In the POD - Pinnacles National Park

 

Exiting Bear Gulch Cave and climbing to the reservoir 

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Pinnacles is one of our smallest and one of newest national parks. Proclaimed a national monument in 1908 and a national park in 2013, this designated wilderness includes over 26,000 acres of rolling hills, spectacular rock spires, and boulder covered (talus) caves. Hiking Pinnacles is not for the faint of heart. Most of the trails are long and quite challenging and attract rock climbers and experienced thrill seekers. Because we do not happen to fall into either of those categories….. we only fully completed one of the shorter trails; a 2.5 mi loop trail with a 500’ elevation change along rock formations, through 2 talus caves climbing up to the 1800’ rim to a perfectly still reservoir. 

Truthfully, halfway through the first of the caves, as we were crawling on our hands and knees trying to hold on to our walking sticks and flashlights I began to think I had made a horrible mistake! But we persevered - did not admit fear/defeat to each other - and felt greatly rewarded by our efforts with the views and a great feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day.

Bear Gulch Reservoir 

View across the chaparral from near the top

There are two entrances to Pinnacles - one from the west out of the Salinas Valley and one from the east - and there is no road within the park connecting the two areas. However, you can hike between the two sections of the park if you are up to a strenuous 13 mi trek. We entered from the east traversing Rt 25 through a sweet valley between the Gibilan and Diablo Ranges that was dotted with cattle farms. We stayed within the park at its only campground, which was well laid out and offered electrical hook ups at each site. 

Once again, the night sky was fantastic! Stars touching the horizon all around us; brilliant, distinct, and telling their stories oh so loudly. It is a symphony I never tire of hearing. 

The largest pine cone I have ever seen!

On route… before the caves…

Pinnacles is known to be a critical habitat for the California Condor! As we were hiking we did see large birds flying high above us but I could not be sure they were condors. With a wing span of up to 9’ they are  North America’s largest land bird. I soooooo wanted to see one, and maybe I did and maybe I didn’t. 

The caves we visited are home to a maternal colony of Townsend’s big eared bats. They hibernate in the winter so - as we were crawling around in there, in the dark - we did not see any. Thank goodness as that just might have been the straw……

Looking up!

Wandering…