MONDAY - Today we're leaving the beautiful California coast behind.
I know you all are thinking, what would make us do such a thing? I can only think of one thing, a chance to visit another one of our country's great National Parks. That is exactly such the case today.
Our route had us leaving Cambria on CA-1 and heading south 7-miles to the junction with US-46.
We then traveled east on US-46 for 22-miles which had us going up and over the California Coastal Mountain Range. The peak of the roadway along this stretch is just shy of 1800'. That doesn't sound like much, but we just left our campsite that was only 73' above sea level.
We then found ourselves turning north on US-101 and traveling through the Central Valley region to the recognizable town of Paso Robles, where we located the least expensive gasoline along our entire route.
Yes, we busted our "less than $5 a gallon bubble" wide open by paying a staggering $5.47 at an Arco Station. We could have saved 10¢ a gallon by paying cash, but by using our FBNO credit card we recieve a 5% cash rebate on gasoline, that equals 27¢ a gallon, so there is that! BTW - I had room for 28 gallons, so that meant a record breaking $153 fillup.
While we were off the road we also grocery shopped at Albertson's for veggies and a Walmart across the street for all other items.
Back on the road we continued our 45-mile jaunt north on US-101 before turning east once again on US-198 for 15-miles which brought us up and over another shorter mountain range.
Our final turn along the route had us heading north on US-25 for the final 35-miles to arrive at the Eastern Entrance Gate of Pinnacles National Park.
TRAVEL DAY PHOTOS
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Up near the top of the Coastal Mountain Range on US-46.
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When people think of Florida, they think Miami and Orlando, but it's no much more than that. As you can see in this photo, California is not all Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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Once over the peak we began seeing large vineyards on both sides of the road.
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In contrast, we also saw pumpjacks capable of pulling 1-10 gallons of oil with each stroke.
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On the north side of the oil field we saw the large storage tanks.
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This is what the last 35-miles on US-25 looked like, there will be no pulling over here.
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It was shorty after 3:00PM when we reached the entrance of Pinnacles National Park...
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...and were warmly welcomed by these two turkeys.
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The campground is nothing special, but it does have electric hookups.
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That will come in handy to run the A/C when the temperatures reach near 90°F today.
OUR NATIONAL PARK CHALLENGE: TO VISIT ALL 51 NATIONAL PARKS LOCATED IN THE LOWER 48 STATES
COMPLETED
PROGRESS BAR
STILL TO GO
42
9
TUESDAY - This morning around 8:30AM we took a drive around the eastern side of the park to "get the lay of the land" so to speak.
What we found out is that 8:30AM is too late to start out if you're planning on obtaining a parking space at most of the hiking trailheads.
We had plans to explore the 1.3-mile Bear Gulch Cave Loop Trail this morning, but with limited parking and the fact we didn't bring flashlights for when we entered the caves, we decided to put it off until tomorrow. One advantage to postponing is that it's going to be quite a bit cooler tomorrow at 80°F instead of today's forecasted 87°F.
Not sure why this stone monument is located 2.5-miles deep inside the park, but here it is. I asked and found out this was the park boundary in 2013 when it was a National Monument.
There they are, "The Pinnacles".
WEDNESDAY - We got an earlier start today, not as early as we planned, but earlier none the less.
We're headed for the trailhead of the Bear Gulch Cave Loop Trail. The featured attraction of this hike are the "talus" caves found here in the park.
"Talus caves are a unique geological formation created when large boulders or rock fragments tumble down from cliffs and become wedged in narrow canyons or fractures. Unlike limestone or solution caves formed by the dissolution of rock, talus caves are formed through mechanical processes involving the movement and accumulation of loose rocks. These caves result from the shifting and settling of fallen rocks, creating spaces between the boulders that form the cave passages." - Taken straight from the NPS website
BEAR GULCH CAVE LOOP TRAIL EASTERN SIDE OF PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
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We were on the trail by 8:30AM and rewarded with this early morning view of "The Pinnacles".
