Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - May 31st
Day 45: Friday 31st May Morris Peak - Spanish Needle Creek
There was some high cloud at first light, but it was still warm and the temperature
would reach over 100ºF when the cloud burnt off.
It seemed strange to be walking again after a week off and I expected it to take a few
days to get back into the routine. Rattlesnakes were basking on the trail but they soon
disappeared when I kicked up dust. The mountains of Owen’s Wilderness had some
trees, but the semi-arid desert conditions I had been experiencing for 6 weeks
predominated.
On the slopes of Mount Jenkins there was a memorial plaque in honour of James
Jenkins, a local naturalist, conservationist and mountaineer, who had written
guidebooks on the Southern Sierra. He had been largely responsible for the fieldwork
on the routing of the PCT through these mountains and had been commissioned to
write the Mojave to Mount Whitney section of the PCT guidebook. He was killed in a
road accident in the mountains in 1979 and five years later the US Board of Geographic
Names agreed to name the 7921ft Mount Jenkins after him.
“Grasshopper”, another AT veteran from New York, passed me on the trail moving
very fast. During my lunch-break I met Ken and John, two of the three “Trail Angels”
who had left me supplies on my climb into the San Gabriel Mountains, walking with
Jan. Again they were day-hiking sections of the PCT.
In the afternoon it clouded over and with the high humidity and the temperature still
at 95ºF, I was expecting a thunderstorm later. The trail made a long detour from the
ridge down to the Spanish Needle Creek. The route was designed to take advantage of
one of the few water sources in Owen‘s Wilderness. The main branch of the creek had
been badly polluted by cattle and horses, so I went on to the second branch before
camping. This was little more than a trickle, but the water was good quality. The instep
of my left foot was hurting in the afternoon, which wasn’t very encouraging after a
week off. I managed to drink 2 litres of tea before eating dinner, which suggests I must
have got myself a little dehydrated. I went back to the creek as it was getting dark and
I was surprised to find it was now running well. The only explanation I could think of
was that the stream was originating from a melting snow patch, but there was no sign of
snow in these mountains and the creek must be spring-fed or it would have already
dried up. I could here thunder in the distance but fortunately the cloud was clearing
where I was camped.
Day 45: 14.5 miles 7.19 hours Camp: Spanish Needle Creek
There was some high cloud at first light, but it was still warm and the temperature
would reach over 100ºF when the cloud burnt off.
It seemed strange to be walking again after a week off and I expected it to take a few
days to get back into the routine. Rattlesnakes were basking on the trail but they soon
disappeared when I kicked up dust. The mountains of Owen’s Wilderness had some
trees, but the semi-arid desert conditions I had been experiencing for 6 weeks
predominated.
On the slopes of Mount Jenkins there was a memorial plaque in honour of James
Jenkins, a local naturalist, conservationist and mountaineer, who had written
guidebooks on the Southern Sierra. He had been largely responsible for the fieldwork
on the routing of the PCT through these mountains and had been commissioned to
write the Mojave to Mount Whitney section of the PCT guidebook. He was killed in a
road accident in the mountains in 1979 and five years later the US Board of Geographic
Names agreed to name the 7921ft Mount Jenkins after him.
“Grasshopper”, another AT veteran from New York, passed me on the trail moving
very fast. During my lunch-break I met Ken and John, two of the three “Trail Angels”
who had left me supplies on my climb into the San Gabriel Mountains, walking with
Jan. Again they were day-hiking sections of the PCT.
In the afternoon it clouded over and with the high humidity and the temperature still
at 95ºF, I was expecting a thunderstorm later. The trail made a long detour from the
ridge down to the Spanish Needle Creek. The route was designed to take advantage of
one of the few water sources in Owen‘s Wilderness. The main branch of the creek had
been badly polluted by cattle and horses, so I went on to the second branch before
camping. This was little more than a trickle, but the water was good quality. The instep
of my left foot was hurting in the afternoon, which wasn’t very encouraging after a
week off. I managed to drink 2 litres of tea before eating dinner, which suggests I must
have got myself a little dehydrated. I went back to the creek as it was getting dark and
I was surprised to find it was now running well. The only explanation I could think of
was that the stream was originating from a melting snow patch, but there was no sign of
snow in these mountains and the creek must be spring-fed or it would have already
dried up. I could here thunder in the distance but fortunately the cloud was clearing
where I was camped.
Day 45: 14.5 miles 7.19 hours Camp: Spanish Needle Creek
Rattlesnake
Memorial plaque
to James Jenkins
to James Jenkins
Grasshopper
Owen's Peak
 |  |
| |