December 26, 2014.
The day dawned cold and bright. The temperature was around 33°F and bitingly cold. However, Kala and Haree insisted that we go to Pinnacles State Park. So we packed up some bread, jam, peanut butter, water bottles with water this time, pears, apples etc into 3 back packs and a simple carry on bag and decided to go hiking. The question was where, oh where shall we go? A flip of the pages of the National Geographic National Parks books pointed to Pinnacles National Park.
The park is pretty small for a national park, measuring less than 30,000 acres and pretty much located within a single county, except for a small piece. It is about 75 minutes drive from home and located close to CA 101. On CA 101, you take the CA 146, drive about 10 miles east and uphill and viola you are there at the Western Entrance to the park. (There is also an Eastern Entrance at the other end).
The park is unique in the sense, the rock formation and the content is very very different from the surrounding country side. The rocks and the formations has more in common with the area about 200 miles south of here, near Lancaster, CA. It seems a gigantic volcano about 23 million years ago created the 30 mile wide volcanic field that forms the foundations of modern day Pinnacles Park. Then earthquakes, water, and wind had a hand in moving this huge chunk of land 200 miles north and in forming the modern day park.
The park boasts several trials, caves, and the cliffs are there to be climbed! It is home to a diverse variety of wild life, including the California Condors, although we did not see any this time around. We decided to hike the 5 mile balconies trial (2.5 miles each way). After paying for the car parking and the park fees, we set off in high spirits. The trial takes a winding path uphill most of the way past some majestic cliffs and valleys. The up and hill movement, stopping frequently for pictures, and greeting other people on the trail took us to one of the major attractions in the park -- the Balconies Caves!
Along the way, there were areas that simply screamed to us to drop our backpacks and start climbing. Here you see Haree climbing up a not-so-steep cliff face. He reached the top and skirted around the huge rock and reached it before we did, where we followed the trail.
The area has experienced close to 8" of rain in the month of December. This rainfall is slowly helping us to recover from a record drought. One result of the rainfall, is the legacy of colors in the park. Here you see a rock face with brilliant dark green, red, russet, and brown colors all the result of plant and fungus growth due to the recent rains.
Most of the streams were flowing with water. We were lucky in the sense, the Balconies caves were open. The cave has been formed by the flow of water that has cut a hole thru the rocks and has tumbled over and eroded the rock face. The water way so created and the rock falls within them has created several caves, and one such cave was the Balconies caves. It was fortunate for us that the water level had receded to a level that was safe for human transit. By the time we were at the opening of the caves, the weather had warmed up and it was around 60°F. But the water in the stream inside the cave was close to freezing.
Haree was dressed for a summer hike, but then being active he did not feel the cold like I did. We had to climb over slippery rocks. Wade thru pools of rushing water. And inside the caves, it was pitch black -- one does need a flashlight and both hands to navigate the caves. We met a couple of girls who were brave enough to use their cell phones for light! Fortunately we showed up with a couple of flashlights and they were able to clamber behind us, using the light we provided.
It took us more than 2 hours to complete the 5 mile trial of ups and downs, over creeks, into and out of caves, dodging between boulders, and dignity be damned, climbing hand over hip in the dark, with help with Haree, who constantly scouted in front to find us the easiest path -- although I have some doubts about that. In places he found out paths that were more difficult than the ones marked on the guide map!
All in all a wonderful day. We completed our hike around 1 PM for a well deserved lunch of sandwiches. As were getting ready to leave, the moon rose over the volcanic rocks and in the middle of the blue skies, it was a sight to behold! It left us craving for more and we make a promise to come back towards the last week of March when the Bear Gulch Caves would be open. Alas, these caves were closed this time around, since the endangered California Bats were hibernating in these caves and could not be disturbed.
 |
| A view from the Balconies Trial |
The park is unique in the sense, the rock formation and the content is very very different from the surrounding country side. The rocks and the formations has more in common with the area about 200 miles south of here, near Lancaster, CA. It seems a gigantic volcano about 23 million years ago created the 30 mile wide volcanic field that forms the foundations of modern day Pinnacles Park. Then earthquakes, water, and wind had a hand in moving this huge chunk of land 200 miles north and in forming the modern day park.The park boasts several trials, caves, and the cliffs are there to be climbed! It is home to a diverse variety of wild life, including the California Condors, although we did not see any this time around. We decided to hike the 5 mile balconies trial (2.5 miles each way). After paying for the car parking and the park fees, we set off in high spirits. The trial takes a winding path uphill most of the way past some majestic cliffs and valleys. The up and hill movement, stopping frequently for pictures, and greeting other people on the trail took us to one of the major attractions in the park -- the Balconies Caves! Along the way, there were areas that simply screamed to us to drop our backpacks and start climbing. Here you see Haree climbing up a not-so-steep cliff face. He reached the top and skirted around the huge rock and reached it before we did, where we followed the trail.
The area has experienced close to 8" of rain in the month of December. This rainfall is slowly helping us to recover from a record drought. One result of the rainfall, is the legacy of colors in the park. Here you see a rock face with brilliant dark green, red, russet, and brown colors all the result of plant and fungus growth due to the recent rains.
Most of the streams were flowing with water. We were lucky in the sense, the Balconies caves were open. The cave has been formed by the flow of water that has cut a hole thru the rocks and has tumbled over and eroded the rock face. The water way so created and the rock falls within them has created several caves, and one such cave was the Balconies caves. It was fortunate for us that the water level had receded to a level that was safe for human transit. By the time we were at the opening of the caves, the weather had warmed up and it was around 60°F. But the water in the stream inside the cave was close to freezing. Haree was dressed for a summer hike, but then being active he did not feel the cold like I did. We had to climb over slippery rocks. Wade thru pools of rushing water. And inside the caves, it was pitch black -- one does need a flashlight and both hands to navigate the caves. We met a couple of girls who were brave enough to use their cell phones for light! Fortunately we showed up with a couple of flashlights and they were able to clamber behind us, using the light we provided.It took us more than 2 hours to complete the 5 mile trial of ups and downs, over creeks, into and out of caves, dodging between boulders, and dignity be damned, climbing hand over hip in the dark, with help with Haree, who constantly scouted in front to find us the easiest path -- although I have some doubts about that. In places he found out paths that were more difficult than the ones marked on the guide map!