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Our trail takes us along the south side of Bear Gulch which will always be shaded.
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Somewhere up ahead are the talus caves we came to see.
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Isn't it to soon for that to be the entrance to the caves up ahead?
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Yeah, it's just a short tunnel along the trail.
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We were warned there would be some tight squeezes along the trail.
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We've now made it to the entrance of the Bear Gulch Caves, with our headlamps too.
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Remember, talus caves have no solid roof overhead, so you're not truly underground.
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This must be the tight squeeze they were talking about. Watch your head!
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We had a group of four seniors up ahead of us on the trail.
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This is starting to look more cavelike...
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...but that's still sunlight illuminating the cave.
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I had a chance to get ahead of Tricia while she videoed the running water you'll see next.
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This cave may have not been carved out by running water, but there sure is plenty of it.
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Throughout the cave there is evidence of water seeping everywhere.
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A chance to look down through a skylight at the path we just were on.
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We've reached daylight and the end of the cave portion of the hike. We could go back the way we came, but decided to go forward and make a loop hike today.
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That doesn't mean the tight squeezes are all behind us.
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Our general direction will be downhill from here back to the parking lot.
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It's now 9:30AM and our route will soon be out in the sunshine, time to take off my long sleeves.
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Water from nearby Moses Springs brings luscious plant life to this mostly rocky terrain.
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Here you can see where a large section of the rock wall has collapsed...
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...and possibly created a situation like this that we now have to hike under.
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Here you see the shady south side of Bear Gulch and the sunny north side we are on now.
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There was water seeping right out of the side of the mountain giving life to these ferns.
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These plants identified as "Western Sword Fern" by our phone app called "Seek" by iNaturalist.
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They have a peculiar way of generating a bloom.
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I recognize this little tunnel, which means we are almost done with the hike.
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It's a nice easy downhill hike from here.
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Just before the end we saw a half dozen young girls "learning the ropes" so to speak.
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It appeared they were being instructed on mountain climbing by this woman down below them.
THURSDAY - When I first researched a visit to Pinnacles National Park I figured that 3-nights would be a long enough visit to see and do a hike in the park and I would have been right.
What I didn't realize upon my first look into visiting here was that there is an entire western side of the park that's also worth a visit.
Unfortuately there are no roads within the park that connect the east and west sides, so you'll have to leave the park and drive nearly 55-miles to get to the other side.
Alternatively, you could hike the 3-mile long Old Pinnacles Trail up and over the peaks to get to the other side. However I think we'll take a pass on that offer!
There is also no RV camping on the west side of the park, so this will have to be a very long "day trip visit" because I'm not making that 100+ mile round trip drive twice. Not with these gas prices anyway!
When I tried to extend our camping reservation here, there were no electric sites available for an entire 6-night stay. For that reason we are going to have to change sites today, much like we did when we extended our stay at Faria Beach County Park to visit the Channel Islands two weeks ago.
Tommorow we'll go check out the western side of Pinnacles National Park.
FRIDAY - As I mentioned earlier we have a 75-minute drive to make to get to the West Entrance of Pinnacles National Park from our campsite here on the east side of the park.
For that reason we left at 7:00AM because we know how crowded it gets here on the east side trailhead parking lots and had no idea what we would run into over on the less remote west side trailheads.
One benefit of leaving so early is we saw a dozen deer before we even left the campground.
Just before reentering the west side of Pinnacles National Park we drove passed huge vineyards outside the town of Soledad, CA. There appeared to be bunches of purple grapes hanging from below the vines.
The west side of the National Park is at the end of a 9-mile long dead end street, which has signage saying large trucks and trailers are prohibited. I don't know if ROVER qualifies as a large truck or not, but we're going ahead anyway!
About half way up this 9-mile road the centerline on the road disappears, signifying that the roadway is no longer two full-width lanes wide. In a few spots I'm not sure the road was a single lane wide.
