May 18th Little Jimmy Trail Camp

Mile 384. Wooohie! It's a big ole climb up to Baden-Powell. I have to confess that once I got to the junction with the PCT and the peak trail, I decided to forgo the top. Reason being the wind. It was quite scary walking the last few hundred yards to the junction and as you can see from the photo it was quite exposed. Someone else might have been more comfortable with the trail in the high winds but not me. I didn't need to see the top that bad. Plus I'm not a peak bagger by nature.

MG took a photo of me standing next to a Limber Pine that is estimated to be 1,500 years old. These trees don't grow anywhere but the most extreme environments so they are hard to get to see. It's really extraordinary.

Today was a tree day. Meaning I noticed the trees a bit more than usual. I don't recognize the type of pine tree this one was but it looks like its roots are on the top of the tree. Flat on top. I call it an upside down tree. I am pretty sure it has a more regal name, and a reason it grows the way it does.

Tomorrow will probably be a day of much road walking. We are coming into a section of the trail that has many detours. Some due to the 2009 Station Fire, others to protect frogs and the longest one will be a road walk to avoid the dreaded Poodle Dog Bush. It's hard to figure out mileage and plan out a schedule as all our mileages are based on trail miles. So it isn't clear how long it will take to get somewhere. Just one more challenge on the PCT.