto was the first Western mountain I visited. When I first saw it from the
west (near Hemet) I couldn’t believe what I saw, a mountain twice as high as
anything I’ve seen in the East; it looked like a gigantic ocean wave thrown up
to the top of the sky. Adirondack sized mountains nearby looked like mere
hills.

High up on San Jacinto was (and is) a vast old growth forest
of about 35,000 acres. That especially seemed hard to believe as we climbed
5000’ up the barren lower slopes. Ponderosa (and almost certainly Coulter)
Pines suddenly appeared in the rocky landscape at 5000’, the lowest level of
the great old growth forest. This old growth forest contained the largest trees
I’d seen up to that time – along a trail at 8000’ east of where we camped at
the Willow Creek crossing in the San Jacinto Wilderness were several immense
Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines, and White Firs; the largest tree was a rugged
battered old White Fir that seemed to be at least 10’ dbh and 175’ tall – it’s
still the largest Fir I’ve ever seen in North America. Another area of great
trees was at Round Valley (I believe that’s the place) at 8400’ just below the
Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, with huge Ponderosa and
Jeffrey Pines easily 4’-6’+ dbh. In the village of Idyllwild, the loveliest
mountain town I’ve ever seen with houses set among towering pines, I saw huge
Incense Cedars with big U-shaped arching limbs.

On a later trip (1974) I took the Palm Springs Aerial
Tramway and from there hiked to San Jacinto’s 10,800’ summit, still the highest
point I’ve ever been to. Trees up there were a lot smaller, mostly Lodgepole
Pines, due to harsh conditions. It was incredible to look down on the desert 2
miles below; the city of Palm Springs is only 500’ above sea level. On that day
it was 114 degrees F in Palm Springs but 72 degrees at the Tramway Mountain
Station at 8500’, and even cooler at the summit – it had been 35 degrees that
morning at Mountain Station, coldest temperature in USA that day.

San Jacinto would be a great place for ENTS/WNTS to get
accurate tree height, girth, and age measurements.

Tom Howard

7/18/2009