The road literally comes to an end at the Chaparral Parking Area which serves as the trailhead for our hike today. There must have been 30 or more parking spaces in the lot and when we arrived shortly after 8:00AM only two other cars were there.
The way I interpreted the above National Park Service map is that we need to take the .6-mile long Balconies Trail to the junction with the .4-mile long Balconies Cave Trail (our destination).
Then after completing the Cave Trail portion, or at any point really, we would have the option to turn around and make our way back to the parking lot or hike the longer Balconies Cliffs Trail to return to the parking lot. That turned out to be a bit of a "faux pas" on my part. We got only about 1/3 of the way through the caves and reached a point where it became clear that without some kind of rock climbing gear, or at least some climbing skills, we weren't going any further.
What did we do? We turned around in the cave passage and returned the way we came.
It was still a beautiful hike, maybe even more scenic than the east side hike, but I have no idea what we missed, assuming we did not complete the cave portion.
BALCONIES CAVE TRAIL WESTERN SIDE OF PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
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The trail starts out nice and easy, plus fairly level with only 100' of elevation change.
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Somewhere over there are the caves that we are headed towards.
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The scenery along the trail here is nicer than what we saw on the east side of the park.
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Pinnacles National Park is known for being home to a small group of California Condors.
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We saw two, possibly three, flying around the peaks where they nest.
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We also saw this bird pecking around down closer to us on the trail.
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There were several small streams criss-crossing the trail.
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We're getting closer to the caves, I can feel it!
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There is plenty of plant life down here at the bottom of the mountains.
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There are colorful lichen growing on the sides of the water weeping walls.
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I'm always pleasantly surprised when we come around a corner to see something new.
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In this case it looked like the entrance to the caves, but it's too soon.
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No cave, just a short passage underneath two huge boulders.
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They probably came down from somewhere up there centuries ago.
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Here Tricia stopped to video some of the water weeping out of the side of the mountain.
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While she did that, I took the opportunity to get ahead of her on the trail.
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Just stunning in the early 9:00AM morning sunlight.
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There was a second deer too, but they were too quick to photograph.
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There was always lots of directional signage along the trail. Also I plan to use those two stumps to rest up on the way back (and I did).
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The entrance to the tunnels is just up ahead.
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This rounded boulder ended up a greater distance from the mountain than most do.
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Can you see the trail? It's that flatened ridge on the right hand side.
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This gate restricts access to the caves when the bats are in residence.
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Tricia was worried I wouldn't be able to duck under this rock...
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...so she raised it up just enough that I could fit under it.
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This long narrow passage wasn't easy to traverse.
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At least this passage was a little taller and wider.
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Another tight spot.
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That was quick, we can't possibly be done?
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With no apparent way to move forward, we turned around at this spot, slightly dissapointed.
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My "rest area" stumps await me under that tree on the left.
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Not a condor, but another large bird was gliding overhead on the winds.
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More of those colorful lichens.
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We had to interrupt this guys lunch as we passed by on the trail.
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Just so beautiful.
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The spires of the Pinnacles are like nothing else around this area.
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This guy was still pecking around right where we left him hours ago.
After the hike we drove back to the Visitor Contact Station where I asked a Ranger about the apparent "dead end" on the trail, only to be told you must hike the Balconies Cliffs Trail first and then enter the Cave Trail from the backside to be able to easily traverse the entire cave trail.
The only way I see that working is if you slide down a 45° angled rockface for 10' on your butt to reach the portion of the trail where we got stuck. I'm not sure I would have done that anyway!
While I was talking to the Ranger, Tricia decided to hike the short .9-mile Prewett Point Trail located behind the Visitor Contact Station.
PREWETT POINT TRAIL WESTERN SIDE OF PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
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This entire .9-mile trail is wheelchair accessible.
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It offers some wide sweeping views of The Pinnacles.
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It also offers some wildlife sightings if you're careful not to spook them.
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This identifies as "Silverpuffs" according to my phone app.
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As pretty as this is, wait until you see it up close.
