Week 247-249 - Pinnacles National Monument - 05-22-2011

Pleasantries from the Pinnacles

After a month in our home area, we headed north on Highway 101 from Paso Robles to King City, then east on Route 13 to CA-25 to the Pinnacles National Monument. For those on the Central Coast, if you have not been to Pinnacles, you should. Only 83 miles from Paso Robles, is this great area to camp and hike.

This is CA-25 just minutes prior to turning into the monument.

We camped overnight (in the camping area, not here), then found this parking spot just shy of the monument entrance.

Pinnacles has over 30 miles of trails to hike. You could spend a week here. The camping area has 30 amps with water and a dump available nearby. And it has a swimming pool. The US National Park senior rate for camping is $16 per night and entrance to the park with the senior pass is free. Our hike for the day was 7.7 miles. It started on the Bear Gulch Trail shaded by sycamore trees.

The gulch has a little stream running through it and there were several pools deep enough to take a dip.

1) This Darth Vader rock was on the Condor Gulch Trail. 2) A view back down the gulch.

Pinnacles is a historical nesting and release site for the California Condor. At times you can see the condors soaring over the peaks. We spotted about a dozen birds flying over Condor Gulch canyon. While the birds in these photos look very similar to the condor, they are only turkey vultures with a maximum wing span of 6 feet. Condors can have a wing span of up to 9 1/2 feet.

One of the many unique rock formations in the park.

Pinnacles was proclaimed a national monument in 1908 and today contains 26,000 acres.

Some of these vertical rocks tower 20 to 40 feet straight up.

Some of the trails are negotiable in a wheelchair, but not the one Ellen is passing through.

To reach the highest peaks, steps were created or carved into the rocks.

This set of steps required a railing to keep you on your feet.

From Hawkins Peak at 2720 feet, the highest peak we hiked on, you can see the Condor Gulch Trail we came up. This trail is noted as strenuous and we agreed.

Just another fabulous peak with the East in the background.

This is a view of Bear Gulch Reservoir taken from the "restroom in the sky".

Trail makers worked hard here to give us easy access to the other side of this rock.

We only saw birds for most of our hike, but in the last couple of miles we spotted this snake and woodpecker.

And a lizard came by to say hello and the bugs relaxed in their California Poppy hammocks.

While this travelogue went by quickly, the 7.7 mile hike took most of the day. It was great to get back to the Mothership, to wash up and head north on CA-25 through the countryside.

The beauty of America just keeps on coming. Thanks for joining us,

Love, Pete and Ellen

Our future path will take us to Healdsburg, Redding and Durham, CA.

Photos from May 2011