Pinnacle National Park

A lot of folk believe that Pinnacles is one of the most recent National Parks added to the system. Contrary to general opinion, Pinnacles was created by Teddy Roosevelt as a National Monument in 1908.It was later approved by Congress as a National Park in 1916. What confused most folk other than locals is that the Park had its entrance on the east side on a more remote California highway, 25, in a part of the state not heavily traveled. In 2013, some facilities were opened on the west side not far off California Hwy 101, which expanded the tourism in the Park considerably.

We headed for the east entrance as soon as we arrived in King City. One of the interesting aspects of this Park is that the east entrance and the west entrance have no connecting road. The Park consists primarily of a rugged rocky peak, hence the Pinnacles, and there is really no way to connect the one side to the other without a lengthy route, which already exists in California highways. By public roads, it is about an hour and a half from one visitor center to the other!

Pinnacles from the west is stunning from a visual perspective. We tackled the Balconies trail which takes you in amongst the mammoth formations. We enjoyed our first introduction to the Park and took full advantage of the views.

But you really don’t experience Pinnacles unless you visit the east entrance. We headed there with lunch in tow expecting to maybe do a longer hike and were amply rewarded for our effort. The ranger suggested we needed some stuff before we left, and we used all of it – she recommended lunch, water, camera, binoculars and flashlights. It didn’t all make sense to us as we headed out, but did before we ended. All in all we hiked the Bear Gulch Cave Trail, the Moses Spring Trail, the Reservoir Trail, the Rim Trail, the High Peaks Trail, and the Condor Gulch Trail. All in all it would be about 6 ½ miles of heaven.

We started hiking along a babbling brook that made our hearts hum with contentment. Soon we found ourselves at Bear Gulch Caves. This is where we used the flashlights, as the trail wound through the caves for quite a ways. The caves were created by the water flows, so you were never out of earshot of cascading water. While some of the areas were a tight squeeze (tighter for me than for the Woman), the traverse through the caves was highly interesting.

Once we got through the caves we ascended to the reservoir. Apparently in the Depression days the CCC decided that harvesting some of the natural water flow in the area would serve some good. So they built a retaining wall with boulders that resulted in a lake that was really quite picturesque. I am not sure what the water is used for, other than selfies.

Next we headed for the High Peaks area. This section of the trail heads right through the heart of what the Park was originally established for. The High Peaks is a collection of rock monoliths that jut into the skyline and are impressive both to view and to hike through. The trail seems to always be on the edge of any ridge it is traversing, so you have almost uninterrupted views of the valley below you. Most of the time you are saying to yourself “This is the most amazing view I have ever seen!”

Before we hit the High Peaks we spotted a huge soring bird. We pulled out the binoculars and confirmed that the bright white on the leading edge of the wings meant it was actually a California condor. Mark one off the bucket list – I hadn’t actually added that to our bucket list but I am simultaneously adding it and checking it off at the same time. We were told at the visitor center that it was unlikely we would see a condor, even though they nest here, as fewer than 20% of visitors ever see them. We were quite pleased.

As we got to the High Peaks, we were stunned and a bit concerned. As in many of the western national and state parks we have visited, the CCC during the Depression had a major impact. In Pinnacles, the CCC carved a hiking trail right through the center of the monoliths. From what we could see, they used hand held rock drills to notch stepping paths to get through the more difficult areas.

The good news – while the Woman would not normally be willing to venture through such a trail, the entire loop was about 6 ½ miles. When we hit the interesting spots we were about 4 miles in, so to turn around would be 4 more miles, whereas pressing ahead meant 2 ½ miles. So, the forward answer was pretty intuitive.

After getting through the big stones we continued to watch the great views as we descended. The continuous views were rewarding us at every step. After doing this hike I believe this is the best hike I have ever done. With all the variation in views, the variations in terrain, and with the caves, it would be numero uno on my list.

And to make the day totally amazing, as we were heading out of the park grounds, we checked another item off the bucket list. We have been in big cat country a lot on our travels in the western states. However despite our hiking in many very remote areas, we have never seen a cougar or a mountain lion. As I was chatting the Woman up on our way out she screamed “Stop the car!” I pulled over, lowered her window and was face to face with a cougar maybe 50 feet away in a meadow. I was so stunned and shocked and full of awe that I just stared. It wasn’t until the cougar began to saunter away that I came to my senses and grabbed the camera for proof.

What a visit! What a day! Talk to you soon!