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This is "California Buckwheat".
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Time to head back to the Visitor Contact Station.
At least there is a double yellow line dividing this section into two lanes.
With the hiking all done for the day, it's now time to head down out of the park and return to the valley floor where we have a 50+ mile drive back around to the campground on the east side of the park.
Before we get too far into the drive we're going to stop for a quick, tasty and inexpensive lunch at the Taco Bell in Greenfield, CA.
Along the way we saw it's not all grapes in the vineyards that they grow here in the Salinas Valley. There are a lot of other crops too, the one thing they all have in common is it takes a lot of water to keep things green around here.
SATURDAY - So far all of the trails we've done here in the park have been rated easy or moderate.
While I once again spend all day working on this blog, Tricia has decided she'd like to challenge herself and tackle a 5-mile trail that's rated difficult.
She's going out solo, but I suspect she'll have plenty of company on the trail if she runs into any real trouble. She's packing plenty of energy bars, an adequate amount of water and most importantly her Garmin InReach Mini Compact Satellite Communicator, which means she can email me updates with GPS coordinates every 30-minutes so that I can track her progress on Google Maps back here in THE POD.
Currently it's 10:30AM while I write this, she's more than halfway through the trail, so it's mostly downhill from here. Also, it's only 64°F outside right now, so the afternoon heat shouldn't become a factor in her hike today.
I can only imgine how many photos she's taken that I'll have to somehow get ready for this post by tomorrow morning when we move on to our next destination.
CONDOR GULCH TO HIGH PEAKS TRAIL EASTERN SIDE OF PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK
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Google Maps estimates this as a 2hr-20min hike, but they only consider distance. Tricia took closer to 6 hours to complete, but she also took 2-breaks and 343 photos.
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The Condor Gulch Trail starts out like most of the others with just a slight rise in elevation.
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Only the elevation on this trail is all in one direction, UP!
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The Condor Gulch Trail starts out in the parking lot at 1281' of elevation.
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By the time you get to the half way point you're already at 1836' of elevation.
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This tree appears to have suffered some lightening damage which left a hole near the base.
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Still climbing!
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Here Tricia paused to take a video of her surroundings.
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I'm not going to caption every single photo in this slideshow for several reasons. First I wasn't there and second, most of them are just photos of trail conditions and the scenery.
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Here the 7:30AM sunshine is really starting to light up the mountain peaks.
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These switchbacks lessen the uphill grade, but at the same time lengthen the distance.
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That little balcony down there is the halfway point called simply the "Overlook".
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I'd say you're rewarded quite nicely with this view from the Overlook.
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By now we all know where that white stain on the ledge comes from, don't we?
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Could that be one of the famous California Condors everyone comes here to see?
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Tricia has made it to the end of the Condor Gulch Trail at 2311' and still smiling! Time to now start heading west on the High Peaks Trail.
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From the High Peaks Trail you'll see long vista views of the park.
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I told you she wouldn't be all alone up here on the trails.
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A short video from the High Peaks Trail.
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From this high up in the center of the park Tricia could see both east and west sides.
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Way down there is the trailhead for the west side hike we both did yesterday.
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Here the trail got a little interesting, climbing while holding the handrails.
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Some stone steps carved into the mountain by the C.C.C. back in the 1940s.
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More handrails and more climbing...
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...plus more crudely carved irregular sized steps.
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Here they carved left, then right, then left toeholds into the stone.
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More birds flying around, but I believe these are Turkey Vultures and not Condors.
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That one is definitely a Turkey Vulture!
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That man in the center of the photo adds a little "scale" don't you think?
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More left-right toeholds for climbing. At least they have handrails too.
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There's a whole family up ahead on the trail.
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It was here that Tricia took a 30-minute lunch break, but it's all downhill from here.
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There's always someone leaving the trail to forge their own.
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Way down below you can see the Bear Gulch Reservoir.
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It looks like the trail leads right up to that odd looking group of short spires.
