Pinnacles Natlonal Park- Bear Gulch Cave Trail

 Several years ago while working in Burlingame, CA, we drove past towering Pinnacles before it was a National Park and I knew I had to return.

What an unusual park to hike in with beautiful rock formations from volcanos and faults, caves and streams. This 5 mile round trip hike was steep at times with lots of rewards. 

The stairways and bridges  constructed by the CCC in the 1930s were needed to navigate the caves without the use of ropes and ladders.

 

 

 

 

We had our handy flashlights ready for the decent but plan on getting headlamps in the near future. Talus caves are different than lava tubes or those formed by water.

The talus caves of the Park were formed when steep, narrow canyons filled with a jumbled mass of boulders from the cliffs above. The canyons are the result of faults and fractures in the central area of volcanic rock. These shear fractures filled with gigantic toppled boulders are clear windows into the geologic wonder of the Park.

Descending into the cave we can hear the waterfall.

 

Our exit after crawling through some of the cave.

Moses Springs and the stairs we climbed.

Even though it is early spring and temps in the 70's, we felt pretty hot at times with the climb. This is a great place to visit in cooler months.

So many  spring flowers everywhere.

A invitation on the chair to reflect and add your thoughts to the notebook provided.

There was no phone, internet or TV in the park. When we got to the top, I was able get a signal to call my recruiter about the job I had interviewed for and make sure everything was on track. Until we knew if we were going, north or south, we really couldn't make plans.

Almost home and more to come on our stay in Pinnacles.