5/18 – Day 41 – near Chimney Peak
I hiked from Jenkins Pass (mile 660) to almost the top, about mile 689. That makes two 29-mile days in a row. Yee ha!
From Jenkins Pass, I hiked downhill for 3 miles to Joshua Tree Spring where I filled up my water and hung out for 45 minutes. On the way out of the spring I met WallE, an ex stump jumper from Boise, Idaho. We hiked and talked for a good while. He was 58 and was forced to retire. He has more jumps then anyone in America. I trekked with long ups and short downs all day. I met Early Bird at Spanish Creek and then slowly about eight other hikers, all of which I knew wandered in. It was the most PCT hikers I’ve seen outside of a trail angel house at one time. It was cool. I hiked on up and up, and then some down to Chimney Creek where trail angels had left some magic: beer and cokes. It was 5:30 pm and I made a huge spaghetti dinner right by the creek. The rest of the crew, except Doug and me, camped nearby. I hiked on up until 10:10 pm, again through a burn zone. I wanted to stop at 9:10, but I was on the side of a steep hill. Finally I camped in some dry grass, and I slept well.