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It looks like Trica gets to walk through another short tunnel ahead...
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...but she'll have to negotiate another switchback to get down there.
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Does this sliver of light showing between the rocks qualify it as an arch?
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Here's the tunnel. It's a little shorter than the one we both did on Wednesday.
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Here's Tricia getting creative with her camera, enjoy!
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There's that odd collection of spires we saw from up above.
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Can you tell what that is down there in the center of the photo?
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It's the parking lot which means she's almost done.
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But first, what's that rattle looking thing in the bushes?
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At least it's heading away from the trail and not towards it.
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Yeah, I think I can see ROVER trying to hide in the back
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Yep, hard to miss those three solar panels on top of the roof.
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Up near the top of the Coastal Mountain Range on US-46.
When people think of Florida, they think Miami and Orlando, but it's no much more than that.
Once over the peak we began seeing large vineyards on both sides of the road.
In contrast, we also saw pumpjacks capable of pulling 1-10 gallons of oil with each stroke.
On the north side of the oil field we saw the large storage tanks.
This is what the last 35-miles on US-25 looked like, there will be no pulling over here.
It was shorty after 3:00PM when we reached the entrance of Pinnacles National Park...
...and were warmly welcomed by these two turkeys.
The campground is nothing special, but it does have electric hookups.
That will come in handy to run the A/C when the temperatures reach near 90°F today.
We were on the trail by 8:30AM and rewarded with this early morning view of "The Pinnacles".
Our trail takes us along the south side of Bear Gulch which will always be shaded.
Somewhere up ahead are the talus caves we came to see.
Isn't it to soon for that to be the entrance to the caves up ahead?
Yeah, it's just a short tunnel along the trail.
We were warned there would be some tight squeezes along the trail.
We've now made it to the entrance of the Bear Gulch Caves, with our headlamps too.
Remember, talus caves have no solid roof overhead, so you're not truly underground.
This must be the tight squeeze they were talking about. Watch your head!
We had a group of four seniors up ahead of us on the trail.
This is starting to look more cavelike...
...but that's still sunlight illuminating the cave.
I had a chance to get ahead of Tricia while she videoed the running water you'll see next.
Throughout the cave there is evidence of water seeping everywhere.
A chance to look down through a skylight at the path we just were on.
We've reached daylight and the end of the cave portion of the hike.
That doesn't mean the tight squeezes are all behind us.
Our general direction will be downhill from here back to the parking lot.
It's now 9:30AM and our route will soon be out in the sunshine, time to take off my long sleeves.
Water from nearby Moses Springs brings luscious plant life to this mostly rocky terrain.
Here you can see where a large section of the rock wall has collapsed...
...and possibly created a situation like this that we now have to hike under.
Here you see the shady south side of Bear Gulch and the sunny north side we are on now.
There was water seeping right out of the side of the mountain giving life to these ferns.
These plants identified as "Western Sword Fern" by our phone app called "Seek" by iNaturalist.
They have a peculiar way of generating a bloom.
I recognize this little tunnel, which means we are almost done with the hike.
It's a nice easy downhill hike from here.
Just before the end we saw a half dozen young girls "learning the ropes" so to speak.
It appeared they were being instructed on mountain climbing by this woman down below them.
The trail starts out nice and easy, plus fairly level with only 100' of elevation change.
Somewhere over there are the caves that we are headed towards.
The scenery along the trail here is nicer than what we saw on the east side of the park.
Pinnacles National Park is known for being home to a small group of California Condors.
We saw two, possibly three, flying around the peaks where they nest.
We also saw this bird pecking around down closer to us on the trail.
There were several small streams criss-crossing the trail.
We're getting closer to the caves, I can feel it!
There is plenty of plant life down here at the bottom of the mountains.
There are colorful lichen growing on the sides of the water weeping walls.
I'm always pleasantly surprised when we come around a corner to see something new.
In this case it looked like the entrance to the caves, but it's too soon.
