Pinnacles National Monument Campground

adventure-inspired: Hiking Adventures and (Almost Not) Camping at ...

There's nothing better than seizing an opportunity to see a beautiful, unique place you've never seen before. As a self-proclaimed obsessive planner, I've usually got every detail of every trip mapped out, no matter how short the trip might be. On a visit to Pinnacles National Monument this past weekend, I thought I had everything covered. But I but came to find that wasn't quite the case, and it made for a wonderful little adventure!   Pinnacles National Monument is a 26,000 acre tract of wilderness just 50 miles from the California coast and east of Salinas Valley. It's a stunning landscape of unique geologic formations, chaparral habitat, beautiful wildflowers, and incredible wildlife. It's a popular birdwatching destination, particularly when the California Condors , nearly extinct in the late 1980's and still numbering under 400 alive, are on the move. Talus caves, some narrow and dark, dot the Balconies and Bear Gulch areas of the park. In addition to the 30 miles of hiking trails, technical rock climbing on the volcanic breccia and tuff formations is a popular activity. But be warned; the rock at Pinnacles is weaker than granite and basalt found in nearby popular climb areas. It's weak enough that the Park Service notes, "Pinnacles rock can be so unstable that even new bolts may fail." That was reason enough for me to spend the visit on the trails, which was still a rewarding experience. Good friend Katie and I met at the Pinnacles Visitor Center near the east entrance of the park mid morning. Rather than doing a significant amount of investigating into the trail system before we arrived, we opted to consult the experts at the Visitors Center. The Park Ranger on staff let us know that the best way to see the most exciting parts of Pinnacles in an afternoon was to take the shuttle up to Bear Gulch, then climb to the High Peaks area via the Condor Gulch-High Peaks loop.

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