Since I could not play tennis (due to my minor mole removal surgery), I decided to explore Pinnacles National Park, located only 90 minutes from San Jose.
Despite living so close for many years, I was unaware that the famous Pinnacles National Park was close. I decided to drive and see it for myself (since Inna and Alex were on their Caribbean cruise).
I heard Pinnacles get very crowded in spring and summer, so I left early. I got up at 06:30 on Sunday morning, ate a quick breakfast, packed a turkey sandwich with plenty of water, and drove to Pinnacles National Park, arriving around 08:30 at the park's East Entrance.
Reading multiple blogs, I decided the Bear Gulch Day Use Area is the best place to park. Luckily, I arrived before 09:00, and the parking lot was empty.
After putting on my hiking boots, I grabbed Inna's Nikon P900 camera and asked a nearby ranger what trail she recommended. I was told that the best route to follow in the morning was to take the Condor Gulch Trail and turn left onto High Peaks Trail until Scout Peak. There, I could return to Bear Gulch (for a short, 3-4 hour hike) or continue on Juniper Canyon Trail to get to the Balconies Cave Trail (the real park highlight). From there, the Old Pinnacles trail - an easy, flat trail, would take me back to the Bear Gulch Day Use area (where I packed my car). This would take about 6 hours and would be an excellent day hike.
I started out on the recommended Condor Gulch trail. The trail slowly ascended up into the High Peaks area. Although I had my sweatshirt, I had to take off after a few hundred feet, as I was getting fairly hot. Not many people were hiking yet, but I ran into other hikers occasionally.
When I reached the Overlook, I took lots of photos, which were quite stunning. Surprisingly, the scenery got even more exotic as I advanced toward the High Peaks trail. I hoped to see the famous Condors but did not see any.
The High Peak trail was narrow, with fantastic views of surrounding rock formations.
I needed to step into some very narrow and rocky sections a couple of times.
I enjoyed this hike section, as the rock formations were unique and memorable.
Once I arrived at Scout Peak (one of the highest spots), I decided to continue down Juniper Canyon Trail toward Chaparral Trailhead (where I planned to eat lunch) and then onto the Balconies.
The Juniper Canyon trail was beautiful but not as scenic as High Peaks. I was practically the only person coming down. It looked like a crowd of people were coming up.
After a short time, I arrived at the Chaparral Trailhead on time at noon. The 7 km hike has taken me 3 hours. Finishing lunch in about 20 minutes, I continued on to Balconies Trail.
There were lots of large rocks (looking like giant pebbles) at the entrance of the
Balconies Cave Trail.
I dug out my flashlight, but it stopped working after a short time. Thankfully, my iPhone 7 saved the day!
Once inside the caves, I was surprised by how dark, slippery, and dangerous it was. I was surprised to see many parents with young kids attempting this underground crossing. It was easy to get lost.
Once I found a proper way through the caves, it was not too hard - but it took some exploration to find the appropriate approach. Some of the approaches are dangerous.
The experience of crawling and scrambling in dark, unmarked caves was eerie.
After the caves, the rest of the walk on "Old Pinnacles Trail" was relatively uneventful, except for the small part where I took a wrong turn. I missed the turnoff for Bear Gulch. I had to backtrack and walk an extra 3 miles.
Nevertheless, I arrived at Bear Gulch Day Use around 15:30 (30 minutes behind my estimate.)
I had a fantastic but long 13-mile hike.
Pinnacles is a nice park to hike in, and I hope to return to see some other parts (I missed). I did not see the Beach Gulch Cave Trail, Rim Trail, or the Monolith.
Despite living so close for many years, I was unaware that the famous Pinnacles National Park was close. I decided to drive and see it for myself (since Inna and Alex were on their Caribbean cruise).
I heard Pinnacles get very crowded in spring and summer, so I left early. I got up at 06:30 on Sunday morning, ate a quick breakfast, packed a turkey sandwich with plenty of water, and drove to Pinnacles National Park, arriving around 08:30 at the park's East Entrance.
Reading multiple blogs, I decided the Bear Gulch Day Use Area is the best place to park. Luckily, I arrived before 09:00, and the parking lot was empty.
After putting on my hiking boots, I grabbed Inna's Nikon P900 camera and asked a nearby ranger what trail she recommended. I was told that the best route to follow in the morning was to take the Condor Gulch Trail and turn left onto High Peaks Trail until Scout Peak. There, I could return to Bear Gulch (for a short, 3-4 hour hike) or continue on Juniper Canyon Trail to get to the Balconies Cave Trail (the real park highlight). From there, the Old Pinnacles trail - an easy, flat trail, would take me back to the Bear Gulch Day Use area (where I packed my car). This would take about 6 hours and would be an excellent day hike.
I started out on the recommended Condor Gulch trail. The trail slowly ascended up into the High Peaks area. Although I had my sweatshirt, I had to take off after a few hundred feet, as I was getting fairly hot. Not many people were hiking yet, but I ran into other hikers occasionally.
When I reached the Overlook, I took lots of photos, which were quite stunning. Surprisingly, the scenery got even more exotic as I advanced toward the High Peaks trail. I hoped to see the famous Condors but did not see any.
The High Peak trail was narrow, with fantastic views of surrounding rock formations.
I needed to step into some very narrow and rocky sections a couple of times.
I enjoyed this hike section, as the rock formations were unique and memorable.
Once I arrived at Scout Peak (one of the highest spots), I decided to continue down Juniper Canyon Trail toward Chaparral Trailhead (where I planned to eat lunch) and then onto the Balconies.
The Juniper Canyon trail was beautiful but not as scenic as High Peaks. I was practically the only person coming down. It looked like a crowd of people were coming up.
After a short time, I arrived at the Chaparral Trailhead on time at noon. The 7 km hike has taken me 3 hours. Finishing lunch in about 20 minutes, I continued on to Balconies Trail.
There were lots of large rocks (looking like giant pebbles) at the entrance of the
Balconies Cave Trail.
I dug out my flashlight, but it stopped working after a short time. Thankfully, my iPhone 7 saved the day!
Once inside the caves, I was surprised by how dark, slippery, and dangerous it was. I was surprised to see many parents with young kids attempting this underground crossing. It was easy to get lost.
Once I found a proper way through the caves, it was not too hard - but it took some exploration to find the appropriate approach. Some of the approaches are dangerous.
The experience of crawling and scrambling in dark, unmarked caves was eerie.
After the caves, the rest of the walk on "Old Pinnacles Trail" was relatively uneventful, except for the small part where I took a wrong turn. I missed the turnoff for Bear Gulch. I had to backtrack and walk an extra 3 miles.
Nevertheless, I arrived at Bear Gulch Day Use around 15:30 (30 minutes behind my estimate.)
I had a fantastic but long 13-mile hike.
Pinnacles is a nice park to hike in, and I hope to return to see some other parts (I missed). I did not see the Beach Gulch Cave Trail, Rim Trail, or the Monolith.
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