No cave, just a short passage underneath two huge boulders.
They probably came down from somewhere up there centuries ago.
While she did that, I took the opportunity to get ahead of her on the trail.
Just stunning in the early 9:00AM morning sunlight.
There was a second deer too, but they were too quick to photograph.
There was always lots of directional signage along the trail.
The entrance to the tunnels is just up ahead.
This rounded boulder ended up a greater distance from the mountain than most do.
Can you see the trail? It's that flatened ridge on the right hand side.
This gate restricts access to the caves when the bats are in residence.
Tricia was worried I wouldn't be able to duck under this rock...
...so she raised it up just enough that I could fit under it.
This long narrow passage wasn't easy to traverse.
At least this passage was a little taller and wider.
Another tight spot.
That was quick, we can't possibly be done?
With no apparent way to move forward, we turned around at this spot, slightly dissapointed.
My "rest area" stumps await me under that tree on the left.
Not a condor, but another large bird was gliding overhead on the winds.
More of those colorful lichens.
We had to interrupt this guys lunch as we passed by on the trail.
Just so beautiful.
The spires of the Pinnacles are like nothing else around this area.
This guy was still pecking around right where we left him hours ago.
This entire .9-mile trail is wheelchair accessible.
It offers some wide sweeping views of The Pinnacles.
It also offers some wildlife sightings if you're careful not to spook them.
This identifies as "Silverpuffs" according to my phone app.
As pretty as this is, wait until you see it up close.
This is "California Buckwheat".
Time to head back to the Visitor Contact Station.
Google Maps estimates this as a 2hr-20min hike, but they only consider distance.
The Condor Gulch Trail starts out like most of the others with just a slight rise in elevation.
Only the elevation on this trail is all in one direction, UP!
The Condor Gulch Trail starts out in the parking lot at 1281' of elevation.
By the time you get to the half way point you're already at 1836' of elevation.
This tree appears to have suffered some lightening damage which left a hole near the base.
Still climbing!
I'm not going to caption every single photo in this slideshow for several reasons.
Here the 7:30AM sunshine is really starting to light up the mountain peaks.
These switchbacks lessen the uphill grade, but at the same time lengthen the distance.
That little balcony down there is the halfway point called simply the "Overlook".
I'd say you're rewarded quite nicely with this view from the Overlook.
By now we all know where that white stain on the ledge comes from, don't we?
Could that be one of the famous California Condors everyone comes here to see?
Tricia has made it to the end of the Condor Gulch Trail at 2311' and still smiling!
From the High Peaks Trail you'll see long vista views of the park.
I told you she wouldn't be all alone up here on the trails.
From this high up in the center of the park Tricia could see both east and west sides.
Way down there is the trailhead for the west side hike we both did yesterday.
Here the trail got a little interesting, climbing while holding the handrails.
Some stone steps carved into the mountain by the C.C.C. back in the 1940s.
More handrails and more climbing...
...plus more crudely carved irregular sized steps.
Here they carved left, then right, then left toeholds into the stone.
That one is definitely a Turkey Vulture!
That man in the center of the photo adds a little "scale" don't you think?
More left-right toeholds for climbing. At least they have handrails too.
There's a whole family up ahead on the trail.
There's always someone leaving the trail to forge their own.
Way down below you can see the Bear Gulch Reservoir.
It looks like the trail leads right up to that odd looking group of short spires.
It looks like Trica gets to walk through another short tunnel ahead...
...but she'll have to negotiate another switchback to get down there.
Does this sliver of light showing between the rocks qualify it as an arch?
Here's the tunnel. It's a little shorter than the one we both did on Wednesday.
There's that odd collection of spires we saw from up above.
Can you tell what that is down there in the center of the photo?
It's the parking lot which means she's almost done.
But first, what's that rattle looking thing in the bushes?
At least it's heading away from the trail and not towards it.
Yeah, I think I can see ROVER trying to hide in the back
Yep, hard to miss those three solar panels on top of the roof.
