Pinnacles National Park

My last stop in California was Pinnacles National Park. After grabbing a monster breakfast burrito in San Luis Obispo, I headed up into our newest National Park (having been upgraded from a National Monument in 2013). I saw little traffic on the way in but when I got there the parking lots were pretty packed and there was a guy directing traffic so I guess it’s a popular destination on the weekends. Apparently its unbearable to visit in the summer because of the heat so spring and fall are busy seasons.  

After a quick stop at the visitor center to pay the entrance fee I drove up and parked at the Bear Gulch Day Use area  and headed up the Condor Gulch trail. It was only 1.7 miles one way but the elevation gain is over 1,000 feet. The trail is full of switchbacks and has little shade so I was pretty pissy by the time I got to the top because I wasn’t finding anything too great about the park. 

Condor Gulch Trail

However, as I merged onto the High Peaks Loop and the vista opened up before me I got my second wind. The park is so named because pinnacles are what remains of an extinct volcano that migrated along the San Andreas Fault.

I continued along the High Peaks trail to Scout Peak. The trail goes through a steep and narrow section where you have to climb up (and down) rocks that have footholds that look like dinosaur footprints.

Dino footprints

Steep trail

 Scout Peak has a restroom which was a nice surprise so I took a quick break before heading down the Juniper Canyon trail. What’s interesting about the park is that there are two entrances and it takes more than an hour to drive between the two but the trails connect them so its easy to see both sides of the park no matter which entrance you use. The east is the main entrance through with all the services. I joined up with the Tunnel Trail and took it back up the mountain to rejoin the High Peaks trail. 

Tunnel

Since I had a red eye flight, I had all day to kill so I figured I would try to do as many trails as possible. I descended down the High Peaks trail again and continued all the way down to the Rim trail which leads to the Bear Gulch Reservoir. Although the vistas were great, it was nice to head down into the trees and see some water.

Bear Gulch Reservoir

I took a break beside the reservoir before finishing my hike down through the Bear Gulch Caves and Moses Spring trail. The caves are actually talus caves which are formed by the openings among large boulders that have fallen down into a random heap so they’re somewhat airy. There are parts where you need a flashlight but I stuck to the easy trail.

Talus caves

I was exhausted by the time I got back to my car. I had hiked nearly 8 miles. It was nice through because I had all day so I could meander at my own pace and stop and soak up the scenery. Despite all the cars in the parking lot, the trails still allowed a fair amount of solitude. I stopped in the Peaks View parking lot on the way out to reorganize my car and suitcase and get ready to head back. Upon arriving in San Jose I stopped at In N Out burger for one last f ix before heading into the airport. My flight was at 10:30 and I got to the airport around 8 and it was completely deserted. I was literally the only person in the security area. It was pretty funny. My flight back was pretty miserable, only because I cant sleep on planes so I was a zombie during my ATL layover. I finally arrived home mid morning Sunday to the steam heat of Rochester. It was crazy that the entire week I was gone it was in the 80’s and 90’s here so it was a shock to my system after the coolness of California.

I had such a spectacular trip and it was great to be away for so long. My Airbnb experience was amazing and I loved having my own place to go back to all week. I completed 13 more National Park sites which I felt great about and am excited for the next adventure (wherever that may be!)