Pinnacles National Park- Old Pinnacles Trail to Balconies Cave Loop

 

 

We would have started our hike earlier but had to drive a couple of miles out of the park and sit along the roadside to get a Verizon signal to make phone calls for my job. A deputy stopped by when she saw us sitting in the pullout and asked if we needed help. We told her no just a Verizon signal. She chuckled. We were on the trail shortly after 9:00 am.

The wild flowers along Chalone Creek.

A couple that we met earlier asked us about the trail we were coming down and then told us about this trail. The first 1.5 miles were rolling along the creek before a little bit of a climb.

There are many different ways to get out and camp. A lady next to us who is in her 70s slept in her SUV in a sleeping bag, had her stove and everything she needed. She would read and look for birds or stay up at night looking at the stars. She seemed very happy.  Nothing is going to stop her.

 The temps in the cave felt so good since this was a pretty hot day for a 5.5 mile hike. Fortunately, there was quite a bit of shade along the creek. 

 

We didn't have to crawl through the Balcony Caves but had to scramble up the walls.

Longer legs would be handy about now.

There are bats in this cave.

Our flashlight was the only way to see the waterfall behind the rocks.  It was difficult to hold the flashlight and use our hands to pull up at the same time so we would take turns climbing while the other person shined their light.

Yep, we walked under these bad boys and didn't have to bend over.

 

That was our trail down there.

Balconies Cliffs Trail across from Machete Ridge

Grey pinecone.

At the end of the day, we were watching the turkey vultures circling and then the lens people came out. You know, the people with the big binoculars and cameras. They seemed to know something I didn't. We went to investigate and they showed us the Condors soaring with the vultures and explained the difference. We listened to the regular turkeys making noise as the sun went down.

 

A darn good day.

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.