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** Use at Your Own Risk **
01J |
Mount Jenkins |
7921'
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Location: Kern County, about 10 miles northwest of Inyokern, 150 miles from Los Angeles
Maps
| Auto Club | Kern County |
| Forest Service | Sequoia National Forest |
| USGS Topos | Owens Peak 7½, Walker Pass 7½ |
| Official HPS Maps | TPO file - Save to your computer then open with National Geographic TOPO! |
| Viewable PDF file - Approximately 10 megs | |
| GPX file or Google Earth KML file to download to GPS units and other map software (How to use GPX and KML files) | |
| Routes as shown on CalTopo using the above files (How to use CalTopo) |
Nearby Peaks: Morris Peak, Owens Peak, Five Fingers
ROUTE 1
- Distance: 14.5 miles round trip on trail and cross-country
- Gain: 3300'
- Time: 7 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 1, strenuous
- Navigation: Moderate
- Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions
- Route: Mostly on trail, some steep cross-country with a short easy class 3 section
Original: John Backus, June 1987
DRIVING ROUTE 1
- Take SR 14 to Mojave.
- Continue north on SR 14 to the intersection with SR 178 (Freeman Junction).
- Go west on SR 178 to Walker Pass. Park here. Unlimited parking space.
HIKING ROUTE 1
- From Walker Pass (5246'), hike north on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) about 6 miles to the ridge which comes down northeast from the peak. There is usually a duck at this point.
- Leave the trail and go up the ridge to a flat area at 7320'+ (UTM 106520).
- Continue up the ridge and pick up a ducked route off to the left side of the ridge. Follow this up to the base of the summit block.
- Go up a very short class 3 section to the summit.
ROUTE 2
- Distance: 6 miles round trip
- Gain: 2500'
- Time: 3-4 hours round trip
- Rating: Class 2, moderate
- Navigation: Moderate
- Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions
- Route: Steep cross-country ridge and use trail with a short easy class 3 section at the summit
Original: Byron Prinzmetal, January 2002
DRIVING ROUTE 2
- Take SR 14 to Mojave.
- Continue north on SR 14 to the intersection with SR 178 (Freeman Junction).
- Continue north on SR 14 for 5.3 miles to a dirt road on the left. Turn left. This is 0.4 mile past Indian Wells, with a lodge and brewery. SR 14 is under construction. It may be necessary to continue farther north and turn around, returning to the dirt road. Note your odometer and go as follows:
- At 2.6 miles, Powers Well on the left. Keep straight. This is a good camping spot.
- At 2.7 miles, fork. Turn right.
- At 3.2 miles, fork. Keep left. This is the turnoff for Five Fingers.
- At 3.8 miles, fork. Keep left.
- At 3.9 miles, fork. Keep left.
- At 5.2 miles, fork. Keep right.
- At 5.8 miles, fork. Go right. (Left goes to the Mount Morris parking area).
- At 6.5 miles, fork. Go right.
- At 7.2 miles, a small radio site on the right.
- At 7.7 miles, fork with a road on the right going out to a camping spot on an outcrop. Park here. This is near the Wilderness boundary. Do not drive any farther!
HIKING ROUTE 2
- From the Owens Peak parking area, hike northwest up the slope to the top of a major ridge.
- Hike southwest up the ridge until it meets the PCT less than a mile from the parking area.
- Turn left (south) on the PCT and walk about 100 meters until you find the use trail mentioned in Route 1.
- Follow the use trail to the summit.
ROUTE 3
From Owens Peak- Distance: 3 miles one way on trail and cross-country
- Gain: 1100'
- Time: 2 hours one way
- Rating: Class 2, strenuous with Owens Peak
- Navigation: Difficult
- Route Finding: Difficult
- Leader Rating: "I", normal conditions
- Route: The cross-country is steep/rocky/brushy with a short easy class 3 section at the summit.
Original: Byron Prinzmetal, January 2002
DRIVING ROUTE 3
- Same as Driving Route 2.
HIKING ROUTE 3
- From the summit of Owens Peak, hike down the ridge that goes southwest from the summit until you reach the saddle where you intersect the PCT. As you hike down the ridge, you need to be careful to avoid the technical rock sections. Excellent route finding skills are required.
- Turn left (south) along the PCT for about 2 miles to the ridge which comes down northeast from the summit. There is usually a duck at this point.
- Continue as in Route 1.
CAMPING
About a mile past Walker Pass toward Lake Isabella is Walker Pass Campground. There are restrooms and (usually) water during summer months. There are walk-in primitive sites. There are no fees or reservations at this time.
Powers Well is on the driving route for Routes 2 and 3. It has no water or facilities. It is near to the starting point for Five Fingers.
NOTE
Mount Jenkins, Morris Peak, Owens Peak, and Five Fingers (Aquila) are all in the Owens Peak Wilderness. At the date of this revision, no permit is required.
PEAK COMBINATIONS
Jenkins is usually done with Morris Peak by a long trail walk along the PCT (Jenkins Route 1).
It is also done with Morris Peak by a much shorter route using Route 2 of Morris Peak to access the PCT or by having a short car shuttle and combining Morris Peak's Route 2 with Jenkins Route 2.
Jenkins is sometimes combined with Owens Peak. Owens Peak is usually hiked first using Owens Peak's Route 1. Continue to Jenkins from Owens Peak using Jenkins Route 3. Then return to the Owens Peak parking area via Jenkins Route 2.
Learn more about Mount Jenkins.
Please report any corrections or changes to the Mountain Records Chair.