Pinnacles National Park

After having to cancel his January trip, Jeff finally made it to California, traveling from a frigid 18 degrees to a balmy 81 in Pinnacles NP.  The three of us were last here in the late ‘60s and all Anna Lee can remember is the roar of motorcycles during the night and a desire to return to see the stark beauty of the area.

After the RV was settled in, Jeff headed out for a run.  Along the way he had one of those small world experiences. He met a couple from Albany, NY, just across the river from his home in Troy.  Jerry and Anna Lee had the familiar experience of meeting a couple from Elk Grove and enjoying deer grazing.

In the evening, we went to the ranger program about the history of this newest national park (2013).   Pinnacles started out as a National Monument by virtue of an edict from Teddy Roosevelt  in 1908, the same year Yellowstone was declared a National Park.  It was elevated to National Park status by one of the few things that Congress was able to agree on in 2013.  The park’s geological origin was 23 million years ago when a volcanic eruption moved the area 200 miles north.  It now sits on a split of the San Andreas Fault.  The trails and buildings were part of the CCC program during the 1930s.  This is also the park that is now home to the  California Condor that was saved from extinction about twenty years ago.  It would have been fabulous to see one but that didn’t happen.

In the morning we joined another ranger for a hike through Branch Cave Trail.  The cave is a talus (gravity) cave created by breccia (bits of rock, some weighing tons) that have tumbled and wedged, forming walls, tunnels and ceilings.  It is home to the Townson Big Eared Bat which we also did not see.

The ranger left us to traverse the cave on our own.  For some parts we needed flashlights.  For others we needed to inhale deeply and squeeze, easier for Anna Lee than the men.  For a bit, we had to duck or crawl to get passed the talus.   This hike was a bit difficult but well worth the effort.

The rocks attract agile climbers.





We spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking to a neighbor and having Jeff continue his defeat of his mother in Boggle.  We also watched the large flock of turkeys performing their mating rituals.

Then in the morning it was back on the trail.  Jeff traversed the Old Pinnacle Trail from east to west while we drove around (there is no road connecting the two entrances).  We met at Balcony Caves where we ducked and scrambled through and around talus rocks finding increasingly more beautiful sites to enjoy.

We three had a great trip hiking and walking through this new national park.